Practising research, researching practice : thinking through contemporary dance

Practice as research is now an accepted mode whereby artists can obtain a higher degree in our universities. But what conditions pertain for them there? Daily experiences of the misfit between the university, particularly in its current corporate guise, and the embodied practices upon which I draw have helped me, paradoxically, to clarify certain dance values which can perhaps have wider resonance. These values relate to concepts and ideas that can be found articulated by many practising artists and a number of other thinkers and practitioners including Winnicott, Alexander and Arendt. Focusing on here and now practicalities and issues, such as the nature of the studio floor, this article explores and argues for the importance of aesthetic experience and attention to life as we are living it: to experience, paradox, action, and sensation.

A review of the literature exploring the occupation of contemporary pilgrimage

Contemporary pilgrimage is a multi-dimensional, diverse and evolving occupation, not limited to overtly religious intentions or practices, which has not been explored in the occupational science literature. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the scholarly discourse as an important initial step toward understanding the occupation of pilgrimage and its impact on well-being. The discovery process within the literature was strategically refined yielding occupational science's first view of this expanding field of enquiry. This paper introduces the scope of the topic, defines key terms and explores the range of participation in contemporary pilgrimage. International evidence of increased popular interest and participation in pilgrimage is discussed, and the interdisciplinary evidence of the benefits to health and well-being experienced by pilgrims is summarised. This paper argues that occupational science could take a leading role in investigating the relationship between participation in pilgrimage and the experience of well-being for a range of people and populations.

The political and economic arguments in contemporary classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry

This paper outlines in broad detail the specific political and economic parameters that influence public education. In doing so, the paper examines the policy-making debate within Australia centred on effective classroom teaching practice instruction. The paper implies that significant and global political and economic considerations invariably force governments to act thus exerting influence and control over educational matters including classroom teaching practice. To this extent, public education policy-making must grapple with prevailing political and economic considerations in so far as they involve and require an educational response. 

Youth and the communication of Risk: developing connections between cancer council Australia and contemporary online youth culture

Through two focus groups, the project investigated how youth culture perceives online communication of risk. In two 90-minute sessions, investigators gaged the range of online activities that nine 18 - 24 year old university students engaged with. Through a guided discussion the participants explored how they would relate to the communication of health risk more generally and cancer risk more specifically.
Participants’ online activity is very high and a range of social media forms are part of their everyday lives. In contrast, their use of traditional media is almost non-existent. Their relationship to accessing and being aware of health information demonstrated a range of views that pointed to quite new and different relationships to health and health professionals. To intersect with their online movements in the communication of health risk demands a sophisticated knowledge of their own searching patterns.
Key ideas generated from the focus groups include: that it might be advantageous to group health risk beyond the specificity of cancer for online success; that an online persona would be useful to provide a face for the communication of risk; that a multi-platform campaign to raise the profile of a persona would be useful; and that success means moving between the serious and the light-hearted in a way that makes the persona a complete person of interest for them.

The role of the academic board in the contemporary Australian university

This research explored the role of the academic board within the context of 21st century Australian university governance. It found that academic boards did not implement all of their documented responsibilities but did perform significant unofficial roles which were perceived to greatly add value to their universities’

Contemporary service theories integrated into construction project management

Project management plays an important role in successful completion of construction projects. One trend in the construction sector is a growing emphasis on project management. Ineffective integration of project management of project-based enterprises and operational processes of project owners, contractors and consultants prevents synergistic effects and causes resource waste and management inefficiency. Contemporary service theories, specifically service science and service-dominant logic, elucidate the involvement of clients in the creation of value and reinforce the nested relationship between project management service providers and clients. This study expands understanding of service theories by complementing service systems from project management and proposes a new framework for project management service systems, embedding service exchange and value co-creation in the construction processes. Research outcomes represent the importance of project management embedded with service theories in the construction industry and suggestions of research questions for future work.

Checked baggage: spatial negotiations in contemporary air travel

This paper examines the act of undertaking international air travel and analyses how it forces individuals to consider a range of ideas as a result of dislocation and attempts to re-align themselves within spatial, material and biological structures. In order to balance the shifts between spatial and material experiences, travellers employ imaginative and perceptive procedures, gaining knowledge through experience. At the intersection of participatory and spatial boundaries through the lens of multi-disciplinary literature, this paper explores how practices of individuals within international air travel provides alternative modes of thinking and navigating through personal, cultural and globalised public spaces.

Debating the international legitimacy of the G20: global policymaking and contemporary international society

There have been growing debates about the legitimacy and the future of the G20 (the Group of Twenty) leaders forum despite this forum playing a prominent role in response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. While states within the G20 assert the legitimacy of the G20, states outside the G20 actively question this forum’s legitimacy. This article contends that while the G20 is important to contemporary global governance and efforts to create a common framework of rules for global capitalism, this ongoing debate demonstrates that the legitimacy of the G20 is fundamentally uncertain and problematic because the G20’s membership and connection to existing forms of multilateralism remain contentious. This article contends that G20 leaders need to consider these issues in light of the prevailing expectations of states in contemporary international society.