Radical practice? Writing 'beyond' system

Might writing be at once the context or system that restricts and forms us but also, in some instances, the means to evade or transform this very system? The question posed in the call for papers for this conference outlines the very grounds upon which the writing subject may be seen as negotiating questions posed by artistic practice and creative research. Here these are formulated around ‘encounters’ between seemingly autonomous or pre-determined realms: between subjects and objects, between knowing and being, between aesthetic systems however defined. This view accepts the fragmentary definitional world of capitalist social relations. What I suggest is that the kind of subject that is at stake in creative practice and research has much in common with a kind of radical subjectivity. What I suggest is that writing is a practice that can be seen through the lens of Karl Marx’s notion of purposeful activity. Writing, in other words, is a critical/creative practice founding a radical view of subjectivity that attempts to overcome the dualism of subject and object via the category of human practice. Against an individual expressivist paradigm, or modes of thought that envision writing (and language) objectively, this might be called radical practice in that writing is a critical/creative practice: critical in that it is against what exists, and creative in that it seeks to move beyond it.

PLT practitioners : soldiers For “vocationalism”, or double agents?

This presentation extends on some previous work around my PhD research.
I question ways in which social structures are inscribed into legal education practices, and conversely, whether practices can modify those structures. I argue PLT practitioners are not simply soldiers for a “vocationalist” strategy. Instead, I re-imagine PLT practitioners as “double agents” or “resistance fighters”, lamplighters in a still emergent professional trajectory. It is a trajectory catalysed by the 1970s introduction of institutional PLT; just a baby really, in the context of English common law.

In Bourdieu’s terms it is possible, by revisiting past struggles in Australian legal education, to conceptualise institutional PLT as the product of judicial, professional, and academic struggles to produce a vocationalised, non-academic, and critique-free sub-field within the juridical field. Those struggles succeeded, to some extent, in the extra-individual dimension of structures, regulation, and institutions, to collectively inculcate preferred dispositions within individuals about legal education and professional identity.

That account, however, ignores the potential for agency and alterity – the ways in which individuals might appropriate, in Certeau’s terms, the resources of the legal field to explore new professional trajectories. For some, these trajectories involve struggles to enrich, and add texture to, legal education. Drawing on interviews with PLT practitioners, I identify multi-vocal and multi-perspectival themes, including notions of social justice, equality, professional ethics, personal improvement, and indeed, interest in scholarship of teaching and learning.

It is in this sense I re-imagine PLT practitioners as “double agents”, operating betwixt and between dominant domains in law. In my view, PLT practitioners can participate in conceptualising and developing emergent approaches in legal education, and to theorise “practice” as lawyers and educators. Scholarship of teaching and learning has its part to play in this. It provides a means, as lawyers and as educators, to discover information, to reflect, critique, communicate, and conceptualise, insights about “practice” and practices.

The effects of e-simulation interview training on teachers' use of open-ended questions.

Teachers in many parts of the world are mandated reporters of child abuse and maltreatment but very little is known concerning how they question children in suspicious circumstances. Teachers (n=36), who had previously participated in a mock interview scenario designed to characterize their baseline use of various question-types when attempting to elicit sensitive information from children, were given online training in choosing effective questions. They engaged in simulated interviews with a virtual avatar several times in one week and then participated in a mock interview scenario. The amount and proportion of open-ended questions they used increased dramatically after training. The overall number of questions, and amount and proportions of specific and leading questions decreased. In particular, large decreases were observed in more risky yes-no and other forced-choice questions. Given that most teachers may feel the need to ask a child about an ambiguous situation at some point during their careers it is worthwhile to incorporate practice asking effective questions into their training, and the present research suggests that an e-learning format is effective. Additionally, effective questions encourage the development of narrative competence, and we discuss how teachers might include open-ended questions during regular classroom learning.

An ardent internationalist: Ben Chifley and the new world order

 This thesis traces the evolution of J.B. Chifley as an economic internationalist. It demonstrates that his role in Australian foreign policy in the 1940s has been vastly underestimated. A significant feature of the thesis is the attention paid to Chifley’s speeches in a wide range of political and community forums.

Buxton silver gum reserve: using geographic information systems to investigate historic change in site integrity

Eucalyptus crenulata is a rare species known from only two populations. The Buxton Silver Gum Reserve was set aside in 1978 for the conservation of the species, but this objective may be compromised by changes in the integrity of the landscape immediately surrounding the Reserve. A time sequence of aerial photos and Geographic Information Systems technology has been used to identify patterns of landscape change, and aid in determining appropriate management strategies to minimize negative impacts caused by landscape fragmentation and habitat exposure

Pieces of silver : examples of the economic impact and management of the silver gull (Larus novaehollandiae) in Melbourne, Australia

Like a number of gull species, the silver gull Larus novaehollandiae has expanded its population in response to human food subsidy. The major anthropogenic food source is food waste at rubbish tips. Other sources of human food waste are also exploited. Many problems result from the activities of these birds, including human health and safety, economic impacts, and effects on the conservation of other species. My study examines aspects of the economic impacts of the silver gull on the human community of the Greater Melbourne Area comprising approximately 4065 km2 (1569 square miles). My data collection method involves identifying sites where problems have been experienced and completing questionnaires during face to face interviews with the managers of those sites. Data collected at this early stage of the study demonstrate that there are significant, quantifiable economic impacts associated with the superabundance of the silver gull in this area. Other impacts, such as reduced amenity and potential health hazards are equally real but more difficult to quantify. Costs include damage to structures and products, damage prevention measures, and loss of production. Information about the costs of these problems will be presented to the relevant landfill management authorities to encourage them to consider alternative means of disposing of putrescible waste, rather than by open landfill disposal, because even current best practice management of open landfill sites (rubbish tips) provides ample opportunity for silver gulls and certain other bird species to exploit this food source. Controlling access by the silver gull to food at rubbish tips would be an important first step in managing the population of this species.

Ethnic aged discrimination and disparities in health and social care : a question of social justice

Older overseas-born Australians of diverse cultural and language backgrounds experience significant disparities in their health and social care needs and support systems. Despite being identified as a 'special needs' group, the ethnic aged in Australia are generally underserved by local health and social care services, experience unequal burdens of disease and encounter cultural and language barriers to accessing appropriate health and social care compared to the average Australian-born population. While a range of causes have been suggested to explain these disparities, rarely has the possibility of cultural racism been considered. In this article, it is suggested that cultural racism be named as a possible cause of ethnic aged disparities and disadvantage in health and social care. It is further suggested that unless cultural racism is named as a structural mechanism by which ethnic aged disparities in health and social care have been created and maintained, redressing them will remain difficult.

Costs of Silver Gulls Larus novaehollandiae in an urban environment

Silver Gull economic impacts were evaluated during 1998 to 2003 in the Greater Melbourne area. Roof nesting and roosting created substantial problems. Annual cost for cleaning, maintenance, damage, repairs and mitigation was $3,570,000. Roof corrosion was $0.9 million. Reducing anthropogenic food availability is the key to reducing problems.

A question of self-preservation : immunopathology in influenza virus infection

Influenza A viruses that circulate normally in the human population cause a debilitating, though generally transient, illness that is sometimes fatal, particularly in the elderly. Severe complications arising from pandemic influenza or the highly pathogenic avian H5N1 viruses are often associated with rapid, massive inflammatory cell infiltration, acute respiratory distress, reactive hemophagocytosis and multiple organ involvement. Histological and pathological indicators strongly suggest a key role for an excessive host response in mediating at least some of this pathology. Here, we review the current literature on how various effector arms of the immune system can act deleteriously to initiate or exacerbate pathological damage in this viral pneumonia. Generally, the same immunological factors mediating tissue damage during the anti-influenza immune response are also critical for efficient elimination of virus, thereby posing a significant challenge in the design of harmless yet effective therapeutic strategies for tackling influenza virus.