The decision-making journey of a family carer : information and social needs in a cultural context

While the important role of family as carer has been increasingly recognised in healthcare service provision, particularly for patients with acute or chronic illnesses, the carer's information and social needs have not been well understood and adequately supported. In order to provide continuous and home-based care for the patient, and to make informed decisions about the care, a family carer needs sufficient access to medical information in general, the patient's health information specifically, and supportive care services. Two key challenges are the carer's lack of medical knowledge and the many carers with non-English speaking and different cultural backgrounds. The informational and social needs of family carers are not yet well understood. This paper analyses the web-log of a husband-carer who provided support for his wife, who at the time of care was a lung cancer patient. It examines the decision-making journey of the carer and identifies the key issues faced in terms of informational and social practices surrounding care provision.

Dancing and listening : Odissi across cultures

I want to take the opportunity afforded by this conference on post-colonial writing to reflect upon the oral aspects of the transmission of knowledge in a research interview.I want to view the interview as a singular event of narration. I want to use the theme or 'content' of my interview with a young Bengali-Australian dancer to draw attention tothe interview 'form'. The interview occurred because of my interest in how this dancer had come to learn Odissi dance, how knowledge of Odissi had passed to her. In retrospect, I am trying to see myself as someone to whom, through the face-to-face interview, knowledge was 'passed' orally, not textually. I am trying to think about it in terms of some of the principles of orality discussed by Walter Ong (1982), and through the concept of 'enunciation' which foregrounds not the content of a statement but the 'position of the speaking subject in the statement.'

Dance is an oral culture. It is a set of practices transmitted from body to body. You cannot learn dancing from a book. The western researcher however learns a lot about dance of other cultures from books and articles. From my own reading I have been alerted to, and become conversant with, many of the complex negotiations of gendered, historical, national, class and aesthetic meanings at work in Classical Indian Dance practices.

I learned something of the limits of literacy, however, through the experience of interviewing Sunita (not her real name) about her learning and background in Odissi dance. She has had Odissi knowledge passed on to her in a quasi-traditional guru-sisya relationship. Her authority is in her dancing - she now embodies Odissi dance in her person - and her experience is in the oral modes of transmitting dancing knowledge. Through her telling me, through remembering out loud she was reenacting or rehearsing the 'orality' of her dance knowledge.

In my conversation with Sunita, then, wasn't it a question not of what she might say about Odissi, of what discourses she might deploy, but of what she as the subject of her own enunciations might say to me? It was also a question of how I might have listened to her and what I was able to hear.

Pain, passion and faith : revisiting the place of Charles Wesley in early Methodism

Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism is a significant study of the 18th-century poet and preacher Charles Wesley. Wesley was an influential figure in 18th-century English culture and society; he was co-founder of the Methodist revival movement and one of the most prolific hymn-writers in the English language. His hymns depict the Christian life as characterized by a range of intense emotions, from ecstatic joy to profound suffering.

Situational and dispositional indicators of performance : competing models in education

The attainment of high grades on the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is critical to the future study and employment prospects of many Australian adolescents. Thus it is important to understand the factors that contribute to performance in the VCE. The aims of this study were twofold: the main aim was to test competing models of academic performance, subsuming a range of situational and dispositional variables based on a) self-efficacy theory, b) target and purpose goals, c) cognitive skills and self-regulatory strategies, and d) positive psychology. These models were each tested in terms of English performance and mathematics performance as these units contribute proportionally the most to overall VCE scores. In order to study whether pressures peculiar to the VCE impact on performance, the competing models were tested in a sample of Victorian students prior to the VCE (year 10) and then during the VCE (year 11). A preliminary study was conducted in order to develop and test four scales required for use in the major study, using an independent sample of 302 year nine students. The results indicated that these new scales were psychometrically reliable and valid. Three-hundred and seven Australian students participated in the year 10 and 11 study. These students were successively asked to provide their final years 9, 10 and 11 English and mathematics grades at times one, three and five and to complete a series of questionnaires at times two and four. Results of the year 10 study indicated that models based on self-efficacy theory were the best predictors of both English and mathematics performance, with high past grades, high self-efficacy and low anxiety contributing most to performance. While the year 10 self-efficacy models, target goal models, positive psychology models, self-regulatory models and cognitive skill based models were each robust in the sample in year 11, a substantial increase in explained variance was observed from year 10 to year 11 in the purpose goal models. Results indicated that students’ mastery goals and their performance-approach goals became substantially more predictive in the VCE than they were prior to the VCE. This result can be taken to suggest that these students responded in very instrumental ways to the pressures, and importance, of their VCE. An integrated model based on a combination of the variables from the competing models was also tested in the VCE. Results showed that these models were comparable, both in English and mathematics, to the self-efficacy models, but explained less variance than the purpose goal models. Thus in terms of parsimony the integrated models were not preferred. The implications of these results in terms of teaching practices and school counseling practices are discussed. It is recommended that students be encouraged to maintain a positive outlook in relation to their schoolwork and that they be encouraged to set their VCE goals in terms of a combination of self-referenced (mastery) and other-referenced (performance-approach) goals.

Commonsense, manners, guts' : 'manliness' in the English school story 1887-1917

[No Abstract]

On strangers, ‘moral panics’ and the neo-liberalization of teacher education

This paper explores the convergence of neo-liberal managerialism with the neo-conservative technologies of creating ‘moral panics’ about teacher education, English language and literacy curriculum and traditional values that allegedly fail to address the issues of public safety and cultural integration in the post- September 11th world. It problematises the neo-conservative vision of managing ‘strangers’ and public risks through dominant cultural literacy. The paper counters the neo-conservative backlash with a framework that emphasizes dialogical ethics in teaching for difference and conceptualizes transcultural literacy as an alternative model of education in multicultural conditions. This model is presented both as a way of resisting the subliminal infiltration of neo-conservative thinking in teacher education today and as a way of imagining a ‘cosmopolitan’ professional.

e-learning through digital theatre : breaking down the tyranny of distance and limits of location

In this article, we report on a cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural digital exchange project between Australian Drama and Education students and Dutch English Language and Culture students, and examine the impact of the place-independent, technology-mediated communications and collaboration on their learning trajectories. The intensive, intercultural collaboration between the two groups of students resulted in a 50-minute group-devised, digital theatre play entitled Quarter Acre Dreaming. This play, performed through live interactive media by both Dutch and Australian students, traced the historical development of the Australian suburb, while integrating scenes of Dutch immigration into Australia. In the creative process, the students on either side of the globe interacted through Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), and used videoconferencing and Skype for live rehearsals and discussions to advance their learning of English, their performance repertoire and cross-cultural understanding.

Astrology pack SPOKEN WORD bright and wet

This is an astrology pack of spoken words speaking the full range of zodiac signs. It is designed for those carrying out astrological readings. This pack is a female voice (English accent) and it is bright and wet (effects).

The science and practice of lithium therapy

Introduction: Despite more that 60 years of clinical experience, the effective use of lithium for the treatment of mood disorder, in particular bipolarity, is in danger of becoming obsolete. In part, this is because of exaggerated fears surrounding lithium toxicity, acute and long-term tolerability and the encumbrance of life-long plasma monitoring. Recent research has once again positioned lithium centre stage and amplified the importance of understanding its science and how this translates to clinical practice.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide a sound knowledge base as regards the science and practice of lithium therapy.

Method: A comprehensive literature search using electronic databases was conducted along with a detailed review of articles known to the authors pertaining to the use of lithium. Studies were limited to English publications and those dealing with the management of psychiatric disorders in humans. The literature was synthesized and organized according to relevance to clinical practice and understanding.

Results: Lithium has simple pharmacokinetics that require regular dosing and monitoring. Its mechanisms of action are complex and its effects are multi-faceted, extending beyond mood stability to neuroprotective and anti-suicidal properties. Its use in bipolar disorder is under-appreciated, particularly as it has the best evidence for prophylaxis, qualifying it perhaps as the only true mood stabilizer currently available. In practice, its risks and tolerability are exaggerated and can be readily minimized with knowledge of its clinical profile and judicious application.

Conclusion: Lithium is a safe and effective agent that should, whenever indicated, be used first-line for the treatment of bipolar disorder. A better understanding of its science alongside strategic management of its plasma levels will ensure both wider utility and improved outcomes.

Delight and revolution: literary studies, aesthetics and ideology

 A commissioned article for the special edition on the future of English as a discipline.

Market subjectivity and neoliberal governmentality in higher education

Using an interpretive case study in a business school in India, this research examines student behaviour and offers an understanding of a marketisation process in higher education. The study deploys Foucault's conceptualisation of governmentality and uncovers processes through which market subjectivity is fostered among students as they strive to become responsible, active, and entrepreneurial subjects. The subject position is attributed to several governmental discourses of peer pressure, abnormality, uncritical pedagogy, loan repayment, and elitism that prevail in the business school. The study further highlights the roles of English language and preference for western corporations which are unique to postcolonial India. Market subjectivity results in the prevalence of instrumental rationality, failure to develop a critical academic perspective, subordination of social concerns, and disenchantment and exclusion among some students.

Supermarkets and unhealthy food marketing: an international comparison of the content of supermarket catalogues/circulars

BACKGROUND: Supermarket marketing activities have a major influence on consumer food purchases. This study aimed to assess and compare the contents of supermarket marketing circulars from a range of countries worldwide from an obesity prevention perspective. METHODS: The contents of supermarket circulars from major supermarket chains in 12 non-random countries were collected and analysed over an eight week period from July to September 2014 (n=89 circulars with 12,563 food products). Circulars were largely English language and from countries representing most continents. Food products in 25 sub-categories were categorised as discretionary or non-discretionary (core) food or drinks based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. The total number of products in each subcategory in the whole circular, and on front covers only, was calculated. RESULTS: Circulars from most countries advertised a high proportion of discretionary foods. The only exceptions were circulars from the Philippines (no discretionary foods) and India (11% discretionary food). Circulars from six countries advertised more discretionary foods than core foods. Front covers tended to include a much greater proportion of healthy products than the circulars overall. CONCLUSIONS: Supermarket circulars in most of the countries examined include a high percentage of discretionary foods, and therefore promote unhealthy eating behaviours that contribute to the global obesity epidemic. A clear opportunity exists for supermarket circulars to promote rather than undermine healthy eating behaviours of populations. Governments need to ensure that supermarket marketing is included as part of broader efforts to restrict unhealthy food marketing.

Games as text, games as action: video games in the english classroom

Contemporary views of literacy, and of English and Language Arts curriculum recognise the importance of digital culture and communication forms in many young people's lives and the multiple forms of literacy students engage with as they work, interact and play. Amongst these, videogames, whether played on PCs, laptops, wiis, or on mobile devices of various kinds stand out as highly popular, engaging and sophisticated emergent cultural forms. Drawing on research in Australian secondary schools over a number of years, this paper describes approaches to working with games in the English classroom, and presents a model for critical games literacy which entails thinking of games as both text and action. It describes the ways in which the model might be used for planning and teaching with and about games, stressing the active nature of games and play, and calling on understandings of literacy as design.

Lost (and found) in translation: learning from German language educators

This essay introduces two presentations (or Vorträge) by Ulf Abraham and Thomas Zabka that were originally published in the German journal, Didaktik Deutsch. I reflect on the complexities of translation and intercultural communication, and ask how we might meaningfully compare the policy environment of one country with that of another. In this era of globalisation and standards-based reforms it is easy to suppose that those reforms are the same everywhere. The essays by Abraham and Zabka, however, provide insights into a policy environment where debates about the importance of language and literature are being played out differently vis-à-vis standards-based reforms than is the case in the Anglophone world. I ask what we can learn from these essays, and how the insights they provide might be applied in an Anglophone context.