Governing individualized risk biographies : new class intellectuals and the problem of youth at-risk

An apparent crisis of youth at-risk is a key marker in contemporary debates about young people among a range of intellectuals, social commentators and experts in various domains and centres of expertise. Drawing on aspects of the reflexive modernization, governmentality and feminist literatures, this paper explores how risk discourses emerge as a means for rendering reality knowable—a technique that facilitates the management of individual biographies in institutionally structured risk environments. In this context there is intellectual work to be done in the social sciences that takes as its object the possibilities and limits of institutionalized intellectual abstraction for problematizing youth via rationalities of risk—and the limits of these rationalities for providing resources for governing our thoughts, actions and dispositions—our freedom.

Analysing the relationship between new housing supply and residential construction costs with the regional heterogeneities

New housing supply in Australia has been experiencing a low rate of increase in conjunction with a dramatic increase in residential construction costs since the 1990s. This study aims to estimate the relationship between new housing supply and residential construction costs with the regional heterogeneities. Based on a panel error correction model, it can be identified that there is a causal link as well as a significant correlation between new housing supply and construction costs in the Australian sub-national housing construction markets. The model developed in this research assists policy makers to better understand the nature of the supply side of the housing sector and then enact appropriate policies to improve the new housing supply in Australia.

New online ethnicities and the politics of representation

The paper interrogates the literature on online cultural and religious identities through a critical engagement of Stuart Hall's work on new ethnicity and regimes of representation. It suggests that this literature conflates Hall's notion of ‘new ethnicity’ with one that argues that online cultural and religious identities are ‘new’ because of transnational and global processes, the pervasiveness of computer-mediated communication and the global mobility of immigrants. Thus, current research on online ethnic and religious identities underestimates the complexity of Hall's concept and to highlight this complexity we ponder the extent to which new online ethnicities – as expressed in the current literature – reflect, construct or renegotiate so-called offline ethnicities. The paper concludes that online ethnic subjectivities, while providing alternative representations to counteract the dominant racist discourse within host societies, still reflect mimic essentialist voices.

Creating a dialogue across time in Athens : the new Acropolis museum and the Parthenon

A visit to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, in late June 2010 set in train a number of questions and inspired a research project to begin to unravel something of the complex relationship between ancient and modern architecture on the Athenian Acropolis. Research was guided by the question: how does the contemporary museum, designed by Swiss born architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with local Greek architect Michalis Photiadis relate to the ancient Acropolis and the fifth century BC Parthenon, whose sculptures it was to house? A critical literature review was augmented by design analysis and field experience. This paper documents the resulting critical thematic investigations of the Parthenon, the Acropolis and the New Museum through siting, materiality and light, alignment, visual connections, through exploitation of the unique Attic light, orchestrated movement and considered juxtapositions. Research has revealed that Tschumi’s deliberate strategy of creating a dialogue between his building and the ancient monuments holds the key to his design intent, to creatively exploring contemporary architecture at the edge of such a physically and culturally dominant ancient plateau.

New housing supply and residential construction costs in Australia : a panel ECM approach

The supply of new housing in Australia has been experiencing a low increase rate since the 1990s in conjunction with an increasingly strong housing demand. On the contrary, residential construction costs across Australia?s states maintained dramatic increases simultaneously. Economic theory suggests that new housing supply is correlated to the costs of residential constructions. However, few empirical studies have focused on examining this relationship for Australian housing markets. To comprehensively investigate the relationship between the supply of new housing and residential construction costs a function for new housing supply considering the effects of regional heterogeneities is introduced in this study. By estimating a panel error correction model (ECM) applicable for quantifying the correlation with regional heterogeneities, this research identifies that a causal link and a strong correlation exist in between new housing supply and residential construction costs in Australia.

New cinema history and the computational turn

This paper outlines how the digitisation of both the film industry and contemporary research practices bear on the work of the new cinema historian. How might the opportunities presented by an unprecedented proliferation of data for example, also challenge the unspoken assumptions and ordinary practices of conventional film studies research? And how might the 'computational turn' present opportunities (and challenges) for a revisionist cinema history at the intersection of qualitative historiographies (focussed on the social experience of the cinema) and quantitative research approaches such as data mining, empirical analysis and digital visualisations?

The aftermath of provocation : homicide law reform in Victoria, New South Wales and England.

Over the past decade, homicide law reform surrounding the partial defences to murder has animated debate among criminological scholars and legal stakeholders in Australia and the United Kingdom. In response to these debates, criminal jurisdictions have conducted reviews of the partial defences to murder and implemented reforms targeted at reducing gender bias in the law which has played out through the operation of the partial defence of provocation. This research examines the different approaches taken to addressing the problem posed by provocation in Victoria, New South Wales and England. In doing so, it explores questions around the need for reform to the law of homicide, the effects of these reforms in practice, and the influential role of sentencing in questions surrounding homicide law reform. Throughout the analysis key frameworks of criminological thought in relation to feminist engagements with the law, the conceptualisation of denial and the influence of law and order politics upon the development of criminal justice policy are applied. By drawing on 81 in-depth interviews conducted with legal stakeholders across the three jurisdictions under study, and an analysis of relevant case law, this research concludes that reforms implemented to counter gender bias in the operation of homicide law have produced mixed results in practice, particularly in connection to the law’s response to three key categories of person in the courtroom: the jealous man, the female victim of homicide, and the battered woman.

The New Zealand gaming and betting survey : Chinese and Indian people's experience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse attitudes, understanding of gambling and gambling related harm among Asians in New Zealand using secondary data from the New Zealand 2006/07 Gaming and Betting Attitudes Survey (GBAS).

Design/methodology/approach – This survey interviewed 1,973 nationwide randomly selected youths and adults (=18 years) using structured questionnaire. Chinese (N=113) and Indian (N=122) data were analysed separately to compare between them and with NZ Europeans (N=792). Descriptive analysis was carried out and was subsequently tested for significant correlations by weighted (p<0.01) and un-weighted (p<0.05) variables.

Findings – A higher proportion of Chinese males (66.8 percent) represented in the survey compared to Indian (43.0 percent) and NZ European (48.9 percent) where Chinese consisted of more youthful age structure. Chinese respondents were more likely to be in the lowest income bracket (NZ$10,000) compared to others. Among the ten gambling activities “casino table gambling” and “casino electronic machines” (slot-style machine) were most popular among the Chinese where Indians preferred “gambling/casino evening”. A significant proportion of Chinese were unwilling to refer family or friends to gambling help services despite believing that gambling does more harm than good. Pre-committed gambling sum was the most common harm minimising strategy suggested by participants. They believed education and consultation could deter youths from harmful gambling.

Research limitations/implications – This survey highlighted gambling behaviours and thoughts of the ethnic minority population in New Zealand. Study outcomes would be valuable in formulating ethnic specific preventative programme and may have policy implication.

Originality/value – There has been limited research on gambling behaviour of ethnic minorities in New Zealand. This paper fills some of the gaps.

Is park visitation associated with leisure-time and transportation physical activity?

Objective
The aim of this study was to examine whether frequency of park visitation was associated with time spent in various domains of physical activity among adults living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of Victoria, Australia.

Methods
In 2009, participants (n = 319) self-reported park visitation and physical activity including: walking and cycling for transport, leisure-time walking, leisure-time moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, and total physical activity.

Results
The mean number of park visits per week was 3.3 (SD = 3.8). Park visitation was associated with greater odds of engaging in high (as compared to low) amounts of transportation physical activity, leisure-time walking, leisure-time moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and total physical activity. Each additional park visit per week was associated with 23% greater odds of being in the high category for transportation physical activity, 26% greater odds of engaging in high amounts of leisure-time walking, 11% greater odds of engaging in MVPA, and 40% greater odds of high total physical activity.

Conclusions
Acknowledging the cross-sectional study design, the findings suggest that park visitation may be an important predictor and/or destination for transportation and leisure-time walking and physical activity. Findings highlight the potentially important role of parks for physical activity.

Made in New Zealand: place and enchantment in Margaret Mahy's picture books

Margaret Mahy published over a hundred picture books from A Lion in the Meadow in 1969 to a cluster of posthumous texts. This article considers the extent to which Mahy’s picture books can be said to have been “made in New Zealand,” given that most have been illustrated by artists from other countries, particularly Britain. Mahy’s picture book narratives are, I argue, informed by values, assumptions and orientations toward the natural world which subtly but unmistakably locate protagonists in New Zealand, even when the books’ illustrations reflect British, American or Canadian geographic and cultural settings. In this sense Mahy’s picture books are transnational products, traversing national and cultural boundaries.