Victorian local government reforms 1992-1999, revisited: implication for trade unions

Between 1992 and 1999 the Victorian State Government, Led by Jeff Kennett, set about implementing the most extensive public sector reform program ever witnessed in Australia, part of which involved significant changes in the organisation and operation of Local government. Although Local government had traditionally been 'the blind spot' in governmental arrangements, within three years of assuming office Local government had undergone major structural and operational change. This paper revisits this period by examining four elements of the reform agenda including the factors driving the reform, the Kennett government's approach to Local government reform, the expected outcomes sought by this government, and the policies implemented in Local government to achieve the expected outcomes. The paper identifies a number of implications for trade unions arising from this reform agenda and concludes that further investigation is warranted in this area.

Thats classified: class politics and adolescence in twin peaks

Twin Peaks arguably paved the way for the television programmes currently popular with adolescent audiences, like The OC and Veronica Mars and, in it, many of the issues and representational strategies in those later programmes have their earlier manifestation. Specifically, the Twin Peaks plotline evinces a set of cultural anxieties about class-difference. Twin Peaks creates a cultural microcosm of American society that is paradoxically writ large by the limited parameters of an isolated community. Within a constricted space, characters are depicted as both individuals and as archetypes of a class location.

Power and politics and their interrelationship with management accounting change

The issue of organizational change has assumed central importance in business- and management-related research during the last two decades. The management literature also well documents the significance of power and politics in organizational change, and its implication at various hierarchical levels of an organization. Surprisingly, the management accounting literature boasts little work on power and politics, and its interrelationship with management accounting change process. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of power and politics in organizational change, with direct implications for knowledge of management accounting change.

Autonomy and disintegration in Indonesia

Fragmentation in Indonesia is by far the most critical issue now facing the state. This book analyses social unrest, autonomy and separatism in the wake of the Indonesian economic crisis, placing them in the context of state evolution, and looking at the competing aims of economic and political globalisation with local agendas.

The politics of Indonesia

The Politics of Indonesia is the only book to provide a complete analysis of Indonesian politics, from the declaration of independence until the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in late 2004. The book examines the underlying themes and tensions that affect Indonesian politics, from the dichotomy between the small wealthy elite and the poverty in which most of the population live to the system of corruption and patronage within which the political system and armed forces operate. Analyzing the role and impact of the military, separatism, the media, law, and the economy on Indonesia, this book provides a topical and thought-provoking guide to one of the regions most populous countries, and the largest predominantly Muslim country in the world.

Political Islam and human security

In the wake of the September 11 and subsequent terrorist attacks, the academic and media commentaries on 'Islam the religion' and 'Islam the basis for political ideology' has received an unprecedented high level of attention. This book deals with such questions as the nature of Islamism, the impact of the 'war on terror' on militancy, and more.

Australia and the Middle East : a front-line relationship

Australia’s encounters with the Middle East have historically been defined initially through its membership of the British Empire, later as a key Commonwealth player and more recently through Australia's close strategic relationship with the US. This book traces the nature of the Australia-Middle East relationship, from an insular ‘White Australia’ ideology through to the global impact of September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the new and menacing terror threat that has arrived on its own doorstep. A comprehensive analysis of this complex relationship provides an essential basis for understanding past encounters, evaluating present policies and developing a framework for future interactions. The book seeks to draw together the various dimensions and themes of this relationship – from trade and migration, to Australia’s increasing strategic interest and current military involvement in the region.

In dialogue with A.D. Hope: dialogue three: politics and poetics of Australian literature

[Hope was largely responsible for the inclusion of Australian Literature as a separate subject of study in universities. Yet his role in debates on modernism in the Australian context was controversial and he remains one of the main figures who fought for a particular kind of poetry that he saw some modernist methods, experiments, and theories destroying. Dialogue Three aims to hear his side of the story as Hope has become, in many circles, the embodiment of what is euphemistically called ‘the dead white male,’ a title attributed to him long before his actual death in July 2000. Is it the case that Hope’s opposition to ‘free verse’ or his view that men and women know separate metaphysical worldviews or his poetic focus upon European philosophical and literary traditions are sexist, obsolete, or reactionary?
See Dialogue One for details of the following exchange.]

Abstract art or the politics and pedagogies of getting read

The writing of academic abstracts is more than a tiresome necessity of scholarly life. It is a practice which goes beyond genre and technique to questions of identity and the promotional economies of academic work. In this paper we deconstruct a series of abstracts from a variety of refereed journals and conferences and develop a set of questions that allow us to 'read' the representation of data, argument, methodology and significance. We argue that the rules of abstract engagement are fluid and increasingly important with the advent of online journals and global citation indices. We suggest that abstract art is now an obligatory aspect of postgraduate supervision.

Politics and technology : friends or enemies of the story?

Taking its cue from the conference at which it was presented, this article considers both old stories and new ways, and addresses the question of the impact not only of new technology but also of politics upon 'the story'. Fundamental is the question of whether politics and technology might be considered friends or enemies of the story. Drawing on her long term experiences as an interviewer, the author interrogates particular oral history projects undertaken into children's play lore and play ways, to show how children's games and play time activities have been politicised. Locating her analysis in an international context of US legislation and British and Australian research, the author examines how play itself has become the plaything of both politicians and fear. She then examines the impact of high fidelity recording equipment and the universal accessibility of material located on the internet to address the question of technology as friend of the story, ultimately concluding that the story and the question will both go on.