The politics of recognition and social justice : transforming subjectivities and new forms of resistance

Via a wide range of case studies, this book examines new forms of resistance to social injustices in contemporary Western societies. Resistance requires agency, and agency is grounded in notions of the subject and subjectivity. How do people make sense of their subjectivity as they are constructed and reconstructed within relations of power? What kinds of subjectivities are needed to struggle against forms of dominance and claim recognition? The participants in the case studies are challenging forms of dominance and subordination grounded in class, race, culture, nationality, sexuality, religion, age, disability and other forms of social division. It is a premise of this book that new and/or reconstructed forms of subjectivity are required to challenge social relations of subordination and domination. Thus, the transformation of subjectivity as well as the restructuring of oppressive power relations is necessary to achieve social justice. By examining the construction of subjectivity of particular groups through an intersectional lens, the book aims to contribute to theoretical accounts of how subjects are constituted and how they can develop a critical distance from their positioning.

Year 3/4 children's forms of justification

Engaging children in justifying, forming conjectures and generalising is critical to develop their mathematical reasoning. Previous studies have revealed limited opportunities for primary school children to justify their thinking, form conjectures and generalise in mathematics lessons. Forms of justification of Year3/4 children from three schools in Victoria, Australia will be examined. Evidence from children's written explanations and their verbal explanations captured in video recordings revealed that some children employed sophisticated mathamatical ideas in their justifications. The value of making children's reasoning explicit through written explanations and verbal communications is highlighted.

Comparison of not for resuscitation (NFR) forms across five Victorian health services

Background: 

Task-specific effects of modular body armor.

Eleven recreationally active males performed 11 circuits of military work, wearing torso armor on one occasion, and full armor on another. Performance was measured by the time taken to complete individual tasks, and the overall time to completion (TTC) for each circuit. Heart rate, intestinal temperature, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and thermal sensation were recorded after each circuit. Participants' circuit TTC was no different between conditions; however, specific tasks were differentially impeded by the two armor configurations. Vaulting and crawling were significantly slower (0.28 ± 0.06 and 0.55 ± 0.26 seconds) in full armor; however, box lifting and shooting were significantly slower (0.36 ± 0.18 and 0.86 ± 0.23 seconds) when wearing torso armor. Heart rate and core temperature were significantly higher during the full armor trial (5 ± 1 beats · min(-1) and 0.22 ± 0.03 °C). Similarly, RPE and thermal sensation were significantly higher (1 ± 0 and 0.5 ± 0.0) during the full armor condition. Military tasks were differentially impaired by the armor configurations used, which suggests a need to explore role-specific armor for military personnel. Physiological and perceptual responses were elevated in full armor, which could be exacerbated during longer periods of work or in hot conditions.

Designing architectural morphing skins with elastic modular systems

This paper discusses the issues of designing architectural skins that can be physically morphed to adapt to changing needs. To achieve this architectural vision, designers have focused on developing mechanical joints, components, and systems for actuation and kinetic transformation. However, the unexplored approach of using lightweight elastic form-changing materials provides an opportunity for designing responsive architectural skins and skeletons with fewer mechanical operations. This research aims to develop elastic modular systems that can be applied as a second skin or brise-soleil to existing buildings.The use of the second skin has the potential to allow existing buildings to perform better in various climatic conditions and to provide a visually compelling skin. This approach is evaluated through three design experiments with prototypes, namely Tent, Curtain and Blind, to serve two fundamental purposes: Comfort and Communication. These experimental prototypes explore the use of digital and physical computation embedded in form-changing materials to design architectural morphing skins that manipulate sunlight and act as responsive shading devices.

Prefabricated modular housing: research vs practice

 Abstract: Prefabricated and modular solutions have formed a small part of the overall housing industry. This is particularly evident in Australia, where the market is dominated by hand-built housing using traditional construction techniques built by large-scale builders. This paper evaluates the ideal and the reality of prefabricated modular housing procurement in China for the Australian market. While there have been prefabricated components for the housing industry, primarily, most solutions are of volumetric nature. The findings question our understanding and methodology to prefabrication for Australia. The experiences of introducing building services into modules (pods) from overseas fabrication also have shortcomings. The case study presented indicates several of these problems and suggests a hybrid solution to volumetric delivery.

Finding the edge: online persona creation in fringe art forms

This study investigates the experience of persona creation by eight artists working in fringe art forms. The research demonstrates that for these artists, the online persona can operate in three registers of performance—professional, personal, and intimate—and in creating their personas, participants draw on socio-cultural discourses of artistness.

Conceptualizing The Schmittian ‘Exception’ in the European Union: from the ‘Opt-Out’ Procedure(S) to indirect forms of secessionism

Too often, legal and sociopolitical scholars concerned with European policies anddecision-making procedures focus their efforts only on the official essence ofconventional opt-out forms of nonparticipation in the European integration process,such as those established in the Treaty of Lisbon. Yet, far from being just an internalmatter, the independentist instances which informed the Scottish referendum had asignificant impact on delicate issues of EU law, biopolitics, political anthropology,political theology, and foreign policy which deserve to be properly addressed. Thenecessity of conducting such an analysis is self-evident, and mainly related to thepossibility that the Scottish experience may be soon replicated, with different results,in the Italian regions of Venetia, Sardinia, and Lombardy, and in the Spanishcommunity of Catalonia. Delving into this dimension through Schmitt’s politicaldecisionism and adopting a comparative and interdisciplinary approach thattranscends the limits of pure positivistic and analytical lines of inquiry, this paperpresents a country’s choice to leave the EU or stop cooperating with it through thedirect opt-out mechanisms officially regulated in its Treaties, or through indirectforms of secessionism, in terms of an ‘exceptional’ act of sovereign will.

Association of different forms of bullying victimisation with adolescents' psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing

OBJECTIVE: The frequency and emotional response to bullying victimisation are known to be associated with adolescent mental ill health. A potentially important under-investigated factor is the form of bullying. Four common forms of bullying behaviours are name-calling, physical threats or harm, rumour spreading and social exclusion. To more comprehensively understand bullying victimisation in adolescence, we examined the association of all three factors (frequency, emotional response, form) to psychological distress and emotional wellbeing. METHOD: A stratified, random sample of adolescents (n = 10, 273; mean age = 14.33 years, standard deviation = 1.68 years) completed validated measures of bullying victimisation (Gatehouse Bullying Questionnaire), psychological distress (K10) and emotional wellbeing (Mental Health Inventory) in classroom time. Associations between the form of bullying victimisation and mental health outcomes were examined. RESULTS: Adolescents reported a high prevalence of all four forms of bullying: teased or called names (30.6%), rumour spreading (17.9%), social exclusion (14.3%) and physical threats or harm (10.7%). Victimisation was independently associated with significantly higher levels of psychological distress and reduced levels of emotional wellbeing for all forms of bullying. In particular, social exclusion had a strong association with mental ill health. Adolescents who experienced frequent bullying that was upsetting reported higher psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing. CONCLUSION: Different forms of bullying victimisation were independently associated with psychological distress and reduced emotional wellbeing. In particular, frequent and upsetting social exclusion requires a targeted and measured response by school communities and health practitioners.

Modular synthesis of linear Bis- and Tris-monodentate fused [6]Polynorbornane-Based Ligands and their assembly into coordination cages

A modular approach has been developed for the synthesis of rigid linear di- and tritopic ligands based on a fused [6]polynorbornane scaffold. The design provides up to three sites for installing functionality, including both "ends" and a "central" position with the advantage that each region can be independently addressed during synthesis. To illustrate the utility of the approach, both pyridyl and picolyl units were incorporated to provide six new ligands, with centers and ends either matched or mismatched. Indeed, both [M2 L4 ] cages with endohedral functionality and [M3 L4 ] complexes were cleanly produced from these ligands with assembled structures confirmed by using (1) H NMR spectroscopy, HRMS, and molecular modelling.