Communication outside the humanities in media 'effect' research

This paper draws on the case study of a recent review of research literature on the influences (harms and benefits) on children and families of electronic media content and usage, undertaken on behalf of a Federal regulatory body (Australian Communications and Media Authority) by a multidisciplinary research team. Recent critiques of psychological studies of children and media have challenged the positivist social sciences to look outside of their own disciplinary warrants and to fully answer cultural studies critiques of ‘media effects’ research. Making connections outside the humanities in this case study involved making the rationales of communications and cultural studies methodologies available to those policy makers who normally may not consider such findings to be evidence-based or policy relevant. But it also involved providing a historical and institutional contextualization of positivist social and medical science findings, a contextualization not enabled by the underlying warrants and discourses of these disciplines. This paper focuses on those sections of the case study project concerned with psychological research on the effects of violent media and epidemiological and public health research on childhood obesity.

Straight to the source : an exploratory study of Australia's regional newspaper journalists' checks on validity and accuracy of sources

This paper reports on an exploratory study that examined whether journalists
undertake the vital role of checking the validity and accuracy of information
supplied to them in media releases. It also monitored how much information
journalists used from press releases in their published work. The study followed Gandy's information subsidy theory by surveying 10 local government media relations officers who regularly issued media releases via
electronic mail or facsimile to a sample of 14 rural/regional newspapers. The data analysed found that rural/regional journalists were not adequately verifying information supplied in media releases and using a significant amount of this information verbatim.

Political Islam and human security

Summary: "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 haves received an unprecedented high level of exposure and attention. The acts of political violence by extremist groups and the omnipresent war on terror have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order. Just as terrorism and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims and non-Muslims alike is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. This general assessment holds true for Muslims living in the Muslim world and beyond. The pervasive sense of being under attack physically and culturally by the United States and its allies has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the ʻWestʼ. Public articulation of such misgivings has in turn, lent credence to Western observers who posit an inherent antipathy between the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to the vicious cycle of insecurity. The present volume is anchored in the current debates on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and certain West countries. It brings together leading international scholars in this interdisciplinary field to deal with such inter-related questions as the nature of Islamism, the impact of the ʻwar on terrorʼ on the spread of militancy, the growing sense of being under siege by Muslim Diasporas and the many unintended ramifications of a security-minded world order. This volume deliberately focuses on these issues both at a broad theoretical level but more importantly in the form of a number of prominent case studies including Indonesia, Algeria and Turkey."--Publisher description.

Outlaw governance : boxing and western law

Outlaw Governance examines two-hundred years of Western legal development associated with the highly contentious sport of boxing. Drawing on an extensive sample of reported legal cases from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, this volume demonstrates how the sport continues to evolve and generate enormous popularity despite considerable legal, medical and political resistance. This investigation shows how laws relating to crime, negligence, contract, public licensing and media regulation have been applied to the sport and its practitioners in each jurisdiction, often with a consistently restrictive and paternalistic focus. By using popular sporting narratives to give life to each legal dispute, this text provides a critical insight into the operation and limits of Western legal method which is accessible to any reader.

A study of performing techniques and interpretations of G.F. Handel's operatic and oratorio arias for contralto voice

A comprehension of the interpretations and performing techniques of Handel's works is sought in order to perform a program of his vocal works. Genres, 17th and 18th century performance practice, modern interpretation of the repertoire and the author's personal realisations are examined.

Re-presenting women and leadership : a methodological journey

Research on women's leadership has tended to focus upon detailed micro studies of individual women's identity formation or, alternatively, to conduct macro studies of its broader discursive constructions within society. Both approaches, although providing helpful understandings of the issues surrounding constructions of women's leadership, are inadequate. They fail to deal with the ongoing dilemma raised in both Cultural Studies and studies of discourse and identity, in relation to the negotiation of subjectivity and representation, that is, how broader societal discourses and media representations of women's leadership both inform, and are informed by, the lived experiences of individual women. In this article, a range of methodological approaches are outlined that were drawn upon in a study of a small group of senior women academics from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse origins. The authors examine how the women negotiated the frequent mismatch that arose between, on the one hand, societal discourses and media representations which often reproduced narrow and highly stereotypical accounts of women's leadership, and on the other hand, the individual women's subjective experiences of leadership which challenged such representations. It is contended that it is necessary to draw on a number of methodological perspectives in ways which trouble and unsettle homogenized versions of women's leadership in order to fully explicate more nuanced and complex ways of understanding how women's leadership identity is formed.

Mediatizing educational policy : the journalistic field, science policy, and cross-field effects

This paper is concerned to demonstrate the usefulness of the theory of Bourdieu, including the concepts of field, logics of practice and habitus, to understanding relationships between media and policy, what Fairclough has called the 'mediatization' of policy. Specifically, the paper draws upon Bourdieu's accessible account of the journalistic field as outlined in On television and journalism. The usefulness of this work is illustrated through a case study of a recent Australian science policy, The chance to change. As this policy went through various iterations and media representations, its naming and structure became more aphoristic. This is the mediatization of contemporary policy, which often results in policy as sound bite. The case study also shows the cross-field effects of this policy in education, illustrating how today educational policy can be spawned from developments in other public policy fields.

Journalism ethics : arguments and cases

Journalism Ethics : Arguments and Cases provides a framework for students of journalism and media studies to examine the role that ethical dilemmas play in determining editorial content. Ethical practice is discussed in relation to newsroom operations, the economics of the news industry, and society's expectations of the news media

On the extraction of thematic and dramatic functions of content in educational videos

In this paper, we propose novel computational models for the extraction of high level expressive constructs related to, namely thematic and dramatic functions of the content shown in educational and training videos. Drawing on the existing knowledge of film theory, and media production rules and conventions used by the filmmakers. we hypothesize key aesthetic elements contributing to convey these functions of the content. Computational models to extract them are then formulated and their performance evaluated on a set of ten educational and training videos is presented.

Disorder and the body of drugs : addiction, consumption, control, and city space

Different cultures and the specific culture manifested within them are intrinsically linked to addiction in a complex fashion which has a long history. For important thinkers, such as Nietzsche, addiction actually embodies human culture, rendering addiction and culture inseparable. This is clearly seen within the Western world’s addiction to the consumption of material goods and the damage that results.

Utopia has often become dystopia. Not only is an understanding of addiction key to understanding culture but to an understanding of the very act thinking itself and the way of being in the world. Addiction raises key philosophical questions, such as: do people really have a choice in their behavior, and what governs them; is it free will or predetermination? Is it biology or environment is it the external world or the internal that drives addiction, or a complex combination of both?

In a contemporary context the media frenzy around celebrity addiction continually fuels public debate in this area, and this book deepens the understanding of addiction within this contentious context. This book addresses a key concern over how addiction became the norm, and it seeks to understand its dominance comprehensively. How did it come to pass that not being an addict was a transgressive act and way of being?

While there has been a great deal of debate about addiction utilizing the discourse of individual and often competing disciplines such as biology and psychology, little attention has been paid to the cultural aspects of addiction. The innovative approach taken by this book is to offer insights into this complex area through a contemporary methodology that covers diverse interrelated areas. Drawing on different disciplines, offering deeper insights, from the analysis of music lyrics to empirical social science and anthropological work in AA groups in Mexico and the portrayal of the “addiction’ to therapy in film and television, amongst other areas, this book addresses the need for a more comprehensive approach.

Academic analysis is also given to the discourse on celebrity culture and addiction. A contemporary fusion of the humanities and the social sciences is the best way forward to tackle this subject and move the debate on. The focus of this study is an innovative interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to addiction, from the social sciences to the humanities, including cultural studies, film and media studies, and literary studies. Areas that have been overlooked, such as lost women’s writings, are examined, in addition to comics, popular film and television, and the work of AA groups.

This edited collection is the first study to provide such a comprehensive analysis of the cultures of addiction. Traversing cultures across the globe, including Asia, Central America, as well as Europe and America, this book opens up the debate in addiction studies and cultural studies. The important insights the book delivers helps to answer questions such as: In what way can Deleuze further the understanding of addiction through the analysis of rock lyrics? How does anthropology improve the understanding of AA groups? How can cultural studies deepen knowledge on the “addiction” to therapy? These are just some of the vast array of areas this book covers. Other areas include the condemnation of “addiction” to comic reading through an historical examination, violence in popular culture, and lost women’s writing on addiction. No other book has such depth and contemporary breadth.

Cultures of Addiction is an important book for those taking cultural studies courses across a range of interrelated disciplines, including English and literary studies, history, American studies, and film and media studies. This will be invaluable to library collections in these fields and beyond in the social sciences, and specifically in addiction studies and psychology.

(Jason Lee, Editor)

Children's media use : perspectives from social research

The paper explains the impacts of digital media on previously observed developmental patterns of time choices for the current generation of young children, age 5-11. It shows that work and family routines still influence patterns of media use, rather than just broadcast media schedules and access to digital and mobile devices. Contrary to previous research on digital natives that predicted that interactive media would eventually displace traditional linear media, these findings from a nationally-representative study show that time-use of 'lean back media' and 'lean forward media' run in parallel for Australian children 5-11.

Surgical treatment of lateral clavicle fractures associated with complete coracoclavicular ligament disruption: clinico-radiological outcomes of acromioclavicular joint sparing and spanning implants

Distal clavicle fracture associated with complete coracoclavicular ligament disruption represents an unstable injury, and osteosynthesis is recommended. This study was performed (1) to retrospectively analyse the clinico-radiological outcomes of two internal fixation techniques, and (2) to identify and analyse radiographic fracture patterns of fracture that are associated with this injury. Conclusions: Internal fixation of this fracture pattern is associated with a high union rate and favorable clinical outcomes with both techniques. A combination of distal radius plate and ligament reconstruction device resulted in stable fixation and significantly lower reoperation rates, and should be used when fracture geometry permits (Types 1 and 2).

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 haves received an unprecedented high level of exposure and attention. The acts of political violence by extremist groups and the omnipresent war on terror have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order. Just as terrorism and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims and non-Muslims alike is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. This general assessment holds true for Muslims living in the Muslim world and beyond. The pervasive sense of being under attack physically and culturally by the United States and its allies has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the ‘West’. Public articulation of such misgivings has in turn, lent credence to Western observers who posit an inherent antipathy between the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to the vicious cycle of insecurity.

Diasporas in Australia: current and potential links with the homeland

This paper is the outcome a three year Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project Diasporas in Australia: Current and Potential Links with the Homeland conducted from 2009-2012. The research involved a comparatives study of the Italian, Macedonian, Tongan, and Vietnamese diaspora in Australia. The broad purpose of the project was to consider how the different “type” of diaspora affected the nature and extent of their ties to the Homeland. This was explored from an interdisciplinary perspective into five broad areas: citizenship, identity and langue; personal ties through visits, communication and media use; political and communal involvement and philanthropy; family/kinship, caregiving and remittances; and business and professional ties. These are the levels of analysis within this article which consider the evaluation of diaspora typologies.