Pedagogy of the flesh : artaud and pedagogical fault lines

In the form of an installation, this panel will question the problems of combining the fleshiness of our bodies and the technologies of (re-)presentation in the production of knowledge that is contemporary teaching in a material environment. Do the aesthetics and methods of the performing arts open up new, dynamic approaches towards teaching practices? Conversely, how do traditional approaches to classroom management and learning undermine the performativity of our disciplinary concerns? We wish to challenge in the strongest possible terms the appropriateness of the traditional format for academic conferences with their monologic presentation of research outcomes. We crave new and unimagined formats for conferences that rely upon the very theatrical devices that we study, master, enact, and live through. This installation will express each participant's response to these provocations and will provide an interactive environment with many dialogic elements. Participants will use video images, live performers, and other theatrical devices to create an installation that deconstructs the experience of teaching. Signalling though the flames, should our teaching be any less?

The installation will be available for perusal as five simultaneous events occur in over-lapping space. This will last approximately 45 minutes and will be followed by a round-table discussion for the remainder of our time.

Generic medicines in Australia : business dynamics and recent policy reform

This article describes the role of generics in the Australian prescription drug market and patterns of business activity in this dynamic market segment. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is the central mechanism for the supply of prescription medicines. PBS prices are arrived at through cost-effectiveness analyses comparing new products against already available products and therapies. In this system, prices do not operate effectively as incentives for consumers or prescribers to choose generics, and their market share was historically marginal. In recent years, generics suppliers achieved a growing market share through discounts (trading terms) to pharmacists. It is estimated that around 30% of PBS scripts, representing around 15% of PBS sales by value, are now filled with generics. Complex changes to the PBS were introduced in 2007, to be phased in over the period to 2012, aimed at increasing the scope for cost benefits to the government, and to lesser extent consumers, from the expanding availability of generic medicines.

Learning 'through' or learning 'about'? The ridiculous and extravagant medium of opera : Gardner's multiple intelligences in pre-service teacher education

In recent years, pre-service teacher education has attempted to incorporate into programs an understanding of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences as it applies to schools. In this paper the tension between ‘learning about’ multiple intelligences and ‘learning through’ multiple intelligences supports Gardner’s (1993) distinction between ‘understanding’ and ‘coverage’. This paper examines the use of the performing arts in the professional studies component of our teacher education program. During 2002 at The University of Melbourne, a group of education students were offered the opportunity to develop an opera in order to learn about assessment and curriculum. Thirty-seven of the students volunteered to be involved and over a period of six months met this challenge. Our action research study asked two critical questions. To what extent is the understanding of multiple intelligences by pre-service teachers improved by ‘learning through’? Can pre-service teachers address fundamental issues in curriculum and assessment through the development of a performance? This experience would be of value to other teacher educators.

Learning 'through' or learning 'about'? The ridiculous and extravagant medium of opera: Gardner's multiple intelligences in pre-service teacher education

In recent years, pre-service teacher education has attempted to incorporate into programs an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences as it applies to schools. In this paper the tension between 'learning about' multiple intelligences and 'learning through' multiple intelligences supports Gardner's (1993) distinction between 'understanding' and 'coverage'. This paper examines the use of the performing arts in the professional studies component of our teacher education program. During 2002 at The University of Melbourne, a group of primary and secondary students were offered the opportunity to develop an opera in order to learn about assessment and curriculum. Thirty-seven of the students volunteered to be involved and over a period of six months met this challenge. Our action research study asked two critical questions. To what extent is the understanding of multiple intelligences by pre-service teachers improved by 'learning through'? Can pre-service teachers address fundamental issues in curriculum and assessment through the development of a performance? This experience would be of value to other teacher educators.

Empowering audiences to measure quality

This paper addresses four indicators of the audience experience in the performing arts: knowledge, risk, authenticity and collective engagement, and argues that these provide a measure of the audience's experience of the quality of a performance. Qualitative interviews with four performing arts companies
demonstrated a range of strategies for gathering audience feedback. In particular, the paper addresses systems for gathering "deep feedback" by audiences, and argues that these are a means of collecting information about the quality of the audience experience. "Deep feedback" is a critical mechanism by which performing arts organisations can engage in audience development and audiences are empowered to measure quality.

Staging cultures : the potential for intercultural theatre

Recently, 'intercultural' theatre has taken aspects of performance genres from different cultures and has blended them into a new hybrid form. This thesis engages with this issue through performance practice, textual analysis and theoretical critique, and aims to explore the possibilities and boundaries of a practical non-neo-colonial 'intercultural' theatre.

Hidden stories : listening to the audience at the live performance

This paper explores how audiences describe and evaluate their experience of a live performance. Much of the arts marketing literature measures audience satisfaction with the entire event, including pre and post show talks, parking, ticket price, seating, merchandise and refreshments. Research undertaken at a range of live performing arts events in 2008 and 2009 revealed ‘hidden stories’ of audience members’ responses to performances. These responses are indicative of four aspects of the audience experience – knowledge, risk, authenticity and collective engagement. The stories, and their indicators, are the audience measure of quality of performance. This paper uses audience research at three contemporary theatre companies, to test and validate the audience experience as a new quality assessment instrument: the Arts Audience Experience Index.

The applicability of Western socio-legal frameworks to the study of negotiation in Chinese society

Theoretical frameworks for the examination of negotiation generated by Western academics do not easily translate to Chinese society because of fundamental differences between Western and Chinese society. Attempts to study negotiation in Chinese society and to improve negotiation between Chinese and Western business people are themselves constrained by cross-cultural differences. Extended immersion of Western academics in Chinese settings and the involvement of cross-cultural specialists is required to advance understanding of cross-cultural negotiation. There is enormous potential for improved understanding of cross-cultural dynamics and development of innovative teaching methodologies if institutional and personal cooperation can be secured. Cross-cultural negotiation as a useful tool in socio-legal framework and/or higher education administration is important especially in the current environment for the Australian education export market.

Is the carnival over?

The pivotal role played by arts festivals in Australia's cultural life.

Converging with audiences

The new theories and discourse in the creative industries have revealed a necessary relationship between producer and consumer, which, in the performing arts, is demonstrated by a recognisable change in the relationship between artist or performer and audience. Relationship marketing theory has been challenged by the new arts consumer who is on a quest for self-actualisation where the creative or cultural experience is expected to fulfi l a spiritual need that has very little to do with the traditional marketing plan of an arts company or organisation. 

Stressors, Recovery Processes, and Manifestations of Training Distress in Dance

Abstract
Dancers are expected to maintain consistently high levels of performance capability and to perform on demand. To meet these expectations, they subject their bodies to long hours of intensive physical training. Such training regimens are often combined with tight rehearsal and performance schedules, which over time, can lead to persistent fatigue, psychological distress, performance decrements, and injury. A similar process has been observed as a consequence of high-intensity training in many different sports, and considerable sport-related research has been devoted to identifying the antecedents, the symptoms that are experienced, and the most cost-effective ways of monitoring symptom development. This paper presents a general heuristic framework for understanding this “training distress process” and discusses the framework with specific reference to dance.