Separate and invisible : a carceral history of Australian islands

This article examines the history of four islands used for incarceration in Australia: the ‘secondary punishment’ of convicts on Norfolk Island; the management and quarantine of indigenous people on Palm Island; the quarantine of all new migrants and visitors on Bruny Island; and the incarceration of enemy aliens on Rottnest Island. Incarceration has been used throughout Australia’s history as a method of social and political control, targeting categories of people perceived to pose a threat to the racial composition, social cohesion, or national security of the Australian community. By providing a space both separate and invisible to the community, Australia’s carceral islands served as a solution to a recurring problem for a young nation apprehensive about the composition, durability and security of its community. The human consequences of incarceration could be devastating.

Stillness and movement: a bodily approach to photography

My paper will address both Duration and temporality of the ‘still’ imageand Sensorial and bodily experience of photography through a discussion of a recent body of work ‘Fly Rhythm’, a series of photographs and video works exhibited in a gallery context.By acknowledging the inter-relationship between the body and the camera my project seeks to challenge a perceived separation between performance and photography. Fly Rhythm was conceived through a performative somatic process. Through using a custom made camera I was able to negotiate time and space to create a visual drawing of movement and stillness together in photography. The resultant images are discussed as a notation of body movement – a record of bodily history enabled through a self imposed discipline of learning to read light.I initially constructed a human size camera to understand how photography works. Spending time inside observing the way light moves and affects the formation of sight is also a way of embodying the act of photography. I responded by making a bespoke camera that enabled light to be captured during extended periods while moving. My project is dependent upon a self-imposed discipline of intuiting light’s strength and erratic changes, a skill developed by making analogue prints while inside a camera obscura. Once I had developed an ability to read light’s changes and gain an understanding of camera mechanics I made durational recordings moving through the landscape on Bruny Island Tasmania and industrial sites in Melbourne, photographs exhibited as part of Fly Rhythm. I will discuss these prints in context with the idea that light is a conduit through which past and present fuse together in a bodily act of photographing and processing images.I will explore durational aspects of photography by discussing light’s relative motion while taking photographs without using the viewfinder or composing images in the traditional way. Rather, the camera at the end of my arm is directed through how I read light therefore a choreography notated in the prints – a kind of body signatureMy practice enables a new the way of seeing, in a spontaneous hand held process creating a sense of embodiment. By analyzing process my paper will consider how the body together with analogue and 21st century digital technology coalesce cross-disciplinary practice combining visual art, performance and photographic disciplines.I also explored limitations of digital light in contrast with ‘natural’ light by a making a gamut of dissolving colour determined by the software based on two pixels. Projected into the ambient light ‘Glide’ is an 11minute durational work installed at the Substation Contemporary Art Space in Melbourne Australia.

Little penguin Eudyptula minor at Middle Island, Western Victoria : current status

We examined the status of the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor at Middle Island on the west coast of Victoria during the species' 1999/2000 breeding season. The vegetated upper surface of the island had 292 occupied burrows at a density of 0.02/m². Peak dusk arrival occurred in January with 502 penguins coming ashore during a one-hour period. Little Penguins at Middle Island displayed important differences in breeding ecology from penguins in other Australian colonies. Early breeding combined with heavier adult and chick weights resulted in high breeding success. However, as Middle Island is a popular destination for day visitors, during the 1999/2000 Little Penguin breeding season, tourism ·was found to cause detrimental effects, including deaths of some eggs and chicks. There are also concerns for the conservation of the Little Penguin colony as faxes or dogs may readily access the island.

Papuan Spine-tailed Swifts Mearnsia novaeguineae on Boigu Island, Torres Strait, Queensland

Three Papuan Spine-tailed Swifts Mearnsia novaeguineae were seen together on 17 November 2004 on Boigu Island, Torres Strait, Queensland. They were watched for a period of 7 minutes as they circled low over a small freshwater wetland, and ~70 digital photographs of the birds were obtained. This record was unanimously accepted by the Birds Australia Rarities Committee as the first of this species for Australian territory.

Aspects of the ecology of swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) on a Bass Strait island

The swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) is a small insectivorous marsupial inhabiting closed heath and tussock grassland in south-eastern Australia. The species is considered 'Near Threatened' on the
Australian mainland. Populations persist on coastal islands off Wilsons Promontory, but their current status is unknown. This study investigated the density, diet and reproduction of the swamp antechinus on Kanowna Island.
Data were collected by live trapping in different vegetation types during four trips between August 2003 and January 2004. Higher animal densities (47-129 ha^-1) were found for Kanowna Island than for previously studied mainland populations (1-18 ha^-1). Examination ofscats showed that this species eats a wide variety ofprey types, with moth larvae a major dietary component, particularly during the breeding season. Births were estimated to have occurred between 28 June and 8 August, which is a longer period than reported for other populations of this species. Factors including reduced predation, restricted dispersal and increased food availability may be responsible for supporting this dense population.

Globalisation, food and health in Pacific Island countries

Pacific Island countries (PICs) are experiencing an epidemic of obesity and consequent chronic diseases. Despite investment in the development of National Plans of Action for Nutrition (NPANs) and interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity, nutritional status appears to show little improvement. This paper presents a synthesis of the findings from two research papers that were prepared for a 2003 food safety and quality meeting in Nadi, Fiji. The findings indicate that although lifestyle behaviours might be the immediate cause of dietary imbalances, greater attention should focus on omnipresent influences of globalisation as a critical element of the nutrition transition in the Pacific. In particular, those aspects of globalisation mediated through the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements that are placing pressures on food security and fostering increased dependence on imported food of poor nutritional quality. Rapid, significant and sustainable improvements in public health in PICs require interventions that can tackle these underlying contributors to ill health. There are opportunities to explore the use of food regulatory approaches to influence the composition, availability and accessibility of food products. Within the context of the WTO Agreements the legitimacy of food regulatory approaches will depend upon the case to demonstrate the relationship between the intervention and the protection of food security and public health nutrition. The challenges in realising these opportunities are: 1) to have the capacity to construct a case, 2) meet the technical and financial demands to administer and enforce regulatory approaches, and 3) to take advantage of opportunities available and to be able to fully participate in the international policy-making process.

Exploring the oil price and real GDP nexus for a small island economy, the Fiji Islands

The goal of this paper is to examine the relationship between real GDP and oil prices using time series data for the period 1970–2005. Our main finding is that an increase in oil has a positive, albeit inelastic, impact on real GDP, inconsistent with the bulk of the literature. We argue that this is not a surprising result for the Fiji Islands. Our central argument focuses on two aspects of the Fijian economy: (1) the fact that actual output in Fiji has been around 50 per cent less than potential output; thus, Fiji's actual output has not reached a threshold level at which oil prices can negatively impact output; and (2) a rise in oil prices filters through to value added, which in turn is reflected in a larger actual output.

Body size, body composition, and fat distribution: a comparison of young New Zealand men of European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian ethnicities

Aims To investigate body size and body fat relationships and fat distribution in young healthy men drawn from New Zealand European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian populations.
Method A total of 114 healthy men (64 European, 31 Pacific Island, 19 Asian Indian) aged 17–30 years underwent measurements of height, weight, and body composition by total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Body mass index (BMI) was then calculated. Percent body fat (%BF), fat-free mass, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, abdominal fat, thigh fat, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) were obtained from the DXA scans.
Results For the same BMI, %BF for Pacific Island men was 4% points lower and for Asian Indian men was 7–8% points higher compared to Europeans. Compared to European men for the same %BF, BMI was 2–3 units higher for Pacific Island, and 3–6 units lower for Asian Indian. The ratio of abdominal fat to thigh fat, adjusted for height, weight, and %BF, was significantly higher for Asian Indian men than European (p=0.022) and Pacific Island (p=0.002) men. ASMM, adjusted for height and weight, was highest in Pacific Island and lowest in Asian Indian men.
Conclusions The relationship between %BF and BMI is different for European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian men which may, at least in part, be due to differences in muscularity. Asian Indians have more abdominal fat deposition than their European and Pacific Island counterparts. Use of universal BMI cut-off points are not appropriate for comparison of obesity prevalence between these ethnic groups.