Mermaids and sirens as myth fragments in contemporary literature

This thesis examines three works: Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride and Alias Grace, and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. All three novels feature female characters that contain elements or myth fragments of mermaids and sirens. The thesis asserts that the images of the mermaid and siren have undergone a gradual process of change, from literal mythical figures, to metaphorical images, and then to figures or myth fragments that reference the original mythical figures. The persistence of these female half-human images points to an underlying rationale that is independent of historical and cultural factors. Using feminist psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks, the thesis identifies the existence of the siren/mermaid myth fragments that are used as a means to construct the category of the 'bad' woman. It then identifies the function that these references serve in the narrative and in the broader context of both Victorian and contemporary societies. The thesis postulates the origin of the mermaid and siren myths as stemming from the ambivalent relationship that the male infant forms with the mother as he develops an identity as an individual. Finally, the thesis discusses the manner in which Atwood and Carter build on this foundation to deconstruct the binary oppositions that disadvantage women and to expand the category of female.

"The whole reflected world shuddering": active aesthetics and contemporary Australian poetry

This article maps the landscape of contemporary Australian poetry, arguing that that we are witnessing a paradigmatic shift that now accommodates ancient storytelling and cultures alongside emergent poetic forms and communities. It considers how contemporary poems reflect key cultural movements while themselves enacting a movement towards new forms of knowing.

Understanding Concepts of Efficiency and Effectiveness in Architectural Facilities Space Planning and Design

Although contemporary literature treats efficiency and effectiveness extensively, virtually no objective understanding of both is found in architectural facilities space planning and design. It is imperative that both concepts are definitively explained as they apply to these disciplines. Hence, the contemporary views of both concepts are reviewed and attempts made to interpret them within more amenable contexts. The objectives are (1) to objectively elucidate the factual differences between efficiency and effectiveness; and (2) to contribute to their better understanding in architectural facilities space planning and design. Diagrammatic and mathematical means are engaged to demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness in these fields.

Bhakti, Sank̇ir̄tana and Gaudiya Vaisnavism

The thesis investigated the socio-theological complexity of medieval Gaudiya Vaisnavism and its current development, the Hare Krishna Movement. The study was simultaneously critical and emic. It (1) uncovered medieval concepts not found in contemporary literature; and, (2) developed pathways through which religion can be sociologically and psychologically elucidated and clarified.

Why has the rising economic tide failed to float the disability employment boat? A call to action : business,community, government and people power

It is well established that people with disabilities are under-represented in the workforce. Disability labour market scholars agree that there is a significant gap between labour market participation of people with disabilities and people without disabilities, with on-going labour market disadvantage widely reported. All indicate that notwithstanding the recent economic growth of Western economies, the employment rate for people with disabilities has not improved. This paper draws on the findings of three recent research projects on disability employment in Australia and on data from contemporary literature on workplace discrimination and proposes that a combination of more robust social inclusion policies and legislation, revitalised supported employment models, intensive social marketing, and radical disability advocacy is required.

Darwin after dark: illuminating suburban atmospheres

In Australian cities, culturally diverse suburban landscapes are often sensed as discomforting sites of fear and anxiety, particularly after dark. Imagined risks of encounters with bodies of colour easily policed during the day when vision is clear, but who escape biopolitical regimes of securitisation and surveillance at night contribute to such atmospheric qualities of place. These affective atmospheres of fear and anxiety that haunt bodies and limit their ability to inhabit public space, however, can provide a sense of freedom for bodies who claim suburban spaces of darkness through tactile and sonic senses. This paper draws on the contemporary literature on affective atmospheres to show how racialised Indigenous and asylum seeker bodies become present in different ways in suburban places in Darwin after dark. The paper focuses on two events – spontaneous dancing to Indigenous music at Mindil beach market and a Vigil commemorating asylum seeker lives in a suburban courtyard. Drawing on ethnographic research I explore these affective intervention that illuminate dark suburban atmospheres in Darwin. Such interventions that draw attention to the attunement of bodies to difference unsettle biopolitical regimes that victimise and patronise visible non-white bodies and contribute to rethinking racism and darkness in suburban Darwin and the Top End.

Existentialist methodology and perspective: writing the first-person

Without proposing anything quite so grandiose as a return to existentialism, in this paper we aim to articulate and minimally defend certain core existentialist insights concerning the first-person perspective, the relationship between theory and practice, and the mode of philosophical presentation conducive to best making those points. We will do this by considering some of the central methodological objections that have been posed around the role of the first-person perspective and “lived experience” in the contemporary literature, before providing some neo-existentialist rejoinders. We will suggest that the dilemma that contemporary philosophy poses to existentialism, vis-à-vis methodology, is that it is: a) committed to lived experience as some sort of given that might be accessed either introspectively or retrospectively (with empirical science posing prima facie obstacles to the veridicality of each); and/or b) it advocates transformative experiences, and the power of philosophy in connection with such experiences, to radically revise our doxastic and inter-connected web of beliefs. In short, the charge is conservatism on the one hand, radicalism on the other. Each of these concerns will be addressed in turn, utilizing ideas from Kierkegaard (as the source for many existentialist themes, methodological concerns, and formal practices) and from the German and French twentieth century versions of existentialism

The phenomenon of presence within contemporary nursing practice: A literature review

Nursing practice underpinned by humanistic values may promote presence experiences within nurse-patient interactions. These interactions are powerful and beneficial both to nurse and patient. However, the phenomenon of presence is surrounded by competing and confused definitions. Whilst presence is arguably a core aspect of nursing practice, current health care environments significantly influence nurses' opportunities to experience presence.

New world orders in contemporary children's literature : utopian transformations

"New World Orders shows how texts for children and young people have responded to the cultural, economic, and political movements of the last 15 years. With a focus on international children's text produced between 1988 and 2006, the authors discuss how utopian and dystopian tropes are pressed into service to project possible futures to child readers. The book considers what these texts have to say about globalisation, neocolonialism, environmental issues, pressures on families and communities, and the idea of the posthuman."--BOOK JACKET.

A review of the literature exploring the occupation of contemporary pilgrimage

Contemporary pilgrimage is a multi-dimensional, diverse and evolving occupation, not limited to overtly religious intentions or practices, which has not been explored in the occupational science literature. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the scholarly discourse as an important initial step toward understanding the occupation of pilgrimage and its impact on well-being. The discovery process within the literature was strategically refined yielding occupational science's first view of this expanding field of enquiry. This paper introduces the scope of the topic, defines key terms and explores the range of participation in contemporary pilgrimage. International evidence of increased popular interest and participation in pilgrimage is discussed, and the interdisciplinary evidence of the benefits to health and well-being experienced by pilgrims is summarised. This paper argues that occupational science could take a leading role in investigating the relationship between participation in pilgrimage and the experience of well-being for a range of people and populations.