Trial by fire

Victoria is facing its driest summer for nearly one hundred years, with conditions worse than in 1983 when the state was swept by the devastating Ash Wednesday bushfires. The fires were particularly fierce in Mount Macedon in central Victoria, and the Woodend Fire Brigade is in the front line of the struggle to avoid a repeat of Ash Wednesday. Trial by Fire follows this brigade as they do all that they can to keep their community safe from the devastation of the fires.

Frederick McCoy`s Mount Macedon Property

In the later part of his life Frederick McCoy selected and developed a bush block on the slopes of Mount Macedon. The conditions for purchase required him to plant and foster the growth of various northern hemisphere trees and shrubs. He duly cleared part of the block, planted trees, shrubs and
grass, put up fencing, constructed a small reservoir and laid pipes. In 1876, having fulfilled government requirements, he purchased the property and retained ownership until 1890.

Arts curriculum reform : social and cultural reproduction in Victorian schools

This thesis examines the implementation of the government educational policy document The Curriculum and Standards Framework. I examined the historical and political motivation behind the development of this document and how it introduced a pervasive new initiative of outcomes based education and accountability based on economic rationalism. In particular I examined the implications this new approach had for visual arts education and the subsequent changes to the arts curriculum. This has entailed the introduction of the aesthetic appreciation of the arts as an outcome of the CSF: The Arts. I applied Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction in education which draws predominantly on a Weberian view and a theory of practice. Bourdieu discusses differential educational achievement according to cultural capital stating education requires certain forms of cultural capital that are not equally distributed among the classes. This therefore impedes or enhances life chances according to social class i.e. educational qualifications become a commodity in the labour market and other social fields. I examined how aesthetic appreciation of the arts has evolved historically as a form of social distinction. This entails an abstract element of arts discourse, which demands a certain linguistic competence, and familiarisation, which Bourdieu claims, is developed in the family, as 'cultural capital' this is further perpetuated in schools. The likely outcome is that the introduction of aesthetic appreciation in arts education i.e the demand to 'write about' and 'talk about' art, will perpetuate class inequality due to social and cultural difference. The study has been to examine the practices of arts education in four schools and the extent to which aesthetic appreciation was implemented in the visual arts. Data was collected by case study methods of observation, questionnaire and interview and was interpretive in both quantitative and qualitative methods. I analysed the data based on class differentiation by socioeconomic divisions and examined the school ethos and attitude towards the Arts along with differentiation in cultural capital between student population. I also found teacher and student habitus played a vital role in the implementation of the CSF. This is because habitus can cause resistance to change due to the division between the formulation of the curriculum in the bureaucratic order and the practice of teachers in classrooms. My thesis interprets education as a form of social reproduction, perpetuating the existing social order. However, as Bourdieu asserts and I agree education is a form of symbolic power as it conceals its social function under the guise of neutrality and the technical functional premise. Therefore, this thesis aims to make transparent how the education system serves the interests of the dominant group through curriculum policy. Consequently, it becomes clear how education has far reaching social implications where the distinctions of class are perpetuated through cultural reproduction.

Gastrointestinal diseases: psycho-social aspects

An interconnection between psychological and gastrointestinal (GI) functioning has long been recognized, incorporating multiple mechanisms and considering bidirectional processes. However, exciting discoveries regarding the role of stress and depression in etiology and disease course have shed new light on the understanding of biopsychosocial processes in chronic GI conditions. This article provides an introduction to GI tract functioning, GI disorders, and stress mechanisms in the gut, followed by an overview and discussion of the psychosocial impact of these disorders, the role of stress and mental comorbidity in GI disorders, and the current knowledge regarding psychological interventions for GI disorders.

Lay healing practices in the household

This thesis explores the power-knowledge relationship underlying lay healing practices in the household; a non-traditional area of study in public health. Lay knowledge continues to be discounted as illegitimate and !non-expert' by policymakers, health professionals and academics. Given the absence of theory on lay knowledge and decision-making, an eclectic theoretical approach was undertaken in this study. Theory is drawn from medical anthropology, sociology of the body, health economics, gender studies, social theory, psychology, nursing, ethics, philosophy and history of medicine in order to contribute to and advance debate. Operating within the genre of a 'multi-sited ethnography' (working across different sites), methods for data collection included 'anthropology at home' by undertaking fieldwork in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. I conducted interviews and focus group discussions with, and administered a questionnaire to, 98 participants who are parents of young children. They were recruited via primary schools and snowball sampling. The quantitative data presents a socio-demographic 'picture' of 78 women and 20 men (representing 98 households) from urban, rural and coastal areas of the region. The qualitative data contains case studies as well as narratives, analysed for their content and discourses. Additional methods included maintenance of a 'reflexive journal', inter-sectoral consultations and public health policy analysis. Research findings indicate laypeople's conceptualisations of the body, self, health and illness rest upon a notion of the embodied self and health that is physical, mental and spiritual. Lay people have a substantial knowledge base on health and ill-health that derives from many sources, is both generalised and specialised, and is set within the context of everyday life. Laypeople make diagnoses and treat illness and injury within the household. They also exercise substantial agency in determining their choice of healer(s) for therapeutic intervention and management of ill-health outside the household. This study has substantial implications for public health in terms of healers' clinical practices, research and policy.

Scalpel slaves or cyborgs? : cosmetic surgery and embodied identity

This thesis explores individuals' experiences of cosmetic surgery in Melbourne. The research conducted with recipients of cosmetic surgery is a complex and ambiguous practice simultaneously encompassing pain and pleasure, agency and constraint, empowerment and conformity. By providing a more nuanced representation of people's experiences of such surgery, the thesis envisions a subjectivity that may better account for individuals' active and lived relationship to their bodies.

Lay meanings and practices of medicinal use in a multicultural context : a qualitative study among Anglo-Celtic and Russian Australians in Melbourne

Describes medicinal use among Anglo-Celtic and Russian Australians. Cultural constructions of medicines are embedded in health beliefs; shaped by experiences with health care within socio-economic and political contexts. Cultural practices of medicinal use are best understood in the context of lay models of rationality and recognition of the conflict existing between the lay and expert models.

Culture clash : artistic production and the school environment

Artists-in-schools programs involving contemporary art practices can be transformational for the participants when environmental considerations are integral to the planning and structure of the project and both the form and content of the program are reflected upon critically.

Rural markets and school choice

This thesis examines how families and schools in a rural Victorian setting engage with education markets and policies of school choice. Focusing on federal funding and state conveyancing policies, the study employs policy sociology and social geographies perspectives to examine policy effects on social relations and the implications for equity.

Regulatory failure? The case of Crown casino

This is a story of regulatory failure, failed implementation of responsible gambling, failed performance against international best practice benchmarks, targeting of vulnerable groups like senior citizens and patrons served drinks to the point of intoxication and then expelled onto the streets of Southbank.