Flash-floods : genre subversion and the abject erotic in Dorothy Porter’s The monkey’s mask and El Dorado

When discussing her verse novels, Dorothy Porter explicitly stated that she loved to ‘write bad’. This paper will argue that it was Porter’s engagement with the verse novel form and genre subversion, most notably seen with her detective and crime thriller verse novels The monkey’s mask and El Dorado, that allows for a destabilisation of traditionally established genre conventions, which in turn provide a narrative foundation for Porter’s use of abject erotic imagery.

In both The monkey’s mask and El Dorado there are several types of ‘bodies’ to be examined: the body of the verse narrative, the bodies of the characters subjected to crime, the body of poetry that is referred to as evidence, and the abject eroticised body. Extending upon the studies of Rose Lucas (1997) and Fleur Diamond (1999), this paper contends that it is Porter’s engagement with the abject erotic, as informed by Julia Kristeva’s (1982) theory of the abject and Johanna Blakley’s (1995) discussion of the abject in relation to eroticism, that allows Porter to subvert the phallocentric limitations upheld through the crime fiction genre and offer an alternative representation for lesbian sexuality and desire.

Dorothy Gordon

Perhaps due to her later fame as the newspaper columnist and controversial radio personality known as “Andrea,” the early film career of Dorothy Gordon has been largely overlooked. Certainly her significant celebrity in Australia in the 1 960s overshadowed her comparatively lesser achievements as a silent cinema extra, actor, screenwriter, and art director. The recognition of her contribution to the Australian film industry is further diminished by the loss of her major work as star of Raymond Longford’s Hills of Hate (1926). In addition, her reputation as an entertaining raconteur fond of telling tall stories, especially about herself, leav es much room for doubt about the recorded detail of her early career in both Holly wood and Australian silent films.

A basis for association? The role of third sector welfare organisations

The paper considers questions of the nature, extent and role of the third sector in the development of welfare strategies in Australia. Based upon both qualitative and quantitative data, a typology of third sector welfare  organisations is discussed together with the identification of current operational models of welfare: charity; activism; welfare state industry and market. The organisational types of third sector welfare organisations in Australia are outlined and the field characterised as being large, diverse and growing. The paper reflects on the claims that the third sector provides a site for the establishment of active, pluralistic forms of welfare. Le papier considè re des questions de la nature, de l'ampleur et du rôle du troisième secteur dans le dèveloppement des stratègies d'assistance sociale en Australie. Basè acute sur des donnèes qualitatives et quantitatives, une typologie des troisième organismes d'assistance sociale de secteur est discuteè ainsi que l'identification des modèles opèrationnels actuels du bien-ètre: charitè; activisme; industrie et marchè d'ètat providence. Les types d'organisation de troisième organismes d'assistance sociale de secteur en Australie sont tracès les grandes lignes et la zone sont caractè risèes en tant qu'èacutetant grande, diverse et la croissance. Le papier rèflèchit sur les rèclamations que le troisième secteur fournit un site pour l'etablissement des formes actives et pluralistes du bien-èt re

How employees remain happy: explaining a paradox

This paper draws on subjective quality of life theory to explain findings from three studies of quality of work life. The studies were conducted with 346 regional process workers, metropolitan employment officers and nurses, The results support the adoption of the theory of homeostasis as an explanation for findings on subjective wellbeing at work surveys. This research goes some way in explaining the paradox that perceived job and work satisfaction remain stable over time, while working conditions may vary widely

The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety

Introduction: Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. Method: The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. Results: Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. Conclusions and impact on industry: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.

Screening for chlamydia trachomatis : barriers for homeless young people

Objective: The study explored homeless young people's knowledge and attitudes of Chlamydia trachomatis (Chlamydia) and its screening.

Design: Semi-structured interviews using focus groups.

Setting: An inner city clinic for homeless young people.

Subjects: Homeless young people aged 16-26 years.

Outcomes: Perceptions of Chlamydia and its screening.

Results: 19 males and 6 females aged 16-26 years participated. Content analysis confirmed a lack of knowledge, prior education and misinformation about Chlamydia and barriers to being screened. Ideas for informing young people about Chlamydia included advertising on billboards, in free newspapers, and improved school sex education programs.

Conclusions: Homeless young people have poor knowledge of Chlamydia and its screening and barriers to the screening process. Culturally-specific education and health promotion programs and services are needed.

24-Hour national dietary survey data : how do we interpret them most effectively?

Objective To illustrate the effect of common mistakes when using 24-hour national dietary survey data to estimate the prevalence of inadequate nutrient intakes.

Design Raw data on nutrient intake from the Australian 1995 National Nutrition Survey were adjusted for within-person variance using standard techniques and corrected for underreporting using the criteria of Goldberg et al. The distributions for six nutrients were compared with current dietary reference values from the UK, USA and Australia.

Setting A national sample of the Australian population with a 61.4% response rate.

Results Adjusting for within-person variance reduced the range of nutrient intakes to 66–80% of the raw data range and the proportion with intakes below the estimated average requirement (EAR) by up to 20%. Excluding underreporters further reduced the proportion below the EAR by up to 10%. Using the dietary reference values from different countries also resulted in some markedly different estimates. For example, the prevalence of low folate intakes ranged from <1 to 92% for adult women depending on the reference used. Except for vitamin A and protein, the prevalence of low intakes was invariably higher for women than for men.

Conclusions Estimates of the prevalence of low nutrient intakes based on raw 24-hour survey data are invariably misleading. However, even after adjustment for within-person variance and underreporting, estimates of the prevalence of low nutrient intakes may still be misleading unless interpreted in the light of the reference criteria used and supported by relevant biochemical and physiological measures of nutritional status.