Critical policy sociology : historiography, archaeology and genealogy as methods of policy analysis

In recent times critical approaches to educational policy studies have been subject to increasing interrogation over methodological issues, often by critical policy researchers themselves. In the main, their reflexive posturings have been informed by critique which proceeds that beyond brief descriptions of research logis tics and a general commitment to the methodologies of a critical orientation, critical policy analyses offer few explicit accounts of the connections between the stories they tell about policy and the data used to tell them. As a way of addressing these silences, this paper proposes three methodological approaches within which to explore and explain matters of policy, each generating its own particular view of the (policy) issues worth looking for, where they can be found and how to look for them. Drawing on research into the production of Australian higher education policy during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the paper illustrates the characteristics of these approaches, referring to them as policy historiography, policy genealogy and policy archaeology. Without claiming absolute distinctions between their interests, the paper couples policy historiography with the substantive issues of policy at particular hegemonic moments, policy genealogy with social actors' engagement with policy, and policy archaeology with conditions that regulate policy formations.

Avoiding the subject media, culture and the object

"This is a collection of inter-related essays on the postmillennial mediascape. Focusing on the neglected significance of the object within today's discourse networks, Avoiding the Subject extends the formal possibilities of cultural criticism by highlighting feedback loops between philosophy, technology, and politics. Students and teachers of visual culture, critical theory, cultural studies, film theory, and new media will find a wealth of ideas and insights in this fresh approach to the electronic environment."--BOOK JACKET.

The salt wedge position in a bar-blocked estuary subject to pulsed inflows

A series of laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the response of a bar-blocked, saltwedge estuary to the imposition of both steady freshwater inflows and transient inflows that simulate storm events in the catchment area or the regular water releases from upstream reservoirs. The trapped salt water forms a wedge within the estuary, which migrates downstream under the influence of the freshwater inflow. The experiments show that the wedge migration occurs in two stages, namely (i) an initial phase characterized by intense shear-induced mixing at the nose of the wedge, followed by (ii) a relatively quiescent phase with significantly reduced mixing in which the wedge migrates more slowly downstream.

Provided that the transition time t_T between these two regimes satisfies t_T>g′h⁴L/q³α, as was the case for all our experiments and is likely to be the case for most estuaries, then the transition occurs at time t_T=1.2(gα³L⁶/g′³q²)^1/6, where g′=gΔρ/ρ0 is the reduced gravity, g the acceleration due to gravity, Δρ the density excess of the saline water over the density ρ₀ of the freshwater, q the river inflow rate per unit width, and L and α are the length and bottom slope of the estuary, respectively.

A simple model, based on conversion of the kinetic energy of the freshwater inflow into potential energy to mix the salt layer, was developed to predict the displacement xw over time t of the saltwedge nose from its initial position. For continuous inflows subject to t<t_T, the model predicts the saltwedge displacement as x_w/h=1.1 (t/τ)^1/3, where the normalizing length and time scales are h=(q²/g)^1/3 and τ=g′α²h4L/q³, respectively. For continuous inflows subject to t>tT, the model predicts the displacement as xw/h=0.45N1/6(t/τ)1/6/α, where N=q²/g′h²L is a non-dimensional number for the problem. This model shows very good agreement with the experiments. For repeated, pulsed discharges subject to t<t_T, the saltwedge displacement is given by (xw/h)3−(x0/h)(xw/h)2=1.3t/τ, where x₀ is the initial displacement following one discharge event but prior to the next event. For pulsed discharges subject to t>t_T, the displacement is given by (xw/h)⁶−(x0/h)(xw/h)⁵=0.008N(t/τ)/α⁶. This model shows very good agreement with the experiments for the initial discharge event but does systematically underestimate the wedge position for the subsequent pulses. However, the positional error is less than 15%.

Teacher subject specialisms and their relationships to learning styles, psychological types and multiple intelligences: implications for course development

This study explores issues in teacher education that increase our understanding of, and response to, the individual differences displayed by learners. A large undergraduate teacher education cohort provided evidence of the range and distribution of preferences in learning styles, psychological types and multiple intelligences. This information revealed that distributions of scores on the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Multiple Intelligences Checklist for Adults provide evidence about the scope and range of differences between four teacher subject specialisms. This rich information about those participating in teacher education courses provides some guidance for educating those with their own clear preferences to the range of different preferences expressed by many other learners and highlights the existence of four sets of major differences in approaches to teaching and learning in prospective teachers.

What are we scared of? The absence of sociology in current debates about drug treatments and policies

The official public policy related to recreational drug use and abuse in Australia is harm minimization or harm reduction. Definitions of harm minimization vary but a general statement is that harm minimization is a policy or programme intended to decrease adverse health, social and economic consequences of drug use, even though the user may continue to use psychoactive drugs. This type of definition is most often compared to a zero-tolerance policy that aims to eliminate all recreational drug abuse by legal and other means. Sociologists have historically scoffed at this latter policy. Unfortunately, what this has meant is that harm minimization in all its forms has not been the object of analytical work on the part of sociologists.

An exploratory study of information systems subject indexing

The motivation for detailed study of information systems research subject indexing schemes is explained, along with an analysis of two indexing schemes proposed for use in the area.  A number of reference disciplines are examined for their ability to provide insights and analysis approaches.

Urban sociology and the stranger

The paper investigates the extent to which urban sociology has neglected the analytical potential of the stranger and puts forward an interpretative model that can broaden and deepen our understanding of the relationship between urbanity and difference. The interpretative model adopts a typology of the stranger consisting of three types of strangers: pre-modern, modern and post-modern. These three types of strangers are abstract descriptions constructed by accentuating certain features of real individuals. They are ‘ideal types’ and not intended as a reflection of urban realities but as a way of interpreting them. In addition, they are not mutually exclusive and may in some cases overlap, interconnect and complement each other. Finally, this typology is neither comprehensive nor definitive; rather, through an analysis of the modern city, the post-modern city I and post-modern city II, the paper demonstrates its exploratory power.

Generic versus subject specific pedagogy - should mathematics be in the centre?

Research into pedagogy and school change is a high priority in Australia and many other countries. This paper, which includes some preliminary findings from the Improving Middle Years Mathematics and Science: The role of subject cultures in school and teacher change (IMYMS) project, argues that, while there are key features that are common to quality learning environments across all subject areas, generic formulations of pedagogy fail to take account of the extent to which the disciplines being taught shape pedagogy or the contribution of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to effective teaching - i.e. that there really is a need to put "mathematics in the centre ".

Bourdieu`s reflexive sociology and `spaces of points of view`: whose reflexivity, which perspective?

This paper considers Bourdieu's concepts of perspectivism and reflexivity, looking particularly at how he develops arguments about these in his recent work, The Weight of the World (1999) and Pascalian Meditations (2000b). We explicate Bourdieu's distinctive purposes and deployment of these terms and approaches, and discuss how this compares with related methodological and theoretical approaches currently found in social and feminist theory. We begin by considering three main ways in which 'reflexivity' is deployed in current sociological writing, distinguishing between reflexive sociology and a sociology of reflexivity. This is followed by a discussion of the main aspects of Bourdieu's approach to 'reflexive sociology' and its relation to his concepts of social field, perspectivism and spaces of point of view. He argues that we need to interrogate the idea of a single 'perspective' and account especially for the particularity and influence of the 'scholastic' point of view. He characterizes this latter point of view as unaware of its own historicity and as largely concerned with contemplation and with treating ideas primarily as abstractions (Bourdieu, 2000b). Bourdieu's intervention is to argue, as he has throughout his work, for a more reflexive account of one's location and habitus, and for sustained engagement with ideas and social issues as practical problems. Bourdieu exhorts researchers to work with 'multiple perspectives' (Bourdieu et al., 1999, p. 3), the various competing 'spaces of points of view', without collapsing into subjectivism or relativism. We then consider recent feminist engagements with and critiques of Bourdieu's notion of reflexivity and chart some of the main points of contention regarding its relevance and conceptual potential for theorizing gender identities and transformations in current times. We conclude with a brief outline of how we are working with a reflexive sociological approach in a cross-generational study of young women in difficult circumstances, 'on the margins' of education and work.

Sociology : Australian connections

Sociology offers a way of understanding our lives, from individual experience to public affairs. This third edition of a widely used textbook introduces the major figures in sociological thought and examines key aspects of society.