Tales from camp Wilde: queer(y)ing environmental education research

This paper questions the relative silence of queer theory and theorizing in
environmental education research. We explore some possibilities for queering environmental education research by fabricating (and inviting colleagues to fabricate) stories of Camp Wilde, a fictional location that helps us to expose the facticity of the field’s heteronormative constructedness. These stories suggest alternative ways of (re)presenting and (re)producing both the subjects/objects of our inquiries and our identities as researchers. The contributors draw on a variety of theoretical resources from art history, deconstruction, ecofeminism, literary criticism, popular cultural studies, and feminist poststructuralism to perform an orientation to environmental education research that we hope will never be arrested by its categorization as a “new genre.”

The telling of violence : organizational change and atrocity tales

This paper explores the retrospective construction of atrocity narratives of organizational change in primary industries of the Latrobe Valley, located in southeast Australia. Within their narratives, participants discuss various forms of workplace violence aimed at employees by management and, in some cases, other employees. In addition, shifting narratives from violence to resignation are explored. As all participants are no longer employed in the organizations described in the narratives, causal associations between workplace violence and resignation choices are of particular interest. In this context, atrocity narratives are presented in a deliberate effort to extend the theorizing of organizational change into domains that are neither attractive nor progressive.

The body, mind and soul of AFL footballers: tales of identity from the global sports entertainment industry

The paper discusses some of the findings of a research project funded by the Australian Football League (AFL) titled: Getting the Balance Right: Professionalism, Performance, Prudentialism and Playstations in the Life of AFL Footballers. The research explored the emergence and evolution of a professional identity for AFL footballers – an identity that has many facets including the ideas that a professional leads a balanced life, and has a prudent orientation to the future, to life after football. The AFL is a high profile, sports entertainment business in which brand relationships between the industry and its sponsors generate substantial income for the League, for Clubs, and for Coaches and players. In addition the AFL’s equalisation policies tightly regulate the ways in which Clubs can recruit, maintain and develop playing lists. In this context various tools of analysis are used to identify and characterise the particular Body, Mind and Soul elements of the young men who might be recruited to a Club; who might have significant time, money and effort invested in their development (as players, as persons); who might develop an identity as an AFL footballer. Drawing on Foucault’s work on the care of the self we argue that in this situation, narratives of identity necessarily involve a struggle for the Body, Mind and Soul of these young men.

Jazz cats unmasked : revealing tales/tails of jazz education, musicians and teachers

New Zealand jazz education has come of age in the last 30 years.  The presence of a jazz curriculum in schools and universities has reflected students' desire to study this vernacular music and an adherence to international shifts in music education.  Yet, the Jazz genre commands the least market share in terms of record sales and concert attendance worldwide.  Now often described as America's true 'classical music', the cogent questions would seem to be 'why jazz', 'why now' and 'why here'?  This book explores these questions through the narrative of two New Zealand-born jazz educators who have made considerable contributions in post-secondary settigns.  It takes a critical look at their musical lives, and the influence that experience, context  and self-perception has ontheir teaching philosophies.  Stripping back the layers created by predominant binaries of musician/educator, glocal/global, history/genealogy, formal/informal and generalist/specialist, thsi book makes liberal use of a range of  arts-informed methodologies to unmask the main actors in jazz education adding to the ongoing broader international discussion of future directions of the art.

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.

Australian critical infrastructure protection : a case of two tales

The protection of critical irifrastructures and the choices made in terms of priorities and cost, all impact upon the planning, precautions and security aspects of protecting these important systems. Often the when choices made is difficult to assess at the time the decision is taken and it is only after an incident that the truth of the choices made become fit!ly evident. The paper focllses on two recent examples of Australian Critical Infrastructure protection and the issues that related to those examples.

Tales from the Riverbank: place-marketing and maritime heritages

Although place-marketing and image-enhancement are increasingly common elements of Western urban policy, when applied to specific locales, these abstract theories have to negotiate local conditions and contexts. This paper discusses the ways attempts to place-market the city of Hull, England, prompted debates surrounding questions of place, memory and heritage. Despite being Britain's leading fishing port in the 20th century, Hull's place-marketing strategy elided this past in favour of a sanitised vision of a modern, post-industrial city. These debates crystallised around a 1999 planning inquiry over the proposed redevelopment of the erstwhile fishing dock. While the proposals contained some reference to the dock's role as a site of place-memory, this was deemed insufficient by local protest groups and politicians who argued for a more appropriate memorial to Hull's fishing community. Eventually, the redevelopment proposals were accepted, but not before attendant debates exposed both the depth of local sentiments over place-memories and fishing heritage, and also the difficulties of negotiating inclusive and plural heritage landscapes.

Problems of psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Russian speaking immigrants in New Zealand

The problems immigrants experience during the process of their psychological and sociocultural adaptation to the host culture have far-reaching effects in terms of mental health, employment and lost benefits for the whole society. General models of the acculturation process (Ward 1996) and acculturation strategies (Berry 2001) provide a basis for the analysis of those problems. The current study employed a qualitative, case-oriented design, based on the grounded theory method to analyse interviews with six Russian-speaking immigrants in New Zealand. The purpose of the study was to investigate, from a psychological perspective, the problems in adaptation as a result of migration and resettlement, and the factors that influence this process. Two distinct patterns were revealed, linked to acculturation strategies of integration and separation. All the participants experienced high levels of psychological distress in the initial stage of their resettlement, but those who later chose the integration strategy of acculturation were more successful and satisfied with their adaptation than those who chose the strategy of separation. Factors contributing to the process of adaptation were migration motivation, proportion of perceived gains and losses, and cultural identity. This study has implications for social policies in the areas of employment, education and mental health.

Wayfarersʼ tales : reflecting on the doctoral journey

This paper provides a temporal snapshot of two midterm PhD candidates as they both grapple with paradigms and methodology, research questions, external challenges within the research field, locating their voices as doctoral students, and maintaining energy and focus to continue their doctoral journey. These two candidates, one of whom is interstate, share the same supervisor and have come to know each other through telephone reading groups, email communications, and face-to-face meetings with their supervisor, and attending conferences and other collegial opportunities. The catalyst for this paper was a reading group discussion of a paper by Pirrie and Macleod (2010, p. 367) applying the descriptors of ʻjourneyman, wayfarer, fellow traveller or craftsmanʼ to the conceptualisation of the identities of researchers at temporal moments in the research process. We were also inspired by Kamler and Thomsonʼs (2001) paper where they respond to each otherʼs emails in a conversation formulating ideas and perspectives about ʻwriting upʼ research. Additionally, we have considered the work of Ryan, Amorim and Kusch (2010) and Lindsay, Kell, Ouellette and Westall (2010). We have linked their work on reflective learning to our experience of reflecting ʻaloudʼ in a supportive learning community and our subsequent individual reflexive learning. At the heart of our reflections is a relationship between supervisor (Jennifer) and doctoral candidates (Christine and Cheryl); the relationship is a fluid community of practice (Wenger, 1998). A community of practice that depends not so much on direction from the supervisor, but rather as a space where concepts and ideas can be spoken aloud in a safe, critical and supportive environment. Members are able to listen, both to themselves and to each other, before reflecting and finding their own way. At other times each juggles their own professional and personal identities as they become teacher, journeyman, fellow traveller and recalcitrant.