Making up (for) society? Stitch, bitch and organisation

We discuss the emergence of the craft movement known as Stitch’nBitch. Prevalent around the globe, particularly among women, this movement organises in local places, such as hotels and cafes, and virtually using the Internet. The women meet to knit, stitch and talk, using new technologies as an enabler and resource exchange. At the same time, their presence can be seen, in part, as a response to social and technological changes, both at work and in wider society. We introduce five themes to assist in the interpretation of this new form of organising, discussing (1) remedial, (2) progressive, (3) resistance, (4) nostalgic, and (5) ironic possibilities and we draw on illustrative interview data to outline possibilities for further research.

Stich`n bitch: cyberfeminism, a third place and the new materiality

We discuss the emergence of a new craft movement known as Stitch'nBitch. Prevalent around the globe, particularly among women, this movement is based locally in places such as hotels and cafes, and virtually using the internet. The women meet to knit, stitch and talk. The groups use new technologies as an enabler and resource exchange. At the same time, their presence can be seen, in part, as a negative response to major political, social and technological changes including globalization, terrorism, damage to the environment and the dislocation of the Information Society. We introduce five themes to assist in the development of a research agenda into this new form of material culture, discussing (1) remedial, (2) progressive, (3) resistance, (4) nostalgic and (5) ironic possibilities. Each is considered in terms of their respective foci on community, cyberfeminism, craft, conservation and comment.

Building surveyors in Australia : an emerging profession

Australian and UK Building Codes undergo revision to improve the health and safety standards in the built environment and reflect wider social and technological changes. In the 1990s both countries changed to the option for designers to provide alternative solutions, where designers provide calculations to demonstrate that the codes are satisfied but not through the traditional deemed to satisfy route. Other social and legislative changes have had an impact on the profession. In the UK the Institute of Building Control, the equivalent of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors responded by joining the Royal Institution of the Chartered Surveyors. Thus it has become part of the largest surveying professional body, what does that mean for the profession? This paper compares the Australian and UK professions and looks at some of the issues affecting their future direction.

Nutritional psychiatry research: an emerging discipline and its intersection with global urbanization, environmental challenges and the evolutionary mismatch

In 21st-century public health, rapid urbanization and mental health disorders are a growing global concern. The relationship between diet, brain function and the risk of mental disorders has been the subject of intense research in recent years. In this review, we examine some of the potential socioeconomic and environmental challenges detracting from the traditional dietary patterns that might otherwise support positive mental health. In the context of urban expansion, climate change, cultural and technological changes and the global industrialization and ultraprocessing of food, findings related to nutrition and mental health are connected to some of the most pressing issues of our time. The research is also of relevance to matters of biophysiological anthropology. We explore some aspects of a potential evolutionary mismatch between our ancestral past (Paleolithic, Neolithic) and the contemporary nutritional environment. Changes related to dietary acid load, advanced glycation end products and microbiota (via dietary choices and cooking practices) may be of relevance to depression, anxiety and other mental disorders. In particular, the results of emerging studies demonstrate the importance of prenatal and early childhood dietary practices within the developmental origins of health and disease concept. There is still much work to be done before these population studies and their mirrored advances in bench research can provide translation to clinical medicine and public health policy. However, the clear message is that in the midst of a looming global epidemic, we ignore nutrition at our peril.

Whose hometown? Reception of Bruce Springsteen as an index of Australian national identities

Focusing on the cultural landscape of the mid-1980s, this paper explores the Australian experience of Bruce Springsteen. Australian author Peter Carey’s short story collection, The Fat Man in History, anticipates two phases of Australia’s relationship to the United States, phases expressed by responses to Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. (1984) and the 1986 blockbuster Crocodile Dundee. Springsteen’s album was received by an Australian audience who wanted to be like Americans; Crocodile Dundee, on the other hand, provided a representation of what Australians thought Americans wanted Australians to be. This paper argues that the first phase was driven by emergent technologies, in particular the Walkman, which allowed for personal and private listening practices. However, technological changes in the 1990s facilitated a more marked shift in listening space towards individualization, a change reflected in Springsteen’s lyrics.

Doing things differently? : technological practice and change in higher education

Explores changes brought about by new technologies. "Technology" is seen to influence, reorder and restructure social and political relations and practices of staff. The study is intended to increase awareness of changing work practices and to encourage an informed and critical view of new technology adoption in education.

Malmquist indices of total factor productivity changes in the Australian construction industry

Construction is an important industry and forms a vital part of national economics in the world. Factors affecting the productivity of the construction industry should be measured appropriately to reflect its development situation and economic performance. The Malmquist index method with a novel decomposition technique is employed to estimate the total factor productivity of the Australian construction industry during the period 1990-2007 and to analyse the factors affecting the technological change in the industry. Research results exemplified by two input variables and one output variable elaborate how construction technology, pure technical efficiency and scale economy take effect in the change of construction productivity. In addition, based on temporal and spatial comparisons, the analysis for construction productivities reveals their changes over time and across the country. Proposals and recommendations are expected to be beneficial for policy making and strategic decisions to improve the performance of the Australian construction industry.

Creative choices : changes to Australian copyright law and the future of the public domain

Changes to Australian copyright law introduced under the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement will diminish the public domain, criminalise common copyright infringing practices and locally introduce significant portions of the controversial 1998 American Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This paper examines these imminent changes to Australian copyright law, with specific attention to the potential effects of the extended duration of copyright protection and the introduction of technological anti-circumvention measures. It argues that public domain-enhancing activities are crucial for sustaining cultural creativity and technological innovation, and discusses the potential role of the Creative Commons movement in establishing economically viable and legal alternatives to the current model of trade-oriented copyright reform.