Migrancy, modernity and cultural sustainability

Australian Home Beautiful’s October 1960 Edition was devoted to the modernisation of the Victorian and Edwardian-era houses of Australian cities’ inner suburbs. One of the articles inside was entitled ‘Terrace Houses are Common Problem’, in which the magazine’s architectural consultant Leonard A. Bullen suggested; “With houses of this type, the multiplicity of embellishments that appear in almost every possible place is irritating to eyes that have become accustomed to the cleaner and less ornamented lines of modern houses” and “The first necessity is to get rid of the superfluous decoration and emphasise horizontal features.” (Bullen 1960, 31). The post-World War Two period was a time when Australia’s traditional imagining of itself was confronted by both popular modernity and a diversity of new migrant cultures and ways of thinking. In a contemporary environment that theoretically celebrates diversity and creates audiences for increasingly multiplying expressions of culture and history, perhaps it is time that 1950s and ‘60s alterations to old houses were re-imagined as intrinsic elements in Australia’s cultural landscape. This supposition will be discussed in relation to the United Nations’ 2002 Kanazawa Resolutions’ definition of the relationship between culture and sustainability as ‘dialogical coexistence’ (Nadarajah and Yamamoto 2007).

Popular fiction and the emotional turn : the case of women in late Victorian Britain

Many within the history profession today consider that we are experiencing an ‘emotional turn’, a perception that has been spurred by a recent proliferation of research centres and outpouring of publications exploring the concept of emotion. Interest in this field looks likely to grow, although there are methodological challenges that have yet to be overcome, as, of course, there are with any newly emerging field of study. One main concern is source material. Attempting to access such an elusive and intensely subjective area of historical inquiry as emotions requires seeking out new sources, as well as returning to old ones with a fresh eye, with new questions in mind. In the specific realm of the emotional lives of women living in Victorian and Edwardian Britain, fiction proves a promising source – popular fiction especially. This is due to the fact that this was the era that ushered in the modern bestseller, novels that more often than not explored the everyday and the emotional, novels that were thought to have been ‘devoured’ by women in particular. This essay plots recent developments in the burgeoning area of emotions history, as well as those that have taken place in relation to the use of fiction as evidence in a history of women’s interior lives. It argues that, at this point in the development of emotions history, when questions of methodology, interdisciplinarity and sources are being addressed more widely, consideration should be given to popular fiction as a readily available pathway, if not an uncomplicated one, into the emotions of the past.

Building the perfect beast : scientific romance and Jewish representations 1880-1914

Various cultural mediums portrayed Jews in Britain in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. Scientific romance harnessed past communicative 'discourses' such as history, folklore, theology, and mythology and was an innovative form of literature that heralded a new era in the construction of Jewish identity between 1880 to 1914.

China in a book: Victorian representations of the 'celestial kingdom' in William Dalton’s 'The wolf boy of China'

Despite the wealth of material related to China in Victorian and Edwardian children’s literature, relatively few scholarly works have been published on the subject. Critics who have discussed the topic have tended to emphasize the negative discourse and stereotypical images of the Chinese in late nineteenth-century children’s literature. I use the case of William Dalton’s The Wolf Boy of China (1857), one of the earliest full-length Victorian children’s novels set in China, to complicate previous generalizations about negative representations of China and the Chinese and to highlight the unpredictable nature of child readers’ reactions to a text. First, in order to trace the complicated process of how information about the country was disseminated, edited, framed, and translated before reaching Victorian and Edwardian readers, I analyse how Dalton wove fragments from his reading of a large archive of texts on China into his novel.
Although Dalton may have preserved and transmitted some ‘factual’ information about China from his sources, he also transformed material that he read in innovative ways. These are reflected in the more subversive and radical parts of the novel, which are discussed in the second part of the essay. In the final section, I provide examples of historical readers of The Wolf Boy of China to challenge the notion that children passively accept the imperialist messages in books of empire.

A species in decline: genetic diversity and conservation of the Victorian eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii

The eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii, has undergone a dramatic decline in distribution and abundance on the mainland of Australia during the twentieth century. In 1988 a captive breeding program was initiated to reduce the chance of extinction. With the extinction of the last wild mainland population in the early 1990s, reintroductions from captive-bred P. gunnii have met limited success, and currently only two extant populations persist in predator proof enclosures in the State of Victoria. With ~20 years of breeding, there are concerns that the genetic diversity within the breeding program has declined and may inhibit current and future success of the program. We have used ten nuclear microsatellite loci and sequencing of two partial mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase I and ATPase 6) to determine genetic diversity within current Victorian P. gunnii. These diversity estimates are compared with historic samples from the captive breeding program dating back to 1995, historic samples from the last wild mainland population found at Hamilton in 1992 and contemporary Tasmanian wild populations. Results indicate that the captive P. gunnii population in the State of Victoria has lost significant genetic diversity through time. Genetic diversity is also reduced in populations at Hamilton Community Parklands and Mount Rothwell. Samples from the last wild population at Hamilton collected in 1992, along with samples from Tasmanian P. gunnii, had significantly greater genetic diversity than contemporary mainland populations. The results are discussed with reference to management options for maintaining genetic diversity within Victorian P. gunnii, including crossing Victorian and Tasmanian P. gunnii to increase genetic diversity, adaptability and evolutionary potential.

Mermaids and sirens as myth fragments in contemporary literature

This thesis examines three works: Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride and Alias Grace, and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. All three novels feature female characters that contain elements or myth fragments of mermaids and sirens. The thesis asserts that the images of the mermaid and siren have undergone a gradual process of change, from literal mythical figures, to metaphorical images, and then to figures or myth fragments that reference the original mythical figures. The persistence of these female half-human images points to an underlying rationale that is independent of historical and cultural factors. Using feminist psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks, the thesis identifies the existence of the siren/mermaid myth fragments that are used as a means to construct the category of the 'bad' woman. It then identifies the function that these references serve in the narrative and in the broader context of both Victorian and contemporary societies. The thesis postulates the origin of the mermaid and siren myths as stemming from the ambivalent relationship that the male infant forms with the mother as he develops an identity as an individual. Finally, the thesis discusses the manner in which Atwood and Carter build on this foundation to deconstruct the binary oppositions that disadvantage women and to expand the category of female.

Migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne, Australia, 1950‐1975

The data collection contains documentation of migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne. It includes photographic documentation of the houses, interviews with the inhabitants, and drawings/sketches of the houses.

The focus of the research is on houses that were built between 1950 and 1975. These houses are themselves a product of the construction skills and processes of post-war immigrants and the waves of 1960s immigrants into Australia from Southern European countries. Typically, these houses are brick veneer and have a strict sense of order and endurance about their design and image of the facade. A series of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces produce a complexity of inside-outside relations and make possible different lifestyles.

Stories of the migrant house suggest it is an example of what might be called an ‘eco-object’, an object through which ecological practices are interwoven with social and cultural orientations. The houses are also aesthetic artefacts that present a public image through their facades. The project has documented the ‘material history’ of the houses. It illustrates the significance of particular elements/processes including: the terrace, new nature (in the front garden and back vegetable garden), summer kitchen, ongoing construction and storage space.

Migrant Houses in the village Zavoj, Republic of Macedonia, 1988-2010

The focus of this data is on the transformation of the village Zavoj in the Republic of Macedonia, due to emigration from the village, recorded through the architectural changes to the houses in the village. The village had become by default a place for the accommodation of elderly people who did not want to join their offspring abroad in the cities of immigration, or in the fringe suburbs of nearby towns.

The data documents the ‘material history’ of the houses, and constitutes a longitudinal research project tracing the transformation of the architectural fabric of the village since 1988. It includes visual documentation such as photographs and drawings, and includes the houses as HOUSE-STATES as follows:

House-Traditional: Vernacular architecture still in use and maintained as a dwelling.
House-Construction: Buildings that are still being constructed, the house as ongoing construction site.
House-Fragment: An eMigrant house-fragment is juxtaposed with the vernacular dwelling. Typical and affordable techniques of single brick cavity and reinforced concrete structure are evident in the new fragment.
House-Closed: Many new houses have only one door and one window, height, size and volume are minimal; and are closed a lot of the time.
House-Ruin: Vernacular traditional dwellings that are deteriorating. Traditional vernacular dwellings are rarely renovated, reconstructed or repaired.

The data is complemented by several field-work methods including participant observation, interviews, documentation of the village as a totality, recording of oral histories and myths, festivities, and archival statistical research about the vicinity.

This dataset comprises photographic documentation, sketch/drawing documentation, digital interview recordings, and interview notes.

Homicide law reform in Victoria, Australia from provocation to defensive homicide and beyond

Homicide law reform surrounding the partial defences to murder currently animates legal stakeholders in Australia and the United Kingdom, particularly in relation to cases of lethal intimate partner violence. In 2005, the Victorian Government implemented a series of homicide law reforms, central to which was the abolition of the partial defence of provocation and the instatement of an offence of defensive homicide. This article, based on a larger qualitative research study with British, Victorian and New South Wales legal stakeholders, explores experiences and perceptions of reforms in Victoria. An analysis of the impact of homicide law reform, using Hudson's principles of discursiveness and reflectiveness as a framework for analysis, reveals some dissonance between the intent and outcomes of these legal reforms. This study concludes that reforms crafted to counter gender bias in the operation of homicide law have produced mixed results for female victims of intimate partner homicide and related case law.

Screening for resistance to potato cyst nematode in Australian potato cultivars and alternative solanaceous hosts

The potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis (Woll.) and G. pallida (Stone), are major pests of ware and seed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crops worldwide and severely impact the movement of potatoes around the globe through quarantine restrictions. In Australia, only G. rostochiensis has been discovered, on four separate occasions between 1986 and 2008. The infested areas are the subject of strict regulation and quarantine procedures and while they are considered to be contained, managing nematode populations remains a priority. This study has identified the G. rostochiensis Ro1 resistance-status of potato cultivars currently grown by Australian potato growers, and new cultivars emerging from the Australian Potato Breeding Program. Resistance was assessed by a simple and robust procedure carried out in a purpose-built quarantine facility. Of the 24 potato cultivars grown in the affected Koo Wee Rup district in 2004, 10 were resistant to nematode infestation, including the locally important cultivar Atlantic. Other cultivars important to the Victorian and Australian potato industry, such as Kennebec, Desiree, Sebago and Coliban, were classified as susceptible. Importantly, this study provided evidence that the Koo Wee Rup PCN population was able to complete its lifecycle on the native plant species, S. aviculare (kangaroo apple), potentially acting as an alternate host and spreading PCN among potato crops.

Evaluating a standardised clinical assessment tool for pre-registration midwifery students: a cross-sectional survey of midwifery students and midwives in Australia

Abstract
Background: Assessment of clinical competence is a core component of midwifery education. Clinical assessment tools have been developed to help increase consistency and overcome subjectivity of assessment.
Aim: The study had two main aims. The first was to explore midwifery students and educators/clinical midwives’ views and experiences of a common clinical assessment tool used for all preregistration midwifery programmes in Victoria and the University of South Australia. The Second was to assess the need for changes to the tool to align with developments in clinical practice and evidence-based care.
Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey including Likert-type scales and open-ended questions was utilised.
Setting: Students enrolled in all four entry pathways to midwifery at seven Victorian and one South Australian University and educators/clinical midwives across both states.
Findings: One hundred and ninety-one midwifery students’ and 86 educators/clinical midwives responded.
Overall, students and educators/clinical midwives were positive about the Clinical Assessment Tool with over 90% reporting that it covered the necessary midwifery skills. Students and educators/clinical midwives reported high levels of satisfaction with the content of the learning tools. Only 4% of educators/clinical midwives and 6% of students rated the Clinical Assessment Tool as poor overall. Changes to some learning tools were necessary in order to reflect recent practice and evidence.
Key conclusions and implications for practice: A common clinical assessment tool for evaluating midwifery students’ clinical practice may facilitate the provision of consistent, reliable and objective assessment of student skills and competency.

Doing diversity: intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools

Doing Diversity: Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools1 was a three year, multi-method programme of research involving intensive work in 12 diverse profile schools in Melbourne, Victoria, that examined the facilitators and impediments to the intercultural capabilities described in the Victorian and Australian curricula for students and schools.

Allozyme diversity in Australian rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), were first introduced into Australia over 100 years ago, and forms the basis of important recreational inland fisheries and an aquaculture industry in south-eastern Australia. This paper investigates the genetic variation within and between samples of Australian rainbow trout using allozyme electrophoresis. The levels of genetic diversity within Australia do not show marked differences from those observed in hatchery and wild populations from throughout North America, New Zealand and South Africa, but there is evidence for the loss of some rare alleles during translocation from California to Australia via New Zealand. No appreciable difference in genetic diversity was apparent between hatchery and self-sustaining wild populations of rainbow trout from mainland Australia. However, significant differences in allelic frequencies were observed, with consistent genetic differences between Victorian and New South Wales samples most likely reflecting state-based hatchery and stocking policies.

150 years of democracy? The case of New South Wales

New South Wales has a rich history of parliamentary democracy. As the oldest of the Australian States, it has provided a microcosm of the evolution of modern British-style democracy from the ‘hustings’ of the early colonial to the harbour views of the contemporary politicians’ offices. New South Wales’ political history is also rich with experimentation. The early introduction of the secret ballot, payment for members, the abolition of plural voting, and adult suffrage are well known. Although it needs to be recognized that it followed slightly behind that ‘ Paradise of Dissent’ South Australia on all those features.

Equally fascinating is the role of the Labour Party, whose campaigning on behalf of adult suffrage and payment for Members is fairly well known. Less known, but of great interest, were its activities on behalf of electoral reform, political accountability and easier enrolment and voting, particularly for ‘ itinerants’ at a time when its political base was in the rural workforce. New South Wales Labour was significant for its decision to stand alone, in contrast with its Victorian and New Zealand counterparts, which threw in their lot with the Progressives.