The presence of an-other: the prescience of racism in post-modern times

In this paper, I explore conversations with teachers and parents at one Melbourne secondary school, as the modern definition of identity,defined at the end of the 1980s, took on the fluidity of post-modern definition a decade later. Even as identification seemed contingent and negotiated, and difference seemed to disappear, teachers and parents continued to understand their identity in relation to the ambivalent definition of others. This became increasingly frightening as notions of otherness, and therefore of self, became increasingly fluid and unclear. That which seemed other and outside, now appears as part-of-us and inside-us-all. Even as descriptions of difference, and thereforeidentity, become more fluid, conceptions of otherness – and therefore – self, do not disappear. Prescient manifestations of exclusion and racism are contiguous with, yet in juxtaposition to, older forms.

Public relations and ontology: rhetorical approaches in post-modern times

Rhetorical theory's contemporary involvement with semiotics is overlooked in much current public relations scholarship. This paper aims to 'make a difference' in this respect. There is a need for this change of perspective in view of a call for a new direction in public relations theory. This call came in the final Public Relations Division session at the July, 2003 International Communication Association Convention in San Diego. That panel discussion was titled: 'What Should be the Focus of Public Relations?' The session concluded that a turn towards 'rhetorical theory' was needed. This paper argues that such a turn would pose interesting theoretical and political challenges for a field which has not fully caught up with post-modern ideas. It points out how involvement with the contemporary 'rhetorical turn' paradigm and this paradigm's link to semiotics, would take public relations studies into interesting conceptual and political regions.

Postmodernist theory and its relationship to tourism research

This article highlights the theoretical notion of Postmodernism and attempts to place Tourism research into the postmodernism frame of reference. This is achieved by a brief description of the theory and further development in section two which reviews the challenges of postmodernism to research in the tourism field. There is then an endeavour to intertwine the constructs of postmodernist theory and to illustrate how it can relate to the tourism industry and in particular contemporary tourism. Indeed, we argue that even though a number of authors have begun to chart the sociological dimensions of post-modem tourism they have done so without highlighting the definitions and structure of postmodernist theory. Examples are given in order to support the theoretical approach to research which we suggest in this paper and every effort is undertaken in order to argue that postmodernist research in tourism can be beneficial and fruitful tor future directions. Consequently this article attempts to dispel some of the widespread bemusement concerning post-modem theories and post-modern tourism by reviewing some of the recent developments in the area and suggesting further research.

Dies of culture and religion : India and Australia, from settlement to post/modern times

In historical sketches of India-Australia or Australia-India relations, the important dimensions of the cultural and religious connections from the shared colonial period and Gandhi's nationalist voice echoing in all corners of the Empire, through to the diasporic migration, settlement and temple culture, is largely overlooked. This essay intends the redress that absence in current research and contribute toward a critical appraisal of that rather 'esoteric' part of history, arguably still in its infancy. The story begins close to the early white settlement period to the aftermath of the events of 9/11 (2001 in New York) and Bali (2002). The focus will be on Hindus with some reference to Sikhs, Muslims, Sri Lankan Tamils, and migrants from the subcontinent, as the conduits for the particular Indian-Australian diasporic connection and 'spiritual diplomacy' being explored.

Europe and its (tragic) statelessness fantasy: the lure of European private law, post-national governance and political order

This book presents the first comparative and multi-disciplinary investigation into what is the process to Create a supra-national entity in which it is the classic forms of law and politics. In arguing that the post-modern phase of the 'Europeanization of Europe' is the continental paradigm of the doctrine, the concept of the "depoliticization" and "dejuridification" of the world, Siliquini Cinelli explains why its statelessness is profoundly linked to the Global '(a-) spatial turn' that is legal and sociopolitical theories are undergoing. (Noun, masculine) (Auch: the European Union, the European Union, the European Union, the European Union, the European Union) A banking union. Later, Siliquini Cinelli's comparative and inter-disciplinary approach for a thorough reconsideration of this project through an inquiry into (1) the lure of European private law as a particular type of 'stateless law'; (2) the several pluralist channels of soft-networked post-national governance. And (3) the challenges of the political order within the EU's boundaries.

Collaborative social work practice in opposing paradigms: Issues to emerge from a sexual assault and mental health project

The following paper discusses my experiences of coordinating a community development project to develop collaborative links between a mental health and a sexual assault service. It presents a critically reflective description and analysis of this work to outline how post modern ideas were used to maximise the possibilities of using feminist frameworks in practice.

Speaking of race and ethnic identities : exploring multicultural curricula

New demographic patterns as well as new communication and information technologies and administrative and marketing practices have irrevocably altered schools in Australia's large cities. This study examines the ways that teachers and parents in one urban school speak about race and ethnicity in the midst of these changes. Beneath the ironic relationship between difference and sameness which underpins multicultural debate are different understandings that determine ways some belong and some do not belong within the school community. This paradoxical relationship persists, despite increasingly post-modern definitions of identity that underpin the field of this debate. I conclude that the examination of multicultural curricula must include the normalized ways of knowing and 'being' identity, which underpin conversations about race and identity.

Valuing the arts : theorising and realising cultural capital in an Australian city

For those who make and admire artistic works, there is no question of their value. However, for others interested in economic development, the value of the arts is often more tangential, contested and questionable. While the post-modern world of consumption and spectacle suggests to some academics and governments that the arts and cultural industries are the way of the future, others remain sceptical about their social and economic value. This is a theoretical as well as a practical issue this paper explores by offering a reconceptualisation of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital as a way of re-assessing the value of the arts. The paper then applies this framework to quantify and qualify the value of the arts in one regional city in Australia – Geelong in Victoria – focusing on the work of two artists. The aim is to describe the interconnected processes by which the arts generate cultural capital in the form of confidence, image, individual well-being, social cohesion and economic viability. The analysis also highlights the ongoing power relations which prescribe artistic production, circulation and valuation. The implications of such a rethinking and application go well beyond one city and region to other places grappling with the relationship between artistic production and urban well being. By focusing on the broad-ranging process by which artistic value is created for individuals, groups, professionals, communities and governments, a model becomes available for other places to use in realising their cultural capital.

Of great love and immense hate: the ambivalence of the other in a local/global school

In recent times, and in times of insurgent globalisation, modern notions of identity and with them, conceptions of essential and primordially defined difference seem to have fallen apart. Identity is understood as post-modern, a ‘moveable feast’ of ever-in-process, negotiated differences. The examination of the material and conceptual terms and conditions that position these logics otherwise suggests that these arguments remain tied within conceptions of ourselves made through the ambivalent conceptions of others. In this paper, I trace these paradoxical relations as they are represented in a particular local Melbourne school at each end of a decade and at a time of increasing demographic change and global transformation. Teachers and parents understood and defined their identities and the identities of others in ways that were increasingly fragmented, changing and complex. Beneath these changing patterns, they continued to define others as different and as not us in ways that were ambivalent and extreme. These negotiations took place differently in recent years as the definitions of essential notions of identity changed and became more complex to define. Nevertheless, they continued as ambivalent stories of otherness that transversed the tortuous spectrum between orientalism and nativism speculated upon in post-colonial writings.

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.

Futures now - teaching futures education

In the post-modern world, it has been said that there is now greater uncertainty in life than in any previous period, simply because so much has changed as a result of the speed of technological change.

From the educational view point, Futures education is a necessity as times continue to change, in regards to both the sustainability of the person and that of the environment. It is true that uncertainty will always remain an aspect of thinking about the future, however in order to make what is ahead more accessible to everyone, educators have a duty of care to their students to facilitate or educate in regards to tools, concepts and understandings which will help students to become world shapers, and shapers of their own personal futures. This must occur as part of ongoing educator training.

Tracking the nomadic life of the educational researcher :- what future for feminist public intellectual(s) and/in the performative postmodern university

Is the idea of the liberal university dead, has the post modern university any chance of being emancipatory, has the theory practice divide merely collapsed in an era of 'new knowledge work', or has the university just become one aspect of market state and global capitalism. Knowledge based economies simultaneously locate universities as central to the commodification and management of knowledge while the legitimacy of the university and the academic as knowledge producers is challenged by post modernist, feminist, postcolonial and indigenous claims within a wider trend towards the 'democratisation of knowledge' and a new educational instrumentalism and opportunism. What becomes of the educational researcher, and indeed for their professional organizations, in this changing socio political and economic scenario? Is our role one of policy service or policy critique, technical expert or public intellectual? In particular what place is there for feminist public intellectuals in a socalled era of post feminism and public-/private convergence? The paper draws on recent debates around the nature of knowledge based societies, trends in relations between policy and educational research, and draws upon feminist and critical perspectives to mount a case for the importance of the postmodern university and the public intellectual.

Building realities less limited than their own : young people practising same sex attraction on the internet

The internet has met with mixed community reactions, especially when the focus is on young people's internet use. There are those who fear that the internet will introduce undesirable people and information into the home, leaving the young vulnerable and exploited. Alternatively, there are others who argue that the exclusion of young people from the internet is one of many examples of the diminishing public space that is made available to young people in this post-modern world. In this article we focus on the internet use of one ‘space deprived’ group of marginalized young people, those who are same-sex attracted. Regardless of some important changes in Australian culture and law, these young people's opportunities to openly live their sexual difference remain restricted. In this article we are interested in exploring the role of the internet as a space in which some important sexuality work can be done. What we found was that the internet was providing young people with the space to practise six different aspects of their sexual lives namely identity, friendship, coming out, intimate relationships, sex and community.

Better use of rhetorical theory in public relations

Some of the most important reflections on rhetorical theory associated with public relations appear in: L’Etang (1996); Toth (1999); and various Robert Heath contributions. This paper will reflect on the importance of that work by briefly scouring the origin of rhetoric among the ancient founders of persuasive communication: the pre-Socratic sophists. The paper will then relate the approaches of the above theorists, as well as Kevin Moloney and James Grunig, to the original meaning of sophistry. The last part of the paper will discuss the confluence of rhetorical and semiotic approaches. The rhetoricsemiotics link has been present since the semiotics of St Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). Augustine was a professor of rhetoric in his earlier career. The last part of the paper summarises how rhetorical theory, Peircean semiotics and post modern approaches can avoid accusations of relativism and infinite semiosis when they are fitted into a theory of public relations.