Severed heads and compliant bodies? a speculation about principal identities

When I had to reapply for my own position as principal I felt as if I was facing the prospect of losing a part of myself. Conversations with other women colleagues confirmed that I was not alone in this response. Taking this as my cue, I explore the notion of principal “identification” practices—that is the continuing process of forming a “principal identity”—through personal narrative, a Cartesian metaphor and emerging research evidence. In particular, I focus on how conditions of entrepreneurial governance change a continuing policy commitment to heroic leadership, and how principal and school identities are conflated through accountability regimes, marketing requirements and work intensification. I propose that a study of changing principal identities might fruitfully add to critical leadership and management scholarship, complementing the emergent corpus on emotions in leadership.

Futures for Australian curriculum studies: metaphors, genres and complicated conversations

My specific brief for the conference presentation on which this essay is based was to speak from the standpoint of a 'curriculum theorist'. However, I rarely use the terms 'curriculum theory' or 'curriculum theorising' other than in the company of US and Canadian colleagues. I prefer to speak of 'curriculum inquiry' or 'curriculum work' and I think of my work as a university teacher and researcher as being directed towards understanding curriculum. From this standpoint I interpret the theme of this Point and Counterpoint, 'Futures for Australian Curriculum', as a focus for speculation on the possible and desirable ways in which the arts of curriculum inquiry can be developed, tested and renewed. In other words, how can we sustain rigorous, vigorous and generative forms of curriculum work?
I will respond to this question by referring to three artefacts of Australian curriculum studies, the first two of which come from the Australian
Curriculum Studies Association's (ACSA) own material history; the third is (arguably) the major synoptic text of North American 'curriculum theory' published during the past decade. I will use these artefacts to illustrate three key issues concerning futures in curriculum inquiry, namely:
• the significance of metaphor;
• questions about genre and a renewed role for
the arts in our work;
• the idea of 'complicated conversation'.

Survivalist anxieties: Australian responses to Asia, 1890s to the present

From the 1880s there has been speculation about Australia's Asian futures. The contexts in which Asia has been invoked and the constructions of both a 'generic Asia' and specific countries in the region have played a critical role in defining the limits and possibilities of Australian nationhood. While there has been a persistent anxiety about Australia's vulnerability to Asia (our empty north, our unguarded coastline) there have long been advocates of closer engagement with the region.

A preliminary study of 16S rRNA sequence variation in Australia Macrobrachium shrimps (Palaemonidae: Decapoda) reveals inconsistencies in their current classification

The systematic relationships among Australian palaemonid shrimps have been the subject of speculation for some time. A preliminary phylogenetic study was undertaken to clarify the relationships of five species, Macrobrachium intermedium (Stimpson), M. australiense (Holthuis), M. atactum (Riek), M. rosenbergii (de Man) and Palaemon serenus (Heller), using 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene sequences. Phylogenetic analyses indicated inconsistencies with the current classification in two respects. First, M. intermedium formed a very well-supported clade with P. serenus distinct from M. australiense, M. atactum and M. rosenbergii. Second, the two species from inland Australia, M. australiense and M. atactum, showed a high level of genetic similarity over a substantial geographic range, suggesting that they may represent conspecific populations. The taxonomic and biogeographic implications of these findings for Macrobrachium in Australia are discussed.

Molecular taxonomy and phylogenetics of some species of Australian palaemonid shrimps

The evolutionary history and classification of the palaemonid shrimps has been the subject of constant speculation and debate. At present, all major systematic treatments have been based on morphological characteristics. To help resolve the phylogenetic relationships, and thus enable the creation of a classification system that reflects evolutionary history, a region of the 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene was sequenced for a number of Australian Palaemonidae. The resulting phylogenetic analyses indicated the presence of major anomalies in the current classification of Australian Palaemonidae. Significantly, three species belonging to three separate genera, Macrobrachium intermedium, Palaemon serenus, and Palaemonetes australis, are closely related, with genetic differences more characteristic with that of congeneric species. The results also demonstrate non-monophyly in Australian palaemonids with respect to both Palaemonetes and Macrobrachium.

Do dot coms add value : a preliminary study of the market capitalisation of Australian and Indian telecoms and banking sectors

E-Business is increasingly reshaping the way businesses operate across the globe. Globally, businesses in the banking and telecoms sectors have been re-engineering their value chains by adopting e-Business presence by means of dot com launches. The second half of the 1990s, however, saw both the rise and subsequent collapse of dot com entities as a major focus of investment interest, with consequent speculation over the viability of this corporate vehicle. The perceived increase in market capitalisation by means of these ventures during the boom period is now not so certain. In this paper, we report the results of a preliminary study which investigated the impact of dot com launches on market capitalisation within the banking and telecoms sectors of Australia and India.

Veiled threats : recurrent cultural anxieties in Australia

At the end of the nineteenth century, white Australians found themselves in a turbulent and rapidly changing world. As British settlers in a vast, often-perplexing and under-populated continent, they were increasingly aware that they lived in a crowded and predominantly Asian neighbourhood. Their supposedly empty spaces seemed to invite the unwanted attention of hostile outsiders, fertile soil for speculation about vulnerable borders, invasion and violation. It was commonplace of the period for white females to be considered at once particularly vulnerable and also innocent symbols of the new nation. They needed to be protected against Asian males allegedly bent on conquest and violation. It does not follow that these “invasion narratives”, however persistent, meant that the entire population was disabled by fear and dread, but there is convincing evidence of a deeply embedded cultural anxiety about the destructive possibilities and hostile intentions of Asian outsiders. In this article, the authors examine recent representations of Muslims as hostile outsiders in Australia, focusing in particular on the veil as a marker of female oppression under Islam and a sign of the threat attributed to the Islamic community in Australia. While it would be misleading to propose a simple line of progression from late nineteenth century apprehensions to those a century or more later, there are nonetheless intriguing parallels and recurrent expressions of survivalist anxiety across the period examined in this article.

Travelling pedagogies : curriculum for a global world

Travel can interrupt and disrupt ways of seeing and understanding the world. For teachers, their experience of travel is often overlooked as a resource to be utilised in the classroom and school. This paper explores the impact of travel on teachers’ work through analysis of two teachers’ experiences of an educational study tour. The impact of this travel can be seen through revised curriculum, teachers’ increased knowledge and altered customs. A discussion of this impact is through the social imaginary. The central argument is that teachers’ travel experiences are an undervalued resource with potential to shape a global education and improve classroom effectiveness. It concludes with speculation about the possibilities for enrichment of classroom practices through travel experiences both as personal growth and curriculum renewal that responds to education for a changing world.

Computer-simulated environment for training : challenge of efficacy evaluation

Computer-assisted instruction has been around for decades. There has been much speculation about the benefits of computer-mediated learning. Numerous applications have been developed in different domains incorporated with emerging technologies. In recently years, advanced technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), have received much attention in their potential of creating interactive learning experience for the users. However, related literature and empirical studies indicated that learning effects in computer-simulated environments or Virtual Environments (VEs) are not systematically tested. Furthermore, the performance and learning in computer-simulated learning environment need to be evaluated through more rigorous methods. This paper suggests that 1) the efficacy of VEs is subject to a close examination, not only in terms of how VE-based training systems are easy of use, but also in terms of how effective learning is; 2) evaluation of learning in computer simulated learning environments is required to be reconsidered in terms of theoretical basis and evaluation methodologies that are relevant to the measurement of training effectiveness in computer-simulated virtual learning environment. This paper explains on how learning can be assessed in VEs through the lens of training evaluation.

Beyond mimesis : place, interpretation and response

My study examines the subjective nature of artistic interpretation through the notion of mimesis as process or transformation of material. Influential factors that mediate in the artistic process, such as memory, reflection and an awareness of cultural analogy and metaphor, are examined and related to a specific project in the studio, where the mediation process is further influenced by the materials used to produce the images. My studies of the concept of mimesis have revealed an intermediary realm that exists in the space between empirical reality and its interpretation. Throughout history the process of mimesis has been integral to all forms of the arts. In Plato's time the production of an image that simulated things as they appeared to the eye was considered a desired ideal. Aristotle later introduced developments which extended this concept to include a refiguring or reforming of material derived from the original source, making new connections between existing factors and in this transformation bringing new meanings to a symbolically constituted world. This discussion of the representation of reality, the influence of a dialogue between notions of imitation and the recreation of material continues throughout the exegesis. My study emphasises the interpretive stage of the mimetic process where a consideration of these themes is most relevant and some of the factors that can influence its outcome. It is my opinion that the production of images in response to the particularities of place can be defined in three stages. Firstly, the experience of the place; secondly, the beginning and maturation of the idea or concept; where mimesis takes place, and thirdly, the production of the art work in response. This process is illustrated in Part 2 of the exegesis, where the development of the studio work is documented and linked with the themes discussed in Part 1. The geographic site or place I selected to study is adjacent to Mt. Noorat, a volcanic site in the Western district of Victoria; the surrounding plains are littered with scoria that has been thrown out of the volcano thousands of years ago. Early British, Scottish and Irish settlers to this region used the stone to construct fences reminiscent of their homeland, through this activity they cleared the land and confined and protected their stock. My interests are in factors that include - the material of the stone, notions of enclosure and safety, of boundaries and circumscribed space, and of the cultural reflection that has taken place in this reconstruction of Eurocentric vision. These walls also represent the means by which land was enclosed and property defined, moving from a situation of public access to notions of ownership and the annexation of land for individual gain. Around each point of eruption, the craggy volcanic scoria has been used to create a constructed landscape which both symbolises and mirrors the Anglo - Celtic origins of the people. I have used the legend of Narcissus to illustrate the self-reflective and introspective processes that the settlers invoked in their attempts to come to terms with a strange land. I consider that the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection, finds a parellel in the creation of the walls. The re-creation of artifacts from their own cultural environment provided the settlers with a familiar 'face' in an alien world; a reassurance of the familiar in an unfamiliar terrain. Part of this study is an investigation of this notion of landscape as cultural reflection. Geographers have long known that landscape is a cultural construct, an historically evolving ideal manifested in painting, prints and drawings as well as poetry, gardens and parks. One can view these constructions as illustrations or images of meaning which constitute representations of cultural ideals. The neo-classical influence reflected in the paintings of artists who accompanied the early expeditions to Australia demonstrates these themes. The medium of the mirror provides the opportunity to suggest aspects of a cultural reflection and an awareness of identity that has relevance to contemporary Australian culture, therefore, I have allowed it to play a major role throughout this study. Its role in mimesis, firstly, as a reflection in an imitative sense is established, then in its refigurative role, in which the similarities between the original and the reformed rely more on correlative factors than representation. I have used examples from the history of art to illustrate this potential. The formation and development of a narrative involving reflection threads throughout the thesis, both in the visual presentation and in the exegesis. The production of a body of paintings, drawings and sculpture reflect my interpretation and response to the particular site. The correspondences between these works and my theoretical concerns is articulated in the exegesis. The metaphor implied by the use of the walls as agents of enclosure also refers to the capacity of the individual to be confined by notional boundaries and restrictive practices where totalising systems of thought dominate theoretical debate and restrict its freedom. I have used images where gaps in the walls represent the potential implicit to the concept of liminal space, where the spectator moves from one physical space to another and from one stage of development to another. The threshold of this opening in the walls becomes the site where transformation can take place, a metaphor for the mimetic process where the initial experience is translated and transformed into the final product. The paintings, drawings and other works in this series fulfil the role of marks on the surface of the mirror, separating the initial experience from the processes of memory, reflection and speculation. The works draw attention to the materiality that they represent and yet provide the opportunity for new insights and experiences, allowing the subjective nature of artistic activity to combine symbolic elements relating to the site, resulting in the production of meaning.

Hail to the chief! Leadership and structural change in the level of consensus on the High Court of Australia

This article identifies structural breaks in dissenting and single opinions on the High Court of Australia and uses a recent method proposed by Caporale and Grier (2002) to examine the effect of leadership on variations in the dissent rate between 1904 and 2001. Although there has been much speculation about the effectiveness of different Chief Justices in obtaining consensus on the Court, to this point most of the evidence has been anecdotal. Our main findings are that the structural breaks that we identify coincide with major turning points in the leadership of the Court and that leadership has been important in explaining variations in the proportion of dissenting opinions on the Court.

'By the facts we add to our store' : Lorimer Fison, Lewis Henry Morgan and the spread of kinship studies in Australia

The formal study of kinship was introduced to the South Pacific Islands and the Australian colonies by Methodist missionary Lorimer Fison who distributed schedules and collected kinship data from around the region in collaboration with the founder of Anthropology in America, Lewis Henry Morgan. This article is a sequel to H. Gardner, 2008 'The origins of kinship in Oceania', Oceania, 78:2, 137-150. It traces Lorimer Fison's return to the Australian colonies from his mission post in Fiji and the subsequent spread of kinship schedules to settlers, missionaries and administrators around Australia. Based on unpublished correspondence, the article investigates Fison's gradual disillusionment with Morgan's evolutionist hypothesis of the development of the human family and his disdain for the speculation of much metropolitan anthropology in the 1870s.

Oleocanthal, a natural anti-Inflammatory compound in extra virgin olive oil

Recent research on the olive oil phenolic, oleo canthal has led to speculation that it may confer some of the health benefits associated with a traditional Mediterranean diet. Oleocanthal produces a peppery, stinging sensation at the back of the throat similar to that of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), ibuprofen. This led to the hypothesis that the perceptual similarity between oleocanthal and ibuprofen may indicate similar pharmacological properties. Subsequent studies have proved the hypothesis and oleocanthal was shown not only to inhibit inflammation in the same way as ibuprofen does, but it was found to be substantially more potent than this NSAID. It is important to note that inflammation has been demonstrated to playa significant role in the development of a number of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and certain types of cancers. Therefore, as a result of dietary feeding with olive oil as a part of the traditional Mediterranean diet, a reduction in inflammation produced by oleocanthal is speculated to be the potential mechanism that is partially responsible for the health benefits associated with this dietary pattern. This review summarizes the current knowledge on oleocanthal, in tenns of its physiological and sensory properties, as well as a discussion on the factors that have the ability to affect oleocanthal concentrations in extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs).

Crime risks of three-dimensional virtual environments

Three-dimensional virtual environments (3dves) are the new generation of digital multi-user social networking platforms. Their immersive character allows users to create a digital humanised representation or avatar, enabling a degree of virtual interaction not possible through conventional text-based internet technologies. As recent international experience demonstrates, in addition to the conventional range of cybercrimes (including economic fraud, the dissemination of child pornography and copyright violations), the 'virtual-reality' promoted by 3dves is the source of great speculation and concern over a range of specific and emerging forms of crime and harm to users. This paper provides some examples of the types of harm currently emerging in 3dves and suggests internal regulation by user groups, terms of service, or end-user licensing agreements, possibly linked to real-world criminological principles. This paper also provides some directions for future research aimed at understanding the role of Australian criminal law and the justice system more broadly in this emerging field.