Mining universities : can we count on the integrity of research coming out of today's mining-funded tertiary sector?

Australia's economic growth and national identity have been widely celebrated as being founded on the nation's natural resources. With the golden era of pastoralism fading into the distance, a renewed love affair with primary industries has been much lauded, particularly by purveyors of neoliberal ideology. The considerable wealth generated by resource extraction has, despite its environmental and social record, proved seductive to the university sector. The mining industry is one of a number of industries and sectors (alongside pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnological) that is increasingly courting Australian universities. These new public-private alliances are often viewed as the much-needed cash cow to bridge the public funding shortfall in the tertiary sector. However, this trend also raises profound questions about the capacity of public good institutions, as universities were once assumed to be, to maintain institutional independence and academic freedoms.

'The Australian we all aspire to be' : commemorative journalism and the death of the Crocodile Hunter

This article examines the news coverage the death of Steve Irwin, widely known as the Crocodile Hunter, generated in Australia. In line with past research on commemorative journalism, the study demonstrates the dominant discourses employed in the reporting of Irwin's death. It is argued that Australia's newspapers invoked a number of national myths, such as mateship, larrikinism and anti-elitism, in order to re-assert notions of Australian identity and social values and to deal with the grief over his loss. Most importantly, the study sheds new light on how news media deal with challenges to the dominant memorialising discourse. Past studies had not been able to investigate in much detail alternative discourses, but in examining Irwin's death, we are able to see how the media deal with such an unwanted interruption. It is argued that newspapers appropriated the alternative perspective within the mythical terms of their memorialising discourse, thereby not allowing it to disrupt the memorialisation itself and in fact further strengthening the process of mythologising the Crocodile Hunter.

Publishing

Publishing is no doubt one of the oldest and most diverse sectors in the creative economy. While publishing originally was associated with print and paper, the term is nowadays also commonly used to represent organizations that control, administer and license intellectual properties in other sectors of the creative economy such as videogames and music. While the title of this chapter is ‘Publishing’, we have no intention of covering all publishing related activities, but will focus on the economic consequences of digitization on two traditional and important print media sectors, namely books and magazines. Within these sectors we will specifically focus on consumer magazines and trade books, in other words books and magazines that are sold via commercial retailers to consumers. It is relevant to study these two publishing industries, since they share a number of very fundamental characteristics and have experienced similar economic consequences caused by the digitization of the creative economy. Both industries have undergone a gradual shift from print to digital and increasingly rely on revenues based on digital content carriers such as e- books, tablet magazine applications, special interest websites, blogs and so on.

Why not the best schools? What we have learned from outstanding schools around the world

Why not the Best Schools? offers a ten-point, ten-year plan for an education revolution that will result in the transformation of Australia’s schools. Expectations have been raised in Australia and comparable countries for an ‘education revolution’ that will secure success for all students in all settings. Such a revolution must ensure the alignment of educational outcomes, the skills required for a strong economy, and the needs of a harmonious society. Why not the Best Schools? goes beyond system characteristics to provide an in-depth account of how transformation occurs in schools. Fifty indicators are provided to help shape strategies for policy makers and practitioners in schools and school systems. Guidelines for leadership and governance ensure a future-focus for those who are determined to ensure that all students will succeed in the twentieth-first century. This book draws on a five-year study culminating in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools conducted in Australia, China, England, Finland, the United States and Wales. The findings are consistent with the McKinsey & Company report on the world’s best performing school systems and those arising from OECD’s PISA.

"The Stratified Record upon Which We Set Our Feet" : The Spatial Turn and the Multilayering of History, Geography, and Geology

In Thomas Mann’s tetralogy of the 1930s and 1940s, Joseph and His Brothers, the narrator declares history is not only “that which has happened and that which goes on happening in time,” but it is also “the stratified record upon which we set our feet, the ground beneath us.” By opening up history to its spatial, geographical, and geological dimensions Mann both predicts and encapsulates the twentieth-century’s “spatial turn,” a critical shift that divested geography of its largely passive role as history’s “stage” and brought to the fore intersections between the humanities and the earth sciences. In this paper, I draw out the relationships between history, narrative, geography, and geology revealed by this spatial turn and the questions these pose for thinking about the disciplinary relationship between geography and the humanities. As Mann’s statement exemplifies, the spatial turn itself has often been captured most strikingly in fiction, and I would argue nowhere more so than in Graham Swift’s Waterland (1983) and Anne Michaels’s Fugitive Pieces (1996), both of which present space, place, and landscape as having a palpable influence on history and memory. The geographical/geological line that runs through both Waterland and Fugitive Pieces continues through Tim Robinson’s non-fictional, two-volume “topographical” history Stones of Aran. Robinson’s Stones of Aran—which is not history, not geography, and not literature, and yet is all three—constructs an imaginative geography that renders inseparable geography, geology, history, memory, and the act of writing.

We have a lot to learn yet : a postcolonial lens in health promotion

Health promotion progresses a social justice and empowerment agenda and thus emphasises working with people to increase their control over their health. Certainly, Australia has experienced much success in this endeavour and is internationally recognised as a leader. However, health promotion has failed Indigenous Australians; a fact that is echoed in the health outcomes that ironically provide us with the “moral imperative” to act. Further investigation has also revealed health promotion’s foundation in colonial imaginings. Thus, this paper calls for the culture of health promotion to be examined as a risk factor for poor Indigenous health. To complement this call, this paper presents findings of an ethnographic study of Indigenous health promotion practice, undertaken from a postcolonial and critical whiteness framework. These findings provide a narrative of strength and innovative approaches, highlighting the value of Indigenous knowledge. These findings also contradict the biomedical tendency to construct culture as illness-producing. More broadly, this study’s findings entail important lessons for health promotion to consider, if it is to move beyond the rhetoric, to truly increase people’s control over their health.

Palliative care provision for patients with a haematological malignancy : can we do more?

This editorial depicts the current challenges in palliative care provision for patients with a haematological malignancy and the contribution of cancer nurses. There have been significant advancements in the care of patients with a hematological malignancy over the past three or more decades1. Despite this, there still exists a significant mortality risk in curative treatment and many patients with a hematological malignancy will die from their disease1. A growing body of research indicates patients with a hematological malignancy do not receive best practice palliative and end-of-life care2. Shortfalls in care include poor referral patterns to specialist palliative care services, lack of honest discussions regarding death and dying, inadequate spiritual care for patients and families, patients frequently dying in the acute care setting and high levels of patient and family distress2. There have been a number of efforts in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Sweden, and Australia demonstrating palliative and hematology care can co-exist, exemplified through clinical case studies and innovative models of care2. However, deficits in the provision of palliative care for patients with a hematological malignancy persist as evident in the international literature2. Addressing this issue requires research exploring new aspects of a complex scenario; here we suggest priority areas of research...

Do we need to prescribe exercise differently for premenopausal and postmenopausal women?

The article by Kretzschmar et al 1 in this issue of Menopause details a study investigating the effect of a mild-intensity aerobic exercise training program on markers of mortality risk in both pre- and post-menopausal African American women. The findings of this study showed that aerobic exercise training was successful in improving some markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in post-menopausal women. The premise of this study, however, does suggest that increased exercise intensity may be required in post-menopausal women as opposed to pre-menopausal women to achieve the same decreased changes in CVD markers. The outcome of the study is thus of interest to the readers of Menopause and to all those who provide health care to postmenopausal women, as it suggests that higher levels of exercise intensity or perhaps additional interventions may need to be considered in this population to further decrease mortality risk. The study therefore, has greater implications than simply the suggestion of tailoring exercise interventions generally; rather, the publication highlights the importance of prescribing exercise as medicine in a tailored fashion for women depending on their menopausal status.

Antibody-based immunotherapy for ovarian cancer: where are we at?

Cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy continue to be the mainstay of ovarian cancer treatment. However, as mortality from advanced ovarian cancer remains very high, novel therapies are required to be integrated into existing treatment regimens. Immunotherapy represents an alternative and rational therapeutic approach for ovarian cancer based on a body of evidence supporting a protective role of the immune system against these cancers, and on the clinical success of immunotherapy in other malignancies. Whether or not immunotherapy will have a role in the future management of ovarian cancer is too early to tell, but research in this field is active. This review will discuss recent clinical developments of selected immunotherapies for ovarian cancer which fulfil the following criteria: (i) they are antibody-based, (ii) target a distinct immunological pathway, and (iii) have reached the clinical trial stage. Specifically, the focus is on Catumaxomab (anti-EpCAM × anti-CD3), Abagovomab, Oregovomab (anti-CA125), Daclizumab (anti-CD25), Ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4), and MXD-1105 (anti-PD-L1). Catumaxomab has reached phase III clinical trials and exhibits promise with reports, showing that it can cause a significant and sustained reduction in ascites. Phase I–III clinical trials continue to be conducted on the other antibodies, some of which have had encouraging reports. We will also provide our perspective on the future of immunotherapy for ovarian cancer, and how it may be best employed in treatment regimens.

Why we should not cut P.E.

Thinking of cutting physical education? Think again. Even as we bemoan children's sedentary lifestyles, we often sacrifice school-based physical education in the name of providing more time for academics. In 2006, only 3.8 percent of elementary schools, 7.9 percent of middle schools, and 2.1 percent of high schools offered students daily physical education or its equivalent for the entire school year (Lee, Burgeson, Fulton, & Spain, 2007). We believe this marked reduction in school-based physical activity risks students' health and can't be justified on educational or ethical grounds. We'll get to the educational grounds in a moment. As to ethical reasons for keeping physical activity part of our young people's school days, consider the fact that childhood obesity is now one of the most serious health issues facing U.S. children (Ogden et al., 2006). School-based physical education programs engage students in regular physical activity and help them acquire skills and habits necessary to pursue an active lifestyle. Such programs are directly relevant to preventing obesity. Yet they are increasingly on the chopping block.

Vertical alignment of process models – how can we get there?

There is a wide variety of drivers for business process modelling initiatives, reaching from business evolution and process optimisation over compliance checking and process certification to process enactment. That, in turn, results in models that differ in content due to serving different purposes. In particular, processes are modelled on different abstraction levels and assume different perspectives. Vertical alignment of process models aims at handling these deviations. While the advantages of such an alignment for inter-model analysis and change propagation are out of question, a number of challenges has still to be addressed. In this paper, we discuss three main challenges for vertical alignment in detail. Against this background, the potential application of techniques from the field of process integration is critically assessed. Based thereon, we identify specific research questions that guide the design of a framework for model alignment.

Are we there yet?

The political and bureaucratic discourse surrounding non-profit sector reform is centred on streamlining the regulatory framework. Phrases such as 'one-stop shop','reducing red tape' and 'duplicative, burdensome and unclear requirements' fill press releases, government reports and discussion papers. In this chapter, I examine quantitative measures of the current regulatory compliance burden facing non-profit organisations in Australia as a benchmark for measuring progress over the coming years. I focus on regulatory compliance estimates for four key stages of non-profit enterprise activity non-profit enterprise start-up and registrations; fundraising;grant paperwork; and regulation proportionate to the size of the non-profit enterprise.

Archimedes, aid/watch, constitutional levers and where we now stand

Archimedes is reported as famously saying: 'Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.' He was referring to the power of levers. His point was that a person of ordinary capacity with a place to stand, a fulcrum and a level could change the path of planets. This principle of physics is a metaphor for how the common law has moved over the last millennium. Courts have found a stable foundation on which to stand, such as the constitutional bedrock or well-grounded precedent, and, using cases as fulcrums and legal principles as levers, the have moved the law. Australia is at a critical juncture in the development of the law of charities. The High Court of Australia has held that political purposes can be charitable in certain circumstances. The Parliament of Australia has not only enshrined this in a statutory definition of charity but has done so with a preamble to the legislation which affirms the basis for this development in residing in the 'unique nature and diversity of charities and the distinctive and important role that they play in Australia'.

Measuring up! Bringing everything we know together to make the researcher profile “sing”.

The search is ongoing for the perfect researcher profile with fully integrated citations, plus links to publications, research data, esteem measures, media releases, plus social media feeds and links to the researchers place of work.