Re-imagining static Utopias : unraveling the bat/human problem

The making of the modern world has long been fuelled by utopian images that are blind to ecological reality. Botanical gardens are but one example – who typically portray themselves as miniature, isolated 'edens on earth'. Whilst respected, heritage-laden institutions such as the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia promote such an idealised image they are now self-evidently also the vital ‘lungs’ of a crowded city as well as a critical habitats for threatened biodiversity (in this case notably flying foxes). In 2010 the 'Remnant Emergency Artlab' set out to alleviate this utopian hangover through a creative provocation called the 'Botanical Gardens ‘X-Tension’ - an imagined city-wide, distributed, network of 'ecological gardens' - in order to ask, what now needs to be better understood, connected and therefore ultimately conserved?

Heidegger's hippies : a dissenting voice on "the problem of the subject"

This is a deliberately contentious paper about the future of the socio-political sphere in the West based on what we know about its past. I argue that the predominant public discourse in Western countries is best characterised as one of selective forgetfulness; a semi-blissful, amnesiacal state of collective dementia that manifests itself in symbolic idealism: informationalism. Informationalism is merely the latest form of idealism. It is a lot like religion insofar as it causally relates abstract concepts with reality and, consequently, becomes confused between the two. Historically, this has proven to be a dangerous state of affairs, especially when elites becomes confused between ideas about how a society should work, and the way it actually does work. Central to the idealism of the information age, at least in intellectual spheres, is the so called "problem of the subject". I argue that the "problem of the subject" is a largely synthetic, destabilising, and ultimately fruitless theoretical abstraction which turns on a synthetically derived, generalised intradiscursive space; existentialist nihilism; and the theoretical baubles of ontological metaphysics. These philosophical aberrations are, in turn, historically concomitant with especially destructive political and social configurations. This paper sketches a theoretical framework for identity formation which rejects the problem of the subject, and proposes potential resources, sources, and strategies with which to engage the idealism that underpins this obfuscating problematic in an age of turbulent social uncertainty. Quite simply, I turn to history as the source of human identity. While informationalism, like religion, is mostly focused on utopian futures, I assert that history, not the future, holds the solutions for substantive problematics concerning individual and social identities. I argue here that history, language, thought, and identity are indissolubly entangled and so should be understood as such: they are the fundamental parts of 'identities in action'. From this perspective, the ‘problem of the subject’ becomes less a substantive intellectual problematic and more a theoretical red herring.

A proactive response to the mobbing problem : a guide for HR managers

This paper introduces the concept of workplace mobbing as a destructive organizational behaviour of psychological assaults perpetrated against the target causing them harm and loss of employment. The discussion is drawn from a three year Australian study of 212 self identified targets of workplace mobbing behaviours. The behaviours are typically covert with informal networks and friendship loyalties providing effective mechanisms for emotional abuse, including those arising from human resource management practices. This paper discusses the manipulation of informal sources of power, with the use of gossip, rumour, hearsay, and innuendo to discredit and demonise those targeted. The study explores some of the systemic reasons for these behaviours and identifies some of the contributing risk factors and suggests management practices that can minimise the harm caused.

Helping someone with problem drinking: Mental health first aid guidelines - a Delphi expert consensus study

Background Alcohol is a leading risk factor for avoidable disease burden. Research suggests that a drinker's social network can play an integral role in addressing hazardous (i.e., high-risk) or problem drinking. Often however, social networks do not have adequate mental health literacy (i.e., knowledge about mental health problems, like problem drinking, or how to treat them). This is a concern as the response that a drinker receives from their social network can have a substantial impact on their willingness to seek help. This paper describes the development of mental health first aid guidelines that inform community members on how to help someone who may have, or may be developing, a drinking problem (i.e., alcohol abuse or dependence). Methods A systematic review of the research and lay literature was conducted to develop a 285-item survey containing strategies on how to help someone who may have, or may be developing, a drinking problem. Two panels of experts (consumers/carers and clinicians) individually rated survey items, using a Delphi process. Surveys were completed online or via postal mail. Participants were 99 consumers, carers and clinicians with experience or expertise in problem drinking from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Items that reached consensus on importance were retained and written into guidelines. Results The overall response rate across all three rounds was 68.7% (67.6% consumers/carers, 69.2% clinicians), with 184 first aid strategies rated as essential or important by ≥80% of panel members. The endorsed guidelines provide guidance on how to: recognize problem drinking; approach someone if there is concern about their drinking; support the person to change their drinking; respond if they are unwilling to change their drinking; facilitate professional help seeking and respond if professional help is refused; and manage an alcohol-related medical emergency. Conclusion The guidelines provide a consensus-based resource for community members seeking to help someone with a drinking problem. Improving community awareness and understanding of how to identify and support someone with a drinking problem may lead to earlier recognition of problem drinking and greater facilitation of professional help seeking.

Optimal allocation strategies for the dark pool problem

We study the problem of allocating stocks to dark pools. We propose and analyze an optimal approach for allocations, if continuous-valued allocations are allowed. We also propose a modification for the case when only integer-valued allocations are possible. We extend the previous work on this problem to adversarial scenarios, while also improving on their results in the iid setup. The resulting algorithms are efficient, and perform well in simulations under stochastic and adversarial inputs.

The undirected feedback vertex set problem has a Poly(k) Kernel

Resolving a noted open problem, we show that the Undirected Feedback Vertex Set problem, parameterized by the size of the solution set of vertices, is in the parameterized complexity class Poly(k), that is, polynomial-time pre-processing is sufficient to reduce an initial problem instance (G, k) to a decision-equivalent simplified instance (G', k') where k' � k, and the number of vertices of G' is bounded by a polynomial function of k. Our main result shows an O(k11) kernelization bound.

Affect, attention, or anticipatory arousal? Human blink startle modulation in forward and backward affective conditioning

Affect modulates the blink startle reflex in the picture-viewing paradigm, however, the process responsible for reflex modulation during conditional stimuli (CSs) that have acquired valence through affective conditioning remains unclear. In Experiment 1, neutral shapes (CSs) and valenced or neutral pictures (USs) were paired in a forward (CS → US) manner. Pleasantness ratings supported affective learning of positive and negative valence. Post-acquisition, blink reflexes were larger during the pleasant and unpleasant CSs than during the neutral CS. Rather than affect, attention or anticipatory arousal were suggested as sources of startle modulation. Experiment 2 confirmed that affective learning in the picture–picture paradigm was not affected by whether the CS preceded the US. Pleasantness ratings and affective priming revealed similar extents of affective learning following forward, backward or simultaneous pairings of CSs and USs. Experiment 3 utilized a backward conditioning procedure (US → CS) to minimize effects of US anticipation. Again, blink reflexes were larger during CSs paired with valenced USs regardless of US valence implicating attention rather than anticipatory arousal or affect as the process modulating startle in this paradigm.

LEGO robotics : an authentic problem solving tool?

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the students were able to effectively relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The qualitative study involved 23 Grade 6 students participating in robotics activities at a Brisbane primary school. The study included data collected from researcher observations of student problem solving discussions, collected software programs, and data from a student completed questionnaire. Results from the study indicated that the robotic activities assisted students to reflect on the problem solving decisions they made. The study also highlighted that the students were able to relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The study demonstrated that while LEGO robotics can be considered useful problem solving tools in the classroom, careful teacher scaffolding needs to be implemented in regards to correlating LEGO with authentic problem solving. Further research in regards to how teachers can best embed realworld contexts into effective robotics lessons is recommended.