Fear, voice, and the environment in Sonya Hartnett's Forerst and The Midnight Zoo

Subtle is not a word that is normally associated with Sonya Hartnett’s style. Rather, she is known for her stark, bold approach. However, when it comes to the Australian environment, Hartnett is indeed subtle in her approach. Hartnett has set in play a new, almost posthumanist style of writing about the nonhuman. The Australian landscape and environment has always figured prominently in Australian literature for both adults and children but Hartnett has taken this writing in a totally different direction. This article looks at two of Hartnett's novels, Forest and The Midnight Zoo, and examines how Hartnett offers new and exciting avenues of thought regarding the place of humans in that environment.

Finding your research voice : the application of bibliometrics as an analytic literature tool on the pedagogic field of higher education

This paper documents the use of bibliometrics as a methodology to bring forth a structured, systematic and rigorous way to analyse and evaluate a range of literature. When starting out and reading broadly for my doctoral studies, one article by Trigwell and Prosser (1996b) led me to reflect about my level of comprehension as the content, concepts and methodology did not resonate with my epistemology. A disconnection between our paradigms emerged. Further reading unveiled the work by Doyle (1987) who categorised research in teaching and teacher education by three main areas: teacher characteristics, methods research and teacher behaviour. My growing concerns that there were gaps in the knowledge also exposed the difficulties in documenting said gaps. As an early researcher who required support to locate myself in the field and to find my research voice, I identified bibliometrics (Budd, 1988; Yeoh & Kaur, 2007) as an appropriate methodology to add value and rigour in three ways. Firstly, the application of bibliometrics to analyse articles is systematic, builds a picture from the characteristics of the literature, and offers a way to elicit themes within the categories. Secondly, by systematic analysis there is occasion to identify gaps within the body of work, limitations in methodology or areas in need of further research. Finally, extension and adaptation of the bibliometrics methodology, beyond citation or content analysis, to investigate the merit of methodology, participants and instruments as a determinant for research worth allowed the researcher to build confidence and contribute new knowledge to the field. Therefore, this paper frames research in the pedagogic field of Higher Education through teacher characteristics, methods research and teacher behaviour, visually represents the literature analysis and locates my research self within methods research. Through my research voice I will present the bibliometrics methodology, the outcomes and document the landscape of pedagogy in the field of Higher Education.

The silence and the silencing of the nurse's voice : a reading of patient progress notes

Content analysis of text offers a method for exploring experiences which usually remain unquestioned and unexamined. In this paper the authors analyse a set of patient progress notes by re-framing them as a narrative account of a significant event in the experience of a patient, her family and attending health care workers. Examination of these notes provides insights into aspects of clinical practice which are usually dealt with at a taken-for-granted level. An interpretation of previously unexamined therapeutic practices within the social and political context of institutional health care is offered.

Standing up and finding my voice through positive digital storytelling

‘Positive Stories’ is a digital storytelling initiative that took place in Adelaide in 2010–2011.1 This article describes participants’ experiences of creative self-representation and the thorny complications of mediating voice, particularly in situations where privacy and publicity are significant issues.

Affect and inarticulacy : the silent voice of the artist

This paper is based on a practice-led research project I conducted into the artist’s ‘voice’ as part of my PhD. The artist’s ‘voice’ is, I argue, comprised of a dual motivation—'articulate' representation and ‘inarticulate’ affect—two things which do not necessarily derive from the artist; two things that are in effect, trans-subjective. Within this paper I will explore the ‘inarticulate’ through the later Lyotard’s affect-phrase, in conjunction with the example of my own painting and digital arts practice, to show just how this unknown can be mapped and understood as generative. As a visual artist my primary interest is in abstraction; I am curious about the emergence of pictorial significance and content from affect’s seemingly unknowable space. My studio practice occasions a sense of borderlessness, and uncertainty where each work or body of work ‘leaks’ into the next, exploring the unfamiliar through the powerful and restless discursive silence of affect. It is within this silence that is performed the disturbing yet generative disconnect that is the affect-phrase. This I contend is apparent in art’s manifest materiality that is, its degree of abstraction and muteness. For the later Lyotard, affect disrupts articulation by injuring or violating the rules of the genres of discourse. For this to be evident one needs to attend to the subtleties of how affect may ‘animate’ discourse. In other words how affect’s discursive disruption activates art’s resistance to definitive interpretation generating even demanding diverse ‘meaning’ creation for art, the abstract, and critical discourse.

Reflexive professionalism : reclaiming the voice of authority in shaping the discourses of education policy

The nature and value of ‘professionalism’ has long been contested by both producers and consumers of policy. Most recently, governments have rewritten and redefined professionalism as compliance with externally imposed ‘standards’. This has been achieved by silencing the voices of those who inhabit the professional field of education. This paper uses Foucauldian archaeology to excavate the enunciative field of professionalism by digging through the academic and institutional (political) archive, and in doing so identifies two key policy documents for further analysis. The excavation shows that while the voices of (academic) authority speak of competing discourses emerging, with professional standards promulgated as the mechanism to enhance professionalism, an alternative regime of truth identifies the privileged use of (managerial) voices from outside the field of education to create a discourse of compliance. There has long been a mismatch between the voices of authority on discourses around professionalism from the academic archive and those that count in contemporary and emerging Australian educational policy. In this paper, we counter this mismatch and argue that reflexive educators’ regimes of truth are worthy of attention and should be heard and amplified.

Digital storytelling as everyday activism : Queer identity, voice and networked publics

This thesis investigates the role of personal Digital Stories shared in public spaces as catalysts for social change. By analysing the influence of workshop facilitators, organisations, digital platforms and networked publics on voice and self-representation, it sheds light on shifting meanings of publicness and privacy, both face to face and online. This thesis argues that, despite numerous obstacles, the cumulative influence of diverse voices dispersed among networked publics shape new cultural norms, thereby contributing to gradual social change.

Developmental lessons from the Capricornia Arts Mob : ‘learning to speak with one voice’

The Capricornia Arts Mob also known as CAM is a collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual artists, sculptors, photographers, carvers and writers based in the Rockhampton Region. Its members are eclectic and include an 18 year old through to Elders. CAM has already had a major exhibition in Rockhampton and is submitting work to a range of arts festivals, events and exhibitions. While their achievements are steadily growing and they have been meeting for 18 months, they have been reluctant to incorporate or implement a formalised structure. In learning how to work together there have been tensions and struggles, there has also been the exhilaration of working collaboratively as artists from diverse Indigenous cultures who utilise different mediums. This has resulted in an incredible vibrancy in creative praxis. Members will share some of CAM’s learnings of the developmental process to date and thoughts and dreams about the future.

Assessment of police subjective workload and preference for using a voice-based interface during simulated driving

Police in-vehicle systems include a visual output mobile data terminal (MDT) with manual input via touch screen and keyboard. This study investigated the potential for voice-based input and output modalities for reducing subjective workload of police officers while driving. Nineteen experienced drivers of police vehicles (one female) from New South Wales (NSW) Police completed four simulated urban drives. Three drives included a concurrent secondary task: an imitation licence number search using an emulated MDT. Three different interface output-input modalities were examined: Visual-Manual, Visual-Voice, and Audio-Voice. Following each drive, participants rated their subjective workload using the NASA - Raw Task Load Index and completed questions on acceptability. A questionnaire on interface preferences was completed by participants at the end of their session. Engaging in secondary tasks while driving significantly increased subjective workload. The Visual-Manual interface resulted in higher time demand than either of the voice-based interfaces and greater physical demand than the Audio-Voice interface. The Visual-Voice and Audio-Voice interfaces were rated easier to use and more useful than the Visual-Manual interface, although not significantly different from each other. Findings largely echoed those deriving from the analysis of the objective driving performance data. It is acknowledged that under standard procedures, officers should not drive while performing tasks concurrently with certain invehicle policing systems; however, in practice this sometimes occurs. Taking action now to develop voice-based technology for police in-vehicle systems has potential to realise visions for potentially safer and more efficient vehicle-based police work.

Capturing the 'authentic voice' : challenges and opportunities for voice and self-representation in two ABC storytelling projects

In recent years there has been a noticeable move by various public institutions, such as public service broadcasters and community media organisations, to capture and disseminate the voices and viewpoints of ‘ordinary people’ through inviting them to share stories about their lives. One of the foremost objectives of many such projects is to provide under-represented individuals and groups with an opportunity to express and represent themselves; as such, the capture and broadcast of ‘authentic voices’ is a central value. This paper discusses the notion of ‘authentic voice’, and questions the framing role of public media organisations in storytelling projects that aim to provide individuals with space for self-expression and self-representation. It considers the ways in which tensions arise on multiple levels when individuals are asked to express and represent themselves within projects and spaces that are managed by institutions. This paper begins by discussing the challenges and opportunities that arise within storytelling projects that are facilitated by public institutions and community media arts organisations, and that aim to amplify the voices of “ordinary people” (Thumim, 2009). It examines ways in which ‘voice’ is facilitated, curated, broadcast and distributed within such projects, particularly questioning the ways in which project facilitation and the curation of stories for public broadcast can both help and hinder the amplification of ‘authentic voice’. Furthermore, we seek to discuss how ‘authentic voice’ is defined, and what is involved in the process of amplification. The paper moves on to discuss a case study in order to demonstrate some of the tensions that are evident within a storytelling project that is managed by a public institution – Australia’s national broadcaster – and the ways these tensions impact upon the capture and broadcast of an ‘authentic voice’ for project participants. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) ‘Heywire’ project is a storytelling competition and website that aims to ‘give voice’ to 16-22 year olds who live in rural, regional and remote parts of Australia. Looking at tensions that exist on organisational, political and philosophical levels within the Heywire project reveals a number of conflicts of interest and objectives between the institution and project participants. This leads us to question whether institutionally-managed storytelling projects can effectively support individuals to have an ‘authentic voice’, and whether struggles of aims and objectives diminish the personal benefits that people may derive from expressing and representing themselves within such projects.

Giving voice to service providers who work with survivors of torture and trauma

Clinicians who support people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds are routinely exposed to stories of trauma as part of their work. Hearing these stories can be highly distressing for clinicians, but simultaneously provide opportunities for positive personal growth. Adopting a longitudinal qualitative design, we interviewed twelve service providers at two time points a year apart. We used a semistructured interview protocol and analyzed the data according to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five superordinate and 19 constituent themes emerged from the analysis at Time 1 and Time 2. We found that participants were both positively and negatively affected by their work, and their experiences remained relatively stable across time. The participants highlighted the use of organizational and personal coping strategies to help minimize distress and maximize wellbeing. Adopting a broad repertoire of such strategies is not only advantageous for the service providers, but ultimately for those people they seek to assist.

The sound of silence : the absence of voice in determining flexible working arrangements

In the context of a dramatically reconfigured labour market characterized by an individualistic culture and increasingly enmeshed life domains of employees, there is raised awareness of how employees may shape or modify their work arrangements. A small component of broader scholarship addressing issues that affect the social context in which individuals work, has focused on the role of ‘employee voice' in determining flexible-work outcomes (Donnelly et al., 2012). Employee voice is a broad term incorporating a spectrum of different practices designed to give employees a say in organisational issues and decisions (Dundon et al., 2004). This article extends work on voice and workplace flexibility by focusing not simply on ‘voice' but on its antithesis: employee silence. Silence is defined here, (following Van Dyne et al., 2003), as the intentional withholding of ideas, information and opinions. The consequences of employee silence in achieving work-life preferences are likely to be significant for both individuals and organizations, in achieving for example, the goals of business efficiency and facilitating employees' needs to fulfill multiple roles and minimize work-life interference.

'I wouldn't say that' : finding a young adult, female voice in a Queensland mining town

This is a practice-led project consisting of a Young Adult novel, Open Cut, and an exegesis, 'I Wouldn't Say That': Finding a Young Adult, Female Voice in a Queensland Mining Town. The thesis investigates the use of first person narration in order to create an immediate engaging, realist Young Adult Fiction. The research design is bound by a feminist interpretative paradigm. The methodology employed is practice-led, auto-ethnography, and participant observation. Particular characteristics of first person narration used in Australian Young Adult Fiction are identified in an analysis of Dust, by Christine Bongers, and Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey. The exegesis also contains a reflection on the researcher's creative work, and the process used to draft, edit, plot and construct the novel. The research contributes to knowledge in the field of Young Adult Literature because it offers a graphic portrayal of an Australian mining town that has not been heard before.