Cultural flows in an Aboriginal school : deterritorializing textual production through a socially mediated Indigenous heritage

Flows of cultural heritage in textual practices are vital to sustaining Indigenous communities. Indigenous heritage, whether passed on by oral tradition or ubiquitous social media, can be seen as a “conversation between the past and the future” (Fairclough, 2012, xv). Indigenous heritage involves appropriating memories within a cultural flow to pass on a spiritual legacy. This presentation reports ethnographic research of social media practices in a small independent Aboriginal school in Southeast Queensland, Australia that is resided over by the Yugambeh elders and an Aboriginal principal. The purpose was to rupture existing notions of white literacies in schools, and to deterritorialize the uses of digital media by dominant cultures in the public sphere. Examples of learning experiences included the following: i. Integrating Indigenous language and knowledge into media text production; ii. Using conversations with Indigenous elders and material artifacts as an entry point for storytelling; iii. Dadirri – spiritual listening in the yarning circle to develop storytelling (Ungunmerr-Baumann, 2002); and iv. Writing and publicly sharing oral histories through digital scrapbooking shared via social media. The program aligned with the Australian National Curriculum English (ACARA, 2012), which mandates the teaching of multimodal text creation. Data sources included a class set of digital scrapbooks collaboratively created in a multi-age primary classroom. The digital scrapbooks combined digitally encoded words, images of material artifacts, and digital music files. A key feature of the writing and digital design task was to retell and digitally display and archive a cultural narrative of significance to the Indigenous Australian community and its memories and material traces of the past for the future. Data analysis of the students’ digital stories involved the application of key themes of negotiated, material, and digitally mediated forms of heritage practice. It drew on Australian Indigenous research by Keddie et al. (2013) to guard against the homogenizing of culture that can arise from a focus on a static view of culture. The interpretation of findings located Indigenous appropriation of social media within broader racialized politics that enables Indigenous literacy to be understood as a dynamic, negotiated, and transgenerational flows of practice. The findings demonstrate that Indigenous children’s use of media production reflects “shifting and negotiated identities” in response to changing media environments that can function to sustain Indigenous cultural heritages (Appadurai, 1696, xv). It demonstrated how the children’s experiences of culture are layered over time, as successive generations inherit, interweave, and hear others’ cultural stories or maps. It also demonstrated how the children’s production of narratives through multimedia can provide a platform for the flow and reconstruction of performative collective memories and “lived traces of a common past” (Giaccardi, 2012). It disrupts notions of cultural reductionism and racial incommensurability that fix and homogenize Indigenous practices within and against a dominant White norm. Recommendations are provided for an approach to appropriating social media in schools that explicitly attends to the dynamic nature of Indigenous practices, negotiated through intercultural constructions and flows, and opening space for a critical anti-racist approach to multimodal text production.

Exploring the international market selection of small to medium sized enterprises

Research into the international market selection (IMS) of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) commonly identifies psychic distance and networks as being the most important determinants of a firm’s IMS. Whether regional factors, such as bilateral and multilateral regional integration, are important as determinants of IMS is not well understood. This paper utilises a multiple case study method through in-depth interviews to investigate, in the context of the current business environment, how important regionalisation, psychic distance and networks are as determinants of IMS among SMEs in the food and beverage industries within Australia and Malaysia. The study found regional considerations to be important to the IMS of Malaysian but not Australian firms, while psychic distance was considered an important determinant on IMS by only half of the sampled firms. The role of networks, however, was considered the most important determinant of IMS among all the sampled firms.

Challenges of knowledge integration in small and medium enterprises

This study attempts to develop a better understanding of the challenges of knowledge integration (KI) within the innovation process in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Using several case studies, this study investigates how knowledge integration may be managed within the context of innovation in SMEs. The research places particular focus on identifying the challenges of knowledge integration in SMEs in relation to three aspects of knowledge integration activities, namely knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge sharing. Four distinct tasks emerged in the knowledge integration process, namely team building capability, capturing tacit knowledge, role of knowledge management (KM) systems, and technological systemic integration. The paper suggests that managing knowledge integration in SMEs can be best managed by focusing on these four tasks, which in turn will lead to innovation.

The implementation of a guideline of care for patients with a Sengstaken-Blakemore tube in situ in a general intensive care unit using transitional change theory

The use of the Sengstaken–Blakemore tube as a life-saving treatment for bleeding oesophageal varices is slowly becoming the least preferred method possibly due to the potential complications associated with its placement. Nursing practice pertaining to the care of this patient group appears ad hoc and reliant on local knowledge and experience as opposed to recognised evidence of best practice. Therefore, this paper focuses on the application of Lewin's transitional change theory used to introduce a change in nursing practice with the application of a guideline to enhance the care of patients with a Sengstaken–Blakemore tube in situ within a general intensive care unit. This method identified some of the complexities surrounding the change process including the driving and restraining forces that must be harnessed and minimised in order for the adoption of change to be successful.

Cartographic Strategies of Postmodernity : the Figure of the Map in Contemporary Theory and Fiction

The last fifty years have witnessed the growing pervasiveness of the figure of the map in critical, theoretical, and fictional discourse. References to mapping and cartography are endemic in poststructuralist theory, and, similarly, geographically and culturally diverse authors of twentieth-century fiction seem fixated upon mapping. While the map metaphor has been employed for centuries to highlight issues of textual representation and epistemology, the map metaphor itself has undergone a transformation in the postmodern era. This metamorphosis draws together poststructuralist conceptualizations of epistemology, textuality, cartography, and metaphor, and signals a shift away from modernist preoccupations with temporality and objectivity to a postmodern pragmatics of spatiality and subjectivity. Cartographic Strategies of Postmodernity charts this metamorphosis of cartographic metaphor, and argues that the ongoing reworking of the map metaphor renders it a formative and performative metaphor of postmodernity.

A formalization of logical imaging for information retrieval using quantum theory

In this paper we introduce a formalization of Logical Imaging applied to IR in terms of Quantum Theory through the use of an analogy between states of a quantum system and terms in text documents. Our formalization relies upon the Schrodinger Picture, creating an analogy between the dynamics of a physical system and the kinematics of probabilities generated by Logical Imaging. By using Quantum Theory, it is possible to model more precisely contextual information in a seamless and principled fashion within the Logical Imaging process. While further work is needed to empirically validate this, the foundations for doing so are provided.

Has portfolio theory got any principles?

Recently, Portfolio Theory (PT) has been proposed for Information Retrieval. However, under non-trivial conditions PT violates the original Probability Ranking Principle (PRP). In this poster, we shall explore whether PT upholds a different ranking principle based on Quantum Theory, i.e. the Quantum Probability Ranking Principle (QPRP), and examine the relationship between this new model and the new ranking principle. We make a significant contribution to the theoretical development of PT and show that under certain circumstances PT upholds the QPRP, and thus guarantees an optimal ranking according to the QPRP. A practical implication of this finding is that the parameters of PT can be automatically estimated via the QPRP, instead of resorting to extensive parameter tuning.

Evaluation and social impact measurement amongst small to medium social enterprises : process, purpose and value

In recent years, the imperative to communicate organisational impacts to a variety of stakeholders has gained increasing importance within all sectors. Despite growing external demands for evaluation and social impact measurement, there has been limited critically informed analysis about the presumed importance of these activities to organisational success and the practical challenges faced by organisations in undertaking such assessment. In this paper, we present the findings from an action research study of five Australian small to medium social enterprises’ practices and use of evaluation and social impact analysis. Our findings have implications for social enterprise operators, policy makers and social investors regarding when, why and at what level these activities contribute to organisational performance and the fulfilment of mission.

Journalism, gender, feminist theory and news reporting on the Australian Football League

This article reports on a review of selected theory and practice in sports journalism to determine if the prominence of female journalists reporting the news of a major sporting movement, and industry, the Australian Football League (AFL) could be attributed to a feminist response to the traditional domination of male values in the sports media complex. The article reviews selected literature to establish that, on the evidence presented, male values have traditionally dominated the news. It then considers feminist theory and alternative feminist responses to the domination of male values in the newsroom. Consideration is also given to Australian research on the ‘seriousness’ of sports news and its coverage (or lack thereof) of more ‘feminine’ news values including human interest stories, stories about culture and those on serious social issues. Interviews with a select group of female journalists who write about the AFL for The Age newspaper in Melbourne are recounted, with a focus on the journalists’ work experiences. The article concludes by drawing together the research findings to demonstrate that, although feminine news values are represented in only a small proportion of AFL news stories, there is evidence to suggest they are afforded a high degree of presentational prominence which reflects the needs and expectations of a female audience. It shows that female journalists do play a meaningful role in the AFL media and that, given the evidence presented, a feminist response to the traditional domination of male values in the sports media complex could indeed be applicable, and taking place.

A question of agency : applying Sen’s theory of human capability to the concept of secondary school student career ‘choice’

In this paper, we seek to operationalize Amartya Sen's concept of human capability to guide a scholarly investigation of student career choice capability. We begin by outlining factors affecting youth labour markets in Australia; a prosperous country that is affected by a ‘two-speed’ national economy. We then examine recent government initiatives that have been designed to combat youth unemployment and cyclical disadvantage by enhancing the aspirations and career knowledge of secondary school students. We argue that these policy measures are based on four assumptions: first, that career choice capability is a problem of individual agency; second, that the dissemination of career information can empower students to act as ‘consumers’ in an unequal job market; third, that agency is simply a question of will; and finally, that school education and career advice – as a means to freedom in the space of career development – is of equal quality, distribution and value to an increasingly diverse range of upper secondary school students. The paper concludes by outlining a conceptual framework capable of informing an empirical research project that aims to test these assumptions by measuring and comparing differences between groups in the range of freedom to achieve and, therefore, to choose.

A threshold concepts focus to curriculum design: supporting student learning through application of variation theory

This project develops and evaluates a model of curriculum design that aims to assist student learning of foundational disciplinary ‘Threshold Concepts’. The project uses phenomenographic action research, cross-institutional peer collaboration and the Variation Theory of Learning to develop and trial the model. Two contrasting disciplines (Physics and Law) and four institutions (two research-intensive and two universities of technology) were involved in the project, to ensure broad applicability of the model across different disciplines and contexts. The Threshold Concepts that were selected for curriculum design attention were measurement uncertainty in Physics and legal reasoning in Law. Threshold Concepts are key disciplinary concepts that are inherently troublesome, transformative and integrative in nature. Once understood, such concepts transform students’ views of the discipline because they enable students to coherently integrate what were previously seen as unrelated aspects of the subject, providing new ways of thinking about it (Meyer & Land 2003, 2005, 2006; Land et al. 2008). However, the integrative and transformative nature of such threshold concepts make them inherently difficult for students to learn, with resulting misunderstandings of concepts being prevalent...

Context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory

"The focus of this chapter is on context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory and their implications for practice in diverse cultural and contextual settings. For over two decades, the potential of systems theory to offer a context-resonant approach to career development has been acknowledged. Career development theory and practice, however, have been dominated for most of their history by more narrowly defined theories informed by a trait-and-factor tradition of matching the characteristics of individuals to occupations. In contrast, systems theory challenges this parts-in-isolation approach and offers a response that can accommodate the complexity of both the lives of individuals and the world of the 21st century by taking a more holistic approach that considers individuals in context. These differences in theory and practice may be attributed to the underlying philosophies that inform them. For example, the philosophy informing the trait-and-factor theoretical position, logical positivism, places value on: studying individuals in isolation from their environments; content over process; facts over feelings; objectivity over subjectivity; and views individual behavior as observable, measurable, and linear. In practice, this theory base manifests in expert-driven practices founded on the assessment of personal traits such as interests, personality, values, or beliefs which may be matched to particular occupations. The philosophy informing more recent theoretical positions, constructivism, places value on: studying individuals in their contexts; making meaning of experience through the use of subjective narrative accounts; and a belief in the capacity of individuals known as agency. In practice, this theory base manifests in practices founded on collaborative relationships with clients, narrative approaches, and a reduced emphasis on expert-driven linear processes. Thus, the tenets of constructivism which inform the systems perspectives in career theory are context-resonant. Systems theory stresses holism where the interconnectedness of all elements of a system is considered. Systems may be open or closed. Closed systems have no relationship with their external environment whereas open systems interact with their external environment and are open to external influence which is necessary for regeneration. Congruent with general systems theory, the systems perspectives emerging within career theory are based on open systems. Such systems are complex and dynamic and comprise many elements and subsystems which recursively interact with each other as well as with influences from the surrounding environment. As elements of a system should not be considered in isolation, a systems approach is holistic. Patterns of behavior are found in the relationships between the elements of dynamic systems. Because of the multiplicity of relationships within and between elements of subsystems, the possibility of linear causal explanations is reduced. Story is the mechanism through which the relationships and patterns within systems are recounted by individuals. Thus the career guidance practices emanating from theories informed by systems perspectives are inherently narrative in orientation. Narrative career counseling encourages career development to be understood from the subjective perspective of clients. The application of systemic thinking in practice takes greater account of context. In so doing, practices informed by systems theory may facilitate relevance to a diverse client group in diverse settings. In a world that has become increasingly global and diverse it seems that context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory are essential to ensure the future of career development. Translating context-resonant systems perspectives into practice offers important possibilities for methods and approaches that are respectful of diversity."--publisher website