My media studies : the history and future of ideas

In the context of a multi-paper special issue of TVNM on the future of media studies, this paper traces the tradition of ‘active audience’ theory in TV scholarship, arguing that it has much to offer in the study of new digital media, especially an approach to user-created content and dynamics of change. The paper argues for a ‘cultural science’ approach to ‘active audiences’ in order to analyse and understand how non-professionals and consumers contribute to the growth of knowledge in complex open media systems.

Digital storytelling as participatory public history in Australia

This chapter discusses digital storytelling as a methodology for participatory public history through a detailed reflection on an applied research project that integrated both public history and digital storytelling in the context of a new master-planned urban development: the Kelvin Grove Urban Village Sharing Stories project.

Literacy and identity : examining the metaphors in history and contemporary research

In this review, the authors interrogate the recent identity turn in literacy studies by asking the following: How do particular views of identity shape how researchers think about literacy and, conversely, how does the view of literacy taken by a researcher shape meanings made about identity? To address this question, the authors review various ways of conceptualizing identity by using five metaphors for identity documented in the identity literature: identity as (1) difference, (2) sense of self/subjectivity, (3) mind or consciousness, (4) narrative, and (5) position. Few literacy studies have acknowledged this range of perspectives on and views for conceptualizing identity and yet, subtle differences in identity theories have widely different implications for how one thinks about both how literacy matters to identity and how identity matters to literacy. The authors offer this review to encourage more theorizing of both literacy and identity as social practices and, most important, of how the two breathe life into each other.

Re-imagining and re-imaging the nation through the history curriculum.

Nationalism is not a naturally occurring sentiment, but rather needs to be carefully nurtured and sustained in the social imaginary through the production and circulation of unifying narratives that invoke the nation’s imagined community. The school curriculum is crucial in this process, legitimating and disseminating selected narratives while de-legitimating and marginalising other accounts and their voices. Certain watershed events in nations’ histories have always posed political problems in history curricula (Cajani & Ross, 2007) –however the pressures and concerns of current times now suggest political solutions in history curricula. This paper briefly examines recent political debates in Australia to argue that the school history curriculum has become a site of increasing interest for the exercise of official forms of nationalism and the production of a nostalgic, celebratory national biography. The public debates around school history curriculum are theorised as nostalgic re-nationalising efforts in response to the march of cultural globalisation and its attendant uncertainties.

“I am a secondary teacher and I teach history and SOSE” : negotiating pre-service teacher identities in times of curriculum change

Secondary social education in Australia is set to change with the new national history curriculum but integrated social education will continue in the middle years of schooling. Competing discourses of disciplinary and integrated social education approaches create new challenges for pre-service teachers as identification with a teaching area is an important aspect of developing a broader teacher identity. Feedback on a compulsory, final year curriculum studies unit revealed the majority of secondary pre-service teachers identified with at least one social science discipline. However, only a small number listed the integrated social education curriculum of Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE), even though SOSE was an essential part of their brief. More complex identities were revealed in post-teaching practice interviews. In times of curriculum change, attention to pre-service teachers’ disciplinary knowledge is critical in developing a stable subject identity.

Mutation frequency of non-ESBL phenotype SENTRY (Asia-Pacific) isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae conversion to an ESBL positive phenotype

Extended spectrum β-lactamases or ESBLs, which are derived from non-ESBL precursors by point mutation of β-lactamase genes (bla), are spreading rapidly all over the world and have caused considerable problems in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria which harbour them. The mechanism of this resistance is not fully understood and a better understanding of these mechanisms might significantly impact on choosing proper diagnostic and treatment strategies. Previous work on SHV β-lactamase gene, blaSHV, has shown that only Klebsiella pneumoniae strains which contain plasmid-borne blaSHV are able to mutate to phenotypically ESBL-positive strains and there was also evidence of an increase in blaSHV copy number. Therefore, it was hypothesised that although specific point mutation is essential for acquisition of ESBL activity, it is not yet enough, and blaSHV copy number amplification is also essential for an ESBL-positive phenotype, with homologous recombination being the likely mechanism of blaSHV copy number expansion. In this study, we investigated the mutation rate of non-ESBL expressing K. pneumoniae isolates to an ESBL-positive status by using the MSS-maximum likelihood method. Our data showed that blaSHV mutation rate of a non-ESBL expressing isolate is lower than the mutation rate of the other single base changes on the chromosome, even with a plasmid-borne blaSHV gene. On the other hand, mutation rate from a low MIC ESBL-positive (≤ 8 µg/mL for cefotaxime) to high MIC ESBL-positive (≥16 µg/mL for cefotaxime) is very high. This is because only gene copy number increase is needed which is probably mediated by homologous recombination that typically takes place at a much higher frequencies than point mutations. Using a subinhibitory concentration of novobiocin, as a homologous recombination inhibitor, revealed that this is the case.

Ipswich stories : using digital storytelling to research intergenerational sharing of heritage, history, place, identity and community connection : a pilot study

Co-creative media production practices offer important new modes and opportunities for social participation and engagement. In mid-2009 Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation researchers at QUT adapted a specific model of co-creative media production, known as ‘digital storytelling’ and piloted it as an action research platform for facilitating and researching knowledge production based on intergenerational dialogue and exchange. Nine stories were produced and important insights were generated into this particular use of digital storytelling, as well as the impact of institutional constraints and opportunities on the possibilities and outcomes co-creative media practices and processes.

Assessment for learning revisited : an Asia-Pacific perspective

In March of this year, 2009, the Third International Conference on Assessment for Learning was held in Dunedin, New Zealand. Colleagues from Australia (4), Canada (6), Europe (5), New Zealand (7), United Kingdom (5) and the United States of America (4) met to advance the understanding and practices of Assessment for Learning at all levels of education. An important outcome of this meeting was a position paper on Assessment for Learning (AfL) that has been reproduced with permission in this editorial because of its significance to a recurrent theme of the majority of the articles published in this special Asia-Pacific issue of the journal. The text of this statement is set out in italics below.

Longitudinal patterns of weight in women diagnosed with breast cancer [Conference Abstract]

Introduction: Weight gain is a common concern following breast cancer and has been associated with negative health outcomes. As such, prevention of weight gain is of clinical interest. This work describes weight change between 6- and 18-months following a breast cancer diagnosis and explores the personal, treatment and behavioural characteristics associated with gains in weight. Methods: Body mass index was objectively assessed, at three-monthly intervals, on a population-based sample of women newly diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer (n=185). Changes in BMI between 6- and 18-months post-diagnosis were calculated, with gains of one or more being considered clinically detrimental to future health. Results: Approximately 60% of participants were overweight or obese at 6-months post-diagnosis. While BMI remained relatively stable across the testing period (range=27.3-27.8), 24% of participants experienced clinically relevant gains in BMI (median gains=1.9). Following adjustment for potential confounders, younger age (<45 years; Odds ratio, OR=9.8), being morbidly obese at baseline (OR=4.6) and receiving hormone therapy (OR=4.8) were characteristics associated with an increased odds (p<0.05) of gaining BMI. Other characteristics associated with gains in BMI were more extensive surgery and having a history of smoking, although these relationships were not supported statistically. In contrast, caring for younger children was associated with reduced risk of gaining BMI (OR=0.3, p=0.20). Conclusions: Clinically relevant weight gain between 6- and 18-months post-breast cancer diagnosis is an issue for one in four women, with certain subgroups being particularly susceptible. However, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer are overweight or obese and gains in body weight are common. Thus, interventions that address the importance of achieving and sustaining a healthy body weight, delivered to all women with breast cancer, may have greater public health impact than interventions targeting any specific breast cancer subgroup.

Urban growth management for sustainable urbanization : examples from Asia-Pacific city regions

During the past three decades cities in the Asia-Pacific region have undergone massive transformations, characterised by rapid population growth and urbanisation. The rapid pace of globalisation and economic restructuring has resulted in these cities receiving the full impact of urbanisation pressures. In attempting to ease these pressures, major cities have advocated growth management approaches that give particular interest to sustainable urbanization and emphasise compact and optimum development of urban forms. This paper seeks to provide an insight into sustainable urbanisation practice, particularly on the promotion of compact urbanisation within Asia-Pacific’s fastest growing regions. The finding shows that within the context of resource constraints, sustainable urbanisation has been a key factor in the adoption of urban growth management initiatives promoting viable use of scarce resources for urban expansion.

Printmaking as an expanding field in contemporary art practice : a case study of Japan, Australia and Thailand

This thesis proposes that contemporary printmaking, at its most significant, marks the present through reconstructing pasts and anticipating futures. It argues this through examples in the field, occurring in contexts beyond the Euramerican (Europe and North America). The arguments revolve around how the practice of a number of significant artists in Japan, Australia and Thailand has generated conceptual and formal innovations in printmaking that transcend local histories and conventions, whilst paradoxically, also building upon them and creating new meanings. The arguments do not portray the relations between contemporary and traditional art as necessarily antagonistic but rather, as productively dialectical. Furthermore, the case studies demonstrate that, in the 1980s and 1990s particularly, the studio practice of these printmakers was informed by other visual arts disciplines and reflected postmodern concerns. Departures from convention witnessed in these countries within the Asia-Pacific region shifted the field of the print into a heterogeneous and hybrid realm. The practitioners concerned (especially in Thailand) produced work that was more readily equated with performance and installation art than with printmaking per se. In Japan, the incursion of photography interrupted the decorative cast of printmaking and delivered it from a straightforward, craft-based aesthetic. In Australia, fixed notions of national identity were challenged by print practitioners through deliberate cultural rapprochements and technical contradictions (speaking across old and new languages).However time-honoured print methods were not jettisoned by any case study artists. Their re-alignment of the fundamental attributes of printmaking, in line with materialist formalism, is a core consideration of my arguments. The artists selected for in-depth analysis from these three countries are all innovators whose geographical circumstances and creative praxis drew on local traditions whilst absorbing international trends. In their radical revisionism, they acknowledged the specificity of history and place, conditions of contingency and forces of globalisation. The transformational nature of their work during the late twentieth century connects it to the postmodern ethos and to a broader artistic and cultural nexus than has hitherto been recognised in literature on the print. Emerging from former guild-based practices, they ambitiously conceived their work to be part of a continually evolving visual arts vocabulary. I argue in this thesis that artists from the Asia-Pacific region have historically broken with the hermetic and Euramerican focus that has generally characterised the field. Inadequate documentation and access to print activity outside the dominant centres of critical discourse imply that readings of postmodernism have been too limited in their scope of inquiry. Other locations offer complexities of artistic practice where re-alignments of customary boundaries are often the norm. By addressing innovative activity in Japan, Australia and Thailand, this thesis exposes the need for a more inclusive theoretical framework and wider global reach than currently exists for ‘printmaking’.

Asia

Reporters sans frontiéres (RSF) has repeatedly declared Asia to be the most demanding continent for journalists and their news organizations to operate in, and in some countries, even simply to survive in. The many reports issued by RSF and other global agencies regularly show Asia to be the region in which the largest number of murders of journalists occur per year, even when Asian–Arabic states and Central Asia are not included in the definition of ‘Asia’. The reports describe numerous physical, legal and economic threats as well as serious political repression and restrictions that journalists face as they attempt to function as watch-dogs, agenda-setters and gate-keepers for their societies. The statistics and examples provided within these reports, however, do not provide the full picture. Most Asian nations also host vibrant media cultures in which journalists play an important role in supporting social and democratic processes and activities. This chapter outlines the political and economic influences on Asian journalism; the impact of new technologies; the debates about philosophies such as 'development journalism', 'peace journalism' and 'Asian values'; and the influence of the so-called 'envelope culture' or practices of gift-giving and bribery that pervade journalism in some countries. To illustrate how these principles affect journalists' practice, the chapter presents a comparison of the starkly contrasting situations in India versus North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). The chapter also describes issues affecting countries as far afield as China to Kazakhstan, including a short case study of journalism during the so-called Saffron Revolution in Burma in 2007. The chapter concludes with suggestions about how training and aid for the Asian should be contextualized to take into account the specific cultural, economic and political factors that shape and limit the media’s performance, and how journalists might be best placed to negotiate around them. Such training needs to be sensitive to valid variations in perceptions of what kind of governance and journalism best serves development, without serving politically motivated rhetoric.

Laughs and legends, or the furniture that glows? : television as history.

John Hartley uses the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne to discuss the notions of a history of TV and TV History and concludes that the internet offers entirely new possibilities for TV as History.

Glycaemic index and glycaemic load intake patterns in older Australian women

Aims: Dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) have been associated with risk of chronic diseases, yet limited research exists on patterns of consumption in Australia. Our aims were to investigate glycemic carbohydrate in a population of older women, identify major contributing food sources, and determine low, moderate and high ranges. Methods: Subjects were 459 Brisbane women aged 42-81 years participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Ageing in Women. Diet history interviews were used to assess usual diet and results were analysed into energy and macronutrients using the FoodWorks dietary analysis program combined with a customised GI database. Results: Mean±SD dietary GI was 55.6±4.4% and mean dietary GL was 115±25. A low GI in this population was ≤52.0, corresponding to the lowest quintile of dietary GI, and a low GL was ≤95. GI showed a quadratic relationship with age (P=0.01), with a slight decrease observed in women aged in their 60’s relative to younger or older women. GL decreased linearly with age (P<0.001). Bread was the main contributor to carbohydrate and dietary GL (17.1% and 20.8%, respectively), followed by fruit (15.5% and 14.2%), and dairy for carbohydrate (9.0%) or breakfast cereals for GL (8.9%). Conclusions: In this population, dietary GL decreased with increasing age, however this was likely to be a result of higher energy intakes in younger women. Focus on careful selection of lower GI items within bread and breakfast cereal food groups would be an effective strategy for decreasing dietary GL in this population of older women.