Sewing society? Stitch’nbitch, cyberfeminism & the new materiality (or why cybergrrrls do plain and purls)

A social movement known as Stitch’nBitch has emerged around the globe. This movement, mainly of women, is based in local, third places, such as hotels and clubs, and virtually. Using the Internet, particularly Blogs, the women meet to knit, stitch and talk. These groups use technology as an enabler and resource exchange. In this presentation, we suggest that such groups may be a response to consumerism in the Information Society, which has resulted in profound changes in the way people live, communicate and connect with one another and which has also provided a trigger for new, more community-focused activities using craft production, rather than consumption, as a vehicle. Craft production, or ‘make it yourself’ is consistent with concepts of voluntary simplicity (Etzioni, 1998) and non-materialistic satisfactions (Shaw and Newholm, 2002). We introduce five themes to assist in the development of a research agenda into this new form of material culture, discussing (1) remedial, (2) progressive, (3) resistance, (4) nostalgic, and (5) ironic possibilities.

Updating the principles of the liturgical movement for a new liturgical movement

The author is a Benedictine monk of L’abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux in France. The original paper (in French) was delivered in July 2001 at a Liturgy Conference held at the Abbey of Notre Dame, Fontgombault, France,
in the presence of the then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger when Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and was later published in the English translated proceedings of the conference edited by Dr Alcuin Reid, Looking Again at the Question of the Liturgy with Cardinal Ratzinger:
Proceedings of the July 2001 Fontgombault Liturgical Conference (St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, 2003). The paper here published is revised and translated from the original French especially for The Priest by Professor David Birch (Deakin University, Melbourne) at the invitation of the Editor, with the cooperation of Dom Charbel. The full set of footnotes is available in Reid (Ed.) (2003). Where passages are quoted from Magisterial texts, the Vatican website English translation is given rather than a translation of the French version used in the original paper. Sub-headings are due to the Editor.

Exploding the stability myth : structural change in the Australian trade union movement, 1969-85

Traditional studies of long-term change in trade union structure have predominantly relied upon the aggregate number of trade unions as the principal measure, or indicator of change over time. Using the Australian trade union movement as an example, this article argues that our understanding of the long-term change in the external structure of trade unions would be better served by using Waddington's structural events approach examining the incidence of four distinct 'structural events'--union formations, dissolutions, breakaways and mergers. In doing so, this article presents new data on structural change in the Australian trade union movement between 1969 and 1985. It casts doubt on the traditional argument, which relied on the apparent lack of change in the aggregate number of unions reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to argue that this period was one of structural rigidity. The structural events data reveals that far from being a period of structural stability, it was in fact one of significant change, albeit in the composition of the Australian trade union movement, rather than in the aggregate number of trade unions in operation.

Voluntary activity and local government : managing volunteers or facilitating active citizenship?

This article discusses the role of voluntary activity in the local government of Australia. Two approaches to facilitating volunteer participation in local government are presented. The authors encourage administrators to frame voluntary activity in support of local government as an example of active citizenship. This approach to volunteering is framed as part of an effort to develop social capital and foster sustainable communities. The application of this approach in the Australian state of Victoria is described.

Does weight status influence associations between children's fundamental movement skills and physical activity?

This study sought to determine whether weight status influences the association among children's fundamental movement skills (FMS) and physical activity (PA). Two hundred forty-eight children ages 9-12 years participated. Proficiency in three object-control skills and two locomotor skills was examined. Accelerometers objectively assessed physical activity. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status. Correlations between physical activity and FMS proficiency were evident among boys and girls. No significant interaction was apparent when examining FMS proficiency scores, PA variables, and weight status. Future studies should examine a broader range of skills and types of activities to better characterize this relationship and to inform the promotion of movement skill proficiency and PA.

Conceptualising a voluntary certification system for highly accomplished teachers

In this paper I argue that a voluntary certification system for highly accomplished teachers must be part of a coherent system of professional accountability which is developed, implemented and managed by the profession. This would be a system that engages professional judgement of evidence provided by teachers in relation to their professional knowledge and practice, and professional standards for teaching would provide the organising framework for that judgment. It would be a system incorporating and aligning all forms of professional licensure, including entry into the profession and subsequent professional milestones. It would be a system that all partners in the profession across Australia—employers, professional associations, and registration authorities—endorse, participate in and align with.

The profession can take the lead in developing and implementing such a coherent and coordinated national approach by carefully developing a system to recognise and reward highly accomplished teaching. Such a system should aim to recognise and build teacher quality by defining what it is highly accomplished teachers know and are able to do. Moreover, such a system must fi nd ways of making teaching public and acknowledging teaching as intellectual work which involves professional judgment that draws on a recognised professional knowledge base and contextualised knowledge about students and their learning.

The paper is presented in two main sections. First, a proposed conceptual framework for the professional recognition and certification of highly accomplished teachers is outlined. Then, the argument for this proposed conceptual framework is presented drawing on learnings from relevant research and professional activity in both Australia and the USA.

Animal movement in dynamic landscapes : interaction between behavioural strategies and resource distributions

Most ecological and evolutionary processes are thought to critically depend on dispersal and individual movement but there is little empirical information on the movement strategies used by animals to find resources. In particular, it is unclear whether behavioural variation exists at all scales, or whether behavioural decisions are primarily made at small spatial scales and thus broad-scale patterns of movement simply reflect underlying resource distributions. We evaluated animal movement responses to variable resource distributions using the grey teal (Anas gracilis) in agricultural and desert landscapes in Australia as a model system. Birds in the two landscapes differed in the fractal dimension of their movement paths, with teal in the desert landscape moving less tortuously overall than their counterparts in the agricultural landscape. However, the most striking result was the high levels of individual variability in movement strategies, with different animals exhibiting different responses to the same resources. Teal in the agricultural basin moved with both high and low tortuosity, while teal in the desert basin primarily moved using low levels of tortuosity. These results call into question the idea that broad-scale movement patterns simply reflect underlying resource distributions, and suggest that movement responses in some animals may be behaviourally complex regardless of the spatial scale over which movement occurs.

Movement patterns of southern bell frogs (Litoria raniformis) in response to flooding

Within the semiarid regions of New South Wales, Australia, the endangered southern bell frog (Litoria raniformis) occupies a landscape that is characterised by unpredictable rainfall and periodic flooding. Limited knowledge of the movement and habitat-occupancy patterns of this species in response to flood events has hampered conservation efforts. We used radio-tracking to assess changes in movement patterns and habitat occupancy of L. raniformis (n = 40) over three different periods (November, January and April/May) that coincided with the flooding, full capacity and subsequent drying of waterbodies within an irrigation landscape. We assessed (1) the use of permanent and ephemeral habitats in response to flooding and drying and (2) distances moved, turning angles and dispersion of frogs during wetland flooding, full capacity and drying. Individuals remained in permanent waterbodies in November but had abandoned these areas in favour of flooded ephemeral waterbodies by January. As the ephemeral waterbodies dried, radio-tracked individuals moved back into permanent waterbodies. The movement patterns of radio-tracked individuals were significantly different in the three radio-tracking periods, but did not differ significantly between sexes. Individuals moved significantly greater distances over 24 h, in straighter lines and movements were more dispersed while they occupied ephemeral waterbodies during January than when they occupied permanent waterbodies during November and April/May. Local weather conditions did not influence movement patterns when all three tracking periods were modelled together using a single linear stepwise regression. The dynamic distribution of habitat patches over space and time, combined with changing patterns of resource utilisation and movement of L. raniformis, highlights the importance of incorporating both permanent and ephemeral habitat patches into conservation plans. Reductions in flood frequency and extent of ephemeral wetlands due to modified flooding regimes have the capacity to limit dispersal of this species, even when permanent waterbodies remain unchanged.

Patient safety ethics and human error management in ED contexts part I : development of the global patient safety movement

In recent years there has been increasing recognition internationally that health care is not as safe as it ought to be and that patient safety outcomes need to be improved. To this end patient safety has become the focus of a world-wide endeavour aimed at reducing the incidence and impact of preventable human errors and related adverse events in health care domains. The emergency department has been identified as a significant site of preventable human errors and adverse events in the health care system, raising important questions about the nature of human error management and patient safety ethics in rapidly changing environments. In this article (the first of a two-part discussion on the subject) an overview of the incidence and impact of preventable adverse events in ED contexts is explored. The development of a ‘culture of safety’ in other hazardous industries and the ‘lessons learned’ and applied to the health care industry are also briefly examined. In a second article (to be presented as Part II), some of the ethical tensions that have arisen in the context of implementing patient safety processes and their possible implications for ED contexts are explored.