The politics of literacy in David Almond and Dave McKean’s "The Savage" (2008)

Competency in language and literacy are central to contemporary debates about education in Anglophone nations around the world. This paper suggests that such debates are informing not just educational policy but children’s literature itself as can be seen in Almond and McKean’s The Savage. This hybrid text combines prose and graphic narrative and narration in order to tell the story of Blue, a young British boy negotiating his identity in the aftermath of his father's death. While foregrounding a narrative of ideal masculinity, The Savage enacts and privileges a formal and thematic ideal of literacy as index of individual agency and development. Almond and McKean produce a politicised understanding of language and literacy that simultaneously positions The Savage in a textual tradition of socio-culturally disenfranchised youth, and intervenes in that tradition to (perhaps ironically) affirm the very conditions previously critiqued by that very tradition. Where earlier authors such as Barry Hines sought to challenge normative accounts of language and literacy in order to indict educational policy and praxes, Almond and McKean work to naturalise the very logics of education and agency by which their protagonist has been disenfranchised. In doing so, The Savage exemplifies current approaches to education which claim to value social and cultural diversity while imposing national standardised testing predicated on assumptions about the legitimacy of uniform standards and definitions of literacy.

A practical implementation of a continuous isotropic spherical omnidirectional drive

This paper presents a continuous isotropic spherical omnidirectional drive mechanism that is efficient in its mechanical simplicity and use of volume. Spherical omnidirectional mechanisms allow isotropic motion, although many are limited from achieving true isotropic motion by practical mechanical design considerations. The mechanism presented in this paper uses a single motor to drive a point on the great circle of the sphere parallel to the ground plane, and does not require a gearbox. Three mechanisms located 120 degrees apart provide a stable drive platform for a mobile robot. Results show the omnidirectional ability of the robot and demonstrate the performance of the spherical mechanism compared to a popular commercial omnidirectional wheel over edges of varying heights and gaps of varying widths.

Continuous biometric authentication : can it be more practical?

Continuous biometric authentication schemes (CBAS) are built around the biometrics supplied by user behavioural characteristics and continuously check the identity of the user throughout the session. The current literature for CBAS primarily focuses on the accuracy of the system in order to reduce false alarms. However, these attempts do not consider various issues that might affect practicality in real world applications and continuous authentication scenarios. One of the main issues is that the presented CBAS are based on several samples of training data either of both intruder and valid users or only the valid users' profile. This means that historical profiles for either the legitimate users or possible attackers should be available or collected before prediction time. However, in some cases it is impractical to gain the biometric data of the user in advance (before detection time). Another issue is the variability of the behaviour of the user between the registered profile obtained during enrollment, and the profile from the testing phase. The aim of this paper is to identify the limitations in current CBAS in order to make them more practical for real world applications. Also, the paper discusses a new application for CBAS not requiring any training data either from intruders or from valid users.

Gender equality in national politics : the views of Australian male politicians

Studies of gender and politics have typically been studies of women and politics. In contrast, this paper places men at the centre of its inquiry by drawing on interviews with 15 current federal male politicians. Of concern is exploring the ways in which men conceptualise the question of gender equity in the Australian parliament. Three frameworks are identified in the men's narratives. These are that the parliament is a masculinised space but that this is unavoidable; that the parliament is now feminised and women are advantaged; and that the parliament is gender neutral and gender is irrelevant. It is argued that collectively these framing devices operate to mask the many constraints which exist to marginalise women from political participation and undermine attempts to address women's political disadvantage as political participants. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of the paper beyond the Australian context and calling for further research which names and critiques political men and their discourses on gender and parliamentary practices and processes.

Enabling 21st century learning spaces : practical interpretations of the MCEETYA Learning Spaces Framework at Bounty Boulevard State School, Queensland, Australia

While the Queensland and Australian Governments have recognised the importance of new spaces for teaching and learning, particularly with the Rudd Government's Building the Education Revolution, the practical implementation of new spaces is largely left to schools and even individual teachers. This article proposes a theory for the consideration of 21st century learning spaces in relation to the learner, desired knowledge and understanding, digital technology and digital pedagogy. New and emerging learning spaces at Bounty Boulevard State School are analysed and critiqued through an analysis of the guiding principles offered by the 'Learning in an Online World: Learning Spaces Framework' (MCEETYA, 2008) publication, including flexibility, inclusivity, collaboration, creativity and efficiency. The argument put forward in this article is that 21st century learning spaces can be enabled while acknowledging barriers of resourcing and current ICT infrastructure.

International journalism and democracy : civic engagement models from around the world

"International Journalism and Democracy" explores a new form of journalism that has been dubbed ‘deliberative journalism’. As the name suggests, these forms of journalism support deliberation — the processes in which citizens recognize and discuss the issues that affect their communities, appraise the potential responses to those issues, and make decisions about whether and how to take action. Authors from across the globe identify the types of journalism that assist deliberative politics in different cultural and political contexts. Case studies from 15 nations spotlight different approaches to deliberative journalism, including strategies that have been sometimes been labeled as public or civic journalism, peace journalism, development journalism, citizen journalism, the street press, community journalism, social entrepreneurism, or other names. Countries that are studied in-depth include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, Colombia and Puerto Rico. Each of the approaches that are described offers a distinctive potential to support deliberative democracy. However, the book does not present any of these models or case studies as examples of categorical success. Instead, it explores different elements of the nature, strengths, limitations and challenges of each approach, as well as issues affecting their longer-term sustainability and effectiveness. The book also describes the underlying principles of deliberation, the media’s potential role in deliberation from a theoretical and practical perspective, and ongoing issues for deliberative media practitioners.

The politics of 'dirt' in "Dirty Jobs"

Commercial television, particularly when associated with cable networks and global distribution, is often criticised for presenting us with a sanitised view of the world. This is particularly true when it comes to American programs which are targeted for their cliché Hollywood happy endings, idyllic families who lead overly materialistic lifestyles. This political denigration of TV is a complaint about how programs offer us an escape from the harsher, dirtier realities of life. But if we take the metaphor of dirt more seriously, it’s possible to find some interesting political meanings attached to its use on cable television. Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe is a reality-documentary style program about dirty, hazardous, strange or unconventional jobs. It uses the concept of dirt to address some significant taboos about class within America television culture.

Female genital mutilation : Australian law, policy and practical challenges for doctors

As long ago as 1994, the Family Law Council accepted it was likely that female genital mutilation (FGM) was being conducted in Australia. In 2010, doctors and hospitals reported that it is being conducted and that they are seeing female patients who have experienced FGM. It is impossible to obtain precise data about the extent to which it is performed in Australia, but data indicates that FGM is a relevant issue for Australian medical practitioners. The medical profession has an interest in this topic because its members may be asked to conduct FGM, advise those considering it, or treat female patients with effects from the practice. This article provides a background on the practice of FGM, explains the relevant Australian law, considers whether the current legal prohibition on FGM is justified, and discusses the practical challenges facing individual practitioners and the profession. To inform further discussions about methods of responding to demand for FGM, reference is made to strategies being promoted in African nations to abolish this cultural practice.