Is neoliberalism a Liberalism, or a strange kind of bird? On Hayek and our discontents

This paper examines the theoretical ideas of Friedrich von Hayek, arguably the key progenitor of the global economic orthodoxy of the past two decades. It assesses Hayek's thought as he presents it: namely as a form of liberalism. Section I argues that Hayek's thought, if liberal, is hostile to participatory democracy. Section II then argues the more radical thesis that neoliberalism is also in truth an illiberal doctrine. Founded not in any social contract doctrine, but a form of constructivism, neoliberal thought at its base accepts the paradoxical need to "discipline subjects for freedom", however this might contravene peoples' natural, social inclinations. The argument is framed by reference to Aristophanes' great comedy, The Birds, whose off shore borderless empire ironically prefigures the dream of neoliberal social engineers, and their corporate supporters.

Chaos rules : an exploration of the work of instructional designers in distance education

This thesis provides an examination of the work of instructional designers in distance education, through the conceptual lens of chaos theory. Chaos theory was chosen as an analytical tool because of its ability to reveal the patterns and processes of complex systems as they move between order and turbulence. Recent work in the social sciences, specifically literary theory, has provided impetus for applications of chaos theory to educational settings. Specifically, chaos theory is used to analyse eight case studies of projects volunteered by instructional designers working in five institutions in Hong Kong and Australia. Data were gathered over a period of months with each participant, chiefly through interviews, but also involving diary accounts, electronic mail and letters. The methodology was thus qualitative, specifically informed by Eisner's vision of the ‘critical connoisseur’. Eisner equates an ‘enlightened eye’ with attainment of the skills of a critical connoisseur. First, an effective qualitative researcher must develop connoisseurship, the art of appreciation. On its own, though, connoisseurship is not enough; it is a private act, and thus needs a public face or presence. Criticism is this link, criticism being the art of disclosure. The critical connoisseur aims to help others to increase perception and deepen understanding of an educational situation or event. In addition to the empirical work, a parallel strand of this thesis investigates the theory and reported practice of instructional design. A brief history of instructional design is presented, along with discussion of acknowledged deficiencies of current theory and approaches. Recent reported investigations of both theory and practice are analysed from the viewpoint of chaos theory. Examination of key contributions in the literature of instructional design and distance education reveals considerable resonance between these contributions and the fundamental properties of chaotic systems. Links are made, in both the theoretical and empirical strands, between instructional design and the behaviour of dissipative structures, attractors and the process of bifurcation. Use is also made of the time-dependent nature of chaos theory as a theory of becoming, rather than one of being. The thesis comprises eight chapters, two appendices and a references section. The introductory chapter explains the research problem, and outlines the structure of the thesis. Methodological considerations are left until after an assessment of instructional design literature and (reported) practice. This deliberately theoretical investigation (Chapters 2 and 3) comprises the first of the parallel strands that are presented. The basic conclusions are that instructional design theory has not been particularly helpful to or used by instructional designers, and that chaos theory might provide an alternative way of viewing instructional design practice. The other parallel strand is the empirical work, which for four chapters outlines the methodology and my findings concerning the role of instructional designers in distance education. The methodology is detailed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 establishes the contexts of the participants, by examining their backgrounds and introductions to their roles. It also investigates their views on their role and status within their institutions and with working colleagues. Chapter 6 is an exploration of the major issues that influenced the work of the instructional designers. These are the issues that arose naturally in the interviews as the participants outlined the development and interactions that took place on a day to day basis. Time emerges as a key influence in their work, and its effects on the projects are outlined and analysed. The ways that instructional designers give advice to those with whom they work is also investigated. The next chapter continues consideration of their work, but this time as they reflect on their role and its demands. This includes their reactions to the various metaphors that have appeared in the literature, along with those that they introduced into our discussions. The links that are established between the two parallel strands are drawn more explicitly in the final chapter, Chapter 8, which is a notion of what a model of instructional design based on my conclusions might resemble. It summarises the evidence that it is not necessarily by striving for order—in fact quite the opposite — during key periods of course development, that leads to creative outcomes. The introduction of uncertainty and turbulence does, in some cases and under some conditions, move the system to a higher level. The image that is offered from chaos theory is that of time-bound dissipative structures, interacting with their open environment at far-from-equilibrium conditions, and transforming themselves from disorder to order through bifurcation. The role of strange or chaotic attractors is highlighted in the process. The first appendix gives background information in terms of the methodology. The second is the heart of the data upon which the thesis draws. That is, the second appendix outlines the case studies of the participants. Most are short summaries, but the final one is a detailed study, tracing the progress of the design and development of a subject in distance education.

Abstract ethics, embodied ethics : the strange marriage of Foucault and Positivism in labour process theory

In this paper, I draw jointly upon a Foucauldian ethical discourse and the example of the so-called `Manchester school' of Foucauldian labour process theory (LPT) to question the political/ethical aspirations and effects of critical management studies. Specifically, I question the ethics and effects of LPT researchers' relationships with those they/we research. I organize the discussion around four Foucauldian ethical themes or feelings. I thread these ethical themes throughout the paper to argue that, though Foucauldian LPT may be understood to abstractly resonate with these themes, its contribution is seriously undermined through the authors' lack of attention to ways of embodying this ethics in relations with the researched. By not embodying these commitments, the marriage between Foucault and LPT risks being read more as a marriage of convenience than commitment. And, further, a marriage that reproduces a politically problematic `modernist/positivist' self-other separation or divorce between researcher and researched.

The strange and the familiar : seeing beyond when we know

My novel is a collection of interrelated stories. Each story is framed by the idiosyncrasies and prejudices of a different first-person voice. There are gaps in narrative time and there is disparity between the narrators’ voices. The result is a ‘discontinuous narrative’; this term describes the early work of Frank Moorhouse: ‘an innovative narrative method using interconnected stories’ (Griffith University 2011).
As I draft and re-draft the stories, I am forced to assess the interaction between the voices. I am aware of the disjuncture, and I ask myself: Why not tell the story through the eyes of one narrator? Why not choose a third-person perspective, an omniscient narrator who might collect all of the voices together, in a coherent way?
As I second-guess my approach, I realise that the splintering of voices feels like the right way to tell the story and, in this way, I approach the question of methodology. I am aware that a sense of disjuncture arises out of the medley of voices, but I also realise that the disjuncture is carefully constructed; it is not accidental. This is an intuitive judgement.
If I edit my novel ethically, I ask what the discontinuity achieves, rather than how it fails in the context of logic. This means that I recognise that the narrative begins from a place that does not worry about logic, and I realise that second-guessing the surface content of the narrative, from a rational perspective, may be counterproductive.
The conscious mind, fettered as it is with inhibitions, may fail to see that the logical track is not necessarily the most productive route. The conscious mind may not recognise that going off-track is the way forward and, perhaps, the only way that the story can become something other than what I, in my rational mind, believe that it should be.
Ethical editing means that I am attentive to my intuitive response to the narrative; it means that I tolerate incongruous elements of the narrative, even if they do not fit the criteria of logic.
Ethical editing is a meeting of minds (both mine); the fully conscious mind meets the work of the subconscious mind with surprise and approval, at best, skepticism and derision, at worst. The work of the subconscious mind is elusive but it need not be subjugated to logical, rational considerations, for this means that I delimit the work of the subconscious; it means I assess the discontinuity on the basis of an external operating system; it means that I impose certain criteria upon the surface narrative, criteria that has nothing to do with understanding why the discontinuity exists in the first instance.
Alternatively, when I pay heed to a primal moment of narrative composition, a moment that is not necessarily consciously determined or logical, I apprise the surface of the narrative as a metaphorical map, I attempt to engage with the possibilities for meaning that the map encompasses; this constitutes a quest for the unstable how of meaning attribution.

Strange bedfellows? Tax administration and human rights brought together

This article considers the implications for tax administration if a Human Rights Act is introduced into Australia.

Applying economic methods to humanities and other strange things: four short essays

A dissertação consiste de quarto partes. A primeira é uma resenha sobre a incorporação formal de preocupações com posição relativa (relative concerns) nos modelos econômicos. Creio que existe espaço para uma resenha desse tipo visto que nenhuma foi feita desde 1992, quando começou a literatura relevante para a presente discussão. O ensaio seguinte consiste da prova de um teorema sobre a distribuição igualitária de riqueza no contexto de preocupação com o status social. A conclusão é bastante cínica em relação a uma das vacas sagradas da maioria dos utopismos. O terceiro ensaio é de novo um teorema, de novo como conclusões cínicas, a respeito da intuição que uma sociedade com os membros suficientemente (mas não perfeitamente) altruístas seria estável e sem conflitos. O último ensaio é uma conjectura baseada num artigo recente de David Friedman. A minha ambição foi tentar explicar o comportamento aparentemente puramente caprichoso e irracional de law enforment nos regimes ditatoriais. O que une os ensaios é uma tentativa de rever algumas discussões típicas até mais das ciências humanas que sociais valendo se do instrumental formal da teoria dos jogos e a intolerância à ambiguidades nutrida pelas últimas gerações dos economistas.

Empresa e poder nas relações internacionais : uma abordagem a partir das idéias de Susan Strange

A empresa é um dos elementos centrais do debate contemporâneo sobre a sociedade. Acusada por uns, idolatrada por outros, sua multiplicidade de papéis não se presta a análises simplistas. Gareth MORGAN demonstrou que a compreensão de sua realidade organizacional pode valer-se do recurso à metáfora, comparando seu funcionamento a máquinas, organismos e sistemas políticos, entre outras possibilidades. Morgan não objetivava esgotar ou definir o estudo das organizações, mas sim ampliá-lo a partir de novas perspectivas