Irregular readers : Arthur Conan Doyle’s “six dirty scoundrels”, boyhood and literacy in contemporary Sherlockian children’s literature

Young adult (YA) literature is a socialising genre that encourages young readers to take up particular ways of relating to historical or cultural materials. The first decade of the twenty-first century witnessed a boom in Sherlockian YA fiction using the Conan Doyle canon as a context and vocabulary for stories focused on the Baker Street Irregulars as figures of identification. This paper reads YA fiction’s deployment of Conan Doyle’s fictional universe as a strategy for negotiating anxieties of adolescent masculinity, particularly in relation to literacy and social agency.

Feeling a little Blue? : Boofheads, bodies, and beaches

Pat Grant’s graphic novel Blue (2012) tells two stories about the impact of a newly migrant group on a small coastal Australian town. The wider story explores the wholesale effects of a previously unknown population joining an existing, culturally homogenous community. These broad social images are used to contextualise the more immediate story of three youths who are disenfranchised within the pre-existing community, but who can claim social enfranchisement by alienating the new members of the community. That the migrant population is depicted literally as aliens emphasises Blue’s participation in a wider conversation about citizenship and empathy. However, Blue does not necessarily seek to provoke a particular emotional response in its readers. Rather, in following three characters who lack what Nussbaum calls “narrative imagination” in their pursuit of good surfing or visceral entertainment—of beaches or bodies—Blue explores the means and consequences of refusing intersubjective affect. This is most powerfully rendered by the main characters’ ultimate avoidance of, and fictions about, a dead body they have wagged school to see. At the very moment of a person becoming a true object—a corpse—the meaning of objectifying people is revealed; the young protagonists seem to recognise this fact, and thus retreat from the affective scene which nonetheless informs Blue as a whole.

Investigating early childhood education for sustainability : insights from history and literature

Seemingly straightforward tasks often have a way of becoming complex. This was the case for our guest editorial team charged with creating Early Childhood Australia’s Best of Sustainability publication drawn from the the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood and Every Child. The complexities we encountered ranged from the varied terminologies and understandings of constructs such as education for sustainable development, environmental education and education for sustainability, through to the fundamental lack of published research on which to draw as the basis for a special issue. It is timely to explore these complexities as we face the global challenges of The Critical Decade (DCCEE, 2011) including rising sea levels, extreme weather events and food security. At a local level, the early childhood field in Australia is seeking to interpret sustainability with systemic support from the National Quality Standards(NQS) (ACECQA, 2011), while elsewhere environmental/sustainability education is encouraged through national curricula documents (for example, Singapore Ministry of Education, 2008; Swedish National Agency for Education,2010; Ministry of Education of Korea, 2011). Both The Critical Decade and the NQS provide imperatives to drive early childhood education’s engagement with sustainability. In other words, sustainability in early childhood education is no longer optional, but essential (Elliott, 2010). While some twenty years of advocacy has led to this somewhat subdued celebratory position, in this publication we do recognise the historical contexts that have led to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), as we (Elliott & Davis) phrase it, becoming almost ‘mainstream not marginal’ (Davis, 1999)— a stitching together of the isolated ‘patches of green’, first identified a decade ago by Elliott (NSW EPA, 2003). Here we weave together, through these articles, a story of the evolving history of ECEfS from our particular perspective. In so doing, we also acknowledge that there are other perspectives or ‘paths’ for this field as identified by Edwards and Cutter-McKenzie in their concluding paper to this compilation.

Dirt Circus League : power and belonging in posthuman young adult fiction

This creative practice-led thesis consists of a creative work titled Dirt Circus League, which tells of a female teenaged medical intuitive who follows an enigmatic cult leader to his isolated home in Cape York, and an exegesis. The exegesis explores the representations and complexities of neuroscience and posthumanism in contemporary young adult fiction. The exegesis also discusses how the mechanics of storytelling changed the novel's original focus from one of neuroscience in relation to impacts and effects on teenage brains to the broader social concerns of posthumanism.

Surviving the electronic panopticon: New lessons in democracy, surveillance, and community in young adult fiction

The ability of new information and communication technologies to pierce previously impenetrable physical, personal, and social boundaries has particular relevance to contemporary society and young people as there is now more information that can be collected, accessed, and distributed about individuals and groups. The ability to know about each other has become a central feature of many young people’s lives. The need to know is further complicated by other questions – Who knows? What do they know? What are the implications of this knowledge?. These questions are a consequence of society having become more mobile and networked enabling increased surveillance, tracking, and spreading of dis/information. With the acceleration of new pervasive and immersive technologies, these questions have taken on a new urgency and significance that go beyond an Orwellian Big Brother scenario. This chapter extends Foucault’s notion of the panopticon to take account of the challenges of an AmI environment of smart networked devices. By drawing on examples of recent young adult fiction, I examine some of the ways in which these texts invite their readers to reflect and speculate on the uneasy relationship between surveillance and democracy and what this means for individual rights and freedom, and a sense of place and belonging.

Future public service capacity: employment of young people into Australian public services during the GFC

Public services face several workforce challenges, including impending retirements and austerity programs. Although employing more young people is a likely solution to balancing the demographic profile of public services, the literature and theory suggest that young people would have fared worse during the global financial crisis. This research tests propositions around the vulnerability of young people in selected Australian public services during the global financial crisis, in terms of quantity and quality of jobs obtained. Surprisingly, the findings suggest that many young people fared as well or sometimes better than other age cohorts during the global financial crisis in terms of both recruitment and access to ongoing jobs. There are several indications that perhaps public services provided a safe haven in a turbulent labour market.

Life history and host range of Alagoasa extrema (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae), a potential biological control agent of Lantana spp. (Verbenaceae) in Australia

The life history and host range of the lantana beetle, Alagoasa extrema, a potential biocontrol agent for Lantana spp. were investigated in a quarantine unit at the Alan Fletcher Research Station, Brisbane, Australia. Adults feed on leaves and females lay batches of about 17 eggs on the soil surface around the stems of plants. The eggs take 16 days to hatch and newly emerged larvae move up the stem to feed on young leaves. Larvae feed for about 23 days and there are three instars. There is a prepupal non-feeding stage that lasts about 12 days and the pupal stage, which occurs in a cocoon in the soil, lasts 16 days. Teneral adults remain in the cocoon for 3 days to harden prior to emergence. Males live for about 151 days while females live for about 127 days. The pre-oviposition period is 19 days. In no-choice larval feeding trials, nine plant species, representing three families, supported development to adult. Three species, Aloysia triphylla, Citharexylum spinosum and Pandorea pandorana were able to support at least two successive generations. These results confirm those reported in South Africa and suggest that A. extrema is not sufficiently specific for release in Australia. Furthermore, it is not recommended for release in any other country which is considering biological control of lantana.

Editorial: Are adolescent and young adult cancer patients affected by ‘chemobrain’?: A call for evidence

An adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patient is defined as an individual of 15 to 39 years of age at the time of initial cancer diagnosis.1,2 The number of AYA cancer survivors has dramatically increased over the past decades due to availability of novel therapeutics, with the 5-year overall survival rate among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old exceeds 80% for most cancers.3 AYA cancer survivors, however, often experience a myriad of treatment-related chronic and late toxicities that can lead to functional impairment at great economic, emotional and social cost.4 As the cure rates of AYA cancers continue to improve and survivors live longer, post-treatment health issues in these survivors are becoming increasingly relevant, and more in-depth research is needed in this group of patients...

Long-term effects of physical activity level on changes in healthy body mass index over 12 years in young adult women

Objectives To examine the effects of overall level and timing of physical activity (PA) on changes from a healthy body mass index (BMI) category over 12 years in young adult women. Patients and Methods Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (younger cohort, born 1973-1978) completed surveys between 2000 (age 22-27 years) and 2012 (age 34-39 years). Physical activity was measured in 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 and was categorized as very low, low, active, or very active at each survey, and a cumulative PA score for this 9-year period was created. Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between PA accumulated across all surveys (cumulative PA model) and PA at each survey (critical periods PA model), with change in BMI category (from healthy to overweight or healthy to obese) from 2000 to 2012. Results In women with a healthy BMI in 2000, there were clear dose-response relationships between accumulated PA and transition to overweight (P=.03) and obesity (P<.01) between 2000 and 2012. The critical periods analysis indicated that very active levels of PA at the 2006 survey (when the women were 28-33 years old) and active or very active PA at the 2009 survey (age 31-36 years) were most protective against transitioning to overweight and obesity. Conclusion These findings confirm that maintenance of very high PA levels throughout young adulthood will significantly reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese. There seems to be a critical period for maintaining high levels of activity at the life stage when many women face competing demands of caring for infants and young children.

The History and Literature of America's Oysters

Historically, America's use and enjoyment of the oyster extend far back into prehistoric times. The Native Americans often utilized oysters, more intensively in some areas than in others, and, at least in some areas of the Caribbean and Pacific coast, the invading Spanish sought oysters as eagerly as they did gold-but for the pearls. That was the pearl oyster, Pinctada sp., and signs of its local overexploitation were recorded early in the 16th century. During the 1800's, use of the eastern oyster grew phenomenally and, for a time, it outranked beef as a source of protein in some parts of the nation. Social events grew up around it, as it became an important aspect of culture and myth. Eventually, research on the oyster began to blossom, and scientific literature on the various species likewise bloomed-to the extent that when the late Paul Galtsoff wrote his classic treatise "The American oyster Crassostrea virginica Gmelin" in 1954, he reported compiling an extensive bibliography of over 6,000 subject and author cards on oysters and related subjects which he deposited in the library of the Woods Hole Laboratory of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (now NMFS). That large report, volume 64 (480 pages) of the agency's Fishery Bulletin, was a bargain at $2.75, and it has been a standard reference ever since. But the research and the attendant literature have grown greatly since Galtsoff's work was published, and now that has been thoroughly updated.

DOPAMINE D-1 RECEPTOR MECHANISMS IN THE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG-ADULT AND AGED MONKEYS

Dopamine (DA) D-1 receptor compounds were examined in monkeys for effects on the working memory functions of the prefrontal cortex and on the fine motor abilities of the primary motor cortex. The D-1 antagonist, SCH23390, the partial D-1 agonist, SKF38393, and the full D-1 agonist, dihydrexidine, were characterized in young control monkeys, and in aged monkeys with naturally occurring catecholamine depletion. In addition, SKF38393 was tested in young monkeys experimentally depleted of catecholamines with chronic reserpine treatment. Injections of SCH23390 significantly impaired the memory performance of young control monkeys, but did not impair aged monkeys with presumed catecholamine depletion. Conversely, the partial agonist, SKF38393, improved the depleted monkeys (aged or reserpine-treated) but did not improve young control animals. The full agonist, dihydrexidine, did improve memory performance in young control monkeys, as well as in a subset of aged monkeys. Consistent with D, receptor mechanisms, agonist-induced improvements were blocked by SCH23390. Drug effects on memory performance occurred independently of effects on fine motor performance. These results underscore the importance of DA D-1 mechanisms in cognitive function, and provide functional evidence of DA system degeneration in aged monkeys. Finally, high doses of D-1 agonists impaired memory performance in aged monkeys, suggesting that excessive D-1 stimulation may be deleterious to cognitive function.

Improving effects of huperzine A on spatial working memory in aged monkeys and young adult monkeys with experimental cognitive impairment

Our previous studies demonstrated that huperzine A, a reversible and selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, exerts beneficial effects on memory deficits in various rodent models of amnesia. To extend the antiamnesic action of huperzine A to nonhuman primates, huperzine A was evaluated for its ability to reverse the deficits in spatial memory produced by scopolamine in young adult monkeys or those that are naturally occurring in aged monkeys using a delayed-response task. Scopolamine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, dose dependently impaired performance with the highest dose (0.03 mg/kg, i.m.) producing a significant reduction in choice accuracy in young adult monkeys. The delayed performance changed from an average of 26.8/30 trials correct on saline control to an average of 20.2/30 trials correct after scopolamine administration. Huperzine A (0.01-0.1 mg/kg, i.m.) significantly reversed deficits induced by scopolamine in young adult monkeys on a delayed-response task; performance after an optimal dose (0.1 mg/kg) averaged 25.0/30 correct. In four aged monkeys, huperzine A (0.001-0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) significantly increased choice accuracy from 20.5/30 on saline control to 25.2/30 at the optimal dose (0.001 mg/kg for two monkeys and 0.01 mg/kg for the other two monkeys). The beneficial effects of huperzine A on delayed-response performance were long lasting; monkeys remained improved for about 24 h after a single injection of huperzine A. This study extended the findings that huperzine A improves the mnemonic performance requiring working memory in monkeys, and suggests that huperzine A may be a promising agent for clinical therapy of cognitive impairments in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Reading Between the Lines: The Potential of Popular Young Adult Fiction in Adolescent Spiritual Formation

Popular culture is a powerful, shaping force in the lives of teenagers between the ages of fourteen through eighteen in the United States today. This dissertation argues the importance of popular fiction for adolescent spiritual formation and it investigates that importance by exploring the significance of narrative for theology and moral formation. The dissertation employs mythic and archetypal criticism as a tool for informing the selection and critique of narratives for use in adolescent spiritual development and it also incorporates insights gained from developmental psychology to lay the groundwork for the development of a curriculum that uses young adult fiction in a program of spiritual formation for teenagers in a local church setting. The dissertation defends the power of narrative in Christian theology and concludes that narrative shapes the imagination in ways that alter perception and are important for the faith life of teenagers in particular. I go on to argue that not all narratives are created equal. In using literary myth criticism in concert with theology, I use the two disciplines’ different aims and methods to fully flesh out the potential of theologies intrinsic to works meant for a largely secular audience. The dissertation compares various works of young adult fiction (M.T. Anderson’s Feed and Terry Pratchett’s Nation in dialogue with a theology of creation; Marcus Zusak’s I am the Messenger and Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl in dialogue with salvation and saviors; and the four novels of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga in dialogue with a theology of hope (eschatology). The dissertation explores how each theme surfaces (even if only implicitly) from both literary and theological standpoints. The dissertation concludes with a sample four-week lesson plan that demonstrates one way the theological and literary critique can be formed into a practical curriculum for use in an adolescent spiritual development setting. Ultimately, this dissertation provides a framework for how practitioners of young adult formation can select, analyze, and develop materials for their teenagers using new works of popular young adult fiction. The dissertation comes to the conclusion that popular fiction contains a wealth of material that can challenge and shape young readers’ own emerging theology.

History, revolution and the British popular novel: historical fiction in the romantic age

“History, Revolution and the British Popular Novel” takes as its focus the significant role which historical fiction played within the French Revolution debate and its aftermath. Examining the complex intersection of the genre with the political and historical dialogue generated by the French Revolution crisis, the thesis contends that contemporary fascination with the historical episode of the Revolution, and the fundamental importance of history to the disputes which raged about questions of tradition and change, and the meaning of the British national past, led to the emergence of increasingly complex forms of fictional historical narrative during the “war of ideas.” Considering the varying ways in which novelists such as Charlotte Smith, William Godwin, Mary Robinson, Helen Craik, Clara Reeve, John Moore, Edward Sayer, Mary Charlton, Ann Thomas, George Walker and Jane West engaged with the historical contexts of the Revolution debate, my discussion juxtaposes the manner in which English Jacobin novelists inserted the radical critique of the Jacobin novel into the wider arena of history with anti-Jacobin deployments of the historical to combat the revolutionary threat and internal moves for socio-political restructuring. I argue that the use of imaginative historical narrative to contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the Revolution, and offer political and historical guidance to readers, represented a significant element within the literature of the Revolution crisis. The thesis also identifies the diverse body of historical fiction which materialised amidst the Revolution controversy as a key context within which to understand the emergence of Scott’s national historical novel in 1814, and the broader field of historical fiction in the era of Waterloo. Tracing the continued engagement with revolutionary and political concerns evident in the early Waverley novels, Frances Burney’s The Wanderer (1814), William Godwin’s Mandeville (1816), and Mary Shelley’s Valperga (1823), my discussion concludes by arguing that Godwin’s and Shelley’s extension of the mode of historical fiction initially envisioned by Godwin in the revolutionary decade, and their shared endeavour to retrieve the possibility enshrined within the republican past, appeared as a significant counter to the model of history and fiction developed by Walter Scott in the post-revolutionary epoch.