The creative cities discourse : production and/or consumption?

The already considerable debate about what constitutes a 'creative' city becomes ever more critical as the world urbanizes at a rapid pace. In this chapter the author argues that the key tensions in discussions over what makes cities more conducive to and supportive of creativity revolve around perspectives that are either production-centric or consumption-centric. Scholars are increasing prepared to claim priority for the city-region over the nation-state as an economic and cultural agent in the contemporary world, but are they ready to deal with major changes in the nature of cultural production and consumption themselves? A number of examples of new challenges for the creative cities 'discourse' rounds out the chapter.

The pedagogical, linguistic and content features of popular English language learning websites in China : a framework for analysis and design

As increasing numbers of Chinese language learners choose to learn English online (CNNIC, 2012), there is a need to investigate popular websites and their language learning designs. This paper reports on the first stage of a study that analysed the pedagogical, linguistic and content features of 25 Chinese English Language Learning (ELL) websites ranked according to their value and importance to users. The website ranking was undertaken using a system known as PageRank. The aim of the study was to identify the features characterising popular sites as opposed to those of less popular sites for the purpose of producing a framework for ELL website design in the Chinese context. The study found that a pedagogical focus with developmental instructional materials accommodating diverse proficiency levels was a major contributor to website popularity. Chinese language use for translations and teaching directives and intermediate level English for learning materials were also significant features. Content topics included Anglophone/Western and non-Anglophone/Eastern contexts. Overall, popular websites were distinguished by their mediation of access to and scaffolded support for ELL.

2005 pedagogical orientation program in the School of Architecture and Built Environment : a case study

The University of Newcastle (UoN) offers various access and support programs for a range of students through the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre and a University orientation for students. At UoN, students are required to engage in a learning experience, meet program outcomes and demonstrate the core attributes of the University at each graduation point. For a University with a strong focus on access is there a missing facet to the access programs where students are required to study within a teaching delivery style which may be vastly different to their previous educational experience? This paper will describe a pedagogical orientation program currently delivered at UoN School of Architecture and Built Environment in 2005 to assist in the transition of students from different cultural and pedagogical backgrounds into “Problem Based Learning” as delivered by this School. Furthermore the paper will analyse how this program has enabled students from diverse backgrounds to understand and successfully embrace the new learning opportunities.

The pedagogical balancing act : teaching reflection in higher education

Despite the common use of the term reflection in higher education assessment tasks, learners are not often taught how to communicate their disciplinary knowledge through reflection. This paper argues that students can and should be taught how to reflect in deep and transformative ways. It highlights the reflexive pedagogical balancing act of attending to different levels of reflection as a way to stimulate focused, thoughtful and reasoned reflections that show evidence of new ways of thinking and doing. The paper uses data from a current project to illustrate the effects of focusing on particular levels of reflection in the pedagogical strategies used, and argues that while the goal of academic or professional reflection is generally to move students to the highest level of reflection to transform their learning/practice, unless higher education teachers attend to every level of reflection, there are specific, observable gaps in the reflections that students produce.

Towards an understanding of Australian genre cinema and entertainment : beyond the limitations of ‘Ozploitation’ discourse

While Australian cinema has produced popular movie genres since the 1970s, including action/adventure, road movies, crime, and horror movies, genre cinema has occupied a precarious position within a subsidised national cinema and has been largely written out of film history. In recent years the documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008) has brought Australia’s genre movie heritage from the 1970s and 1980s back to the attention of cinephiles, critics and cult audiences worldwide. Since its release, the term ‘Ozploitation’ has become synonymous with Australian genre movies. In the absence of discussion about genre cinema within film studies, Ozploitation (and ‘paracinema’ as a theoretical lens) has emerged as a critical framework to fill this void as a de facto approach to genre and a conceptual framework for understanding Australian genres movies. However, although the Ozploitation brand has been extremely successful in raising the awareness of local genre flicks, Ozploitation discourse poses problems for film studies, and its utility is limited for the study of Australian genre movies. This paper argues that Ozploitation limits analysis of genre movies to the narrow confines of exploitation or trash cinema and obscures more important discussion of how Australian cinema engages with popular movies genres, the idea of Australian filmmaking as entertainment, and the dynamics of commercial filmmaking practises more generally.

Teacher aides and their pedagogical contributions in the underachieving Indigenous mathematics classroom

This study examines the pedagogical contributions made by teacher aides in underperforming Indigenous mathematics secondary classrooms. Three teaching teams, each consisting of a teacher and their teacher aide, responded to semi-structured interviews. Their mathematics classrooms were observed for details of pedagogical contributions to the mathematics lessons. It was found that the pedagogical contributions of the teacher aides varied from co-teaching contributions, to the provision of menial support and behaviour management. The techniques used by the teacher aides to provide student feedback, to support behaviour management and to undertake questioning vary greatly, and this variance is also evident in the classroom atmosphere. Teacher aides are providing pedagogical contributions, and are engaged in instructional interactions, and are in a sense “teaching”.

Does the social inclusion discourse add value?

The election of a national Labor Government in 2007 saw ‘social inclusion’ emerge as Australia’s overarching social policy agenda. Being ‘included’ has since been defined as being able to ‘have the resources, opportunities and capabilities needed to learn, work, engage and have a voice’. Various researchers have adopted the social inclusion concept to construct a multi-dimensional framework for measuring disadvantage, beyond poverty alleviation. This research program has enabled various forms of statistical modelling based on some agreement about what it means to be ‘included’ in society. At the same time it is acknowledged that social inclusion remains open and contestable and can be used in the name of both progressive and more punitive programs and policies. This ambiguity raises questions about whether the social inclusion framework, as it is presently defined, has the potential to be a progressive and transformative discourse. In this paper we examine whether the Australian social inclusion agenda has the capacity to address social inequality in a meaningful way, concluding with a discussion about the need to understand social inequality and social disadvantage in relational terms.

The legitimation and reproduction of discourse-practice gaps in work-life balance

Purpose - Critical scholarship on work-life balance (WLB) and its associated practices maintains that workplace flexibility is more than a quasi-functionalist response to contemporary problems faced by individuals, families or organisations. Beginning with Fleetwood’s contention that WLB discourses have become "detached" from their associated practices, this paper explores how workplace practices support or challenge dominant WLB discourses evident in socio-cultural, political and organisational sources. Design/methodology/approach - We analyse individual and group interview transcripts derived from 122 white-collar employees in two different organisational contexts (one public, one private) in the construction industry in Australia. Findings - Four major themes were identified in the data which illustrate discourse practice gaps. First, the demands facing this particular industry/ sector were framed as heightened and unique. Second, productivity was prioritised, dominating employees’ care-giving and lifestyle concerns. Third, employees’ caring responsibilities were communicated as personal and individual choices. Fourth, commitment and efficiency were judged on the basis of presence in the workplace. Research limitations/implications - Even in industries that have embraced WLB, workplace practices legitimate and reinforce the status quo, and maintain a gap between the promises of WLB and its potential to ameliorate conflict and assist workers to span the boundaries of paid work and other life domains. Originality/value - While the practices demonstrated in the research are focused on one industry, the study provides a critical analysis of how the contextually-influenced meaning of WLB is constructed, created and contested in these workplaces and the effects it produces.

Pre-service teachers' pedagogical relationships and experiences of embedding Indigenous Australian knowledge in teaching practicum

This paper argues from the standpoint that embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Australian curricula occurs within a space of tension, ‘the cultural interface’ (Nakata, 2002), in negotiation and contestation with other dominant knowledge systems. In this interface, Indigenous knowledge (IK) is in a state of constancy and flux, invisible and simultaneously pronounced depending on the teaching and learning contexts. More often than not, IK competes for validity and is vexed by questions of racial and cultural authenticity, and therefore struggles to be located centrally in educational systems, curricula and pedagogies. Interrogating normative western notions of what constitutes authentic or legitimate knowledge is critical to teaching Indigenous studies and embedding IK. The inclusion (and exclusion) of IK at the interface is central to developing curriculum that allows teachers to test and prod, create new knowledge and teaching approaches. From this perspective, we explore Indigenous Australian pre-service teachers’ experiences of pedagogical relationships within the teaching habitus of Australian classrooms. Our study is engaged with the strategic transgressions of praxis. We contend that tensions that participant Indigenous Australian pre-service teachers experience mirror the broader (and unresolved) political status of Indigenous people and thus where and why IK is strategically deployed as ‘new’ or ‘old knowledge within Australian liberal democratic systems of curriculum and schooling. It is significant to discuss the formation and transformation of the pedagogical cultural identity of the teaching profession within which Indigenous and non-Indigenous pre-service teachers are employed.

The product of text and 'Other' statements : discourse analysis and the critical use of Foucault

Much has been written on Michel Foucault’s reluctance to clearly delineate a research method, particularly with respect to genealogy (Harwood 2000; Meadmore, Hatcher, & McWilliam 2000; Tamboukou 1999). Foucault (1994, p. 288) himself disliked prescription stating, “I take care not to dictate how things should be” and wrote provocatively to disrupt equilibrium and certainty, so that “all those who speak for others or to others” no longer know what to do. It is doubtful, however, that Foucault ever intended for researchers to be stricken by that malaise to the point of being unwilling to make an intellectual commitment to methodological possibilities. Taking criticism of “Foucauldian” discourse analysis as a convenient point of departure to discuss the objectives of poststructural analyses of language, this paper develops what might be called a discursive analytic; a methodological plan to approach the analysis of discourses through the location of statements that function with constitutive effects.

An illusory interiority : interrogating the discourse/s of inclusion

It is generally accepted that the notion of inclusion derived or evolved from the practices of mainstreaming or integrating students with disabilities into regular schools. Halting the practice of segregating children with disabilities was a progressive social movement. The value of this achievement is not in dispute. However, our charter as scholars and cultural vigilantes (Slee & Allan, 2001) is to always look for how we can improve things; to avoid stasis and complacency we must continue to ask, how can we do it better? Thus, we must ask ourselves uncomfortable questions and develop a critical perspective that Foucault characterised as an ‘ethic of discomfort’ (Rabinow & Rose, 2003, p. xxvi) by following the Nietzscheian principle where one acts “counter to our time and thereby on our time… for the benefit of a time to come” (Nietzsche, 1874, p. 60 in Rabinow & Rose, 2003, p. xxvi). This paper begins with a fundamental question for those participating in inclusive education research and scholarship – when we talk of including, into what do we seek to include?

The product of text and “Other” statements : discourse analysis and the critical use of Foucault

Much has been written on Michel Foucault’s reluctance to clearly delineate a research method, particularly with respect to genealogy (Harwood 2000; Meadmore, Hatcher, & McWilliam 2000; Tamboukou 1999). Foucault (1994, p. 288) himself disliked prescription stating, “I take care not to dictate how things should be” and wrote provocatively to disrupt equilibrium and certainty, so that “all those who speak for others or to others” no longer know what to do. It is doubtful, however, that Foucault ever intended for researchers to be stricken by that malaise to the point of being unwilling to make an intellectual commitment to methodological possibilities. Taking criticism of “Foucauldian” discourse analysis as a convenient point of departure to discuss the objectives of poststructural analyses of language, this paper develops what might be called a discursive analytic; a methodological plan to approach the analysis of discourses through the location of statements that function with constitutive effects.

Changing the discourse of women’s work : challenges and future directions

Theoretical work on the career development of women has travelled a journey from critique to creation. Early work responded to and criticised a literature that focused on theorising male roles in a workplace that was conceptualised as providing vertical career paths primarily for middle class males. Theorists have criticised the limitations of this theorising on the basis of gender, ability and social class variables - to name just a few. More recently theorists are creating new constructions and frameworks to enable a more holistic understanding of career, applicable to both women and men. This book provides a history of theorising about women's careers, in addition to presenting a focus on current empirical and theoretical work which contributes to current understandings of women's working lives. It has both mapped the current discourse and suggests challenges for future work. This chapter will provide a synthesis of the key issues presented in the book and pose some challenges for future work.

Critical discourse analysis and political economy of communication : understanding the new corporate order

This article uses critical discourse analysis to analyse material shifts in the political economy of communications. It examines texts of major corporations to describe four key changes in political economy: (1) the separation of ownership from control; (2) the separation of business from industry; (3) the separation of accountability from responsibility; and (4) the subjugation of ‘going concerns’ by overriding concerns. The authors argue that this amounts to a political economic shift from traditional concepts of ‘capitalism’ to a new ‘corporatism’ in which the relationships between public and private, state and individual interests have become redefined and obscured through new discourse strategies. They conclude that the present financial and regulatory ‘crisis’ cannot be adequately resolved without a new analytic framework for examining the relationships between corporation, discourse and political economy.

Lay theories of anorexia nervosa : a discourse analytic study

Previous studies on lay theories of anorexia nervosa have examined the 'accuracy' of lay knowledge, and the identification of factors by family and friends that would encourage early interventions. In contrast to these approaches, we examine lay theories of anorexia nervosa using a critical psychology perspective. We argue that the use of a discourse analysis methodology enables the examination of the construction of lay theories through dominant concepts and ideas. Ten semi-structured interviews with five women and five men aged between 15 and 25 years were carried out. Participants were asked questions about three main aspects of anorexia nervosa: aetiology, treatment and relationship to gender. Each interview was analysed in terms of the structure, function and variability of discourse. Three discourses: sociocultural, individual and femininity, are discussed in relation to the interview questions. We conclude that, in this study, lay theories of anorexia nervosa were structured through key discourses that maintained a separation between sociocultural aspects of anorexia nervosa and individual psychology. This separation exists in dominant psychomedical conceptualizations of anorexia nervosa, reinforcing the concept that it is a form of psychopathology.