Gender studies : Intersex by Catherine Harper

Intersex is the condition whereby an individual is born with biological features that are simultaneously perceived as male and female. Ranging from the ambiguous genitalia of the true 'hermaphrodite' to the 'mildly or internally intersexed', the condition may be as common as cleft palate. Like cleft palate, it is hidden and surgically altered, but for very different reasons. Intersex draws heavily on the personal testimony of intersexed individuals, their loved ones and medical carers. The impact of early sex-assignment surgery on an individual's later life is examined within the context of ethical and clinical questions. Harper challenges the conventional and radical 'treatment' of intersexuality through non-consensual infant sex-assignment surgery. In doing so, she exposes powerful myths, taboos and constructions of gender - the perfect phallus, a bi-polar model of gender and the infallibility of medical decisions. Handling sensitive material with care, this book deepens our understanding of a condition that has itself only been medically understood in recent years.

Australian Consumer Law Commentary and Materials [5th Ed.]

"The Australian Consumer Law came into operation on 1 January 2011 as a single national law. It replaced 17 different pieces of Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation relating to consumer protection. Its introduction meant that for the first time, consumers throughout Australia had the same rights and remedies and correspondingly, businesses had the same obligations and responsibilities towards consumers without the barrier of confusing and expensive local variations in the law. Australian Consumer Law: Commentary and Materials contains up-to-date material on the Australian Consumer Law, and in particular the fifth edition incorporates: a revised treatment of unconscionability, taking account of the changes to Part 2-2 of the ACL that became effective in 2012; other State and Federal provisions relating to unfair terms and cases such as Kakavas v Crown Melbourne, ACCC v Lux Distributors, Director of Consumer Affairs v Scully and PT Ltd v Spuds Surf; a comprehensive treatment of the impact of Google v ACCC, Forrest v ASIC and ACCC v TPG – the trilogy of decisions that provide the most recent insights into the High Court’s thinking on aspects of the prohibitions of misleading conduct in the ACL and the Corporations Act 2001; numerous decisions of note; and the possible impact of the Harper Review."--publisher website

Rich stuff : review of Jeri Kroll and Graeme Harper (eds), Research methods in creative writing

A review of a cutting-edge collection of scholarly articles engaging with contemporary theories of creativity and a gamut of valid and often exhilarating research methods in contemporary creative writing practice.

A review of the article on continental money, in Harper's magazine for March 1863.

Signed, p. 8: "Antiquarian." / March 13th, 1863.

Competition policy review : draft recommendations on competition laws

On 4 December 2013, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Small Business announced a “root and branch” review of Australia’s competition policy. The Minister for Small Business released the final Terms of Reference for the competition policy review on 27 March 2014, following consultation with the States and Territories, and announced the Review Panel headed by Professor Ian Harper. Under the terms of reference the Competition Policy Review Committee (the Harper Committee) is required to focus on three broad areas: •examining what can be done to create more competition in service areas such as health, education and intellectual property; •considering whether the structure and powers of the competition institutions (the ACCC , the NCC, the Tribunal and the AER) remain appropriate; and •examining the effectiveness of the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) and laying down a broad framework through which the law can be streamlined and reformed over time.

Journalistic genres in teaching of journalism in Spain. A historical review

This article shows the influence that journalistic genres had on the first organisation of communication studies in Spain as well as the role they remain to play in the teaching of journalism. A review is done starting from the origins of the didactics of genres, continuing with the role of genres in the beginning of regulated studies of journalism, and finalising with an analysis of their place in present education programmes which reveals that practical and theoretical knowledge of the genres are still a main objective in the training of future journalists in Spain.

Les assises idéologiques du projet conservateur de Stephen Harper

Plusieurs indices permettent de croire que le premier ministre Harper a pour projet de faire du Parti conservateur le parti politique dominant au Canada. À cette fin, il doit transformer l’organisation sociale et politique du pays de façon à le rendre plus conservateur. L’objectif du présent mémoire est de préciser les fondements idéologiques du projet de réforme de l’État canadien du premier ministre en m’appuyant sur les écrits des membres de l’École de Calgary. Je fais l’hypothèse que les politiques publiques mises en place par Harper sont inspirées des convictions des membres de cette école de pensée, dont il est un proche. Dans le premier chapitre, je détermine la signification du concept d’idéologie et établis la pertinence de l’analyse des idéologies pour expliquer les décisions politiques. Je définis ensuite les principaux types de conservatisme, afin de déterminer lequel inspire les membres de l’École de Calgary et le Parti conservateur. Dans le second chapitre, je dresse un portrait de la pensée de l’École de Calgary relativement à quatre thèmes, soit ceux du développement économique et social, du pouvoir judiciaire, de la politique étrangère et de l’identité nationale. Enfin, dans le troisième chapitre, je recense les décisions prises par le gouvernement Harper en relation avec ces quatre mêmes thèmes et vérifie leur concordance avec les idées portées par l’École de Calgary.

A sustainable agricultural landscape for Australia: A review of interlacing carbon sequestration, biodiversity and salinity management in agroforestry systems

Transformation of the south-western Australian landscape from deep-rooted woody vegetation systems to shallow-rooted annual cropping systems has resulted in the severe loss of biodiversity and this loss has been exacerbated by rising ground waters that have mobilised stored salts causing extensive dry land salinity. Since the original plant communities were mostly perennial and deep rooted, the model for sustainable agriculture and landscape water management invariably includes deep rooted trees. Commercial forestry is however only economical in higher rainfall (>700 mm yr−1) areas whereas much of the area where biodiversity is threatened has lower rainfall (300–700 mm yr−1). Agroforestry may provide the opportunity to develop new agricultural landscapes that interlace ecosystem services such as carbon mitigation via carbon sequestration and biofuels, biodiversity restoration, watershed management while maintaining food production. Active markets are developing for some of these ecosystem services, however a lack of predictive metrics and the regulatory environment are impeding the adoption of several ecosystem services. Nonetheless, a clear opportunity exists for four major issues – the maintenance of food and fibre production, salinisation, biodiversity decline and climate change mitigation – to be managed at a meaningful scale and a new, sustainable agricultural landscape to be developed.

Advance provision of emergency contraception for pregnancy prevention (Review)

Background Emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy when taken after unprotected intercourse.Obtaining emergency contraception within the recommended time frame is difficult for many women. Advance provision could circumvent some obstacles to timely use. Objectives To summarize randomized controlled trials evaluating advance provision of emergency contraception to explore effects on pregnancy rates, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual and contraceptive behaviors. Search strategy In November 2009, we searched CENTRAL, EMBASE, POPLINE,MEDLINE via PubMed, and a specialized emergency contraception article database. We also searched reference lists and contacted experts to identify additional published or unpublished trials. Selection criteria We included randomized controlled trials comparing advance provision and standard access (i.e., counseling whichmay ormay not have included information about emergency contraception, or provision of emergency contraception on request at a clinic or pharmacy). Data collection and analysis Two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed study quality. We entered and analyzed data using RevMan 5.0.23. Main results Eleven randomized controlled trials met our criteria for inclusion, representing 7695 patients in the United States, China, India and Sweden. Advance provision did not decrease pregnancy rates (odds ratio (OR) 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76 to 1.25 in studies for which we included twelve-month follow-up data; OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.29 in a study with seven-month follow-up data; OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.20 in studies for which we included six-month follow-up data; OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.09 to 2.74 in a study with three-month follow-up data), despite reported increased use (single use: OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.80 to 3.40; multiple use: OR 4.13, 95% CI 1.77 to 9.63) and faster use (weighted mean difference (WMD) -12.98 hours, 95% CI -16.66 to -9.31 hours). Advance provision did not lead to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.37), increased frequency of unprotected intercourse, or changes in contraceptive methods.Women who received emergency contraception in advance were equally likely to use condoms as other women. Authors’ conclusions Advance provision of emergency contraception did not reduce pregnancy rates when compared to conventional provision. Results from primary analyses suggest that advance provision does not negatively impact sexual and reproductive health behaviors and outcomes. Women should have easy access to emergency contraception, because it can decrease the chance of pregnancy.However, the interventions tested thus far have not reduced overall pregnancy rates in the populations studied.