Description:
In recent years the proliferation, speed and reach of school-based surveillance devices has undergone what could be labelled as a revolution. Drawing upon Foucault’s concept of biopower to explore the disciplining of bodies and the biopolitical management of populations, this paper examines ‘new’ school surveillance technologies enabling biometric measurement, electronic detection, substance screening, video observation and data monitoring. Klein’s notion of surveillance 2.0 is utilised to further examine emerging features of school monitoring practices, including the impact of ‘data doubles’, playful student resistance and the commodification of surveillance. It is concluded that invasive school surveillance practices are becoming normalised, that politically motivated, data-driven simulations could increasingly be used to support education interventions and that a function creep is occurring as recreational devices become embroiled in institutional surveillance practices.
Description:
Transition initiatives in Australia, as elsewhere, have been mooted as a means of increasing community resilience to the threats posed by peak oil, climate change and economic uncertainty. Their emergence has attracted researchers to ask questions around their purpose, effectiveness and attraction for those who participate, as well as their likely future prospects in changing attitudes and habits in their respective communities and in society as a whole. This paper contributes to the broader understanding of transition initiatives in Australia by analysing the findings from a survey conducted amongst those involved in such initiatives within a deinstitutional theory framework. It is concluded that although the emergence of these initiatives are somewhat indicative of deinstitutionalisation, this is limited. In addition, the concepts and concerns on which they are based flow only slowly into the broader community.
Description:
Access to a range of services, including healthcare, ranks among the key determinants of health and wellbeing. It varies with both health system supply factors and consumer demand characteristics. For rural populations, access to health services can be...
Description:
Access to a range of services, including healthcare, ranks among the key determinants of health and wellbeing. It varies with both health system supply factors and consumer demand characteristics. For rural populations, access to health services can be...
Description:
This article critiques the first Australian cricket tour of India in 1935/36 through a synthesis of history, theory and imagery, and argues that the photographic content provides invaluable and historically overlooked insight into the cricketers’ perspective. Employing this methodology is unorthodox in sports writing and is innovative in application. The photographs provide a rare and previously unobtainable glimpse into the everyday cultural life and practice of the tour, and deliver a subjective representation of the cricketers’ experience. The significance of the images is twofold: they function as proof to verify the Australians presence in India and they assist a cultural critique of the tour. The images reveal that the cricketers’ response to the colonial paradigm was multifaceted and hallmarked by ambiguity. Despite at times adhering to their anticipated civiliving and educating role as white touring cricketers, the Australian team also challenged colonial protocols and simultaneously demonstrated support for the nationalistic sentiments brewing in 1930s India.
Description:
Welfare practice in rural and remote areas has some particular challenges for professionals. There is a developing body of knowledge about the differences between urban and rural welfare practice, and some evidence that remote practice is experienced differently from rural practice. This article provides an introductory discussion of the differences and similarities of rural and remote welfare practice (in terms of organizational, professional and personal aspects) in Australia using material gathered from two exploratory studies of social work and welfare professionals in Victoria and the Northern Territory. While there were many similarities about satisfaction with lifestyle and the work role, major differences were related to the emphasis on ethical dilemmas in the rural area, strong dissatisfaction with organizations and employment conditions expressed by the remote practitioners, and a lack of professional support and networking which was particularly noted in the remote area.
Description:
Welfare practice in rural and remote areas has some particular challenges for professionals. There is a developing body of knowledge about the differences between urban and rural welfare practice, and some evidence that remote practice is experienced differently from rural practice. This article provides an introductory discussion of the differences and similarities of rural and remote welfare practice (in terms of organizational, professional and personal aspects) in Australia using material gathered from two exploratory studies of social work and welfare professionals in Victoria and the Northern Territory. While there were many similarities about satisfaction with lifestyle and the work role, major differences were related to the emphasis on ethical dilemmas in the rural area, strong dissatisfaction with organizations and employment conditions expressed by the remote practitioners, and a lack of professional support and networking which was particularly noted in the remote area.
Description:
Social workers, welfare workers and others living and working in small rural communities report that they are generally highly satisfied with their work and lifestyle. Paradoxically, high levels of occupational stress are also reported
Description:
Social workers, welfare workers and others living and working in small rural communities report that they are generally highly satisfied with their work and lifestyle. Paradoxically, high levels of occupational stress are also reported
Description:
The rural health, social work and welfare literature includes work on the provision of services in rural and remote settings, the challenges of addressing those communities' needs, and the issues of the funding and staffing of service provision agencies. Rural sociology addresses the social, political and economic factors impinging on contemporary Australian rural life. What is missing from the discussion is extensive exploration of practitioner experience - the voices of the workers are largely unheard, particularly with regard to personal and professional role boundary issues. Health and welfare workers are confronted daily with ethical dilemmas arising from engagement in dual and multiple relationships within their communities. Numerous practitioners have presented anecdotes from their work, some small studies have been undertaken, and a few larger studies have been reported. These examples, which whet the appetite with regard to how these workers experience the boundary issues of rural practice, provide an introduction to the phenomenon that is Australian rural practice. This paper seeks to stimulate discussion about the experience of living and working in rural communities, and how ethical practice is achieved. It considers some of the published reflections of workers in this context, and gives voice to some previously unheard practitioners.
Description:
The rural health, social work and welfare literature includes work on the provision of services in rural and remote settings, the challenges of addressing those communities' needs, and the issues of the funding and staffing of service provision agencies. Rural sociology addresses the social, political and economic factors impinging on contemporary Australian rural life. What is missing from the discussion is extensive exploration of practitioner experience - the voices of the workers are largely unheard, particularly with regard to personal and professional role boundary issues. Health and welfare workers are confronted daily with ethical dilemmas arising from engagement in dual and multiple relationships within their communities. Numerous practitioners have presented anecdotes from their work, some small studies have been undertaken, and a few larger studies have been reported. These examples, which whet the appetite with regard to how these workers experience the boundary issues of rural practice, provide an introduction to the phenomenon that is Australian rural practice. This paper seeks to stimulate discussion about the experience of living and working in rural communities, and how ethical practice is achieved. It considers some of the published reflections of workers in this context, and gives voice to some previously unheard practitioners.