Description:
Abstract: Research aspires to be objective and purposeful, and keen to improve my own teaching, I began a phenomenographic exploration of lecturers’ experiences teaching in multi-cultural classrooms. Disparities between the participants’ perspectives and my expectations, however, found me caught between my purposefulness and my passion for the topic. Seeking a way forward I was drawn to explore my own assumptions about research and my role as the researcher. The emerging insights create a compelling, and at times shocking, account of my pervasive influence on this purportedly, objective research project. Searching for theoretical reflections of my experiences I discovered auto/ethnography. My initial delight turned into distaste at the degree of self disclosure I encountered in the writings. I rejected auto/ethnography as self indulgent and un-academic, yet as I wrote, I could not stem the flow of revelations about the centrality of my values and beliefs in this research project. This paper offers some thoughts on my research journey and concludes by reframing the pejorative ‘self-indulgent’ to assert that to give oneself up to contemplation of the diverse influences of the researcher’s self on her research is enlightening and essential for ethical research….indeed self/indulgent. Key words: research; auto/ethnography; reflexivity; higher education
Description:
Abstract: Research aspires to be objective and purposeful, and keen to improve my own teaching, I began a phenomenographic exploration of lecturers’ experiences teaching in multi-cultural classrooms. Disparities between the participants’ perspectives and my expectations, however, found me caught between my purposefulness and my passion for the topic. Seeking a way forward I was drawn to explore my own assumptions about research and my role as the researcher. The emerging insights create a compelling, and at times shocking, account of my pervasive influence on this purportedly, objective research project. Searching for theoretical reflections of my experiences I discovered auto/ethnography. My initial delight turned into distaste at the degree of self disclosure I encountered in the writings. I rejected auto/ethnography as self indulgent and un-academic, yet as I wrote, I could not stem the flow of revelations about the centrality of my values and beliefs in this research project. This paper offers some thoughts on my research journey and concludes by reframing the pejorative ‘self-indulgent’ to assert that to give oneself up to contemplation of the diverse influences of the researcher’s self on her research is enlightening and essential for ethical research….indeed self/indulgent. Key words: research; auto/ethnography; reflexivity; higher education
Description:
Land has been central to debates about the relationship between Indigenous (First Nations) and non-Indigenous Australian identities since colonial violence founded the nation. How do white Australians understand Indigenous land rights? This paper draws on an empirical ethnographic study with rural people who self-identify as ‘white Australian’ to analyze the key discourses of land, identity and nation and the complexities of how whiteness and race is socially produced and lived in rural Australia. The study found that white Australian discourses of nation and identity limit most of the respondents' ability to construct their identity in relation to Indigenous sovereignty.
Description:
A review of aged care policies reveals that GLBTI needs and identities are typically not included or mentioned under the category of ‘special need groups’. This may hinder the provision of aged care services as culturally sensitive, safe and inclusive. The dominant discourse of heteronormativity, evident in the field of gerontology, fails to recognise and acknowledge diversity of sexuality and gender identity. This paper reports on a qualitative research project which used a focus group interview with 6 self-identified, out lesbians aged 45 years and over. Nine aged care facilities’ brochures were also analysed to generate data. The project drew on principles of critical discourse analysis, underpinned by poststructuralism and feminist post-structuralism. The research revealed the silencing of non-heterosexual identities through the absence of representation in the brochures and the exclusion of lesbians from the construction of aged care space. It was observed that current aged care facilities’ design, amenities, flexibility of options and choice do not seem to fit with this generation’s lifestyle, activities and interests regardless of sexual-orientation issues. A proposed preferred option suggested by the members of the focus group was a culturally safe space that is accessible to women only. Recommendations are made for social work practitioners, lesbian and feminist activists, policy makers, the aged care industry, and researchers.
Description:
A review of aged care policies reveals that GLBTI needs and identities are typically not included or mentioned under the category of ‘special need groups’. This may hinder the provision of aged care services as culturally sensitive, safe and inclusive. The dominant discourse of heteronormativity, evident in the field of gerontology, fails to recognise and acknowledge diversity of sexuality and gender identity. This paper reports on a qualitative research project which used a focus group interview with 6 self-identified, out lesbians aged 45 years and over. Nine aged care facilities’ brochures were also analysed to generate data. The project drew on principles of critical discourse analysis, underpinned by poststructuralism and feminist post-structuralism. The research revealed the silencing of non-heterosexual identities through the absence of representation in the brochures and the exclusion of lesbians from the construction of aged care space. It was observed that current aged care facilities’ design, amenities, flexibility of options and choice do not seem to fit with this generation’s lifestyle, activities and interests regardless of sexual-orientation issues. A proposed preferred option suggested by the members of the focus group was a culturally safe space that is accessible to women only. Recommendations are made for social work practitioners, lesbian and feminist activists, policy makers, the aged care industry, and researchers.
Description:
This paper uses a post-structuralist perspective to articulate the conceptual limits of the discourse of ‘coming of age’ as a means of examining concerns about the representation of young female sexuality in the media. Through analysis of the content and production contexts of the films Lolita (1997) and Thirteen (2003), it argues that the discourse of ‘coming of age’ is grounded in a contradictory logic that produces conflicting aims: a desire to preserve the innocence of youth and a simultaneous expectation that they ‘grow up’. Using techniques of Derridean deconstruction, the paper examines the effects that this logic produces in terms of how key aspects of ‘coming of age’ contradict what the discourse sets out to determine and how this contributes to perceptions of youth sexuality as problematic. It will be shown that these conceptual contradictions remain unseen in attempts to make sense of the controversial aspects of the two films: the issue of pedophilia in Lolita and the problem of teenage rebellion in Thirteen. Importantly, the deconstructive reading suggests that it is the paradoxical underpinnings of this approach to youth identity that enables the discourse to be thought at all. By working to recognise this, it is possible to move beyond the limits of the discourse and think differently about youth in response to the perceived threat posed to young people by media representations of adolescent sex and sexuality
Description:
This paper uses a post-structuralist perspective to articulate the conceptual limits of the discourse of ‘coming of age’ as a means of examining concerns about the representation of young female sexuality in the media. Through analysis of the content and production contexts of the films Lolita (1997) and Thirteen (2003), it argues that the discourse of ‘coming of age’ is grounded in a contradictory logic that produces conflicting aims: a desire to preserve the innocence of youth and a simultaneous expectation that they ‘grow up’. Using techniques of Derridean deconstruction, the paper examines the effects that this logic produces in terms of how key aspects of ‘coming of age’ contradict what the discourse sets out to determine and how this contributes to perceptions of youth sexuality as problematic. It will be shown that these conceptual contradictions remain unseen in attempts to make sense of the controversial aspects of the two films: the issue of pedophilia in Lolita and the problem of teenage rebellion in Thirteen. Importantly, the deconstructive reading suggests that it is the paradoxical underpinnings of this approach to youth identity that enables the discourse to be thought at all. By working to recognise this, it is possible to move beyond the limits of the discourse and think differently about youth in response to the perceived threat posed to young people by media representations of adolescent sex and sexuality
Description:
Modern worldviews must accept the conditions of post-metaphysical thought tothe extent that they recognize that they are competing with other interpretations of the world within the same universe of validity claims. This reflective knowledge concerning the competition between equally warring "gods and demons" creates an awareness of their fallibility and shatters the naiveté of dogmatic modes of belief founded on absolute truth claims (Habermas, 2001: 94).
Description:
This paper discusses the value of clan name research as a means of uncovering Aboriginal place names. It argues that clan names are able to provide a layer of place names that in some instances is the only source of information available to researchers of indigenous toponymy. They are an important data set that is useful in the mapping of Aboriginal spatial organization.
Description:
This paper discusses the value of clan name research as a means of uncovering Aboriginal place names. It argues that clan names are able to provide a layer of place names that in some instances is the only source of information available to researchers of indigenous toponymy. They are an important data set that is useful in the mapping of Aboriginal spatial organization.
Description:
This study, conducted for the Department of Human Services (Grampians Region) in Victoria, found that gay men and lesbians experience similar types of stigma and discrimination in rural areas as those in urban centres, but that this was exacerbated by the lack of anonymity in the smaller communities. The hatred of homosexuality can, in some relatively supportive family, community, school and work contexts, transform into a homophobia that embodies a fear of homosexuality which can, and not infrequently does, result in homophobic abuse and violence. Although the majority of research participants in this study were accepting of their sexuality and happy to be lesbian or gay, they nevertheless lived curtailed lives with a blanket around a central dimension of their lives. Furthermore it was found that the experience of gay men is not a mirror image of that for lesbians.
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The articles that comprise this special issue reflect the growing scholarship that investigates the role of sound in understandings of self, others and place. We acknowledge that attending to sound is not new to the humanities and social sciences (Atkinson, 2007; Anderson, 2009; Bull, 2000 ; Smith, 1994, Smith, 2000 ; Thibaud, 2003). Yet, until the recent interest in performativity, embodiment, affect and non-representational theory, studies of music and sound have most often focused on sound as an object, where it is something to be seen or observed rather than heard or felt. This has resulted in an emphasis on representation, which obscures the ways in which the processes of sound influence us and shape our actions, thoughts and feelings in space and time. In the discussions presented here we are not arguing that such a focus is misguided or in error; sound can be characterized as a discrete object, with definable features that can be representative of a clearly demarcated and spatialized community or group. However such studies of sonic processes and practices demonstrate the difficulties inherent in capturing a broader range of effects and the diverse impacts of sound. Sound and music are not simply physiological outcomes of hearing sonic qualities arising within particular social contexts or individual environments; rather sound and music may move us in unpredictable ways, that is, something happens. One important outcome of sound is that it taps into our emotional and intuitive selves, and this has opened up a means to examine how emotions and affects influence social interactions ( DeNora, 2000; Duffy et al., 2011; Revill, 2016; Simpson, 2016; Smith, 2000 ; Wood and Smith, 2004).
Description:
This paper outlines the rise of women in management worldwide, and considers why so few women achieve senior or executive management positions. This slow advance of women into senior roles is unexpected given that the changes in organisations today are believed to require more ‘feminine leadership’. A decrease in the emphasis on masculine characteristics for managers is reported, and a requirement that more ‘feminine leadership’ needs to be adopted by organisations in order to ensure their survival in the future (Powell, Butterfield & Parent, 2002, p.189). Recent empirical research reports that there are differences in leadership style between male and female managers, and the findings suggest that women exhibit more transformational leadership than their male counterparts, with this style being strongly equated with effective leadership (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, van Engen, 2003). However, these findings are based on western research, and it may be that cross cultural research will yield a different picture (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). Leadership and leadership styles may be conceptualised differently in a more paternalistic society. To explore this possibility, a cross cultural study was conducted in Malaysia and Australia. It is hypothesised that countries that are paternalistic in cultural values will exhibit a stronger constraint on women in management roles, which may impact on workplace attitudes, aspirations for promotion and style of leadership exhibited. Therefore, it is possible that the career advancement of women may be more problematic for Malaysian managerial women than their Australian counterparts. Results from an initial pilot study in Malaysia and Australia are outlined, and highlight some interesting similarities and differences to what are reported in the western literature.
Description:
This paper outlines the rise of women in management worldwide, and considers why so few women achieve senior or executive management positions. This slow advance of women into senior roles is unexpected given that the changes in organisations today are believed to require more ‘feminine leadership’. A decrease in the emphasis on masculine characteristics for managers is reported, and a requirement that more ‘feminine leadership’ needs to be adopted by organisations in order to ensure their survival in the future (Powell, Butterfield & Parent, 2002, p.189). Recent empirical research reports that there are differences in leadership style between male and female managers, and the findings suggest that women exhibit more transformational leadership than their male counterparts, with this style being strongly equated with effective leadership (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, van Engen, 2003). However, these findings are based on western research, and it may be that cross cultural research will yield a different picture (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). Leadership and leadership styles may be conceptualised differently in a more paternalistic society. To explore this possibility, a cross cultural study was conducted in Malaysia and Australia. It is hypothesised that countries that are paternalistic in cultural values will exhibit a stronger constraint on women in management roles, which may impact on workplace attitudes, aspirations for promotion and style of leadership exhibited. Therefore, it is possible that the career advancement of women may be more problematic for Malaysian managerial women than their Australian counterparts. Results from an initial pilot study in Malaysia and Australia are outlined, and highlight some interesting similarities and differences to what are reported in the western literature.
Description:
States of exception cannot be understood in the terms of any otherwise prevailing rules or discourses. They are, after all, exceptional. They mark, by definition, special cases, anomalies, irregularities. And, because of this special status, we may of course take exception to them. Now this is not a new insight, we can all think of exceptional people for whom the rules just do not seem to apply, and exceptional situations where the normal rules just do not seem able to help.
Description:
Fort Scratchley has many layers of history. The fort site was part of the lore of the Awabakal people & the site of Newcastles early convict-dug coal mines. It was a major coastal defence installation until its decommissioning in 1972. - See more at:
Description:
The recent migratory movement known as Seachange is investigated in this article through the concept of place. Using Smith’s ‘Elementary Forms of Place’ model as a guide, and textual/media analysis coupled with qualitative research as examples, it is argued that the Seachange narrative is constructed on a dichotomous relationship to the city. While metropolitan areas are perceived as dull, stressful and degrading, the country and beach are sacralized through narratives of peace, quiet and serenity. Furthermore, the Seachange locales are also considered as places entrenched in the past, invoking aesthetics of traditional community values. Yet the sacralization of Seachange places is threatened by counter-narratives such as gentrification, commodification and sustainability issues which degrade the attractiveness of the locale.