Arts Papers and Journal Articles

Using Foucauldian Perspectives to Enable the Reading/Speaking/Writing of Mal/Adjustment as Moral Subjects

Robbie Busch et al. — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:25 PDT

The inclusion of adjustment in human lived experience as a mental disorder is problematic. Adjustment disorder has been criticised for its overuse and its lack of specificity in its employment as a diagnostic category. We present a preliminary reading of the mal/adjusted subject through a Foucauldian theoretical perspective by focusing on how it is told in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and positions the subject in a moral (dis)order. In turning the history of clinical mal/adjustment on itself through a reading of the DSM, we tentatively conclude that mal/adjustment continues to be problematic because of discontinuities in its own rules of formation. We conclude that the DSM’s (re)productions of mal/adjusted subject positions form an uncontrollable excess of emotion that morally constitutes and (dis)orders the subject as feminine. This is despite the DSM-IV claims that adjustment disorder is equally prevalent in men and women.

Religion Research in International Relations: A Taxonomy

John Rees — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:23 PDT

The discipline of international relations (IR) is beginning to readily engage with the variegations of religion manifest in world politics. The essay argues that the perception of research about religion can therefore no longer remain homogenous and it is imperative to differentiate between types of religion research available to IR scholars and policy-makers. With this objective in mind, the essay differentiates between four suggested types of religion research in the IR corpus (policy, cultural, global and postsecular research) and briefly identifies three additional types (disciplinary, data, and primary source research). It is posited that the demarcation between types is important to recognise if IR is to fully profit from the quality of religion research now on offer.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge of secondary mathematics teachers

Boris Handal et al. — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:21 PDT

The integration of technology, pedagogy, and content in the teaching of secondary mathematics was explored among 280 secondary mathematics teachers in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The study adopted the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) model through the administration of a 30-item instrument called TPCK-M. The instrument consisted of three major theoretically based constructs: technological content knowledge (TCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). Results indicated that PowerPoint and Excel constitute the two TCK modal technological capabilities while TPK scores revealed teachers’ lower capacity to deal with the general information and communications technologies goals across the curriculum, such as creating digital assessment formats. TPCK-M scores seem to suggest a healthy standard in teachers’ technological skills across a variety of mathematics education goals. However, the magnitude of such influence in practice needs to be further ascertained, given that the study identified a number of instructional, curricular, and organizational factors seriously inhibiting the integration of technology into teaching and learning. In general, to take advantage of more novel learning technologies, teachers need to be trained in working with online tools (webquests, wikis), mobile learning, and interactive whiteboards and in authoring digital learning resources.

The Shi'ites, the West and the Future of Democracy: Reframing Political Change in a Religio-secular World

John Rees — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:16:07 PDT

The present article critically reviews Paul McGeough’s important analysis of the most recent Iraq war within a broader consideration of secular-religious relations in international affairs. The thesis of Mission Impossible: The Sheikhs, the US and the Future of Iraq (2004) can be summarised around two ideas: that the US strategy in Iraq was flawed because it wilfully bypassed the traditional power structures of Iraqi society; and that these structures, formed around the tribe and the mosque, are anti-democratic thus rendering attempts at democratisation impossible. The article affirms McGeough’s argument concerning the inadequacy of the US strategy, but critically examines the author’s fatalism toward the democratic capacity of Iraqi structures, notably the structure of the mosque. By broadening the notion of democracy to include religious actors and agendas, and by an introductory interpretation of the Shi’ite community as vital players in an emerging Iraqi democracy, the article attempts to deconstruct the author’s secularist view that the world of the mosque exists in a ‘parallel universe’ to the liberal democratic West. Reframing the Shi’ites as essential actors in the democratic project thus situates political discourse in a ‘religio-secular world’ and brings the ‘other worlds’ of religion and secularism together in a sphere of interdependence. Such an approach emphasises the importance of post-secular structures in the discourses on democratic change.

Religion and Politics in Review

John Rees — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:55:56 PDT

A international scholarly review of two contemporary works in the study of religion and international realations. Eric O. Hanson, Religion and Politics in the International System Today (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006); Scott M. Thomas, The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations: The Struggle for the Soul of the Twenty-First Century (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005). Published in the official journal of the London School of Economics and Politics.

Occupying Power: Sex Workers and Servicemen in Postwar Japan

Christine M. de Matos — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:11:10 PST

The caricature of the ‘pan-pan’, or amateur female prostitute, complete with western-style fashions and garish makeup, has become an iconic symbol of Japan’s defeat in the Asia-Pacific War and subsequent Allied Occupation. Portrayed in a mostly negative light, she simultaneously represents the ostensible sexual excesses of female liberation, the most visible rendering of Japanese emasculation, and the sexual exploitation of women by Allied servicemen. She has, as Sarah Kovner suggests in her new book, the signs of defeat and occupation inscribed onto her very body. Yet recent research on gender, sexuality and military occupations has begun to question the whore/ victim model of the ‘pan-pan’ and of occupation sexual interactions more generally. Rumi Sakamoto asserted in a recent issue of Portal that ‘“pan-pan girls” resist being reduced to pure signs of “victim” or “sacrifice,” given that they embody complex articulations of interracial desire, material ambition and opportunism, as well as victimhood’ (Sakamoto, 1). This complication of understandings of occupation sexualities continues in Kovner’s Occupying Power.

The poetry of survival: The shifting landscape of poetry in the Australian publishing industry

Candice J. Fox — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:52:03 PST

It has been repeatedly claimed – even before the global financial crisis – that literary publishing is entering a shaky chapter. Opportunities for established writers are narrowing, and opportunities for new writers are scarce. This article explores the state of poetry in the Australian publishing industry. It argues that far from being a spent force in publishing, poetry is surviving better than many writers imagine. It argues that reinvention and adaptation are crucial if poetry is to use advances in technology to survive.

The state and federal seats of Fremantle: Past, present and future

William Bowe et al. — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:01:37 PST

This article provides a brief overview of the results for the State and Federal seats of Fremantle, with a view to identifyinig and analysing the changing nature of its demographic makeup.

Vampires and Werewolves: Rewriting Religious and Racial Stereotyping in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series

Georgina Ledvinka — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:25:54 PST

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series (2005–8) demonstrates a strong connection with the theology, cultural practices and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), of which Meyer is an active member. One of the strongest ways in which this connection is demonstrated is through characterisation: specifically, by featuring vampires and werewolves as prominent supernatural characters in the text. Twilight employs vampires as a metaphor for the LDS Church. By eschewing literature’s traditional association of vampires with subversive acts, especially subversive sexuality, and rewriting them as clean-cut pillars of the community, Twilight not only charts but promotes the progression of Latter-day Saints from nineteenth century social pariahs to modern day exemplars of conservative American family values. The series represents its Native American shapeshifting werewolves as an ancient group of people from LDS scriptural history called Lamanites, who were cursed by God with ‘a skin of blackness’ for their ‘iniquity’ (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:21). The construction of the werewolves as impoverished and socially marginalised yet with strong family ties enables the treatment of race in Twilight to move beyond a standard white/non-white binary frame to engage at a deeper level with LDS stereotyping of Native American people.

Are children protected in the Family Court? A perspective from Western Australia

Suzanne Jenkins — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 18:46:47 PDT

Despite a landmark High Court judgement in the area of child sexual abuse allegations (M and M, 1988), a major concern in such cases seems to be the fear that mothers use false accusations against fathers as 'weapons' in custody and contact cases. This paper seeks to examine the validity of such views as they apply to Western Australia. In particular, it examines the belief that false accusations are rampant; the questionable nature of 'parental alienation syndrome', the belief that young children's accounts of abuse lack credibility, and the ignoring of the effect of abuse itself on the nature of a child's testimony. The paper argues that the principle of 'protection of the child's best interests' should not necessarily be equated with the child having access, even supervised access, with a parent previously accused of having abused the child.

Developing a residential programme for children in response to trauma-related behaviours

Suzanne Jenkins — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 18:31:43 PDT

This paper describes the development by Parkerville Children's Home, WA, of a therapeutic residential programme, based on current research and clinical experience, relating to the impact of traumatic experience. It describes the theoretical framework, its incorporation into an intervention plan and the process of implementation. A case study is used to illustrate the process of assessment and implementation.

Encouraging 'Democracy' in a Cold War Climate: The Dual-Platform Policy Approach of Evatt and Labor Toward the Allied Occupation of Japan 1945-1949

Christine M. de Matos — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 20:52:31 PDT

This paper is based on research conducted in Australia and the United States into Australian aims toward the Allied Occupation of Japan under the Chifley government between 1945 and 1949. It challenges the prevailing characterisation of Australian aims as solely seeking a ‘harsh peace’ with Japan. An alternative, two-platform model is proposed to assess Australian aims. The model incorporates the pragmatic and retribution aspects of Australian policy (known as platform-one aims) and the more complex pragmatic and idealist aims of encouraging democratisation in postwar Japan (known as platform-two aims). The paper focuses on platform-two aims, as these tend to be neglected in historiography on the Australian role in the Occupation.

Diplomacy Interrupted?: Macmahon Ball, Evatt and Labor's Policies in Occupied Japan

Christine M. de Matos — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:58:37 PDT

Historiography on the Australian political and diplomatic role in the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) gives disproportionate attention to the meetings between the Australian Minister for External Affairs, H.V. Evatt, and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan (SCAP), General Douglas MacArthur, in Tokyo during 1947. These meetings are then linked to the subsequent resignation from the Allied Council for Japan (ACJ) of William Macmahon Ball, an Australian academic representing the British Commonwealth, and used to justify the claim that Australian policy towards Occupied Japan was unpredictable and ad hoc. This attention to Ball's resignation has distorted analysis of Australia's role in, and policies towards, Japan during the Occupation. This article argues that there is a need to develop a new historical discourse for the Australian role in the Occupation, one that moves beyond the intrigues of personalities and investigates diplomatic policy practice and its underlying ideals. This, in turn, may encourage other scholars to rethink the wider conduct and practice of foreign policy under the Labor governments of the 1940s.

Book Review: The United States and India: A History through Archives -The Later Years

Daniel Baldino — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:20:45 PDT

The United States and India: A History through Archives: The Later Years (Volume 1 and Volume 2) addresses a cycle of topics chronologically related to the identity and relationship between the United States and India during the Cold War. Multilevel issues and themes such as US economic assistance to the developing world, India’s leaders, the 1962 war, India’s food and agricultural situation, bilateral relations with Pakistan and the 1965 war, Chinese intentions and capabilities, the question of US military aid, intelligence activities in India-Burma and India’s defence build-up and nuclear programme all offer absorbing snippets of history.

Indigenous Land Use Agreement - Building relationships between Karajarri traditional owners, the Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc. and the Government of Western Australia

Joe Edgar — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:00:07 PDT

Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc. is located on the eastern shores of La Grange Bay, 200 kilometres south of Broome, Western Australia. Formerly known as La Grange Catholic Mission, the community has a population of around 800 residents, which comprises the traditional owner group - the Karajarri - and their traditional neighbours - the Mangala, Juwaliny, Yulparija and Nyangumarta - who moved on to the mission when it was established in 1955. The Yawuru, northern neighbours of the Karajarri, have generally lived on their own estates and on shared country where traditional boundaries overlapped; however, in recent years a small but significant number of Yawuru have settled at Bidyadanga and the Yardoogarra outstation 30 kilometres to the north, and regard Bidyadanga as a hub with its essential services and infrastructure. The Karajarri had their Native Title aspirations recognised by the Federal Court of Australia in 2002 and 2004. The Karajarri Native Title determinations have become significant turning points for political and community relations between traditional owners and the Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc, and also affect the way government, non-government organisations and other stakeholders manoeuvre within claimed Native Title areas. In an attempt to shed some light on the complexities and challenges that confront the people at Bidyadanga today, this paper discusses the contemporary social, political and economic history of the former mission and its people, and comments on the new era of land management and political processes that governs and influences their lives. The author is a member of the Karajarri Traditional Lands Association where he has served as the deputy chair since 2002.

Pukarrikarta-jangka muwarr – Stories about caring for Karajarri country

Anna Dwyer — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:42:29 PDT

I am a Karajarri woman from Bidyadanga community in Western Australia. As a researcher at the Nulungu Research Institute, located at the Yawuru buru (Broome) campus, of the University of Notre Dame Australia, I am often required to bring together traditional knowledge and Western rationalist approaches to knowledge generation in my research endeavours. This article reflects on my cultural background, knowledge, traditional language and beliefs. It locates these important elements of my life in contemporary modern Australia, and challenges the prevailing colonial frameworks that continue to undermine the legitimate use of our knowledge to manage our homelands. Using my Karajarri family to illustrate, this article explains the importance of caring for country and describes the belief systems that establish and maintain our cultural obligations to country. The importance and connectedness of language to country is highlighted, and the significance and value of country is demonstrated through our spiritual understandings and cultural practices.

Indigenous Knowledge in the Workplace: A Workshop for Indigenous Practitioners

Stephen Kinnane et al. — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:04:30 PDT

This workshop drew together Indigenous professionals to discuss Indigenous Knowledge in the context of their own workplaces.

The idea for the conference in part grew out of a feeling of vague dissatisfaction, amongst Indigenous practitioners in the social sciences, with statements about the meaning of world-wide Indigenous Knowledge. Such statements, while positive and fulfilling, sometimes still leave professionals thinking: but how does this work for me? Here is one example:

Traditional knowledge is a cumulative body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by peoples with extant sets of histories of interaction with the natural environment. These sophisticated sets of understandings, interpretations and meanings are part and parcel of a cultural complex that encompasses language, naming and classification systems, resource use practices, ritual, spirituality and worldview. (‘Science and Traditional Knowledge’, paper delivered to 27th General Assembly of ICSU, Rio de Janeiro, Sept 2002: 3).

Participants were asked to discuss, then: how useful is this definition to you in your professional life?

The return of Bishop Brady: The exhumation of Perth's first bishop

Odhran P. O'Brien — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:44:50 PDT

In 1844-45, Perth's first bishop, John Brady, recruited in Europe a number of missionaries to return with him to Western Australia to establish churches, schools and missions. Among those he recruited were three Benedictine monks who founded what would later be known as the New Norcia mission. in the first article in this journal, from the letters of one of those Benedictine monks, we learnt of Brady's first journey as a bishop, in which he brought these missionaries back to his new diocese. In this article by Odhran O'Brien, we learn of Bishop Brady's final journey as it were, 165 years later - the exhumation of his remains in France and their return to rest in his diocese of Perth.

Soothing spaces and healing spaces: Is there an ideal counselling room?

Mark Pearson et al. — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:43:24 PDT

This qualitative study explores the difference a counselling room can make to the work between counsellor and client. Early and recent research relevant to the influence of the workspace on health practitioners, counsellors and their clients is reviewed. A focus group was used to formulate a questionnaire on counsellor perceptions of the contribution of their designated counselling space to the work with clients. Questionnaires were distributed to professional counsellors around Australia. Thirty-four responses were received and analysed for major and minor themes. Emerging themes from the data were compared with the literature. A range of ideal attributes were indicated, including preferences for larger work spaces, natural light, use of aesthetically pleasing decor, and provision for clients to have choice in seating.

Fences, Furrows, Ditches and Settlement Policy: Rapid Landscape Change in the Swan River Colony

Shane F. Burke — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:02:51 PDT

This paper examines the behaviour of farming settlers in the Swan district of Western Australia during John Hutt’s 1839 to 1846 governorship. Hutt’s affiliations with Wakefield’s settlement theories and his adherence to the 1829–1831 land regulation decree led settlers to physically alter the Swan district’s cultural landscape by enclosing their land with ditches, furrows and fences. Settler actions demonstrate local knowledge of environmental features, a previously unrecorded awareness of land regulations and a shrewd understanding about what constitutes a barrier in a Western Australian colonial setting. This paper has been peer-reviewed.