Teacher's stories of change: stress, care and economic rationality

The impact of economic rationalism on teachers’ working lives has been documented extensively, particularly in the UK. This article provides a case study of its impact in the early 1990s in a small Australian state, Tasmania, to illustrate that although the particular institutional forms through which it is expressed may differ its impact is similar. We do this by focusing on teachers' stories of change that have stress as a major theme. Stress is partially explained by increased workloads, teachers teaching outside their specialist areas and a changing student population. However, the ideology of economic rationalism has heightened stress because of the perceived lack of administrative care. A major stressor is trying to maintain a professional ideology of caring while, concurrently, accommodating to economic rationality. The clash of ideologies leads teachers to reduce commitment by leaving teaching, moving to part-time employment, withdrawing into classroom teaching and/or rationalising their workload with, they perceive, a decrease in the quality of teaching

Teachers\u27 Stories of Change: Stress, Care and Economic Rationality

The impact of economic rationalism on teachers’ working lives has been documented extensively, particularly in the UK. This article provides a case study of its impact in the early 1990s in a small Australian state, Tasmania, to illustrate that although the particular institutional forms through which it is expressed may differ its impact is similar. We do this by focusing on teachers\u27 stories of change that have stress as a major theme. Stress is partially explained by increased workloads, teachers teaching outside their specialist areas and a changing student population. However, the ideology of economic rationalism has heightened stress because of the perceived lack of administrative care. A major stressor is trying to maintain a professional ideology of caring while, concurrently, accommodating to economic rationality. The clash of ideologies leads teachers to reduce commitment by leaving teaching, moving to part-time employment, withdrawing into classroom teaching and/or rationalising their workload with, they perceive, a decrease in the quality of teaching

Forensic uncertainty, fragile remains, and DNA as a panacea: an ethnographic observation of the challenges in twenty‐first‐century Disaster Victim Identification

This is an account of ethnographic research examining the specialist scientific processes known as ‘Disaster Victim Identification’ (DVI) in three settings: Québec, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In cases of multiple deaths, a series of actions accompanied by a plethora of tools are often invoked, housed at a disaster scene, forensic laboratories, a family assistance centre, and a mortuary. In this article, I examine a process dedicated to connecting the biological remains of the deceased with a confirmed validation of personhood. I describe a situation where responders/scientists will attempt multiple testing and re-testing of human remains, often pushing boundaries of available science. I argue that the search for certainty in identification lies at the heart of the activation of DVI processes, particularly when it is connected to DNA testing. Observing intimate forensic settings and the bricolage of the forensic anthropologist's labour has allowed me to track the production of the science of identity. I then reflect on the wider implications of these observations for affected communities and the responding scientists. Finally, I argue that there is complexity and ambivalence surrounding the increased use of technologies when applied to identification of victims

Text and Subject Position after Althusser

Althusser\u27s achievement is that he redefined Marxism. He reconceptualizes history and totality in terms of different times, construes knowledge as the outcome of a process of construction, and interprets subjectivity as an effect of ideology and unconscious processes. Unfortunately, Althusser\u27s functionalist view of ideology claims that the subject recognizes itself as a subject because it duplicates— reflects—an absolute subject. However, Lacan\u27s notion of the mirror stage remedies this fault. Lacan\u27s subject always misrecognizes itself in a process of contradiction that threatens the stability of any given social order. Moreover, unlike Foucault\u27s subject, which is limited in that subjectivity is folded back into a vaguely expanded notion of power, this revised Althusserian subject allows careful reading of texts. The critic does not simply read against the grain; he or she exposes the multiple points of identification offered the reader. For example, Wordsworth\u27s The Solitary Reaper installs the reader in multiple positions: a devotee of high culture and the national canon, a lover of the verbal signifier and its play, a consumer of confessional discourse, and a masculine I desiring a laboring, singing woman

DIY Music Spaces: An Origin Story and Tour of the Underground

Under the radar, overlooked by guidebooks, neglected by city governments, ignored by mainstream arts institutions, and perhaps in a garage or living room in your neighborhood, is a secret world of community and music. The acronym DIY (Do It Yourself) describes and defines spaces that offer an artistic home to creative outsiders: artists and audiences marginalized by age, race, class, gender preference, or any number of markers of unconventionality. Often found in under-utilized commercial or industrial buildings in less-desirable neighborhoods, viewed as degenerate or even dangerous, these spaces are nevertheless vital incubators in the cultural life in Seattle, the Bay Area, New York, and cities worldwide. This paper offers an ethnography of a vital organism of cultural infrastructure that is often overlooked

MyPlace Green Square Community Survey 2023 Final Report

The Green Square urban renewal area stretches across 278 hectares in the City of Sydney Local Government Area, between the Central Business District and Sydney Airport (CoS 2015). It is one of the fastest growing areas in Sydney with 33,000 new residential dwellings built and 63,000 people expected to live in the area when complete. So that the City can identify how it might best support communities’ social wellbeing and resilience associated with environmental, economic and social changes, it is essential to collect information about the experiences and desires of residents and workers. This includes their satisfaction with, and feelings of attachment and belonging to, the places they live and work, the nature of their social interactions and social cohesion, and their plans and desires regarding their local areas. To this end, this report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, Australia. This survey is undertaken on a recurring basis every 2-3 years, to monitor changes to the social fabric over time as the urban renewal area develops. The study was undertaken by researchers at UNSW Sydney, with the assistance and support of the City of Sydney Council. The aim of this research was to develop a survey tool for on-going assessment of social interactions and social cohesion at a large-scale urban renewal site that could be used to: * Measure the nature of social cohesion and social interaction and identify opportunities and barriers residents face in contributing to social cohesion and community development. * Understand the wellbeing of residents and workers, including their satisfaction with and attachment to the area, their local area preferences and desires, and their plans for the future. In summary, 1,960 residents and 841 workers completed the survey in Green Square (513 respondents both lived and worked in Green Square). The survey results reasonably reflect the total residential population (with a margin of error of less than 3%) once a weighting has been applied to correct for a bias in the age of respondents. However, the survey results for workers also have a similar degree of error, it is based on a potentially outdated workers base population, and as such should not be considered representative of the total working population of the area

Public inquiries after disaster: a thematic review of the research

It is commonplace to hear delegates at a conference, students, the media and many others wonder why lessons are not learned from disasters. They may also attempt to extrapolate broad learning points such as the need for “better communications” or “planning”. There is a wealth of research available which examines both the key themes of public inquiries and also the way in which the lessons of inquiries can be learned by other organisations. Crucially much of this research also identifies key barriers to learning. This is a vital element of practicing effective emergency management. The overriding aim of this research is to provide material that is of use to today’s emergency planners in their everyday work. This review was completed using an iterative approach that examined a wide range of literature. It provides a summary of the systematic weakness and failures that have been identified by public inquiries into disasters since 1985, and also draws on commentary from a range of sources to identify barriers that have prevented organisations from “actively learning” from these recommendations. Suggested techniques for ensuring that organisations learn lessons from their own near misses and historical examples of disasters have also been reviewed. Public inquiries have been identified as “the most valuable source of information to help prevent recurrence of disasters” (Toft and Reynolds, 1999, P.45) but Emergency Planners must also recognise that the capture and publication of the knowledge acquired in a public inquiry is only one step in the learning process. It is important to look beyond the one organisation/s featured in the inquiry report e.g. although the disaster may refer to a rail crash many of the lessons could be applicable to any organisation. By analysing the themes that have been identified in this review, emergency planners will be able to see the way in which “lessons learned” have been incorporated into current civil protection arrangements and shaped the design of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. This review highlights key themes within inquiry reports that have resonance for a all organisations. By considering the implications of these themes and crucially remaining alert to the potential barriers for learning from them those working in the field of civil protection have the opportunity to examine ways in which they can enhance resilience