Stephen Vincent Benet: The Spirit of Patriotism in His Poetry

Thus the purpose of the thesis is to show Benet\u27s spirit of patriotism as it is brought out in much of his poetry

Xenophobia towards asylum seekers: A survey of social theories

In recent decades, there has been a global rise in fear and hostility towards asylum seekers. Xenophobia - or \u27fear of the stranger\u27 - has become a pressing issue in a range of disciplines. Several causal models have been proposed to explain this fear and the hostility it produces. However, disciplinary boundaries have limited productive dialogue between these approaches. This article draws connections between four of the main theories that have been advanced in the existing literature: (1) false belief accounts, (2) xenophobia as new racism, (3) sociobiological explanations and (4) xenophobia as an effect of capitalist globalisation. While this article cannot provide an exhaustive review of theories of xenophobia, it aims to present a useful comparative introduction to current research into the social aspects of xenophobia, particularly as these theories have been applied to asylum seekers. In bringing together divergent models, it also invites interdisciplinary engagement

‘I don’t want anybody to see me using it’: cashless welfare cards do more harm than good

The Australian government touts compulsory income management as a way to stop welfare payments being spent on alcohol, drugs or gambling

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for the dental profession in Australia: an approach and its implications

In this thesis, I argue that in order to keep up to date with knowledge, technology and clinical procedures, professional practitioners need to continue to learn throughout life and build on their previous knowledge and experience. To this end, I have taken a range of responses from a sample of practising dentists in regional Australia. This study’s original contribution to the field of professional education is a newly gained understanding of attitudes of practising dentists to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), including more specifically these dentists’ attitudes towards CPD as a learning experience, and the incentives for and barriers to their engagement in this learning. In addition, I have explored two related areas within the sample group against the background variables of sex, age of practitioner and type of practice. The first explored area was the range of associations between learning and incentives and barriers, and attitudes to the usefulness of, and extent of engagement in CPD. The second area related to the attitudes to mentoring, updating components of dental practice and accreditation of CPD. I question if these attitudes are possible predictors of effective CPD with this hypothesis: Those who prefer to learn through social interaction and/or collaboration with others are more likely to have a positive attitude to engagement in Continuing Professional Development (CPD). I begin with an extensive review of the literature on the concepts of professions and professionalism. I follow with a review of existing research of CPD as professional learning throughout a lifetime of practice, alongside a review of existing research of professional learning through interaction and/or collaboration with others. The study’s data on attitudes and behaviours to CPD were gathered through a self-managed questionnaire sent to a population of registered dentists in the ACT and surrounding regions. 325 practising dentists were invited to participate with a response rate of 44 percent. The results of the survey showed the most useful activities for CPD were hands-on workshops, which were effective for updating clinical and procedure skills; and lectures, which were effective for updating knowledge. Mentoring was strongly supported by the whole profession with older dentists prepared to act as mentors and younger dentists willing to be mentored. The most significant incentives to engage in CPD were course content, quality of presenter and relevance to practice. There were significant differences in attitudes to CPD between males and females and older and younger age groups. For example, females generally preferred more social learning environments than males. Costs related to CPD were more of a discouraging factor for younger dentists and motivational factors related to intellectual curiosity were strongest in younger males but modify with age such that older females were more self-motivated than other groups. Overall, differences in attitudes between specialists and general practitioners were small, except for intellectual curiosity and willingness to act as mentors where specialists dominated. The results and implications of this study will be valuable to any future offering of CPD to professionals in Australia. It has built upon previous research by offering a new framework for effective CPD for all professions. This new CPD framework aligns course content with CPD activities that have been demonstrated as useful and which have been reported as actually engaged in, with the learning characteristics of the target demographics. The CPD framework has been developed within the Australian context and the rapidly changing demographics of Australian dental practice

Sex, drugs and superbugs: The rise of drug resistant STIs

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a swiftly advancing challenge to a wide range of healthcare and health promotion practices. While rising rates of AMR share some dimensions across contexts, the specificities of field, practice, place and population shape – and at times hinder attempts to stem – the rising tide of this health threat. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one area of healthcare where the threat of AMR has traditionally been met with lethargy. In this paper, we draw on a range of stakeholder perspectives across practice, innovation and regulatory systems in Australia, the US and the UK to understand and examine the evolving nexus of STIs and AMR, including the roles of cultural reception, professional practice and political traction. We argue for a critical sociology of the nexus of sexual health and evolving resistance, which will be instructive for comprehending inaction and informing future developments. We also note that part of this critical sociology must involve challenging stigma concerning sexual practices and people/groups, and recognising the role of communities in driving positive change

The administration of harm: From unintended consequences to harm by design

Harm is a recurring theme in the social sciences. Scholars in a range of empirical areas have documented the deleterious outcomes that at times emerge from social structures, institutions and systems of governance. Yet these harms have often been presented under the rubric of ‘unintended consequences’. The outcomes of systems are designed to appear devoid of intentionality, in motion without any clear agency involved, and thus particularly adept at evading accountability structures and forms of responsibility. Drawing insights from decades of social theory – as well as three illustrative examples from Australia’s health, welfare and immigration systems – this article argues that many social structures are in fact intended to cause harm, but designed not to appear so. In presenting this argument, we offer a clear theoretical framework for conceptualising harm as actively administered. We also challenge scholars from across the social sciences to reconsider the partially depoliticising narrative of ‘unintended consequences’, and to be bolder in naming the intended harms that permeate social life, often serving powerful political and economic interests

Banning mobile phones in immigration detention would make an inhumane system even crueler

Mobile phones are a lifeline for those in immigration detention. But if the government has its way, this thread will soon be cut. A proposed bill would allow the minister to deem mobile phones and other internet-capable devices prohibited items . It would also grant staff new powers to search detainees without a warrant and allow strip searches and detector dogs within the centres

People are Crying and Begging”: The Human Cost of Forced Relocations in Immigration Detention

Between July 2018 and August 2019, the Home Affairs Department spent A$6.1m flying refugees, asylum seekers and other immigration detainees around Australia

Forced relocations: The punitive use of mobility in Australia’s immigration-detention network

In the interdisciplinary scholarship regarding immigration detention, the social, political and psychological costs of confinement are well documented. In recent years, however, scholars have also drawn attention to coerced forms of movement in some detention systems. Drawing on thirty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with volunteer visitors to Australia’s immigration-detention facilities, this article makes two main contributions to this scholarship. First, it presents empirical evidence regarding the use of forced mobility in Australia’s detention system. Dialoguing with work from other countries, it shows how these practices impact detainees and their supporters in the Australian context. Second, it builds upon and extends existing theoretical insights regarding the purposes of such mobility. While previous studies have concluded that relocations serve to isolate, punish and disorient prisoners, this article takes this argument a step further, positing that coerced mobility is also employed to encourage so-called ‘voluntary’ repatriations, thus serving overarching political objectives

Grey networks: The contradictory dimensions of Australia\u27s immigration detention system

The notion of dark networks has recently received attention in the literature on policy network analysis. Dark networks are defined as illegal and covert, in contrast to bright networks which are legal and overt. In this article, we suggest a third category - grey networks - which are characterised by their use of secrecy and concealment despite their ostensibly legal status. These networks are subject to contradictory imperatives. They employ methods that cannot be openly acknowledged within the larger legal and social framework in which they function. In this article, we illustrate this concept through an interview-based study of Australia\u27s immigration detention network. This network enacts a deterrence policy which has been widely condemned as breaching Australia\u27s obligations under international law. At the same time, it is required to maintain a façade of lawfulness and respect for human rights