The re-historicisation and increased contextualisation of curriculum and its associated pedagogies

Curriculum has traditionally been an historical and technical field. The consequence has been to view curriculum and its associated pedagogical practices as neutral entities, devoid of meaning - in essence arising ex nihilo. However, this naïve assumption has fatefully resulted in revisiting the same swamps over and over again. Standardised curriculum and pedagogy function invisibly to reproduce class and inequality and to institutionalise cultural norms. Despite lingering attempts to maintain this technocratic approach that ignores subcutaneous meanings, a strong movement has emerged to reconceptualise curriculum in terms of its historical and sociopolitical context. While it is conceded that this is a step into a larger quagmire, it is a necessary one if true progress is to be made. Nevertheless, this large quagmire provides the possibility of escape, unlike the fatal determinism of forever returning to the swamps. Expectedly, this move to reconceptualise curriculum has its critics. Their arguments are also addressed, in particular the perceived tendency to separate theory and practice. Although curriculum and curriculum practices can be contextualised in many ways, this paper focuses primarily on key political concepts and concealed constructs such as hegemony, reproduction and resistance, resilience of the institution, the non-neutral nature of knowledge, the inclusion/exclusion principle, slogan systems and the hidden curriculum. Only by understanding the complex historical and political nature of curriculum can teaching professionals understand the hidden meaning of their practices. This is the first step for professionals to take in order to achieve Giroux's (1979, 1985, 1992) vision of teachers as transformative professionals (particularly through collaborative frameworks like the IDEAS project) in a climate of standardised curriculum and testing

Symbiotic radicalisation strategies: Propaganda tools and neuro linguistic programming

The rise of Islamic State has seen a rise in the threat and incidences of domestic terrorism. Sophisticated strategies are being used to target youth and draw them into the ideology of Islamic state and other terrorist groups. Two common strategies used by Islamic State are the use of propaganda tools as well as Neuro linguistic programming strategies. This paper looks at how these strategies were used through a longitudinal online ethnographic study on the social media site Facebook. Data collected revealed that these two strategies were used in a targeted manner and worked together in a symbiotic fashion to create a change in the mental frameworks of an individual. Both strategies worked in the linguistic domain to help shape and internalise key discourses and ideologies. Finally, these strategies were used implicitly without any direct references on how to achieve change

Bin Laden’s formation of the self: a comparative analysis

Following the 9/11 and similar al-Qaeda attacks, one of the principle questions we ask as a Western Society is why? Researchers on religious terrorism generally agree that psychopathic labelling and descriptions are both unhelpful and inaccurate. Instead what is needed is a look at the broader sociological context. As a result, this paper utilises Foucault’s technologies of the self (formation of the self) as a framework to explore the self transformations and teleology of Osama bin Laden’s actions based on a comparative analysis with the biblical character of Moses. This analysis will include a number of important parallels which include: the rejection of wealth for self gain and privilege, self formation and transformation through trial and suffering, a spokesperson for a captive and oppressed people, as well as being the instrument of God’s wrath through the delivering of the plague of terror. Such insights can contribute to understanding the broad dimensions of this social context that extends well beyond the political domain

Facebook jihad: A case study of recruitment discourses and strategies targeting a Western female

Recent years has seen a trend towards the increasing specificity of recruitment targets for global jihad. This paper is a case study of the discourses used to recruit a Western female who originally subscribed to an antigovernment, anti-New World Order ideology. Categorising using grounded theory analysis found that female recruiters tapped into the interest of their target subject and then shifted her towards sympathy and commitment to radical Islam. This was achieved through media saturation of Western aggression against Muslims coupled with an ideology that promotes the need to fight and resist. Subject material to which the recruit was directed was carefully controlled and initially deemphasized the Qur’an in favour of mujahedeen narratives and the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki. Overall, the research supported a sophisticated narrowcasting strategy that was carefully developed primarily by female recruiters

“Make A Bomb In Your Mums Kitchen”: Cyber Recruiting And Socialisation of ‘White Moors’ and Home Grown Jihadists

As a consequence of the war on terror, al-Qaeda and associated jihad groups have evolved and made increasing use of internet technologies for cyber recruitment. Recently, there has been an increasing focus on recruiting home grown terrorists who can more easily escape the scrutiny of cross border entries. Case study analysis indicates that links do exist between cyber tools, radicalisation and terrorism, however, the strength and nature of these relationships is generally unclear. Evidence does seem to support that cyber tools are most significant in the initial phases of recruitment and radicalisation. Coupled with this is the strong evolution of the use of cyber tools from hosted jihad websites to the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace as well as forums such as Yahoo groups. Additionally, al-Qaeda’s latest development is an online magazine that contains a wide range of material from inspirational narratives to practical bomb making techniques. It is argued that these links between evolving cyber tools and cyber recruitment/radicalisation must be taken as a serious threat with possible responses outlined

Developing an explanatory model for the process of online radicalisation and terrorism

While the use of the internet and social media as a tool for extremists and terrorists has been well documented, understanding the mechanisms at work has been much more elusive. This paper begins with a grounded theory approach guided by a new theoretical approach to power that utilizes both terrorism cases and extremist social media groups to develop an explanatory model of radicalization. Preliminary hypotheses are developed, explored and refined in order to develop a comprehensive model which is then presented. This model utilizes and applies concepts from social theorist Michel Foucault, including the use of discourse and networked power relations in order to normalize and modify thoughts and behaviors. The internet is conceptualized as a type of institution in which this framework of power operates and seeks to recruit and radicalize. Overall, findings suggest that the explanatory model presented is a well suited, yet still incomplete in explaining the process of online radicalization

Formation of the radical self: Constructs of change in western youth to acts of terrorism on home-soil

The terrorist attack on a member of the Police service by a 15 year old boy in late 2015 sent shock waves not only through Australia but also throughout the world as the realisation of Islamic State targeting teenagers becomes a reality. This paper uses a blend of theoretical and empirical evidence to examine how the radicalised self is formed. Insights from various frameworks including: developmental psychology (teenage identity formation and role confusion), Foucault’s technologies of the self, governmentality and sociological issues including the perceived gap between Muslim values and those of the West. Coupled with these theoretical frameworks are empirical insights including the use of grievances and key discourses, radicalisation material as well as the use of future pacing strategies to embed change to acts of violence. Ultimately, recruiters aim to take advantage of teenage identity issues as well as marginalised individuals to help construct a radicalised youth prepared to undertake acts of terrorism on home-soil

The Syrian Calling: Western Jihad Recruitment and Martyrdom

The crisis in Syria has attracted worldwide attention as well as condemnation and has degraded into a violent civil conflict. Not only are there more than a thousand rebel groups including a number of hard‐line jihadist groups operating within Syria, but these jihadist groups are attracting a significant number of foreigners including Australians. This study examined social media discourses from Facebook and embedded YouTube links for recruiting Westerners to the war in Syria. Findings suggest that the perceived inaction of the international community and in particular the West coupled with the atrocities committed has become a platform for jihadi recruitment. Furthermore, Jihadi operations are promoted as an essential obligation for Muslims and are supported by the Quran as well as legal and religious arguments. However, the major finding was that the call was not for combatants but for martyrs willing to sacrifice everything for the cause of Allah. The dimensions of this call are further analysed as well as the security and policy implications for Australia

Institutionalised moral reframing: A research based model on Islamic radicalisation on social media

Institutionalised Moral Reframing is a new research model on Islamic radicalisation based on a longitudinal ethnographic research on social media. Prior to introducing the model, an overview of other radicalisation models will be presented with a brief overview of each. Critical to the Institutionalised Moral Reframing model is the concept of socialisation via an online institution of social media where an individual is isolated from competing discourses. The model uses two axis, a moral authority axis and a moral discourses axis. These two axis are mutually reinforcing and enable an individual to progress along stages in a context that includes multifactorial bubbles which encapsulate the many factors responsible for an individual’s radicalisation

Planning against Biological Terrorism: Lessons from Outbreak Investigations

We examined outbreak investigations conducted around the world from 1988 to 1999 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. In 44 (4.0%) of 1,099 investigations, identified causative agents had bioterrorism potential. In six investigations, intentional use of infectious agents was considered. Healthcare providers reported 270 (24.6%) outbreaks and infection control practitioners reported 129 (11.7%); together they reported 399 (36.3%) of the outbreaks. Health departments reported 335 (30.5%) outbreaks. For six outbreaks in which bioterrorism or intentional contamination was possible, reporting was delayed for up to 26 days. We confirmed that the most critical component for bioterrorism outbreak detection and reporting is the frontline healthcare profession and the local health departments. Bioterrorism preparedness should emphasize education and support of this frontline as well as methods to shorten the time between outbreak and reporting