Women's Agency through Fashion in North Korea's Transition

North Korean women's fashion has changed in the context of women's relatively recently assumed role as critical actors in North Korea's market-dependent economy. Through examination of changes in women's fashion we learn more about how the way women choose to dress can become an agentic and empowering process. The article argues that the case of North Korean women and their dress practice can inform our understanding of how women, even in the most oppressive of circumstances, develop tactics to manipulate the systems and social order that seek to control them. North Korean women have enacted upon their agency deliberately, getting away with what they can while simultaneously skilfully avoiding the dire consequences of being identified as actors who dare to disrupt the status quo. This type of agency is not always understood or appreciated by Western liberal frames and sensibilities of agency that centralise notions of individualism and freedom. This nuanced appreciation of women's agency has the potential to expand the "rights, choices and autonomy" Western discourse of women's agency in ways that are inclusive of women who live, and sometimes manage to thrive, in the face of extreme oppression. This paper is informed by the authors' field notes from trips to North Korea and by 45 in-depth interviews with North Korean refugees, regular visitors to North Korea and NGO workers

Selling solutions: Emerging patterns of product-service linkage in the Australian economy

The focus of the study reported here is the different forms of service provision strategies appearing across the Australian economy. Specifically, the study looks at the various ways in which firms link products and services, whether in single packages or other forms. What we found led us to question the common notion that \u27manufacturing matters, but services succeed\u27. The data gathered show how many firms in both manufacturing and service industries are putting together products and services into \u27packages\u27, suggesting the need for a broader review of how a service-rich economy may work at firm level

We need ABS arts and sports data to understand our culture

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week released its 2014-2018 forward work plan. The work plan confirms the June media release that arts and sport data will disappear from the ABS-funded component of culture, sport and recreation statistics collection as part of ongoing expenditure reductions of A$50 million over three years started under the previous Labor government. This includes the disbanding of the National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics that strategically directed the ABS data collection and reporting in this area. The implications are significant where for example the ABS General Social Survey under “social conditions” no longer makes any reference to arts or sport data. A culture built on volunteers Australia prides itself on its artistic capacity, sporting ability and participation, as well as the selflessness of its volunteer workforce across all sectors of civil society. The majority of arts and sport are delivered by the not-for-profit sector through volunteer workforces. It is disappointing that the ABS has had to make decisions to severely curtail data collection and reporting in these important areas of citizenship. From the grassroots sports grounds, to community arts centres, to national sport and arts organisations with their focus on excellence, all have significant contributions from their organisation’s volunteer workforces. Not-for-profit organisations that manage these volunteer workforces are, according to ABS data, one of the biggest employers in Australia. They account for some 1 million employees or 8.6 They contributed A$55 billion to Australia’s economy in 2012-13. This was an increase of A$22 billion on 2006-07 (up from$34 billion, or 3.4% of GDP, in 2006/2007). The not-for-profit sector generated income of A$107.5 billion (up from A$76 billion in 2006/2007) and has been at the forefront of developing a more innovative approach to its activities through social enterprise. The loss of the arts and sports data is compounded by the loss of the module on volunteering, which has documented the changing nature of volunteering over time. What is as disconcerting is that the General Social Survey has also discarded its modules on indigeneity and disability. We know that these two groups are vulnerable, marginalised and excluded from many areas of social participation. This data source has been invaluable for monitoring improvements or setbacks to social participation over time. While key stakeholders may choose to fill the data and reporting space left by the ABS, the likelihood of this occurring given the budgetary squeeze in Canberra is questionable. For example, the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials and its predecessor organisation co-funded with the ABS the Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey 2001-2010. Why we need this data The data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and the General Social Survey in particular, provides the means to understanding and enhancing the economic, social and cultural impact of the not-for profit, arts and sport sectors on Australian society. Research based on this data helps ensure evidence-based policies and educative tools that enable industry practitioners to understand and embrace best practice standards. Without a central mechanism such as the ABS, sector-wide datasets cannot be compiled. This creates two important issues that cannot be established without the data: the accountability of the sectors (including parts thereof that are not-for-profits that gain tax advantages and collect funds from the public) is undermined. research needed to inform policy and educate practitioners and the wider community about best practice relating to a wide range of these sectors\u27 activities, including standards of governance, legal compliance, fundraising and reporting, cannot be generated. More fundamentally, without data we are not in a position to say anything meaningful about Australian sport, arts or not for profits. We will lack answers to questions that range from the most straightforward – how many sports, arts or not-for-profit organisations are there in Australia? – to more complex ones, such as how does one assess the cumulative social and economic impact of these important sectors. Data that shapes policy When it suits, ministers revel in Australia’s sporting prowess and cultural creativity; careful development and evaluation of policies in these areas are another matter. Of the 62 policies/discussion papers that the Coalition took to the 2013 federal election, not one referred to the arts or sport. Yet, we have a Minister for the Arts in Senator George Brandis and a Minister for Sport in Peter Dutton. The report of the 2009 government-appointed Independent Sport Panel, chaired by industrialist David Crawford, declared that there was “an extraordinary dearth of robust data on participation in sport” and that a “lack of fundamental data on most aspects of the sport sector substantially inhibits an evidence-based approach to the development of policies and strategies”. While the federal government does not have responsibility for delivery of arts and sport facilities and programs at grassroots level (since this falls largely to state/territory and local governments and the not-for-profit sector) it has been widely accepted, at least since the 1980s, that data on participation levels should be collected at national level. It is only from independently gathered data from the ABS or other public agency stakeholders that policy-relevant information such as the following is brought to light: Despite the success of Australia’s elite swimmers in international competition, less than 8% of Australian adults swim, even once, in the course of a year, and this figure is falling. It’s an unbelievable figure! Success at Olympics does not lead to a “trickle-down effect” of increased participation in Olympic sport by the public. Only 25% of Australian adults visit a museum, even once, in the course of a year – while this proportion has increased since 2000, it is lower than it was in the mid-1990s. While Australians appear obsessed with sport, 90% of Australians receptively participated in at least one art form and 40% had creatively participated in the arts and only 7% had no artistic engagement in the last 12 months. Now governments of all persuasions are encouraging organisations in these sectors to supplement their income from other sources, especially philanthropy. In a 2014 speech to the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) conference, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews outlined his vision of civil society, arguing that civil society should not be created nor controlled by the state as too much intervention denies citizens the opportunity to achieve something for themselves. To summarise the ideas presented, civil society should stand apart and on its own two feet. However, without information to inform a case for support, funds are unlikely to be forthcoming from a hard-nosed corporate sector which demands social returns on its investment. This loss of data is shortsighted, ill considered and to the detriment of good governance, innovation and creativity in arts, sport and the wider not-for-profit sector, which is driven by being at the forefront of understanding social trends. We implore the decision-makers to reconsider the loss or significant cutback or reduced reporting of such important data for understanding the size, dimensions, dynamism and contributions of Australia’s civil society. Simon Darcy has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Sports Commission, Australian Paralympic Committee and is currently completing a research grant with Arts NSW. He is a current member of the Disability Council of NSW that advises the NSW Minister for Disability. Bronwen Dalton is a member of the board for the New South Wales Centre for Volunteering   Image: Dr J Photography / Flick

Representing the disadvantaged in Australian politics: the role of advocacy organisations

In recent years, there has been debate and criticism over the influence that non-government organisations may have on public policy decisions. Bronwen Dalton and Mark Lyons assess the roles of NGOs, looking both at their external impacts through public participation and involvement in policy processes, and also at NGOs\u27 internal structures that provide varying degrees of democratic participation for their members. Representatives of a selected number of NGOs were interviewed for the report

The influence of water jet diameter and bone structural properties on the efficiency of pure water jet drilling in porcine bone

Using water jets in orthopedic surgery to drill holes in bones can be beneficial due to the absence of thermal damage and the always sharp cut. To minimize operating time and the volume of water that is used, the efficiency (volume of removed bone per added volume of water) of the water jet should be maximized. The goal was to study the effect of the open trabecular bone structure on the efficiency for different water jet diameters. 86 holes were drilled in porcine tali and femora submerged in water with nozzles of 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6mm at 70MPa during 5 s and a standoff distance of 8 mm. MicroCT scans were made to measure the removed bone volume and the bone structural properties Trabecular Spacing (Tb.Sp.), Trabecular Thickness (Tb.Sp.) and Bone Volume Fraction (BV/TV). Pearson’s correlation tests (p < 0.05, 95% confidence interval) were performed for each water jet diameter using the bone structural property as an independent factor and the efficiency as a dependent factor. No significant differences were found between the nozzle diameters in the material removal rates per added volume of water. The efficiency decreased for an increase in Tb.Th. and BV/TV for nozzles of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mm. The 0.6mm nozzle showed less influence of the Tb.Th. and BV/TV. The Tb.Sp. has no influence on the efficiency of a water jet. The total volume of added water combined with the Tb.Th. or BV/TV is a leading measure for the volume of bone material that is removed, which provides freedom in the development of water jet instruments as the nozzle diameter, pressure and jet time can be chosen in accordance to the maximum operating time requirements or dimensional limitations of a design.Biomechanical EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin