East Timorese in Australia: Affective Relations, Identity, and Belonging in a Time of Political Crisis

This article considers the relationship between the East Timorese diaspora and its homeland. More specifically, it explores how a group of East Timorese exiles living in Melbourne, Australia, who left East Timor or were born in exile from the time of the 1975 civil war up to the end of the Indonesian occupation of the territory in 1999, was affected by the 2006–2007 political conflict in East Timor. The article considers how past diasporic practice established the East Timorese community in Melbourne as a largely homelandfocused community and how the subsequent centrality of the discourse of home exposed the exiles to the political events of 2006–2007. Through an analysis of Pierre Bourdieu’s (1977) notions of habitus and practice, the article explores how the crisis affected the exiles’ sense of self, community, and nation, and how it led to a process of negotiation whereby the notions of the homeland and exilic longing were muted through a gradual movement away from the translocal sphere. The article represents a contribution to the discussion of diaspora as process, condition, and consciousness; that is, diaspora as a dynamic, culturally and politically reflexive group that mediates between and negotiates competing pressures of multiple homes, cultures, and social domains. It sheds light on issues related to political mobilization, peace, and conflict, and the role of reciprocity, trust, and emotions

'It was all about independence': loss, division and rejuvenation amongst the East Timorese in Melbourne

In this article I explore some of the changes that have occurred in the East-Timorese communityin Melbourne following independence. The focus of the paper is on the process of identificationand how there has been a move from a collective identity towards social identity. Through con-temporary anthropological conceptualisations of (collective) identity and Pierre Bourdieu’sconcepts of habitus and social field, I explore how divergence in pre-independence activism hasled to parallel experiences of lost community and renewed feelings of belonging, and how thecommunity is gradually moving from a focus on the homeland towards an emphasis on thecommunity in exile

Circulating stories: East Timorese in Australia and questions of post-independence identity

During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, diasporic groups played a central role in the campaign for self-determination. Throughout the occupation, East Timorese in Australia maintained a strong sense of long-distance nationalism, which drove, directly or indirectly, communal and social activities. The fight to free East Timor was at the core of the exiles’ collective imagination, defining them as a largely homeland-focused community. However, in the aftermath of the independence, the role and position of the diaspora have been less clear and the exiles have struggled to redefine their relationship with their home country. Personal experiences upon return and perceptions of political, cultural, economic, and social development (or lack thereof) have led to renewed questioning of identity and belonging. This article explores the renewed questioning of identity and belonging embedded in people’s ‘circulating stories’ of change, sacrifice and return

Habitus, practice and agency of young East Timorese asylum seekers in Australia

This article explores the process of agency and empowerment through a case study of a group of young East Timorese asylum seekers who arrived in Australia during the 1990s. Using Bourdieu's concept of habitus and his theory of practice, the article considers how the asylum seekers dealt with the challenges of exile and adjusted to Australian society. In addition to the difficulties asylum seekers normally face in exile, such as limited financial and social support and coping with trauma and loss, the East Timorese who arrived during the 1990s faced particular challenges due to the Australian Government's treatment of their cases. The article argues that, despite their vulnerable and liminal position, the asylum seekers were not just passive victims. On the contrary, they were active agents who through practice, consciously or unconsciously, dealt with their liminal situation. Their power to act was positively affected by their young age upon arrival

Prognostic and predictive factors in laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy

Radiotherapy (RT) and surgery are the only two curative treatments for patients with laryngeal cancer (LC). RT has the advantage that it offers a possibility to preserve a functioning larynx and hence a functioning normal voice. The response of tumors to RT is heterogeneous, even within the same tumor stage. Methods for prediction of response to radiotherapy are lacking. Finding new clinical and biological factors for predicting the outcome of RT in LC may offer the possibility to individualize RT aiming to increase locoregional disease control and survival, and to decrease RT-related morbidity. The aim of this thesis was therefore to investigate some potential factors that may influence the outcome of RT in LC.The influence of the following factors for the outcome of RT in patients with LC was investigated: a reduction of overall treatment time (OTT) by accelerated RT, preradiotherapy hemoglobin level, tumor microvessel density (MVD), expression of the cell cycle-regulating and apoptosis inducing protein p53, expression of the cell proliferation marker Ki-67, expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) and histopathologic differentiation.Analyses of 214 patients with LC treated with primary radical RT at the Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg 19901998 showed that a shortening of OTT by hyperfractionated accelerated RT (HART) was beneficial for patients with T2N0M0 glottic cancer, giving local and locoregional control rates comparable to those for T1N0M0 tumors. For patients with advanced LC, no statistically significant difference in local or locoregional control was found between patients with T3 and T4 tumors treated with accelerated RT. The larynx preservation rate was 91% for the surviving patients. These latter results indicate that many locally advanced T4 tumors can be treated successfully with RT, and that T4 classification alone is not a sufficient criterion for excluding patients from larynx preservation with RT. Despite good results for loco-regional control, overall survival was poor. Independently of tumor stage, around 30% of patients died of intercurrent diseases, mainly new primary cancers, cardiovascular disease or pneumonia.Expression of MVD, p53, Ki-67 and EGFr, evaluated with IHC in pre-treatment tumor biopsies, did not influence radiotherapy outcome in this series of patients with LC.Preradiotherapy hemoglobin level was found to be a strong independent predictive factor, with patients with higher hemoglobin levels having significantly better locoregional control (p = 0,010) disease-free survival (p =0.007) and overall survival (p <0.001) compared to patients with low hemoglobin levels. In subgroup analysis, this was not seen in patients treated with accelerated RT, which indicate that the accelerated RT may to some degree compensate for the low hemoglobin level. Patients with well-differentiated tumors had significantly better overall survival compared to patients with moderately or poorly differentiated tumors (p = 0.003). In subgroup analysis this was only significant in patients treated with accelerated RT (p = 0.010). These results indicate that histopathologic differentiation may be used as tool in selecting patients with LC for accelerated RT

East Timorese in Australia: affective relations, identity, and belonging in a time of political crisis

"This article considers the relationship between the East Timorese diaspora and its homeland. More specifically, it explores how a group of East Timorese exiles living in Melbourne, Australia, who left East Timor or were born in exile from the time of the 1975 civil war up to the end of the Indonesian occupation of the territory in 1999, was affected by the 2006-2007 political conflict in East Timor. The article considers how past diasporic practice established the East Timorese community in Melbourne as a largely homeland-focused community and how the subsequent centrality of the discourse of home exposed the exiles to the political events of 2006-2007. Through an analysis of Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) notions of habitus and practice, the article explores how the crisis affected the exiles' sense of self, community, and nation, and how it led to a process of negotiation whereby the notions of the homeland and exilic longing were muted through a gradual movement away from the translocal sphere. The article represents a contribution to the discussion of diaspora as process, condition, and consciousness; that is, diaspora as a dynamic, culturally and politically reflexive group that mediates between and negotiates competing pressures of multiple homes, cultures, and social domains. It sheds light on issues related to political mobilization, peace, and conflict, and the role of reciprocity, trust, and emotions." (author's abstract)"Dieser Artikel betrachtet die Beziehung zwischen der osttimorischen Diaspora und ihrer Heimat. Er untersucht, wie eine Gruppe von osttimorischen ExilantInnen in Melbourne, Australien, die in der Zeit zwischen dem Bürgerkrieg von 1975 und dem Ende der Besetzung durch Indonesien 1999 Osttimor verlassen hatten oder im Exil geboren waren, von dem politischen Konflikt 2006–2007 betroffen wurden. Aufbauend auf Pierre Bourdieus (1977) Vorstellung von Habitus und Praxis analysiert der Artikel, wie die Krise die Wahrnehmung des Selbst, der Gemeinschaft und der Nation durch die ExilantInnen beeinflusste und wie sie zu einem Prozess der Verhandlung führte, durch welchen die Vorstellungen von 'Heimat' und Sehnsucht sich durch eine graduelle Entfernung von der translokalen Sphäre veränderten. Der Artikel stellt einen Beitrag zur Diskussion über Diaspora als Prozess, Bedingung und Bewusstsein dar; das heißt Diaspora als eine dynamische, kulturell und politisch reflexive Gruppe, die den Druck multipler Heimatorte, kultureller und sozialer Sphären aushandelt. Er wirft Licht auf Themen in Zusammenhang mit politischer Mobilisierung, Frieden und Konflikt sowie die Rolle von Reziprozität, Vertrauen und Emotionen." (Autorenreferat

En studie av sammenhengen mellom mors alkoholbruk før svangerskap og barnets sosioemosjonelle fungering ved 12 måneders alder

Bakgrunn: Per i dag er det kun én publisert studie som har undersøkt hvorvidt grad av alkoholbruk før svangerskap er relatert til utviklingsvansker hos barn (Knudsen et al., 2014). Denne viste en positiv sammenheng mellom høyt alkoholbruk før svangerskap og internaliserende atferdsvansker hos barnet ved 36 måneders alder. Forfatterne antydet at én mulig forklaringsfaktor kunne være underliggende psykologiske problemer hos kvinnene som hadde et høyt alkoholbruk året før de ble gravide, som videre kom til uttrykk som atferdsvansker hos barna. Det er imidlertid behov for flere studier før man kan konkludere om det virkelig er en sammenheng. Dersom sammenhengen bekreftes ved ulike studiedesign, vil det kunne gi innsikt i om man kan bruke alkoholbruk hos mor før svangerskapet som markør for forhold som vil innvirke på barnets utvikling. Et slikt funn vil være relevant informasjon til helsestasjoner som så tidlig som mulig ønsker å oppdage foreldre som trenger ekstra oppfølging. Dette kan muliggjøre intervensjon på et tidlig stadium, allerede ved graviditet, for å optimalisere barnets tidlige samspillserfaringer og utviklingsmiljø. Denne studien tok derfor sikte på å undersøke sammenhengen mellom mors alkoholbruk før svangerskap og barnets sosioemosjonelle fungering ved 12 måneders alder. Metode: Denne studien anvendte data fra KVIK-prosjektet i regi av RBUP. Studiens analyser ble basert på 351 mødre-barn-par rekruttert ved ni helsestasjoner i fem Østlandskommuner. Sammenhengen mellom mors alkoholbruk før svangerskap og barnets sosioemosjonelle fungering ved 12 måneder ble analysert både direkte og mediert gjennom mors alkoholbruk under svangerskap og mors depresjonssymptomer. Den direkte og den medierte sammenhengen ble undersøkt med medieringsanalyse utført i PROCESS (Hayes, 2013). I tillegg ble det utført flere tilleggsanalyser, blant annet bivariate og multiple lineære regresjonsanalyser, for å kunne støtte opp under resultater fra medieringsanalysen. Resultat: Resultater fra denne studien viste ingen signifikante sammenhenger mellom mors alkoholbruk før svangerskap og barnets sosioemosjonelle fungering ved 12 måneders alder, hverken direkte eller mediert gjennom alkoholbruk under svangerskapet og mors depresjonssymptomer. Konklusjon: Resultater fra denne studien står i kontrast til litteratur og tidligere forskning på området. Studien utelukker imidlertid ikke at det er en sammenheng mellom mors alkoholbruk før svangerskapet og barnets sosioemosjonelle fungering. Det at den forventede sammenhengen ikke ble funnet kan blant annet henge sammen med psykometriske egenskaper ved studiens mål på sosioemosjonell fungering, samt bruk av lineære analyser. Det er også mulig at det gjennom innsamling av datamaterialet har forekommet intervensjonseffekter som kan ha påvirket studiens utfall. I forskningsøyemed bidrar denne studien til relevante analyser og betraktninger, både på oppgavens tema, men også for KVIK-prosjektet. Med utgangspunkt i vår studie kan det være nyttig for videre forskning å inkludere direkte mål på begreper som motivasjon for alkoholbruk, selvregulering og kvalitativt samspill mellom mor og barn

Reflective journal review

Contemporary scholarship on tertiary education emphasises assessment not only as a means for certification and accreditation, but also as an instrument that can enhance motivation and improve learning and teaching (Boud & Associates 2010; Schwartz & Webb 2002). Assessment defines what is important for learning and different modes of assessment guide learning by establishing an agenda for learning and directing attention to what matters. An important part of assessment is to develop students' abilities to make informed judgements; that is, it should support the construction of reflexive learners and inform the process of fostering new practitioners (Boud & Associates 2010). Ideally, assessment should lead to deep, rather than surface, learning, and through assessment students should develop a questioning attitude and critical thinking skills, as well as the abilities of integration and synthesis. This is at the very essence of reflective journal review, which, as noted by Waldo and Hermanns (2009), provides a methodological approach through which students may discover new insights that can be applied to daily practice

Young East Timorese in Australia: Becoming Part of a New Culture and the Impact of Refugee Experiences on Identity and Belonging

In 1975 Indonesian forces invaded Dili, the capital of East Timor. The invasion and ensuing occupation forced thousands of East Timorese to leave their homes and seek refuge in Australia and other countries. This study considers the situation of a particular group of East Timorese refugees: those who fled to Australia during the 1990s and who were children or young adolescents at the time of their flight. Founded upon an understanding of social identity as being constantly transformed though a dialectic relation between the individual and his or her sociocultural surroundings, this dissertation considers the consequences of refugee experiences on individual identity and belonging, as well as the processes of conceptualising self and negotiating identity within changing social and cultural structures. The relationship between conflict and flight, resettlement, acculturation, identity and attachment is explored, and particular attention is given to issues of socialisation and categorisation, age and agency, hybridity, and ambiguity. Through a qualitative anthropological methodology informed by theories of cultural identity, adolescence and cross-cultural socialisation, the thesis seeks to shed light on the various dynamics that have influenced the young East Timorese people’s identity and sense of belonging, and considers the impact of acculturation and socialisation into a new culture at a critical period of the young people’s lives.Masters Thesi