Dissertations / Theses on the topic '5002 History and philosophy of specific fields'

Clerks of Courts in Victoria (today’s Court Registrars) occupied a relatively subordinate position within the public sector hierarchy. Despite the limited role envisaged for them by the Law Department and the statutory and administrative guidelines that framed their work, these court administrators exerted considerable influence within the busy summary jurisdiction. This thesis explores the nature of clerks of courts’ formal and informal discretionary power, and how such power evolved in the context of organisational, legal and social change culminating in the 1980s. Semi-structured interviews with registrars, former clerks, magistrates and judges were conducted to investigate the counter-intuitive concept of lower-level public servants exerting power and influence. Resulting data was analysed using primarily Michael Lipsky’s Street-level Bureaucrat framework. Findings show that, although flying under the radar, clerks were foundational and forceful actors in the provision and ongoing development of the summary court jurisdiction in Victoria. Their influence derived from a striking combination of factors: their nexus with the judiciary, their court craft and detailed knowledge of statute law, their community connections and status, and their sustained endeavour to self-organise and maintain a strong culture in the face of challenges to their role. These elements also influenced how clerks as a group and as individuals chose to employ discretion in delivering justice to citizens. At their best, they humanised and made procedurally fairer what could have been experienced as an alienating and inequitably weighted justice system.

Women have been playing football (soccer) in Australia since the late nineteenth century. Over the past forty years the game has grown significantly with the national team achieving global recognition and the game becoming more widely accepted within the male-dominated football culture. According to FIFA there are an estimated 30 million women playing the game worldwide (FIFA Women’s Football Survey 2014), with around 378, 000 playing in Australia (Roy Morgan Research 2015). Despite this long and compelling history, researchers have largely ignored the history of women’s football in Australia, and the voices of women players remain unheard. The women’s game is yet to be written into the history of the code. My research project aims to address this shortage of knowledge by asking the question – ‘What can the oral history of women who played and play the game of football contribute to the understandings of gender and football history in Australia?’ The research uses oral history as a method of qualitative interview and is based on interviews with eighteen women and three men, some of whom have represented Australia, other players, administrators and referees. My methodological approach provides the participants with an opportunity to express, in their own words, their role in the history of the game.

In 1917, eastern Australia was in the grip of a mass strike. Of the 97,000 workers who struck for varying periods between August and December 1917, thirteen per cent (over 14,000) were Victorian. This thesis will attempt to redress the historiographical neglect of these Victorian strikes. It will do so by focusing on the conflict between the rank and file of the unions involved and their officials. It will draw upon Rosa Luxemburg's analysis of the phenomenon of the mass strike as well as upon a tradition of Marxist analysis stretching from Luxemburg herself, through Antonio Gramsci to Tony Cliff, which stresses the role of the trade union bureaucracy as a principle buttress of reformism. Seen in this light, any rank and file revolt is a positive development. Indeed, one on the scale of 1917 in eastern Australia is clearly of immense significance. The fact that the strike was disorganised and had no clear strategic direction, while regrettable, does not alter this.

America's war in Afghanistan and on Iraq classified as part of the war on terror have come in the aftermath of the atrocities of September 11, 2001 when America was attacked by Islamist terrorists. America's response to these attacks, especially the war on Iraq, has been criticized heavily throughout the world. The U.S. has been criticized on the basis of morality, in terms of increasing the danger of further attacks on American soil and by its lack of understanding of the Islamic world. Criticism of U.S. foreign policy will continue long into the fixture, especially if the U.S. maintains its status as the only superpower in the world, which is unlikely in the long term, however we need to understand why America is criticized. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand American foreign policy and why the U.S. embarks on the policies that it does. This understanding will come by way of analysing America's stance towards both Afghanistan and Iraq in the last quarter of a century to see how it has changed in correlation with American needs at the time. Since the events of 9/11 America has become more aggressive in its foreign policy stance toward both Afghanistan and Iraq. It has ousted both the Taliban and the Saddam Hussein regime, with the help of allies, from these respective nations. This thesis will argue that this is natural given the tenets of political realism. Political realism is a theory based upon self-interest, power and opportunity. America's policy towards Afghanistan and Iraq will be intimately tied with these notions, as these notions have been called upon throughout history. The thesis should be viewed as a microcosm of the realities of international relations. The essay will discuss different aspects of International Relations political theory and draw the conclusion that political realism provides the more relevant and stronger theories. I use the word theories because there exists differing approaches within the nexus of realism, although core assumptions are maintained. The thesis will explore America's role in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 1980s as well as in its post 9/11 context. Placed in its proper context American foreign policy should be seen as something that is natural, rather than something unique to America.

Steiner education, also known as Waldorf education, has represented a form of education “against the grain” in the Australian education landscape since its introduction as a practice in Sydney in 1957. Now with sixty schools or programs nationally, and an accredited Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework, Steiner education has shown that educational roots can be sunk into a different educational soil and can prosper. Contributing to the history of education in Australia, as well as to the contemporary understanding of educational alternatives in the Australian context, this study examines the localised development of Steiner education between the years spanning approximately 1970-2010, predominantly in Victoria. Three periods are covered, comprising a founding school phase (1970s), a second-generation Steiner school phase (1980s) and a publicly funded Steiner “streams” phase (approx. 1990 – 2010). Interviews with forty Steiner educators are drawn on, in addition to documentary sources such as school newsletters and newspaper articles, to examine the creation of six Steiner schools or programs. The thesis by publication comprises five papers – four already published and one under review – and an exegesis. Three of the papers are historical, one explores the ethical and methodological considerations stemming from the insider-outsider positioning of the researcher, and one examines the place of Steiner education in the contemporary education landscape in Australia. The orientations of each paper draw on different elements of the methodology, including: practice theory, Gee’s D/d discourse analysis, oral history, biographical sociology, and auto-ethnography. The basis of Steiner education in an epistemology of movement, representing a foundational interest in dynamic performative discourse and concepts, in contrast to representational, static ones, represents a further red thread throughout this study. The exegesis places these papers in a broader context of debates on education and Steiner education more broadly, pulling together some of the literature and the methodological orientation as a whole. The focus for this study is firstly on the local circumstances of the creation of the schools and programs being examined, from the perspective primarily of Steiner educators involved, and secondly on the evolving external socio-political and bureaucratic contexts for these initiatives. The significance of this study lies in how it shows that while policies such as ‘choice’ may afford important opportunities for the creation of new Steiner schools and programs, they also constrain the conceptualisation of Steiner education. Secondly, it demonstrates that neoliberal approaches to education has narrowed conceptions of epistemological diversity within schooling, contributing to a glossing over of philosophical alternatives in contemporary scholarship on alternative education. Thirdly, the value of examining alternative education to highlight ideological and philosophical tensions and fault lines is shown, particularly in relation to the challenges of philosophical educational change. And finally, the case is made that contemplative inquiry, as well as philosophical and theoretical developments emphasising dynamic concepts of enactment and performance, such as socio-materialism, present helpful new framings for the notion of applied inner- life activity as recognised within Steiner education.

This thesis seeks to outline the paradoxical relationship that Australia's former Attorney General and Minister for External Affairs, Herbert Vere Evatt had with the preservation of civil Liberties within Australia during his long and fruitful career.

The income gap between rich and poor countries has increased since 1980, despite the rapid growth of capitalist commodity production in parts of the Third World. However, contemporary Marxist writing rarely acknowledges this and can't explain how the imperialist core has maintained its dominance. Over the same period, academic Marxism has come to reject Lenin's theory of imperialism, but not replaced it with another Marxist theory. Academic Marxists instead accept some version of the popular narrative that Third World nations (especially China) are ‘catching up’ with the imperialist core. It is shown that Lenin's Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism and its key theoretical concept—monopoly finance capital—provides a Marxist theoretical framework that can successfully explain the principle concrete developments in the international economy during the neoliberal period. These are: the growth of capitalism in the Third World yet lack of convergence with the imperialist core, how the global division of labour that developed during the neoliberal period concretely manifests and reinforces imperialist monopolistic dominance and how, on this basis, the imperialist core usurps the labour value created in the Third World. Much of essential conceptual framework developed in the thesis was explicit in Lenin's Imperialism but is lacking from contemporary discussion. It is argued, the most essential form of monopoly—and that which is the key to long-term reproduction of imperialist core dominance—is monopolistic dominance over the labour process. The latter is maintained by monopoly over the highest and most sophisticated labour. Monopoly capital develops in this way alongside and in connection with the parallel development of non-monopoly capital—much of which is based in the Third World. For this reason, the usurpation of value from Third World societies—i.e. Third World exploitation—is shown to be an integral and inevitable feature of international production and trade and underscores the longevity of the imperialist system.

This thesis inquires into our ‘human nature’ through an interdisciplinary approach that considers some of the radical changes in intellectual thought at those key points in Western culture in which this concept has been centrally deployed. The broad historical sweep that this study covers finds the preoccupation with defining who we are and what we are capable of inextricably linked with the focus, at most of the pivotal moments examined, on a dominant impulse to conceive human beings as moral creatures.

Aboriginal education in remote areas of Australia continues to be a contested focus for policy and practice, with little debate that actively involves Aboriginal people themselves. This thesis attempts to redress this gap in a small way by in-depth conversations about education with Anangu in the tristate area of central Australia (the region where Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory meet). Here Aboriginal people live in relatively small, dispersed desert communities with close language and familial connections. Contact with Europeans is relatively recent, with provision of schooling moving from centralised mission-based schooling to decentralised community schools following the 1967 referendum. Anangu children are frequently positioned as deficient in mainstream educational achievement narratives within colonial and neo-colonial educational endeavours. This study seeks to inform Anangu education policy and practice from Anangu standpoints and to explore the potential for standpoint dialogue in negotiating alternatives in tristate education (Harding, 1992).

Corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), which incorporate notions of transparency, accountability and fairness, are important dimensions of a firm’s responsibilities toward its stakeholders. Although it has been established that these two dimensions make significant contributions towards increasing firm value in developed countries, limited studies have been conducted in developing countries. Furthermore, few studies have examined the influence of CSR on firm value while accounting for the impact of information quality. This study investigated the impact of CG and CSR on the value of listed firms in Indonesia as well as the impact of information quality on CSR and firm value. In order to better understand the relationships, the study utilised a comprehensive measure of CSR; one more suitable in the developing country context.

The Orff Schulwerk approach to music and movement education actively seeks to provide flight to the imagination through a playful, inclusive, engaging, creative and artistic pedagogy. As an approach to classroom music education it focuses on participatory music making in groups encompassing the social and emotional needs of the student. Orff educators interpret the Schulwerk in different ways, and as a non-prescriptive approach to music and movement education, this is to be welcomed. However, this freedom in interpretation has led to a variety of beliefs and practices, some of which bear little resemblance to how the Schulwerk was envisaged by its creators, Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. What seems to be lacking within much of the Orff community is a framework of philosophical understandings in which our practices can be placed. Reflecting on whether my own understandings of Orff Schulwerk lacked legitimacy prompted me to interrogate and consider my own practice, and investigate the philosophy of Orff Schulwerk. This investigation is presented in Part 1 of this thesis and I propose seven principles of Orff Schulwerk as a framework for understanding the overarching philosophy. I suggest that adopting such a framework allows for the creative freedom Orff educators enjoy whilst maintaining the integrity of the approach. In Part 2 of this thesis I tell the story of a research project I conducted with primary school children and their families. Volunteers participated in a project led by me as the teacher learning music together through the Orff Schulwerk approach. As the educator/researcher of this project, the methodology of portraiture is well suited as a frame(work) for my research. It promotes a narrative writing style and makes visible the personhood of the researcher and the humanness of the participants. Portraiture supports the significant reflective component. Findings from the research project demonstrate beneficial outcomes in families learning music together through the pedagogy of Orff Schulwerk. These families reported positive experiences from their involvement in the program: musically, socially and personally.

This thesis examines the Communist Party of Australia's (CPA) period of illegality between 1940 and 1942. This thesis also examines the CPA's relationship to the Comintern during, and before, World War II. A grasp of that relationship is essential for understanding the causes of the CPA's proscription.

The formation of the Austrahan Peace Council (APC) in July 1949 was a direct challenge to the Cold War ideology that was dominant in Australia at this time. Its advocacy of peace and its support for international agreements between the major powers drew a hostile reaction from almost every sector of Australian society. This thesis will examine the political and historical context for the formation of the APC and the holding of its first National Peace Congress, in Melbourne, in 1950. In particular, it will focus on the involvement of the three key groups that were involved in the APC: the religious activists, the independent activists, and the communist intellectuals. It will argue that those involved in the APC were motivated by idealistic views, were not Stalin's 'stooges', and were genuinely committed to ending the very real threat of a nuclear war.

The project, All In It Together, is part one of a three-part video documentary that profiles the late Ted Bull (1914-1997). All In It Together focuses on Ted Bull's years as a waterside worker and Secretary of the Melbourne Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia (1946-1979). Various people including retired waterside workers speak of their personal experiences with Ted Bull whose life intersected key historical moments in Australia's labour history. By drawing on photographic stills and archival footage, the history of the union including its significant role in other major political movements conveys an historical and political context relevant to contemporary Australians. The accompanying exegesis outlines the process of making a video documentary that incorporates an historical focus at a time when filmmaking is more accessible. Nevertheless, ethical and technical standards associated with bringing together an edited version of historical events remain the same as for those filmmakers with access to funding and more sophisticated equipment. Video as a less expensive and more accessible medium, however remains hampered by a conservative television industry. This, combined with accessing archival material, further impacts upon the types of stories that can be told and from whose point of view. Central to these concerns is the negative stereotyping of waterside workers which has been the departure point from where others and I set out to tell a different story about the waterfront. -----Provisional title of thesis - 'The Waterfront Years'

Searching the Silences of War: A Creative and Theoretical Exploration consists of two parts: Part One, the creative component Finding Sophie, is a young adult novel and Part Two, Searching the Silence, is the accompanying exegesis. Both the novel and the exegesis explore the Anzac myth’s impact on war narratives, the omission of women’s experiences in those narratives and silences in official versions of Australia’s history of war presented to young adults: the truth of the war experience; the Defence Force’s strategy to present only a favourable image; the censorship of the media; the hero myth; the impact of war on women and families; and the lack of representation of, and writing by, women about the Vietnam War. -- Part One, Finding Sophie the novel, set in Werribee in 1997, is told from the perspective of seventeen year old Sophie recovering at her grandparents’ farm after a serious illness. Her grandmother was a protestor during the Vietnam War, her greatuncle, who also lives on the farm, fought as a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Unexpected events lead to a questioning of the family’s highly regarded military history, the shattering discovery of a World War II family secret and the voicing of silences and shame with a particular focus on the Vietnam War. -- Part Two, Searching the Silence the exegesis, explores young adult fiction dealing with war and its repercussions and the use of narrative devices which engage and influence young adult readers. It documents the challenges associated with being a woman writing a young adult novel about war, a novel which subverts the traditional war narrative and aims to address the issues of invisibility and omission, the gaps and slippages in popular war narratives. Finding Sophie is based on extensive research on Australia’s involvement in war and on the way that involvement has been narrated – some aspects mythologised and silenced. In this exegesis those aspects of the research that have shaped the novel are discussed: official history and the ‘hero myth’; emotional repression; between generations, shame and guilt; the lack of agency and repression of women’s stories.

This qualitative research study focusses on ‘The professional experience of Irish Catholic women teachers in Victoria from 1930 to 1980’. The research is based on a collection of reconstructed oral histories derived from interviews conducted with twenty-two Irish Catholic women, both lay and religious, who were primary and secondary teachers in Victoria, Australia. The professional lives reflected in these stories span from the 1930 to 1980. This study explores how Irish women teachers experienced education in Australian Catholic schools in Victoria in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, discipline, culture and religious traditions.

This thesis examines a seminal but largely ignored episode in Australian labour history. Jn 1979, the Altona Petrochemical Complex was the scene of a historic materialisation of class struggle, when 52 workers occupied the Union Carbide plant for a period of 51 days. It was, and remains, the longest factory occupation in Australian history. Occupations, generally, represent not only a challenge to the immediate party involved but a fundamental critique of the existing social, political and economic order, and in that sense must be understood within a broader milieu of resistance to the imperatives of power. Furthermore, the act of occupation is an occurrence that can be designated as a "weapon of the weak." Factory occupations are the highest and most audacious form of occupation as they, like all occupations, challenge the supposed inviolability of property, but transcend the potentialities of other occupations by challenging the property and privileges of the ruling class. The Union Carbide Sit-in Strike constituted one such challenge. This thesis, which is situated within the broader narrative of "history from below", has been enabled by the recent acquisition of the private papers of one of the leading participants. Until now, these archival sources have not been the subject of any previous scholarly study.

The texts of the Waterside Workers' Federation offer a valuable insight into the beliefs and activities of one of Australia's more powerful and militant unions. This investigation focuses on the period following the end of the 1930s and the years of World War 2 when the WWF was going through a rebuilding phase under a strong Communist leadership. Seen as an essential tool for the organizational rebuilding of a battered and fragmented Federation, the leaders of the union saw the establishment of a journal as a priority. The product of this vision was the widely distributed, monthly Maritime Worker. This newspaper became the masthead of a politically re-awakening union and through it historians have been able to access the ideological directions the WWF took to achieve its industrial and political objectives. This investigation places the texts of the Waterside Workers' Federation under the scrutiny of a post-structuralist analysis that has the work of Michel Foucault as one of its principal features. The object of this project is to develop a critique of the organising processes that inform historical knowledge. These processes are recognised as the constraints that discourse functions place on all meaning and understanding. By focussing on the texts of the Waterside Workers' Federation and interrogating the interpretative features that support the notions of text, ideology and discourse, this investigation introduces the need for a re-examination of the constitutive and organisational features that have constrained and limited historical knowledge in the modem period.

This thesis examines the banning of a communist speaker. Lieutenant E.A.H. Laurie, at Melbourne Teachers' College in July, 1944 and argues that the decision to ban Laurie was unwarranted and politically motivated. The banning, which was enforced by the Minister for Public Instruction, Thomas Tuke Hollway, appears to have been based on Hollway's firm anti-communist views and political opportunism. A. J. Law, Principal of the Teachers' College, was also responsible for banning Laurie. However, Law's decision to ban Laurie was probably directed by Hollway and supported by J. Seitz, Director of Education.

Over the 1960-1995 period, patterns of Australian global trade, investment and immigration shifted considerably, especially in relation to Asia and most notably in relation to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Changes within the North East Asian Region propelled Australia to respond in order to maintain its economic standards and its international obligations. Greater emphasis was placed by successive Australian governments on establishing closer ties with Asia, most notably China. However, Australia's attention (and the world) on Hong Kong emerged with the commencement of the Sino-British talks in 1983. This thesis is intended to contribute to an understanding of the past and future impacts of the reversion of Hong Kong on trade, investment and migration flows involving Australia, by a detailed study of those flows between Australia and Hong Kong, China and Taiwan over the period 1960-1995.