http://hdl.handle.net/2123/770 Sun, 19 May 2013 07:29:29 GMT 2013-05-19T07:29:29Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7254 Title: Cinéma Vérité? Australian Film, Young Lebanese-Australian Men, and the Performance of Identity Authors: Thompson, Lisa Abstract: Australian popular media has stereotyped young Lebanese-Australian men as ‘violent misogynists’; subsequently, young Lebanese-Australian men have been criminalised as the deviant ethnic ‘other’. Recently, however, a number of films have emerged that have attempted to challenge these stereotypes through a variety of mechanisms. This research aims to examine the role of stereotypes in identity-formation among young Lebanese-Australian men, and to explore their representation through characters and issues depicted within recent films. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with men who had been involved in filmmaking; these interviews explored the tensions inherent within the intersection of masculinity and ethnicity in the negotiation of everyday life, and the situational mobilisation of popular stereotypes in the performance of identity. While these results may be particular to the target group, this project illuminates the complexity of identity and the potential for empowerment and active resistance against racism and marginalisation. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7254 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7145 Title: A Generational Approach to Modelling Youth’s Engagement in Politics Authors: Suchowerska, Roksolana Abstract: Youth in contemporary Anglo-Saxon democracies are less engaged in politics than their adult counterparts. To explain why, this study adopts a generational approach to modelling youth’s engagement in politics. Contemporary youth are characterised by progressive individualist values of democratisation and individualism that respond to the instability and uncertainty of late modernity. Linear regressions are used on datasets extracted from the World Values Survey for four study countries – Australia, the USA, Britain and New Zealand. The results show that the conventional civic engagement model no longer explains why contemporary youth are statistically less engaged in politics than adults. The index of progressive individualism developed in this study, however, does diminish the impact of age in determining variation in political engagement. Although further research is needed to confirm progressive individualism is a generational characteristic of contemporary youth, this study advocates for increased flexibility in the practice of politics to reflect the lived experience of young citizens in late modernity. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7145 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7144 Title: Sorting Out Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence-Based Medicine and the Complexities of the Clinical Encounter Authors: Lenne, Brydan Sarah Abstract: Clinical decisions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are commonly based upon heterogeneous evidence and ‘expert opinion’. To date, research examining how paediatricians are using (or not using) evidence-based medicine (EBM) to diagnose and treat patients with an ASD has been absent within the literature across all disciplines. To understand how Australian paediatricians are using EBM to conceptualise, diagnose, and treat patients with an ASD, this study interviewed nine paediatricians in private practice using a face-to-face, semi-structured approach. Participants were asked questions about diagnosis and treatment of ASDs, and general questions about their attitudes towards EBM. Analysis of the interviews revealed four key factors affecting the clinical encounter with the ASD patient: the role of experience in the clinical encounter, the tacit and experiential nature of diagnosing and treating ASDs, skilful and creative interaction between the paediatrician and the diagnostic tools (tool “tinkering”), and the influence of political and social forces. This study contributes to sociological understandings of EBM and how it is used by paediatricians to diagnose and treat ASDs. It also demonstrates that this process involves constant negotiation between clinical experience, the evidence, intersubjective evaluation, and social forces. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7144 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7143 Title: Do neo-liberal ideologies disadvantage those with mental illness within the Australian mental health care system? Authors: Yeoman, Sara Abstract: Within current academic literature pertaining to the social policy of mental health, there is a general acknowledgement that the mental health system utilised in Australia is inadequate. The history of the mental health system is tumultuous and yet recent times have shown a marked move towards the incorporation of systems aimed at aiding those who suffer from mental disorders. Given the constantly changing nature of how mental illness itself and its treatment are perceived it has been studied, and is continually studied under a variety of paradigms. Currently, in conceptualising and analysing the mental health system, it is considered within academic discourse through Social Policy. In the past, social policy has been analysed using several different theoretical frameworks including Marxism and social democratism. However, this thesis argues that neither are adequate in explaining the current issues within the mental health system, and argues that the current system is better conceptualised within a neoliberal framework. Furthermore, it is considered that the employment of this ideology has had detrimental effects on the current mental health system employed within New South Wales. As such, this thesis argues that the employment of neoliberal ideologies has resulted in disadvantaging those with mental illness. This conclusion was reached through three different methodological approaches. The first two were aimed at ascertaining different attitudes and involved interviews with social workers within the system and a content analysis of the media. The final approach served two purposes, to analyse the usability of the Australian Government’s website and to ascertain the facilities available to those with mental illness. Despite methodological flaws it was surmised that the employment of neoliberal ideologies within the mental health system of Australia significantly disadvantages those with mental illness. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7143 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7142 Title: Awakening the latent entrepreneur or fulfilling society’s responsibility: Individualisation of funding for support services for people with disability Authors: Thaler, Ofir Abstract: The push towards the individualisation of funding for support services for people with disability has been seen by many governments and disability rights advocacy groups as the obvious next step in recognition of rights for people with disability. Such individualisation, however, may be indicative of neoliberal changes to popular conceptions of the welfare state in general. This thesis explores different groups' understanding of, and reasons for supporting, such policies. Such an exploration is based on a view that such support would necessitate a different understanding of the social model of disability, which has formed the basis for the disability rights movements and disability support service provision. Respondents from government agencies and disability advocacy groups, as well as people with disability, were interviewed. An analysis of the discursive elements they employed in discussing their views of the policy was then undertaken, aimed at uncovering contemporary understandings of the social model of disability and the issues surrounding individualisation of funding. Through such an analysis, it was found that the majority of respondents presented a mixed understanding of the issues explored, albeit one that leans to side of social-democatic principles and social responsibility. Further analysis lead to a characterisation of the idea as a complex configuration of different systems of thought influencing stakeholders’ views. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7142 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7127 Title: Where there’s smoke, there’s more smoke: The social settings and friendship interactions that encourage young adults to smoke cigarettes Authors: Robilliard, Georgina Abstract: Despite widespread public health campaigns in Western countries people continue to smoke cigarettes and more worryingly, young people continue to take up the habit. In this thesis it is argued that cigarette smoking practices for young adults can be understood in terms of contributing to their sense of identity construction through friendship interactions and sociability. Data collected from email administered surveys and snowball sampling techniques, alongside secondary data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2007), inform the research undertaken in this thesis and the results support the social benefits hypothesis in explaining why young adults smoke cigarettes. This study thereby suggests that in order for anti-smoking initiatives to be more successful in tackling the smoking habits of young adults additional research is required in identity formation, interactive factors and sociability factors that affect cigarette smoking practices of young adults. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7127 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7126 Title: Deliberation and the Norm of Participation Authors: McBride, Aimee Abstract: Participation is a term that by its own nature reflects the desire to be a part of something that is greater than the individual experience. In modern societies, the desire to socialise is most often positioned within the political borders of democracy. The rise of representative democracy, beginning in the seventeenth century and exerting its political power with increasing force in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, formalised what was originally a socially-held demand for participation. In light of this tradition, citizen-participation has for many years been considered a means of connecting the elected government with the wider social community. Mechanisms such as voting have been designed to communicate the interest of the public to their representatives. In recent years, citizens‟ failure to engage with these mechanisms has generated a growing body of literature on declining levels of participation. This failure has also led to the inability of liberal democracies to legitimise their own authority. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7126 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7125 Title: FIGHTING FOR YOUR RITES: A STUDY OF RITUAL DYNAMICS IN JUDO Authors: Wang, David Abstract: Although rituals have been analysed across several perspectives, existing discussions offer limited interpretations of ritual behaviour. Rituals are commonly framed as conservative, static and homogenous processes that reinforce social order. This definition is inadequate as it ignores the dynamic nature of rituals and a perspective that acknowledges this aspect of ritual remains undeveloped. To address this theoretical gap, this ethnographic study uses participant observation and interviews to explore how university, judo athletes use ritual. As dynamic social processes that adapt to context and human agency, I argue judo athletes use and interpret rituals in diverse, contested ways and that this process has embodied effects their personal and social states. Reflecting this point, rituals are used to express hegemonic and marginalised discourses and to shape identities within ritual constituencies. While these findings unsettle previous ritual conceptualisations, the complete extent to which social and individual factors affect rituals remains unclear and further research is required. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7125 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7124 Title: Changing spaces, changing faces: The shifting behaviour, performativity and identification of gay and lesbian individuals between different social spaces Authors: Kapeleris, Aphrodite Abstract: This study seeks to uncover how different spaces influence the behaviour of gay and lesbian individuals. Due to the heteronormative structure which exists in many social spaces, it is important to consider how these individuals use different methods of managing their behaviour and how they consequently express or conceal their sexuality in order to fit in to this framework. By interviewing eleven participants (three females, eight males) aged between eighteen and twenty-five, the findings of this study demonstrate the varied nature of individual experiences. The results showed that behaviour management was influenced by different school environments, neighbourhoods and social venues, with many having been influenced by previous instances of homophobic assault. It was discovered that factors such as clothing, speech and bodily mannerisms were all affected by different spaces. This study contributes to an existing body of geographical literature on sexualities by depicting individual gay and lesbian narratives which take place in heteronormative environments. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7124 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7123 Title: The disintermediation of the furniture supply chain: Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs at the global-local nexus Authors: Lee, Frederick William Abstract: In the contemporary world-economy Chinese firms have significantly improved their positions within global supply chains. One way this has been achieved is through the disintermediation of supply chains, i.e. their evolution from contract manufacturing to original equipment manufacturing. The more successful firms are even retailing indigenously developed products to western end consumers. The global value chains (GVCs) paradigm of the economic sociology understands this phenomenon as improving firm- and meso- level competencies motivated by economics. Consequently, how individual agency and broader social contexts influence transnational production is not well understood. Based on interviews with 18 Chinese entrepreneurs of factory direct furniture retailers in Sydney, this study finds that individual agency within particular sociohistorical contexts are influential to the disintermediation of global supply chains. The results show that the GVCs paradigm needs refinement in order to fully understand global supply chains and disintermediation as sociological – rather than economic – phenomena. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7123 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7121 Title: Media Discourse and the “Truths” of Gender, Culture and Violence Authors: Barnard, Merryn Abstract: Indigenous Family Violence (IFV) became the subject of a highly politicised and mediatised debate during 2006 – 2007, culminating in the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act. This thesis investigates how the “truths” of IFV constructed in mainstream media positioned a legislation (which breached anti-discrimination laws) as a legitimate political action. Four critical discourse analysis tests were conducted on 48 newspaper articles to examine the impacts of media “truths” on mainstream “social knowledge”. Despite some counter-discourse, the majority of articles constructed family violence as an Indigenous-specific issue, arguing it was “accepted” and “tolerated” in Indigenous culture and communities. The critical perspectives of Indigenous individuals were (largely) de-legitimised or silenced within the articles, reducing the debate to discursive contestation between non-Indigenous (white) perspectives. This thesis reveals that a more egalitarian and inclusive society will be achievable if the perspectives of minority subjects can be equally incorporated, rather than silenced, within media debates. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7121 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7120 Title: Neoliberalism as an Organising Principle for Society: Is There Really No Alernative? Authors: Holland, Ben Abstract: Neoliberalism is the dominant economic ideology in the world today. However, the Global Financial Crisis has undermined the logic of the neoliberal project. This research study will investigate the role of the Transnational Capitalist Class in legitimising neoliberalism as the organising principle for society. Through a content analysis of the events held at the World Economic Forum, indicators of trends of the maintenance and promotion of this ideology will emerge. These results will demonstrate how the Transnational Capitalist Class utilises its position to uphold neoliberalism via a global discourse espoused by the World Economic Forum. They further show how neoliberalism still retains its position as the dominant organising principle of the global economy. Its impacts on society at large as an organising principle will also be addressed. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7120 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7119 Title: “How cavemen did social media”: A comparative case study of social movement organisations using Twitter to mobilise on climate change Authors: Campbell, Andrew Abstract: In the face of widespread public disillusionment with traditional politics the internet is emerging as a popular tool for increasing public participation in social and political activism. Little research has been performed, however, on how social movement organisations are using the internet and in particular increasingly popular social networking services to mobilise individuals. Accordingly, this thesis presents a comparative case study of three climate change campaigns’ Twitter accounts aiming to identify and analyse the ways they are using it as part of their mobilisation efforts. Use of Twitter varied across all three, reflecting campaign design. However, each case displayed efforts to establish and use online ties and networks to facilitate and sustain participation in low-risk, moderate and symbolic forms of online and offline action. Such findings will provide inspiration for movement activists seeking to use the internet to mobilise on climate change, and open up to greater academic attention the role of social networking services in movement mobilisation. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7119 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z