Fair Dinkum Research Articles

Трактовка темы австралийской идентичности в национальной прессе

The current paper is concerned with linguocultural (ethnolinguistic) analysis of australianisms as culture specific words which are either not found in British English (the mother tongue) or are different from their British counterparts to some extent. The main research question was to identify the key lexemes of this type and establish correlation between them and Australian values (the national identity) as well as ethnostereotypes in modern Australian society. The novelty of the approach to studying these lexical units is in looking at them in terms of their functioning in speech and pragmatics based on the most sensitive to social change and dynamic type of discourse – the media (The material was drawn for the national papers “The Daily Telegraph, Australia” and “The Australian” over the past decade). By means of the random selection method, definitional and contextual analyses six key concepts have been identified (fair go, fair dinkum, larrikin, battler, bludger, (hard) yakka – the last word being aboriginal) and their place in the national identity structure defined. Also, we found some differences in how the same australianisms were presented and ranked in either paper manifesting certain values (for example, battler) or anti-values (for example, bludger) depending on the editorial board’s opinion and/or the content. For instance, “The Daily Telegraph” clearly highlighted the idea of justice (e.g. fair go, fair dinkum), while “The Autralian” put more focus on praising the stubbornness of Australians in the struggle against various obstacles (e.g. battler). References to the boisterous (larrikin) nature of Australians were somewhat more frequent “The Daily Telegraph”, although this concept was quite important for both newspapers. One of the most interesting results we got was a shift in connotations of several australianisms. Thus, it was shown that some words (for example, larrikin), originally having a negative meaning, with time may become positively connoted, characterising a certain previously disapproved type of person / behavior as normal. The study can be continued to include more words of this type, especially aboriginal ones which are already used in media and call for ethnolinguistic (linguocultural) interpretation by researchers.

Blending ‘Fair Dinkum’ into Group Assessment of Construction Students

ABSTRACTCapable graduates are able to demonstrate excellence as individuals and as team players. This quasi-experimental study develops a framework for peer assessment. Data from 94 students who completed a first year undergraduate unit in construction management were analysed. The 10 criteria reported in this study were used to ensure students within a group are mutually accountable to group learning. Group success can be predicted through the framework. A Cronbach Alpha’s reliability estimate of .968 was obtained when the criteria were tested for internal validity. Principal component and scoring factor analyses were used to elicit the relative importance of each peer assessment criterion. All the criteria were relatively close, however the most significant were ‘Timeliness of contributions,’ ‘Reliability of individual’s inputs,’ ‘Value of individual’s contributions’ and ‘Individual’s motivation to succeed.’ ‘Communication’ is the least important item. Correlations between the variables were also obtained. Results showed students who were able to learn genuinely in their teams were also the most successful in the unit. The framework elicited in this study adds more depth to extant literature on assessment design, in particular construction educators and students on how team skill can be developed without compromising individuals’ commitment to self-competitiveness.

Culture and the future of financial regulation: how to embed restraint in the interests of systemic stability

This paper examines the challenges associated with setting or recalibrating “the philosophy, principles and objectives underpinning the development of a well-functioning financial system”, a core term of reference for the Australian Financial System Inquiry. The current philosophy is informed by an emphasis on structure, leaving it to market participants to self-police through a combination of rules and principles. It is informed by a high degree of trust in market ordering and acceptance of conflicts of interest as long as they are managed, thereby delivering beneficial outcomes. Specialisation and expertise are deemed to ensure that risk-taking takes place in fair, orderly and transparent markets. The global financial crisis has severely tested that assumption. As in other markets, trust in the integrity of financial markets and their participants has evaporated. The key policy question is whether the operation of the financial system is, in the vernacular, “fair dinkum”, according to or deviating from Australian belief in fairness. The paper explores the defects in the regulatory paradigm through each of the key themes: (i) balancing competition, innovation, efficiency, stability and consumer protection; (ii) how financial risk is allocated and systemic risk is managed; (iii) assessing the effectiveness and need for financial regulation, including its impact on costs, flexibility, innovation, industry and among users; and (iv) the role of government; and the role, objectives, funding and performance of financial regulators including an international comparison. The evaluation demonstrates profound limitations with the current paradigm. We argue that culture is a critical driver of behaviour. It can justify, embed or restrain action but ought to do so in light of institutional purpose. Unless the underpinning philosophy defines duties and responsibilities as well as rights, and links this to a framework that place culture at its core, we risk failing to learn from history. This would be both tragedy and farce.

Settler Societies, Open Societies, and Colonialism

Settler Societies, Open Societies, and Colonialism Matthew L. Basso (bio) David Hackett Fischer. Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies, New Zealand and the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 656 pp. Appendix, notes, maps, illustrations, and index. $34.95. During the presidency of George W. Bush, it was commonplace for politically progressive Americans to claim that, if things got bad enough in the United States, they were going to move to New Zealand. Although usually unmentioned, New Zealand’s attractiveness to would-be expats stemmed first and foremost from linguistic and cultural similarities rooted in both countries’ British colonial pasts. It was, however, the perceived differences between the two that were crucial to the public face of this comparison. New Zealand did not fancy itself an imperial power. Its race relations were considered superior, as were its attitudes toward the environment. It had a low crime rate and tight regulation of guns. Conservative religious values did not overly influence its centrist, if not left-leaning politics, which were manifested by a national health system. Although much of this is true of Canada too, New Zealand, in addition, has that well-publicized Lord of the Rings landscape. If New Zealand occupying this particular place in the imagination of some Americans is relatively new, the interest in comparing the two nations is much older. For well over a hundred years pundits and intellectuals have been writing about the relative merits of the two countries; but none has considered the question to the extent that David Hackett Fischer does in his latest book, Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies. Over more than 600 pages, Fischer shows that, far from just interesting cocktail talk, putting the two countries side-by-side reveals facets of their history that often lay in the shadows. For Fischer there is a second payoff to the comparison: it also sheds light on the operation and possible trajectories of open societies, the social and political system first described by Henri Bergson and elaborated on by Karl Popper, which increasingly defines nations around the globe. Fischer’s basic argument is that “fairness” is the overriding characteristic of New Zealand, “freedom” that of the United States, and that the reason two seemingly similar open societies have followed these different guiding [End Page 36] principles can be found in their histories. Fairness and Freedom elaborates extensively on these points, and in so doing provides a wide-ranging history of both nations. It is the sort of deeply researched, highly erudite, and eminently readable work of scholarship that we have come to expect of Fischer. However, because it raises but fails to adequately address important questions about the intertwined and multivalent aspects of fairness and freedom, the complex character and history of both countries and the transnational Pacific connections that link them, and the place of colonialism in these two open societies, it is ultimately a frustrating book. Fairness and Freedom consists of an introduction, conclusion, and thirteen chapters broken up into three sections—“Origins of Open Societies,” “Nation Building as Open Processes,” and “Open Societies in World Affairs.” In a helpful introduction, Fischer examines the language of fairness across English-speaking countries, one of the numerous places where this book offers unexpected rewards. (He does not provide an equally nuanced treatment of “freedom,” perhaps because he published a book on the concepts of freedom and liberty in U.S. history not long ago.) A variety of evidence, including the remarkable number of terms New Zealanders use to delineate types of fairness and unfairness, like “fair dinkum” and, intriguingly, “yankee grab,” suggest the importance of the concept (p. 14). However, although they share an affinity for fairness, Fischer notes that what it means to put it into practice is and has been a point of contention. Some New Zealanders put “fairness to the individual first” (p. 8), while others had a collectivist ideal. New Zealand feminists argued that fairness had to apply to employment, whereas business leaders held “a true concern about equity must emphasise individual freedom and opportunity” (p. 9). Māori, New Zealand’s indigenous peoples, critiqued the application of the idea of fairness...

‘Now that's a fair dinkum academic debate, but this affects people's lives’: a discursive analysis of arguments for and against the provision of warnings about potential side effects of SSRIs in a public debate

In recent years increasing media attention has highlighted the possibility that antidepressants may cause many disturbing side effects, including suicide. However, coverage of these issues has been criticised as negatively affecting people who suffer from depression. Employing the methods of discursive psychology, this paper examines how arguments are constructed for and against providing information about the full range of side effects of antidepressant medications, via the analysis of a public debate in which the potential side effects of SSRIs were the topic of concern. We demonstrate how one speaker draws on repertoires of consumer rights pitted against corporate profit motives to construct a case for the provision of warnings as a reasonable and obvious responsibility of pharmaceutical companies. The other speaker relies on separating practical from academic problems, and constructs the ‘academic’ question of serious side effects of SSRIs as a contentious and illegitimate concern in the public realm. The arguments employed by both opponents are discussed in terms of their rhetorical construction and social consequences.

Is Australia ‘fair dinkum’ about drug education in schools?*

School drug education is seen by governments as an ideal prevention strategy because it offers the potential to stop use by the next generation. Australian schools expanded drug education substantially during the 1960s in response to rising use by young people, and in 1970 the first national drug education programme was launched. In the mid-1990s the level and quality of drug education increased noticeably. Unfortunately, subsequent national initiatives have failed to capitalise on the gains made during this period. Some good quality, independent research, such as the Gatehouse Project and the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP), has been conducted in Australia. However, national-level momentum is being lost, because there is little commitment to the development of evidence-based mass programmes. In this climate drug education has become vulnerable to short-term decision-making that emphasises palatable, policy-driven outcomes and focuses on strategies designed to bolster the legitimacy of these goals. So is Australia 'fair dinkum' about drug education in schools? There is a history of innovation, and past programmes have left behind pockets of expertise, but the challenge is to invest continuously in methods with evidence of success, rather than settle for cyclical programmes driven by the political and moral palliatives of the day. To do less is to fail the young people of Australia.

WITHDRAWN: A fair Dinkum approach to fibre composites in civil engineering

The publisher regrets that this is an accidental duplication of an article that has already been published in Construct. Building Mater., 20 (2006) 2–10, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.06.044 . The duplicate article has therefore been withdrawn

A fair dinkum approach to fibre composites in civil engineering

Over the past 10 years, Australian researchers have actively pursued the development of new structural systems utilising fibre composites, for the rehabilitation and replacement of deteriorating civil infrastructure. The result has been a range of new systems which offer unprecedented levels of functionality at a cost which is directly competitive with traditional structural materials. Several of these systems have been successfully demonstrated in real world projects. To encourage these developments, the Australian composites industry has been investing in programs to develop codes and standards, and to establish an appropriate regulatory framework to ensure confidence in manufacture, supply and installation of composite products. This paper presents an overview of Australian research into infrastructure applications of fibre composites and associated industry development programs.

Fair Division or Fair Dinkum? Australian Lessons for Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in the United Kingdom

Current arguments in Australia concerning horizontal fiscal equalisation may help inform the debate in the United Kingdom concerning possible changes to the Barnett formula and the establishment of financial relations with any regional governments in England. Although Australia is a long-established federation, with mature institutions for managing the financial aspects of intergovernmental relations, the most populous states are now pushing for a per-capita-based system to replace the existing formula—based on needs and costs—overseen by the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission. This has important implications for the United Kingdom, where the Barnett formula—a per capita system for deciding annual changes in the funding for the devolved administrations—has been increasingly challenged. In particular, the Barnett system has been vulnerable to nontransparent ‘formula-bypass’ agreements. We argue that the status quo in the United Kingdom appears secure as long as England remains a single entity and the UK Treasury sees the financial implications of larger per capita expenditure in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as relatively small. However, we speculate that regionalisation of government in England would be likely to increase the pressure: to abandon the Barnett system; to look more systematically at need and cost, rather than population, as criteria for allocating funds between governments; and to move towards an Australian-type system. However, the recent experience of Australia also shows that larger states prefer a per-capita-based system allied to more political, less transparent, arrangements to deal with ‘special circumstances’. It may be that a Barnett-type formula would suit the new ‘dominant states’ in a fully federalised United Kingdom which would, ironically, create an alliance of interests between Scotland and London.

Local Order

Local Order

Web Forum: Apocacide, Apocaholics and Apocalists

Web Forum: Apocacide, Apocaholics and Apocalists

Rogers v. Whitaker and informed consent in Australia: a fair dinkum duty of disclosure.

In Rogers v. Whitaker the High Court of Australia squarely faced the conflict between the patient-oriented “American” rule of informed consent that was recognised in Canterbury v. Spence and the doctor-oriented British rule articulated in Sidaway v. Governors of Bethlem Royal Hospital. The High Court determined that the law of informed consent was a species of the law of professional negligence, and that it was to be evaluated by applying ordinary principles of negligence. Rogers v. Whitaker neatly presented the High Court with a choice between the two prevailing negligence theories of informed consent. Indeed, the broad holding of Rogers v. Whitaker is virtually identical to the holding of Canterbury v. Spence, and it defines the physician’s duty 109to disclose in language that is almost identical to what has become known as the “American” rule.

What Crocodile Dundee Never Told Us

Many of the same issues that confront American speech-language pathologists are present in Australia. Where differences exist, they reflect the history of the country and the profession and the population size. As I indicated at the beginning, these differences are mostly surface ones. At the deep structure, the quality of Australian speech-language pathologists compares favorably to that of American clinicians, and the professional association is committed to high standards of professional preparation and practice. In light of these significant similarities, perhaps speech-language pathologists can look forward to the day when professional associations across oceans find a mechanism for readily acknowledging international colleagues’ competencies. As the insightful Mr. Crocodile Dundee might say, "There’s more than one way to skin a wombat and still have everything be ridgy-didge, mate. Fair dinkum."

Burning desire

Strewth, fair dinkum, stone the crows, etc etcSomewhere out there a Scottish nurse is toiling away, unaware that a £400,000 antipidoean fortune is awaiting her.

‘Fair Dinkum’: Two British Occupational Therapists' Experience of Community Occupational Therapy in Australia

This article is not intended as a criticism of either the British or the Australian system, but as an observation to facilitate an exchange of ideas and to prepare anyone who may be anticipating working abroad. It comprises two sections, one written by each occupational therapist, and describes their separate experiences in two different areas of community occupational therapy in Australia.