Author: admin

I think most people would acknowledge that the pace of change in schools has been – and continues to be –  for the most part, glacially slow. Computers, which have revolutionised the way businesses run for the better part of 40 years, are now only just beginning to make their presence felt. Strangely, there is…

I’m not a journalist. I’m not an academic who studies communication. I’m not someone who ever has, nor do I think I ever will, work in the media. Like they say, I’ve got the face of a radio star! I preface this blog post with that introduction because I acknowledge that I am about to…

I read, recently, with great interest that apparently the NSW Government is making plans to introduce a policy that will ensure that people who want to be teachers have to get band 5s in at least 3 subjects – and one of them has to be English. So what’s my problem with that? Well, in…

I read, with some interest, and no little sadness, about the death of Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela earlier this week. It might seem a strange thing to say, considering the way that he’s been villified as an enemy to democracy, but I actually think that, in order to approximate the truth, we need…

So, I’ve reached that stage in my doctoral work where I need to start putting together all of the work that I’ve done in the form of some kind of extended writing. Originally, I’d planned to go down the path of a submission of a portfolio – I mean, I’m already there with a couple…

The spheres of media and politics will, I think, always be intertwined to some degree. If, like me, you believe that any meaningful objectivity in the social sciences is a delusion, and any claims to objectivity merely strengthen the status quo, this idea becomes even more challenging. My question is this: are the media simply…

An intriguing post title, I know, but what I really want to talk about is not the Sydney Opera House or the actress who plays Hermione Granger, but democracy. Surprise, surprise, I hear you say. And fair enough. I mean, we all will never get back the three hours of our life that Rob Oakeshott…

I had the feeling that my efforts to explain reflexivity in my last point were pretty ordinary – a lot of half-understood gobbledegook, so I have decided to revisit the topic after a little more reading, in an effort to see whether I have got the hang of it. Time will tell. Okay, the first…

I’ve been reading a lot about the notion of reflexivity at the moment, especially as it is used in relation to young people and the making of films. It’s not a topic that I’ve had much to do with before, but I’m thinking that there is a lot here that may be of use. Basically,…

Last night I went to the rally against the Toxic Waste being dumped at Kemps Creek – or at least, the Toxic Waste that is planned to be dumped at Kemps Creek. Apparently, this 5,500 tons of soil is being moved from Hunter’s Hill, where it has been linked to the development of some cancer…