Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Youths' art Australia'

Abstract In Australia during the 1990s increased attention was paid to regional, rural and remote communities and, in terms of arts and culture, the establishment of regional arts umbrella organisations, at both national and state levels, stimulated interest in, and development of, the arts in those communities. Discourses around the notion of the civil society and the ways in which social and cultural capital can be acquired and transferred, have led to renewed interest in the economic and social functions of the voluntary, not-for-profit sector of Australian society. This thesis aims to advance the critical study of regional cultural development. It examines the role and function of the performing arts within regional communities through a case study of the city of Bunbury, Western Australia. Regional performing arts are often trivialised or marginalised by metropolitan practitioners, critics and academics, particularly as they are almost entirely, in Australia, a volunteer/amateur pursuit. However volunteer performing arts groups provide physical and social spaces that encourage networks of civil engagement that have implications for the functioning of the broader community; and, in the case of Bunbury, a degree of independence from the bureaucratic requirements of arts funding bodies. The thesis proposes that volunteer, not-for-profit (amateur) theatre has a stronger claim on the title ‘community theatre’ than the state-funded community theatre movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The thesis also examines the strong community affiliations that have been generated by the community-owned, professionally-managed Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre. It situates this discussion in the context of the rapidly changing urban landscape in which the Entertainment Centre is placed and its affiliations with local, regional, state and national funding, networking and touring structures. It argues that considerable social and cultural capital is generated through the active involvement of citizens at many levels of the performing arts in a regional community such as Bunbury. Although for most, the involvement is voluntary and recreational, it also has direct economic outcomes in terms of the developing creative industries of the region. A major contribution of the thesis is the provision of a model for the function and impact of regional community performing arts as it theorises the tensions between governmental (funding) models and self-generated regional arts practices through case study and detailed analysis. In doing so the thesis contributes to key debates in two significant ways, firstly by providing an important historical/cultural document and secondly, by highlighting new ways of thinking and speaking about the role of the performing arts in regional communities.

African Cultural Education: A dialogue with African migrant youth in Western Australia’, examines cultural issues that concern a specific group of African migrant youths. The ten youth participants three of whom are male and seven female share their concerns and desires about issues relating to their cultural identity. As a minority group in a predominantly Eurocentric society they are faced with cultural challenges, which influence their being namely: Racism and the pressure to assimilate. The thesis adopts an Afrikan1 Centred Cultural Democracy approach: which proposes that African people must construct a ‘new’ African identity and must begin to perceive and interpret the world in its entirety from an African psychological, spiritual, and cultural frame of reference. This approach requires an ongoing critical assesement of both subjective lived experience and objective conditions. Through the Ujamaa circle process the youth participants along with the facilitator examined challenges to their cultural identities and alternative liberatory options. Growing up in a culturally alienating Eurocentric culture, they felt the need for an African cultural space, in which they could explore issues affecting them as African descendants. In particular racism and assimilation were of major concern to them. They were of the opinion that there should be an ongoing African Cultural Education Program to facilitate cultural re-evaluation and continuity. It is the study’s conclusion that cultural education for a minority African migrant group in a dominant Eurocentric culture is essential for their identities and continued root-cultural connectedness. Within the African Cultural Education conceptual framework, in addition to African cultural re-evaluation, it is possible to critically explore oppressive and domineering practices of the mainstream culture. It is also possible that the African migrant youth may become equipped with alternative worldviews from an African perspective, which will enable him/her to make informed judgement and response towards inappropriate mainstream attitudes and values. Participation in the arena of cultural politics will therefore be based on informed practice.

Adolescence is an incredibly complex period of life. During this time young people are searching for and wanting to create their own unique identity, however being confronted with a plethora of roles and directions is challenging and confusing. These challenges are reflected in the vast array of young adult literature being presented to young people today. As a result young adult literature has the potential to function as scaffolding to assist teenagers in the struggles of adolescence by serving as an important source of information about the world and the people in it. Teenage novels also give young people the opportunity to try on different identities and vicariously experience consequences of actions while developing their own distinctive personality and character. As this study reveals, the Australian young adult novel has undergone considerable developments, with 1989 serving as a milestone year in which writers and publishers turned in new directions. In general, Australian young adult novels have changed from books set predominately in rural areas, incorporating major themes of child abuse, death, friendship and survival with introverted characters aged between twelve and sixteen in the early 1980s to novels with urban settings, a large increase in books about crime, dating, drugs and mental health and sexually active, extroverted characters aged between fourteen and eighteen in the late 1990s. To chart the progression of these changes and gain an understanding of the messages young adults receive from adolescent novels an evaluative framework was developed. The framework consists of two main sections. The first part applies to the work as a whole, obtaining data about the novel such as plot, style, setting, temporal context, use of humour, issues within the text and ending, while the second part collects information about character demographics including gender, age, occupational status, family type, sexual orientation, relationships with family and authority figures, personality traits and outlook for character. To qualitatively and quantitatively assess the construction of youth in Australian young adult literature a random selection of 20 per cent of Australian young adult books published in each year from 1980 to 2000 were analysed using the evaluative framework, with 186 novels being studied altogether. During the 1990s in particular, Australian young adult literature was heavily criticised for being too bleak, too dark, presenting a picture of life that was all gloom and doom. This research resoundingly dismisses this argument by showing that rather than being a negative influence on the lives of young people, Australian books for young people present a comprehensive portrayal of youth. They probe the entire gamut of teenage experiences, both the good and the bad, providing a wide range of scenarios, roles, relationships and characters for young people to explore. Therefore Australian young adult literature provides an important source of information and support for the psycho-social development of young people during the formative years of adolescence. This research is significant because it gives hard evidence to support the promotion of a representative selection of Australian young adult novels both in the classroom and in home, school and public libraries. By establishing the available range of contemporary Australian young adult literature through this study, young adult readers, teachers and librarians can be confident in the knowledge that appropriate titles are accessible which meet the needs and interests of young people. Consequently, the substantial amount of data gathered from this study will considerably add to the knowledge and understanding ofAustralian young adult novels to date and provide an excellent starting point for further research in the future.

Drug use and misuse by young people is a problem and concern in the Australian and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) communities. There are concerns regarding illicit and licit drugs but licit drug use has been identified as the major area of concern. Young people in the ACT reflect the drug use/misuse patterns and trends of other states. Commonly used drugs by young people are alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and analgesics. Strategies to address the problem of drug use/misuse by young people include intervention and community drug education programs. Peer drug education (as an example of community drug education), trains young people as peer educators to implement drug education programs with younger age groups. A case study analysis based on qualitative, naturalistic and new paradigm research is the research method used in this thesis. An eclectic model of drug education including key components from a variety of drug education models provides a comprehensive overview of peer drug education. The literature review showed the complexity of influences on drug use/misuse. These influences relate to individual, peer, parental and family, community and societal factors. Peer drug education is generally recognised as an effective drug education strategy. Peer drug education programs (Triple T: Teenagers Teaching Teenagers) were conducted in the ACT from 1988-1990. Reports documenting these programs (including evaluation data) and a literative review are the main data analysed for the case study. The case study analysis of five ACT peer drug education programs and one interstate program showed the key planning issues for effective peer drug education were: collaborative decision making as a central concept; detailed planning and liaison with target groups; established structures within schools and communities to support the trained peer educators; team work and small group work as intrinsic and extrinsic factors within the program; clarification of responsibilities and roles of all personnel involved in the program; and facilitators/leaders with attributes and qualities that encourage peer drug educators as social change agents. Analysis of data from the case study reports showed young people can be effective peer drug educators. Residential programs are preferred over non-residential programs. Peer drug education programs are effective in both school and community agencies. The literature review and analysis of reports also indicated that peer drug education needs to focus on establishing positive norms in groups of young people. Collaborative decision making and positive role modelling assist in the establishment of these norms. Peer drug education links to the wider changes occurring in education and health settings. Peer drug education is about collaborative decision making, social justice, development of key competencies and social change. This thesis confirmed the complexity and dynamic nature of peer drug education and there were many questions raised for further research from the literature review and analysis of program reports.

The lack of resources a young person brings with them to their experience of being homeless dramatically impacts on their ability to get out of homelessness. Young people who become homeless come with limited experience of successful independent living and at a life stage in which they are still developing physically, intellectually and psychologically. Johnson (2006) found that the younger a person was when they first became homeless the more likely they would remain homeless for a longer period of time. Evidence also shows that the longer someone remains homeless the more likely it is that they will develop substance use and/or mental health issues, further reducing their opportunities to ‘get out’ of homelessness. Youth homelessness disrupts schooling and limits future opportunities for economic participation, placing these young people well and truly at the bottom of the labour market. This paper asks ‘“Given that young people follow a unique pathway to homelessness, what supports and services are needed to effectively respond to this group?” This paper is divided into three sections – a critique of the characteristics of young people who become homeless, a review of current theories of intervention and government responses, and finally a proposal for an improved response to young people who are at risk of becoming or who are already homeless.

The purpose of this study was to develop a physiological profile of elite Australian Youth soccer players. Over three years, 150 players from the U'17, U'20 and U'23 national squads were tested for six measurements - height, weight, sum of eight skinfolds, vertical jump, maximum oxygen consumption and speed over twenty metres. Comparisons were made between those selected in the final team (classified as Successful) and those who failed to be selected (classified as Unsuccessful) to determine any significant differences between the two groups A physical and physiological profile was obtained for each player - expressed as a single value in both numerical and graphical formats. Players were ranked based on this score to determine significant differences between successful and unsuccessful players. Several significant differences (p<0.05) were found between Successful and Unsuccessful groups for a number of the variables primarily in the performance area rather than in the anthropometry parameters. For all squads, significant differences (P<0.05) were found between those who made the squad and those who did not when ranked based on their physical and physiological score. This study highlights the importance of the application of scientific testing to soccer Furthermore, it provides a system by which players' results can be analysed and ranked, and expressed in a format that provides the coach with immediate feedback as to an individual's specific strengths and weaknesses as a basis for training and team selection.

This study is about the risk of youth unemployment in Canberra. It applies the perspective of Giddens and others on risk communication to how the hazards of self identity and self esteem, coping ability, the work ethic, family support and level of education, the ability to enjoy spare time, drugs and alcohol use, poverty and suicide affect young people's ability to cope. The study's communication perspective also integates political with organizational, interpersonal and network as well as mass media communication. The study also draws from scholars who write from a sociological and psychological viewpoint and are frequently cited in communication sources. The loss of traditional work opportunities in the Public Service in Canberra is a significant barrier to a young person's integration into the community. Other barriers are the reduced work opportunities for young unskilled workers in a fledgling private market, the lack of adequate social and transport facilities, and family breakdown that can leave young Canberrans abandoned. The added factor of a global decline in participation in work in the last two decades has resulted in the general collapse in the full time jobs market, a growth of part time and casual employment, multiple job holding, and non-standard hours of work. Using historical research, participant observation, interview data and newspaper content analysis the study shows that the risk of unemployment for young people remains high notwithstanding the reduction in the overall unemployment rate. The media has played a significant role in forming community attitudes since the 1974 recession to the new millennium - a time of increasing government hardline policies towards welfare reform. Such policies have resulted in semi-privatisation of the employment services and tightening of welfare eligibility. Poor communication of these policies and coordination of their service delivery has resulted in public confusion about accessing these services. This is exacerbated in varying ways at the individual level depending on the extent that young people are affected by the hazards of unemployment. The government's answer to the problem of youth unemployment seeks to force young people to return to school and the family home. The outcomes of other reforms, such as the mutual obligation component of work for the dole, are yet to be determined. Young people want to work. However, the consequences of the present government reforms for young people are that they are 'parked' in education, denied access to full time employment and the privileges of adult status. All of these issues are reflected in the findings of the five research questions posed in the study detailed as follows: Research Question 1: What role does interpersonal communication play in the construction of a positive sense of self-concept among young unemployed people? Findings: Young people are vulnerable to social change. At the individual level, the risk of unemployment and its associated hazards is heightened when an individual's sense of self and identity is not properly developed and they are unable to forge a sense of belonging with society. Reduced job opportunities, lack of trust despite the strong will do to the 'right thing' have prevailed amongst the young. For some access to choice is exciting. For others who are overwhelmed or have dropped out the world can be a bleak place. For an increasing number of young people the absence of family support and education impinges on their interpersonal communication skills in developing coping strategies in their day-to-day existence outside society's norms of acceptance. Research Question la: How important is a positive sense of self-concept for young unemployed people in communicating with community support organizations? Findings: A positive sense of self-concept is paramount for young people communicating with Centrelink and the Job Network organizations in an environment where they are required to contribute extra effort in finding work, reduce their use of social assistance, adopt compliant behaviours towards the government's welfare reforms and meet raised expectations in finding employment. Research Question 2: How do young unemployed people differently experience their primary and secondary social support networks? Findings: Family support as well as education increases the ability of young unemployed people to interact with their primary and secondary social support networks. Consequently, a poor experience of primary support leads to eventual confusion when dealing with organizations that deliver employment services. The replacement of family support by a friendship group can nevertheless be empowering in these circumstances. Research Question 2a: How does young people's ability to access secondary support networks affect their experience of unemployment? Findings: The lack of family support and education increases the chances of having low resilience, low trust in organizations and other people and an inability to cope. These are all significant barriers to communicating successfully with secondary support networks that provide assistance with employment opportunities. Staying in education is a safety net against youth unemployment. The feeling of connectedness with the community is difficult because of the loss of identity and the absence of identity recognition for young unemployed people through discrimination. The maintenance of the work ethic in the main stems from the desire to accrue material benefits. Research Question 3: What is the role of community and organizational support for young people experiencing the hazards of unemployment? Findings: The findings of the study highlight the vulnerability of young unemployed people accessing organizational support with the hazards stated in the study being the intervening variables. It was found that reforms linking markets and networks make increasing demands on the unemployed and their families. Poor communication within Centrelink, interorganizationally with the Job Network providers and in public communication informing about such reforms has resulted in confusion amongst young unemployed people. The new market driven environment has had detrimental effects on clients because of the lack of integrated programs and has generated a lack of trust in organizational providers. Research Question 4: What is the role of the media and public opinion polls informing community perceptions about youth unemployment? Findings: Media agenda setting provides the cues setting the standards by which the public evaluates government and attributes responsibility for societal problems. Public opinion is formed when media reports on public affairs. People talk to one another about the topic and consequently public opinion is formed. In the 1970s the media framed unemployed youth as 'dole bludgers' and the polls reflected public attitudes that unemployment was due to people not wanting to work. Media framing in the 1990s contrasted with the 1970s view. Such indications included that it now considered that young people were priced out of a job whilst showing cynicism of governments to improve the situation. It did not use the 'dole bludger' tag. Although the salience of youth unemployment in the opinion polls had diminished, it was still a dominant consideration. Sympathy for young unemployed people who are seen as victims of social change by the media has maintained into the new millennium with media criticism aimed at the government's punitive approach to youth unemployment. Research Question 5: How are policies about youth unemployment communicated to the community? Findings: Following Foucault the study found that government is a broader process involving more than the state. From depth interviews with organizational representatives it was found that formulation of policy for youth and unemployment should be bottom up - community, state, federal - before Cabinet consideration. Political and economic ideologies currently precede pragmatism and there is a diminished voice of those representing youth policy. These findings contribute to building on understandings of the phenomenon of youth unemployment at the community level in Australia and inform about the various individuals, groups, organizations including the media that contribute to shaping the discourse in and around youth and youth unemployment.

Adolescence is a time of accelerated physical and sexual growth, and many students become sexually active before they finish secondary schooling. Unfortunately, many adolescents and young adults experience sexual coercion in their intimate relationships. Sexual coercion is defined broadly as verbal or physical pressure to engage in sexual activity. This study sought to examine sexual coercion experiences of Year 11-12 high school, male and female students in their peer dating and relationships. Before retrieving such information, a modified Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) questionnaire was designed. This was named the Adolescent Dating and Relationship Survey (ADRS) which, subsequently, was examined by experts in the area, and validated via a pilot study using 30 university students. Thirdly, the study administered the ADRS to 341, Year 11 and Year 12 students to examine how they responded to their sexually coercive experiences. The participants were actively engaging in relationship behaviours, with nearly 50% of the females and 70% of the males reporting a relationship with a partner of the same age. However, significantly more females dated older partners and, conversely, more male students were involved with younger partners. The female students tended to have longer relationships than the males, especially for relationships of 9 to 12 months or longer. Participants did not report sexual coercion experiences via threat or blackmail, nor were the males threatened with a weapon. The most frequently cited forms of coercion by both female and male students were: made to feel guilty, being plied with alcohol and/or other drugs, being pressured by begging and/or arguing, and being lied to. However, the female students reported being physically restrained significantly more than the males. As a group they responded to these sexually coercive acts via all forms 2 measured except the males, who did not resort to either fighting off or yelling. Talking about the experience later was the response commonly reported by the students. Further, female students responded to sexual coercion by saying either,

This thesis is a phenomenology highlighting the phenomenon of declining youth attendance at mainstream churches where traditional church music is used in worship and the emergence of megachurches where young people are attending and contemporary popular styles of music is used in worship. An Australian Broadcasting Authority survey in 1999 revealed that music is a major influence in the lives of youth, assisting in their identity creation, in their making friends, and in relieving their stress. The survey also notes that youth prefer contemporary popular music and, in particular, rock. This is in stark contrast to the traditional music played and sung in mainstream churches, which tends to be neither meaningful nor relevant to youth, largely because they do not identify with it. An increasing proportion of youth are rejecting the mainstream traditional churches such as Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Uniting Church. National Church Life Surveys in Australia show that by 2001, only fourteen percent of church attenders were young adults. Young non-attenders complained they found church services boring and unfulfilling. This declining youth membership does not auger well for the mainstream church’s future. It is clearly evident that, in Australian society a culture gap has emerged between the secular world and the mainstream Christian church. This thesis examines the role of contemporary popular music in attracting young people to church. Although, in comparatively recent times there has been some movement towards contemporizing worship services in mainstream churches, the change has met strong resistance, but that resistance is based on invalid arguments and the mainstream church is yet to respond effectively to the increasing culture gap and growing alienation of the young. Mainstream congregations are not adequately encouraged to participate in singing praise and thanks to God. Although the lyrics of songs that focus on thanks and praise can teach a Christian message, as well as promote an awareness of the presence of God, the importance of this aspect of worship appears to have been overlooked, even though music has always been a part of worship, with multiple biblical scriptures cementing its pivotal role. In 1980 twelve people began Christian City Church (CCC), a new church which was not one of the mainstream churches, with a vision to communicate the Christian message to the whole of Sydney. CCC used contemporary music as a vehicle to make their message relevant. That church has been strikingly successful, and had grown to five thousand members by 2004. This thesis focusses on a case study of the music of CCC to test a hypothesis that the use of contemporary popular styles of music, with a focus on thanks and praise, can play a significant role in attracting young people to join and remain as members, and that such music can be influential in communicating an experiential understanding of the Christian message. The aim of the case study was to discover whether the music was similar in style to young people’s preferred styles of music, whether they actively participated in its performance, whether it communicated to them, whether the lyrics conveyed a Christian message, and finally whether the congregation was both increasing and retaining young people as members. The songs examined in the study revealed that the music and paramusical aspects of the songs were similar to those of contemporary popular songs. The lyrics of the songs included themes of thanks and praise to God, and as such conveyed a Christian message. Thirty percent of the worship service was devoted to music praising God, and forty-nine percent of the church’s 5,000 members in 2004, were under twenty-five years. Further, the congregation participated enthusiastically in singing, an emphasis on belonging to small groups encouraged fellowship, and sermons addressed problems relevant to young people. It is proposed that CCC provides a pattern that mainstream churches could adapt, including the encouragement of congregational singing and worship, creation of effective small groups, relevant preaching, education opportunities, and culturally appropriate music. It is clear that contemporary and culturally appropriate music has played a significant and vital role in CCC’s successful development. To attract and retain youth membership, music needs to be contemporary, and culturally appropriate, thereby filling the gap between the secular world and the church. Contemporary popular music could provide today’s song for tomorrow’s church.

This research explores the representation of children and young people in a newspaper. The objective was to develop a 'case study' profile of representations in a monopoly daily newspaper in a geographically-isolated Australian capital city. News content with a primary focus on people aged zero to eighteen years was collected for a 12-month period, and analysed from a constructionist perspective, using agenda-setting, news source, media framing and critical linguistics media analysis techniques. Distinctive features of the research design include the combination of these four analytic techniques and the breadth of the age cohort in the research sample. A large body of research literature is used to 'benchmark' the primary analysis of data, and to inform the analyses of age, 'race' and gender. These data are consolidated in three thematic frames: the Promotional Child, Victim Child and Deviant Child, which underpin the aggregated profile of representations developed in this research. Numerous images are reproduced from the research sample and appear throughout the thesis, embedded in relevant discussions. The concluding chapter of the thesis foregrounds a perception of children as voiceless, vulnerable and violent characters, featured in a discourse on social control. Key observations highlighted in this research include disparities in the degree of overt vernacular criticism applied to children and other minority population groups; and the over-representation of marginalised cohorts in compromising newspaper images. The extensive use of children in promotional contexts appears to be partially obscured by the altruistic function of non-commercial promotions and advocacy campaigns. 'Collisions' between altruistic values and news values were found to be predictive of outcomes coinciding with the interests of a target audience; negative outcomes for socially disadvantaged children; and consistent 'collateral benefits' for the news medium seemingly regardless of outcomes experienced by other stakeholders.

This study investigates information literacy and scholarly communication within the processes of doctoral research and supervision at a distance. Both doctoral candidates and supervisors acknowledge information literacy deficiencies and it is suggested that disintermediation and the proliferation of information may contribute to those deficiencies. Further to this, the influence of pedagogic continuity—particularly in relation to the information seeking behaviour of candidates—is investigated, as is the concomitant aspect of how doctoral researchers practise scholarly communication. The well-documented and enduring problem for candidates of isolation from the research cultures of their universities is also scrutinised. The contentious issue of more formally involving librarians in the doctoral process is also considered, from the perspective of candidates and supervisors. Superimposed upon these topical and timely issues is the theoretical framework of adult learning theory, in particular the tenets of andragogy. The pedagogical-andragogical orientation of candidates and supervisors is established, demonstrating both the differences and similarities between candidates and supervisors, as are a number of independent variables, including a comparison of on-campus and off-campus candidates. Other independent variables include age, gender, DETYA (Department of Education, Training & Youth Affairs) category, enrolment type, stage of candidature, employment and status, type of doctorate, and English/non-English speaking background. The research methodology uses qualitative and quantitative techniques encompassing both data and methodological triangulation. The study uses two sets of questionnaires and a series of in-depth interviews with a sample of on-campus and off-campus doctoral candidates and supervisors from four Australian universities. Major findings include NESB candidates being more pedagogical than their ESB counterparts, and candidates and supervisors from the Sciences are more pedagogical than those from Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Education. Candidates make a transition from a more dependent and pedagogically oriented approach to learning towards more of an independent and andragogical orientation over the duration of their candidature. However, over tune both on-campus and off-campus candidates become more isolated from the research cultures of their universities, and less happy with support received from their supervisors in relation to their literature reviews. Ill The study found large discrepancies in perception between the support supervisors believed they gave to candidates in relation to the literature review, and the support candidates believed they received. Information seeking becomes easier over time, but candidates face a dilemma with the proliferation of information, suggesting that disintermediation has exacerbated the challenges of evaluation and organisation of information. The concept of pedagogic continuity was recognised by supervisors and especially candidates, both negative and positive influences. The findings are critically analysed and synthesised using the metaphor of a scholarly 'Club' of which obtaining a doctorate is a rite of passage. Recommendations are made for changes in professional practice, and topics that may warrant further research are suggested.

Many risk factors have been put forward to account for the significant increase in adolescent male suicide over the last 20 years, and the pronounced sex difference in suicide statistics. In particular, hopelessness has been shown to be a strong indicator of suicidality. This study investigated the relationship of gender role, stress, and coping to hopelessness in a normal adolescent population. It was hypothesized that stress, coping and a masculine gender role would contribute to hopelessness. 288 adolescent students between the ages of 15 and 18 were surveyed using the Adolescent Stress Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Australian Sex Role Scale, and the Adolescent Coping Scale. Contrary to expectation, having a masculine gender role was not related to hopelessness; students with an undifferentiated gender role had higher levels of hopelessness than androgynous, masculine, and feminine students. However, the majority of students who had an undifferentiated gender role were male. Hopelessness was also associated with high levels of stress and the use of avoidance coping strategies. The results are discussed within the transactional stress model and the stress-diathesis model.

This study investigates the characteristics of therapeutic residential care workers with high-risk young people. It takes as its focus the types of knowledge that those who are considered as exceptional residential workers bring with them to the field, and explores the notions of ‘artistry, knowing, intuition, essence and gut feelings’ in relation to the construction of the professional residential care role. Fourteen residential youth workers with 10-plus years’ experience were interviewed to investigate notions of exceptional practice in relation to: • their characteristics, ethics, values • if the multiplicities of theories and artistry they demonstrated were largely due to life development and learning, experience, gut feelings, and/or intuition • if formal education / training is the most effective way of informing conscious residential work practice. Drawing on a bricolage of knowledge, theories and theorists across disciplines to scaffold and frame the reconstruction of ways of knowing, this multi-genre methodology creatively utilised narrative research. The metaphor of quilting was drawn upon to contextualise the rhizomatic nature of the research process through which a crystallised understanding of my critical ontological values, ethics and morals afforded emergence of the interconnected history of people’s lives within a developmental bioecological model. Four knowledge categories emerged, resulting in a ‘percentages model’: [i] historical/developmental life stages and impacts [ii] educational and training and bioecological contexts of lived experience [iii] social learning [iv] confirming the existence and essential roles of ‘artistry’, spirituality, gut feelings and intuition. These four stages are analysed to inform workforce promotion, recruitment/retention, training, mentoring, reduction of WorkCover and sickness costs and the possible subsequent loss of valued residential workers.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This project’s aim has been to examine what makes religion newsworthy in contemporary Australia. In July 2008, the biggest religious gathering in the country’s history was held in Sydney, New South Wales, host city of the 2000 Olympic Games. World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) attracted more than one hundred thousand young Catholics from around the world. They converged to pray, sing and dance for their faith and to catch a glimpse of their hero and spiritual leader Pope Benedict XVI. This event literally brought religion onto the streets of a nation, which the pontiff and others had previously described as “Godless”. It was a “good news” story that graced the front pages of Sydney newspapers for more than a week, led television news bulletins, and was broadcast to over a billion viewers worldwide. A qualitative case study has been undertaken of print and terrestrial television news media coverage using mixed methods, coded content and thematic analysis, and practitioner interviews. This is supported by a discursive evaluation of news values that demonstrates how journalistic practice constructs and heightens “newsworthiness” through language and image at various stages of news story production. The papal brand was crucial in overcoming “cynical” opposition to and guaranteeing the success of - this “hybrid” religious media event (Pfadenhauer, 2010). WYD08 used large-scale pageantry to transform Sydney from a world-class party destination to a Holy City; one ready for its first saint. Overall, the news reportage concentrated on the “spectacle”, producing a narrative that in both style and substance circumvented examination of the religious, and by extension major issues confronting the Catholic Church, specifically, the clergy sexual abuse scandal. This approach obviated the requirement for journalists to have any specialist knowledge of the religious sphere, raising further questions about where religion may be situated in public discourse.