The phenomenology of professional practice: a currere

In the shift to a more clearly economic imperative for universities than social good, the relationship between higher education teaching and professional practice has become increasingly apparent. It is seen in the courses offered by universities, and the relationship with employment and employers advocated by government and funding agencies. From a social realism perspective, this paper envisions all high-level vocational education as professional and discusses how an understanding of the phenomenology of practice could help to define how it might be structured and by whom it may be best delivered.     

Where do we start? A proposed post-disaster intervention framework for children and young people

The impact of disasters on the mental health, well-being and social inclusion of children and young people is well established. However, there is very limited evidence about effective community-based interventions to support positive outcomes. In this paper, we review the empirical and theoretical evidence and propose a conceptual framework to guide longer term community-based interventions, modified from an already developed multidimensional framework for refugee integration. We demonstrate its relevance, with some adjustments, through alignment with the disaster literature, particularly as it relates to children and young people. We also pilot the framework by applying it to an analysis of the services and initiatives delivered to support children and young people following the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia. The results suggested a concentration of funding on individually oriented, mental health programmes targeting secondary school-aged students. This may indicate under-resourcing of initiatives for younger children. There also appeared to be very limited inclusion of programmes aiming to re-establish a sense of safety and stability. Despite recognition of the important role of schools in supporting children and young people post-disaster, the analysis of initiatives indicated there was limited external funding support for school-based programmes. There were promising indications of programmes providing opportunities for children and young people to develop citizenship in the post-disaster recovery context, and scope for this to be extended to preparedness and response roles.     

Remembering Things

In an attempt to listen to things, and to unpack the dynamics and particularities of the role of things in constituting memory (and the role of memory in constituting things), we argue four points: that relations between things are crucial; that things provide us with markers of time, place, purpose, and identity; that these markers are historically obdurate; and that things actin ways that transcend semiotics. Each of these four—relations, markers, obduracy, and actions—are significant for and constitutive of memory. The argument is thus antirepresentational, suggesting that the world is perfectly capable of representing itself, and that our understanding of the world is immanent in the world and its relations.