SCMP News: April 2005

posted:22/04/05

SCMP Prize Award Ceremony

SCMP staff are invited to attend the Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy Prize Award Ceremony

The Division is holding a Prize Award Ceremony on

Students who received prizes in the Departments of Anthropology, Philosophy, Warawara and Women's Studies will receive their prize certificates and cheques.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, award winners, presenters and guests are invited to a light lunch with staff members of the Division.

posted:19/04/05

Body Modification Mark II

Tattooing, piercing, scarification, branding, corsetry, dieting, binding, transsexualism, self-mutilation, sadomasochism, fetishes and many other aspects of body modification will be dissected, unravelled, demystified and unleashed upon attendees of the second Body Modification conference.

Following the success of the inaugural Body Modification: Changing Bodies, Changing Selves conference in April 2003 Macquarie University's Department of Critical and Cultural Studies is doing it all again with Body Modification Mark II.

From 21-23 April local and international delegates will explore the many and varied ways in which bodies are modified, selves are formed and transformed, and culturally specific knowledges and practices are mediated and transfigured.

"The conference will bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds in order to create linkages, facilitate exchange, and promote discussion about the ways in which different kinds of bodies and the transformations they undergo are understood and experienced by the self and by others," explains conference organiser Dr Nikki Sullivan.

"We are interested in asking questions about why some kinds of bodies and body modification practices are considered normal or natural, others are set up as ideal, and others are deemed inappropriate, denigrated, or even legislated against."

"We also want to suggest that all bodies are culturally produced, not only those which have been shaped by the surgeon's knife: that a pregnant body, as it is currently lived and experienced in mainstream Australia, is no more 'natural' or unmediated than is the body of the transman or the cyborg."

In addition to academic speakers, the conference program will include visual artists, performers, practitioners, and activists. Keynote speakers include Carl Elliot, Gail Weiss, Mat Fraser, Joseph Pugliese, Susan Stryker and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku.

An exhibition of works on body modification - Somatechnics - will add another dimension to the conference. Including works by artists Sara Davidmann, Paddy Hartley, Yiorgos Zafiriou, Amanda James, Sarah Xu, Alex Edmonds, and Shigeyuki Kihara, the exhibition will open on Wednesday 21 April at 7pm in the Macquarie University Gallery and run until the conclusion of the conference.

The conference will be held in Building X5B, Macquarie University, North Ryde. The full program is available on the conference website below.

For more information, visit the website

posted:11/04/05

Neighbourhoods & Social Capital: Building supportive communities for kids

One-day Conference / 29th April 2005, Macquarie University

• Download PDF flyer here

Featuring keynote speakers from academic and practitioner backgrounds, this landmark one-day conference will explore the latest thinking on Social Capital and Community Capacity Building and their role in building supportive neighbourhoods and communities for families with children. Speakers include:

Eva Cox presented the Australian Broadcasting Commission Boyer Lectures in 1995 exploring her ideas for creating a truly civil society. Eva will speak about 'Values' & Social Capital.

Rosemary Leonard is co-author of Spinning Straw into Gold: Social capital in practice. (2004. London: Janus Publishing).

Paul Drielsma is a Senior Manager with Uniting Care Burnside. Paul will speak on the topic of 'So what have kids brains got to do with Social Capital anyway?

Benevolent Society & Community Representatives from the Claymore Projects: To speak on community regeneration initiatives on the Claymore Housing Estate.

Rebecca Watson to speak on 'Building Relationships: A Place for Children, Family and Community'

And other community practitioner speakers ..

The conference format will involve morning academic keynote speeches, followed by brief presentations from community workers on innovative project examples. The afternoon will feature break-out sessions for small themed group discussions between academics and practitioners, wrapping up with a joint plenary session.

Date: Friday 29th April
Time: 9:30am - 5:30pm
Cost: FREE
Location: Macquarie University, Theatre Bld E6A

More information: www.crsi.mq.edu.au or Sandip Bhattacharjee Ph:(02) 9952 8302 Email: sbhattacharjee@ryde.nsw.gov.au

Email RSVP to crsi@scmp.mq.edu.au by Monday 25th April (to assist with catering)

Jointly hosted by Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, Macquarie University & the City of Ryde

posted:05/04/05

MA student interviewed on Inside Story on torture in East Timor

Gil Da Costa (Naldo), a student in the MA in International Communication, will be among those interviewed on "Inside Story" at 7.30 pm on SBS 5th of April regarding torture in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation. Horribly, Gil Da Costa's father was decapitated. As a young boy he served as a runner carrying messages from the current president of Timor Leste to other freedom fighters. He established a newspaper in Timor Leste.

Naldo will also speak at the Conference on Alternative Media on April 19-20, 2005.

Da Costa has received a special scholarship for a student from Timor Leste offered by the Vice Chancellor.

posted:05/04/05

SCMP Tops in Study Abroad/Exchange Students

Figures released by Macquarie International show that the Division of Society, Culture, Media & Philosophy had greatest numbers of Study Abroad and Exchange students in the university. The Division had 990 undergraduate enrolments in 2003 or 31.85% of all Study Abroad and Exchange students. In 2004 we attracted 1250 undergraduate enrolments again approximately 30% of those enrolled at Macquarie University.

posted:05/04/05

Research in Progress Seminar Series

In May, the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion will begin a series of monthly work-in-progress sessions. These are aimed at Centre members and non-members working in the areas of the CRSI's core research concentrations: welfare, care and social policy, migration and multiculturalism; inclusion and exclusion; the postcolonial world and globalization; and critical theory and social hope.

The objective of the sessions is to provide a forum for the discussion of research and papers that are not yet in polished, publishable form. As such, it is envisaged that they will be relatively informal and discursive, with an emphasis on audience participation in order to provide presenters with feedback to help improve their papers before submission. Presenters may, if they wish, circulate a draft of their paper beforehand. Sessions will normally be held on the second Friday of each month from 11-1, in W6A 107. Advance notice will also be posted in the days before any given session.

All welcome. We encourage and look forward to your support.

If people are interested in presenting a paper, or have any further enquiries, they should contact Lloyd Cox on ext. 8102 or email lloyd.cox@scmp.mq.edu.au

Centre for Research on Social Inclusion

STAFF NEWS

posted:27/04/05

SCMP Turnitin Workshops

For those of you who are required to view Turnitin reports, the Division is pleased to announce that SCMP Webmaster will be conducting two 1-hour Turnitin workshops on behalf of the Division. These workshops will be organised on a first in first served basis so I encourage staff to please book yourself in as soon as possible.

The workshops have been scheduled as follows:

• Session 1: Thursday, 5 May (2-3pm)-(vacancies for 10 bookings)
• Session 2: Tuesday, 10 May (2-3pm)-(vacancies for 10 bookings)

* Both sessions will be held in Rm 707 (Divisional Meeting Room)

The workshops will cover the following areas:

• 1) How to access the Turnitin system (unit convenors and casual markers).
• 2) How to access and interpret plagiarism statistics and reports.
• 3) Discussion of possible tricks students could employ in an attempt to deceive the system.
• 4) SCMP best practices to prevent deception of the system and to ensure student compliance.
• 5) Discussion of the most common problems students have experienced in submitting their assignments and how to address these in the future.

Please contact SCMP Webmaster to book for either session

posted:01/04/05

Academic Promotion Application

Application for promotion should be submitted to the Divisional Administrator, Cathy McMahon, by 10am on Tuesday, 26th April, 2005

A Procedures Guide for SCMP staff is available from Cathy. Staff intending to submit an application may find this helpful. Further information regarding promotion of academic staff is found under Section 9 of the Macquarie University Enterprise Agreement 2003-2006 or from the Workplace Relations & Services website.

Application forms are available at www.pers.mq.edu.au/Forms/22/index.html

Discipline Profiles are also located at www.pers.mq.edu.au/Forms/22/index.html

Each year all applications for promotion will be considered within 3 months of the closing date. Workplace Relations & Services will tell you the result of your application in writing. If your application is successful your promotion will be from 1 January, 2006.

All enquiries may be directed to Cathy McMahon on ext. 8831 or email cmcmahon@scmp.mq.edu.au

posted:01/04/05

OSP applications for 2006

OSP applications for 2006 are to be submitted through advisers and Heads of Departments/Centres to the Dean of Division.

Please forward applications to Cathy McMahon by 5pm on Friday 17th June as I will need to confirm the eligibility of the proposed programs before the Dean can assess the applications.

If you have any questions relating to OSP please contact me on ext. 8831 or email cmcmahon@scmp.mq.edu.au.