Australian Public Intellectual [API] Network

Network Scholars

Recruiting Immigrants: The First World War and Australian Immigration

Michele Langfield
It is often assumed that the relationship between war and immigration is tenuous simply because in times of war, immigration virtually ceases. In Australia’s case, both global wars of the twentieth century provided a stimulus to immigration in the following years. More than this, the war years constituted a period of dormancy during which past policies could be re-examined and reformulated. Several studies have already been undertaken on the influence of the second world war on post war immigration schemes.1 Little detailed work, however, has been published on the direct impact of world ...
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Network Review of Books

The Ends and Means of Welfare: Coping with economic and social change in Australia (2002)

Reviewed by Robert O'Sullivan in the July 2003 issue.
Why is Australia's quality of life diminishing as the fiercely individualistic market economy undergoes continued growth? This is the key question underlying Professor Saunders' readable and thoroughly researched book. Saunders argues that after three decades of reform discussion we have reached 'reform fatigue' in which neither political party has a sustainable policy solution. He identifies a contradictory process as Labor and Liberal strategists call on market mechanisms to achieve social ends through privatisation, user pays and service brokerage such as the Job Network. This ... read more.

Cut to the Word (2002)

Reviewed by Sue Bond in the June 2003 issue.
It feels like a punch, that's all. We all say that when we're knifed in the heart. Our body's just a punching bag. One stab is fatal most times, but everyone in this poem survived. All of us were badly hurt. (from 'The heart: a knife in every chamber', p 12)This first poem of Tim Metcalf's is clever and robust. It is divided, like the heart, into four chambers, dealing with three injured patients in casualty, and the doctor himself, wounded in a different way. We immediately know the personal aspect of the doctor's work, that he is not an automaton stitching up and resuscitating, but a fellow ... read more.

Girl Heroes: The new force in popular culture (2002)

Reviewed by Rachel Funari in the November 2002 issue.
In her book Girl Heroes: The New Force in Popular Culture, Susan Hopkins argues that the old feminism of blaming media and popular culture for encouraging girls to be submissive, non-competitive and nurturing is outdated. Marketing to girls is currently based on appealing to their power fantasies, which equals freedom to consume and world-wide visibility. Female sexuality remains a crucial aspect of selling to girls, but this sexuality is no longer based on the male gaze, but the female one. Girls' fantasies do not revolve around romance but around a glamorous, consumerist lifestyle. Sexual ... read more.

Hurstville Oval: A History of Sport and Community 1899-2001 (2002)

Reviewed by Narelle McGlusky in the October 2002 issue.
The name 'St George' has been associated with sporting excellence for over half a century and the home and heart of 'St George' is Hurstville Oval. Located in Sydney's southern suburbs, Hurstville has nurtured and supported many of Australia's great sporting identities. More importantly, it has provided a focus for local identity and belonging for generations of ordinary Australians. In this interesting social history of Hurstville Oval, published under the auspices of the Centenary of Federation Fund, Elizabeth Butel and Tom Thompson have woven the story of sport and the sporting public into ... read more.

The Best Olympics Ever? Social Impacts of Sydney 2000 (2002)

Reviewed by Robert Crawford in the Aug/Sep 2003 issue.
In September 2000, the eyes of the world were set on Sydney. After seven years of preparations and sixteen days of athletic competition, Australians eagerly waited for Juan Antonio Samaranch to declare Sydney 2000 'The Best Olympics Ever'. As the title implies, Helen Jefferson Lenskyj's second book on the Sydney Olympics casts a critical eye over these preparations. In questioning the legitimacy of Samarach's verdict, Jefferson Lenskyj dispels the popular myths surrounding the Sydney Games and reveals the seamy corporate underside of the Olympic movement and its impact on individuals residing ... read more.

Reshaping Life: Key Issues in Genetic Engineering (Third Edition) (2002)

Reviewed by Simon Conn in the January 2003 issue.
The first line in this book states in a reflective manner that historians will look upon the second-half of the twentieth century as shaped by the field of biology, much like the first-half was by the physical sciences. Such statements tend to fuel concerns from the largely uninformed public and provide ammunition for the staunch oppressors of the scientific revolution, genetic engineering. However, without a basic understanding of the underlying scientific concepts, these concerns cannot be addressed in an appropriate forum. Thus, the inability to comprehend the research and its driving ... read more.

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