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Engaging and well-written, this memoir offers insight into the public and private life of David Penington, one of Australia's leading public health experts and the former vice chancellor of the University of Melbourne. A fascinating read, the narrative reveals a tireless leader who, at every stage of his working life, has never shunned public controversy in a bid to improve the lives of all Australians. From his appointment to St. Vincent’s Hospital through his assistance in the implementation of the Medicare system, this autobiography highlights Penington’s accomplishments and contributions to Australia’s national public health policy.
2003 marks the twentieth anniversary of the first case of HIV-AIDS in Australia. Working from an extensive array of documents and interviews with key participants, Australia's response to the epidemic is examined to establish why it has been one of the most effective responses in the world.
This book is about community activism around HIV/AIDS in Australia. It looks at the role that the gay community played in the social, medical and political response to the virus. Drawing conclusions about the cultural impact of social movements, the author argues that AIDS activism contributed to improving social attitudes towards gay men and lesbians in Australia, while also challenging some entrenched cultural patterns of the Australian medical system, allowing greater scope for non-medical intervention into the domain of health and illness. The book documents an important chapter in the history of public health in Australia and explores how HIV/AIDS came to be a defining issue in the history of gay and lesbian rights in Australia.
Throughout the industrialised world, universities have undergone remarkable changes since the mid-1980s. In Australia, interest has been intense, and publication of The Enterprise University was very timely. First published in 2001, it was the first systematic study of the Australian system since the momentous Dawkins reforms ten years earlier. The book is grounded in case studies of most of the major Australian universities: the authors interviewed a large number of senior managers. They also have taken account of global trends and have prepared the book in the light of international research on the university as an institution. The authors contend that the modern university can be understood as an 'enterprise university', characterised by corporate-style executive leadership. In a hard-hitting conclusion they propose novel policies and directions for Australia's higher education system.
Since 1981, AIDS has had an enormous impact upon the popular imagination. Few other diseases this century have been greeted with quite the same fear, loathing, and prejudice against those who develop it. The mass media, and in particular, the news media, have played a vital part in "making sense" of AIDS. This volume takes an interdisciplinary perspective, combining cultural studies, history of medicine, and contemporary social theory to examine AIDS reporting. There have been three major themes dominating coverage: the "gay-plague" dominant in the early 1980s, panic-stricken visions of the end of the world as AIDS was said to pose a threat to everyone, in the late 1980s; and a growing routi...
An appealing and lively autobiography by one of Australia's most distinguished journalists, A Passionate Life will strike a chord with working women everywhere. An updated edition, now including an epilogue. Kerry Packer described her as a ‘dedicated and brilliant journalist who has achieved greatness in her industry very early and so quickly’ and ‘a jewel beyond price’. Cold Chisel wrote a song about her. Rupert Murdoch was so impressed by her talents, he asked her to be the editor-in-chief of both the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs – and in doing so, become the first woman ever to edit a major Australian metropolitan newspaper. In her extraordinary career, spanning over fifty years,...
‘An incredible testimony to the darkest hours of Australia’s queer history – and the organisation that helped change everything. A story of devastation, resistance and, ultimately, survival, every Australian should know.’ — Benjamin Law Fighting For Our Lives is the inspirational story of communities directly affected by the AIDS crisis. Against a harrowing backdrop of illness and death, fear and anger, hate and discrimination, they bravely took action. During the darkest years of the epidemic, marginalised communities – mostly gay men, sex workers and people who inject drugs – came together to form organisations that gave them a voice in the corridors of power. They built an u...
As recent statistics show, more than 100 million people on the planet have used MDMA. After cannabis, it is the second most used drug worldwide. Yet there are many misconceptions surrounding the drug, which have affected attempts to use it as a legitimate and highly effective therapeutic aid. Despite the enormous extent of its use, and abuse, MDMA produced neither a large number of medical complications nor social harm on a larger scale, and has very limited addictive potential. In The History of MDMA, Torsten Passie aims to explore a deeper and more differentiated understanding of MDMA and its history. He has conducted personal interviews with most of the people significant in the history o...
Cochlear Ltd, together with its university partner and many other collaborators, has returned hearing to over 160 000 people thanks to the development of its hearing implant. This book documents the human story behind that development. It delves into the commercial planning and implementation that led to the product’s success in an international, highly competitive market, and the human drama that was experienced in achieving it. Chapters are structured around the development of the science. Woven within that structure are the personal and business stories that have enabled successful outcomes in the relatively new age of biomedical engineering. The Cochlear Story aims to put this Australian development on the world map in recognition of Australian medicine, science, technology and business. New from CSIRO PUBLISHING, the Bright Ideas series explores the innovation, application and continuing impact of major scientific inventions throughout history. From the compass to the bionic ear, each book will provide a fascinating and accessible story on a single invention that has changed our everyday lives.
HIV and AIDS devastated communities across Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. In the midst of this profound health crisis, nurses provided crucial care to those living with and dying from the virus. They negotiated homophobia and complex family dynamics as well as defending the rights of their patients. Bringing together stories from across the country, historian Geraldine Fela documents the extraordinary care, compassion and solidarity shown by HIV and AIDS nurses. Critical Care unearths the important and unexamined history of nurses and nursing unions as caregivers and political agents who helped shape Australia’s response to HIV and AIDS. ‘Drawing on the frontline experience of nurses,...