Unsettling Narratives: Overcoming Prejudices in the Hostel Stories Project

ABSTRACT

In 1988, Jock Collins boldly suggested that Australia’s earlier migrant arrivals, the subject of prejudice themselves, often become the perpetrators of prejudice. Indeed, as we collect oral histories from post-war migrants, we are regularly confronted with angry statements such as “asylum seekers are just let in and given everything”. What lies at the heart of this phenomenon? Clearly, prejudice and stereotyping exists in all societies but seems to be particularly evident in societies where an ongoing flow of migrants continues to change and alter the ethnic and racial mix. This article reflects upon research conducted in the Hostel Stories project, where we frequently were confronted with stereotyped, prejudicial, and even racist comments about other migrants and refugees during interviews with migrants. These statements made us ask whether Collins was correct in his observations. Drawing on the literature from various disciplines, we consider various influences on migrant attitudes towards other migrants. We propose that it is critical to continue to progress beyond the conventional topics explored in migration studies and ask difficult questions in order to contribute to a growing global discussion on ethnicity and intergroup relations, especially in relation to prejudice and racism.     

Forensic examination of security features of the CDC-issued COVID-19 vaccination card and suggested improvements to minimize counterfeiting

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States released the CDC-issued vaccination card to document the status of immunizations. It eventually was used as a verification system to allow patrons to safely access public venues. This is/was apparently a simple printed piece of paper with minimal security features which made it an easy target for counterfeiters with little expertise required. Those unvaccinated who wished to enter areas that required proof of the COVID-19 vaccine were soon finding alternative illegal methods to do so which led to public health concerns. This research was divided into two parts. Part A aimed to forensically identify the security features with a video spectral comparator and a stereomicroscope. Ten “known” blank cards were collected directly from dispensaries that administered the vaccine and 68 “unknowns” from individuals who received the COVID-19 vaccine. Part B aimed to evaluate the authentication systems employed by countries outside the United States to propose a model on how the vaccination card could be improved and what security features should be included for future instances requiring proof of immunization. The results revealed the CDC document was produced with minimal security features making the document prone to counterfeiting. Furthermore, based on the information collected from other countries' vaccination certificates, it is recommended to develop a dual authentication system, with digital and printable aspects, that contains a QR code linked to a database. Other security features may include a non-optical brightener substrate, security fibers, a watermarked logo, offset printing, and a geographical color-coded system.     

(Re)inventing African oral traditions and national heritage(s) through film images: The case of Keita! The Heritage of the Griot [1995] and Kare Kare Zvako: Mother's Day [2004]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to explore how African films such as Keita! The Heritage of the Griot and Kare Kare Zvako: Mother's Day reinvent oral traditions on-screen, so that the traditions are revitalised and given new life in a contemporary world where visual and literary narratives have tended to dominate the collection and dissemination of information. The ontological and cosmological dimensions of African oral traditions provide the cultural humus that continues to feed the narrative structures of most African films. It is argued that the films' conscious refusal to be totally submerged in European modernism or their capacity to merge some traditional aspects with modern values is what constructs the multiple subjectivities that most African filmmakers strive to bring out. By using oral narrative structures embedded in songs, storytelling, myths, legends, poems, riddles, anecdotes and proverbs, the selected African films recreate traditions and heritage; they help to preserve African values that face a Western onslaught, promoted through European languages. Oral narratives carry a freight of cultural meanings infused in different modes of expression, while articulating the philosophies and beliefs of African people. It is important to recognise and [re]discover the critical role played by oral narratives in order to understand the epistemologies and ontologies that inform the construction of African films. A study of this nature is critical in that it builds on the existing indigenous knowledge systems embedded in orature (oral literature) that remain threatened by European cultural imperialism, which is promoted through the Hollywood film paradigm.     

Memories of ethnic cleansing and the local Iron Curtain in the Czech–German borderlands

The Czech–German borderlands are an archetypal European border region. They evoke not only Cold War histories, but also shelter layers of European memories of the ethnic reshaping of early post-war Europe. By means of life story interviews with German speakers of the border region, this article analyzes the symbolic meaning of and the individual dealing with the local Iron Curtain. It will shed light on the biographical and narrative interconnectedness of experiences of ethnic cleansing in the early post-war period and retrospective perceptions of the Iron Curtain in these borderlands. In particular, it inquires whether and to what extent the local Iron Curtain intensified fractures caused by the region's post-and pre-war attempts to halt the multiethnic composition of the border communities. The article suggests that the local Czech–German Iron Curtain would have never endured as strongly if the border communities' common identity had not already been severely damaged in the course of the region's traumatic history and forced population transfers.     

大学英语课堂口语学习环境的感知及其与口语自我效能感相关性研究

本文通过调查我校学生对大学英语课堂口语学习环境的感知及其与口语自我效能感的关系,结果发现：（1） 多数学生对口语学习环境各维度认知较积极;（2） 学生对于口语学习环境的感知在性别和口语流利程度层面上存在显著性差异;（3） 口语学习环境的六个维度与口语自我效能感呈显著正相关,其中课堂参与和学生亲和是口语自我效能感的两个预测变量。由此提出对大学英语课堂教学的五点建议。     

大学英语教学改革的创新尝试——来自开展“英语寝室”活动的实践报告

"英语寝室活动与课堂教学互动"(Interaction between English Dormitory and Class-teaching)的改革创新,在实现多维互动教学模式、探索培养学生口语能力新途径的过程中迈出了坚实可喜的一步。本文将重点介绍这项改革的实施过程及取得的阶段性成果,并从第二语言习得理论和实践两方面阐述改革的重要意义,最后针对性地提出一些建议。     

应确立口供相对任意性的采证规则

口供作为法定证据中的一种,在诉讼中具有真伪两面性,真实的口供有利于查禁犯罪,而虚假的口供却极易诱发冤假错案。民主法制先进的国家在对待口供问题上都确立了一系列的可采性规则,其中主要是自白的任意性规则。在我国只应确立口供的相对任意性规则,这主要是基于我国的基本国情和刑事诉讼的任务,也是基于诉讼的价值平衡决定的。确立口供相对任意性的采信规则具有一定价值,有利于发现案件真实,提高办案质量,使诉讼更加人性化。但存在影响口供相对任意性采信规则的一些因素,所以要保障口供相对任意性规则的实施。     

生物检材中吗啡类生物碱的LC-MS／MS分析

目的针对滥用药物分析鉴定实践中亟待解决的问题,开展LC-MS/MS分析生物检材中吗啡类生物碱的应用研究。方法满足不同的鉴定需要,分别建立血液、尿液、唾液和头发等生物检材的样品前处理方法,确定同时分析海洛因、单乙酰吗啡、吗啡、可待因、乙酰可待因、二氢可待因酮和氢吗啡酮等吗啡类生物碱的LC-MS/MS方法。将方法应用于实际案例。结果所建立的方法对吗啡类生物碱分离良好。尿液稀释法、尿液提取法和头发中吗啡的最低检测限(LOD)分别为10ng/mL、0.01ng/mL和0.01ng/mg。结论所建立的方法简便、快速、特异性强、灵敏度高。目标物中加入二氢可待因酮和氢吗啡酮扩大了方法的实用范围。     

益肾蠲痛口服液治疗绝经后骨质疏松症临床观察

目的 观察益肾蠲痛口服液治疗肾阳虚型绝经后骨质疏松症（postmenopausal osteoporosis,PMOP）的临床疗效。方法 将120例肾阳虚型PMOP患者随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组60例。两组患者均口服钙尔奇,治疗组患者加服益肾蠲痛口服液,对照组患者加服骨康口服液,疗程均为12个月,随访24个月。治疗前后及随访时,分别采用视觉模拟评分法（visual analogue scale,VAS）评价腰背疼痛,采用双能X线检测骨密度（bone mineral density,BMD）;并观察两组中医证候疗效及脆性骨折发生情况。结果 治疗后,两组VAS评分均较治疗前显著降低（P<0.01）;腰椎、股骨颈、Ward三角BMD均较治疗前显著上升（P<0.01）;随访时,治疗组VAS下降值及腰椎（L2—4）、股骨颈、Ward三角BMD升高值均显著大于对照组（P<0.01）。两组中医证候疗效及脆性骨折复发率比较,差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论 益肾蠲痛口服液可减轻PMOP患者腰背疼痛,提高BMD,改善中医症状,防止脆性骨折复发,在减轻腰背疼痛和提高BMD方面较对照药具有明显优势。     

公安英语口语语篇分析

公安英语口语主要是指公安人员在实施涉外管理中所用到的英语口语。按照公安人员接触外国人的类型把公安英语口语划分为两类,即公安人员接触非违法外国人时所用的口语和公安人员接触违法外国人时所用的口语。在衔接手段、主位推进模式和语域一致三个方面,这两类公安英语口语语篇有其特点和规律,公安院校提高英语口语教学质量和在职外事公安人员英语口语能力时必须注意这些特点和规律。