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About Blog Central
Blog Central is a space for RMIT academics and senior staff to blog about their areas of expertise and interests.
The views and opinions expressed by the authors on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of RMIT University.
All are welcome to contribute. If you're interested in blogging, please contact Zoë Kleeborn from University Communications.
Category Archives: Social Justice
Bangladesh disaster shows why we must urgently clean up global sweat shops
The disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka which has killed hundreds of ill-fated garment workers and wounded thousands, has finally shone some well-needed light into the murky business of global sweatshops. Greed, profiteering, empire-building and a lack of transparency and morality underpin the rise of this industry. Following the collapse of Rana Plaza [...]
Also posted in Business, Sustainability Tagged bangladesh, building, collapse, economy, fashion, society, sweatshop Leave a comment
Conferring to change the world
Recently I took part in the incredible experience that is Harvard WorldMUN. I came across the application while browsing the RMIT News feed and had no real idea of what it involved, but decided to jump in to try something new. WorldMUN is an annual event, bringing together more than 2,000 university students from more [...]
Also posted in Education, Law, Politics Tagged experience, harvard, Melbourne, model, RMIT, students, UN, United Nations, worldMUN, youth Leave a comment
Witnesses are forgetting clues to the Boston bombings … quickly
Memories, we know, are fallible, and in the case of acts such as this week’s horrific bombings in Boston, this presents particular problems. How can those charged with gathering eyewitness accounts – and those charged with giving them – be sure of what they’re hearing and saying? In a couple of words, they can’t. Last [...]
Out with God’s rottweiler: the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
“There is not, and there never was on this earth, a work of human policy so well deserving examination as the Roman Catholic Church.” So wrote Thomas Babington Macaulay in his review of Leopold von Ranke’s mammoth The Ecclesiastical and Political History of the Popes of Rome, during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1840). Such [...]
Posted in Social Justice Tagged catholic church, Pope Benedict XVI, religion, resignation, victims of abuse Comments closed
The lust that dare not speak its name
There are few things more disturbing for many people than human-animal sex. I can still recall the shocked face of a woman in the university cafeteria after reading a paper on zoophilia at the Minding Animals conference in Utrecht in 2012. I asked her if she was all right. “Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear that,” [...]
Also posted in Education, Research, Writing Tagged beastiality, biotechnology, German parliament, Minding Animals Conference, research, writing, Zoophilia Comments closed
Israel, Gaza and the tragic justifications for war
Gaza, ostracised, enclosed and pummelled, is being levelled – again. Israel’s case against Hamas, expressed both via air strikes and a social media war, is one of self-defence. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter affirms that right, one accepted in customary international law. But the comments of the Israeli minister Operation Pillar of Defence [...]
Also posted in Media & Communications, Politics, Social Media Tagged gaza, Israel, the west bank, war Comments closed
Should academics eat their subject matter?
Throughout history we have used animals; slaughtered them, skinned them, eaten them and loved them as companions. We have put them to work for us, confined them to make their meat production more profitable, altered their appearance to suit us and wept with grief when those close to us in the animal world have died. [...]
Also posted in Sustainability, Writing Tagged animals, Minding Animals Conference, understanding animals, vegan, vegetarian Comments closed
Convergence Review: tame cat Press Council gets playmate
It should be easy for the Gillard Government to accept the
Also posted in Media & Communications, Politics, Technology Tagged ABC, Crickey, ethics, Fairfax, Global Mail, journalism, Mammamia.com, media, new media, NewsCorp, Press Council, traditional media Comments closed
Tackling youth homelessness: have we got the right approach?
Since the late 1980s significant resources have been dedicated to addressing the problem of youth homelessness. While the core strategy was initially focused on early intervention, the emphasis has moved towards addressing chronic homelessness. As we mark Youth Homelessness Matters Day today, it is timely to consider the impact of this policy shift on the [...]
Also posted in Politics Tagged ABS, Australian Bureau of Statistics, early intervention, homeless youth, homelessness, Youth Homeslessness Matters Day Comments closed
Savage remarks cut deeply: The Eddie McGuire Fallout