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EDITORIAL
| Two founders of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH) – Eric Fry and Bob (Robin) Gollan – passed away in October: Eric was a great mentor to me and many others. I remember what a gentle person he was and how he could deal calmly with any situation. He encouraged my interest in labour history and my activism in the Society. While I did not have such a strong personal connection with Bob, his publications had a major influence on my intellectual development. His book The Coalminers of New South Wales emphasised the importance of looking at capital as well as labour in understanding the history of the labour movement. Labour historians will miss these two men greatly and will always remember them. The May 2008 issue of Labour History will be dedicated to Eric and Bob and will contain reminiscences of their personal qualities and their many achievements. |
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Eric, Bob and their colleagues built a strong foundation for ASSLH and its journal, Labour History. This can be seen in the current push by the Federal Government to quantify academic research performance which has become a major preoccupation for Australian academics. The Research Quality Framework (RQF) tries to rank academic journals in terms of quality using measures such as the level of citations. Citation indexes pose problems for Australian journals and researchers who focus on Australian issues. Clearly a US journal which focuses on US issues will have a wider readership and higher citation rate than an Australian one. There are also dangers that the privileging of a small group of academic journals may strengthen orthodox ways of thinking and make it difficult for innovative and challenging ideas to develop. |
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Why is this important for Labour History? While Labour History has a wide base of subscribers, it has received substantial financial support from the Australian National University and The University of Sydney which has allowed the journal to maintain a high quality in terms of articles and format. Any challenge to its academic status could undermine both the quality and quantity of articles it receives and its continued financial support from the universities. |
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The early signs are that Labour History is weathering this storm. The journal has a longstanding reputation for quality articles and innovation. This has been recently recognised by Thomson ISI, the major citation listing, which has at last included Labour History in its coverage. The large readership of the journal on-line through the History Co-operative, particularly in the US, boosts the international impact of the journal. There is a strong online interest in issues such as Aboriginal labour, trade union organising, occupational health and safety and employer labour strategies.
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| This current issue of Labour History commemorates the centenary of the Harvester Judgement by publishing a thematic section exploring the value of the federal and state arbitration transcripts. While court witnesses may be coached, the transcripts provide great insights into wages, conditions and industrial relations tactics of both employers and unions. Mark Hearn edited the thematic section which includes eight articles, a report of on the holdings of the NSW State Archives and a commentary by Rae Frances. |
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This issue also contains three other refereed articles. Nathan Wise takes an innovative approach to traditional military history by looking at working-class attitudes to military service during the Great War. Many workers saw military service as a job, enlisting for employment, pay or the perceived benefits they would receive upon discharge. Nick Martin explores the under-examined Socialisation Units of the NSW Labor Party during the 1930s by focussing on the diaries of Clarrie Martin, a prominent activist in the Socialisation Unit. This article highlights the value of a biographical approach in investigating broader historical issues. Finally, Ann Jones reminds us of the international dimension of the Australian labour movement by examining the experiences of an Australian union delegation that went to Chile in March 1974 to investigate the conditions under the military junta following the coup that overthrew the Allende Socialist Government. |
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Complementing the major articles, we have our excellent book review section. Donna Dwyer contributes a report on the 10th National Labour History Conference, which was held in Melbourne from 4–6 July. The organisers of the conference should be congratulated for an outstanding job. The 11th National Labour Conference will be held in Perth in 2009. We also carry an obituary for the late Ted Wheelwright, who is best remembered for the development of political economy in Australia and his joint histories of the Australian working class with the late Ken Buckley. |
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