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Jan Zwar

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Janiece Zwar Macquarie Research Student
  • Title: Ms
  • Position: PhD Student - Department of Economics
  • Unit Name: MKTG101: Marketing Fundamentals

Contact Details

Education

  • PhD: (Macquarie University)
  • Master of International Relations: (Macquarie University)
  • Graduate Diploma in Communications: (University of Canberra)
  • Graduate Diploma in Administrative Studies: (Monash University)

Publications

journal toggle icon open Refereed Journal Articles

conference toggle icon open Conferences and Presentations

  • August 2010 - ‘The Role of Books in Public Debate in Australia, Independent and Multinational Publishers and Cultural Policy’, The 6th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research,  University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • August 2010 - ‘The Role of Books in Public Debate in Australia 2002-2007 and their Readers’, The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading & Publishing 2010 Conference, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • July 2010 - ‘Using Nielsen BookScan data in Australian book history research: a case study’, Association for the Study of Australasian Literature, UNSW
  • January 2010 - ‘The popularity of narrative non-fiction critiques in Australia during the 2003-2007 Bush-Howard Years’, Reading Across the Pacific: US-Australian Intellectual Histories, A Symposium hosted by Australian Literature at the University of Sydney
  • July 2009 - ‘Cultural value and role of books in public debate in Australia in 2004’, Australasian Association for Literature, University of Sydney

Community engagement

  • 2004-Jan 2008 - St. John’s Child Care Centre
    (A licensed 44 place community Child Care Centre)
    Member of the Management Committee: Responsibilities include monitoring monthly financial reports and overseeing the management of the centre
  • 2006-2008 - Member, Project Team for ‘Did You Know?’
    A Department of Immigration and Citizenship-funded project for the Muslim Women’s National Network of Australia (MWNNA) to publish a progressive book about the rights of women in Islam and relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. I assisted in securing funding to publish 8,000 copies of the book for distribution to libraries, public schools, mosques and migrant resource centres in Australia. It was launched by Laurie Ferguson, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services.
  • 2005 - Sydney Film Festival
    This two week position involved hosting international guests including directors, film producers and actors. The SFF wanted to present a professional front to its international visitors, despite its modest budget.
  • 2004 - Journalism Education Initiative
    Developed and implemented a strategy for the MWNNA: ‘Building networks between journalism students and Australian Muslims’. 
    Supporting organisations included UTS, UWS, National Press Council representative, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Telegraph.

Student information

  • Load: PhD Student Full Time
  • Principal supervisor: Professor David Throsby
  • Associate supervisor: Doctor Jane Messer (Faculty of Arts)
  • Date of submission: 01/01/2011
  • Thesis title: Cultural value and books in public debate in Australia 2003-2008
  • Abstract:

    The years 2003-2008 were a time of heightened public debate in Australia. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks books which offered critiques of the Bush and Howard government policies and which questioned developments in international and domestic politics found interested readerships and one book publisher has recalled this as a distinct period of unusual Australian appetite for books about serious issues. Such books were amongst a range of narrative non-fiction works (eg, essay, biography, memoir, extended journalism) through which their authors sought to participate in civic debate. Surely, if books were to make a contemporary contribution to public debate, this timeframe would provide a compelling case study.

    This research analyses the Nielsen BookScan top 5000 non-fiction books from 2003-2008 in Australia, focusing on narrative nonfiction ‘reading patterns’ identified in the data. The research examines: reading patterns in relation to two major debates (about the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australia’s policies towards asylum seekers); the extent and popularity of overseas-authored and Australian books, including best-sellers and niche publications; and the roles of multinational and independent publishers. A related interest is to examine ways in which the books played into public debate in a contemporary model of books and the civic sphere. The results are considered in the context of the structure of the Australian publishing industry, theoretical work on Australian readerships, and the cultural value of this activity.