Abstract :
Relationships Interest Group, welcomes you to our 6th Annual Conference. The Annual Conference is one of the main activities of the Interest Group - expert Keynote speakers, challenging and interesting presentations of research and practice, and enjoyable socialising with colleagues. We, in the Interest Group are a “broad church” - we do not constrain what the referent is for “relationships”. The Conference is an excellent opportunity to meet with colleagues who share similar interests and provides an ideal venue for students accompanied by their supervisor, to present their work in a climate that, while not threatening, can be quite challenging. Our aim for this year’s conference was to provide a forum for current research, case studies, and theoretical papers but with an emphasis on Relationships Near and Far. The distance may be geographical or psychological. We are involved in a multiplicity of relationships. Many of our relationships are extremely positive and bring us our greatest joys; some are not as successful and bring us our tears and our sorrows. The media continually puts before us the interactions and outcomes of relationships between various individuals but especially the outcomes of relationships gone wrong between groups in our society as well as between nations; hence our Conference theme for this year. We have been successful in selecting, through a refereed process, a diversity of papers for presentation. The presentations include international authors – Poland, the UK, Canada and the USA, in addition to the usual coverage from throughout Australia. This year we are honoured to have Julie Fitness from Macquarie University, and Garth Fletcher from Canterbury University in Christchurch, NZ present Keynote addresses. Finally, let me thank you the participants for your attendance at our 6th Annual Conference. It is your participation and attendance that enables the Interest Group to meet some of the needs of its members as well as provide an excellent opportunity for those with an interest in the development of our own research, practice, and personal relationships
