Nature, culture and belonging in urban landscapes: an anthropological investigation into environmental beliefs, values and practices in Perth, Western Australia. This project explores contesting attitudes towards native and introduced plant and animal species in an urban Australian setting. It will document complex beliefs, values and practices associated with gardens, parks and pet-keeping in Perth, Western Australia, in order to investigate urban conceptions of what 'belongs' in local living e ....Nature, culture and belonging in urban landscapes: an anthropological investigation into environmental beliefs, values and practices in Perth, Western Australia. This project explores contesting attitudes towards native and introduced plant and animal species in an urban Australian setting. It will document complex beliefs, values and practices associated with gardens, parks and pet-keeping in Perth, Western Australia, in order to investigate urban conceptions of what 'belongs' in local living environments. Building on previous research in rural locations, the study will address links between urban environmental attitudes, and citizens' diverse senses of personal and cultural identity. The project will contribute to an emergent anthropological approach to the study of Australian society and promises outcomes of both academic and practical significance.Read moreRead less
Estimating Time Since Death: Application of Radionuclide Technology. This study will
- advance the knowledge base and expertise of Australian anthropologists and forensic scientists through the development of an accurate method for determining time since death from skeletal remains
- directly assist police and forensic forces in their fight against crime, which is fundamental in ensuring the national security of Australia
- promote Australia as a leader in the design of new evidence-bas ....Estimating Time Since Death: Application of Radionuclide Technology. This study will
- advance the knowledge base and expertise of Australian anthropologists and forensic scientists through the development of an accurate method for determining time since death from skeletal remains
- directly assist police and forensic forces in their fight against crime, which is fundamental in ensuring the national security of Australia
- promote Australia as a leader in the design of new evidence-based forensic methods
- raise the profile of Australian scientists in international investigations involving skeletal remains (e.g. Bali bombing, Boxing Day Tsunami, Human Rights Issues)
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Social, economic and health vulnerabilities in Indonesia. This project aims to study and provide ways to overcome vulnerability in Indonesia. Half the Indonesian population is still clustered around the poverty line, contributing to their vulnerability. This project will identify vulnerable groups and why they are vulnerable. Using a common framework of the life course in eight Indonesian field sites, this project will investigate whether social networks and welfare programs reduce vulnerability ....Social, economic and health vulnerabilities in Indonesia. This project aims to study and provide ways to overcome vulnerability in Indonesia. Half the Indonesian population is still clustered around the poverty line, contributing to their vulnerability. This project will identify vulnerable groups and why they are vulnerable. Using a common framework of the life course in eight Indonesian field sites, this project will investigate whether social networks and welfare programs reduce vulnerability, and pinpoint strategies for reducing vulnerabilities in the future. The project expects to show how vulnerable citizens in Indonesia can be made more secure, helping to build a more stable and prosperous region.Read moreRead less
Italians in Western Australia: A cultural history and archive of migrants and migration. This project brings together the interdisciplinary skills and international reputations of experts on Italian migration, peak State Government institutions and international and local Italian communities and institutions to redress a significant absence in the study of Western Australian Italian migration. An accessible history and archive of the Italian presence in WA urban, rural and transnational contexts ....Italians in Western Australia: A cultural history and archive of migrants and migration. This project brings together the interdisciplinary skills and international reputations of experts on Italian migration, peak State Government institutions and international and local Italian communities and institutions to redress a significant absence in the study of Western Australian Italian migration. An accessible history and archive of the Italian presence in WA urban, rural and transnational contexts will be produced. An exhibition will display this heritage to audiences across the State. Fine-grained historical research will provide valuable ethnographic evidence to inform pressing intellectual debates regarding migration, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism and transnationalism.Read moreRead less
Emerging transformations in the representation, transmission, and uses of Indigenous and artistic knowledge. This project will investigate the value of old and new knowledge making practices in our contemporary world. It will look at both Indigenous, and artistic knowledge processes, and the possibilities of new digital technologies to enhance their accessibility, transfer, and use.
Inequality, Identity and Future Discounting: A Comparative Ethnographic Approach to Social Trauma in Aboriginal Australian Communities. Via fieldwork in Aboriginal communities, this study examines the extent to which psychosocial processes of identity serve as a mechanism whereby social inequality becomes personal and community disadvantage. We focus on Aboriginal perspectives, their experiences and accounts of social traumas. The study's significance lies in the persistence of differentially hi ....Inequality, Identity and Future Discounting: A Comparative Ethnographic Approach to Social Trauma in Aboriginal Australian Communities. Via fieldwork in Aboriginal communities, this study examines the extent to which psychosocial processes of identity serve as a mechanism whereby social inequality becomes personal and community disadvantage. We focus on Aboriginal perspectives, their experiences and accounts of social traumas. The study's significance lies in the persistence of differentially high negative social indicators in Aboriginal communities. Its originality lies in conceptualizations of future discounting as a dimension of identity and of identity as a process critical to well-being. Outcomes include further understanding of the relationship between inequality,identity and well-being.Read moreRead less
Revitalisation Movements in Contemporary Indonesia: Nativist Reworkings of Custom and Religion in Reaction to Decentralisation, Islamisation and Globalisation. Australia needs to understand the ethno-cultural diversity of its neighbour Indonesia to appreciate the wider pluralist context in which political Islam, including the terrorist fringe (e.g. JI), operates. Understanding of emergent social movements among Indonesian minorities highlights the constraints upon political Islam and divergent p ....Revitalisation Movements in Contemporary Indonesia: Nativist Reworkings of Custom and Religion in Reaction to Decentralisation, Islamisation and Globalisation. Australia needs to understand the ethno-cultural diversity of its neighbour Indonesia to appreciate the wider pluralist context in which political Islam, including the terrorist fringe (e.g. JI), operates. Understanding of emergent social movements among Indonesian minorities highlights the constraints upon political Islam and divergent pressures upon Indonesian national integrity, crucial issues for formulating foreign policy. It also provides comparative understanding of Indonesian movements parallel to those harnessing Indigenous and migrant aspirations in Australia, which is central to domestic policies insuring minority rights in a multiculturalist framework.Read moreRead less
Australian Western Desert Kinship and Land Tenure Systems. The project aims to investigate the relationship between kinship and land tenure in Aboriginal Australia in the region between the NT/WA-border and Wiluna and Kalgoorlie following three aspects of group identification and differentiation.
Formal aspects: investigation of kinship terminologies and land tenure systems among the various groups; analysis of the semantic shifts of terms in space according to the diffusion of social categorie ....Australian Western Desert Kinship and Land Tenure Systems. The project aims to investigate the relationship between kinship and land tenure in Aboriginal Australia in the region between the NT/WA-border and Wiluna and Kalgoorlie following three aspects of group identification and differentiation.
Formal aspects: investigation of kinship terminologies and land tenure systems among the various groups; analysis of the semantic shifts of terms in space according to the diffusion of social categories. Pragmatic aspects: analysis of alliance strategies and kin-network in relation to places of birth and ?regional group? membership. Dynamic aspects: examination of the impact of migration and settlement on terminologies, alliance strategies, and land tenure systems.Read moreRead less
The Illustrated Literature of Papunya and Strelley, 1979-1998. Literature Production Centres at Papunya and Strelley (WA) published hundreds of illustrated books during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. They tell stories of the first contact, the Dreaming, bush plants, animals and life on pastoral stations, missions, government settlements and communities. This project will trace the histories of two key centres and the communities in which they were and are embedded, their authors and illustrators, t ....The Illustrated Literature of Papunya and Strelley, 1979-1998. Literature Production Centres at Papunya and Strelley (WA) published hundreds of illustrated books during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. They tell stories of the first contact, the Dreaming, bush plants, animals and life on pastoral stations, missions, government settlements and communities. This project will trace the histories of two key centres and the communities in which they were and are embedded, their authors and illustrators, to build a dynamic picture of Indigenous Australia that contributes another dimension to the history of art and literature in Australia. It will produce scholarly papers, a monograph and an exhibition that brings this story to the Australian public.Read moreRead less
The African Diaspora and Pentecostalism in Australia. This project aims to investigate the new African Diaspora in Australia and its embrace of Pentecostalism. The African community in Australia has often been associated with poor settlement outcomes, and has also been subject to racialised moral panic regarding so-called ‘African gangs.’ This project will use new methods to understand the role of Pentecostal translocal and transnational networks in supporting African communities to overcome the ....The African Diaspora and Pentecostalism in Australia. This project aims to investigate the new African Diaspora in Australia and its embrace of Pentecostalism. The African community in Australia has often been associated with poor settlement outcomes, and has also been subject to racialised moral panic regarding so-called ‘African gangs.’ This project will use new methods to understand the role of Pentecostal translocal and transnational networks in supporting African communities to overcome the challenges of settlement. The project expects to contribute to policy efforts to improve outcomes for new African arrivals in Australia.Read moreRead less