Exploring the myth of the single solution: an anthropological study of housing maintenance and infrastructure issues in Australia. Indigenous housing is a core challenge for improving Australia's social and economic fabric. Urgent issues of amenity, maintenance and responsibility remain unresolved. By documenting what is involved in taking a difficult yet successful intervention model for targeting small-scale repairs and maintenance to scale in Australia, the research will shed critical light o ....Exploring the myth of the single solution: an anthropological study of housing maintenance and infrastructure issues in Australia. Indigenous housing is a core challenge for improving Australia's social and economic fabric. Urgent issues of amenity, maintenance and responsibility remain unresolved. By documenting what is involved in taking a difficult yet successful intervention model for targeting small-scale repairs and maintenance to scale in Australia, the research will shed critical light on: the complexities of program replication and effect; the social and political context such programs operate within; the characteristics required for sustained reform. It will also add an Australian contribution to a growing international field: namely, the anthropology of policy, aid and development. Read moreRead less
Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: A comparative analysis. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to bring together anthropologists, educationlists, museum curators and Indigenous communities to research ways of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into school and museum education programs. The project uses the expertise of the partners to analyse the process of inclusion from the perspective of cross-cultural discourse. The research will enable complex conceptual and ethical issues t ....Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: A comparative analysis. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to bring together anthropologists, educationlists, museum curators and Indigenous communities to research ways of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into school and museum education programs. The project uses the expertise of the partners to analyse the process of inclusion from the perspective of cross-cultural discourse. The research will enable complex conceptual and ethical issues to be addressed that will enable an extended and productive exchange between Indigenous communities and the general educational sector. The outcomes will include refereed publications and works in new media.Read moreRead less
God, Blood, Country: An Ethnographic Study of Christian Institutions and Political Processes in Fiji. This Discovery project addresses the Australian government's commitments to law and justice in the Pacific by seeking to understand Christian institutions' roles in national political processes, focusing specifically on Fiji. Understanding the ways that citizens of the region see links between religious and political authority is a vital first step toward understanding present conflicts and pot ....God, Blood, Country: An Ethnographic Study of Christian Institutions and Political Processes in Fiji. This Discovery project addresses the Australian government's commitments to law and justice in the Pacific by seeking to understand Christian institutions' roles in national political processes, focusing specifically on Fiji. Understanding the ways that citizens of the region see links between religious and political authority is a vital first step toward understanding present conflicts and potential means of securing peace.Read moreRead less
Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including trans ....Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including transmission of culture and creation of identity.
This interdisciplinary project argues that historicism - an exclusive temporal emphasis - can not capture the fundamental relationship between spaces and social processes that shapes contemporary cultural and social complexity in South Asia.
Read moreRead less
Chanted tales from Highland New Guinea: a comparative study of oral performance traditions and their role in contemporary land politics. In parts of Highland PNG there are flourishing traditions of epic-like chanted tales. Often dealing with relationships between people and land, these are a highly valued cultural resource. From the perspective of comparative poetics they are one of the clearest known examples of measured verse that has developed independently of alphabetic or syllabic writing. ....Chanted tales from Highland New Guinea: a comparative study of oral performance traditions and their role in contemporary land politics. In parts of Highland PNG there are flourishing traditions of epic-like chanted tales. Often dealing with relationships between people and land, these are a highly valued cultural resource. From the perspective of comparative poetics they are one of the clearest known examples of measured verse that has developed independently of alphabetic or syllabic writing. This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of investigators to analyse the wide range of styles in which these narratives are performed, and further the understanding of their implications for cross-cultural study of verbal art and the politics of land ownership in present-day Papua New Guinea.Read moreRead less
Immigration and parenting among Cambodian and Iraqi women in Australia. Immigration will continue to contribute to Australia's social, cultural and economic fabric. By provide immigrant women with the opportunity to articulate their lived experiences as immigrants and mothers, this study will contribute to our understanding of ways to enhance their social inclusion and resilience. By identifying ways to support newly settled women and their families, the study will contribute to policies and pro ....Immigration and parenting among Cambodian and Iraqi women in Australia. Immigration will continue to contribute to Australia's social, cultural and economic fabric. By provide immigrant women with the opportunity to articulate their lived experiences as immigrants and mothers, this study will contribute to our understanding of ways to enhance their social inclusion and resilience. By identifying ways to support newly settled women and their families, the study will contribute to policies and programs, ensuring a healthy start to life for their children and promoting and maintaining their health, with economic and social benefits to Australia as a whole.Read moreRead less
Local responses to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the logging concessions in the Western Province, PNG. This research takes place in the logging concessions of the Western Province of PNG - a province that borders Australia. Our project will investigate some factors influencing people's sexual behaviour in the logging concessions. Because of their capacity to attract migrant labour these logging concessions are potential 'hot-spots' for the transmission of HIV/AIDS throughout PNG and towards Australi ....Local responses to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the logging concessions in the Western Province, PNG. This research takes place in the logging concessions of the Western Province of PNG - a province that borders Australia. Our project will investigate some factors influencing people's sexual behaviour in the logging concessions. Because of their capacity to attract migrant labour these logging concessions are potential 'hot-spots' for the transmission of HIV/AIDS throughout PNG and towards Australia. From our findings we will develop a community based risk-reduction intervention strategy that will help slow the spread of infections into the Western Province and Australia.Read moreRead less
Isolation, Insularity and Change in Island Populations - an Interdisciplinary Study of Aboriginal Cultural Patterns in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The project's national benefits centre on its contribution to safeguarding Australia and to an environmentally sustainable Australia. The participation of northern Indigenous people is critical to border protection policies and procedures. This project will help revitalise the Carpentaria Land Council's Aboriginal Rangers scheme, which has a potential ro ....Isolation, Insularity and Change in Island Populations - an Interdisciplinary Study of Aboriginal Cultural Patterns in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The project's national benefits centre on its contribution to safeguarding Australia and to an environmentally sustainable Australia. The participation of northern Indigenous people is critical to border protection policies and procedures. This project will help revitalise the Carpentaria Land Council's Aboriginal Rangers scheme, which has a potential role in safeguarding the nation's northern approaches, including combating feral plant and animal importation, Coastwatch surveillance and marine habitat protection. The geological research on sea level and climatic history in the Gulf of Carpentaria and associated coastal geomorphological impacts will contribute to predictive models on global warming and its consequences (sea-level rise).Read moreRead less
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
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0239285
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$15,000.00
Summary
Aboriginal art history and tradition in the West Kimberley region, Western Australia: Representations and constructions of place, space and identity. There is a paucity of research on the topic of Aboriginal art history in the West Kimberley coast. This project aims to investigate how Aboriginal art styles have been influenced by European settlement and ideas during the last century in this region. The chief investigator will survey the historical record, examine collections of material cultura ....Aboriginal art history and tradition in the West Kimberley region, Western Australia: Representations and constructions of place, space and identity. There is a paucity of research on the topic of Aboriginal art history in the West Kimberley coast. This project aims to investigate how Aboriginal art styles have been influenced by European settlement and ideas during the last century in this region. The chief investigator will survey the historical record, examine collections of material cultural objects and the artworks held in Australian museums, and conduct fieldwork in the region. The project will result in the first comprehensive account of the art traditions in Aboriginal Communities of the area with anticipated outcomes of field reports, journal publications and a PhD thesis.Read moreRead less