Religious clerics, medical authorities, and sexuality in Islamic interpretations of reproductive health technologies in Egypt. Taking reproductive health in Egypt as a case study, this research investigates how religious and secular authorities interact to shape access to and availability of medical technologies. The resulting ethnography and research articles will broaden international understandings of the relationship between Islam, sexuality, and modernity.
State-building from the perspective of local communities. Notions of society and state originating in Christian belief are universal in the Pacific yet remain largely unaccounted for in development work and theories of state-building. Using the Solomon Islands as a case study, this project seeks to address the question of how people living in so-called "failed states" think about the nature of the state, the sources of its shortcomings and the possibilities of alternative state forms. The projec ....State-building from the perspective of local communities. Notions of society and state originating in Christian belief are universal in the Pacific yet remain largely unaccounted for in development work and theories of state-building. Using the Solomon Islands as a case study, this project seeks to address the question of how people living in so-called "failed states" think about the nature of the state, the sources of its shortcomings and the possibilities of alternative state forms. The project is expected to advance theoretical understanding of state-building and provide evidence for the importance of integrating local belief contexts into international development practice.Read moreRead less
Cultural competence in supporting Cambodians recovering from conflict. This project will (1) reduce the impact of conflict for the next generation, a key to a healthy start to life and ageing well (2) guide interventions in regional settings (3) inform guidelines for refugee programs in Australia (4) highlight culture as redressing weakened traditional support structures of survivors of war in Australia and the region, supporting the Government's welfare reform and participation agendas (5) equi ....Cultural competence in supporting Cambodians recovering from conflict. This project will (1) reduce the impact of conflict for the next generation, a key to a healthy start to life and ageing well (2) guide interventions in regional settings (3) inform guidelines for refugee programs in Australia (4) highlight culture as redressing weakened traditional support structures of survivors of war in Australia and the region, supporting the Government's welfare reform and participation agendas (5) equip Australia to understand insecurities of globalisation and what survivors of war can be driven to do - unless their culture is used as an asset rather than a source of terror (6) enhance Australia's capacity to engage with its cultural environment (7) enhance capacity for AusAID to interpret itself to the rest of the world.Read moreRead less
The Professions, Human Rights, and the State: law and medicine in the transition from repression to democracy. This study contributes to an ?anthropology of democracy? examining the processes of political transition beyond the state. It investigates the role of the health and legal professions with regard to human rights abuses occurring during and after state repression taking the cases of Argentina and South Africa. It explores the way the legal and health professions extend human rights thro ....The Professions, Human Rights, and the State: law and medicine in the transition from repression to democracy. This study contributes to an ?anthropology of democracy? examining the processes of political transition beyond the state. It investigates the role of the health and legal professions with regard to human rights abuses occurring during and after state repression taking the cases of Argentina and South Africa. It explores the way the legal and health professions extend human rights through their respective ethical responsibilities thereby enhancing citizenship in the post-transition period. It will provide important insights into the roles professions play in mediating between civil society and the state in a transnational context.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
Transnational seafood commodity chains and the coastal poor in the maritime frontiers of the Asia-Pacific. This research aims to understand the social mechanisms by which access to the benefits of transnational seafood commodity chains in the Asia-Pacific are gained, maintained and controlled. This project will use a conceptual framework that focuses on key social relations of gender, class and ethnicity, and the key societal changes of land-use change, migration and conservation. This project o ....Transnational seafood commodity chains and the coastal poor in the maritime frontiers of the Asia-Pacific. This research aims to understand the social mechanisms by which access to the benefits of transnational seafood commodity chains in the Asia-Pacific are gained, maintained and controlled. This project will use a conceptual framework that focuses on key social relations of gender, class and ethnicity, and the key societal changes of land-use change, migration and conservation. This project offers a novel research framework for a pressing cluster of economic, environmental and social challenges in the Asia-Pacific, and will inform research and policy for poverty reduction, economic development, environmental management and food security. Read moreRead less
Governing the blue economy in maritime Asia-Pacific. This project aims to examine the drivers, character and effects of Blue Economy governance, a highly influential agenda intended to reconcile economic growth with ocean conservation. Analysis of Blue Economy governance in China and the Philippines seeks to reveal how this agenda is represented, contested and implemented at regional, national and local scales. Expected outcomes include new knowledge concerning the influence and impacts of marit ....Governing the blue economy in maritime Asia-Pacific. This project aims to examine the drivers, character and effects of Blue Economy governance, a highly influential agenda intended to reconcile economic growth with ocean conservation. Analysis of Blue Economy governance in China and the Philippines seeks to reveal how this agenda is represented, contested and implemented at regional, national and local scales. Expected outcomes include new knowledge concerning the influence and impacts of maritime governance in the region. This project has the potential to inform more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable governance outcomes.Read moreRead less
Muslims and Christians: Women, Religious Nationalism and Sustainability in the Asia Pacific Region. This project should provide agencies concerned with national security and immigration with an improved understanding of the impact of religious nationalism on communities and individuals. It should contribute to the effectiveness of Australian overseas aid initiatives, both government and voluntary, by increasing the available knowledge of how communities are sustaining themselves at present. It s ....Muslims and Christians: Women, Religious Nationalism and Sustainability in the Asia Pacific Region. This project should provide agencies concerned with national security and immigration with an improved understanding of the impact of religious nationalism on communities and individuals. It should contribute to the effectiveness of Australian overseas aid initiatives, both government and voluntary, by increasing the available knowledge of how communities are sustaining themselves at present. It should, further, produce findings that make it easier for health, education and welfare agencies to deal sensitively with Muslim communities within AustraliaRead moreRead less
The Western Nation-State, Cultural Pluralism and the Transnational Circulation of Political Emotions in the Shi'a Lebanese Diaspora. At its most general level, this research aims to expose and explain the importance of emotions in the formation of all cultures. In so doing it opens the way for a more complex understanding of some of the invisible but important forces that shape intercultural relations within culturally plural nations. It will thus open the possibilities for ameliorating and refi ....The Western Nation-State, Cultural Pluralism and the Transnational Circulation of Political Emotions in the Shi'a Lebanese Diaspora. At its most general level, this research aims to expose and explain the importance of emotions in the formation of all cultures. In so doing it opens the way for a more complex understanding of some of the invisible but important forces that shape intercultural relations within culturally plural nations. It will thus open the possibilities for ameliorating and refining government policies concerned with the management of pluralism. At a more particular level, the research hopes to produce critical knowledge about diasporic Arab Muslim cultures that will ameliorate the thorny relations these cultures have today with western governments.Read moreRead less
The Moral and Cultural Economy of Mobile Phones in the Pacific. Over the last decade, developing countries have experienced a digital revolution through the medium of the mobile phone. Basic handsets are now used for personal communication, social connection, internet access, electronic banking and money transfers. Through a comparative study of mobile telecommunications markets in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, this research will provide fresh insight into a transformative moment by examining how c ....The Moral and Cultural Economy of Mobile Phones in the Pacific. Over the last decade, developing countries have experienced a digital revolution through the medium of the mobile phone. Basic handsets are now used for personal communication, social connection, internet access, electronic banking and money transfers. Through a comparative study of mobile telecommunications markets in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, this research will provide fresh insight into a transformative moment by examining how companies, consumers and state actors shape the moral and cultural dimensions of economic life. The research will historically and ethnographically document the broad social consequences of new digital technologies in the Pacific region.Read moreRead less