Indigenist Archaeology: New Ways of Knowing the Past and Present. This project aims to explore how Indigenous Australian worldviews can transform archaeological practice and understandings of the past. Archaeological research practice has typically relied on Western science, theories and interpretive frameworks. As an alternative approach, we will develop a new epistemological conceptualisation for how archaeology can be practiced. Based on surveys and interviews with six Aboriginal communities ....Indigenist Archaeology: New Ways of Knowing the Past and Present. This project aims to explore how Indigenous Australian worldviews can transform archaeological practice and understandings of the past. Archaeological research practice has typically relied on Western science, theories and interpretive frameworks. As an alternative approach, we will develop a new epistemological conceptualisation for how archaeology can be practiced. Based on surveys and interviews with six Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and using Indigenous theories and concepts, the project will identify and explore how Aboriginal ways of knowing (epistemology), being (ontology) and doing (axiology) can be integrated into a new model for archaeological research that we call “Indigenist Archaeology”.Read moreRead less
Oyster adaptation to climate change via transgenerational plasticity. We are in an age of rapid climate change, where the need to understand the adaptive potential of marine organisms in warmer, more acidified oceans is increasingly urgent. This is especially true in Australia where changes are significant. This project uses a cutting-edge, integrated interdisciplinary approach to measure the capacity of oysters to adapt and persist to climate change via transgenerational plasticity, describe th ....Oyster adaptation to climate change via transgenerational plasticity. We are in an age of rapid climate change, where the need to understand the adaptive potential of marine organisms in warmer, more acidified oceans is increasingly urgent. This is especially true in Australia where changes are significant. This project uses a cutting-edge, integrated interdisciplinary approach to measure the capacity of oysters to adapt and persist to climate change via transgenerational plasticity, describe the epigenetic mechanisms which underlie it and develop an immediate breeding method to protect vulnerable oysters and other marine organisms against climate change. The research outcomes will transform Indigenous-led oyster reef restoration projects and future-proof an iconic food source and national industry.Read moreRead less
Does larval environment dictate resilience in a changing ocean? . This project aims to investigate the impact of global environmental change on the survival of key marine and freshwater invertebrates. This project expects to generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary approach to understand the roles of diet and environment in invertebrate stress tolerance. Expected outcomes from this project include crucial insights into biological responses and extinction risk in a changing ocean. This s ....Does larval environment dictate resilience in a changing ocean? . This project aims to investigate the impact of global environmental change on the survival of key marine and freshwater invertebrates. This project expects to generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary approach to understand the roles of diet and environment in invertebrate stress tolerance. Expected outcomes from this project include crucial insights into biological responses and extinction risk in a changing ocean. This should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced capacity to safeguard natural populations and habitats crucial to Australian industries and integral to maintaining the links of Indigenous Australians with their lands.Read moreRead less
The basis of oyster resilience to global environmental change. This project aims to investigate the impact of global environmental change on the survival of Australia’s oyster industry, by combining the science of genetics, physiology and ecology to identify already resilient oysters. Through the first complete understanding of resilience in oysters, including the trade-offs they have made in other fitness traits, the project develops new capacities to 'climate and future-proof' our natural oyst ....The basis of oyster resilience to global environmental change. This project aims to investigate the impact of global environmental change on the survival of Australia’s oyster industry, by combining the science of genetics, physiology and ecology to identify already resilient oysters. Through the first complete understanding of resilience in oysters, including the trade-offs they have made in other fitness traits, the project develops new capacities to 'climate and future-proof' our natural oyster populations and the Australian oyster industry, to enable the restoration of degraded oyster habitats. This project will ensure the future of an iconic and economically important national industry and food source and contribute to preserving the critical cultural links of Indigenous Australians with their lands.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ participation in political parties. This project aims to examine the participation of, leadership opportunities for, and challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians participation in Australia’s major political parties. Working with major political parties, this project encompasses both Australia-wide research and in-depth case studies. The project will provide evidence-based research and policy advice on factors affecting the adva ....Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ participation in political parties. This project aims to examine the participation of, leadership opportunities for, and challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians participation in Australia’s major political parties. Working with major political parties, this project encompasses both Australia-wide research and in-depth case studies. The project will provide evidence-based research and policy advice on factors affecting the advancement of Indigenous Australian party members into leadership roles and the recognised challenge of continued political marginalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in party hierarchies, representative institutions and decision-making processes. This project is expected to understand and help redress a key issue for Australian democracy.Read moreRead less
Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored thr ....Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored through an in-depth examination of four test case exemplars. This project’s benefits include building a new relationship between Australian judges and Indigenous people and contributing to Australia's jurisprudence on Indigenous people and the law.Read moreRead less
Building An Indigenist Health Humanities Collective. This proposal aims to develop Indigenist Health Humanities as a new and innovative field of inquiry, building an intellectual collective capable of bridging the knowledge gap that hinders current efforts to close the gap in Indigenous health inequality. Bringing together health and the humanities through the particularity of Indigenous scholarship, a deeper understanding of the human experience of health will be developed alongside a greater u ....Building An Indigenist Health Humanities Collective. This proposal aims to develop Indigenist Health Humanities as a new and innovative field of inquiry, building an intellectual collective capable of bridging the knowledge gap that hinders current efforts to close the gap in Indigenous health inequality. Bringing together health and the humanities through the particularity of Indigenous scholarship, a deeper understanding of the human experience of health will be developed alongside a greater understanding of the enablers to building a transdisciplinary collective of Indigenous health researchers. The potential benefits include a more sustainable, relational and ethical approach to advancing new knowledge, advancing research careers and advancing health outcomes for Indigenous people. Read moreRead less
Saibai Island language and cultural knowledge project. This project aims to record the Saibai Island Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect, using the Australian Descriptive Framework. The diaspora of Saibai Islanders, the impact of climate change, and the ageing and passing away of knowledge custodians make it crucial to capture the language and cultural knowledge. Under the direction of elders and cultural knowledge custodians, this project will record and document the dialect, particularly ‘Big’ Sabai langua ....Saibai Island language and cultural knowledge project. This project aims to record the Saibai Island Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect, using the Australian Descriptive Framework. The diaspora of Saibai Islanders, the impact of climate change, and the ageing and passing away of knowledge custodians make it crucial to capture the language and cultural knowledge. Under the direction of elders and cultural knowledge custodians, this project will record and document the dialect, particularly ‘Big’ Sabai language. It will use recording technology and digital analysis to document cultural knowledge and language for current and future generations of Saibailagal (Saibai people). A culturally appropriate endangered language community methodology that preserves language and cultural knowledge will benefit Indigenous communities and researchers.Read moreRead less
Knowledge integration for Torres Strait sustainability. This project aims to investigate how Torres Strait Islanders use context-specific local knowledge and research evidence to address environmental sustainability challenges. The Torres Strait is experiencing significant threats to its environment and there is a need to use research to identify strategies that can meet these challenges. However, at present significiant barriers exist in the translation of current research knowledge to the Torr ....Knowledge integration for Torres Strait sustainability. This project aims to investigate how Torres Strait Islanders use context-specific local knowledge and research evidence to address environmental sustainability challenges. The Torres Strait is experiencing significant threats to its environment and there is a need to use research to identify strategies that can meet these challenges. However, at present significiant barriers exist in the translation of current research knowledge to the Torres Strait context. The project will examine how knowledge is constructed (culturally) and develop new methods to allow research findings to be integrated into Torres Strait knowledge. This project will support the empowerment of Torres Strait Islander people to seek the research information that is most useful for their decision-making.Read moreRead less
Turning back the clock on brain cell aging. This proposal aims to determine the role of fundamental epigenetic mechanisms in the process of aging and whether modulation of the epi-genome underpins an improvement in cognitive function. It combines the fields of epigenetics, neurosciences and mathematics to delineate the dynamics of DNA methylation and histone modification marking on the transcriptome during normal, healthy aging. The outcomes will provide significant new knowledge of the variable ....Turning back the clock on brain cell aging. This proposal aims to determine the role of fundamental epigenetic mechanisms in the process of aging and whether modulation of the epi-genome underpins an improvement in cognitive function. It combines the fields of epigenetics, neurosciences and mathematics to delineate the dynamics of DNA methylation and histone modification marking on the transcriptome during normal, healthy aging. The outcomes will provide significant new knowledge of the variable cognitive decline that occurs in healthy aging and why some populations age less successfully than others do. Better understanding of the impact of environmental change on the biology of aging has potential community benefits.Read moreRead less