Reading the Nation: A critical study of Aboriginal/settler representations in the contemporary Australian literary landscape. This project will map literary representations of Aboriginal Australians by non-Aboriginal authors in the post-Mabo period, and the reciprocal representations by Aboriginal Australians. This is a study of the politics of representation that play out between Aboriginal and white Australians in the contemporary literary landscape.
Developing narratives from language and stories indigenous to the south coast of Western Australia. Over time linguists have collected Indigenous language narratives. This research project involves returning these narratives to the descendants of the people who first created human society in their part of the world. It will investigate the extent to which an Indigenous language and its stories, can inform contemporary writing in English about Australian identity.
Australian Indigenous storytelling: a critical study of the way Aboriginal stories are being told in Australia today. This research project will investigate the role and effectiveness of Aboriginal storytelling in the current environment of Aboriginal policy in Australia. The outcomes will form a set of benchmarks for understanding the power of effective Aboriginal storytelling.
The David Unaipon Award: Shaping the literary and cultural history of Aboriginal writing in Australia. The David Unaipon Award has fostered a rich lode of Aboriginal writing and is a vital site for the study of Aboriginal literature in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This project uses the Award to critically analyse Aboriginal writing and cultural expression in the historical and political context of post-bicentenary Australia. In 2014 the award reaches its 25th year. Now is the time t ....The David Unaipon Award: Shaping the literary and cultural history of Aboriginal writing in Australia. The David Unaipon Award has fostered a rich lode of Aboriginal writing and is a vital site for the study of Aboriginal literature in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This project uses the Award to critically analyse Aboriginal writing and cultural expression in the historical and political context of post-bicentenary Australia. In 2014 the award reaches its 25th year. Now is the time to review and explore the established canon of Aboriginal literature. The book produced from this project will model an historically broader, more nuanced and culturally sensitive paradigm for reading, reviewing, engaging with and teaching Aboriginal literature in the twenty-first century.Read moreRead less
Understanding the role of terrain geometry in eruptive bushfire behaviour. This project aims to improve understanding of the physical processes that cause eruptive bushfire behaviour, otherwise known as fire blow-up. Eruptive fire behaviour, characterised by rapid and unexpected escalation in fire intensity and rate of spread, is a global phenomenon that poses a major threat to fire-fighter safety and can seriously compromise bushfire suppression efforts. This project will address the role that ....Understanding the role of terrain geometry in eruptive bushfire behaviour. This project aims to improve understanding of the physical processes that cause eruptive bushfire behaviour, otherwise known as fire blow-up. Eruptive fire behaviour, characterised by rapid and unexpected escalation in fire intensity and rate of spread, is a global phenomenon that poses a major threat to fire-fighter safety and can seriously compromise bushfire suppression efforts. This project will address the role that terrain geometry plays in the incidence of fire eruption, through consideration of its effect on the attachment of flames to a surface. Expected outcomes include a dynamic fire spread modelling framework and the provision of better advice to bushfire authorities concerning fire blow-up.Read moreRead less
Investigation of atypical bushfire spread driven by the interaction of wind, terrain and fire. Large bushfires continue to pose a significant risk to communities in south-eastern Australia. Despite this, there is still very little known about the processes driving the development of large bushfires. This project aims to improve understanding of extreme fire processes and thus improve mitigation planning, community safety and environmental outcomes.
Babera dariadya yewing (Echoes of a flawed truth): investigating theory and practice on the interplay between bullying and racism. The negative impact of bullying and racism is being increasingly documented for Aboriginal youth, yet little attempt has been made to understand the differential impact of these stressors on the wellbeing and identity of Aboriginal Australian youth. This project will seek to address this issue, to guide future action-based research.
Social capital and the academic success of indigenous students. This project aims to generate new knowledge about high-achieving Indigenous students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This longitudinal study will provide evidence on success factors that are most effective in improving academic achievement and experience of Indigenous students, and inform government and Aboriginal communities in developing evidence-based policy and practice. The project is expected to provide a unique opportunit ....Social capital and the academic success of indigenous students. This project aims to generate new knowledge about high-achieving Indigenous students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This longitudinal study will provide evidence on success factors that are most effective in improving academic achievement and experience of Indigenous students, and inform government and Aboriginal communities in developing evidence-based policy and practice. The project is expected to provide a unique opportunity to unveil how Indigenous students’ network characteristics formed in family, school, and community interplay with their psychological constructs in shaping their academic success longitudinally. The project will also represent a significant advancement in the global research field of Indigenous education.Read moreRead less
Understanding the role of deep flaming in violent pyroconvective events. This project aims to improve the prediction of firestorms by combining state-of-the-art knowledge of dynamic bushfire behaviour with atmospheric models to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the heat and moisture released by a bushfire interacts with ambient atmospheric instability to produce extreme fire events. Firestorms represent the most extreme and catastrophic phase of development of a bushfire. They often c ....Understanding the role of deep flaming in violent pyroconvective events. This project aims to improve the prediction of firestorms by combining state-of-the-art knowledge of dynamic bushfire behaviour with atmospheric models to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the heat and moisture released by a bushfire interacts with ambient atmospheric instability to produce extreme fire events. Firestorms represent the most extreme and catastrophic phase of development of a bushfire. They often cause broad-scale loss of property, environmental damage and human fatalities. Firestorms cannot be suppressed, and so accurate and timely warnings of their occurrence, combined with appropriate community responses, are the only way of mitigating their effects. Better understanding of extreme fire processes may improve mitigation planning, community safety, environmental outcomes and emergency response measures.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the quality of academic supervision provided to Indigenous Australian doctoral students. This project will undertake a detailed investigation into the supervision provided to Indigenous Australians who now hold a doctoral qualification in order to identify successful supervision strategies. A best-practice model for the supervision of Indigenous doctoral students will be constructed as a resource for all academics.