The Underdevelopment of Malaita Province and its Relevance to the Current Crisis in the Solomon Islands. Australia's rationale for the 2003 intervention in Solomon Islands was to stop this 'failed state' becoming a haven for crime, terrorism, and drug and gun running. Australia has committed an estimated $A40 to $A45 million per year for the rehabilitation of the Solomon Islands over the next decade. Malaitans, one of the two sides in a civil war, are the largest, most influential island group i ....The Underdevelopment of Malaita Province and its Relevance to the Current Crisis in the Solomon Islands. Australia's rationale for the 2003 intervention in Solomon Islands was to stop this 'failed state' becoming a haven for crime, terrorism, and drug and gun running. Australia has committed an estimated $A40 to $A45 million per year for the rehabilitation of the Solomon Islands over the next decade. Malaitans, one of the two sides in a civil war, are the largest, most influential island group in the nation, but have not received development infrastructure commensurate with their level of importance. Developing a more nuanced and culturally and historically grounded understanding of Malaita will aid the national reconstruction process, and serve as a template for handling similar problems in the Pacific Islands in the future.Read moreRead less
The Old Zhuang Script: a Vernacular Character Script from Southern China. The Zhuang are a Tai-speaking people and the most populous of China's minority peoples. Traditionally they used a modified version of the Chinese character script. The aim of this project is to provide the wherewithal for a decipherment of the old Zhuang character script, to present evidence for the age of the script, and to describe the social and political conditions that gave it birth and influenced its development.
Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and ....Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and lifestyles of one of Australia's most important higher education markets, and its role in the society. Finally, the project shall deepen the Australian public's understandings of Indonesia as an increasingly complex, disjunctive society.Read moreRead less
Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of ou ....Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of our public debate about the world's largest Muslim populated country and Australia's neighbour, by paying serious and overdue attention to the brightest sides of contemporary Indonesia that have occupied the minds of one hundred millions or so ordinary people there.Read moreRead less
Love narratives in contemporary German literature since 1990. This study of love in contemporary German literature will lead to deeper insights into intimacy in one of our major European trading partners, as it undergoes a period of economic uncertainty and social change. It will enhance our understanding of the varied ways in which individuals, as well as national literatures in the western tradition, respond to the challenges of globalization. Through examining the semantics of modern love and ....Love narratives in contemporary German literature since 1990. This study of love in contemporary German literature will lead to deeper insights into intimacy in one of our major European trading partners, as it undergoes a period of economic uncertainty and social change. It will enhance our understanding of the varied ways in which individuals, as well as national literatures in the western tradition, respond to the challenges of globalization. Through examining the semantics of modern love and what love means to different sections of society (friendship, passion, marriage, sex etc.) in a contemporary European culture that bears many similarities to our own, this project will bring benefits to Australians' understanding of how the meaning of love evolves over time. Read moreRead less
A Typological Study of the Sound Systems of the New Guinea-Melanesia Area. This project aims to complete the first detailed cross-linguistic study of the sound systems of the New Guinea Melanesia area. More than one quarter of the world's languages are spoken in this region which remains very little known from a linguistics perspective. Results of this study should have important ramifications for our understanding of: (1) the nature of languages in the region, and of language in general (2) ph ....A Typological Study of the Sound Systems of the New Guinea-Melanesia Area. This project aims to complete the first detailed cross-linguistic study of the sound systems of the New Guinea Melanesia area. More than one quarter of the world's languages are spoken in this region which remains very little known from a linguistics perspective. Results of this study should have important ramifications for our understanding of: (1) the nature of languages in the region, and of language in general (2) phonological description and theory (3) phonological description and theory (4) linguistic diffusion and influence in an area that extends from Eastern Timor to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.Read moreRead less
A difficult marriage: gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. This project focuses on the interrelationships between gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. Through an exploration of how the political ?marriage? between East and West Germany, with its conventionalised gender roles, is mapped onto literary marriages, the project examines the challenges and opportunities that unification has afforded men and women. It will y ....A difficult marriage: gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. This project focuses on the interrelationships between gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. Through an exploration of how the political ?marriage? between East and West Germany, with its conventionalised gender roles, is mapped onto literary marriages, the project examines the challenges and opportunities that unification has afforded men and women. It will yield insights into the ways in which unification has rewritten the scripts for femininity and masculinity and forced a transformation of intimacy. Its findings will enhance knowledge of gender relations in post-communist Europe and the relationships between gender, the nation and modernity.Read moreRead less
The social and cultural context of disability in the Solomon Islands: Identifying culturally appropriate solutions to disadvantage. "1.International relations. This research promotes Australia's relations with Pacific nations by strengthening the Solomons sole disabled peoples organisation and the Ministry of Health's Community-Based Rehabilitation Program through action-based training, provincial and local level networking.
2.Capacity-building. By better understanding people's experiences of d ....The social and cultural context of disability in the Solomon Islands: Identifying culturally appropriate solutions to disadvantage. "1.International relations. This research promotes Australia's relations with Pacific nations by strengthening the Solomons sole disabled peoples organisation and the Ministry of Health's Community-Based Rehabilitation Program through action-based training, provincial and local level networking.
2.Capacity-building. By better understanding people's experiences of disability, this research assists Australia's NGOs and government agencies to better formulate effective domestic and international solutions.
3. Social equity. By identifying solutions to disability-based discrimination, this research contributes to greater social equity and harmony, both critical in a context of heightened environmental risk and economic uncertainty."Read moreRead less
The Role of Communication in Sino-Australian Business Negotiations: An Appraisal. Communication difficulties together with the lack of cultural understanding are a major barrier preventing many Australian businesses from succeeding in the Chinese market, a primary estination for Australian exports. Yet up til now, the study of Australian-Chinese cross-cultural communications has been largely unattended. This project addresses this need by integrating an emotions perspective on communication wi ....The Role of Communication in Sino-Australian Business Negotiations: An Appraisal. Communication difficulties together with the lack of cultural understanding are a major barrier preventing many Australian businesses from succeeding in the Chinese market, a primary estination for Australian exports. Yet up til now, the study of Australian-Chinese cross-cultural communications has been largely unattended. This project addresses this need by integrating an emotions perspective on communication with a well-established communication theory. Using a grounded theory approach, the proposed project will result in a model that will assist businesses to identify points where communications may falter and formulate strategies for dealing with such intricacies in the context of Sino-Australian business negotiations.Read moreRead less
Through the eyes of the Chinese: Attitudes to and opinions of Australia and their influence on Sino-Australian business exchange. The outcomes of this research will have significant policy implications for the Australian government and business sectors in terms of improving intercultural understanding, facilitating bilateral trade, unlocking the potential of the Chinese market, as well as increasing economic efficiency. The capacity of Australian businesses to engage with China will be substanti ....Through the eyes of the Chinese: Attitudes to and opinions of Australia and their influence on Sino-Australian business exchange. The outcomes of this research will have significant policy implications for the Australian government and business sectors in terms of improving intercultural understanding, facilitating bilateral trade, unlocking the potential of the Chinese market, as well as increasing economic efficiency. The capacity of Australian businesses to engage with China will be substantially improved by enhancing our knowledge base about the individual, social, and national factors that facilitate and inhibit engagement in Sino-Australian business relations and exchange. Findings from this reserch will also inform the international development in education and training, tourism and technology in Australia.Read moreRead less