The world through the prism of language: a cross-linguistic view of genders, noun classes, and classifiers. Australia is one of the most multilingual and multicultural countries in the world, with several hundred indigenous and immigrant languages. Noun classification devices - ranging from gender systems in familiar Indo-European languages to numeral classifiers in Southeast Asian languages - offer a unique insight into people's categorisation of the world around them. In-depth knowledge of how ....The world through the prism of language: a cross-linguistic view of genders, noun classes, and classifiers. Australia is one of the most multilingual and multicultural countries in the world, with several hundred indigenous and immigrant languages. Noun classification devices - ranging from gender systems in familiar Indo-European languages to numeral classifiers in Southeast Asian languages - offer a unique insight into people's categorisation of the world around them. In-depth knowledge of how speakers of different languages classify objects around them will promote intercultural understanding within Australia and world-wide, allowing us to overcome potential miscommunications due to different language backgrounds, and advancing our understanding of the region and the world (within the National Priority 'Safeguarding Australia'). Read moreRead less
Improving engagement in learning and transition to mainstream schooling for newly-arrived Sudanese youth in the middle years of schooling. The 'new wave' of Sudanese refugees (48.3% of 2003 intake) with disrupted educational and social/emotional backgrounds is currently challenging Australian schools' expertise and resources. Using frameworks that draw on cultural theory, identity and language, the study will explore the social capital needs (skills and capacities, and resource needs) of Sudanes ....Improving engagement in learning and transition to mainstream schooling for newly-arrived Sudanese youth in the middle years of schooling. The 'new wave' of Sudanese refugees (48.3% of 2003 intake) with disrupted educational and social/emotional backgrounds is currently challenging Australian schools' expertise and resources. Using frameworks that draw on cultural theory, identity and language, the study will explore the social capital needs (skills and capacities, and resource needs) of Sudanese middle-schooling students enabling successful, productive and engaged transition from their on-arrival program into mainstream secondary schooling. The resulting model and web-based materials will provide a framework for educating other groups likely to follow from Africa/elsewhere, and meet the National Priority Goal: strengthening Australia's social fabric.Read moreRead less
Immigration, technology and literacy: key challenges for language policy in a changing Japan. Australia needs a sophisticated understanding of social and cultural dynamics in a regional partner with whom we have substantial economic, political and cultural relations. This project will problematise current language policy in Japan to take account of important recent areas of social transformation and associated key cultural beliefs about language. It will produce a body of significant individual ....Immigration, technology and literacy: key challenges for language policy in a changing Japan. Australia needs a sophisticated understanding of social and cultural dynamics in a regional partner with whom we have substantial economic, political and cultural relations. This project will problematise current language policy in Japan to take account of important recent areas of social transformation and associated key cultural beliefs about language. It will produce a body of significant individual research and policy recommendations; will bring together high profile international researchers and Japanese policy makers and educators in two collaborative exercises which will strengthen links between the two countries at both academic and government levels; and will launch the research career of a postgraduate student. Read moreRead less
The measurement of primary traits in second language oral proficiency in second language acquisition research. The proposed research will help to inform high-quality learning outcomes for international ESL (English as a Second Language) students and students who study Japanese or Spanish as a second language in Australian universities. Improved effectiveness in current second language teaching pedagogy will result from a deeper understanding of the role that the key language traits (syntactic co ....The measurement of primary traits in second language oral proficiency in second language acquisition research. The proposed research will help to inform high-quality learning outcomes for international ESL (English as a Second Language) students and students who study Japanese or Spanish as a second language in Australian universities. Improved effectiveness in current second language teaching pedagogy will result from a deeper understanding of the role that the key language traits (syntactic complexity, lexical range, accuracy and fluency) play in the attainment of advanced proficiency. Read moreRead less
Participation in the administration of justice: deaf citizens as jurors. This project will pioneer international research on legal signed language interpreting and jury service; the results are likely to innovate law reform. The expected outcome will be to overturn previously held common law that deaf people cannot serve as jurors due to having an interpreter as the 13th person in the jury room as well as confidentiality issues.
Crisis management in late antiquity: the evidence of Episcopal letters. Appropriate responses to environmental and social crises, by individuals, communities, governments, religious and charitable organisations, are increasingly under focus in the twenty-first century. Understanding the failures of past leaders as well as their successes is crucial for values-driven policy making. This project reinforces the international reputation of quality Australian research in late-antiquity studies by anc ....Crisis management in late antiquity: the evidence of Episcopal letters. Appropriate responses to environmental and social crises, by individuals, communities, governments, religious and charitable organisations, are increasingly under focus in the twenty-first century. Understanding the failures of past leaders as well as their successes is crucial for values-driven policy making. This project reinforces the international reputation of quality Australian research in late-antiquity studies by anchoring contemporary responses to management of crises such as natural disasters, climate change, population displacement, poverty, religious disputes, violence, and social abuses in their historical antecedents. The project will develop and reinforce existing links with scholars in Japan, Korea, Belgium and South Africa.Read moreRead less
The development of the cult of Mary in North African Christianity (100 - 431 C.E.). As part of international collaborative research dedicated to dispassionate examination of the development of the cult of Mary from 100 to 431 CE, this project deals with literary evidence from North Africa, in which the works of Augustine dominate. The Latin texts will be examined philologically, theologically and historically in order to reconstruct Mary's place in early Christianity, the raw data made available ....The development of the cult of Mary in North African Christianity (100 - 431 C.E.). As part of international collaborative research dedicated to dispassionate examination of the development of the cult of Mary from 100 to 431 CE, this project deals with literary evidence from North Africa, in which the works of Augustine dominate. The Latin texts will be examined philologically, theologically and historically in order to reconstruct Mary's place in early Christianity, the raw data made available online, and the results disseminated through conference papers, monographs and journal articles. This research, the first of its kind, will make a contribution to women's studies, and to the study of late antique culture and hagiography.Read moreRead less