The future of the Pacific: youth leadership and civic engagement. This project aims to investigate how youth in the Pacific develop and demonstrate the forms of leadership and civic engagement needed for positive outcomes for their countries. New knowledge is expected to be generated about what influences Pacific youth to engage with the profound challenges facing their region, through Pacific-wide research and three case studies using participatory and collaborative methodologies. Expected outc ....The future of the Pacific: youth leadership and civic engagement. This project aims to investigate how youth in the Pacific develop and demonstrate the forms of leadership and civic engagement needed for positive outcomes for their countries. New knowledge is expected to be generated about what influences Pacific youth to engage with the profound challenges facing their region, through Pacific-wide research and three case studies using participatory and collaborative methodologies. Expected outcomes include interdisciplinary contributions to Pacific and youth studies and applied outputs. This should provide significant benefits including enhanced capacity for governments, development agencies and donors to develop policy and programming measures to nurture the future leadership of the Pacific region. Read moreRead less
Pacific Islanders in regional Victoria: visitors, migrants and overstayers. This project aims to understand the socio-economic situation of Pacific Islanders living in regional Victoria, including visitors, permanent residents, seasonal workers and undocumented migrants. The aim is to investigate the impact of these different statuses on access to public services, interactions within and across ethnic groups, and trans-local and transnational practices. Working with partner organisations involve ....Pacific Islanders in regional Victoria: visitors, migrants and overstayers. This project aims to understand the socio-economic situation of Pacific Islanders living in regional Victoria, including visitors, permanent residents, seasonal workers and undocumented migrants. The aim is to investigate the impact of these different statuses on access to public services, interactions within and across ethnic groups, and trans-local and transnational practices. Working with partner organisations involved with migrant populations in the area, the project seeks to shed new light on Australian regional migration and bring marginalised regional populations into discussions of migration and transnationalism. Intended outcomes include scholarly publications, policy-focused reports and an open access project website.Read moreRead less
Understanding global biomedical technologies in local realities. This project aims to advance understanding of the constitutive effects of global biotechnologies in local contexts through a case study of couples with mixed HIV status in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project aims to contribute to scholarship and global debates on how biomedicine and local cultures co-exist and co-articulate in the making of social realities. By mapping the ways HIV treatment and prevention technologies intersect wi ....Understanding global biomedical technologies in local realities. This project aims to advance understanding of the constitutive effects of global biotechnologies in local contexts through a case study of couples with mixed HIV status in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project aims to contribute to scholarship and global debates on how biomedicine and local cultures co-exist and co-articulate in the making of social realities. By mapping the ways HIV treatment and prevention technologies intersect with the cultural, gendered and religious landscapes of PNG, the project is designed to produce new knowledge of the promises and limits of global biotechnologies as their meanings and applications are created, negotiated and contested in the everyday practices of these couples.Read moreRead less
Forced transnationalism: sending migrants' children home. Parents in some migrant groups in Australia send their children to the homeland in response to 'bad' behaviour. This project will entail a case study of Tongan migrants and their Australian born children and publications will address the implications of this practice for young people and their families and for both the home country and Australia.
Children's language learning and the development of intersubjectivity. How do children learn languages? How do they learn to understand the intentions and perspectives of others, and coordinate their own with them? Based on research in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, this project will answer these questions, showing how the two processes are related to each other by studying them in a cross-cultural way.
Sorcery and Human Security in Vanuatu: Violence, Health, Governance, and the Implications for Effective Development. Belief in sorcery and violence caused by accusations of sorcery are endemic across the Western Pacific and pose serious challenges for effective healthcare and governance. Using Vanuatu as a case study, this research is the first to systematically analyse the link between sorcery and human security in the region. This includes addressing the current lack of awareness in key develo ....Sorcery and Human Security in Vanuatu: Violence, Health, Governance, and the Implications for Effective Development. Belief in sorcery and violence caused by accusations of sorcery are endemic across the Western Pacific and pose serious challenges for effective healthcare and governance. Using Vanuatu as a case study, this research is the first to systematically analyse the link between sorcery and human security in the region. This includes addressing the current lack of awareness in key development sectors of the social, health and governance implications of sorcery beliefs. The study will provide evidence and a framework for integrating local belief contexts into international development practice. It will also develop innovative theoretical approaches to understanding sorcery beliefs and related practices in terms of transformations of modernity.Read moreRead less
New Regional Labour Circuits in the South Pacific: Gender, Culture and Transnationalism. This project aims to produce vital knowledge about transforming Pacific and Pacific Islander migration. Pacific mobility is being shaped by new patterns of international trade, investment and aid adopted by key regional players—China, United States, Australia and New Zealand especially—the effects of which are not yet well understood. Using a multi-sited analysis of regional labour circuits focusing on the C ....New Regional Labour Circuits in the South Pacific: Gender, Culture and Transnationalism. This project aims to produce vital knowledge about transforming Pacific and Pacific Islander migration. Pacific mobility is being shaped by new patterns of international trade, investment and aid adopted by key regional players—China, United States, Australia and New Zealand especially—the effects of which are not yet well understood. Using a multi-sited analysis of regional labour circuits focusing on the Cook Islands, Australia and New Zealand, this project aims to connect these broad geopolitical shifts to the movement of individuals and families, and to their gendered and culturally embedded economic practices.Read moreRead less