What's in a name? Attachment and interference in placename-based identity. Why do conflicts often arise when naming authorities and other interests propose changing long-standing placenames? This project will address this question by researching opposition to specific proposals to change placenames - in particular the renaming of Hazelwood North with Churchill and resistance to the renaming of places in and around the Grampians National Park in the early 1990s. A community will be selected to ....What's in a name? Attachment and interference in placename-based identity. Why do conflicts often arise when naming authorities and other interests propose changing long-standing placenames? This project will address this question by researching opposition to specific proposals to change placenames - in particular the renaming of Hazelwood North with Churchill and resistance to the renaming of places in and around the Grampians National Park in the early 1990s. A community will be selected to document place identity and contrast these mental maps with official registers of placenames. The outcome will provide naming authorities with a greater knowledge of community attitudes to placenames and greater understanding of resistance to renaming proposals. The study will provide a detailed understanding of placename attachment, identity, and resistance to interference into sense of place.Read moreRead less
Landscape and Memory: the West Coast of Victoria. The application is for an APAI PhD, located within a wider plan by Deakin University and Experimenta Media Arts to develop an interactive mode of analysis of landscape and design of civic spaces across the west coast and hinterland regions in Victoria. The project will locate development and regional cultural understanding within an enriched historical perspective, drawing on cross-disciplinary research and using digital animation in particular ....Landscape and Memory: the West Coast of Victoria. The application is for an APAI PhD, located within a wider plan by Deakin University and Experimenta Media Arts to develop an interactive mode of analysis of landscape and design of civic spaces across the west coast and hinterland regions in Victoria. The project will locate development and regional cultural understanding within an enriched historical perspective, drawing on cross-disciplinary research and using digital animation in particular to display the 'presence of the past in the present', to explore and promote distinctive and sustainable modes of living, and to construct visual hypotheses for environmental and cultural development in each area.Read moreRead less
Australia's Rural Heartlands: Declining Economic Fortune or Dynamic Regional Adjustment? Agriculture in the rural heartlands provides high quality food and fibre for domestic consumption and export making significant contributions to national earnings. The heartlands are the custodians of our natural resources and cultural heritage and farmers play a vital economic and social role in the sustainability of these regions. While there is considerable variability between these places this research ....Australia's Rural Heartlands: Declining Economic Fortune or Dynamic Regional Adjustment? Agriculture in the rural heartlands provides high quality food and fibre for domestic consumption and export making significant contributions to national earnings. The heartlands are the custodians of our natural resources and cultural heritage and farmers play a vital economic and social role in the sustainability of these regions. While there is considerable variability between these places this research will provide a detailed understanding as to why it is that rural places differ in their development. A major benefit will be to present Australian governments, the agricultural industry and rural communities with a more accurate picture of how the rural heartlands now function, and to articulate the public policy implications.Read moreRead less
Researching the Development of Benchmarks for Determining both Relative and Sustainable Levels of Infrastructure for the Aged within Regional Victoria. The decline of country towns and subsequent population shifts to larger regional centres often places significant stress on the facilities within these larger centres. Of particular importance to local government are the implications regarding the provision of services for the aged. This project will research the development of benchmarks and ind ....Researching the Development of Benchmarks for Determining both Relative and Sustainable Levels of Infrastructure for the Aged within Regional Victoria. The decline of country towns and subsequent population shifts to larger regional centres often places significant stress on the facilities within these larger centres. Of particular importance to local government are the implications regarding the provision of services for the aged. This project will research the development of benchmarks and indicators to assist local governments to understand the current and future needs of their aged communities. The research will comprise a pilot study involving the Cities of Bendigo and Warrnambool to establish the current situation regarding physical infrastructure and service provision and indicating future needs as the demographic profiles change.Read moreRead less