Swidden Cultivation and the Agrarian Transition on the Forest Frontiers of Southeast Asia. Challenges to rural sustainability increase as swidden farmers adjust to the uneven impacts of agrarian change such as social conflict, material poverty and environmental decline. However, little is known about how swidden farmers engage with the causes and consequences of agrarian change in different political economic contexts. This research will generate a multi-scale comparative assessment (local-regi ....Swidden Cultivation and the Agrarian Transition on the Forest Frontiers of Southeast Asia. Challenges to rural sustainability increase as swidden farmers adjust to the uneven impacts of agrarian change such as social conflict, material poverty and environmental decline. However, little is known about how swidden farmers engage with the causes and consequences of agrarian change in different political economic contexts. This research will generate a multi-scale comparative assessment (local-regional) of how swidden farmers adjust livelihoods and social relations in response to agrarian change in Laos, Philippine and Malaysian frontiers. It will offer new insights to Australian donors, international academic networks and resource practitioners on how agrarian change affects swidden farmers and local landscapes. Read moreRead less
Planning for Later Life: an Ethnographic Analysis of Aging among Transnational Papua New Guineans. This project addresses the global problem of ageing populations by looking at how transnational Papua New Guinean families plan for old age. It explores how Papua New Guineans resident in North Queensland make specific decisions about later life that balance the value of relations with kin, friends, neighbours while also dealing with the social services provided by the state and the market. The pro ....Planning for Later Life: an Ethnographic Analysis of Aging among Transnational Papua New Guineans. This project addresses the global problem of ageing populations by looking at how transnational Papua New Guinean families plan for old age. It explores how Papua New Guineans resident in North Queensland make specific decisions about later life that balance the value of relations with kin, friends, neighbours while also dealing with the social services provided by the state and the market. The project will describe the tensions that emerge in transnational decision making concerning old age. The resulting knowledge of how Papua New Guineans prepare for old age will help to critically inform policies concerning the wellbeing of people engaged with ageing.Read moreRead less
Farmers of the Future: the Challenges of Feminised Agriculture in India. Neoliberal economic policies are fundamentally transforming the social landscapes of rural India, causing a deep agrarian crisis. The agrarian changes accentuate the unequal consequences for poor women and men in relation to: production (labour, tenure); livelihood and food security; access to and ownership of assets such as land and water and access to agricultural innovations and institutions. This multiscalar project inv ....Farmers of the Future: the Challenges of Feminised Agriculture in India. Neoliberal economic policies are fundamentally transforming the social landscapes of rural India, causing a deep agrarian crisis. The agrarian changes accentuate the unequal consequences for poor women and men in relation to: production (labour, tenure); livelihood and food security; access to and ownership of assets such as land and water and access to agricultural innovations and institutions. This multiscalar project investigates the causes and consequences of feminisation of agriculture in India’s transitioning economy in order to understand how gender roles and relations are being re-shaped in communities and households in diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts and agro-ecological areas.Read moreRead less
A desire for things: an investigation of the inter-relations of art making, consumption and exchange among Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara. This project will deliver an understanding of the motivations of artists when they make art and craft work to sell and the consumer goods that they choose to acquire from their resulting earnings. This project will establish insights into how Anangu earn and spend their money and the connections that they perceive between these.
Sea-level rise and everyday lives in small island states. This project aims to advance understanding of the impacts of sea-level rise and associated policy responses on the everyday lives of island communities. Focusing on village relocation in Fiji and fortification and land reclamation in the Maldives, the project will analyse people's changing everyday experiences and practices. The project seeks to enable international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and to produce new knowledge on the ....Sea-level rise and everyday lives in small island states. This project aims to advance understanding of the impacts of sea-level rise and associated policy responses on the everyday lives of island communities. Focusing on village relocation in Fiji and fortification and land reclamation in the Maldives, the project will analyse people's changing everyday experiences and practices. The project seeks to enable international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and to produce new knowledge on the opportunities and challenges of diverse policy responses to sea-level rise. The project’s findings will be beneficial for countries facing the threat of sea-level rise, as well as national governments and international agencies that support and fund climate adaptation.Read moreRead less
Local responses to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the logging concessions in the Western Province, PNG. This research takes place in the logging concessions of the Western Province of PNG - a province that borders Australia. Our project will investigate some factors influencing people's sexual behaviour in the logging concessions. Because of their capacity to attract migrant labour these logging concessions are potential 'hot-spots' for the transmission of HIV/AIDS throughout PNG and towards Australi ....Local responses to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the logging concessions in the Western Province, PNG. This research takes place in the logging concessions of the Western Province of PNG - a province that borders Australia. Our project will investigate some factors influencing people's sexual behaviour in the logging concessions. Because of their capacity to attract migrant labour these logging concessions are potential 'hot-spots' for the transmission of HIV/AIDS throughout PNG and towards Australia. From our findings we will develop a community based risk-reduction intervention strategy that will help slow the spread of infections into the Western Province and Australia.Read moreRead less
Contingent development in regional India: ethnographies of neoliberal globalisation in Gujarat and West Bengal. This project aims to understand the regional impacts of globalisation in India by comparing and contrasting two regional towns and their hinterlands (Anand, Gujarat and Darjeeling, West Bengal). Develop a more comprehensive, localised and regionalised account of the neoliberal globalisation process in India.
The African origins of Asian and Australian lithic technologies: Exploring modern human origins and dispersals using new techniques of core analysis. This project will demonstrate that Australia is committed to understanding the origins of modern humans and solving research problems within and beyond our geographic region. The history of modern human evolution in Africa has significant implications for the origins of the first Australians, Indians and Asians and will contribute to an understandi ....The African origins of Asian and Australian lithic technologies: Exploring modern human origins and dispersals using new techniques of core analysis. This project will demonstrate that Australia is committed to understanding the origins of modern humans and solving research problems within and beyond our geographic region. The history of modern human evolution in Africa has significant implications for the origins of the first Australians, Indians and Asians and will contribute to an understanding of our shared and recent common ancestry and the emergence of human diversity. Australian archaeological innovations, especially when applied to global issues such as human evolution, will continue to showcase Australian scientific expertise and achievements. The study of problem-solving and technological innovation will help understand the sophisticated nature of early Australian peoples.Read moreRead less
Land and identity: comparative studies of belonging in Australia's gulf country. This study will deliver understanding of people's cultural identities and the landscapes they value highly in the north Australian Gulf Country. Outcomes will include better understanding of native title claims, of non- Aboriginal relationships with land and nature, and cross-cultural beliefs about native and introduced plants and animals.
Developing a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to law reform and development in plural legal regimes. This project will focus on developing a response to issues arising from the interaction between different legal systems operating in the same social sphere (legal pluralism). The research aims to build an innovative, inter-disciplinary approach to law reform and legal development, which will accommodate both State law and Indigenous law.