Community rights in an age of footloose capital: mining in decentralised Indonesia. Indonesia is in the midst of a mining boom. In the islands closest to Australia, mining holds out the promise to eradicate poverty. Changed political and legal frameworks have led to increased foreign investment but created new challenges for local populations struggling to assert their rights, maximise benefit and minimise harm.
Oil Palm and Agrarian Transition on the Indonesian and Malaysian Frontiers. Challenges to peace and security in Southeast Asia emerge from uneven economic development and agricultural and environmental changes that marginalize vulnerable communities, exacerbate tensions and lead to endemic local level conflicts. This project will explore the linkages between agrarian and environmental change, governance systems and conflict by studying how policy and economic developments are affecting rural co ....Oil Palm and Agrarian Transition on the Indonesian and Malaysian Frontiers. Challenges to peace and security in Southeast Asia emerge from uneven economic development and agricultural and environmental changes that marginalize vulnerable communities, exacerbate tensions and lead to endemic local level conflicts. This project will explore the linkages between agrarian and environmental change, governance systems and conflict by studying how policy and economic developments are affecting rural communities. It will produce a comparative study that will be relevant to policy discussions and scholarship and of interest to donor agencies and practitioners as well as educational institutions and the wider international research community.Read moreRead less
Estimating Time Since Death: Application of Radionuclide Technology. This study will
- advance the knowledge base and expertise of Australian anthropologists and forensic scientists through the development of an accurate method for determining time since death from skeletal remains
- directly assist police and forensic forces in their fight against crime, which is fundamental in ensuring the national security of Australia
- promote Australia as a leader in the design of new evidence-bas ....Estimating Time Since Death: Application of Radionuclide Technology. This study will
- advance the knowledge base and expertise of Australian anthropologists and forensic scientists through the development of an accurate method for determining time since death from skeletal remains
- directly assist police and forensic forces in their fight against crime, which is fundamental in ensuring the national security of Australia
- promote Australia as a leader in the design of new evidence-based forensic methods
- raise the profile of Australian scientists in international investigations involving skeletal remains (e.g. Bali bombing, Boxing Day Tsunami, Human Rights Issues)
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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
Sentiments of the City: An Ethnography of Transformations in Urban Life and Intimate Relations in India. Australian scholarship has a long and illustrious history of intellectual engagements with India. Through exploring two specific sites of the momentous changes taking place in Indian cultural and social life, viz. those in the spheres of intimacies and urban life, this project will reinvigorate this history. It will also add to our understanding of the effects of globalization upon a major -- ....Sentiments of the City: An Ethnography of Transformations in Urban Life and Intimate Relations in India. Australian scholarship has a long and illustrious history of intellectual engagements with India. Through exploring two specific sites of the momentous changes taking place in Indian cultural and social life, viz. those in the spheres of intimacies and urban life, this project will reinvigorate this history. It will also add to our understanding of the effects of globalization upon a major -- and increasingly important -- Asian country. The findings will be of interest to anthropologists, historians, urban studies scholars, and scholars interested in changing ideas of gender and power in the current era.Read moreRead less
Cultural competence in supporting Cambodians recovering from conflict. This project will (1) reduce the impact of conflict for the next generation, a key to a healthy start to life and ageing well (2) guide interventions in regional settings (3) inform guidelines for refugee programs in Australia (4) highlight culture as redressing weakened traditional support structures of survivors of war in Australia and the region, supporting the Government's welfare reform and participation agendas (5) equi ....Cultural competence in supporting Cambodians recovering from conflict. This project will (1) reduce the impact of conflict for the next generation, a key to a healthy start to life and ageing well (2) guide interventions in regional settings (3) inform guidelines for refugee programs in Australia (4) highlight culture as redressing weakened traditional support structures of survivors of war in Australia and the region, supporting the Government's welfare reform and participation agendas (5) equip Australia to understand insecurities of globalisation and what survivors of war can be driven to do - unless their culture is used as an asset rather than a source of terror (6) enhance Australia's capacity to engage with its cultural environment (7) enhance capacity for AusAID to interpret itself to the rest of the world.Read moreRead less
The Clothing Industry in the Asia Pacific: Managing Constant Change. The dynamics of the garment industry have been central to industrialisation. This study will be the first examination of the changing nature of clothing manufacture. By tracing regional and international networks, and connecting them to patterns of legal and illegal movements of businesses, goods, money and people, it will show how changes in transnational business affect daily working life. It will highlight the outcome of tra ....The Clothing Industry in the Asia Pacific: Managing Constant Change. The dynamics of the garment industry have been central to industrialisation. This study will be the first examination of the changing nature of clothing manufacture. By tracing regional and international networks, and connecting them to patterns of legal and illegal movements of businesses, goods, money and people, it will show how changes in transnational business affect daily working life. It will highlight the outcome of trade liberalisation on the Asia Pacific, and contribute to safe-guarding Australia by providing a better understanding of the insecurities created by this rapidly changing industry.
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Divine power in Indigenous Christianity: translation, theology, and Pacific politics. This project analyses missionary activities and theological education in Oceania to understand how Indigenous political activity is shaped by Christian theological principles. Oceania has politically influential Christian churches and increasingly fragile governments. An understanding of their interconnections is needed for Australia's benefit.
Novel approaches to the forensic identification of human remains: integration of studies of bone form and chemistry. In a global era of terrorism, crime and even natural disasters, new approaches to identify victims, and prosecute offenders, are greatly required and long overdue. The combination of new computer and chemical methods will help identify unknowns, reconstruct missing parts and separate commingled remains. Its affect on understanding bones may be like that of DNA on soft tissues. The ....Novel approaches to the forensic identification of human remains: integration of studies of bone form and chemistry. In a global era of terrorism, crime and even natural disasters, new approaches to identify victims, and prosecute offenders, are greatly required and long overdue. The combination of new computer and chemical methods will help identify unknowns, reconstruct missing parts and separate commingled remains. Its affect on understanding bones may be like that of DNA on soft tissues. The results will update our ability as forensic scientists to strengthen Australian security systems by improving our ability to manage accidents, disasters, terrorism and crime. This project will start international collaborations and train a new generation of Australian forensic experts.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