Can there be good policy? Tracing the paths between policy intent, evidence and practical benefit in regional and remote Australia. By tracking major health, housing and education reforms currently underway across regional and remote Australia, this research generates fresh perspectives on an urgent contemporary debate in Indigenous social affairs: namely, are governments best placed to drive social change or to determine policy imperatives; and if not, are there alternate ways to generate good ....Can there be good policy? Tracing the paths between policy intent, evidence and practical benefit in regional and remote Australia. By tracking major health, housing and education reforms currently underway across regional and remote Australia, this research generates fresh perspectives on an urgent contemporary debate in Indigenous social affairs: namely, are governments best placed to drive social change or to determine policy imperatives; and if not, are there alternate ways to generate good policy? An anthropological approach will be used to observe government policy at work. The research will explore the institutional reasons behind the gap between intention and outcome in Indigenous social policy; how failure cycles in policy are replicated; and possible techniques for creating and implementing a new ethics of policy engagement.Read moreRead less
The impacts of commercial gambling on Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. The project will represent the first detailed exploration of the effects of commercial gambling on Aboriginal people in Northern Australia. It specifically aims to assess the impact of continued commercial gambling expansion, including the spread of electronic gaming machines (EGMs), on Aboriginal communities. The project will explore how Aboriginal cultures react to, and adopt, western gambling into existing cul ....The impacts of commercial gambling on Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. The project will represent the first detailed exploration of the effects of commercial gambling on Aboriginal people in Northern Australia. It specifically aims to assess the impact of continued commercial gambling expansion, including the spread of electronic gaming machines (EGMs), on Aboriginal communities. The project will explore how Aboriginal cultures react to, and adopt, western gambling into existing cultural frameworks. The core task of the project will be to develop appropriate methodological tools for the assessment of gambling activity in Aboriginal communities. The result will have direct policy impacts in the context of regional well-being and identifying and protecting vulnerable communities.Read moreRead less
Creative Tropical City: Mapping Darwin's Creative Industries. This research will improve our knowledge and understanding of the creative industries in Darwin. It will provide a strong evidence base for the development of policy options for growing the creative industries in Darwin. And it will interrogate national and international creative industry policy frameworks for their applicability to Darwin.
Digital archives, datadiversity and discoverability: the Strehlow Collection as knowledge resource for remote indigenous communities. How will the digitisation of archives of the Strehlow Collection enable principles of best practice in resourcing Aboriginal cultural and community interests? The outcomes of this project will ensure that those following in their footsteps of traditional cultural owners can become the future custodians of their digital cultural heritage.
Transformations in Aboriginal central Australia: A study of Warlpiri social relations in a time of crisis. By investigating the deterioration of social relations currently experienced by Warlpiri people at the settlement of Yuendumu, this project develops a paradigmatic case study contributing towards better understanding contemporary Aboriginal Australia. It explores on-the-ground realities and historical material to identify patterns underlying the transformations of social relations. It analy ....Transformations in Aboriginal central Australia: A study of Warlpiri social relations in a time of crisis. By investigating the deterioration of social relations currently experienced by Warlpiri people at the settlement of Yuendumu, this project develops a paradigmatic case study contributing towards better understanding contemporary Aboriginal Australia. It explores on-the-ground realities and historical material to identify patterns underlying the transformations of social relations. It analyses these and their effects through an innovative conceptual framework integrating anthropological approaches with the interdisciplinary study of the emotions. The outcomes will considerably further current developments in Australian anthropology and it will make a timely qualitative contribution to current public debates about Aboriginal policy.Read moreRead less
The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. This project, believed to be the first national study of farm women in Australia, aims to address their historical and contemporary invisibility by creating an online, publicly accessible, multimedia documentary database that maps the role women play/played in Australian agriculture. Chief investigators in the fields of social work, women's history, cultural informatics ....The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. This project, believed to be the first national study of farm women in Australia, aims to address their historical and contemporary invisibility by creating an online, publicly accessible, multimedia documentary database that maps the role women play/played in Australian agriculture. Chief investigators in the fields of social work, women's history, cultural informatics and archival practice will collaborate with community, government and cultural organisations to create digital tools for research, public access and community engagement. Reframing the narrative of rural Australia is expected to create greater understanding and awareness of the value of inclusion, reveal structures of gender inequality in rural communities, and enable significant outcomes in research, industry and public policy.Read moreRead less
Gambling-related harm in Northern Australia: A Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatiotemporal analysis of venue catchments. There is growing national concern about the impact of electronic gaming (poker) machines yet little is known about the effects of this gambling in rural and remote areas of Australia. We will develop a database to define the geographic distribution of gambling impacts, the nature of high-risk venues, and the characteristics, both spatial and social, of vulnerable ....Gambling-related harm in Northern Australia: A Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatiotemporal analysis of venue catchments. There is growing national concern about the impact of electronic gaming (poker) machines yet little is known about the effects of this gambling in rural and remote areas of Australia. We will develop a database to define the geographic distribution of gambling impacts, the nature of high-risk venues, and the characteristics, both spatial and social, of vulnerable communities. This will enable the design of much needed harm minimisation strategies and will provide regulatory bodies with insights into the capacity of local communities to absorb the impact of electronic gaming machine venues.Read moreRead less
Playing for Life: A Case Study in Childhood, Culture and Transition. This study will advance Australian research on identity formation in postcolonial societies; develop child-focused research in academic anthropology; align Australian Aboriginal Studies with recent international progress in the field of children's social imagination; innovate the analysis of transforming Indigenous worldviews; create a perspective for in-depth psychological research with Aboriginal Australians; build a rich res ....Playing for Life: A Case Study in Childhood, Culture and Transition. This study will advance Australian research on identity formation in postcolonial societies; develop child-focused research in academic anthropology; align Australian Aboriginal Studies with recent international progress in the field of children's social imagination; innovate the analysis of transforming Indigenous worldviews; create a perspective for in-depth psychological research with Aboriginal Australians; build a rich resource for comparative research and for teaching. It also offers distinct social benefits: fostering the understanding of Aboriginal children's social and mental needs in processes of cultural transformation; enhancing equality by identifying the positive potentials in children and Aboriginal society.
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Creative Barkly: Sustaining the Arts & Cultural Sector in Remote Australia. This project plans to examine how the arts and cultural sector is currently functioning in remote Australia and where its growth potential lies. There is increasing recognition that this sector plays a crucial role in regional development, but very little is known about how this operates in Australia’s remotest regions where the demographics of communities are vastly different from other regional centres. The project pla ....Creative Barkly: Sustaining the Arts & Cultural Sector in Remote Australia. This project plans to examine how the arts and cultural sector is currently functioning in remote Australia and where its growth potential lies. There is increasing recognition that this sector plays a crucial role in regional development, but very little is known about how this operates in Australia’s remotest regions where the demographics of communities are vastly different from other regional centres. The project plans to map the sector in one of Australia’s largest remote regions, the Barkly, examine the role leading organisation Barkly Regional Arts plays in this, and deliver resources and recommendations that will inform current policies, strategies, and initiatives in the Barkly and beyond.Read moreRead less
Re-integrating Central Australian community cultural collections. This project aims to apply current research on archiving and community access to find practical solutions to managing the large amounts of recorded cultural material of interest to the Central Land Council, the peak Indigenous representative body covering the southern half of the Northern Territory. The project aims to identify and integrate information in a common database, work with community members to create a prioritised list ....Re-integrating Central Australian community cultural collections. This project aims to apply current research on archiving and community access to find practical solutions to managing the large amounts of recorded cultural material of interest to the Central Land Council, the peak Indigenous representative body covering the southern half of the Northern Territory. The project aims to identify and integrate information in a common database, work with community members to create a prioritised list of any at-risk materials and apply locally meaningful categories for managing the archival materials relevant to their community, and deliver appropriate documentation of process, permissions and reports to support ongoing sustainability of the collections.Read moreRead less