Overcoming Violence and Building Peace in Conditions of Complexity in PNG . The project is an investigation of the drivers and inhibitors of three inter-related forms of violence in Papua New Guinea - tribal fighting, sorcery accusation related violence and family and sexual violence. The harm caused by these forms of violence is systemic and ongoing, with widespread negative impacts for women, men and children across multiple dimensions of social and economic development. The project will produ ....Overcoming Violence and Building Peace in Conditions of Complexity in PNG . The project is an investigation of the drivers and inhibitors of three inter-related forms of violence in Papua New Guinea - tribal fighting, sorcery accusation related violence and family and sexual violence. The harm caused by these forms of violence is systemic and ongoing, with widespread negative impacts for women, men and children across multiple dimensions of social and economic development. The project will produce new knowledge about how violence and peace-making initiatives emerge, connect, spread and disperse, and generate new conceptual models to better analyse the dynamics of violence and peace across time and space. These theoretical insights will inform better violence prevention initiatives for Papua New Guinea and beyond.Read moreRead less
Village democracy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This project aims to understand variation in village politics in Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and the effects of that variation on development outcomes, democratic participation, and gender equity. It will generate new knowledge on how micro-level power structures affect citizens’ experience of government. Expected outcomes include a new framework for understanding how community power structures shape and constrain governme ....Village democracy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This project aims to understand variation in village politics in Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and the effects of that variation on development outcomes, democratic participation, and gender equity. It will generate new knowledge on how micro-level power structures affect citizens’ experience of government. Expected outcomes include a new framework for understanding how community power structures shape and constrain government action. Benefits will include strengthening Australia’s position as a world leader in Asian and Pacific studies, generating a new framework for understanding the effects of village political dynamics, and guidance for Australian and other policy makers planning grassroots development interventions.Read moreRead less
Improving responses to sexual violence against children in Papua New Guinea. The project aims to result in improved knowledge and community acknowledgement of sexual violence against children in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and an approach that could be adapted and adopted in other low income, fragile contexts. It is a very significant project because sexual violence against children is a widespread and escalating social problem, with a very limited capacity to respond to reported incidents. Working ....Improving responses to sexual violence against children in Papua New Guinea. The project aims to result in improved knowledge and community acknowledgement of sexual violence against children in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and an approach that could be adapted and adopted in other low income, fragile contexts. It is a very significant project because sexual violence against children is a widespread and escalating social problem, with a very limited capacity to respond to reported incidents. Working closely with two specialist services to trial and assess a low-cost approach, the project is expected to result in longer-term support for child survivors and their families, and reduce further victimisation and offending. The potential benefits are multiple and far ranging, in PNG and in the Pacific region more broadly. Read moreRead less
3000 Years of settlement and interaction in southern Vanuatu. This project aims to conduct an archaeological survey of Vanuatu. One of archaeology's most significant contributions is providing models for the emergence of cultural diversity through time. Vanuatu is one of the most diverse regions on Earth. The southern islands were an important hub in early settlement and long-term inter-island interactions of Island Melanesia. Yet little is known about the origins of cultural contacts and divers ....3000 Years of settlement and interaction in southern Vanuatu. This project aims to conduct an archaeological survey of Vanuatu. One of archaeology's most significant contributions is providing models for the emergence of cultural diversity through time. Vanuatu is one of the most diverse regions on Earth. The southern islands were an important hub in early settlement and long-term inter-island interactions of Island Melanesia. Yet little is known about the origins of cultural contacts and diversity in the area. A major archaeological survey of the Polynesian outliers Futuna and Aniwa and neighbouring islands Tanna and Aneityum would greatly improve our knowledge of settlement patterns, long-distance exchange, and cross-cultural interaction in the region, from initial Lapita settlement 3000 years ago through to the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1860s.Read moreRead less
Community Rule-Making in the Pacific Islands as Regulatory Innovation. Our study investigates the widespread phenomena of ‘community rule-making’ in Pacific Island countries, in which local communities engage in deliberative processes oriented towards development of new normative orders. Occurring largely outside of state-sanctioned authority, such processes may address social problems such as gender based violence, crime and poverty, and frequently occur in the context of other locally-driven ....Community Rule-Making in the Pacific Islands as Regulatory Innovation. Our study investigates the widespread phenomena of ‘community rule-making’ in Pacific Island countries, in which local communities engage in deliberative processes oriented towards development of new normative orders. Occurring largely outside of state-sanctioned authority, such processes may address social problems such as gender based violence, crime and poverty, and frequently occur in the context of other locally-driven attempts at community regeneration. Through collaborative empirical research in PNG, Solomon Islands and Samoa, our project will build an evidence base to better understand the potential and the dangers of community rule-making, and develop ‘responsive hybridisation’ as a new analytical framework to theorise about it.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100857
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,354.00
Summary
Local Memories and Nation-building in Timor-Leste and Bougainville. It is well known that, in post-conflict societies, political elites portray and memorialise the past in the service of nation-building. Far less attention has been paid to the relationship between local memory practices and nation-building. By examining how community members in Timor-Leste and Bougainville commemorate the past, construct monuments, undertake reconciliation practices and ritually rebury the dead, this project aim ....Local Memories and Nation-building in Timor-Leste and Bougainville. It is well known that, in post-conflict societies, political elites portray and memorialise the past in the service of nation-building. Far less attention has been paid to the relationship between local memory practices and nation-building. By examining how community members in Timor-Leste and Bougainville commemorate the past, construct monuments, undertake reconciliation practices and ritually rebury the dead, this project aims to reveal how citizens' collective memories are shaping nations. This research aims to contribute new theoretical understandings of the relationship between memory and nation-building, while also influencing policy debates on peace-building and transitional justice after conflict.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,720.00
Summary
Melanesia's violent environments: Extractive resource industries, agrarian change and conflict in the Western Pacific. Large-scale mining activities were deeply implicated in the armed conflicts on the islands of Bougainville (1989-98) and Guadalcanal (1998-2003). Island Melanesia is now on the brink of a major new mining boom, compelling an urgent reconsideration of the relationships between mining, violence and political fragmentation in this island region. This project will focus on the role ....Melanesia's violent environments: Extractive resource industries, agrarian change and conflict in the Western Pacific. Large-scale mining activities were deeply implicated in the armed conflicts on the islands of Bougainville (1989-98) and Guadalcanal (1998-2003). Island Melanesia is now on the brink of a major new mining boom, compelling an urgent reconsideration of the relationships between mining, violence and political fragmentation in this island region. This project will focus on the role of agrarian change and patterns of socio-economic inequality at different geographical scales, a poorly understood dimension of these relationships. The results will contribute to the development of policy approaches that minimise the risk of further violence, while also offering new theoretical insights into the complex global phenomenon of 'resource conflict'.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101703
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,505.00
Summary
Mission archaeology and colonial encounters in Southern Vanuatu. The remains of Christian missions in southern Vanuatu are important heritage sites for local communities, and for their place in world history as part of one of the final frontiers of European colonialism. This project explores these sites to produce a new picture of everyday life that includes the perspectives of missionaries and native people.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100142
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$238,000.00
Summary
Equipment and facilities upgrade for Asia Pacific and regional archive for digital sources in endangered cultures. PARADISEC is a digital archive of Australian researchers' recordings in the Asia Pacific region. The equipment and web facilities will be upgraded to increase security, accessibility and user interaction with the digital collection of audiovisual recordings and texts.
Transformative human mobilities in a changing climate. This project aims to investigate the potential for diverse forms of human mobility, particularly relocation and migration, with climate change adaptation across the Pacific Islands region. The project aims to utilise policy analysis and in-depth case study research, conducted across five countries, to inform the creation of a conceptual framework that integrates mobility with climate change adaptation and development goals, policy and practi ....Transformative human mobilities in a changing climate. This project aims to investigate the potential for diverse forms of human mobility, particularly relocation and migration, with climate change adaptation across the Pacific Islands region. The project aims to utilise policy analysis and in-depth case study research, conducted across five countries, to inform the creation of a conceptual framework that integrates mobility with climate change adaptation and development goals, policy and practice. The project expects to enhance the overall adaptive capacity and resilience for Pacific Island populations by uncovering pathways by which vulnerable populations can use.Read moreRead less