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
Trust in Pacific Healthcare: Transforming research, policy and practice. Medical trust is vital to building positive healthcare engagement and improving health outcomes, yet is poorly understood in non-Western contexts. Focusing on crises of trust related to type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 interventions in the Pacific, this collaborative project aims to examine the social and cultural dynamics of medical (mis)trust in Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa. Providing the first cross-cultural study of medical tru ....Trust in Pacific Healthcare: Transforming research, policy and practice. Medical trust is vital to building positive healthcare engagement and improving health outcomes, yet is poorly understood in non-Western contexts. Focusing on crises of trust related to type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 interventions in the Pacific, this collaborative project aims to examine the social and cultural dynamics of medical (mis)trust in Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa. Providing the first cross-cultural study of medical trust, an international team of researchers will generate interdisciplinary scholarly outputs, policy resources and a documentary film. Findings will assist healthcare professionals and communities strengthen trust relationships and ultimately achieve improved health engagement and delivery in the Pacific 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
Indigenous solutions to global challenges in the Pacific Islands. The global COVID 19 pandemic represents a unique opportunity to understand the nature and potential of Indigenous sustainable development in Pacific Island communities, where Indigenous practices have been central in responses to closed borders and industry downturns. This project proposes to analyse the efficacy and cultural value of new, pandemic-era Indigenous sustainable development initiatives in sustaining island communities ....Indigenous solutions to global challenges in the Pacific Islands. The global COVID 19 pandemic represents a unique opportunity to understand the nature and potential of Indigenous sustainable development in Pacific Island communities, where Indigenous practices have been central in responses to closed borders and industry downturns. This project proposes to analyse the efficacy and cultural value of new, pandemic-era Indigenous sustainable development initiatives in sustaining island communities. It aims to culminate in a novel geographic theory of Indigenous sustainable development, and to identify new opportunities to support the expansion of Indigenous sustainable development. This should better enable the Pacific Islands region to respond to climate change, pandemics and other global challenges.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
Pacific Islanders in regional Victoria: visitors, migrants and overstayers. This project aims to understand the socio-economic situation of Pacific Islanders living in regional Victoria, including visitors, permanent residents, seasonal workers and undocumented migrants. The aim is to investigate the impact of these different statuses on access to public services, interactions within and across ethnic groups, and trans-local and transnational practices. Working with partner organisations involve ....Pacific Islanders in regional Victoria: visitors, migrants and overstayers. This project aims to understand the socio-economic situation of Pacific Islanders living in regional Victoria, including visitors, permanent residents, seasonal workers and undocumented migrants. The aim is to investigate the impact of these different statuses on access to public services, interactions within and across ethnic groups, and trans-local and transnational practices. Working with partner organisations involved with migrant populations in the area, the project seeks to shed new light on Australian regional migration and bring marginalised regional populations into discussions of migration and transnationalism. Intended outcomes include scholarly publications, policy-focused reports and an open access project website.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100189
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,000.00
Summary
Beyond Imported Understandings of Domestic Violence in the Pacific. High occurrences of domestic violence across the Pacific region threatens the growth and development of all sectors. This project aims to investigate local understandings of the causes, manifestations, and best-suited responses to the problem in the Pacific. It advances a study of local stakeholder’s perspectives of domestic violence in two of the least developed Pacific Island countries to generate non-Western, context-specific ....Beyond Imported Understandings of Domestic Violence in the Pacific. High occurrences of domestic violence across the Pacific region threatens the growth and development of all sectors. This project aims to investigate local understandings of the causes, manifestations, and best-suited responses to the problem in the Pacific. It advances a study of local stakeholder’s perspectives of domestic violence in two of the least developed Pacific Island countries to generate non-Western, context-specific insight into developing policies and practices to inform improved frontline responses. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence base to inform contextually appropriate and innovative responses to domestic violence, with benefits to islander/indigenous communities and economies in Oceania.Read moreRead less
Working through loss from climate change in the Pacific Islands. As global efforts to respond to climate change fail to protect the most vulnerable, its impacts will continue to cause grief and suffering through loss of life, wellbeing, place and culture. In-depth understanding of this loss, particularly its non-economic aspects, is limited. The Fellowship program aims to address this gap. Outcomes include a novel framework and methodology to explore how loss is experienced in three Pacific Isla ....Working through loss from climate change in the Pacific Islands. As global efforts to respond to climate change fail to protect the most vulnerable, its impacts will continue to cause grief and suffering through loss of life, wellbeing, place and culture. In-depth understanding of this loss, particularly its non-economic aspects, is limited. The Fellowship program aims to address this gap. Outcomes include a novel framework and methodology to explore how loss is experienced in three Pacific Island countries, providing new ways of working through loss and grief with communities at the frontline of climate change. The outcomes will inform international and national policy and practice, helping people plan and work through this loss, minimise its harm and have greater hope and agency over their futures.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