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
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200605
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$247,683.00
Summary
Australian Boys: Beyond the Boy Problem. In Australia, most research on boys and boyhood is focused on risk-reduction, representing boys as problems at school, on the streets, or in relationships, with an ambivalent (if not oppositional) relation to feminism. At the same time, anti-feminist public discourse highlighting the experiences of boys and young men is used to justify violence towards women as well as call for the reversal of social changes that have expanded opportunities available to g ....Australian Boys: Beyond the Boy Problem. In Australia, most research on boys and boyhood is focused on risk-reduction, representing boys as problems at school, on the streets, or in relationships, with an ambivalent (if not oppositional) relation to feminism. At the same time, anti-feminist public discourse highlighting the experiences of boys and young men is used to justify violence towards women as well as call for the reversal of social changes that have expanded opportunities available to girls. This research project will develop a framework for interdisciplinary research that takes Australian boys and boyhood as the subjects of a more inclusive future, working to overcome ingrained oppositions between feminist scholarship and the lives and interests of boys. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200677
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Staying on Country: Infrastructure Needs for Remote Community Viability. This project introduces the concept of infrastructural biographies to revisit the history of remote community formations from the self-determination era to today. Using ethnographic approaches to understand infrastructural legacies, it aims to interrogate the governance and hardware requirements for supporting Indigenous residents to stay on country. The project will produce four case studies capturing community resilience ....Staying on Country: Infrastructure Needs for Remote Community Viability. This project introduces the concept of infrastructural biographies to revisit the history of remote community formations from the self-determination era to today. Using ethnographic approaches to understand infrastructural legacies, it aims to interrogate the governance and hardware requirements for supporting Indigenous residents to stay on country. The project will produce four case studies capturing community resilience efforts in northern and central Australia. Expected benefits include an enhanced understanding of infrastructural issues in relation to viability concerns, and improved policy strategies for Indigenous corporations, NGOs, and governments working on remote Indigenous governance, maintenance programs, and climate-readiness.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
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
Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on ....Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on the platform of volunteer studies established by social research and extends it via a critical reconsideration of the work of Michel de Certeau.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0775813
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early chil ....Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early childhood programs, a facilitation of understanding in non-Indigenous children and assist in the maintenance of this knowledge for future generations. Read moreRead less
What Aboriginal cosmology means for women and gender public policy. The project aims to examine the nature of Aboriginal or Yolngu cosmology and its meaning for and effect on public policy for women and gender. In the Northeast Arnhem region of Elcho Island at Gawa, the project will identify the Djurrwirr Yalu guiding principles used to enhance the levels of governance and other systems applied to their community, culture, traditional ecological environmental knowledge and skill sets. The antici ....What Aboriginal cosmology means for women and gender public policy. The project aims to examine the nature of Aboriginal or Yolngu cosmology and its meaning for and effect on public policy for women and gender. In the Northeast Arnhem region of Elcho Island at Gawa, the project will identify the Djurrwirr Yalu guiding principles used to enhance the levels of governance and other systems applied to their community, culture, traditional ecological environmental knowledge and skill sets. The anticipated benefits include supporting and retaining established Yolngu Australian researchers in traditional ecological environmental knowledge, and improving Yolngu wellbeing and quality of life.Read moreRead less
Empowering Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Girls, Changing Communities. This project applies Indigenous knowledges to develop new understandings and insights in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls’ education. Expected outcomes of the project include: the development of a national framework that supports the education of girls and acknowledges the importance of self-determination, culture, gender and place in creating life changing educational opportunities; addressing Clo ....Empowering Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Girls, Changing Communities. This project applies Indigenous knowledges to develop new understandings and insights in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls’ education. Expected outcomes of the project include: the development of a national framework that supports the education of girls and acknowledges the importance of self-determination, culture, gender and place in creating life changing educational opportunities; addressing Close the Gap targets; and creating broader long lasting positive changes regarding access, participation and success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The outcomes of this project can provide significant benefits to the broad Australian schooling system.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200346
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$258,000.00
Summary
Rangingur: a Yolngu digital art of renewal . The Yolngu word rangingur means coming from the beach. This collaboration with Yolngu researchers seeks to enrich Australia's understanding of the beach as a critical zone of Indigenous history, identity, and environmental knowledge. Concerned that they face a devastating tipping point, participants seek to use co-creative methods to document endangered songs, stories, and beach environments. New knowledge will be produced about Indigenous observation ....Rangingur: a Yolngu digital art of renewal . The Yolngu word rangingur means coming from the beach. This collaboration with Yolngu researchers seeks to enrich Australia's understanding of the beach as a critical zone of Indigenous history, identity, and environmental knowledge. Concerned that they face a devastating tipping point, participants seek to use co-creative methods to document endangered songs, stories, and beach environments. New knowledge will be produced about Indigenous observations of - and responses to - environmental threat. Outputs will include a website co-designed by ritual and digital experts. Multiple generations of Yolngu families, and the wider Australian community, will benefit as this project models new of ways of caring for coastal futures. Read moreRead less