Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Torres Straits Islanders'
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1
Arthur, William Stewart, and William Arthur@anu edu au. "Torres Strait Islanders and Autonomy: a Borderline Case." The Australian National University. Crawford School of Economics and Government, 2006. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20070612.114556.
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During 1996 and 1997 an Australian parliamentary committee conducted an inquiry into greater autonomy for Torres Strait Islanders, but by 2000 the future of the issue seemed unclear. This thesis explores what the notion of autonomy has meant for Torres Strait and for Torres Strait Islanders in the past, and what it might mean in the future. The thesis uses material from the period before European contact to just after the end of the parliamentary inquiry.
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Several analytical tools were utilised to explore the concept of autonomy. Major among these to propose and then analyse the relationship between autonomys economic and political components. The thesis also introduces the paired concepts of negative and positive autonomy to provide a counterpoint to ideas of welfare colonialism. Cross cutting these economic and political elements is a consideration of both regional and corporate forms of autonomy. The thesis argues that it is necessary to consider the factors which people can use to legitimise a case for autonomy and these are identified and discussed.
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Although previous research and historical material are utilised, unique parts of the thesis include an analysis of: the formal submissions and hearings associated with the parliamentary inquiry; the Torres Straits location between Australia and Papua New Guinea; and the Straits small-island make-up. In this latter regard, comparisons are made with models and examples of autonomy found in small island states and territories in the Pacific.
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The findings include that we must consider two groups of Torres Strait Islanders, those in Torres Strait and those on mainland Australia. Whereas those in the Strait have been able to legitimise a case for a form of autonomy those on the mainland have not. Islanders in the Strait have achieved a degree of regional autonomy; those on the mainland are unable to make a case to be part of this regional autonomy, or to achieve a form of corporate autonomy. The status of Islanders in the Strait is influenced by several factors including the Straits location on the border with Papua New Guinea, the associated Treaty with that country, and the nature and the accessibility of the in-shore fishery. A major finding however is that although Islanders have achieved a degree of regional political autonomy, which may be progressed yet further, they have been unable to embrace non-Indigenous people within this. Their present aspiration for regional political autonomy therefore is limited to one that would apply only to Indigenous-specific affairs. This stands in some conflict with their aspiration for regional economic autonomy which would include their control over the entire regional fishery which they presently share with non-Islanders.
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Though Islanders have achieved some degree of political autonomy, they depend on substantial government financial transfers to the region. Despite this they have also achieved some economic autonomy, particularly through being involved in the regions fishery. Juxtaposing negative and positive autonomy with political and economic autonomy shows that a dependence on government economic transfers does not preclude gains in political autonomy. This can be contrasted with the notion of welfare colonialism.
2
Aldrich, Rosemary Public Health & Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine UNSW. "Flesh-coloured bandaids: politics, discourse, policy and the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 1972-2001." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/27276.
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This thesis concerns the relationship between ideology, values, beliefs, politics, language, discourses, public policy and health outcomes. By examining the origins of federal health policy concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 1972-2001 I have explored the idea that the way a problem is constructed through language determines solutions enacted to solve that problem, and subsequent outcomes. Despite three decades of federal policy activity Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children born at the start of the 21st Century could expect to live almost 20 years less than non-Indigenous Australians. Explanations for the gap include that the colonial legacy of dispossession and disease continues to wreak social havoc and that both health policy and structures for health services have been fundamentally flawed. The research described in this thesis focuses on the role of senior Federal politicians in the health policy process. The research is grounded in theory which suggests that the values and beliefs of decision makers are perpetuated through language. Using critical discourse analysis the following hypotheses were tested: 1. That an examination of the language of Federal politicians responsible for the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples over three decades would reveal their beliefs, values and discourses concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their health 2. That the discourses of the Federal politicians contributed to policy discourses and frames in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy environment, and 3. That there is a relationship between the policy discourses of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy environment and health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The hypotheses were proven. I concluded that there was a relationship between the publicly-expressed values and beliefs of politicians responsible for health, subsequent health policy and resulting health outcomes. However, a model in which theories of discourse, social constructions of people and problems, policy development and organisational decision-making were integrated did not adequately explain the findings. I developed the concept of "policy imagination" to explain the discrete mechanism by which ideology, politics, policy and health were related. My research suggests that the ideology and values which drove decision-making by Federal politicians responsible for the health of all Australians contributed to the lack of population-wide improvement in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the late 20th Century.
3
Arthur, William Stewart. "Torres Strait Islanders and autonomy : a borderline case /." View thesis entry in Australian Digital Theses, 2005. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20070612.114556/index.html.
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Sharp, Nonie. "Stars of Tagai : the Torres Strait islanders /." Canberra : Aboriginal studies press, 1993. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb374246858.
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Th. Ph. D., 1984. Titre de soutenance : Springs of originality among the Torres Strait islanders : after the storm-winds the leafing of the wongai tree.Bibliogr. p. 283-300. Notes bibliogr. Glossaire. Index.
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Rieländer, Klaus. "Fernsehen der australischen Aborigines und Torres Strait Islanders /." Bonn : Holos, 1993. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb374501668.
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Norman, Karma C. "Grasping Adubad : Badulgal management, tenure, knowledge and harvest within the marine environment of the Torres Strait /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/6547.
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Hodes, Jeremy. "Torres Strait Islander migration to Cairns before World War II." [S.l. : s.n.], 1998. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/44839600.html.
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Thesis (Master of Letters)--Central Queensland University, 1998."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Letters in History. Central Queensland University." Cover title.
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Nakata, Martin N. "The cultural interface : an exploration of the intersection of Western knowledge systems and Torres Strait Islanders positions and experiences /." Online version, 1997. http://bibpurl.oclc.org/web/22615.
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McLeod, Abby. "Towards an understanding of musical variation in Torres Strait : an analysis of songs performed by two Torres Strait Islander singers /." Title page, contents and conclusion only, 1996. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09MUB/09mubm165.pdf.
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Thesis (B. Mus.(Hons.))--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Music Studies, 1996.A loose leaved appendix of Transcriptions in back pocket (31 leaves). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71).
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Pitt, George Henry. "The Indigenous history and colonial politics of Torres Strait: contesting culture and resources from 1867 to 1990." Curtin University of Technology, Dept. of Social Sciences, Division of Humanities, 2005. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18528.
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The aim of my study is to comprehend why there is a significant gap in the economic development of Torres Strait. It questions why it is that Torres Strait Islanders as a whole remain largely economically unproductive in their present situation in contrast to the political beliefs of Islanders and their struggles for self-determination. It questions why Island leaders continue to accept policies of external control even though the guidelines for self development maintain the situation, rather than transforming it. Thus this thesis examines contemporary and traditional history of the Torres Strait in order to analyse and evaluate the development of the political structures of the Islands and how colonialism has influenced the politics of Torres Strait Islanders. I shift through the recorded layers of myths and legends for my interpretation and analyse the ethnographic accounts about Torres Strait from past archival reports, academic literature and the oral accounts from interviews. From the local media, I have examined the recent views of both the contented and discontented Islanders and other people reported in the local Torres News. From these records, I bring into perspective the historical processes of a capitalist economic system which has so deeply penetrated Islander culture.Commencing in the 1860s, at the onset of the Torres Strait beche-de-mer and pearl shell industry, the system has so failed Torres Strait Islanders' social development that it moved Islander leaders in the 1980s to push for cessation from Australia and, in the mid 1900s to seek "autonomy and self government" to remain within the Australian political system. In this thesis, I use this evidence to bring into perspective the concept of development with awareness to the colonial history of Torres Strait in comparison with oral history interpreted as the culture of my people. The theme my thesis implicates the contestation between Torres Strait Islanders and governments who impose administrative policies through the Islander system of political representation (regarding Islander culture and resources).
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Ewing, Bronwyn. "Recognising Torres Strait Islander Women’s Knowledges in their Children’s Mathematics Education." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-79697.
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This paper discusses women’s involvement in their children’s mathematics education. It does, where possible, focus Torres Strait Islander women who share the aspirations of Aborginal communities around Australia. That is, they are keen for their children to receive an education that provides them with opportunities for their present and future lives. They are also keen to have their cultures’ child learning practices recognised and respected within mainstream education. This recognition has some way to go with the language of instruction in schools written to English conventions, decontextualised and disconnected to the students’ culture, Community and home language.
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McMaster, John. "Yumi pedagogy: pedagogy with cultural integrity in the Torres Strait." University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Education, 2006. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00006230/.
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[The Mariner's Chart]I've chosen to use the metaphor of the mariners chart to highlight the characteristics that are the essential elements of this study. This metaphor also sits comfortably with the Torres Strait Islander people, both historically and contemporaneously. The document '(IN) THE BEGINNING: The mariner’s chart to the folio’, represents the chart which enables readers ofthis study to 'navigate' their individual progress through the study in ways that reflect the reader's motivation/s. As with most maritime voyages, destinations can be reached via a number of different routes. These routes will be partially determined by motivations including tides, winds, directness, the skill of the navigator and the whim of the skipper. These motivations also apply to any reading of this study. The essential starting point will bedetermined initially by reference to the chart. Being made aware of the elements of the folio (logs of the various voyages) will influence where the reader goes from there; in other words, what folio elements (logs of the voyages) the reader will go to first and the order they chooseto follow, subsequent to that. There is no necessary order in which the logs of the various voyages should be read, following the initial reference to the 'chart'.The mariner's chart identifies low water marks, channel markers, reefs, sandbanks, and unseen obstacles. These represent only a handful of the dangers the reader (mariner) will face on the voyage. Likewise the study has its share of 'dangers', both seen and unseen. Thewhole nature of the study is in a sense, dangerous. I anticipate that any reading of the study will necessarily reflect the idiosyncrasies of the reader, so that the conclusions that I have reached, represent only one view of the data. The identification of the data itself reflects a level of interpretation that is also very personal, highlighting the reality that others(readers/mariners) may see greater significance in aspects of the recorded data that the author has not. The log of the voyage, My Journey An Autobiographical Narrative, clearly identifies a very personal journey or series of journeys, all of which reflect a range of reefs and sandbars that the author has sometimes been stranded on, between tides, giving time for reflection on actions that have either proven unsuccessful or are cause for quietcontemplation. Each of the folio elements reflects this metaphoric mix of danger and clear passage, in many different ways and at many different levels, inviting the individual and equally legitimate reactions of each reader.Whilst Torres Strait Islanders historically navigated by the stars and the seasons today, electronic navigation charts have tended to replace these important and culturally significant practices. Torres Strait people have metaphorically experienced being stranded on reefs andshoals and being wrecked, especially in terms of the education processes they have been exposed to, by virtue of this cultural shift. The process, educationally, of replacing the reliable historic (navigation) practices of Torres Strait Islanders with contemporary, western(navigation charts) practices has frequently resulted in confusion, frustration and a failure to produce successful educational outcomes for Torres Strait Islanders - clear passage to the future. The reasons for this situation are explored in greater depth in this study.With these explanations in mind then, the reader is invited to engage on their own voyage through this study.
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Adams, Michael John. "Sexual and reproductive health problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males." Queensland University of Technology, 2007. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16599/.
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Compared to males in almost any social group in all affluent nations, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men suffer from substantially more serious illnesses and early death. To date, research done by or in collaboration with Indigenous communities has revealed the extent of the problems that arise from diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancers, respiratory diseases, psychological disorders, accidental injuries, violence and other causes. Reproductive health, however, rarely has been studied among Indigenous men. To date, research in this field has been limited mainly to studies of sexually transmitted infections. No data has been published on Aboriginal men's symptoms of prostate disease or erectile dysfunction, nor has the clinical screening and treatment of these disorders among these men been assessed. In-depth search of the worldwide web demonstrated that little information on these issues was available from other Indigenous populations. It does appear that Indigenous men in Australia, New Zealand and North America are less likely than European-ancestry men to die from prostate cancer, or for living cases to be recorded on cancer registries. This may arise because Indigenous men genuinely have a lower risk, or because they are not captured by official statistics, or because they do not live long enough to develop severe prostate disease. We also know very little about other reproductive health problems such as sexual dysfunction and specifically erectile difficulties. One reason for our scant knowledge is that research mainly relies on self-report of sensitive information. The aim of the research study was to improve the understanding of sexual and reproductive health problems experienced by Indigenous men. This is best gathered by Aboriginal males who are inside the culture of middleaged and older Indigenous men, but until now this has not been attempted. In this study we adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) definitions for Reproductive and Sexual Health (WHO, 2001). Thus, we consider reproductive system disorders (prostate disease, erectile dysfunction) and related health care-seeking, and also men's perceptions about a "satisfying and safe sexual life". The methodology was framed within an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research protocol that advocates respect for cultural, social and community customs. A mixed method design combined qualitative inquiry (4 focus groups and 18 in-depth interviews) and quantitative survey (n=301) involving men living in remote, rural and urban communities (Tiwi Islands, Darwin and north and south-east Queensland). Survey data were compared to recently published self-reports from 5990 randomly selected men aged over 40 years in Australia (Holden et al., 2005, The Lancet, 366, 218-224. The qualitative interviews revealed that most men were silent about reproductive health. They were unwilling to reveal their inner feelings to wives or partners, and they were unwilling to discuss such issues with doctors and other health care workers. Men's reaction to sexual difficulties included shame, denial, substance abuse and occasionally violence. On a positive note many men said they want to learn about it, so they understand how to cope with such problems. The Indigenous men reported symptoms of erectile dysfunction at least as much as non-Indigenous men in other Australian studies. Bivariate analysis showed that erectile dysfunction was correlated with many health and lifestyle variable. However multivariate analysis revealed that only three factors significantly predicted ED: presence of chronic disease, presence of pain when working, and living in a remote geographic location The quantitative survey data indicate that Indigenous men have more symptoms of prostate disease than non-Indigenous men. The syndrome appears to be poorly managed in clinical practice (e.g. rates of PSA testing and digital-rectal examination are only one-third the rate reported by non-Aboriginal men, despite equivalent likelihood of GP visits). The research study adds to the literature by providing better insight and depth into the issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males experiencing reproductive and sexual health difficulties. It also provides a platform to undertake comprehensive research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to explore a wider spectrum of questions in this important but neglected area. Implications for education of primary healthcare workers and community-based awareness campaigns for Indigenous males are discussed. Most of all, this study revealed "layers" of silence around sexual and reproductive health of Indigenous men. This includes silence in the scientific establishments in health services, and in the community. It is hoped that this study puts the voices of the men forward to help to break down this silence.
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Grootjans, John. "Both ways and beyond : in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker education /." View thesis, 1999. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030725.103057/index.html.
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Grootjans, John, of Western Sydney Hawkesbury University, and of Health Humanities and Social Ecology Faculty. "Both ways and beyond : in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker education." THESIS_FHHSE_SEL_Grootjans_J.xml, 1999. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/445.
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During 1987 my essential beliefs about the nature of the world were challenged by a chance event which led to my arrival in Arnhemland. Working with Aboriginal people allowed me to see first hand the failings of Western ideas in Aboriginal education and health. This is how a 12 year collaboration with Aboriginal people began. The aim was to search for answers to the question, 'Why so many ideas that had been successfully used in the Western world, fail to meet the needs of aboriginal people? My experiences prior to 1995 had led me to believe that Both Ways, an education pedagogy developed in teacher education, was the best approach for empowering Aboriginal Health Workers. I believed Both Ways gave Aboriginal Health Workers a means to develop solutions to aboriginal health issues which valued and respected their aboriginal knowledge. I needed to describe and evaluate the practice of both ways with Aboriginal Health workers for the purpose of proving the benefit of this pedagogy for other educators in this field. This thesis describes how I came to think Both Ways was a good idea; how I defined Both ways; and how I put it into practice. It also provides a description of the issues raised in my critique of Both Ways and in my attempts to provide answers to these issues. Several years of collecting data, including records from action research group discussions, participant observation, interviews with peers and students, and formal evaluations left me with many concerns about Both Ways. As educators follow my journey of discovery I hope that they will recognise experiences and insights that they themselves have shared. The descriptions and discussions in this thesis will add significantly to the overall discourse about health worker education. Similarly, the exploration of ideas beyond Both Ways will add significantly to the overall body knowledge about the power relationships involved in teaching in a cross cultural settingDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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Peacock, Janice, and n/a. "Inner Weavings: Cultural Appropriateness for a Torres Strait Island Woman Artist of Today." Griffith University. Queensland College of Art, 2006. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070327.140720.
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This exegesis examines the context of my studio work submitted for the degree of Doctor of Visual Art at Griffith University in 2004. My art practice reflects my identity, which is complex and many-stranded, but at its core is my identity as a 21st century woman of Torres Strait Islander descent. I also acknowledge multiple heritages and, like many of my contemporaries, I am a descendant of those two thirds of the Torres Strait population who now live on the Australian mainland. Having been born and brought up on the mainland also means that I am connected to, and have been affected by, wider Australian Indigenous issues, particularly those resulting from the alienation and dislocation which stem from colonialism. Therefore, as I draw from both traditional and contemporary modes and theory to explore the appropriateness of my art practice, this exegesis centres on the question: What constitutes culturally appropriate practice for me as a contemporary Torres Strait Island woman?
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Whatman, Susan Leigh. "'Wis Wei Youpla Health?' A case study of the nature and extent of community participation in health education decision-making for Torres Strait Islander girls at Bluewater High." Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15863/.
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This dissertation seeks to investigate the nature and extent of community participation in health education decision making for Torres Strait Islander girls at one Queensland high school. As such, the study is concerned with identifying stakeholders in health education for girls, describing the ways in which stakeholders participate in health education decision-making, and identifying the factors that promote or inhibit community participation in health education decision-making. The question presupposes several standpoints: firstly, that Indigenous communities want to participate in education decision-making and, secondly, that community participation would be desirable in producing good outcomes for Indigenous students. Thus, the literature review is concerned with critiquing discourses of community participation in Indigenous education, the effects on educational outcomes of Indigenous students when community participation is enabled, and reviewing previous research on educational decision-making in health education in Australia. Given the necessity for emancipatory research methodology in Indigenous research contexts, a critical ethnographic case study approach was chosen to investigate the research questions at a high school in the Torres Strait; building a critical case record from field notes, interview data, and documents. Using Carspecken's (1996) stages of data analysis, primary records were reconstructed and dialogically negotiated with participants, to describe system relations. Such an approach allows for power and control relations between researchers and research participants to be explicated, giving voice to usually marginalised groups, such as Indigenous students. This approach was also congruent with specific Torres Strait Islander research protocols, informed by Ailan Kastom, which were necessary to sensitively and successfully undertake the research. Data analysis was informed by a framework of Indigenous community participation theory, derived from Soliman (1995), Heslop (1998 ), Ministerial Advisory Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education (1999) and Stewart (1999), together with curriculum theory, from Bernstein (1976; 1990; 2000). This approach constituted a unique adaptation of Bernstein's pedagogic discourse theory to a Torres Strait Islander educational setting. The findings indicated that there was strong desire by community members, including students, to participate in health education decision-making at Bluewater High. However, the ability of different stakeholder groups to participate in health education varied, with teachers exercising the most power, and students the least. An in-depth, contextual analysis, in which pedagogic decision-making occurred, enabled a number of immediate and long-term recommendations to be developed. It is envisaged that these recommendations will enable greater community participation in health education decision-making for girls at Bluewater High, and more generally in other Indigenous educational settings.
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Robinson, Raymond Stanley. "Dreaming tracks : history of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979 : its place in the continuum of Australian indigenous dance and the contribution of its African American founder, Carole Y. Johnson /." View thesis View thesis, 2000. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030604.085603/index.html.
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Thesis (M.A.) (Honours) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000.A thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Honours) - (Performance), School of Applied Social and Human Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000. Bibliography : Vol. 1, leaves 202-209.
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Burridge, Nina. "The implementation of the policy of Reconciliation in NSW schools." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/25954.
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"November 2003".Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Australian Centre for Educational Studies, School of Education, 2004.
Bibliography: leaves 243-267.
Introduction -- Literature review -- Meanings and perspectives of Reconciliation in the Australian socio-political context -- An explanation of the research method -- Meanings of Reconciliation in the school context -- Survey results -- The role of education in the Reconciliation process -- Obstacles and barriers to Reconciliation -- Teaching for Reconciliation: best practice in teaching resources -- Conclusion.
The research detailed in this thesis investigated how schools in NSW responded to the social and political project of Reconciliation at the end of the 1990s. -- The research used a multi-method research approach which included a survey instrument, focus group interviews and key informants interviews with Aboriginal and non Aboriginal teachers, elders and educators, to gather qualitative as well as quantitative data. Differing research methodologies, including Indigenous research paradigms, are presented and discussed within the context of this research. From the initial research questions a number of sub-questions emerged which included: -The exploration of meanings and perspectives of Reconciliation evident in both the school and wider communities contexts and the extent to which these meanings and perspectives were transposed from the community to the school sector. -The perceived level of support for Reconciliation in school communities and what factors impacted on this level of support. -Responses of school communities to Reconciliation in terms of school programs and teaching strategies including factors which enhanced the teaching of Reconciliation issues in the classroom and factors which acted as barriers. -- Firstly in order to provide the context for the research study, the thesis provides a brief historical overview of the creation of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. It then builds a framework through which the discourses of Reconciliation are presented and deconstructed. These various meanings and perspectives of Reconciliation are placed within a linear spectrum of typologies, from 'hard', 'genuine' or 'substantive' Reconciliation advocated by the Left, comprising a strong social justice agenda, first nation rights and compensation for past injustices, to the assimiliationist typologies desired by members of the Right which suggest that Reconciliation is best achieved through the total integration of Aboriginal people into the mainstream community, with Aboriginal people accepting the reality of their dispossession. -- In between these two extremes lie degrees of interpretations of what constitutes Reconciliation, including John Howard's current Federal Government interpretation of 'practical' Reconciliation. In this context "Left" and "Right" are defined less by political ideological lines of the Labor and Liberal parties than by attitudes to human rights and social justice. Secondly, and within the socio-political context presented above, the thesis reports on research conducted with Indigenous and non Indigenous educators, students and elders in the context of the NSW school system to decipher meanings and perspectives on Reconciliation as reflected in that sector. It then makes comparisons with research conducted on behalf of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation during the 1990s on attitudes to Reconciliation in the community. Perceived differences are analysed and discussed.
The research further explores how schools approached the teaching of Reconciliation through a series of survey questions designed to document the types of activities undertaken by the schools with Reconciliation as the main aim. -- Research findings indicated that while both the community at large and the education community are overwhelmingly supportive of Reconciliation, both as a concept and as a government policy, when questioned further as to the depth and details of this commitment to Reconciliation and the extent to which they may be supportive of the 'hard' issues of Reconciliation, their views and level of support were more wide ranging and deflective. -- Findings indicated that, in general, educators have a more multi-layered understanding of the issues related to Reconciliation than the general community, and a proportion of them do articulate more clearly those harder, more controversial aspects of the Reconciliation process (eg just compensation, land and sea rights, customary laws). However, they are in the main, unsure of its meaning beyond the 'soft' symbolic acts and gatherings which occur in schools. In the late 1990s, when Reconciliation was at the forefront of the national agenda, research findings indicate that while schools were organising cultural and curriculum activities in their teaching of Indigenous history or Aboriginal studies - they did not specifically focus on Reconciliation in their teaching programs as an issue in the community. Teachers did not have a clearly defined view of what Reconciliation entailed and schools were not teaching about Reconciliation directly within their curriculum programs. -- The research also sought to identify facotrs which acted as enhancers of a Reconciliation program in schools and factors which were seen as barriers. Research findings clearly pointed to community and parental attitudes as important barriers with time and an overcrowded curriculum as further barriers to the implementation of teaching programs. Factors which promoted Reconciliation in schools often related to human agency and human relationships such as supportive executive leadership, the work of committed teachers and a responsive staff and community.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xvi, 286 leaves ill
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Ewing, Bronwyn. "Meeting under the "Omei" Tree in the Torres Strait Islands: Networks and Funds of Knowledge of Mathematical Ideas." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-82480.
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Miller, Gregory P., and n/a. "Teacher education programs, at James Cook University of North Queensland, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061110.103136.
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In this thesis I propose to address what are, in my
view, significant educational problems: how to tease out
and analyse those principles, concerning equity and social
justice, which underlie a particular program of teacher education. I want to discuss the kinds of principles,
issues and considerations which have to be faced when
designing such a program as the Diploma of Teaching (Early
Childhood Education) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students at James Cook University. The issues I
will address are these:
(a) The extent to which the notion of equality of
educational opportunity is being addressed in the
provision of teacher-education programs in
Queensland in general, and James Cook University in
particular; (chapter 1).
(b) Ways in which the Diploma of Teaching (Early
Childhood Education) p r o g r am aims to produce
teachers able to act as agents of bi-cultural
transmission; (chapters 2 and 3).
(c) The value, usefulness and desirability of James
Cook University setting up a teacher-education
program specifically for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students from geographically remote
communities, thus increasing the participation
rates of Aborigines and Islanders in teacher-education programs; (chapters 4 and 5).
This process of analysis has led me to structure the
thesis around three dimensions:
(i) The historical context of the program;
(ii) The program as one response to the problems
faced by educational institutions in meeting
the educational needs of Aboriginal people;
(iii) A basis for the next phase in the development
of new programs of teacher - education for
indigenous students living in remote
communities.
This is a qualitative research project, based on my
interpretation of available documentation, my use of
relevant literature, and my own involvement as planner of,
and teacher in the program. It is not a quantitative
research project. The structure of the thesis has, as its
introduction, an analysis of the extremely complex situation
which exists at James Cook University. This analysis leads
to a search for a set of principles to provide the
theoretical underpinning of the program, which in turn leads
through a combination of theory and practice to the "praxis"
of the program as a model of equity and educational practice
in teacher-education. The thesis is concluded by the
presentation of the current stage in the development of a
program for teacher-education students in remote
communi ties.
The conceptual framework for my thesis has been
developed through my determination to increase my
understanding of the complexities of developing teacher-education
programs for indigenous students at James Cook
University. The thesis is developed through case study
techniques including: personal observation and recording of
my work as Program Planner; a situational analysis of the
historical background, leading up to the development of the
Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) ; a
discussion of the stages through which the development team
proceeded with intentionality and empathy towards its task
of constructing a specific program of teacher-education; and
my use of existing literature to comprehend the educational
and social problems which the program attemted to
alleviate.
Throughout my thesis the specificity of the "case", and
the eclectic position I have adopted, have acted as
boundaries of my conceptual framework. My thesis attempts
to show that the "case" of the development of teacher-education
programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students at James Cook University, although an idiosyncratic
instance , is valuable as illumination , if not for
generalisation, and thus has a credibility and usefulness.
The characteristics of the case-study method are
frequently more appropriate to expansion is than
reductionist activities, and I have tried to show how the
different perspectives of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
people, together with the beliefs, attitudes and values of
such different interest-groups as university academics,
Commonwealth and State Education Department bureaucrats, and
teachers and parents in schools, have emphasised both the
importance of questioning assumptions and the importance of
critical, experiential understanding.
22
Davis, Jenny, and n/a. ""Principal, he's the boss": power, culture and schooling on Saibai in the Torres Strait Islands." University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education, 2000. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060427.084424.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines issues of power, culture and schooling as they apply
to an indigenous community located on Saibai Island in the Torres Strait
of northern Australia. The thesis combines literature research with
ethnography to consider Saibaian schooling in various contexts. These
include the history of schooling in the region, the relevant educational
literature and the actual physical and social contexts of schooling on
Saibai. Early chapters deal with methodology, history and educational
literature. Later chapters deal with ethnographic material using the
themes of separation, culture and collaborative decision-making to
organise the data. The work of Michel Foucault informs the analytical
approach to issues of power. Hence power is considered to be ubiquitous,
productive and linked to issues of knowledge and culture. School
principals are identified as key figures in schooling and therefore play a
major role in the thesis. As the principals are all men of non-Islander
(anglo) backgrounds, this thesis represents a significant break from works
within the realm of indigenous education that are heavily influenced by
cultural anthropology and tend to focus only on the Aboriginal or Islander
participants as objects of study.
The thesis considers how Saibaian people are excluded from schooling
through various techniques and practices that tend to place the principal in
a position of autocracy vis a vis the school. Furthermore, I show how
various schooling practices that aim to include community members in
schooling are shaped and transformed such that they actually serve to
entrench the principal in his position of control over schooling. This
applies even in the way that cultural activities are incorporated into the
school illustrating that no aspect of schooling is immune to relations of
power. Indeed, the notion of Saibaian Islanders belonging to a unique
cultural group is used by some principals to argue that they are unsuited to
roles within the school's decision-making process. Ultimately, then, this
thesis is about relations between school principals and community
members in the context of schooling on Saibai Island.
23
Ah-Wong, Wayne, and w. ah-wong@cqu edu au. "Living between cultures: Reflections of three Mackay Elders: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Island and South Sea Island residents in Mackay from the 1930s to 2000." Central Queensland University. Nulloo Yumbah, 2007. http://library-resources.cqu.edu.au./thesis/adt-QCQU/public/adt-QCQU20081005.163730.
Full textAbstract:
The Thesis explores the life situations of the three Mackay-based groups: Aboriginal, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander through oral history research and the lived experience of an Elder from each of these groups. Using a combination of oral and written approaches, the project seeks to document ongoing interactions between the three groups from the 1930s and assess their implications for culture, identity and mobility.
24
Backhaus, Vincent Stuart. "Situating the countried existence of critical indigenous pedagogies & Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander student's ways of learning." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2019. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/288428.
Full textAbstract:
The Countried experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of (Australia), ground a resilience and strength in sovereign thinking through the Stories we share laterally with family and inter-ancestrally through our connections to the Dreaming. The stories we share develop a sense of inalienability we have that is connected to the Countries of origin we share and identify with across the continental scape of Land, Water and Sky Country. As a formative philosophical assumption, the Countried existence that this dissertation develops, illuminates the significance of this research thinking to contribute to the continued development of Indigenous education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending secondary high schools across (Australia). By attending to the ways Elders as significant Indigenous leaders describe and develop their storied lives through lived experience, this Countried philosophy emerges through the Storied knowing of Country. By examining the approaches to learning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students adopt, further evidence can be contributed to the research surrounding Indigenous thinking and cognitive approaches to thinking through education learning tasks. By examining the perceptions and beliefs of non-indigenous teachers, this dissertation aims to contribute evidence to Indigenous pedagogies that teachers can deploy in the delivery of meaningful Indigenous Knowledge curricula content. Summatively, this thesis found that when deep engagements are made into the notion of inalienability of Countried experience, salient avenues of thinking and learning and teaching emerge surrounding the ways education can continue to elaborate and relate meaningfully to the First Peoples of Australia.
25
Nicholls, Ruth M. "Ethics of trust and resistance participation in indigenous research /." View abstract, 2009. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/46639.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2009.A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographies.
26
Ford, Suzanne, and n/a. "At the intersection of intercultural and organisational communication : a study of communication within ATSIC and between ATSIC and its clients." University of Canberra. Professional Communication Studies, 1998. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060710.123605.
Full textAbstract:
The realm of research into the various aspects of organisations is wide-ranging, offering
any researcher immense freedom to investigate those area(s) which are of particular
interest to him/her. While there are set theoretical parameters for studying
organisations, eg. various theories looking at organisational communication, structure
and networks, the only real limitation lies in the mind of the researcher. That is the
beauty and nature of organisations, they do not have to wholly conform to any set ideal,
rather they have the opportunity to be unique and diverse depending upon the
organisation's purpose.
It seems that most investigations of organisations are one dimensional, ie. reporting on
what actually happens or how efficient processes are or attempting to define aspects of
culture. However, in this thesis a second dimension has been added�intercultural
aspects of communication. Hence, the research evaluates the intersection of the
intercultural communication which exists within an organisation.
For this two dimensional approach, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was chosen. As with most bureaucratic organisations, due to the
size and complexity it is not practicable to look at an entire organisation For this
thesis, a case study of one of ATSIC's twenty-seven regional offices was undertaken.
Details of this follow in the paper; however, the two main reasons for choosing to
complete a case study of ATSIC are 1) because the author is full-time employee with
access to people, facts and inside information that might otherwise not be available and
2) ATSIC is not a typical bureaucracy; rather it is atypical due to its structure and
purpose, which is to further the economic, social and cultural diversity of Aboriginal
people and Torres Strait Islanders. While part of the Commonwealth Government,
ATSIC is founded upon, and is committed to, furthering both intercultural concepts and
the economic status of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. This is
accomplished by ATSIC being the major advisory body to Government; attending
national and international policy forums; raising awareness of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander cultures; and in providing supplementary funding (through both grant
and loan initiatives) which supports other funding that is given to indigenous people or
organisations through Government mainstream programs (health, housing, education,
social welfare etc.).
To further limit the scope of this research, the communication which has been analysed
is that relating to grant administration. As ATSIC plays a major role in providing grant
funding to indigenous people, this area of evaluation is highly important, as it shows
how ATSIC (represented by one regional office) carries out its functions and business:
providing services and assistance to its clients�the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait
Islanders.
The case study includes comments gleaned from both questionnaires and interviews
from staff and managers within the chosen regional office. This also includes views of
indigenous and non-indigenous people as well as views from the elected community
representatives of that region. It is envisaged that by incorporating the views of those
mentioned above, that the data is as complete, valid and reliable as possible As with
any traditional group of people, there are different norms and cultures which permeate
their social and working lives. The information presented in this thesis is based on
views of a non-indigenous person who has collected data from one specific region and
it is not valid to generalise these findings to other regions in Australia.
Communication in ATSIC is highly complex and difficult to explain to those outside
the organisation. A main reason for this is that there are many requirements that both
the Government and the indigenous communities place on ATSIC, and unfortunately
they are often diametrically opposed. This creates quite an ironic and disharmonious
situation for all parties concerned�a bureaucracy versus intercultural perspectives.
These situations are discussed throughout the thesis. It is important for readers to note
that the ideas which are conveyed in this thesis are the author's own and are not
necessarily those of ATSIC, the Government or indigenous people.
This research experience is one which has been extremely beneficial for the author.
While the author's personal views may not be aligned with others, I challenge those
people to read not only this thesis, but other work like it so that they may be in a
position to make their own informed decisions about controversial issues such as
Aboriginal affairs.
27
Turner, Patricia, and n/a. "From paternalism to participation : the role of the Commonwealth in the administration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs policy." University of Canberra. Administrative Studies, 1994. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061109.161356.
Full text
28
Joliffe, Edward Keith, and n/a. "Developing a multiple discourse model of analysis through an evaluation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy." University of Canberra. Education, 1995. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060802.170810.
Full textAbstract:
The overarching research problem for this study was the need to improve
upon rational models of policy analysis and delivery, to suit complex postmodern
implementation environments. A theoretical model suited to implementing and
evaluating major education reform initiatives was devised. Called the 'Multiple Discourse Model', it was grounded in systems theory, containing elements
reminiscent of social systems, organisational and structural functionalist research,
especially that of Hoy and Miskel (1982)1. However the model was also designed
to incorporate a parallel naturalistic analysis reminiscent of postmodern critical
pragmatic approaches, such as those explored by Cherryholmes (1994)2. Over a
period of five years, this model was developed through an evaluation of the
implementation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) in the Australian Capital Territory government secondary schools
sector.
The distinguishing feature of the study's methodology was its multiperspective
analysis, an approach suggested by Mclaughlin (1987)3 to take account
of the differing communities of discourse which exist in a reformist policy
implementation environment.
To operationalise the research problem, dimensions of policy effectiveness
were articulated. These were addressed through a comprehensive set of research
indicators, extracted from the AEP's national policy goals and the local strategic and
operational plans. Data aimed at judging the effectiveness of implementation were
collected from multiple sources using multiple research instruments. These data
were analysed in three stages using a purpose-designed computer program which
could cross-reference between the four interacting dimensions of research
indicators, research instruments, data sources, and potential variables modifying
policy/program outcomes.
It was found that this model produced clear conclusions about the
effectiveness of AEP implementation in the delimited sector, within the framework
of the AEP's own policy assumptions. The model also provided insights into critical
issues which are generalisable to the national context, such as the power of cultural
hegemony and the socio-political predicament of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander dispossession. As a methodology, the model was found to have a number
of technical advantages, including its capacity for focussing on selected areas of the
implementation environment, its provision of access to multiple levels of detail
amongst data and its possession of mechanisms for monitoring its own internal
validity.
The evaluation case study, used as the vehicle for the Multiple Discourse
Model's development, demonstrated that best-practice administration was in place
which enhanced short and medium-term policy/program outcomes. However, the
study's findings also suggested that a fundamental disjuncture existed between the
AEP's policy/administration paradigm and the conflicting assumptions of the primary
target communities, reinforcing the findings of Sykes (1986)4. The research results
suggested that despite measurable successful inputs, the planned long-term
outcomes of the AEP will not necessarily be achieved. No significant administrative
structures or actions were apparent which could resolve this lack of synchrony at the
interface between government delivery systems and 'grass roots' Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander community values. This raised doubts about whether any
systems approach, however well refined, could be socially useful not only for
evaluation, but also as a basis for reform policy and public administration in a
postmodern pluralist democratic setting. The evaluation was therefore used as a
locus for theoretical reflection as well.
A new policy paradigm is suggested, based on a power-sharing 'theory of
community', more in keeping with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples'
aspirations for self determination and more likely to alleviate the so far unresolved
destructive effects of cultural and political dispossession.
29
Taffe, Sue (Sue Elizabeth) 1945. "The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders : the politics of inter-racial coalition in Australia, 1958-1973." Monash University, School of Historical Studies, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8964.
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30
Burgess, Andre, and n/a. "Information needs of the staff delivering higher education and TAFE courses to 'remote' Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students or Northern Australia." University of Canberra. Information, Language & Culture, 1995. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060622.103743.
Full textAbstract:
The present study focussed on the information needs of the academic staff of
Batchelor College.* It examined their access to and the provision of adequate and
appropriate resources for the implementation of the Diploma and Associate Diploma
level courses offered through the College. Batchelor College, an institute of tertiary
education, is situated 100 kilometres south of Darwin, Northern Territory,
Australia.
The content and the modes of delivery of Batchelor College courses are specifically
designed to be culturally and socially appropriate to Aboriginal people, particularly
those from traditionally oriented and 'remote' communities. It can only be within
this framework that informed and sensitive research can be conducted.
The main purpose of the current study was to investigate the information needs of
staff delivering higher education courses to 'remote' Aboriginal students of
Northern Australia. Six distinct areas of study emerged: 1, to identify the
information needs; 2, to analyse the information-seeking behaviour; 3, to assess the
level of satisfaction with current information sources; 4, to identify inadequacies in
the existing information seeking processes; 5, to identify constraints experienced;
and 6, to explore how future information needs may be catered for.
A mailed survey instrument was specifically designed and implemented, and it
attracted a response rate of eighty-seven percent. The population under
investigation was the academic staff of Batchelor College, and the variables of: 1,
location; 2, sex; 3, academic school; 4, designation; 5, tenure; 6, length of service;
and 7, educational background were studied in relation to the questions asked.
Results of the survey were analysed using 'Mystat: Statistical Applications',
(1990). Frequency distributions were computed to determine the number of
respondents who selected each option. A number of questions that elicited a
written response were analysed, as were the many extra comments staff members
made throughout the survey.
The study found that the academic staff of Batchelor College are most affected by
the location variable. It appears that how staff members use, regard and value the
information sources used to inform their academic practice is affected by where a
staff member is located. That is, the more isolated a staff member was, both
geographically and professionally, the more significant were the findings of use of
information sources.
The study concludes with considerations of future planning strategies that could
improve the access to and use of information. The study also identifies areas for
further research. * Batchelor College, an institute of tertiary education, is situated 100 kilometres south of Darwin,
Northern Territory, Australia (see Appendix 3).
31
Robinson, Raymond Stanley, of Western Sydney Nepean University, and of Social Community and Organisational Studies School. "Dreaming tracks : history of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979 : its place in the continuum." THESIS_XXX_SCOS_Robinson_R.xml, 2000. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/76.
Full textAbstract:
Dreaming Tracks was chosen for the title of this history because of its reference to the journeys and routes taken by the ancestral founders of each of the extended family clans. As they travelled they recorded the events and situations they encountered along the way , which they left in story, painting, song lines and dances for the future survival of their people. The history of the Aboriginal/Islander Skills Development Scheme also pertains to a journey. This journey records the events that brought about the establishment of the longest surviving, urban Indigenous dance organization. It's a voyage that identifies the obstacles and accomplishments of its founding members, who dedicated themselves to the hard work to ensure the continuum of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance. It was their dream, to have an Australian Black Dance Company that would create a link between past and present, traditional and urban. The pathways they created equipped urban Indigenous Australians with a unique dance identity of their own, and established the path to continued contact with the traditional owners. Dreaming Tracks is contemporary Dreaming lore that begins with the contention for land rights in the early 1970's and follows the progress of the Aboriginal/Islander Skills Development Scheme to the end of the decade. It records the desires, dreams and conflicts that brought this organization into being. In parallel, the concerns of the founder, Carole Y. Johnson, sets the path for the journey, which by the end of the twentieth-century witnessed the establishment of an accredited dance course, two dance companies (The Aboriginal/Islander Dance Theatre and Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia) and students who are key participants in the artistic design of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney AustraliaMaster of Arts (Hons) (Performance)
32
De, Costa Ravindra Noel John. "New relationships, old certainties Australia's reconciliation and treaty-making in British Columbia /." Connect to this title online, 2002. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au/public/adt-VSWT20050627.092937/.
Full text
33
Nancarrow, Heather. "In search of justice in domestic and family violence." Click here to download PDF file, 2003. http://www.noviolence.com.au/public/archivednews/insearchofjustice.pdf.
Full text
34
Latino, Steven. "Social Media Portrayals of Three Extractives Companies’ Funding of Sport for Development in Indigenous Communities in Canada and Australia." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/40682.
Full textAbstract:
The extractives industry (mining, oil, and gas) engages in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to reinforce its organizational legitimacy and enhance its public image. One such approach to CSR that is popular in the industry is through funding sport initiatives aimed at Indigenous peoples (often termed Sport for Development; SFD). On the surface, such funding may seem commendable and innocuous; however, questions have been raised about the ways in which such funding may obfuscate the harmful impacts that the extractives industry has had and continues to have on Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories. Through the adoption of a postcolonial theoretical perspective and in conjunction with netnographic methods and discourse analysis, this project involved a consideration of how extractives companies portray their funding of sport programs in Indigenous communities on social media. Given the research focus on Indigenous communities in the countries known as Canada and Australia, between country differences were also examined. Three discourses related to the extractives industry’s funding of SFD in Indigenous communities in Canada and Australia were developed. These discourses included the following: 1) Extractives companies are proud “partners” of Indigenous communities; 2) Extractives companies are committed to helping Indigenous communities in Canada and Australia; and 3) Canadian extractives companies are future focused and past-blind, while Australian extractives companies are advocates for reconciliation. Overall, extractives companies in Canada and Australia were found to use social media to portray themselves as responsible and committed partners of Indigenous communities, while obscuring the ongoing histories of colonialism through discourses of empowerment and development through sport. Suggestions are made regarding ongoing interrogation of the ways in which the extractives industry perpetuates colonialism.
35
Walker, Roz. "Transformative strategies in Indigenous education a study of decolonisation and positive social change." Click here for electronic access, 2004. http://adt.caul.edu.au/homesearch/get/?mode=advanced&format=summary&nratt=2&combiner0=and&op0=ss&att1=DC.Identifier&combiner1=and&op1=-sw&prevquery=OR%28REL%28SS%3BDC.Identifier%3Buws.edu.au%29%2CREL%28WD%3BDC.Relation%3BNUWS%29%29&att0=DC.Title&val0=Transformative+strategies+in+indigenous+education+&val1=NBD%3A.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2004.Title from electronic document (viewed 15/6/10) Presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Western Sydney, 2004. Includes bibliography.
36
Burn, Geoffrey Livingston. "Land and reconciliation in Australia : a theological approach." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/117230.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is a work of Christian theology. Its purpose is twofold: firstly to develop an adequate understanding of reconciliation at the level of peoples and nations; and secondly to make a practical contribution to resolving the problems in Australia for the welfare of all the peoples, and of the land itself. The history of the relationships between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia has left many problems, and no matter what the non-Indigenous people try to do, the Indigenous peoples of Australia continue to experience themselves as being in a state of siege. Trying to understand what is happening, and what can be done to resolve the problems for the peoples of Australia and the land, have been the implicit drivers for the theological development in this thesis. This thesis argues that the present generation in any trans-generational dispute is likely to continue to sin in ways that are shaped by the sins of the past, which explains why Indigenous peoples in Australia find themselves in a stage of siege, even when the non-Indigenous peoples are trying to pursue policies which they believe are for the welfare of all. The only way to resolve this is for the peoples of Australia to seek reconciliation. In particular, the non-Indigenous peoples need to repent, both of their own sins, and the sins of their forebears. Reconciliation processes have become part of the international political landscape. However, there are real concerns about the justice of pursuing reconciliation. An important part of the theological development of this thesis is therefore to show that pursuing reconciliation establishes justice. It is shown that the nature of justice, and of repentance, can only be established by pursuing reconciliation. Reconciliation is possible because God has made it possible, and is working in the world to bring reconciliation. Because land is an essential part of Indigenous identity in Australia, the history of land in court cases and legislation in Australia over the past half century forms an important case study in this work. It is shown that, although there was significant repentance within the non-Indigenous legal system in Australia, the degree of repentance available through that legal system is inherently limited, and so a more radical approach is needed in order to seek reconciliation in Australia. A final chapter considers what the non-Indigenous people of Australia need to do in order to repent.
37
Schug, Donald M. "The marine realm and a sense of place among the Papua New Guinean communities of the Torres Strait." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/9818.
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Ban, Paul Zoltan. "The application of the Queensland Adoption Act 1964-1988 to the traditional adoption practice of Torres Strait Islanders." 1989. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/2361.
Full textAbstract:
The intention of this study is to examine the relevance of applying the Queensland Adoption Act 1964-1988 to the traditional adoption practice of Torres Strait Islanders. The concept of adoption as defined by the Queensland adoption legislation reflects the cultural context of “white Australia” and the intention of the Adoption Act 1964-1988 is to legalise a specific concept of adoption. This study will show that the Queensland Government, through the Department of Family Services, the Department which has the responsibility for implementing adoption legislation, does not make any allowance for differing views of adoption. The accepted definition of adoption is biased toward the dominant white culture in Queensland and the legislation was intended to service the needs of the dominant white culture.
39
Lahn, Julie. "Past visions, present lives : sociality and community in a Torres Strait community /." 2003. http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/1128.
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40
Taylor, Allan. "Appropriate housing for indigenous people in remote areas the need for a less deterministic approach." 2003. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/25023.
Full textAbstract:
Aboriginal Law and cultures are based on a belief system centred on the 'country' and the creation of its elements. Traditional law provided a firm basis for survival and for the interconnectedness of people, land and their relationship to each other. The communities lived a largely nomadic lifestyle that moved within defined territories, tied together by kinship (tribe, clan, skin group etc), which prescribed the social roles and appropriate behaviours between indivisuals. Relationships were reinforced by systems of obligation between individuals, particularly with regard to provision of goods necessary for survival.thesis (MRegionalUrbanPlanning)--University of South Australia, 2003.
41
Kwan, Donna. "Towards a sustainable indigenous fishery for dugongs in Torres Strait : a contribution of empirical data analysis and process." 2002. http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/1376/1/01front.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Given the globally threatened status of dugongs and the fact that Torres Strait supports the world's largest
dugong population, there is international, national, regional and local interest in ensuring the sustainability
of the Torres Strait traditional dugong fishery. This fishery is endorsed by the Torres Strait Treafy between
Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
This study investigated, within a biological context, the major factors (i.e., those additional to biological)
that determine sustainability of the traditional dugong fishery in Torres Strait.
My thesis had the following specific aims:
(1) To provide information relevant to the development of community-based management for the dugong
fishery in Torres Strait by:
describing and quantifying the major factors that affect hunting pattern, hunting effort, hunting
success and harvest levels in the major dugong hunting community of Mabuiag Island, and
estimating the life history parameters of Torres Strait dugongs at the time of my study, and (i)
comparing them with parameters obtained from parallel studies of dugong life history and
reproductive biology in order to gain insights into the factors influencing these aspects of dugong
ecology, and (ii) incorporating them into population models to predict the natural rate of change
in the size of the population in the absence of hunting mortality.
(2) To assist in the development of community-based management in Torres Strait through contributing to
capacity building by actively involving Torres Strait Islanders in my research and training them in the
collection of catch statistics and biological samples from dugongs.
The fieldwork for this project was undertaken primarily at Mabuiag Island between September 1997 and
November 1999 inclusive. All data and specimens from 127 female and 51 male dugongs were collected
from animals butchered for food by Torres Strait Islander hunters.
Being able to live and work within the Mabuiag Island community provided me with the rare opportunity to
develop a relationship with Islanders built upon the mutual trust, co-operation and commitment. Involving
Islanders as active participants in my research allowed me to collect the valuable specimens on which my
information is based. The active involvement of hunters and community members enhanced their
development of a sound understanding of and trust in the information I obtained. By training Torres Strait Islanders as research assistants, 1 also increased the capacity of the community to actively participate in
future research, monitoring and management programs for dugongs.
This study provided the opportunity to identify the main factors which impact catch rates of dugongs by
Islanders. Only four to five hunters were responsible for 79% and 75% of the 145 and 170 dugongs taken
at Mabuiag lsland during March to October in 1998 and 1999, respectively. The magnitude of the dugong
catch was influenced by ecological, economic environmental and social factors that affected the temporal
and spatial nature of hunting effort and hunting success.
When my results were compared with those of other studies using similar techniques, I showed that the
age and size at sexual maturity and first reproduction, pregnancy rates of female dugongs and the sex
ratio of their young exhibit considerable variability in both space and time. The age and size at sexual
maturity and first reproduction of male dugongs exhibit similar variability. At Mabuiag lsland in 1997-99,
female dugongs reached sexual maturity between six or seven and fourteen years and at body lengths of
between 2.05 and 2.58 m. Male dugongs reached sexual maturity between four and thirteen years and at
body lengths between 1.90 and 2.57 m. Calving intervals of adult female dugongs from Mabuiag lsland in
1998-99 ranged between 2.4 f s.e. 0.3 to 3.3 f s.e. 0.5 years. The parameters from Mabuiag lsland in
1997-98 are thus the lowest recorded for dugongs. At Mabuiag lsland in 1997-98, almost all sexually
mature nulliparous females were either pregnant andlor lactating and the sex ratio of foetuses was 1:3 in
favour of males.
Variability in life history parameters such as age at sexual maturity and first reproduction, pregnancy rates
and calving intervals in dugongs is likely to result from spatial and temporal variation in seagrass
community composition and biomass. Thus, food quality and availability influence dugong population
dynamics. When their seagrass food disappears as a result of episodic disturbance, some dugongs
suspend breeding. It is likely that the effects of food supply on life history parameters and hence fecundity
in dugongs includes both density dependent and density independent components. The gaps in the age
composition of the catch from Mabuiag in 1997-99 together with the low pregnancy rates of animals
caught in the Daru market at that time suggest that a seagrass dieback in Torres Strait in the late 1970s
had significant effects on dugong recruitment. These links between seagrass food availability and dugong
life history parameters have very important implications for management given the dugong's susceptibility
to large-scale episodic losses of seagrass.
Several findings in this study highlight that a regional approach to management will be required because
the potential for episodic or longer-tern over-harvesting can be exacerbated in the event of a combination
of: low dugong fecundity as a result of extensive seagrass dieback events such as that reported in the 1970s; movements of dugongs close to hunting communities to feed on intertidal seagrass in response to
dieback of deepwater communities exacerbating high hunting pressure; increase in hunting pressure in
response to reduction in important sources of income such as the cray fishery.
Management coordinated at a regional scale must include the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York and
PNG. Management will need to build on established processes which incorporate Ailan Kast'om (the
customary way of life of Torres Strait Islanders) and institutional structures in the Torres Strait region
which include the: Torres Sfraif Treafy, Torres Sfraif Fisheries Acf (1984), Native Title and regional
Islander initiatives such as MaSTERS (Marine Strategy for Torres Strait).
A community-based management approach, which builds on the research processes, and the empirical
information obtained in this study, has considerable potential to ensure that the Torres Strait dugong
fishery is sustainable. The challenge now is to build on information and trust generated by this project by
enabling Islanders to use these results to develop and implement appropriate management plans for their
dugong resources.
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Gilligan, Conor. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women: an examination of smoking during pregnancy." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/29578.
Full textAbstract:
Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)After decades of discrimination and deprivation, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population faces social circumstances and health status which resemble that of a third world population group. With a wide range of health risk factors and morbidities among this population, a logical place to begin tackling the health problems is at the beginning of life. With increasing recognition of the influence of the intrauterine environment upon health, not only during infancy but into adulthood, improving health during pregnancy offers substantial benefit for present and future generations. The poor health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is deeply ingrained in social deprivation, poor mental well-being, and an array of modifiable risk factors. Smoking is one risk factor at the centre of this complex web. Smoking is often accompanied by, or used as relief in, stressful situations associated with socioeconomic status, mental health, illness, and other addictions. In order to determine the most appropriate way to tackle the smoking issue among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, a series of studies were conducted. Initial literature reviews found limited evidence derived from methodologically rigorous studies in mainstream populations, and even less evidence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or other Indigenous groups. Exploration of the knowledge and attitudes of these women in relation to antenatal smoking was conducted to identify the most appropriate targets for intervention. The findings from extensive background studies were drawn upon to design an intervention which aimed to be culturally appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, providing intensive support to assist these women to quit smoking during their pregnancy. Pilot data from the resulting intervention is presented in Chapter 8 of this Thesis. The social network among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities appears to play a central role in the behaviour of individuals. With an array of risk factors and influences found not only in the individuals surrounding women, but in their socioeconomic circumstances and overall environment, it may be that the most important approach for achieving health and behaviour change among this population is the mobilisation of social support and efforts to intervene with multiple elements of that environment.
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Carter, Melissa Jane. "North of the Cape and south of the Fly : : the archaeology of settlement and subsistence on the Murray Islands, Eastern Torres Strait /." 2004. http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/1054/1/01front.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation describes analyses and contextualises the results of archaeological investigations carried out between 1998 and 2000 on Mer and Dauar in Torres Strait. Along with Waier these small volcanic islands are commonly known as the Murray Islands, and form the most eastern group of the formation of islands scattered between northeastern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. Unlike the research into human occupation and subsistence in Australia and New Guinea, the archaeology of the Torres Strait Islands is by contrast a relatively recent academic pursuit. Over the last 30 years various researchers have postulated the timing of first human occupation of Torres Strait, the development of maritime and horticultural subsistence systems and the emergence of ethnohistorically documented trade networks. A lack of archaeological data, however, has prevented informed consideration of these issues. This dissertation presents the results of the first systematic archaeological excavations undertaken in the Eastern Torres Strait, and includes the first detailed radiocarbon chronological sequence for the Murray Islands and for the Torres Strait more generally. The excavations on Dauar revealed extensive archaeological deposits of marine subsistence remains, and previously unrecorded material culture of Torres Strait; most notably, several sherds of earthenware pottery. These artefacts have provided new opportunities for investigating the traditional trade and exchange networks between the Torres Strait Islands and New Guinea that existed at the time of European contact. The Murray Islands data illustrates the existence of a maritime subsistence base from the time of first human occupation now securely dated to almost 3000 years BP. Although plant macrofossils where absent during the excavations, evidence for horticultural subsistence on Dauar was identified through the extraction and identification of plant phytoliths and starch grains from excavated sediment samples. In combination with the radiocarbon site chronologies and changes to sediment deposition rates and assemblage densities, it is concluded that these results indicate the onset of widespread clearance and horticultural activities on the island from at least 2000 years BP, providing the earliest date for the emergence of horticulture so far established in Torres Strait. Dated to between 2000 and 700 years BP, the excavated pottery from Dauar suggests the possibility of sustained linkages between the peoples of the Eastern Torres Strait and New Guinea. Ethnohistoric records suggest southward trade into the Eastern Torres Strait was dominated by southwestern coastal Papuan communities, and particularly by groups of the Fly Estuary. Surprisingly, mineralogical analysis of selected pottery sherds from the Murray Islands revealed the presence of sand tempers sourced to the metamorphic and volcanic lithology of the Eastern New Guinea Highlands. More accurately, these results are concluded to portray linkages between the Torres Strait and the adjacent southern Papuan lowlands through which more discrete movements and transactions with interior areas occurred along key riverways that connected the hinterland to the coast. The timing of human occupation of Torres Strait, the development of subsistence systems and the relationships that islanders had with the peoples of northern Australia and the western Pacific have only started to be explored archaeologically. It is concluded from the combined ethnohistorical and field archaeological evidence that settlement and subsistence in Torres Strait is a product of late-Holocene human expansions and cultural intensification previously documented for the adjacent mainlands and the broader western Pacific region. This research confirms that the archaeology of Torres Strait must be interpreted within the broader cultural, chronological and geographical context in which it is centrally located.
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Batty, Philip. "Governing cultural difference: the incorporation of the Aboriginal subject into the mechanisms of Government with reference to the development of Aboriginal radio and television in Central Australia." 2003. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/28909.
Full textAbstract:
In 1970, the Federal Government made preliminary moves to establish a broadcasting service in the Northern Territory for Indigenous Australians. However, Aboriginal people would not be invited to run this service themselves, nor would it be used to 'maintain' Aboriginal cultural traditions. Rather, these new facilities would deliver programs that 'informed' Aboriginals about 'plans for their future advancement'. By 1985, the position had changed dramatically. The government was now funding 'Aboriginal-controlled' media organisations throughout the country 'to restore and rebuild' Aboriginal 'cultural identity'. It was also underwriting the launch of an Aboriginal-owned commercial satellite service covering a third of the Australian continent. In this thesis, I have attempted to understand the policies that led to this remarkable change in government thinking. In undertaking this work, I have not attempted to construct a 'resistant' Aboriginal 'voice', positioned against 'the media establishment' and the state to explain these transformations in Aboriginal policy. Although such a voice routinely appears in the literature on Aboriginal broadcasting, I argue that such an approach simply replicates the rhetoric surrounding the state's own policies of 'Aboriginal self-determination' and, more problematically, masks the complex operations of government itself. It also assumes the pre-discursive existence of a particular kind of Aboriginal agency, without considering the specific conditions that gave rise to it. In this study, I have sought to demonstrate how this agency was largely constituted through the policies of Aboriginal self-determination. I argue that under these policies, the state would no longer act on Aboriginals as it had in the past. Rather, Aboriginals would be invited to act on themselves in managing programs proffered by the state. Through these means, the Aboriginal 'self' became an indispensable element in the operations of the government. However, since the Aboriginal self would be expected to carry out the work of the state, it also became the object of intense governmental scrutiny. Here, I show how a multiplicity of governmental technologies emerged throughout the 1970's that served to regulate, channel and enhance Aboriginal subjectivity in accordance with a number of governmental ends. In undertaking this task, I have focused primarily on the development of the 'incorporated Aboriginal association'. I will argue that such bodies not only allowed Aboriginal people a degree of 'self-management', but also provided the state with an institutional framework through which it could constitute both a competent and verifiable Aboriginal agency. The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, CAAMA, was one of numerous bodies established under these governmental technologies. The development of this complex organisation will serve as the main case study in this thesis. In taking this analytical approach, I have adopted one of Michel Foucault's primary objectives which is to examine the ways in which the human subject is constituted through relations of power, and attempted to respond to the following set of queries Foucault poses: How was the subject established, at different moments and in different institutional contexts, as a possible, desirable, or even indispensable object of knowledge? How were the experiences that one may have of oneself and the knowledge that one forms of oneself organised according to certain schemes? How were these schemes defined, valorised, recommended, imposed? (Foucault, Subjectivity and Truth, 2000:87)
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Kowal, Emma Esther. "The proximate advocate: improving indigenous health on the postcolonial frontier." 2006. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/1625.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis presents an ethnography of white researchers who work at the Darwin Institute of Indigenous Health Research. This group of ‘proximate advocates’ is made up of predominantly middle-class, educated and antiracist white health professionals. Their decision to move from more populated areas to the north of Australia, where Indigenous disadvantage is most pronounced, is motivated by the hope of enacting postcolonial justice so long denied to the nation’s first peoples.This ethnography thus contributes to the anthropology of postcolonial forms, and specifically benevolent forms. The Darwin Institute of Indigenous Health Research is an example of a postcolonial space where there is an attempt to invert colonial power relations: that is, to acknowledge the effects of colonisation on Indigenous people and remedy them.
The thesis begins with an account of suburban life in contemporary Darwin focused on the figure of the ‘longgrasser’ who threatens to create disorder at my local shops. This is an example of the postcolonial frontier, the place where antiracist white people encounter radically-different Indigenous people. Part 1 develops a conceptual model for understanding the process of mutual recognition that creates the subjectivities of Indigenous people and of white antiracists.
Drawing on critiques of liberalism and postcolonial theory, in Part 2 I describe the knowledge system dominant in Indigenous health discourse, postcolonial logic. It is postcolonial logic that prescribes how white antiracists should assist Indigenous people by furthering Indigenous self-determination. I argue that postcolonial logic can be understood as the junction of remedialism (a form of liberalism) and orientalism. The melding of these two concepts produces remediable difference: a difference that can be brought into the norm.
In Part 3 I describe how white researchers at the Institute experience radical difference, or at least its possibility. These experiences challenge the concept of remediable difference. If Indigenous people are not remediably different, but radically different, the process of mutual recognition breaks down, and the viability of a white antiracist subjectivity is called into question. The ensuing breakdown of postcolonial logic threatens to expose white antiracists as no different from their assimilationist predecessors.
Part 4 explores the underlying dilemmas of the postcolony that are revealed when postcolonial logic unravels. The dilemma of historical continuity emerges when the discursive techniques that enact historical discontinuity between postcolonisers and their predecessors break down. The dilemma of social improvement is the possibility that the practices of the self-determination era not only resemble assimilation, but are assimilation. It is the possibility that any attempts to extend the benefits of modernity enjoyed by non-Indigenous Australia to Indigenous people will erode their cultural distinctiveness. The postcolonial condition is the experience of living with these aporias.
In the conclusion, I consider the implications of my argument for the current Australian political context, for the project of liberal multiculturalism, and for the broader problem of power and difference. I look to friendship as a deceptively simple, perhaps implausible, and yet powerful trope that can relieve the postcolonial condition and offer hope for peaceful coexistence in the postcolony.