scholarly journals Editorial

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iv
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Australian Journal ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Torres Strait

The challenge for any research journal today is how to continue to make the work we publish relevant, contemporary and innovative for the research groups, educational organisations, and Indigenous communities locally and globally that we serve. At the same time, we recognise it is important for us to continue our work in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education within the critical pedagogical agenda in which it began; that is, the empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through education, combined with a concern to critique and challenge the national and international colonial contexts in which Indigenous education is positioned today.

scholarly journals Editorial

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Katelyn Barney ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
Torres Strait

We are very pleased to bring you Volume 46 of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. This year is a particularly significant time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and education. It marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark Mabo decision that refuted the legal doctrine of terra nullius and recognised that the Miriam people were continuously present and exclusively possessed Mer in the Torres Strait. It is also the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, a significant milestone resulting in constitutional change to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the national census. This year also marks the release of the Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy 2017–2020, which is designed to provide a sector-wide initiative that binds all universities together with common goals. The strategy includes important initiatives to increase the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in higher education, increase the engagement of non-Indigenous people with Indigenous knowledge and educational approaches, and improve the university environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

scholarly journals Alcohol dependence in a community sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: harms, getting help and awareness of local treatments

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teagan J. Weatherall ◽  
James H. Conigrave ◽  
Katherine M. Conigrave ◽  
Jimmy Perry ◽  
Scott Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Local Treatment ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Rehabilitation Service ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Torres Strait

Abstract Background Few studies have examined links between current alcohol dependence and specific harms among Indigenous Australians. We investigated these associations as well as help seeking for drinking, awareness of local treatments and recommendations to help family or friends cut down or stop drinking in two Indigenous communities. Methods A representative sample of Indigenous Australians was surveyed in one urban and one remote community in South Australia. Data were collected via the Grog Survey App. Participants were dependent if they reported two or more symptoms of alcohol dependence (ICD-11). Pearson chi-square tests were used to describe relationships between employment by gender, and dependence by awareness of medicines and local treatment options. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to predict the odds of dependent drinkers experiencing harms and getting help for drinking, controlling for age, gender, schooling and income. Results A total of 775 Indigenous Australians took part in the study. After controlling for confounders, dependent drinkers were nearly eight times more likely to report a harm and nearly three times more likely to get help for their drinking—compared with non-dependent drinkers. Participants recommended accessing local support from an Aboriginal alcohol and other drugs worker, or a detoxification/ rehabilitation service. Discussion and conclusions More support and funding is needed for Indigenous Australians to ensure local treatment options for dependent drinkers are readily available, appropriate and accessible. Involvement of local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander health professionals in delivery of care can help ensure that it is appropriate to an individual’s culture and context.

scholarly journals Editorial

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. iii-iv
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Australian Journal ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Bell Hooks ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Educational Climate ◽  
Flow Through

We are honoured to present this issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. It is a sentiment we express each time an issue is released but rarely do we unpack what this is exactly. Formerly, the Aboriginal Child at School, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education has resisted and persisted the tide of state, Federal and global politics which ebb and flow through our work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, and Indigenous education more broadly. Appearing sometimes as friend, sometimes as foe, and perhaps many more times as both, such practices, policies and politics present ongoing challenges for us but nevertheless, we are still here searching for and speaking particular kinds of justice into the space for the Indigenous children, their families and communities that matter to us. The current educational climate of neoliberalism — replete as it is with individualism, competition, measurement and accountability — is certainly no different but we are still here — persisting and resisting. We are still on our way to the kind of education we seek for Indigenous peoples at all levels locally, nationally and globally and the papers in this issue represent that search. To quote bell hooks in Teaching to Transgress, a much loved scholar in critical pedagogy, ‘the academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitation, remains a location of possibility’ (1994, p. 207). The ongoing search to move beyond boundaries characterises much of the work that appears in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education and it is this sentiment which we are honoured to present.

Sustainability Concepts in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Cultures

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Throsby ◽  
Ekaterina Petetskaya
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Indigenous Cultures ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Torres Strait

Abstract:The concepts of sustainability, and of the more specific notion of sustainable development, have become entrenched in national and international policy making over the last half century. However, little attention has been paid to sustainability as it relates to indigenous communities. This article discusses sustainability concepts as understood in indigenous and non-indigenous societies, drawing a number of illustrations from the experiences and practices of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. We point out that the two approaches to sustainability share many common concerns, although significant differences are evident. While the paradigm of sustainability can be seen as a universal concept that can be applied irrespective of social, political, or cultural context, it is argued that a fully realized model of sustainability for application in non-indigenous societies will only be possible if it acknowledges the importance of culture and incorporates the insights that have been accumulated over generations in indigenous knowledge systems.

scholarly journals Balancing Opportunity and Affordability: Use of mobile phones in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Ian Watson
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Remote Community ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Torres Strait

This article reports on the findings of a research project that investigated the use of mobile phones and the internet in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. Indigenous Australians living in remote areas have previously had little access to and use of the internet (Rennie et al 2013) and are far less likely to access the internet within the home than non-Indigenous Australians (Rennie et al 2010). The proliferation of mobile phone ownership in Indigenous communities in Australian and internationally (Brady et al 2008) is resulting in increased access to the internet via mobile devices, as well as new communication, social and economic implications for phone owners. Using qualitative methodologies, including focus groups and semi-structured interviews in four remote communities, this article explores the ways that remote community members are using mobile phones; their access to online information and social media; and the problems they experience with service provision, bills and connectivity. It reinforces the need for more research into barriers to phone and internet usage by Aboriginal and Torres Strait people in remote areas, as well as the importance of informing remote community members of their telecommunications rights.

Applying strengths-based approaches to nutrition research and interventions in Australian Indigenous communities

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Wendy Foley ◽  
Lisa Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Health Nutrition ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
What Works ◽  
Nutrition Research ◽  
Torres Strait

This paper provides a background to strengths-based approaches used in health and considers what these have to offer in the context of public health nutrition, with particular reference to work with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Deficit, disease and dysfunction permeate approaches in health fields, including nutrition. Public health has focused on gathering evidence about ‘what works’ from this deficit perspective, particularly in those communities identified as vulnerable. Strengths-based approaches, on the other hand, work with the assets already existing in individuals, communities and institutions to support the conditions for health. Although strengths-based approaches are used in some health fields, they are under-utilised in public health nutrition. A strengths-based paradigm draws on the theory of salutogenesis to accentuate positive capacities so that nutrition professionals and clients/communities can jointly identify problems and activate solutions. Research processes and findings from a number of participatory Indigenous nutrition health projects will be discussed. This research has identified significant social resources within Australian Indigenous communities and these assets offer points from which to work. A strengths-based paradigm offers a different language with which to address nutrition inequalities. It can contribute to empowering Indigenous individuals and communities towards healthier nutrition. We propose that redressing the current imbalance between strengths and deficit-based approaches is needed in public health nutrition and consider the nature and potentials of strengths-based approaches in nutrition, with particular reference to their use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.

scholarly journals Editorial

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Educational Success ◽  
Remote Community ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Pedagogy And Curriculum ◽  
Education Business

We are very pleased to bring you Volume 45 of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. At this moment in time, we feel that the work of AJIE has perhaps never been more important, particularly as it relates to engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and communities in systems of schooling. In May this year we witnessed the evacuation of school teachers from the remote community of Aurukun, Queensland in fear of violence. A group of 15 disengaged young people had threatened the School Principal and as a consequence of the evacuation, 300 engaged children were subsequently disengaged from School for the remaining five weeks of term following the closure. There is no doubt that teacher safety is paramount, similarly, there should be no doubt that community consultation and engagement in a move like this one equally so. The questions which hang in the air relate to why such levels of disengagement exist. Why are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people disengaged from schooling in Aurukun? What makes it okay that a large number of engaged Indigenous children were forcibly made to disengage from school? Why is there such disengagement from government in engaging local people in the ways in which education business is carried out with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and communities? The papers in this volume of AJIE then, all speak strongly to issues of engagement – the kinds of pedagogy and curriculum that can and should be in place, the kinds of relationships that can and should be in place, and the kinds of outcomes made possible when such educational moves are made. A resounding message from all of the articles in this volume is that the on-going engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, parents, and communities is key to defining and achieving what educational success might mean for each individual child, context and classroom. This is by no means a new message, but the recent events in Aurukun remind us that it is one we must keep returning to – the stakes for complacency and forgetting are too high.

scholarly journals ‘At the grass roots level it’s about sitting down and talking’: exploring quality improvement through case studies with high-improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare services

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e027568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Larkins ◽  
Karen Carlisle ◽  
Nalita Turner ◽  
Judy Taylor ◽  
Kerry Copley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Torres Strait

ObjectivesImproving the quality of primary care is an important strategy to improve health outcomes. However, responses to continuous quality improvement (CQI) initiatives are variable, likely due in part to a mismatch between interventions and context. This project aimed to understand the successful implementation of CQI initiatives in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services in Australia through exploring the strategies used by ‘high-improving’ Indigenous primary healthcare (PHC) services.Design, settings and participantsThis strengths-based participatory observational study used a multiple case study method with six Indigenous PHC services in northern Australia that had improved their performance in CQI audits. Interviews with healthcare providers, service users and managers (n=134), documentary review and non-participant observation were used to explore implementation of CQI and the enablers of quality improvement in these contexts.ResultsServices approached the implementation of CQI differently according to their contexts. Common themes previously reported included CQI systems, teamwork, collaboration, a stable workforce and community engagement. Novel themes included embeddedness in the local historical and cultural contexts, two-way learning about CQI and the community ‘driving’ health improvement. These novel themes were implicit in the descriptions of stakeholders about why the services were improving. Embeddedness in the local historical and cultural context resulted in ‘two-way’ learning between communities and health system personnel.ConclusionsPractical interventions to strengthen responses to CQI in Indigenous PHC services require recruitment and support of an appropriate and well prepared workforce, training in leadership and joint decision-making, regional CQI collaboratives and workable mechanisms for genuine community engagement. A ‘toolkit’ of strategies for service support might address each of these components, although strategies need to be implemented through a two-way learning process and adapted to the historical and cultural community context. Such approaches have the potential to assist health service personnel strengthen the PHC provided to Indigenous communities.

Stopping the Grog

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-270
Author(s):  
Catherine Duff
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Chronic Alcohol ◽  
Chronic Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Alcohol Availability ◽  
The Past ◽  
Torres Strait

Indigenous communities around Australia find themselves in the grip of chronic alcohol abuse and its related violence. For more than a decade Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, especially Indigenous women, have been agitating for change. In many cases Indigenous communities have been calling for restrictions to limit or prohibit alcohol availability to their members. In the past, Australia's anti-discrimination regime has been used to justify official inactivity on the issue of alcohol availability in Indigenous communities. Indigenous drinkers and publicans have also appealed to the principle of non-discrimination in their opposition to grog restrictions.

scholarly journals Culturally competent communication in Indigenous disability assessment: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeline Ferdinand ◽  
Libby Massey ◽  
Jennifer Cullen ◽  
Jeromey Temple ◽  
Kristy Meiselbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Disability Assessment ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Participant Understanding

Abstract Background Indigenous people tend to exhibit a higher burden of disability than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and are often underserved by disability services. Engaging appropriately with Indigenous communities, families and individuals in the initial stages of disability assessment and planning is crucial in order to build trust and understanding of disability service models and ensure that Indigenous people receive support that is tailored to their needs and cultural realities. This article aims to identify key elements of culturally competent communication in Indigenous disability assessment and planning, and provide recommendations for strengthening capacity in this area. Methods This qualitative research was designed to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at all stages and to reflect the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, people and families affected by disability and the community-controlled health sector. Semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with staff implementing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) (n = 4), NDIS participants (n = 24), disability support providers and organisational partners (n = 19) and Community Connectors (n = 8) in Queensland and the Northern Territory of Australia. Key themes derived from thematic analysis included appropriate and adequate engagement of individuals with disability and their families, the role of trusted relationships, and culturally safe and appropriate communication during planning meetings. Results Overall, the research findings highlight that a low level of cultural competence in the initial stages of the disability assessment and planning process exacerbated participant confusion and distrust towards assessment staff and the NDIS. Given difficulties in communication, participant understanding of the NDIS was generally limited. The necessity of culturally safe and appropriate use of interpreters was stressed, as was the role of trusted individuals, including existing service providers, Community Connectors and family members in providing a solid base for participant understanding of the NDIS. Conclusions Cultural competence in disability assessment and planning can be strengthened through multi-level engagement with the Aboriginal community-controlled sector and community leaders. Implementing mechanisms to enable the involvement of families, trusted service providers and Community Connectors can support a more meaningful understanding of individuals’ needs within their cultural context and in relation to their cultural roles.

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