Swimming not drowning – resilience as a key determinant of success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pre-tertiary students

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Hall ◽  
Catherine Maughan ◽  
Michaela Wilkes ◽  
Tony Thorpe ◽  
Joanne Forrest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Transformative Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Narrative Methodology ◽  
Torres Strait

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how one tertiary enabling programme designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students uses a specifically designed pedagogy which goes beyond a focus on discrete academic skills to help students develop the resilience and knowledge about learning they need to be successful in tertiary learning contexts. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative methodology is used to explore how graduates analysed and evaluated their experience of the course. Findings – The stories show that for these students, resilience is a dynamic and multifaceted construct. Strength, confidence and resilience for these students come from seeing and valuing the strength and resilience that already exists in Indigenous people and Indigenous knowledge systems and using this as a basis for developing their own resilience. Originality/value – This focus on resilience can provide a transformative experience for students who have largely been marginalised from the mainstream educational system, assisting them to build the crucial “cultural capital” required to be successful in their tertiary studies, while reinforcing the strength and knowledge they already bring with them. Through this process students are offered a way of navigating the higher education landscape on their own terms.

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.

The use of indigenous knowledge systems for short and long range rainfall prediction and farmers’ perceptions of science-based seasonal forecasts in Zimbabwe

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Gwenzi ◽  
Emmanuel Mashonjowa ◽  
Paramu L. Mafongoya ◽  
Donald T. Rwasoka ◽  
Kees Stigter
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rainfall Prediction ◽  
Tree Phenology ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Small Holder Farmers ◽  
Small Holder

Purpose This paper aims to document indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) used for short- and long-range rainfall prediction by small holder farmers in three communities of Guruve District, in north-eastern Zimbabwe. The study also investigated farmers’ perceptions of contemporary forecasts and the reliability of both IKS and contemporary forecasts. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected among small holder farmers in Guruve District using household interviews and focus group discussions in three wards in the district, grouped according to their agro-climate into high and low rainfall areas. To get an expert view of the issues, key informant interviews were held with key agricultural extension personnel and traditional leaders. Findings Results obtained showed show high dependence on IKS-based forecasts in the district. Over 80 per cent of the farmers used at least one form of IKS for short- and long-range forecasting, as they are easily understood and applicable to their local situations. Tree phenology, migration and behaviour of some bird species and insects, and observation of atmospheric phenomena were the common indicators used. Tree phenology was the most common with over 80 per cent of farmers using this indicator. While some respondents (60 per cent) viewed forecasts derived from IKS as more reliable than science-based forecasts, 69 per cent preferred an integration of the two methods. Originality/value The simplicity and location specificity of IKS-based forecasts makes them potentially useful to smallholder farmers, climate scientists and policymakers in tracking change in these areas for more effective climate change response strategies and policymaking.

scholarly journals Critical success factors in managing sustainable indigenous businesses in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Bodle ◽  
Mark Brimble ◽  
Scott Weaven ◽  
Lorelle Frazer ◽  
Levon Blue
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Torres Strait

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate success factors pertinent to the management of Indigenous businesses through the identification of points of intervention at the systemic and structural levels. Through this approach, the economic and social values that First Nations communities attach to intangible Indigenous cultural heritage (ICH) and Indigenous cultural intellectual property (ICIP) may be both recognised and realised as assets. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a multidisciplinary approach to address a global issue of economic and social significance to First Nation peoples, their businesses and the Australian Aboriginal communities. The authors adopt a First Nation epistemological standpoint that incorporates theoretical perspectives drawn from a diverse range of fields and theories (Preston, 2013), as well as advocate the use of Indigenist methodology for research with First Nation peoples as it is underpinned by critical race theory. Findings The authors argue conceptually that accounting, accountability and auditing consideration are required to fully identify what is impacting the successful management of Indigenous enterprises. Specifically, in relation to accounting, Elders should be included to assist in valuing the intangible ICH and ICIP assets. Furthermore, the authors emphasise the need to improve the financial and commercial literacy levels of Indigenous entrepreneurs. Practical implications The authors prescribe the use of tools for the accounting treatment of ICH and ICIP as intangible assets within an Australian regulatory environment and define an auditing process and accountability model incorporating cultural, social and environmental measures. A central tenet of this model relates to improving levels of personal and commercial financial literacy in the First Nation participants. Collectively, these factors promote informed participation and decision-making, and may promulgate more sustainable outcomes. Social implications Integrated thinking requires all these factors to be considered in a holistic manner, such that a First Nation enterprise and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can understand, and make decisions based on, the overall impact it has on all their stakeholders and generally on the society, the environment and the economy. Originality/value This paper contributes to Australia’s strategic research priorities of maximising social and economic participation in society and improving the health and well-being of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The authors address the inability of current Western accounting standards, practices and models to suitably account for communally held and protocol-bound intangible Indigenous cultural heritage and Indigenous cultural intellectual property assets.

scholarly journals Sunshine, temperature and wind

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38
Author(s):  
Dramani J.M. File ◽  
Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Endogenous Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Assessments ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Purpose This paper aims to draw on community risk assessment (CRA) for assessing vulnerability to climate change in north-western Ghana, focusing on sunshine, temperature and wind, elements of climate which are seldom explored in vulnerability assessments to climate change. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on data collected from a qualitative research design that used participatory rural appraisal methods, particularly, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and seasonal calendar analysis in three selected rural communities of the Sissala East District. Furthermore, an inter-generational framework was adopted for comparative assessment of vulnerability and changes in vulnerability to climate change. Findings The results show that the current generation of smallholder farmers is more vulnerable to climate change than the past generation, the era of grandparents. Thus, farmers are exposed to higher-intensity sunshine, temperature and wind in contemporary times than was the case in the past. Consequently, their livelihoods are affected the most by the damaging effects of these climatic hazards. The CRA process revealed the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems for vulnerability assessments and at the same time, underpins the need for adaptation of such knowledge if it is to sustain smallholder farmer efforts at climate change adaptation at community levels. Practical implications The paper recommends an endogenous development approach to climate change adaptation planning (CCAP), one that will build on indigenous knowledge systems for effective community education, mobilization and participatory response to climate change. Policy interventions should aim at enhancing climate change adaptation through innovations in soil and water conservation, access to water for irrigation and domestic use, climate smart-housing architecture and agro-forestry within the framework of decentralization and district development planning. Originality/value This paper will contribute to climate change research in two ways: first, by drawing attention to the usefulness of CRA in vulnerability assessment; and second, by focusing on climate elements which are critical for CCAP but rarely given sufficient attention in vulnerability assessments.

scholarly journals “They Were Willing to Work with Me and Not Pressure Me”: A Qualitative Investigation into the Features of Value of a Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Vivian Lyall ◽  
Jillian Guy ◽  
Sonya Egert ◽  
Leigh-Anne Pokino ◽  
Lynne Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Case Managers ◽  
Individualized Care ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Narrative Methodology ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Standard Practices

With tobacco commonly used for stress relief, smoking cessation during pregnancy can present challenges for women facing stressful circumstances. This can be pronounced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who experience disproportionately high smoking rates during pregnancy and also have a greater intersection of stressors from social disadvantage, institutional racism and trauma. To contribute understandings into how women can be best supported at this time, this study identified the features of value of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pregnancy smoking cessation program that addressed the contexts of women’s lives in culturally affirming and strength-based ways. A narrative methodology using a yarning approach was used to interview 7 pregnant women, 6 significant others, 3 case managers, and 4 healthcare professionals. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, guided by an Indigenist research practice of deep and reflexive researcher listening. Features of value included: relationship-based care, holistic wraparound care, flexibility, individualized care, and culturally orientated care. Combined, they enabled highly relevant and responsive women-centered, trauma-informed, and harm-reducing smoking cessation support that was well received by participants, who achieved promising smoking changes, including cessation. This approach strongly departs from standard practices and provides a blueprint for meaningful support for pregnant women experiencing vulnerabilities.

A spectacle of otherness: an autoethnography of a conference presentation

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liela A. Jamjoom
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conference Paper ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Story

PurposeThis article is an autoethnography that describes an emotional journey of writing and; presenting a conference paper. While it is a personal story being told, it is a story that speaks to many other minorities in academia who continuously need to legitimize their voices in the midst of the dominant colonialist perspective. The intention of writing this autoethnography is to speak to the feelings of otherness experienced, to disrupt the traditional academic voice (Pathak, 2010), and to allow for the expression of a reality that is often hidden to those with a colonialist frame (Mohanty, 2003).Design/methodology/approachThis article uses autoethnography as a methodology to reveal a personal story. Since autoethnographies help us make sense of our fragmented lives, the journey is told in chronological segments, detailing the emotions leading up to the conference presentation and its aftermath.FindingsThe findings of the article expose some of the colonialist frameworks that are still embedded in academia. They also lie in the revelation of the “spectacle of otherness” endured in the process. Drawing the reader into the author's mind and heart with the intention of understanding the other is an important part of this paper.Originality/valueThe first contribution of this paper lies in its decolonizing project, where Western knowledge systems and their epistemologies are the object of inquiry. The second contribution of the paper lies in its attempt to write intersectional research that does not impose predetermined categories of analysis but writes beyond specific classifications of identity. Finally, it also lies in celebrating the subjective self as a place that is worth exploring.

scholarly journals Student satisfaction or happiness?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aftab Dean ◽  
Paul Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Service Model ◽  
Transformative Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the purpose of the complex open system of higher education and to explore this transformative experience as personal flourishing, where students come to terms with a way of being, matching their potentiality with their agency and leading to profound happiness. There is influential, but not uncontested (Tsinidou et al., 2010), literature concerning higher education institutes as education service providers, functioning like any other business (DeShields, 2005). Eagle and Brennan (2007, p. 4) argue that academic staff as service providers are thus vital to process delivery. Using a service model and traditional corporate quality frameworks, there is a temptation to measure how a service ethos serves recipients and co-producers – students, donor, industry and sponsors – negating education’s transformative and uncertain nature, rather than taking the externality of process delivery as a guide. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a questionnaire designed and administered to two cohorts of students in different universities in the UK. It presents the outcomes as indicative results and draws preliminary conclusions on how the student experience might be engaged with to increase happiness as well as satisfaction. Findings – The results show a distinct notion of happiness which has specific attributes from those that deliver satisfaction. Originality/value – The literature on student experience and more importantly, its reporting conflate happiness and satisfaction. This research shows that they are different, and offers a new way of looking at the student experience data.

Colonizing Innovation:

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhinav CHATURVEDI ◽  
Alf REHN
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Frugal Innovation ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Management Literature

Innovation is one of the most popular concepts and desired phenomena of contemporary Western capitalism. As such, there is a perennial drive to capture said phenomena, and particularly to find new ways to incite and drive the same. In this text, we analyze one specific tactic through which this is done, namely by the culturally colonial appropriation of indigenous knowledge systems. By looking to how jugaad, a system   of   frugal   innovation   in   India,   has been   made   into   fodder   for   Western management literature, we argue for the need of a more developed innovation critique, e.g., by looking to postcolonial theory.

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