Search

Many countries have ethnically diverse populations and marketing practitioners need to consider these diversities when undertaking research, particularly when exploring sensitive topics. In Australia, Indigenous Australians make up 3.3% of the population and are a commonly researched audience to gauge attitudes and ensure cultural offense does not occur due to unintended consequences of marketing activity. However, obtaining information from such a vulnerable group using quantitively based surveys is often inappropriate or insensitive. This paper introduces to Euro-western market researchers the concepts of flipping and yarning as a market research approach that has been used by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years. This circular market research approach demonstrates that ensuring a cultural understanding of the community can provide a foundation for a research approach that is 'considered' and respectful. It is hoped that this type of methodology can be used with other vulnerable communities as well as other diverse groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards more inclusive research practice The papers highlighted that for methodologies to be designed in a way that is inclusive, considerations need to be made both at the researcher/research team level, as well as the approach used to conduct the research. Researchers need to reflect on the gaps that may exist in their knowledge - especially when they are not members of the target sample group. Indeed, the notion of respect and beneficence that underline the ethical conduct of research (e.g. [3]; [14]) can only be achieved if researchers ensure meaningful inclusion by identifying, acknowledging and managing bias, both conscious and unconscious in their research practice. Such challenges are further compounded by the identities of the researcher (Egharevba, 2001) - keeping in mind that the researcher, too, can experience harm from the research process. [Extracted from the article]

Indigenous groups voices have often been missing from the marketing research collegiate. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of the land now known as Australia, for example, are among the most researched peoples in the world (Martin & Mirraboopa, 2003), yet are underrepresented among research practitioners. The present underrepresentation among practitioners is only slowly, and occasionally haphazardly, being addressed by the growing number of more junior Indigenous researchers entering the field. Until greater representation among senior researchers is achieved, research teams are likely to include a mixture of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. Such teams must therefore address a unique combination of power imbalance and minority inclusion in how they work. This need for inclusion can become more challenging for research teams when the research topic addresses issues impacting Indigenous peoples. And while numerous ethical and research guidelines exist for how researchers work with participants who are members of a minority group and are likely to have less power, there are few frameworks addressing how such challenges should be managed for the researchers within a research team. In this paper, we use an action research method to critically reflect on how to manage research teams that include more junior Indigenous researchers whose voices are vital to the research project. Reflexive and proactive processes were developed to ensure a culture of reflection both regarding interactions within the research team and in the project. To structure and share these reflections, the team developed and enunciated a fit-for-purpose framework. This framework was informed by the work of Narungga Professor Rigney (1999) that lists foundational Indigenist research methods. The framework also draws on the layers of reflexivity proposed by Nicholls (2009) and insider/outsider group theory previously advocated for (Ameka, 2018). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: High quality research involving Indigenous people with cognitive impairment and dementia is critical for informing evidence-based policy and practice. We examined the volume, scope and ethical considerations of research related to dementia with Indigenous populations globally from January 2000–December 2021. Methods: Studies were included if they were published in English from 2000 to 2021 and provided original data that focused on cognitive impairment or dementia in any Indigenous population. Results: The search yielded 13,009 papers of which, 76 met inclusion criteria. The overall number of papers increased over time. Studies were mostly conducted in Australia with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (n = 30; 39%). Twenty-six papers directly involved Indigenous participants with cognitive impairment or dementia. Of these studies, ethics approval was commonly required from two or more committees (n = 23, 88.5%). Ethical and legal governance frameworks were rarely discussed. Discussion: There is a clear need for further robust studies examining cognitive impairment and dementia with Indigenous populations. Future research should consider the ethical aspects of involving Indigenous participants with cognitive impairment in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the gendered dimensions of family violence remains a key focus in the primary prevention of violence against women (PVAW) in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian communities. What is seen as more important for Indigenous communities in PVAW is addressing the legacies and ongoing impacts of colonisation on Indigenous people, families, and communities. This focus on decolonisation deviates from settler PVAW programs where the emphasis is on challenging hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy. In this paper, I consider the importance of critiquing the western logic of colonisation within both Indigenous and non-Indigenous PVAW programs through examining the links between hegemonic masculinity, colonisation and neoliberal capitalism. I draw attention to the inherent violence and corrosion within processes of colonisation that adversely affect the social and emotional wellbeing and relationships of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men (albeit in very different ways) and argue the importance of a decolonising approach for addressing gender-based violence within Indigenous and non-Indigenous programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultimately the message emerging is that there is the need for ongoing reflection and transformation in research ethics that should be underpinned by ongoing educational and sharing opportunities (e.g., through the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research ([18])) through structured national dialogues to build ethics capacity in research that will support the sensitive contextual application of national and international research ethics principles. They suggest that REC decisions on anonymity are driven by ethics regulation ([26]) and that this perspective of the REC, positions communities as needing to be protected through the imposition of the standard of anonymity. Collectively, this means that researchers and RECs need not only to be aware of the ethical and legal dimensions that guide the ethical standard of privacy in research but that researchers and RECs should be capacitated to recognize and implement this in the wider sphere of research as already emphasized in current ethics guidance and literature ([36]; [37]). Keywords: research anonymity; ethics transformation; critical reflection; privacy; research ethics committees EN research anonymity ethics transformation critical reflection privacy research ethics committees 565 572 8 11/22/22 20221201 NES 221201 Introduction The authors of the paper, Research site anonymity in context ([23]) set out to utilize critical theory "to interrogate and problematize the practice of anonymizing research sites as an ethical imperative". [Extracted from the article]

For many years, activists in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) have called for the sector to engage closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities. However, less is documented on how mainstream services might achieve authentic, sustained engagement at a local service level. This paper showcases educators who connect with local Aboriginal community members/Elders as a central plank of their ECEC practice. In sharing their account, we examine what engagement looks like and what makes it possible. We have used Indigenous methodologies and the Theory of Practice Architecture (TPA) as theoretical lenses for exploring the policy, and organisational arrangements that sustained their engagement practices. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First Nations peoples in Australia are disproportionately affected by diabetes. We report on a qualitative evaluation of a healthy lifestyle group programme at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service. The programme was designed by an Aboriginal Health Worker and took place in a regional community. Yarning interviews of five participants and four facilitators were conducted followed by a collaborative analysis. The group context provided connecting and relationship-building opportunities, allowing participants to feel that they were seen as an individual. The accidental hybrid approach adopted due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown supported transition of healthy activities into the home context while still accessing support and motivation from the group. This paper concluded that the unintentional hybrid programme found promising individual and cross-generational health and wellbeing benefits for First Nations families which suggests that intentional hybrid frameworks may show promise in improving First Nations peoples' health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authors' Response to "Invited Commentary on 'Combatting Neo-colonialism in Health Research: What Can Aboriginal Health Research Ethics and Global Health Research Ethics Teach Each Other? The Search Strategy We developed two search strategies in 2018 working with a reference librarian at the University of Melbourne, one for the Aboriginal health research ethics (AHRE) literature and one for the global health research ethics literature (GHRE). In the GHRE literature captured by study, decolonising principles were less emphasised, but that literature may not comprise all the GHRE literature. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines the relationship between Australia’s Indigenous and settler colonial systems of democracy through the lens of deliberative systems theory. It suggests that the ongoing effects of colonialism have rendered Indigenous democracy largely invisible causing a harmful divide in Australia’s democracies. A pluralist conception of democracy is necessary to understand the disconnect between the two systems, evidenced by a striking absence of literature on Australian Indigenous democracy. In response, this paper first theorizes a conceptual framework of a concurrent deliberative system, then describes the Indigenous deliberative system and the colonial system’s efforts to eliminate Indigenous democracy. Against this theoretical and empirical background, it considers whether the recent referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was just a colonial legacy or represented a pathway towards a shared postcolonial democratic future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family violence within Aboriginal communities continues to attract considerable scholarly, governmental and public attention in Australia. While rates of victimization are significantly higher than non-Aboriginal rates, Aboriginal women remain suspicious of the 'carceral feminism' remedy, arguing that family violence is a legacy of colonialism, systemic racism, and the intergenerational impacts of trauma, requiring its own distinctive suite of responses, 'uncoupled' from the dominant feminist narrative of gender inequality, coercive control and patriarchy. We conclude that achieving meaningful reductions in family violence hinges on a decolonising process that shifts power from settler to Aboriginal structures. Aboriginal peoples are increasingly advocating for strengths-based and community-led solutions that are culturally safe, involve Aboriginal justice models, and recognises the salience of Aboriginal Law and Culture. This paper is based on qualitative research in six locations in northern Australia where traditional patterns of Aboriginal Law and Culture are robust. Employing a decolonising methodology, we explore the views of Elders in these communities regarding the existing role of Law and Culture, their criticisms of settler law, and their ambitions for a greater degree of partnership between mainstream and Aboriginal law. The paper advances a number of ideas, based on these discussions, that might facilitate a paradigm shift in theory and practice regarding intervention in family violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The report argues further that in many respects policy and practice is in tension with the Youth Justice Board's adoption of a child first philosophy, so that the scope for implementing a genuinely child first agenda is subject to substantial limitations. The authors cite a recent evaluation undertaken, on behalf of the Youth Justice Board, which points to a continued incongruence between child first aspirations and aspects of guidance and practice frameworks which persist in encouraging a "child unfriendly risk management model". A policy position paper published, in November 2021, by the Association of Directors of Children's Services, the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers and the Local Government Association, argues that "urgent action" is required to reform current arrangements in England and Wales, if the youth justice system is to be one that "works for children". As throughput has fallen, the overrepresentation in the youth justice system of children from minority ethnic backgrounds has worsened, particularly for children in custody. [Extracted from the article]

Mainstream Australian society tends to assume that the purposes of schooling and aspirations that school should enable are universal and roundly accepted. The authors of this paper examine the issues with these assumptions and consider what "imagined futures" (Nakata, 2007a) mean for young people in Aṉangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara) schools and communities today. They pose the question, "How might remote educators enable a space for re-imagining the future on Aṉangu terms and what potential does remote education offer in this regard?" This paper emphasizes the strong self-determination stance and action that is required by Aṉangu in both articulating Aṉangu values in the education process and in instilling a positive perspective about the opportunities for young people into the future. The authors also interrogate the role of Piranpa (non-Indigenous) remote educators in how they might position themselves for student imagination, aspiration and hope, pointing students back to the intergenerational capacities that are critical in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past histories charting interactions between British healthcare and Aboriginal Australians have tended to be dominated by broad histological themes such as invasion and colonization. While such descriptions have been vital to modernization and truth telling in Australian historical discourse, this paper investigates the nineteenth century through the modern cultural lens of mental health. We reviewed primary documents, including colonial diaries, church sermons, newspaper articles, medical and burial records, letters, government documents, conference speeches and anthropological journals. Findings revealed six overlapping fields which applied British ideas about mental health to Aboriginal Australians during the nineteenth century. They included military invasion, religion, law, psychological systems, lunatic asylums, and anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing physical health monitoring for Indigenous Australians with mental health issues in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.Method: This longitudinal, within-groups investigation assessed physical health parameters such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels at baseline and at 18 months for the same cohort. No standardised intervention was in place, but action was taken if results were found to be abnormal.Results: Most measures of physical health remained stable, with mean lipid and fasting glucose levels remaining abnormal over the entire assessment period. Systolic blood pressure showed a significant improvement.Conclusions: More needs to be done to improve the physical health of Indigenous mental health patients - culturally appropriate and secure interventions incorporating holistic models of care are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: An expert reference group met on four occasions to consider ways forward in terms of Indigenous mental health. This paper summarises the discussion and recommendations.Conclusion: While the negative effects of colonisation and trans-generational trauma continue, we propose renewed emphasis on improving access, cultural orientation and trauma-informed care, and a focus on the needs of young Indigenous Australians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Mental Health Acts (MHAs) are important pieces of legislation which include essential definitions of mental illness and mental disorder and are used to guide decision-making regarding treatment, including involuntary admissions. In Australia, responsibility for reviewing this legislation falls under the jurisdiction of State and Territory Governments, resulting in interstate variations of legislative definitions and care requirements. In this paper, we outline some of the main differences between MHAs, and argue that it is time for Australia to enact nationally consistent Mental Health Legislation. Conclusions: Substantial divergence exists between definitions of mental illness and mental disorder, differing criteria for involuntary treatment and discrepancies between treatment requirements for Indigenous Australians. While variations between MHAs are understandable considering the historical context, in an increasingly integrated society, it is time for Australia to enact nationally consistent mental health legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent Australian research has identified that the success of an Indigenous business greatly relies on the business acumen of its owner. Whilst business education offered through Business Schools is seemingly open to all, Indigenous Australian participation in these educational offerings have been low. In contrast the number of Indigenous businesses emerging in Australia over the past decade is building a demand for Indigenous specific business education offerings. The MURRA Indigenous Business Master Class at Melbourne Business School is such an example of an Indigenous business education program. We discuss how this program implements an andragogical philosophy into the Indigenous teaching and learning approach of business education to take into consideration an individual's cultural and business knowledge to contextualise business learning. This paper identifies a framework of andragogy principles that contributes to the learning environment for Indigenous entrepreneurs. We identify four key learning principles and offer an evidence based model to progress business education. Through well designed Indigenous business education, business education can provide Indigenous entrepreneurs with an effective learning environment that integrates their cultural identity, highlights Indigenous knowledges and allows for the development of skills to support self-determination practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well established that First Nations Peoples in Australia are overrepresented within the criminal justice system. However, First Nations Peoples appear to be comparatively underrepresented in the forensic mental health system, and little is known about their outcomes once released from secure care. Objective: To compare the characteristics and rates of repeat criminal justice contact for a criminal charge of First Nations and non-First Nations forensic patients in New South Wales. Methods: Data on the sample were extracted from the New South Wales Mental Health Review Tribunal paper and electronic files matched to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Reoffending Database. Characteristics of First Nations and non-First Nations patients were compared using univariate logistic regression analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression was used to determine predictors of post-release criminal charges. Results: Key differences in the sociodemographic, clinical and forensic characteristics of First Nations compared with non-First Nations forensic patients were identified. The time to first criminal justice contact following release was significantly shorter for First Nations forensic patients (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm that First Nations forensic patients have distinct and complex needs that are apparent at entry to the forensic mental health system and that their poorer criminal justice contact rates following release from secure care indicate that these needs are not being adequately met either during treatment or once in the community. Responses to these study findings must consider the complex and continuing impact of colonisation on First Nations Peoples, as well as the need for solutions to be culturally safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's colonial history is fraught with ongoing social injustice and can be difficult to teach. The inclusion of humour on Australian Indigenous studies courses presents both challenges and opportunities for educators in the field. Students' reactions to the inclusion of humour are often varied and care must be taken to ensure that Indigenous histories are taught with a view to balancing pleasure in learning while maintaining a focus on content. This paper elucidates the inclusion of humour in an undergraduate course where the student cohort is primarily non-Indigenous. Drawing from a range of critical works on humour, and on the teaching experience of the authors, the paper constitutes a work in progress that seeks to contribute to a sparse body of work dealing with Australian Indigenous humour in pedagogical contexts. The paper reflects on the course in question through an examination of texts used to teach students about the effectiveness of humour and its uses and applications in teaching Australian Indigenous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though now under some challenge, the policy orthodoxy in Australian Aboriginal affairs since the 1970s has been progressive in its social justice orientation, postcolonial in its amelioration of the colonial legacy, and culturalist in its privileging of ethnicity. In this paper I argue that its attempt to recover the past in the face of increasing postethnicity is becoming counter-productive, by stultifying cultural adaptation and compromising individuals’ capacity to engage with modernity. The notions of interculturality and postethnicity point to coexisting ancestral cultures, an imagined, symbolic national Aboriginality, and deep intersection with settler-Australia and the world, and so cultural ‘changing-sameness’ and simultaneous ‘bothness’. The paper argues that a dialectic of public policy and Aboriginal identity politics resists this lived reality, with negative effects. It proposes that a way forward is to engage more fully with the lived reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 is a standardised diagnostic interview commonly used in population-based mental health surveys, but has not been used in community-residing Indigenous Australians. This paper seeks to determine whether the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 can produce valid diagnostic information when compared with a diagnostic interview in an urban Indigenous Australian sample. Method: This research was conducted over 10 weeks with adult Indigenous clients of two participating Aboriginal Medical Services in South-East Queensland. Using a cross-sectional, repeated-measures design, participants were administered the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 by an Indigenous interviewer and within 2 weeks attended a second appointment with an Indigenous clinical psychologist, who produced a diagnostic summary. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 diagnoses were compared with the diagnostic summaries and clinical concordance between the two measures was calculated. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 differed by module. The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depression modules had good utility in diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive episodes, respectively; however, the Mania module that provides diagnoses of bipolar disorder was found to be unsuitable for this population. Although there were no identified contraindications for the use of the Generalised Anxiety and Alcohol Use Disorder modules, further research on the diagnostic accuracy of these modules is warranted. Conclusions: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 can accurately diagnose some common mental disorders in an Indigenous Australian population, but was found to be unsuitable for others. Given these findings, care should be taken when using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 in epidemiological prevalence studies with Indigenous Australian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A history of colonization inflicts psychological, physical, and structural disadvantages that endure across generations. For an increasing number of Indigenous Australians, environmental epigenetics offers an important explanatory framework that links the social past with the biological present, providing a culturally relevant way of understanding the various intergenerational effects of historical trauma. In this paper, we critically examine the strategic uptake of environmental epigenetics by Indigenous researchers and policy advocates. We focus on the relationship between epigenetic processes and Indigenous views of Country and health—views that locate health not in individual bodies but within relational contexts of Indigenous ontologies that embody interconnected environments of kin/animals/matter/bodies across time and space. This drawing together of Indigenous experience and epigenetic knowledge has strengthened calls for action including state-supported calls for financial reparations. We examine the consequences of this reimagining of disease responsibility in the context of "strategic biological essentialism," a distinct form of biopolitics that, in this case, incorporates environmental determinism. We conclude that the shaping of the right to protection from biosocial injury is potentially empowering but also has the capacity to conceal forms of governance through claimants' identification as "damaged," thus furthering State justification of biopolitical intervention in Indigenous lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review aims to explore how cultural safety is defined in the Australian literature with health professional learners in clinical interactions. It maps how the components of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency definition of cultural safety align with this evidence. Databases were systematically searched for original, peer-reviewed research that included Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, health professional learners who were eligible for registration in Australia, teaching and assessment. Many elements of cultural safety lacked Indigenous input and had no patient involvement. General consultation and communications skills were key components of culturally safe interactions. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency consensus statement on cultural safety provides a consistent definition for teaching and learning cultural safety within health professions in Australia. The findings suggest that developing an approach for cultural safety requires incorporation of Indigenous voices, patient-centred care metrics, patient feedback, learner self-assessment and attitude measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a water management project in the remote Aboriginal community of Milingimbi, Northern Australia. Drawing on materials and experiences from two distinct stages of this project, we revisit a policy report and engage in ethnographic storytelling in order to highlight a series of sensing practices associated with water management. In the former, a working symmetry between Yolngu and Western water knowledges is actively sought through the practices of the project. However, in the latter, recurrent asymmetries in the research work continue to appear: a bilingual diagram of water usage is displayed but produces confusion; measuring a water hole for salinity, a member of the scientific team throws in a water meter, while a Yolngu elder prefers the telling of an ancestral story; a collaborative 3-D mapping exercise invites participation from community members but struggles to develop an outcome that differs from existing maps used by scientists and government staff. Focusing on these moments as subtle points of rupture, we suggest that attending to "seeing," "telling," and "mapping" in both stages of this water management project offers a way to explore the political work of crafting climate futures and beginning to interrogate differing means for "doing difference" within them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the Australian National Maritime Museum's Indigenous watercraft project, conceived by its curators due to the lacking presence of Australia's first mariners and their vessels in cultural institutions and academic scholarship. The Nawi project aims to align with best-practice in Indigenous Australian museological policy to better facilitate strong Indigenous cultural futures, rather than dwell in an Indigenous past. Nawi participants built a dynamic picture of Indigenous watercraft culture today that is open to all nuances and complexities in Indigenous Australian (post)colonial experiences and identity, without privileging authenticity of unbroken connection over cultural resurgence. This paper also raises issues about authenticity faced by cultural institutions regarding Indigenous watercraft replicas. It concludes with a discussion about the concept of "community", and how the Nawi project emphasizes its importance in cultural practice today through the lens of the amazing array of watercraft of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to outline engagement and practice principles for psychiatrists contributing to responses to critical incidents, based on three decades of experience in remote Indigenous Australia.Conclusion: Psychiatrists have important roles in these settings and situations, which should be considered in advance and informed by cultivated relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been little discussion in Australia about the different experiences of racism directed towards light- skinned Aboriginal people. Research on racism in Australia has tended to incorporate all Aboriginal people and has not examined in detail the experiences of lighter- skinned Aboriginal people. This paper is based on research that was undertaken as part of a study on light- skinned Aboriginal people with little or no community or kinship ties and how they formulated their cultural identity. The author uses the concept of lateral violence to show how many light- skinned Aboriginal people experience racism both from Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people. T his paper highlights the extensive social and psychological consequences of racism and lateral violence and discusses what this means for social work practice in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is different, in a good way. This article draws inspiration from Australian Indigenous scholar Nakata's (2007) theory of the cultural interface—the touchpoint between Western knowledge systems and Indigenous knowledge systems. Come with me, and let me tell you a story about Indigenous methodologies and other acts of research sovereignty using an Indigenous storytelling methodology. Let me tell you about my reflections as an Aboriginal marketing professor, and be warned, I will challenge you with provocative questions designed to shock you into new thinking and truth-telling. I will also provide guidance to improve your market research practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the history of paternalistic state policies and the effects of asbestos mining on the Indigenous community at Baryulgil in northern New South Wales. Despite the lack of profitability, the asbestos operations continued for over 30 years leaving a legacy of asbestos-related health and environmental issues. The shift of responsibility for Indigenous welfare from the State to a corporate entity is evidenced in this historical study using the lens of historical institutionalism. The Baryulgil case is instructive in a number of ways: it demonstrates the subtlety with which human rights abuses can occur in an environment where paternalistic attitudes towards Indigenous peoples prevail; it demonstrates the clash between pursuit of corporate objectives and human rights; and finally it demonstrates the lack of corporate accountability in the asbestos industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The introduction of money into previously non-monetary, alternative economies can lead to many socio-cognitive tensions, if money is perceived as having been imposed from the ‘outside’, and disconnected from traditional ways of life. In this paper, we employ the lens of institutional theory to frame the phenomenon of money-use in remote Indigenous Australia. Through an immersive study in two remote communities, we develop themes of socio-cognitive tensions that arise as a result of disparity in exchange logics governing marketplace exchange in monetary marketplaces vis-a-vis historically non-monetary alternative economies. We draw upon emergent insights, and derive macro-marketing implications for the design of marketplace-literacy education, aimed at alleviating these tensions and enhancing well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes urban Indigenous Australian experiences of a peer mentor program (PMP) aiming to reduce non-communicable disease (NCD) risks and discusses its implications for future policy and practice. Much of the inequitable mortality for Indigenous Australians is related to NCD incidence. Using a qualitative approach the study reported here explored 21 people's experiences as peer mentors in an NCD risk reduction PMP, which took place between 2009 and 2011. Four key themes were identified, including community networks, collective wellbeing, skills development and problem solving, and sustainability. The PMP allowed for inclusiveness of individual strengths, diversity and cultural knowledge. Formal networks provided sustainability and information while peer informal networks provided increased participation, knowledge dissemination, practice of health-promoting skills and provision of support. Inclusion of collective cultural elements, such as connections to Elders, families, children and Country were particularly important for the peer mentors in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the experiences of female partners and relatives of child sexual abuse material offenders and the (il)legibility of their experiences within prevailing theoretical frameworks and policy responses to violence against women. Drawing on survey and interview data with clients of a specialist support agency, we situate the lack of understanding and support available to these women within the systematic depoliticization of child sexual abuse. The article traces how women developed their own social critique of child sexual exploitation as a form of gendered violence and called for a feminist reengagement with the politics of child sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are facing growing levels of scrutiny to prove their identity to access Indigenous-specific government services designed to mitigate the impacts of past government policies. Yet, it is those who have been most severely impacted by past government policies of forcible removal from Country and separation of families who often face challenges obtaining evidence to prove their Indigeneity. Employing narrative inquiry and collaborative autoethnography, this article draws on the personal reflections and experiences of the Aboriginal authors to explore the health and wellbeing impacts of deficit discourses, perceptions, and judgements about Indigeneity in Australia. Our personal stories are shared to enliven discussion on how proof of Indigeneity requirements may systemically compound ongoing intergenerational trauma. These stories and perspectives are shared to stimulate review of proof of Indigeneity policies and procedures by government agencies and education institutions across Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a study that provides insights into the challenges faced by practitioners in the Northern Territory (NT) who support families in enhancing child safety and well-being, particularly for children at risk of or exposed to domestic or family violence. Despite increased funding for programs aimed at improving children's safety and well-being, reports and substantiations of child maltreatment in the NT continue to escalate. Interviews with twelve participants from various organizations involved in child protection services, family support services, and residential care shed light on the existing gaps in support services, including limited resources for families escaping domestic violence and inadequate assistance for children transitioning from out-of-home care. The findings emphasize the need for early intervention services targeted at families displaying risk factors for child maltreatment. Additionally, community consultation is crucial for the design and implementation of support programs that align with the unique needs of communities, including the necessity of maintaining connections to community, culture, and family to address concerns related to meeting basic needs. The study calls for a comprehensive approach that integrates community input, cultural safety, and tailored support programs to bridge these gaps and facilitate lasting positive changes. By addressing these challenges, there is a potential to mitigate child maltreatment and improve the well-being of children and families in the NT, contributing to the overall welfare of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We invite readers to dig for ganguri (yams) at and with Bawaka, an Indigenous Homeland in northern Australia, and, in doing so, consider an Indigenous-led understanding of relational space/place. We draw on the concept of gurrutu to illustrate the limits of western ontologies, open up possibilities for other ways of thinking and theorizing, and give detail and depth to the notion of space/place as emergent co-becoming. With Bawaka as lead author, we look to Country for what it can teach us about how all views of space are situated, and for the insights it offers about co-becoming in a relational world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A considerable gap exists in health and social emotional well-being between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous Australians. Recent research in stress neurobiology highlights biological pathways that link early adversity and traumas as well as life stresses to ill health. We argue that the neurobiological stress response and its maladaptive changes, termed allostatic load, provide a useful framework to understand how adversity leads to physical and mental illness in Indigenous people. In this paper we review the biology of allostatic load and make links between stress-induced systemic hormonal, metabolic and immunological changes and physical and mental illnesses.Conclusions: Exposure to chronic stress throughout life results in an increased allostatic load that may contribute to a number of metabolic, cardiovascular and mental disorders that shorten life expectancy in Indigenous Australians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Australia's prison population is growing at a rate well in excess of population growth. Indigenous Australians are over-represented by a factor of 13. Prisoners are a profoundly marginalised group characterised by complex health and social needs. Despite improvements in health during incarceration, poor health outcomes after release are common, and the net effect of incarceration is usually health depleting. Given the need for effective care coordination, primary care plays a pivotal role in meeting the health needs of this population. In this paper we review what is known about patterns of primary care utilisation in ex-prisoners, identify evidence-based strategies for increasing access to primary care in ex-prisoners, and consider how such contact may shape subsequent health service outcomes.Conclusions: Primary care is a necessary but not sufficient condition for effective post-release support. Positive outcomes may depend more on the quality than the quantity of care received. Given massive over-representation of Indigenous people in Australia's prisons, and compelling evidence of preventable morbidity and mortality after release from prison, effective models of care for this population are an important component of closing the gap in Indigenous life expectancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-engaged research takes place at a complex social site that has both a history and a future as well as encompassing the project activities of the researchers and community members. We argue that a crucial methodological aspect of undertaking such research is the development of trust relationships between researchers and community. We propose that for each research project, this relationship can best be understood as a 'sphere of engagement', after Ingold's 'sphere of nurture', and that trust and care are emergent and binding qualities of this sphere. Tracing the development of trust relationships in a case study, using the idea of security-based trust and harmony-based trust, we conclude that trust, and the related concept of care, bind together people, events, histories and futures beyond the dichotomous and time-delimited relationship of a research contract, and carry the sphere of engagement of researchers and community beyond the life of any one project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous law, philosophy and knowledges are core to our Indigenous past and they still hold our present worlds together, promising a future for First Nations peoples even in the face of colonialism which has done much to marginalise First Nations. This paper discusses the marginal position held by Indigenous peoples, one which is reflected in international law and which deems us as objects of colonial states. This is our political position even while First Nations continue to hold and centre our lawful obligations to care for country. I also critically review the impact of colonisation on the First Nations of Australia and consider the need to transform that colonial history to enable a less peripheral and more centred place for First Nations peoples' laws, philosophy and knowledges to re-emerge. For the Australian colonial project the mechanism of terra nullius provided the legitimacy which imperial Britain needed to "lawfully settle" our lands and dispossess First Nations from our way of being in relation to the earth in the place now called Australia. Here I consider both the impact of colonisation on--and the challenge we face in re-centring--Aboriginal law, philosophy and knowledges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the pressing issues facing Australian and other First Nations peoples is the repatriation of the bodily remains of their ancestors, which are currently held in Western scientific institutions. The success of securing the return of these remains to their communities for reburial depends largely on locating information within scientific and other literature published between 1790 and 1970 documenting their theft, donation, sale, or exchange between institutions. This article reports on collaborative research by data scientists and social science researchers in the Research, Reconcile, Renew Network (RRR) to develop and apply text mining techniques to identify this vital information. We describe our work to date on developing a machine learning-based solution to automate the process of finding and semantically analysing relevant texts. Classification models, particularly deep learning-based models, are known to have low accuracy when trained with small amounts of labelled (i.e. relevant/non-relevant) documents. To improve the accuracy of our detection model, we explore the use of an Informed Neural Network (INN) model that describes documentary content using expert-informed contextual knowledge. Only a few labelled documents are used to provide specificity to the model, using conceptually related keywords identified by RRR experts in provenance research. The results confirm the value of using an INN network model for identifying relevant documents related to the investigation of the global commercial trade in Indigenous human remains. Empirical analysis suggests that this INN model can be generalized for use by other researchers in the social sciences and humanities who want to extract relevant information from large textual corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The prevalence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among Australia's First Nations populations are some of the highest in the world, accounting for 95% of the 2,244 ARF notifications between 2015 and 2019 in Australia. A key issue in treating ARF is long-term secondary prophylaxis, yet only one in five patients received treatment in 2019. This review identifies barriers to secondary prophylaxis of ARF in Australia's First Nations people. Methods: An integrative review was undertaken utilizing PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Wiley Online. Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used, followed by thematic analysis. Results: The key themes uncovered included: issues with database and recall systems, patient/family characteristics, service delivery location and site, pain of injection, education (including language barriers), and patient-clinician relationship. Conclusions: A national RHD register, change in operation model, improved pain management, improved education, and need for consistent personnel is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water has been a critical resource for Anangu peoples across the remote inland for millennia, underpinning their ability to live in low rainfall environments. Anangu biocultural knowledge of kapi (water) developed in complex ways that enabled this resource to be found. Such biocultural knowledge included deep understandings of weather patterns and of species behavior. Kapi and its significance to desert-dwelling peoples can be seen in ancient mapping practices, whether embedded in stone as petroglyphs or in ceremonial song and dance practices associated with the Tjukurpa. While in the past the sustainability of kapi was facilitated by mobility that spread human dependence on this resource across multiple sites, since the 1940s Anangu have been coerced by the settler-colonial state to live a sedentary lifestyle in remote communities such as Haasts Bluff, Papunya and Yuendemu. In many of these communities the supply of kapi is becoming increasingly insecure in terms of viability of supply, cost, quality and threats from mining. This paper provides a brief insight into how kapi has become devalued in the context of contemporary remote communities with particular reference to my area of expertise - Aboriginal identity, well-being and Australian sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to review the diagnosis among adult Indigenous patients from the Kimberley region of Western Australia who had an existing diagnosis of schizophrenia. A visit from a psychiatrist specializing in intellectual disability provided the opportunity for conducting psychiatric assessments from a developmental perspective. Method: Selected patients with schizophrenia were assessed from an intellectual disability perspective from an active case load of 215 patients. Result: Thirteen out of 14 selected patients were considered to have a diagnosis of autism when a developmental history was undertaken. Case studies are presented to illustrate the overlap in symptoms and potential for the diagnosis of autism to be missed. Conclusions: Autism spectrum disorders may be missed in Indigenous population groups. This has implications for treatment and service provision. Clinicians need to be mindful of the diagnostic possibility that an autism spectrum disorder might be masquerading as schizophrenia in the context of intellectual disability and atypical presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can be seen as an integral aspect of cultural health. While colonisation has had devastating effects upon Indigenous languages, communities are increasingly reclaiming their languages, as a means to cultural preservation, community wellbeing and healing. Currently, there are no tools that specifically measure the potential positive impacts of language revival on the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. This article brings together two broad constructs, social and emotional wellbeing and language reclamation, and describes an approach to developing a survey instrument to measure the relationship between Indigenous languages and wellbeing. With an emphasis on decolonising approaches to research, it steps out the key activities undertaken to develop the Indigenous Language and Wellbeing Survey. This article highlights the importance of addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research priorities. It also shows how qualitative material can guide the development of a quantitative survey in mixed-methods research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spirituality of Indigenous Australians is described in this study, showing its distinctness from mainstream religion and its importance for social and emotional wellbeing. Connection and identity in the literature are defining elements in the spirituality of Indigenous people, and this study set out to understand how connections contribute to meaning and healing. Guided by a semi-structured interview, Indigenous spirituality was explored in terms of both meaning and importance. Four primary themes emerged from the interview data which described the importance of connection: to ancestors, family, country, and belief in God. There were also two sub-themes: nature and interior reality. Although spirituality was centred around these primary themes, for many Indigenous Australians, there has been an amalgamation of traditional beliefs with mainstream religion that reflects the history of colonialism. Participants emphasised the importance for mental health practitioners to acknowledge clients' spirituality and to consider its importance within the therapeutic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enacting a research project that is beneficial and meaningful for Indigenous communities and agencies in Australia remains a challenge in both the research and nutrition fields. This article describes how the Mums and Bubs Deadly Diets project is embedding Indigenous ways of knowing and doing and partnering with Indigenous communities to co-design mobile health technology. Each step in the process of developing and implementing this project has been actively conscious of the intentions of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Code of Ethics and the National Ethics Standards for working with Indigenous Australians. Describing the project's approach, methods of negotiation and responses to challenges, administering institutions and Indigenous communities, including coronavirus disease-19, provides the opportunity to reflect and forward plan for future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the development of an Aboriginal basket-weaving theoretical-methodological framework developed as part of a doctoral study that explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers' aspirations towards school leadership in Australia. Aboriginal basket weaving framed as theory-methodology is positioned through the cultural lens of Indigenous and post-structural theoretical frameworks. Connected and relational ontology is woven through the methodologies of storying and yarning that are held by the basket-weaving theoretical framing yet to be enacted in the fieldwork and analysis. This article is a first look at the framework developed by the lead author in concert with her doctoral supervisors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the use of visual communication in sexual and reproductive health information resources produced by an Australian Family Planning organization for different populations – people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (especially recent immigrants from Syria and Afghanistan), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and young people from both these groups. Co-authored by a semiotician and the manager of the organization's Health Promotion Team, it combines visual analysis of semiotic products with firsthand experience of the organization's semiotic practices. The article shows how the same medical information leads to different health information products for different groups on the basis of ideas about what can be considered culturally acceptable to these groups. In this way, it demonstrates a social semiotic approach to the analysis of visual communication in which the findings of analysing visual products are understood in relation to the practices of their production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a long history of research being conducted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that has offered questionable benefit but occasioned great distress and distrust. Using research methods that are suitable and acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a critically important step towards restoring trust and improving the accessibility and relevancy of research that better addresses the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The current research aims to qualitatively evaluate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' perceptions of the suitability and acceptability of engaging in a think-aloud interview embedded in an individual yarn; a think-aloud yarn. Methods: We employed the think-aloud method as part of the larger What Matters 2Adults study. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants were engaged in a think-aloud yarn, then immediately following, a follow-up yarn to explore the acceptability of the think-aloud method. The follow-up yarns were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed utilising reflexive thematic analysis with an Indigenous epistemological lens. Results: A total of 17 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults participated in our study. Participants reported that taking part in the think-aloud yarn was acceptable, not difficult and was less onerous than writing down their thoughts. Engaging participants in a social yarn before the think-aloud research yarn ensured they were comfortable verbalising and assured them that the process was confidential. Thinking out loud gave participants the opportunity to reflect and to think critically about their responses. Some found that by thinking out loud they were able to better understand the statements in their own mind and felt they were therefore able to provide a more authentic response. Because of these benefits, participants conveyed that the think-aloud yarn is a vitally important component in testing items and developing measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Conclusions: Overall, our study found that the think-aloud yarn is acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and therefore a suitable method for use in studies that involve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]