2005 News

Human Security and Development in Marginal Communities: A National Workshop on Volunteering Abroad in the Asia-Pacific

CAPSTRANS hosted a 2-day forum on Volunteering in the Asia-Pacific from 24-25 November 2005. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Asia Pacific Futures Research Network (APFRN) and CAPSTRANS at the University of Wollongong. The forum brought together invited scholars, professionals and postgraduates who discussed key issues related to poverty alleviation, economic restructuring and the relationship to volunteering and working in Asia Pacific countries.

More information...

Malaysia-Australia Higher Education Workshop

CAPSTRANS hosted a 3-day forum at the University of Wollongong from the 2-4 November 2005 on the ways globalisation and the changing local economy are impacting on the nature and direction of higher education, including public and private universities. Participants assessed how the impact is being felt in Australia and Malaysia and analysed the changing nature of the university and the role of higher education in promoting national growth and regional identity.

Workshop organiser, Associate Professor Peter Kell said: "The forum generated enthusiasm and energy for a network of researchers interested in working on issues in higher education. Outcomes included a commitment by members of the forum to maintain a regional network with a view to meet again in 2006 to continue the bi-lateral dialogue. Part of this dialogue will be the production of an edited publication of the papers."

Professor Adrian Vickers - Book Launch

Dr Mark Hobart, Director of the Centre for Media & Film Studies, School of Oriental and Asian Studies (SOAS) at the University of London recently launched Adrian Vickers' new book, Journeys of Desire: A study of the Balinese text Malat, published in Leiden by KITLV (Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology).

International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) 4

CAPSTRANS sponsored four panels at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS4) Conference in Shanghai from 20-24 August. More information.

CAPSTRANS Announces Recent Grant Success

CAPSTRANS staff Peter Kell, Tim Scrase, Ruchira Ganguly-Scrase together with Mr Roger O'Halloran from PALMS Australia, were recently awarded an ARC Linkage - Industry Grant (2005-2008), $73,000, for their project titled: "Australian Volunteers Abroad in Communities in the Asia/Pacific Region".

Professor Stephen Hill

Regional Director of UNESCO's Jakarta-based office in Indonesion visited CAPSTRANS on 21 April. Professor Hill presented a free public lecture at the University of Wollongong focused on the Boxing Day tsunami called 'The Day the Ocean Moved'. 

Visit from Universiti Sains Malaysia

Professor Ambigapathy Pandian, Deputy Dean of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) visited CAPSTRANS at Wollongong on the 24 May and presented a paper on higher education issues in Malaysia. While at Wollongong he signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) agreement with the University on behalf of USM's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato Dzulkifli Abdul Razak. The agreement will incorporate a range of joint collaborations including student exchange, joint research in Education and Arts including work with CAPSTRANS and an ongoing series of research grants investigating the issues of global English in university education in Australia and Malaysia. 

Recent Grant Success

CAPSTRANS staff have recently been successful in a number of competitive grant schemes:

Lenore Lyons "Winter Workshop on Citizenship, Identity and Mobility in the Asia-Pacific", $8,500 from the ARC Asia Pacific Futures Research Network.

Philip Kitley "Indonesian Broadcasting Commission: Lessons from the first years", $20,000 from the International Centre for Excellence in Asia-Pacific Studies, Regional Collaboration Program.

Peter Kell "Researching Higher Education in Australia and Malaysia: An International Forum", $11,575 from the International Centre for Excellence in Asia-Pacific Studies, Regional Collaboration Program.

Julia Martinez "Chinese capital in Indochina 1945-1975: Tracing Boat-People's past", $15,000 from the International Centre for Excellence in Asia-Pacific Studies, Institutional Linkage Program.

Winter Workshop on Citizenship, Identity and Mobility in the Asia-Pacific

CAPSTRANS hosted a Winter Workshop for Postgraduate Research Students from 14-16 June. The workshop brought together 10 students from across Australia to participate in a closed-door forum exploring their thesis work. More information

Seminar Presentation

Professor Francisco Nemenzo Jnr presented a paper titled "Coping with globalization, resisting commercialization: current problems of higher education in the Philippines" in the CAPSTRANS seminar series on the 30 March 2005. Professor Nemenzo, one the the Philippines most esteemed political scientists, has just ended has just his four-year term as President of the University of the Philippines.

New Visiting and Honorary Fellows

Dr Vicki Crinis joined CAPSTRANS as an Honorary Fellow working on gender and labour migration in the Asia-Pacific.

Dr Shalmalee Palekar joined CAPSTRANS for 12 months as a visiting fellow. Dr Palekar will be working on Indian film.

Dr Michele Ford from Flinders University joined CAPSTRANS as a visiting fellow to work with Dr Lenore Lyons on their ARC Discovery Project on Riau.

CAPSTRANS researcher cited in NT parliament

Dr Julia Martinez, CAPSTRANS teaching and research fellow, was extensively cited in the Northern Territory Parliament by MP John Ah Kit, Member for Arnhem on 10 February 2005. As part of his statement on multiculturalism, Mr Ah Kit read out parts of Dr Martinez's chapter: “Separatism and Solidarity”, in Lost in the Whitewash , Edwards, P and Yuanfang, S, pp103-113, Humanities Research Centre, ANU, 2003.

ARC Discovery Successes

The following CAPSTRANS researchers were successful in the 2004 round of ARC Grants

Dr Lenore Lyons and Dr Michele Ford (Flinders University) “In the shadow of Singapore: The limits of transnationalism in Insular Riau”, ARC Discovery Project”. This project examines how understandings of nation and identity are constructed by individuals who live and work on the Riau islands of Batam and Bintan which form the borderlands between Singapore and Indonesia. The research contributes to the broader scholarly project of understanding nation-building processes in Singapore and Indonesia by problematising the relationship between citizenship, nationality and sovereignty.

Dr Lenore Lyons and Dr Theresa Devasahayam “Trans/national activism: Organizing for Domestic Worker Rights in Southeast Asia”, ARC Discovery Project and APD. This project examines the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) and local and transnational advocacy networks that have developed in Singapore and Malaysia to address the rights of female domestic workers. This study will contribute towards a better understanding of the growth of civil society in Southeast Asia.

Dr Shanti Rozario, Professor Geoffrey Samuel and Associate Professpr HM Carey “Muslims and Christians: Women, Religious Nationalism and Sustainability in the Asia Pacific Region”, ARC Discovery Project. This project should provide agencies concerned with national security and immigration with an improved understanding of the impact of religious nationalism on communities and individuals. It should contribute to the effectiveness of Australian overseas aid initiatives, both government and voluntary, by increasing the available knowledge of how communities are sustaining themselves at present. It should, further, produce findings that make it easier for health, education and welfare agencies to deal sensitively with Muslim communities within Australia.

Prof Linda Connor; Dr GA Albrecht; Associate Professor Nick Higginbotham “Open Cuts to Land and Culture: Rural Community Engagement with Large-Scale Industrial Development”, ARC Discovery Project. The effects of coal mining and combustion on local communities have not been adequately researched even though export-oriented coal production is a key element of Australia 's economy in the 21st century. Increasing numbers of rural Australian communities are affected by profound changes to climate, environment and social life associated with open-cut mining and coal-fired power stations. This research examines the impact of these developments in the Hunter Valley of NSW, from the point of view of local communities. The understandings we gain will offer government, corporate and community stakeholders the prospect of mutually beneficial outcomes in dealing with these impacts.

Professor AD Wells, Emeritus Professor JS Hagan, Dr SE Jones, Professor AT Atkinson, Mr WA Oates, Dr GA Albrecht, Mr G Di. “Digitising Global Memory, ARC Linkage Infrastructure. Having successfully completed our LIEF-funded pilot program to upgrade description standards, digitise selected records and improve distance access to NSW regional archives. We now seek funding to capitalise on our innovations by: extending description standards of NSW regional archives to enhance their searchability; enhancing their international recognition at name and entity level through connectivity with160,000 entities in the British Historic Manuscripts Commission; exploring links with the National Archives of Malaysia; and developing an electronic archives teaching subject at the University of Wollongong.

Korean Studies Fellowship

Dr Brian Yecies has been awarded a prestigious Korea Foundation (2005) Research Fellowship for a project titled: "Exploring the Uniqueness and Complexity of Korea's National Film Industry". The objective of this three month fellowship is to pursue historical research on the national film industry in Korea. Brian will collect and analyze archival documents and conduct industry interviews in order to explain the complex developments the Korean cinema has experienced since the early 1900s. The resulting research will lead to a book project on the history film culture, exhibition and distribution practices in Korea.

Afan Gaffar Award

Dr Lenore Lyons (CAPSTRANS Director) and Dr Michele Ford (Flinders University) presented the inaugural “Afan Gaffar Award 2004 for Visiting Political Researchers” lecture on 2 December 2004 at the invitation of the Department of Politics at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Their paper was titled “Pergulatan identitas dan kewarganegaraan masyarakat perbatasan Kep. Riau dan Singapura: perspektif ekonomi, politik dan antropologi social”.

Book Launch in Singapore

Dr Lenore Lyons launched her book “A State of Ambivalence: The Feminist Movement in Singapore” at a ceremony organised by the Association of Women for Action and Research in Singapore in November 2004.