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The Institute has been led through its
establishment by the Director, Professor
Hurriyet Babacan, and has appointed leading
national and international scholars with
expansive capacity for working across the
tropics.
Our research themes and some examples of
our projects are listed below or you can check
the complete list on our website
http://www.jcu.edu.au/cairnsinstitute/ and a
number of projects are highlighted in this
newsletter.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The relative values of water for trade-offs
ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER FUTURES
Building a cohort of indigenous research
leaders in community health development
SUSTAINABILITY & TROPICAL ENVIRONMENTS
Conservation planning for a changing
coastal zone
SOCIAL JUSTICE & COMMUNITY WELLBEING
National research study of the civil and
family law needs of indigenous people
EDUCATION FUTURES
Cooktown boarding facility and Cairns
Flexible Learning Centre scoping study
GOVERNANCE & POLITICAL INNOVATION
Cultural competency in NSW Health
Services
INTERNATIONAL AID DEVELOPMENT
Community Learning Development Centre
(CLDC) information research (PNG)
LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AGENCY AND CHANGE
Are some languages better than others?
Who we are and what we do
In 2009 James Cook University established
The Cairns Institute, an institute for
advanced studies in the social sciences and
humanities. The Cairns Institute brings
together the expertise and intellectual
resources of more than 20 academic
disciplines, creating a uniquely robust and
relevant research, consulting, training and
teaching hub for Northern Australia, South
and South-East Asia and the Pacific.
This Institute gives concrete expression to
the University‟s aim to become one of the
world‟s leading research universities in the
tropics. As a repository of regional
knowledge and research capacity, it is
perfectly positioned to make a significant
contribution to the development of a
sustainable quality of life for tropical
communities.
Around half of the world‟s population –
some three billion people – and 80% of the
planet‟s animal and plant species live in the
tropics. From economic and educational
deprivation to disease, loss of culture and
the impacts of climate change, the social,
economic and environmental challenges
facing the tropical zones of northern
Australia and the world are immense.
The Institute is dedicated to providing
innovative, solution-orientated research
with local, national and global tropical
application. Its location in north Queensland
provides a real-world context and tropical
research opportunities unparalleled in
Australia.
CONTACT US
THE CAIRNS INSTITUTE
PO Box 6811
Cairns QLD 4870
Australia
T. 07 4042 1718
F. 07 4042 1880
W. http://www.jcu.edu.au/cairnsinstitute/
In this issue
Who we are and what we do
1
PNG-Cairns partnership 2
The Cairns Institute vision
2
Visiting scholar 3
Fellow in residence 4
TCI building update 4
Alliance to nurture Indigenous art
5
Indigenous legal needs 6
Training in the tropics 7
Publishing 7
PhD student profile 8
Parent & Community Engagement
9
Events 10
October 2012
Page 1
PNG–Cairns partnership formalised
The Cairns Institute vision
James Cook University and the Government of
Papua New Guinea formalised a research
partnership with the signing of a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at JCU
Cairns on Thursday 5 July 2012.
The MOA outlines the way in which JCU
(represented by The Cairns Institute) and the
PNG Government (represented by the
Department for Community Development)
plan to work together on 18 research projects
worth nearly $5.5M.
“This is an exciting agreement, and the
culmination of two years‟ collaboration and
discussion between Cairns and PNG,” Deputy
Vice-Chancellor Dr Stephen Weller said.
“It is based on our mutual interest in
enhancing life in the tropics and it will see The
Cairns Institute applying its expertise,
research and scholarship to issues of great
importance to our nearest neighbour.”
Director of The Cairns Institute, Professor
Hurriyet Babacan, said the Memorandum
outlined the underlying principles of the
research partnership, including mutual
respect, joint decision making and two-way
learning.
PNG‟s Secretary of the Department for
Community Development, Mrs Anna Solomon,
signed the agreement. She was accompanied
on her visit to Cairns by Deputy Secretaries
Mrs Molly Willie and Mr Leo Kulumbu, and
First Assistant Secretary Mr Jack Simbau.
“The Cairns Institute‟s focus is on scholarship
and research that will build a brighter future
for the peoples of the tropics. This is an
exciting partnership for us all,” said Professor
Babacan.
To enhance human life in the tropics and contribute to a brighter, more equitable and enriching
future for its peoples, through globally informed scholarship, research excellence and a
commitment to social justice.
To be an outstanding research, consulting and training institution distinguished by academic
excellence, professionalism,
internationalism and scholarship in the
human, social and cultural dimensions of
research carried out across James Cook
University.
The Cairns Institute prides itself on
engaged research and development
activities with an applied focus. We aim
for outcomes that are relevant to all our
partners in government, communities,
industry and other sectors.
“This is an exciting
agreement, and
the culmination of
two years‟
collaboration and
discussion
between Cairns
and PNG”
Anna Solomon and Stephen
Weller signing the MOA witnessed by Prof Hurriyet
Babacan and Mollie Willie
Some of The Cairns Institute staff with visitors from the
Papua New Guinea Department for Community
Development in July 2011
Page 2
Visiting scholar David Botterill
Tourism, crime and community wellbeing
My period as a visiting scholar at The Cairns
Institute between September and December
2011 exceeded all of my expectations. New
professional research networks have been
formed, high quality scholarship output is
already in the review process, and extensive
fieldwork has been undertaken in what is,
probably, the first academic study of the
policing of a tourist destination.
The origins of my project came from a 2010
edited book Tourism and crime: Key themes
that I co-authored with Trevor Jones, a
criminologist colleague from Cardiff
University. The purpose of the book was to
bring two, as yet largely unconnected,
academies together, those of tourism studies
and criminology, and suggest an agenda for
joint research. The importance of tourism to
the economy of Far North Queensland (FNQ)
provided a perfect context in which to explore
our new agenda and when the opportunity
came to spend four months at The Cairns
Institute working with Professor Bruce
Prideaux and his tourism team I didn‟t have to
think for too long before accepting the
invitation.
As often happens with research fieldwork it
isn‟t long before the best laid plans require
reformulation. My original intention was to
explore if, and in what ways, the tourism and
crime nexus found expression in FNQ and with
what impact on community wellbeing. I was
interested to explore the shift in policing
policy and practice away from reactive
policing to crime prevention and the
development of what in criminology is
described as the turn to the governance of
security – the involvement of multiple
agencies in creating safer communities. My
initial enquiries with local crime prevention
officers directed me to a group of JCU
researchers working on reducing alcohol
related crime in the night time economy of
Cairns. I discovered that Dr Alan Clough and
his research team in the School of Public
Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Sciences had already accumulated an exten-
sive database on the topic. Meanwhile my
approach to the Queensland Police Service
(QPS) for permission to work on an external
research project with them hit some delays.
From that moment serendipity reshaped my
project and it became a very creative
collaboration with Dr Clough‟s team. Our
research question was „what makes violence
in backpacker tourism possible?‟ My fieldwork
in FNQ didn‟t stop but it took new directions
to support this work. Creative conversations
between Dr Clough‟s and Professor Prideaux‟s
researchers, Boris Pointing and Cristina
Rodrigues, stimulated my thinking in quite
unexpected ways and resulted in the
submission of a jointly authored article to a
highly regarded tourism journal.
By the middle of November the QPS approved
my project and my fieldwork commenced. The
article drafting had reached an advanced
stage and I was able to slip back into my
original project but now assisted by not one
but two JCU research teams. With their help
and the cooperation of FNQ police officers I
completed a set of eight interviews covering
policing in tourist hotspots such as Port
Douglas and the Cairns CBD and Esplanade.
Senior officers of the traffic police and drug
detection teams, officers of the police liaison
team, crime prevention officers, volunteer
police, and the FNQ intelligence unit all found
time to meet with me and engage with my
project. A further interview with a QPS officer
experienced in cases of sexual offence and
fraud was picked up by a JCU researcher,
Charmaine Hayes-Jonkers, and after
transcribing the conversations we will submit
several journal articles in both criminology
and tourism studies as well as reporting to the
QPS on the findings of my study.
“New professional
research networks have been formed, high quality
scholarship output is already in the
review process, and extensive fieldwork
has been undertaken in what is, probably, the
first academic study of the policing of a
tourist destination”
David Botterill
Page 3
Fellow in residence 2011 Dr Sizhong Sun
Opportunities for the Cassowary Coast
Together with Prof Natalie Stoeckl and Ms
Sarah Warne, Dr Sizhong Sun worked on a
scoping study that provided an analysis and
evaluation of the resource use within the
Cassowary Coast Region. With assistance
from Cassowary Coast's Economic
Development Manager Mr Shenal Basnayake,
the research team surveyed existing literature
and analysed secondary data to find that
while the Cassowary Coast Region‟s economy
appears to be below the Queensland average,
the region has a comparative advantage in
resources endowment, and there are a
number of opportunities for future
development.
The study found that the current natural
resource use within the Cassowary Coast
Region included:
The provision of services in agriculture,
fishing, hydroelectricity, tourism;
Cultural services to residents such as
recreational fishing; and
Supporting and regulation services, such as
the value of protecting plants and animals.
The scoping study also found that in addition to
existing uses, other potential benefits from the
Region‟s natural resources included: certified
agricultural products; new opportunities in the
sugar industry, such as electricity co-
generation; green energy options such as wind-
farming; ecotourism; carbon offsets; ecosystem
service payments; and biodiversity offsets.
A better understanding of the value of the
region‟s natural resource use will enable the
Council to prioritise future development. The
Council has identified the key findings from the
report for further work and plans to undertake
some community engagement to look at what
opportunities the community see and would like
to pursue. The Council is also currently looking
into carbon farming.
Page 4
Dr Sizhong Sun
TCI building update
James Cook University has received $19.5M
funding from the Commonwealth Government
(DIISR) and contributed a further $5.5M of its
own funds to develop The Cairns Institute.
The $25M Cairns Institute will provide quality
social science research facilities and a range of
public spaces including conference, seminar,
and exhibition space. The new facility will also
include a café, engagement spaces and a next
generation lecture theatre.
Woods Bagot and RPA Architects‟ unique
design of this two-storey building was chosen
from a design competition in 2010. It will be
the feature building of JCU Cairns at what will
become the primary entry to campus as
envisioned by the Cairns Campus Master Plan.
The new building will be constructed in a prime
location opposite the new Dentistry School. It
will front the new boulevard which is currently
under construction.
The building will facilitate the activities in social
sciences and humanities of The Cairns Institute
and provide public engagement spaces:
Exhibition and display areas
Interactive lecture theatre
Seminar, training and breakout rooms
Meeting and video conferencing facilities
Offices and staff facilities
Café and catering services
Car parking and landscaping. The Cairns Institute - concept view
Building timeline
Oct 2011
Site clearing, site & access establishment, civil works
Nov 2011 – Apr 2013
Building construction & fit out
Apr 2013
JCU occupation of building
“Council has
identified the key
findings from the
report for further
work and plans to
undertake some
community
engagement to look
at what
opportunities the
community see and
would like to
pursue”
Alliance to nurture Indigenous art
said that the establishment
of IACA was the culmination
of a lot of planning. Mr Booth
particularly wished to thank
Arts Queensland and the
Commonwealth Government
Office for the Arts for their
support. “The Board looks
forward to working alongside
JCU to help improve
opportunities for artistic
expression for Indigenous
people living in remote
regions,” he said.
Ms Bigelow said Indigenous
art centres were critical to
the task of nurturing
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander art production
within Indigenous
communities.
“These centres will have
exciting opportunities to
develop professionally and
commercially with IACA
supporting them through
advocacy and lobbying, as
well as providing skills
development and training
opportunities.”
A new partnership aims to
build exciting opportunities
to enhance professional and
commercial development of
Indigenous art centres in
North Queensland (NQ).
Pam Bigelow is the first
manager of the Indigenous
Art Centre Alliance (IACA)
and is tasked with
supporting NQ‟s 12
community-based
Indigenous art centres.
The Indigenous Art Centre
Alliance is located at the
James Cook University in
Cairns, as part of a partner-
ship between the Alliance
and The Cairns Institute.
Director of The Cairns
Institute, Professor Hurriyet
Babacan, said the partner-
ship promised to be an
exciting and mutually
beneficial one. “The Cairns
Institute is thrilled to be
working with the Alliance as
it will play a significant role
in the development of
creative industries for
Indigenous people,” she
said.
“Contributing to Indigenous
communities in regional and
remote areas is an important
part of our role and in time
there will be research
opportunities to support the
work of the Alliance in areas
such as marketing.”
The Indigenous Art Centre
Alliance was established in
2011. Its Board includes
representatives of each of
the 12 community-based art
and craft centres of NQ. Arts
Queensland provided
$100,000, matching the
Federal Office for the Arts‟
funding and enabling a
manager to be appointed so
the Alliance could begin
working with art centre
members in 2012.
The Chairman of the
Alliance, Solomon Booth,
Celia Peter, Pormpuraaw artist
Page 5
“The Cairns
Institute is thrilled
to be working with
the Alliance as it
will play a
significant role in
the development
of creative
industries for
Indigenous
people”
Art works by Madge Bowen,
Hopevale
Good Winds of Change -
Yasi 2011
Hunting Party 2011
Artists working with ghost nets
at Erub Erwer Muth Art Centre,
Darnley Island
Manager Pam Bigelow with
Leonard Andy, IACA advisory
group member at Girringun
Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell
Indigenous legal needs project
The Indigenous Legal Needs Project (ILNP) is
a national research study based at The Cairns
Institute. Funded by an Australian Research
Council Linkage grant from February 2011 to
February 2014, the ILNP seeks to identify and
analyse priority civil and family law needs of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,
as well as issues relating to the effectiveness
of current legal service delivery to Indigenous
communities in civil and family law areas. The
ILNP works in partnership with Legal Aid
Commissions and Aboriginal legal services in
relevant jurisdictions.
ILNP research is centred upon fieldwork in 32
remote, regional and urban Indigenous
communities, evenly distributed in number
across the NT, VIC, WA and QLD. At each
community a focus group for men and women
is coordinated and attended by local
Indigenous community members. They
provide information on priority legal needs
and issues relating to legal service delivery.
Where possible, as part of the focus groups,
the ILNP links participants with legal services
to address any civil and family law issues
arising. Issues followed up with lawyers to
date have included child custody, life
insurance policies, deceased estates (royalty
payments), victims‟ compensation, and stolen
generations. Information on civil and family
law needs is also gathered at each site from
stakeholder organisations such as legal
services, financial counsellors, housing
advocates, and government agencies.
The project has now travelled to 15
communities and completed all fieldwork in 13
of these communities, with a total of 27 focus
groups conducted since February 2011. The
ILNP will shortly release its first jurisdictional
report based upon NT fieldwork completed in
late 2011. The future for the ILNP involves
establishing social media tools to more
effectively disseminate project information
and findings, particularly to Indigenous
communities; completion of ILNP fieldwork,
research and analysis and publication of
further jurisdictional reports; and ongoing
development of the ILNP website as a
repository of material relating to Indigenous
access to civil and family law justice.
More information is available from the ILNP
website: http://www.jcu.edu.au/ilnp/
Page 6
“Issues followed up
with lawyers to date
have included child
custody, life
insurance policies,
deceased estates
(royalty payments),
victims‟
compensation, and
stolen generations”
Men gathering for a focus
group in Alpurrurulam, NT
Women‟s Focus Group, Bendigo, VIC Travel to Papunya, NT
Training in the tropics
Publishing
Critical thinking
The Institute held its first short course on 9
November 2011. Queensland Health
commissioned a one day course on Critical
Thinking for staff from their Health Promotion
Units. Twenty-five participants attended a
course presented by Ms Jo Mensinga, Lecturer
from JCU‟s Department of Social Work and
Community Welfare, who gave them an
opportunity to experience the body–mind
connection (through a modified yoga class)
and explored how this impacts their capacity
to critically think and reflect in their day-to-
day practice.
Native title for anthropologists
The Cairns Institute together with the Faculty
of Arts and Social Sciences was granted
funding through the Commonwealth Attorney
General‟s Department to develop a short
course for early career anthropologists
working in the field of native title. The April
2012 course focused on the „career readiness‟
of anthropologists and was supported by a
range of industry experts and consultants to
instruct participants on practical skills relevant
to their field of work.
The presenters included academics, consulting
anthropologists, Traditional Owners, lawyers
and anthropologists from representative
bodies and the NTT. Presenters were:
Professor Chris Cunneen
Professor Ton Otto
Dr Michael Wood
Therese Ford
Anthony Redmond
Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald
Katie O‟Rourke
Louise Allwood
Associate Professor Rosita Henry
George Skeene
Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy
Jenny Gabriel
We have secured funding to repeat the course
in 2012/13 and dates will be advertised on
our Professional Short Courses & Training
page http://www.jcu.edu.au/cairnsinstitute/
info/JCUPRD1_057980.html
Measuring research impact
The Library has launched a new guide called
Measuring Research Impact. Research impact
measures can be used to record research
achievement for academic promotion, grant
applications and job applications; benchmark
performance of individuals, research groups
or institutions; track development of a field of
research; and identify influential (highly cited)
papers, researchers or research groups.
Access the guide from
http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/researchimpact
The guide provides:
Citation databases
Journal evaluation sites
The h-index
Tools to identify and collate publications
Databases that benchmark the
performance of research groups.
Page 7
“The April 2012
course focused on
the „career
readiness‟ of
anthropologists
and was
supported by a
range of industry
experts and
consultants to
instruct
participants on
practical skills
relevant to their
field of work”
Volume 1, Issue 1
PhD student profile
David Tibbetts is a PhD candidate working
with support from the JCU School of Arts and
Social Sciences and The Cairns Institute. He
has lived and worked in Micronesia for the past
twenty years and enjoys a long-term personal
and research relationship with the people of
Tobi Island, a minority group in the Republic of
Palau. He is currently beginning the
ethnographic fieldwork phase of his PhD
research project. The title of this project is:
Climate change, the environment and
cultural heritage: An ethnographic
case-study of Tobi Island in the Republic
of Palau.
This research will explore the relationship
between climate change events, the
environment, cultural heritage and community
agency. Although Tobi Islanders have
historically relocated from their small and
remote island of Tobi to Koror, the urban
centre of Palau, their relationship with their
home island is an integral component of their
cultural heritage, which guides and informs
their cultural and political identity and
community decisions.
Recent and increasing climatic events are
suggesting the rising sea-level and king tides
are affecting the biodiversity of Tobi Island, as
well as literally eroding the island into the
ocean. The loss of their home island is a new
challenge to the Tobian community.
Understanding how they maintain their
cultural heritage through these challenges,
and how their cultural heritage informs their
decision making regarding uncertain futures
speaks to the empowerment and agency of
this minority group.
The ethnographic process involves twelve
months of fieldwork in Koror, Palau, and Tobi
Island. It includes participant-observation,
storytelling and a documentary film
collaboration with the local community. The
research engages with Tobian customs and
notions of tradition and the politics of
tradition. It is designed as a dialogic
collaboration that will benefit the community,
as well as provide critical insights into
climate change dynamics and cultural
heritage issues for government policymaking,
as well as other island communities engaging
with similar climatic events.
David returns to Cairns and JCU in
September 2012 before returning to Palau
for the documentary film making phase of
the project. His supervisor is Professor Ton
Otto. E [email protected]
Page 8
“Recent and
increasing climatic
events are
suggesting the
rising sea-level
and king tides are
affecting the
biodiversity of Tobi
Island, as well as
literally eroding
the island into the
ocean”
Tobi Island is being eroded into the ocean
David engages with Tobian customs and
traditions
“It is designed as
a dialogic
collaboration that
will benefit the
community, as
well as provide
critical insights
into climate
change dynamics
and cultural
heritage issues for
government
policymaking, as
well as other
island
communities
engaging with
similar climatic
events”
Parent and Community Engagement (PaCE)
Program
The Cairns Institute at James Cook University
has been engaged by the Mamu Aboriginal
Corporation to work with the local community
and Indigenous parents and carers to help
them become more involved with schools and
their children‟s education in the Innisfail
District. This project will coordinate and
support the implementation of the Parent and
Community Engagement (PaCE) Program
across the Innisfail Indigenous Community
through collaboration with the Mamu
Aboriginal Corporation.
The aim of the PaCE Program is to emphasise
that it is important for community members
to contribute ideas and participate in
workshops and events that can contribute to
building the capacity of the community. The
aim is to help our children take advantage of
every opportunity available to them to reach
their future goals and dreams.
The PaCE project was introduced at the
beginning of the school year and has been
progressing well with many care givers
becoming involved.
To mark National Indigenous Children‟s Day a
family fun day was held on 4 August 2012.
The day was organised by Innisfail and
District PaCE which aims to give Indigenous
parents and carers greater confidence in
supporting their children at school.
PaCE Community Engagement Officer Kellee
Roberts said many helped organise the
daytime activities which included a sausage
sizzle, sporting events and activities, games,
face painting, jumping castle, art and
boomerang/spear throwing.
The PaCE program has recently established an
Indigenous homework group in Innisfail.
Director of The Cairns Institute Professor
Hurriyet Babacan said it was critically
important for Indigenous parents and their
community to fully connect with local schools
to ensure that Indigenous children get the
best education possible.
The PaCE project is supported by the
Australian Government.
Page 9
“The aim is to help
children take
advantage of every
opportunity
available to them to
reach their future
goals and dreams”
Events
Racisms in the new world order conference
An international women‟s conference titled Connecting for
Action in the Asia-Pacific Region was held in Cairns 14-15
June 2012. The conference, hosted by The Cairns Institute and
JCU‟s Department of Social Work and Community Welfare,
focused on four themes: building sustainable communities;
women and economic development; making women‟s lives
safer; women‟s leadership and governance. AusAID
sponsored the attendance of a number of women from the
Pacific region. Convenor Dr Nonie Harris said the conference
had attracted women from many spheres. “Academics, policy
makers, government and community representatives, and
women involved in important areas such as health, justice,
politics, environment services, it‟s a very long list.”
The Cairns Institute at James Cook University, in partnership with
the Australian Human Rights Commission, hosted this
international conference as an arena for dialogue on the theory
and practice of racism. The conference provided an opportunity to
share information on the experiences of racism in a national and
in a global context. The conference further aimed to create an
impetus for change and development as well as inform public
debate by identifying policy and program issues, strategies and
education tools, as well as best practice and innovative programs
in combating racism.
The themes of the conference covered a wide range of topics
relevant to diverse audiences. Participation in the conference
was invited from practitioners, researchers, policy makers,
educators and academics, government and non-government
services, community groups and individual community
members from across Australia and internationally.
Conference themes included:
Manifestations and impacts of racism
Fear, nationalism and race hate
Racism in specific contexts
Developing anti-racist futures
Conference Organising Committee:
Professor Hurriyet Babacan (Chair)
Dr Narayan Gopalkrishnan
Page 10
International women’s conference
Creating futures PNG 2012 conference
This conference was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea,
24–27 September 2012. It included 20 workshops around clinical
practice; child and youth issues; mental health nursing; health
promotion; social context and social change; and special issues
and special populations.
It is sponsored and supported by Queensland Health, The Cairns
Institute, University of Papua New Guinea, Department of Health
and Janssen-Cilag.
Conference Convenor: Dr Ernest Hunter
Organising Committee:
Uma Ambiprahar, Hurriyet Babacan, Alan Clough, Russell
Kitau, Maluo Magaru, Florence Muga, Goiba Tienang, Scott
Trueman
For further information, contact Dr Ernest Hunter
(0409 347 870) [email protected]
(Queensland Health)
