‘They'd Rather Go Play Footy’: an Exploratory Study of the Enjoyment and Benefits of the Arts in Western Australia's Remote Murchison Region

The role of the arts in the revitalisation and strengthening of Australia's rural, remote, and Indigenous communities has been of particular interest to Australian State and Federal Governments, as reflected through various policy and positioning documents. In order to understand the relationship between the arts and communities, it is important to explore why people engage in the arts and what might be some of the barriers to that engagement. For the rural, remote and Indigenous communities of the Murchison Region, the arts has been a useful way of reaching and engaging with residents to build a stronger sense of community, provide light relief and entertainment, and facilitate communication among community members, government, and industry. However, there are several barriers that impact on the viability of arts projects. These barriers are amplified in rural and remote areas, and particularly for the three case study communities of the Murchison Region for a number of reasons. These include the transient nature of the population, a lack of resources, isolation and remoteness, and local politics, culture and history. The arts can provide a context in which other non‐arts related outcomes, such as health, capacity building, income generation, and so on, are facilitated and achieved. It is important for policy makers to recognise and address the barriers which hinder activity and serve to lessen the impact of the arts on communities.     

Hanging Up On Mum Or Questions Of Everyday Life In The Writing Of History

[C]an there be a study of the trivia with which the daily life of ordinary people is interwoven which will reveal its interconnections with the different forms of economic, political, and cultural power?¹     

Local Knowledge and Economic Realities Affecting Soil Erosion in the Rach Rat Catchment,Vietnam

Several parts of Binh Phuóc Province, southern Vietnam, suffer from degraded soils and vegetation as a result of both natural erosion of weak mud rocks and sandstones and intensive human activity, especially through land clearing for agriculture on unstable slopes, deforestation, and abandonment of poor farmland. The underlying cause of this land degradation has been the farming habits of migrants of varying ethnic groups who have settled in the area since 1980. The indigenous farming knowledge of these people and the role of that knowledge in soil erosion were examined by a series of household surveys. They enabled farming practices to be related to ground cover established from a 2002 Landsat 7 ETM (Enhanced Thematic Mapper), and erosion data from a series of erosion bridge measurements. A GIS (Geographical Information System) approach was piloted as a means of identifying areas vulnerable to erosion. This could then be combined with the understanding of farming practices to reveal the relative roles of farmer behaviour, crop cover, and slope and soil characteristics in the erosion process. Land use, local people's knowledge and economic realities are the main factors, as well as natural conditions, that drive this land degradation.     

DIGITAL CEMENTUM LUMINANCE ANALYSIS AND THE HAUA FTEAH HOMININS: HOW SEASONALITY AND SEASON OF USE CHANGED THROUGH TIME*

The importance of environmental seasonality and the seasonal cycling of resources to human populations make studies of human responses to seasonality useful to test hypotheses about short‐ and long‐term changes in human behaviour. This paper utilizes digital dental cementum luminance analysis in order to better understand patterns of the seasons of death of Ammotragus lervia at Haua Fteah, Cyrenaica, and to test whether long‐term climatic changes can be detected in dental cement. The overall pattern of the season of death of A. lervia at Haua Fteah is that of year‐round utilization, with a slight increase over time in A. lervia use during the growth period/summer time. The use of digital cementum luminance analysis (DCLA) to detect changes in the seasonal differences between temperatures indicates a trend for increased seasonality in temperature over the past 40 000 years at Haua Fteah. Furthermore, DCLA patterns in the more recent assemblages indicate a shift to a warmer climate from Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 to MIS 1.