Slipping through the cracks: museums and social inclusion in Australian cultural policy development 2007–2010

This article explores the actions taken by the Australian Government during the period of 2007–2010 in regard to its proposal to develop a new national cultural policy. Despite its stated commitment to the creation of opportunities for the re-articulation of existing publics and the formation of new ones, the newly elected federal government’s social inclusion and productivity policies did not, at any stage, seek to draw a positive or causal association between museums and social change. This was despite the museum sector’s numerous attempts to communicate its value in precisely these terms to government. It was also despite the precedents for this policy initiative that existed internationally, particularly in the UK. This article explores the actions taken by the Australian Government during the period of 2007–2010, the international context within which these occurred, and the reactions generated by the museum and collections sector in response to the events.     

Archaeological Investigations at Yunkaray (Cuzco,Peru): Reconstructing the Rise and Fall of an Early Inca Rival (A.D. 1050–1450)

In the highland Andes during the centuries leading to Inca imperial expansion (ca. a.d. 1400–1530s), the people of the Cuzco Basin established alliances and rivalries with diverse neighbors living across the Cuzco region. Among the most powerful of those groups was a polity centered at Yunkaray (occupied ca. a.d. 1050–1450) on the Maras Plain just northwest of the burgeoning city of Cuzco. Recent settlement survey and excavations in and around Yunkaray have identified the site as the principal settlement of the Ayarmaca group, which remained outside the sphere of Inca cultural influence despite its proximity to Cuzco. The distinctive nature of Yunkaray’s interaction with the Incas is examined here through household excavations, which indicate that the large village was occupied by a population presenting modest status distinctions and relying on locally derived sources of social identity.     

The Aboriginal Adjustment Movement in Colonial Victoria

Whilst much has been written about Aboriginal religious syncretism in Australia, particularly about what has become known as the “Adjustment Movement” that occurred in Arnhem Land in the 1950s (see McIntosh 2004), there were several remarkable examples of spiritual adjustment by Aboriginal people a century earlier on the Victorian goldfields that hitherto have not been explored by historians. Building on Magowan's (2003) discussion of the connection between Christianity and the ancestral law of Aboriginal culture in northern Australia, this article will examine how Christian influences in colonial Victoria competed with, and conversely moulded, southern Kulin ancestral understanding. Several Kulin ceremonies — including the Myndee ceremony and the “Veinie Sacred Sunday Dance” — will be examined. These ceremonies were described by colonial officials (Joseph Panton, a Gold Commissioner, and William Thomas, the Aboriginal Guardian of Aborigines in Victoria) in the midst of a second wave of invasion and rupture for Victorian Aboriginal people — the first being the sheep herders in the 1830s, and the second being the gold rush which commenced in 1851. Serving as exemplars of what might be called the Victorian Aboriginal Adjustment Movement, these ceremonies demonstrate the extent to which Aboriginal people on the goldfields of Victoria engaged in a culturally congruent mode of Christianity.     

Mediated mobilisation after the Arab Spring: how online activism is shaping Bahrain’s opposition

Drawing on fieldwork interviews and analysis of opposition social media posts, this article investigates how online forms of activism have been utilised by opposition groups during Bahrain's post-Arab Spring crackdown. Arguing that the antisystem opposition in particular has embraced ‘mediated mobilisation’ techniques, this article highlights the popularity of hybrid campaigns as drivers of online and offline activism. Contrasting the then-legal opposition society al-Wefaq with the banned, underground youth movement known as the February 14 Coalition, this article asserts that Bahrain's decentralised and anonymous antisystem opposition enjoys a structural advantage over regime-tolerated groups in their use of online activism. This article makes the case that mediated forms of mobilisation have fundamentally altered inter-opposition dynamics in post-Arab Spring Bahrain, and have strengthened the ability of antisystem groups such as the February 14 Coalition to challenge both the government and Bahrain's more established opposition societies.     

Kuwait,Political Violence and the Syrian War

Kuwait’s support of civilians in war-torn Syria has been commended by the international community. In addition, the Gulf state has joined US-led coalitions against the ‘Islamic State’ and affirmed many international agreements designed to choke off international assistance to militias operating in Syria. In 2015, Kuwait paid a heavy price for its involvement, becoming a victim of IS-affiliated terrorism. Whilst this suggests that Kuwait’s position on radical Islamist movements involved in the Syrian conflict is clear cut, this article will argue that Kuwait’s government has had to balance this official position against domestic support for elements of the radical Islamist opposition in Syria. These cross-cutting tensions were underscored by the US designation of the state as the ‘epicentre’ of private fund raising for militias in Syria. To explore these contradictions, this article will analyse Kuwait’s engagement with the Syrian war, its new anti-terror legislation and the tensions between the official and unofficial views on support for foreign militias. This analysis will highlight the challenges the Kuwait government has faced in addressing unofficial Kuwaiti engagement with the radical Islamist opposition in Syria.     

Children's Perceptions of the Use of Public Open Spaces for Active Free-play

Activity performed by children in their free-time may have a significant impact on overall physical activity levels, however, very little is known about the influences on children's active free-play. To examine the role and use of public open spaces, 132 children (6–12 years) from a selection of primary schools participated in small focus group interviews. Children reported that their use of public open spaces was influenced by a combination of intrapersonal, social and environmental factors including; the play equipment and facilities at local parks, lack of independent mobility, urban design features, presence of friends, and personal motivation.