Judith Lovell - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Judith Lovell

Final Report: Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntaria

ABSTRACT

Desert lake: art, science and stories from Paruku S. Morton, M. Martin, K. Mahood and J. Carty (eds), CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, 2013, xviii + 294 pp. ISBN 9780643106284. AU Price $59.95 (hardback)

Ecological Management Restoration, Sep 1, 2014

One challenge for Northern Australian development is national sampling cannot adequately represen... more One challenge for Northern Australian development is national sampling cannot adequately represent the drivers of economic participation in sparse populations across remote Australia. Over the last four years the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation's (CRC-REP) programs have gathered data with remote Aboriginal communities, industries and service sector representatives in parts of remote Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. As a synthesis of findings from those projects and relevant literature, we ask what and how 'mixed-market' activities contribute to structures of economic participation in a sample of remote communities in Central Australia. Finally, we consider what this insight contributes to the discourse of sustainable development in Northern Australia. 'Mixed-markets' are those which combine the opportunity and investment of both market and non-markets, such as government or philanthropy. Clustering a sample of remote communities in Central Australia, we compare employment and industry participation data with the presence or lack of local mixed-market structures and activities. We determine that national data is not adequately representing the scope of mixed-market economic activities which are so essential to remote Australians. In light of unpacking this finding, we describe a number of key findings and address three of the key issues. The first is the scale required to interpret the values and variables asserted through customary, natural and linguistic characteristics that contribute to mixed-market activity. The second is the burgeoning and valuable remote capacity and advantage which is associated with mixed-markets and that underpin those activities; and the third examines how the benefits flowing from these can inform the agenda for the sustainable development of northern Australia (Australian Government 2013; Northern Territory Government 2013).

National Data

Leading from the North

Other Views of Northern Australian Aspirations

Leading from the North

National Data: Reflecting Northern Australian Aspirations?

Leading from the North: Rethinking Northern Australia Development

This chapter reports on the continued exploration of the capacity of existing data sources to des... more This chapter reports on the continued exploration of the capacity of existing data sources to describe the economies of three groups of remote Aboriginal settlements in the Northern Territory (NT). The purpose is to contribute research that supports better place-based policy fit with remote settlements to augment opportunities for social and economic benefit. Understanding how the non-market (governments, philanthropic foundations and/or charities) might better amplify local, open and competitive market capacities requires rethinking fundamental constraints applied to the interpretation of national data. This includes an acceptance that remoteness has many facets and remains difficult to describe using existing economic and population data sets.

Intersections: Art and Narrative in Intercultural and Educational Research

Journal of Intercultural Studies

Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts

Iteration is a factor of the human research ethical clearance through which research and evaluati... more Iteration is a factor of the human research ethical clearance through which research and evaluation with humans is undertaken in Australia. In remote community research contexts, iteration has helped us to redress some features of the cultural dissonance that occurs between western and Aboriginal research paradigms and between remote and urban contexts. Without a commensurate ethic of feedback between national programs and remote research settings, the uptake or non-uptake of findings from short-term or rapid-contract research often remain a mystery. The proposition this paper puts forward is for a post-research process whereby research commissioners and administrators provide feedback as to the uptake or not of research findings. This would produce a meta-data, as well as make accessible the rationale for research findings being accepted or rejected. The meta-data would provide baselines for further research, an ongoing record of areas of research and neglect, and assist in the uptake of research knowledge useful at a community level. However, this proposition would require non-partisan support which is highly unlikely to be realised in the current political climate.

Contemporary Aboriginal settlements: understanding mixed-market approaches

Settlements at the Edge, 2000

This paper attempts to provide a realistic summary of influences and impacts that holistically af... more This paper attempts to provide a realistic summary of influences and impacts that holistically affect Keringke Arts Aboriginal Corporation, and the ways these shape and define the art centre and its core business. The authoring of the paper combines the voices of arts workers, artists and mangers. Sometimes it directly quotes conversations from arts workers, and these paragraphs are in bold text. When we reflect on changes introduced in 2007, the narrative is collective, as these are things discussed and talked over many times at Keringke. The collective voice represents my perspective, as program manager and also comes directly from my coworkers.

Listen deeply, let these stories in

Listen deeply, let these stories in is a jewel. Resplendent, moving, and fascinating, it is a per... more Listen deeply, let these stories in is a jewel. Resplendent, moving, and fascinating, it is a perfect beginner's guide to Arrernte art and culture and a cultural document of unusual breadth at the same time, whether your interest lies in art, history, or linguistics. It is a delight to come across a book that offers you so many reasons to take it home with you, and promises so many varied hours of enjoyment. Will Owen - Review

Using oral history with Eastern Arrernte life story

When the studio left the room: What do Wallace’s Paintings and Stories of the Eastern Arrernte Homelands Reveal

ABSTRACT

Ninti One Business Development Unit Project: Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntaria In FaCHSIA stream: Aboriginal research and evaluation: developing and strengthening local capacity

Mrs Wallace's painting and storytelling in the context of contemporary Eastern Arrernte culture

ABSTRACT

Red Dirt Service Economies: A Picture of Trade-offs and Choices

ABSTRACT

Northern Australian Aspiration

ABSTRACT

Final Report: Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntaria

ABSTRACT

Ecological Management Restoration, Sep 1, 2014

National Data

Leading from the North

Other Views of Northern Australian Aspirations

Leading from the North

National Data: Reflecting Northern Australian Aspirations?

Leading from the North: Rethinking Northern Australia Development

Intersections: Art and Narrative in Intercultural and Educational Research

Journal of Intercultural Studies

Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts

Contemporary Aboriginal settlements: understanding mixed-market approaches

Settlements at the Edge, 2000

Listen deeply, let these stories in

Using oral history with Eastern Arrernte life story

When the studio left the room: What do Wallace’s Paintings and Stories of the Eastern Arrernte Homelands Reveal

ABSTRACT

Mrs Wallace's painting and storytelling in the context of contemporary Eastern Arrernte culture

ABSTRACT

Red Dirt Service Economies: A Picture of Trade-offs and Choices

ABSTRACT

Northern Australian Aspiration

ABSTRACT

From the first word of the print text, and from the initial front cover image, which depicts Kath... more From the first word of the print text, and from the initial
front cover image, which depicts Kathleen Wallace
walking in country, the strength of the connection
to culture and country of the speaker/author/artist is
apparent.

National Data: Reflecting Northern Australian Aspirations?

Leading from the North: Rethinking Northern Australia Development, 2021

This chapter reports on the continued exploration of the capacity of existing data sources to de... more This chapter reports on the continued exploration of the capacity of
existing data sources to describe the economies of three groups of remote Aboriginal settlements in the Northern Territory (NT). The purpose is to contribute research that supports better place-based policy fit with remote settlements to augment opportunities for social and economic benefit. Understanding how the non-market (governments, philanthropic foundations and/or charities) might better amplify local, open and competitive market capacities requires rethinking fundamental constraints applied to the interpretation of national data. This includes an acceptance that remoteness has many facets and remains difficult to describe using existing economic and population data sets.

Contemporary Aboriginal settlements: Understanding mixed-market approaches. In Settlements at the Edge: Remote Human Settlements in Developed Nations (11)

This chapter compares an example of Australian mixed-market activity and an overview of Canadian ... more This chapter compares an example of Australian mixed-market activity and an overview of Canadian social enterprise in remote Indigenous settlements in each country. In both cases the socio-economic activity that occurs in sparsely populated and isolated settlements is underpinned by the ideological and cultural values of those societies. However, whole of population data sets do not identify the value of the small numbers of economic contributors. That issue is important because the impact of successful fit-for-purpose social or mixed-market enterprises for residents of sparsely populated areas is essential to the viability of the settlements but remains under-represented to public policy decision makers. The authors highlight this as a paradox, where the targets of policies are intended to impact at the personal level while the understanding of socio-economic data is gathered at the population level in both countries.

Listen deeply, let these stories in

Our Art, Our Place, Our way

The resource shows the strong link between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island art centres and th... more The resource shows the strong link between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island art centres and the growth and development of their business and their arts practices. This is emerging across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia . The resource documents only a small amount of that ATSI knowledge, but we hope this will grow.

The resource retains connection with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) – a guide for developing and assessing useful reading, writing, numeracy, learning, communicating and listening skills. We also map the activities of the art centre back to the National Training industry Standards (NTIS) through using the Training Package Visual Arts and Crafts Training Package, Certificate lll in Arts Administration.

In this brief we investigate an aspect of remote Northern Australian Aspirations through the comp... more In this brief we investigate an aspect of remote Northern Australian Aspirations through the comparison
of employment and industry participation data for several clusters of communities in Central Australia.
Using a snapshot of national ABS census data (2011) and industry information where available, our aim
is determine whether national data adequately shows the scope of economic activities which are so
essential to remote Australians, and what some of the key indicators of remote economic capacity and
advantage are.
We analyse a sample of mixed-market activities in relation to economic participation in a cluster of
remote Aboriginal communities in Central Australia constrained by the quality and nature of available
data, and as a result gauging mixed-market activity relied on patch working industry data (as available)
with 2011 ABS census data (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). We hypothesis this is likely to provide
an understated impression of the contribution of mixed-markets in many remote communities, and the
requirements of those in the forms of regional and non-market structures.
ABS Occupational categories represent one primary occupational activity, yet we know that many people
living in sparsely populated and remote communities are occupied in a number of activities. The
constraints of the data available confirm that indicators for Overcoming Remote Disadvantage (Steering
Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, 2014) and planning for Our North, Our
Future: White Paper on Developing Northern Australia (Australian Government, 2015) are vulnerable to
‘non-market failure’ (Wolf, 1979) that effects mixed-market capacity and advantage.

In many central Australia Aboriginal communities, native plant use contributes to wellbeing and k... more In many central Australia Aboriginal communities, native plant use contributes to wellbeing and knowledge and to cultural natural resource management. A significant body of literature describes the procurement of plants for the bush foods 1 industry, including supply through wild-harvest and through horticultural production. Knowing and integrating equivalent ways of valuing Aboriginal knowledge and the use of plants in customary exchange as well as in market supply chains is important. This requires understanding the particularities of local drivers and factors of desert systems, in which customary value systems are as essential as the national and international legal frameworks protecting Indigenous intellectual property.

Despite significant policy and program prioritisation and public intervention directed towards th... more Despite significant policy and program prioritisation and public intervention directed towards the employment of local residents in remote Aboriginal communities, expected changes have not been achieved in many parts of Northern Australia. Across sectors (public and private) some key factors, models and opportunities emerge concerning local

In discussing the ways that remote economic participation are evident or not in the central Austr... more In discussing the ways that remote economic participation are evident or not in the central Australian region, it is clear that the issue of local enterprise and aspiration is vital to sustainable development. It is also evident we need a far better understanding about the goals of
local remote residents as these are essential to sustainable enterprise.
There are barriers aplenty presented in response to remote economic participation, and sustainable remote enterprise barely rates where conversations focus on deficit and disadvantage. We don’t suggest ignoring those things, but we suggest looking beyond them to understand the ways that enterprise and entrepreneurialism contribute valuable social and economic benefits. As we live in such a connected world, our research these days can increasingly be put into context with that of other developed nations, other industry workforce and labour force initiatives, and studies of remote enterprise. The ways that various cultural cohorts around the world approach sustainable development includes considering future generations, and this has been useful when thinking about the importance of local settlement perspective, and the problems with identifying that through national data –such as censuses.

In discussing the ways which human populations can strike a dynamic balance between economic deve... more In discussing the ways which human populations can strike a dynamic balance between economic development and the ecological constraints, it is clear that the issue of local enterprise and aspiration is vital to sustainable development. It is also evident we need a far better
understanding about the goals of local remote residents as these are essential to sustainable enterprise. The degree to which these ‘must be integrated into environmental and economic policy at the local, regional, and international levels’ is something which we discuss in this paper.

On Thursday 18th May 2017 the Desert Peoples Centre campus of Batchelor Institute hosted the inau... more On Thursday 18th May 2017 the Desert Peoples Centre campus of Batchelor Institute hosted the inaugural
Knowledge Intersections Research Symposium. This event came about out of a desire to showcase and share the
excellent research work being done across the central Australian region. It was also an opportunity to explore the
‘Knowledge Intersections’ to be found across and between this work.
It was intentionally held in harmony with the NT Writer’s festival which took place from the 18th to 21st May, 2017.
The theme of the NT Writers’ Festival was ‘Crossings | Iwerre-Atherre’. This theme, and the conceptual work behind
it, was carefully developed by the NT Writers’ Festival organisers. The language in the title came from local Arrernte
people who interpreted crossings as iwerre-atherre, meaning two roads meeting, neither blocking nor erasing the
other; two-way learning or travelling together.
The theme ‘Knowledge Intersections’ was adopted for the research symposium to encourage local researchers to
share how the research work they are doing reflects these thematic ideas. Specifically presenters at the symposium
were challenged to reflect on these two questions;
• How can/does research help create intersections or meeting points for knowledge
systems, without one blocking or erasing the other?
• How does two-way learning happen in research and how does it help us to travel
together?
Researchers from across the central Australian region presented on diverse topics including Indigenous Ecological
Knowledge, the boarding school experience, collaborative publishing projects, literature, resilience, decolonising
education policies and practices, narratives, poetry and visual arts.
Included here are papers by most of the presenters from the symposium. We offer them as a record of the ideas
shared on the day and a way of engaging with the intersections of knowledge even further. These papers have
been peer edited.

Usurping the role of social enterprises: Indigenous employment practices of Australian remote loc... more Usurping the role of social enterprises: Indigenous employment practices of Australian remote local government
This paper responds to the governance, employment and human resource management thematic line by analysing the employment practices of seven local government bodies that operate in remote areas of Australia providing services and infrastructure to predominantly Aboriginal populations. It is argued these councils occupy the cross-border, trans-disciplinary space that has been claimed by social enterprises in other nations (EMES International Research Network 2017) due to Australia’s historical penchant for ‘colonial socialism’ (Butlin, Barnard & Pincus 1982, p. 13). Hancock (1930, p. 57) describes this Australian view of the state ‘as a vast public utility’ encouraged a highly interventionist use of collective power in the service of individual rights. The result is “weak” local governments (Hughes 2003) that are unrecognised in the Australian Constitution and derive their powers from state-level legislation (McNeill 1997, pp. 21-22). Community governments in remote areas have been given a wider range of permitted activities than allowed in urban areas (McNeill 1997, p. 20) and Aboriginal-controlled “councils take on any other functions which the residents of the community consider they should be involved in” (Coburn 1982, p. 12).
Based upon surveys and semi-structured interviews of local government bodies, data has been extracted from a larger research project into factors that influence the employment of local Aboriginal staff. Issues to do with attraction, recruitment and retention were identified for nearly 700 positions. The most consistent solution to the problems of employing local staff was vocational training; this led to the question of why is training considered to be a panacea? Applying Bacchi’s (2009) approach to policy analysis which probes the manner in which a problem is framed and the related potential solutions, it is proposed that local staffing problems have been rather narrowly considered by employers. This has been done by working backwards from the familiar and ‘common sense’ solution to many human capital problems - vocational training (Zoellner 2013, p. 194). Training Aboriginal people commenced with the 19th century incursions of missionaries into remote regions of Australia (Baker 2012; Joynt 1918) and remains in current policies designed to increase economic participation (Forrest 2014). The observed uncritical acceptance of vocational training as the major solution to employment problems of local governments runs the risk of ignoring more pertinent factors (Fowkes & Sanders 2015, pp. 8-9). Bacchi’s (2009, p. 34) premise is that policy should be gauged for its usefulness by assessing its impacts at a distance from the central power base from which it emanates. The policy reliance on the comfortable embrace of the vocational training system belies other cross-sectorial and trans-disciplinary practices, activities, innovations and values. Conceiving of local governments as social enterprises provides an alternative lens lens to identify and enlist a greater range of problems and solutions that address causes of joblessness.
References
Bacchi, C 2009, Analysing policy: what's the problem represented to be?, Pearson, Frenchs Forest.

Baker, G 2012, 'Indigenous workers on Methodist Missions in Arnhem Land: a skilled labour force lost', in N Fijn, I Keen, L Christopher & P Michael (eds), Indigenous participation in Australian economies II, Australian National University E Press, Canberra, <http://press.anu.edu.au//apps/bookworm/view/Indigenous+Participation+in+Australian+Economies+II/9511/ch07.html>.

Butlin, N, Barnard, A & Pincus, J 1982, Government and capitalism: public and private choice in twentieth century Australia, George Allen and Unwin, Sydney.

Coburn, WJ 1982, 'Aboriginal community councils and the delivery of services', in P Loveday (ed.), Service delivery to remote communities, The Australian National University North Australia Research Unit, Darwin, <http://naru.anu.edu.au/__documents/seminars/2011/service-delivery-to-remote-communities.pdf>.

EMES International Research Network 2017, 6th EMES international research conference on social enterprise, viewed 5 January 2017, <http://emes.net/events/conferences/6th-emes-international-research-conference-social-enterprise/>.

Forrest, A 2014, The Forrest review: creating parity, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, <http://api.ning.com/files/zR-FkEEcSb-QhddJtkCMtG5-wESBtnJ9EqjRmzC7vbfEv7KNU2m4c1NiomE3mvZc0vDpbimgBnrT1c54V1OOui8QNZRxKuKD/ForrestReviewCreatingParity.pdf>.

Fowkes, L & Sanders, W 2015, A survey of Remote Jobs and Communities Program(me) providers: one year in, Australian National University Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Canberra, <http://caepr.anu.edu.au/Publications/WP/2015WP97.php-0>.

Hancock, K 1930, Australia, Jacaranda Press, Brisbane.

Hughes, V 2003, 'Putting the 'community' in community building and the 'social' in social capital: what governments can and can't do', paper presented to Forum on Capacity Building and Social Capital, University of Melbourne Centre for Public Policy, 16 September 2003, <http://www.partnerships.org.au/Library/capacity_building_and_social_capital.htm>.

Joynt, RD 1918, Ten years' work at the Roper River mission station, Northern Territory, Australia, August 1908 to August 1918: a short history of the Roper River Mission written by the Rev. R. D. Joynt, pioneer missionary to the Roper Aborigines, Church Missionary Society of Australia and Tasmania, Melbourne.

McNeill, J 1997, 'Local government in the Australian federal system', in B Dollery & N Marshall (eds), Australian local government: reform and renewal, MacMillan Education Australia Pty. Ltd., South Melbourne.

Zoellner, D 2013, 'If vocational education and training is the answer, what was the question?: theorising public policy and the behaviour of citizens', Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Charles Darwin University, DOI 10.13140/RG.2.1.4555.9522, <http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/289868>.

The goal of increasing employment rates for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents... more The goal of increasing employment rates for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents of remote Australia is not only a specific element of proposals to develop northern Australia but also aligns with broader national policy agendas. This paper draws on original research into the employment practices of a small group of self-selected local government bodies that provide and maintain a large range of services across the north. Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, the importance of local government as a major employer is re-affirmed through the specification of the enablers of and barriers to the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who live in the area. The capacity of the shire or council to generate income which can, in turn, be used to create jobs, was a recurring theme to emerge from the study. Local governments' ability to raise their own funds through land rates is severely constrained in most remote areas and many are heavily dependent upon the receipt of grants from the other two tiers of government. These monies are frequently tied and are used to fund the provision of specific services on behalf of other governments' agencies. However, the research findings reported that a number of remote local governments are increasingly turning to more market-driven behaviours in order to move away from grant reliance and to increase local determination of the types of employment that will be offered. The extension of competition policy and the related outsourcing of government service provision, particularly by introducing increased consumer choice into the human services, provide a catalyst for local governments to reduce their traditional embrace of non-market activity in order to generate revenues that support the employment of locals.