Indigenous Science Network Bulletin February 2003 (Volume 6, Number 1) Editor: Michael Michie Tiwi designs by Jennifer Coombs, Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, Pirlangimpi, Melville Island, NT

VIEWS

1 February 2003 is Chinese New Year, Year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram

Welcome to the first issue of the Indigenous Science Network Bulletin for 2003.

Stand-off on indigenous rights
By Annabel Crabb,<br>Canberra
December 26 2002
URL: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/25/1040511090464.html

Science or dignity? It remains to be seen
December 26 2002
URL: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/25/1040511090442.html

NEWS

IndigOz News list <news@indigoz.com.au>

This is just to let you know that we have completed our first update of the IndigOz Web Directory for 2003. All the sites in the directory have been individually checked and several new ones added. This brings the current total to 523. Thanks to all those who have advised us of sites that we were missing. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

We are also hugely indebted to one user who suggested the inclusion of a "Country" category in the directory. This category has now been added and the directory reorganised accordingly. The Country category lists sites relating to land councils, land and sea rights, native title, Wik, Mabo and specific site campaigns, etc.

We have also expanded the explanatory notes for the directory to include a brief explanation of what each category covers, and added an "about" link to it in the key at the bottom of each page. Hopefully it makes things easier to understand.

You can access the directory at http://www.indigoz.com.au/catlib.html

(I receive news updates from IndigOz and will forward anything which is of interest to members of the Network. MM)

RESOURCES

Indigenous Online Network Updates (ION Updates)

ION Updates are prepared by the Aboriginal Research Institute at the University of South Australia and are forwarded to e-mail members of the Indigenous Science Network regularly (about every two weeks). The following are some highlights since the December Bulletin. 

In 1999, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) conducted a National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education. An ARC Linkage Grant has been awarded to a team of investigators from the University of Wollongong, the University of Western Sydney and HREOC to investigate the social impact of this inquiry. It will seek to identify the processes and mechanisms through which the inquiry's key objectives of community human rights education, evaluation of Australian practice and the development of recommendations for reform were pursued and the factors which influenced responses to those processes and objectives among rural communities, education providers and administrators. The project has a strong research training focus and will provide a scholarship for a doctoral student to join the team. This is an innovative project that requires a doctoral student with an education, social policy or research policy background. The project will be overseen by a team of four: Professor Tim Turpin (research policy); Associate Professor Robyn Iredale (geography and human rights); Dr Christine Fox (education) and Ms Meredith Wilkie (HREOC). Applicants should have a solid background in a relevant field and a good honours degree or equivalent research experience. Applicants seeking additional information may wish to read the report of Stage 1 of this project. It is available on the HREOC website at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/rural_education/index.html#evaluation

HREOC Rural and Remote Education Inquiry Briefing Paper on Indigenous Education
This paper discusses the issues raised in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Rural and Remote Education Inquiry's third term of reference which provides in part that the inquiry will investigate "whether the education available to Indigenous children complies with their human rights".
The paper covers the following topics: A. History of Indigenous education; B. Definitions; C. Indigenous students - a profile; D. Commonwealth, State and Territory Indigenous education policies and programs;  E. Barriers to participation and success; F. Success stories; G. Indigenous children's education rights; H. Recommendations to the Inquiry.
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/rural_education/briefing/indigenous_ed.html 
(If anybody is interested, I've converted this into a single Word document which I can send as an attachment. Ed.)

HREOC Rural and Remote Education Inquiry
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Rural and Remote Education Inquiry. This site includes: Terms of reference; Evidence and submissions; Briefing papers; Scoping Survey; Reports of the Inquiry; Evaluation Report.  http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/rural_education/index.html

Population futures in the Australian desert, 2001-2016. From the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University (PDF file).  http://www.anu.edu.au/caepr/2002/2002_DP231.pdf

MUNDUS Gateway to Missionary Collections in the UK
The Mundus Gateway is an on-line guide to missionary-related resources in the UK. Since the early eighteenth century missionaries have set out from Britain to evangelize the world. In so doing they have created or collected a wealth of documentation, including archives, personal papers, printed books and pamphlets, photographs, films, sound recordings and artefacts. The materials document the encounter between Western missionaries and the peoples and terrain of Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas over a two-hundred-year period. http://www.mundus.ac.uk

Thirdspace - a journal for emerging feminist scholars
Thirdspace is a refereed journal that demonstrates the broad range of applications for feminist theory and methodology, and as well gives emerging feminist scholars a venue for their work. Besides articles, the journal contains essays, editorials, book reviews, and new books in print. The chora community includes special reports, research notes, relevant Internet resources, and a portal for our listserv, chora-l. http://www.thirdspace.ca/mandate.htm

Pacific Resources
Includes: Papers presented at regular Pacific and PNG Updates available to download free of charge; South Pacific working papers, published by the National Centre for Development Studies available to download free; Pacific Economic Bulletin, a twice-yearly journal which focuses on governance and economics in the Pacific island countries and PNG - policy dialogue papers are available to download from the author or country indexes on the Pacific Economic Bulletin homepage; South Pacific Online Forum which encourages dialogue on governance and economics in the Pacific islands and PNG; Pacific links to media and research organisations, universities and other resources on the Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea.  http://peb.anu.edu.au/resources.htm

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet is pleased to advise that their latest 'Summary of Australian Indigenous health status' has been published and can be found on their site. http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/
Click on the 'keyfacts' button and then click on the 'summary' text. This summary of Australian Indigenous health [5 December 2002] draws largely on published information, some of which has been re-analysed to provide clearer comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people (for more details of statistics and methods, readers should refer to the original sources).

Two good links with Message Stick

Message Stick is the ABC's online Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander website and it deals with news and other items of interest. It's worth visiting frequently, to keep in touch with news about Aboriginal Australia and to find out what Indigenous programs are to be broadcast by the ABC, both radio and TV.

There are currently two links from the Message Stick home page that you might want to visit

• "In search of the Thunder Boys" takes you to the South Australian community of Murputja, its school and a young rock band called the Thunder Boys.
• "Black chicks really do talk" looks at Leah Purcell's book, Black chicks talking.

Canadian Journal of Environmental Education

The 2002 issues of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (volume 7, numbers 1 and 2) contain a number of papers which could be of interest to members of the Network. I have read a number of these already and the ones I found interesting I've listed below.

Agyeman, J. Culturing environmental education: From First Nation to frustration. CJEE, 7(1), 5-8.
Simpson, L. Indigenous environmental education for cultural survival. CJEE, 7(1), 13-25.
Sterling, S. Yaya' and the firbough: A philosophy of respect. CJEE, 7(1), 43-53.
Cole, P. land and language: translating aboriginal cultures. CJEE, 7(1), 67-85.
Wane, N, & Chandler, D J. African women, cultural knowledge, and environmental education with a focus on Kenya's indigenous women. CJEE, 7(1), 86-98.
Kato, K. Environment and culture: Developing alternative perspectives in environmental discourse. CJEE, 7(1), 110-116.
George, J, & Glasgow, J. Culturing environmental education in the Caribbean. CJEE, 7(1), 117-131.
Lotz-Sisitka, H, & Burt, J.  Being brave: Writing environmental education research texts. CJEE, 7(1), 132-151.
Cheney, J. The moral epistemology of First Nations stories. CJEE, 7(2), 88-100.
Lotz-Sisitka, H. Weaving cloths: Research design in contexts of transformation. CJEE, 7(2), 101-124.
Hart, P. Narrative, knowing, and emerging methodologies in environmental education research. CJEE, 7(2), 140-165.

For more information about the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, you can contact them at cjee@yukoncollege.yk.ca or visit their website at www.edu.uleth.ca/ictrd/cjee/

In 2003 (Volume 12) the journal will move to eight numbers per volume.  Further, a discounted 50% subscription price has been arranged for students, and for scholars in economically depressed regions such as Latin America and the former Eastern Bloc countries of Europe. The journal Science & Education is published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, and is associated with the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group.  It commenced publication in 1992. 

The journal publishes high-quality research that is informed by the history, philosophy and sociology of science, and by considerations from philosophy of education.  Contributions range over theoretical, curricular and pedagogical issues in science teaching.  Recent special issues have been devoted to Constructivism, Religion, Values in Science and in Science Education, Children’s Thinking and Scientific Theorising, Hermeneutics and Science Education, Galileo, Thomas Kuhn and Science Education. 

Recent contributors have included:

• educationalists James Rutherford, Edgar Jenkins, Denis Phillips, Igal Galili, George DeBoer, Anton Lawson, Mansoor Niaz, William Cobern, Cathleen Loving, Peter Hewson, Norman Lederman, Richard Duschl, John Leach, John Gilbert, Art Stinner, Daniel Gil-Perez, Mike Smith, Anna M.P. de Carvalho;
• historians  Gerald Holton, Helge Kragh, John Heilbron, Roger Stuewer, Olival Freire Jr, Jürgen Teichman, Fabio Bevilacqua, Roberto de Andrade Martins;
• philosophers  Patrick Heelan, Jim Garrison, Harvey Siegel, Mario Bunge, Yehuda Elkana, Robert Pennock,, Richard Grandy, Alan Musgrave, John Worrall, Gürol Irzik, Noretta Koertge, Alan Chalmers, Peter Machamer, Robert Nola, Ernan McMullin, Hugh Lacey, Michael Martin; 
• scientists Harry Shipman, Marcello Cini, Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond, Michael Fowler; 
• cognitive scientists William Brewer, Stellan Ohlsson, Peter Slezak, Nancy Nersessian.

Contributions are welcome; submission details can be obtained from the editor, or at the IHPST web site: www.ihpst.org In 2003 (volume 12), the journal will increase to eight numbers per volume (800 pages), each volume covering the calendar year.  Subscription is USD80pa (reduced for multiple year subscriptions), and USD45 for students and scholars from Latin America and former Eastern Bloc European countries.  Subscription constitutes membership of the IHPST Group. For more information contact A/Professor Michael R. Matthews, School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.   Email: m.matthews@unsw.edu.au

ANNOUNCING A NEW WORKING PAPER SERIES FOR ACADEMICS AND PRACTITIONERS WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT FIELD
The School of Development Studies, Melbourne University Private, is pleased to announce the launch of its Working Paper Series.  The Papers, to be published monthly in electronic and print format, are  prepared by academics and practitioners.  The Working Paper Series aims to promote critical analysis of practice and the linkage of practice with theory by academics and practitioners. An abstract and PDF of Working Paper 1:  'Educational Development in East Timor' by Yiftach Millo and Jon Barnett, is available now on our website http://www.muprivate.edu.au/schools/sds/research/ipd_web_res_pa_001.asp.

The School of Development Studies, with 25 years experience in managing development assistance projects combined with academic expertise, is uniquely placed to link 'real-world' practice and theory.  Its research activities aim to produce a tangible impact on development assistance practice and outcomes. The Working Paper Series will provide a communication vehicle for the research activities of academic staff and development practitioners associated with the School, as well as postgraduate students enrolled in the Master of International Development. Contributions are also welcome from academics and practitioners undertaking research elsewhere.  Papers will be published in English but are intended for an international readership.

Subscribe to the Working Paper Series
Subscription to the Series is free.  Each month a new working paper will be posted to our website. Paper copies may also be ordered, at a cost of AUD$30 including postage.

INDIGENOUS WEATHER KNOWLEDGE

A new Bureau of Meteorology Indigenous Weather Knowledge website has been constructed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au). The website is the result of a joint effort involving the Indigenous communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), the Bureau of Meteorology, and Monash University’s Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies (CAIS) and School of Geography and Environmental Science.

This project recognises the knowledge of weather and climate developed over countless generations by Australia’s Indigenous communities, nicely complementing science and statistically based approaches. It provides an opportunity for communities to showcase their knowledge and for other Australians to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life and culture.

The site is in its early stages of development and will be progressively expanded to include information for additional areas, as well as other facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interactions with, and knowledge of, weather and climate. Follow the sign posts on the IWK website to access the seasonal calendars.

Seasonal weather calendars, developed over thousands of years by Indigenous communities, are displayed on this . The calendars recognise the complexity and diversity of weather over the Australian continent and are finely tuned to local conditions and natural events. Unlike the European spring, summer, autumn and winter, the Indigenous versions include often five, and sometimes seven, distinct seasons.

CONFERENCES

INDIGENOUS CONFERENCES

Indigenous Conference Services have advised the following schedule of Indigenous conferences for 2003. Please contact them directly for more information:

Indigenous Conference Services
PO Box 152
Emu Park, QLD, 4710
Phone 07 49 387558
Fax     07 49 387553
Email icsa2@bigpond.com
Web site http://www.geocities.com/indigenousconferences/

27- 28 February -      Diabetes & Heart Disease -  Cairns

March -  Drug and Alcohol

14-15 April - Domestic Violence - Brisbane
16-17 April - Women's Issues   - Brisbane

22-23 May - Disability and Aged Care -  Sydney

2-3 June - Board of Directors & Management - Brisbane
5-6 June - Indigenous Conflict in the Workplace - Brisbane

21-23 July - Women's health Conference - Adelaide
24-25 July - Juvenile Justice Conference - Adelaide

4-5 August - Stolen Generation Conference - Cairns
7-8 August  - Indigenous Cross Culture Awareness Conference - Cairns

1-2 September - Indigenous Mental Health Conference - Adelaide
4-5 September - Black Deaths & Custody   - Adelaide

6-7 October - Indigenous Small  Business Conference  - Sydney
9-10 October - Developing New Avenues of Funding Conference - Sydney

November -   Youth Suicide -    Alice Springs   - to be advised of date.

This information was provided through IndigOz,  http://www.indigoz.com.au/

Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
Location: Washington University in St Louis School of Law, 4-6 April 2003,
http://law.wustl.edu/centeris/upcomingevents/biodivsp02.html

THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF THE BOOK
Cairns, Australia, 22-24 April 2003.
Visit the web-site for more information: http://www.Book-Conference.com

CONASTA 52 - Australian Science Teacher's Association (ASTA) National Conference "Sustainability - past, present, future". 6-11 July 2003: Sunshine Coast, Queensland (http://www.conasta52.org). All proposals for papers or workshops due by 14 February 2003.

TENTH INTERNATIONAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK CONFERENCE ON LEARNING
Institute of Education, University of London, 15-18 July 2003
http://www.LearningConference.com

The Learning Conference is held annually in different international locations, each selected for the convergence of significant social and educational issues. In recent years, the conference has been held in Malaysia (Penang, 1999), Australia (Melbourne, 2000), Greece (Spetses, 2001) and Beijing (2002). In 2003, the Learning Conference is to be held at the Institute of Education, London University, one of the world's leading research and training institutes in the field of education.

The overall theme of the Learning Conference 2002 is 'What Learning Means' - the kinds of skills and knowledge, indeed the kinds of persons, required for the world of the near future. Critical issues include education for local and global cultural diversity, the impact of new technologies, changing forms of literacy, and the role of education in social and personal transformation.

The conference welcomes presentation proposals from right across the field of education. Papers submitted for the conference proceedings will be fully peer-refereed and published in print and electronic formats. If you are unable to attend the conference, virtual registrations are also available allowing access to the electronic versions of the conference proceedings, as well as virtual presentations which mean that your paper can be included in the refereeing process and published with the conference proceedings.

The deadline for the next round of the call for papers is 1 February 2003. Full details of the conference, including an online call for papers form, are to be found at the conference website.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

This is mostly a summary of upcoming conferences. More details may have been given above, in previous bulletins or circulated by e-mail. A web-based contact is usually included.

February 2003

13-16 February: Third International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, The East-West Center, University of Hawai'i, http://www.Diversity-Conference.com. Conference theme: Cultural Diversity in a Globalising World

April 2003

4-6 April: Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Washington University in St Louis School of Law, http://law.wustl.edu/centeris/upcomingevents/biodivsp02.html

7-10 April: ICASE 2003: World conference on science and technology education. "Increasing the relevance of science and technology education for all in the 21st century". Penang, Malaysia. (http://icase.unl.edu/icase2003)

22-24 April: THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF THE BOOK, Cairns, Australia. Visit the web-site for more information: http://www.Book-Conference.com

June 2003

23-28 June: ED-MEDIA 2003: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications. Please note Topic 7: Indigenous Peoples & Technology - this topic provides information on the issues and applications related to Indigenous peoples and technology.   Location: Honolulu, Hawaii (http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/default.htm)

July 2003

2-5 July: International Conference on Inclusive Education 2003, Hong Kong, organized by The Centre for Special Needs and Studies in Inclusive Education (CSNSIE) of The Hong Kong Institute of Education.  http://www.ied.edu.hk/csnsie/icie2003/

6-11 July: CONASTA 52 - Australian Science Teacher's Association (ASTA) National Conference, "Sustainability - past, present, future". Sunshine Coast, Queensland (http://www.conasta52.org)

9 - 12 July: SEAA - Social Educators Association of Australia - Conference: 'Social Education for a Changing World', Rydges Hotel, Exhibition Street, Melbourne, www.vasst.asn.au/seaa/index.html

11-14 July: Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA), 34th Annual Conference, Melbourne, Victoria (http://www.fed.qut.edu.au/projects/asera/)

15-18 July: TENTH INTERNATIONAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK CONFERENCE ON LEARNING, Institute of Education, University of London, http://www.LearningConference.com

30 July - 3 August: 7th  International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The conference chair is Professor Art Stinner (stinner@cc.umanitoba.ca), and the conference secretary and programme chair is Dr Stephen Klassen (s.klassen@uwinnipeg.ca). Further details are available from the secretary and from the IHPST web site (www.ihpst.org).

July 2004

July 2004: CONASTA 53 - Australian Science Teacher's Association (ASTA) National Conference, Canberra ACT

July 2004: Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA), 35th Annual Conference, University of New England, Armidale NSW

Sometime 2005 - World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, Aotearoa New Zealand