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News archive

This page contains highlights of news from 2008. See also: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2001–2002

EASS Research Awards

Congratulations to all the HRISS staff and researchers who received awards at the annual Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences Research Awards Ceremony on 11 November 2008.

EAS Research Awards page

ARC successes

Congratulations to these HRI researchers who have won ARC grants:

UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies

On 14 October 2008, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Pro Vice Chancellor of UniSA's Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences and Director of the Centre for Post-Colonial Studies was appointed a UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies. The Chair will complement UNESCO's work in the field of social transformations and will provide a valuable contribution to international dialogue and policy development on international migration and social integration. The aim of the Chair is to promote and emphasise research in the areas of transnational diasporas and reconciliation studies. This will be accomplished by holding masterclasses, workshops and conferences, and inviting international scholars, especially from the post-colonial world.

This project brings together scholars and experts in the field with a particular focus on diaspora studies, reconciliation studies, post-colonial studies, security studies, and cultural theory in an effort to develop new approaches to some of the most pressing issues of our times. Such research and collaborations are directly relevant to UNESCO priorities including peace, environment, human rights, cultural diversity, dialogue among civilisations as well as the basic elements necessary for sustainable development.

More information

International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding

On 14 October 2008 the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding was launched by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Guest speakers included UniSA's Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Høj and Premier Mike Rann. The centre aims to be an internationally significant research centre devoted to understanding and transcending the divide between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. It will have a strong socio-cultural focus and will foster harmonious relationships between what increasingly seem to be disparate worlds. The centre will be a unique forum in which scholars develop and share ideas within the framework of a broader social justice agenda.

The Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies will provide assistance to the new centre, such as international linkages and opportunities for interdisciplinary research projects and workshops.

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National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education

The Hawke Research Institute has a new research concentration: the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. The new centre was established in 2008 with federal government funding to facilitate the study of current practices in student equity within the Australian higher education equity framework and to lead the development of new knowledge in the field.

We welcome Prof Trevor Gale to HRISS as Director: Student Equity in Higher Education. Professor Gale holds a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Educational Administration from Queensland University and a Bachelor of Education from Monash University. He joins UniSA from the role of Associate Professor of Education within the Education Faculty at Monash University where he was also the Associate Dean (Research Degrees).

Professor Gale has a strong interest in issues of social justice and he has researched and published on these matters in areas of higher education and schooling. He has been Chief Investigator in a number of industry and public sector research projects and has contributed to debates about the nature of education policy and its production, particularly in the context of higher education policy and schooling.

Awards and recognition for HRISS members

Prof Roger Harris was named the inaugural VET Researcher of the Year 2008 by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. Professor Harris has been researching in the field for more than 20 years, initially focusing on competency-based training. His work in this specific area is regarded as seminal in the VET sector.

Assoc Prof Michele Simons has been appointed Dean and Head of School of Education.

Prof Barbara Pocock was selected as a panel member at Prime Minister Rudd's 2020 Summit, Parliament House, 19–20 April 2008. She was part of the 'Strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion' panel. Liz Ho, Executive Director of the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, was selected for the 'Future of Australian governance' panel.

Three HRISS researchers were on the Inaugural SA Women's Honour Roll in 2008 for 'their outstanding performance and achievements in championing diversity, leading the community towards respect and responsibility and exploring new directions through innovation: Professor Wendy Schiller (research and arts education), Professor Barbara Comber (literacy learning), and Emeritus Professor Alison Mackinnon (research, scholarship and leadership).

Congratulations to Dr Rodney Fopp for his Division of EAS 2008 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for 'a sustained approach to engaging sociology students which responds to the diversity of needs and responsibilities resulting in respectful development of students as individuals'.

Visiting Indian research fellows

Rakhee Bhattacharya, an economist by profession, was a postdoctoral fellow with the School of International Studies, UniSA, under a 2008 Endeavour Research Fellowship through the Australian government. She is employed in the Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata. Her research interests, experience and publications encompass development, disparity, poverty, regional economies and the economy of insurgency. Her present research areas at Kolkata include the economic dynamics of India's northeast, and India's regional economic cooperation with Southeast Asia.

Prof Veena PoonachaProf Veena Poonacha spent three weeks at HRISS from 19 February 2008 as an Australia-India Council Senior Fellow. Veena is Director of the Research Centre for Women's Studies at SNDT Women's University, Mumbai. Veena is working on domestic violence and Indian diaspora communities in Australia, but is perhaps best known for her highly regarded work on women in rural communities in India.

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Visiting scholar Jie Xu

Visiting scholar Xu JieAssociate Professor Jie Xu was a visiting academic at the Hawke Research Institute for 12 months until August 2008. Jie is from Northeast Forestry University (NEFU) in China, and has been awarded a China Council Scholarship to spend a year's study leave at HRISS. Jie uses 'Cindy' as her English name.

Cindy's PhD was on the reasons for and countermeasures to the ecological crisis in China and its basis in the social system. During her visit she researched women and equity after market reform in China. Since China's Reform and Open Policy, which commenced in 1978, there has been an ongoing economic and cultural transition to a market economy. As a market economy focuses more attention on money and material wealth than the previous centrally planned economy, Cindy is looking at the changes that have taken place to women's status since the market reforms. Cindy presented a paper at the International Associate for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) Conference in Torino, Italy in June 2008. She also wrote an article in English stemming from her PhD research (completed in Mandarin Chinese) on the ecological crisis in China, which has been submitted to an Australian journal.
 

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