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Cultivating reciprocity and supporting Indigenous lifeways through the cultural transformation of natural resource management in North America
No full textRecent decades have seen increasing calls for implementing Indigenous Knowledges (IK) in natural resource management (NRM). However, efforts have been limited by the cultural incommensurabilities between (1) NRM institutions, which are rooted in worldviews that prioritize extraction for dominant cultures and assume dominance over nature and (2) Indigenous worldviews that prioritize kincentric reciprocity with the environment. This manuscript addresses how transforming NRM institutions enables management to better support Indigenous Knowledges and lifeways.
This manuscript examines incommensurabilities between NRM institutional cultures and Indigenous cultures, with the value and lifeway of reciprocity as the focal point. Through synthesizing interdisciplinary scholarship and examples from author experiences, we explore how NRM institutions in North America can transform to honour and facilitate reciprocity, especially within efforts to implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways.
NRM institutions are cultural products, and in North America were born of colonial histories and cultural roots connected to modern governance and power dynamics. These cultural foundations led to NRM approaches that prioritize maximizing economic growth while guarding against overexploitation. Kincentric reciprocal relations with the environment often emphasize interdependency with more-than-human kin, place-based holistic Knowledges grounded in cultural practices and communal responsibility to cultivate social-ecological abundance for present and future generations. Incommensurabilities between NRM institutional cultures and Indigenous cultures impede efforts to implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways as: (1) rigid institutional structures do not account for Indigenous worldviews and values but instead attempt to fit IK within dominant paradigms; (2) the siloing of NRM leads to the piecemealing and invalidation of IK at the expense of Knowledge Holders and (3) ineffective public engagement strategies limit the possibility of reciprocal relations between NRM institutions and communities throughout management processes.
Incommensurabilities between NRM institutional cultures and Indigenous cultures impede efforts to implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways as: (1) rigid institutional structures do not account for Indigenous worldviews and values but instead attempt to fit IK within dominant paradigms; (2) the siloing of NRM leads to the piecemealing and invalidation of IK at the expense of Knowledge Holders and (3) ineffective public engagement strategies limit the possibility of reciprocal relations between NRM institutions and communities throughout management processes.
Transforming NRM institutional cultures to better implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways is key for redressing long-standing issues and ensuring social-ecological resilience and abundance. Heavy investments of time, personnel and resources are necessary for transforming NRM institutions to appropriately cultivate reciprocal relations with Indigenous communities and lands. Strategies towards transformation include decentralization through decolonial frameworks, knowledge co-production and using place-based cultural evaluation processes to improve cultural alignment.</p
Cueing up! How other-oriented semantic cues in livestream shopping enable sustainable food consumption
No full textThis study investigates the semantic nuances food producers and livestream sellers use in livestream shopping to instigate sustainable food consumption. Guided by social conformity and self-construal theory, we suggest the community environment specific to livestream shopping over other shopping scenarios (e.g. in-store) enhances conformity among viewers. Thus, we theorize that semantic cues focusing on “other” are more influential than those focusing on “self” when it comes to sustainable food consumption. We analyzed 17,520 minutes of speech from livestream sellers selling food products to identify the top 20 keywords associated with sustainable food consumption. Using econometric modeling on 416 products using these keywords, we determined that other-oriented cues were more influential than self-orientation cues in stimulating sales of sustainable foods. Further, we showed the relationship between other-oriented cues and sales of sustainable food is amplified when more sellers promote the product. We provide both theoretical and managerial implications which are discussed.</p
Sustainable strategies for the valorization of cotton and cotton blended waste: pathways to circular economy
No full textThis research explores the comparative efficacy of mechanical, chemical, and biological recycling methods for cotton and cotton-based blends, focusing on their processes, challenges, and implications for sustainability. Through detailed analyses of extant literature, this study identified mechanical recycling as a widely implemented method due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness but notes its limitations, such as fiber degradation, inappropriate for some fibers, and contamination from mixed materials. Chemical recycling is an effective method for recovering fibers that are unsuitable for mechanical recycling, offering high recovery rates and preventing waste being landfilled. Despite its potential, this approach faces challenges such as high energy requirements, financial constraints, and reliance on harsh chemicals. In contrast, biological recycling is emerging as an ecofriendly alternative with the potential to use enzymes for targeted degradation; however, it requires further advancements in enzyme specificity and process scalability. This review emphasizes the need for hybrid models combining these methods to address their individual limitations, such as integrating technological sorting for mechanical recycling or developing non-toxic green solvents for chemical recycling. Furthermore, Life Cycle Assessment comparisons reveal the environmental and financial benefits of optimizing these methods for industrial application, with implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders. By advancing these recycling technologies and aligning sustainable development goals, the cotton textile industry can significantly reduce waste, conserve resources, and foster sustainable practices in waste valorization. </p
Visual Arts Work: Key Research Findings, Implications and Proposed Actions
No full textThis report provides a summary of key findings and policy implications from the four-year research project Visual Arts Work: sustainable strategies for the Australian visual arts and craft sector. This large-scale research project examined the incomes and career lifecycles of visual and craft artists and arts workers in Australia. In response to significant gaps in existing datasets in relation to visual arts work, the project undertook two surveys of artists and arts workers – the first in 2022, and the second in 2024 – gaining information on sources of income and modes of work and employment over several financial years: 2018-2019; 2020-2021; 2022-2023; and 2023-2024. Alongside these surveys, we also conducted long-form, qualitative interviews with 20 artists and arts workers to better understand hybrid career patterns; and hosted a symposium with guest speakers discussing key issues of precarity and working conditions in the visual arts sector in 2023. We worked closely with our industry partners the National Association of the Visual Arts (NAVA) and the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA) on the research including submissions to several government inquiries and appearances as part of the Australian Fair Work Commission’s Modern Award Review of 2023-2024. At the end of this report, we provide a list of policy recommendations, along with proposed actions for the industry to improve incomes and working conditions for the visual arts sector. This list has been developed from our evidence? based research in collaboration with our industry partners, NAVA and AMaGA, and is offered as a proposition for good practice.</p
From Design to Application: Emergency Maneuver Control in a 1:3.33 Scaled Vehicle
No full textThe development of autonomous vehicles necessitates designing and testing advanced vehicle controllers that replace human drivers. Before reaching end users, these controllers must undergo rigorous experimental tests to verify their applicability and consistency with simulation data. Given the high cost of full-sized test vehicles, scaled vehicles offer a cost-effective and efficient alternative. This study evaluates state-of-the-art vehicle controllers for evasive maneuvers using a 1:3.33 scaled vehicle. The scaled vehicle is designed, constructed, and equipped with advanced hardware, including a centimeter-accurate GPS for localization and a MicroAutoBox III for executing the controllers. Experiments conducted with this scaled vehicle are compared to simulations performed in IPG-CarMaker®, demonstrating an accuracy range of 83% to 99.9% between the scaled vehicle and virtual reality simulations.</p
Returning to Mungo: Navigating Settler Colonialism Through Landscape Photography
No full textThis practice-led research project explores landscape photography as a site-responsive practice to visualise the complex social and cultural narratives that shape a contested site in Australia. The camera has historically been used as a tool for the perpetuation of settler-colonial narratives concerning the appropriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Acknowledging this problematic history, I seek to disrupt photography’s inherent function as an indexical trace of light on a sensitive surface by making physical interventions on the photographic surface. In turn, the photographs created throughout this research project reveal complex and multi-layered encounters with the land.
This research project focuses on the landscape of Lake Mungo, located in New South Wales on the ancestral lands of the Barkindji, Mutthi Mutthi, and Ngyiampaa people. Since the discovery and removal of ancient human remains in the 1960s, Lake Mungo has become a site of competing ideologies and histories between Traditional Custodians, local settlers and scientific communities. The ongoing custodianship, cultural significance and deep history of this region for Aboriginal communities provides a vital counter-narrative to settler colonialism within Australia. This counter-narrative exposes gaps in settler interpretations of the past and challenges notions of stable settler-colonial occupation. Engaging with these ongoing histories, I prompt reflections on national identity and land, revealing the interconnected relationship and potential for transforming settler-colonial narratives through landscape photography.
Understanding the limitations of my position as a settler Australian on Aboriginal Country, I develop a reflexive photographic practice, challenging the static nature of photographic representation through ongoing visits to, and dialogues with Traditional Owners at Lake Mungo. Through these engagements, and further informed by the theories of the settler-colonial gaze, erasure, and settler anxiety, I examine the deep past as a living heritage and explore the responsibilities that this generates. My methodology aims to create meaningful ongoing relationships with place fostered by intercultural dialogues and connections. The research outcomes contribute to a developing decolonial landscape photography practice and provide a methodology for engaging with contested land as a settler Australian landscape photographer. This research project proposes that this practice-led approach provides a framework for acknowledging the complex histories embedded in so-called Australian land.</p
Taking responsibility for clothing circularity: Learnings from a global scan1
No full textThis article examines how product stewardship (PS) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes are being deployed around the world to promote a circular economy transition for fashion and textiles. A desktop analysis of initiatives in twelve jurisdictions across four continents was undertaken, and the lens of regulatory theory was used to categorize initiatives. The majority of PS initiatives are voluntary in nature and have a general bias towards environmental and economic concerns. Arguing for a place-based approach to regulating that is closely attuned to the local context; this article applies regulatory theory to propose sanctions and supports that may be progressively employed to strengthen regulation over time. This article offers a global look at initiatives supporting the transition to a circular economy for clothing and contributes to scholarship on how theories of circularity, responsibility and stewardship are applied and practised around the world.</p
Policy for Schools as Community Hubs: Insights Into a Fragmented Environment
No full textSchools as community hubs are recognised for their significant contri-butions to communities. Yet, these projects must negotiate complex and often frag-mented policy environments that cross government jurisdictions and disciplines to achieve stakeholder support, funding, and operate over the longer-term to deliver benefits to communities. Policy research in this area is scarce. This chapter discusses policy for schools as community hubs through the lenses of Bacchi and Goodwin’s ‘problem representation’ approach and ideas about performative and locally enacted policy. This theoretical framework is applied to Yuille Park Community College, in Victoria, Australia, as an interpretive policy analysis to reveal insights into the policy environment that was negotiated to develop this community-facing school. Now proclaimed as a ‘whole of life’ community centre, Yuille Park relied on the skill and continuity of key actors who—with little formal policy direction—coordi-nated solutions across service provision, urban planning, and facility design to make a difference to a struggling community, generating neighbourhood uplift and helping to overcome entrenched intergenerational challenges.</p
Election Promise Tracking: Extending the Shelf Life of Democracy in Digital Journalism Practice and Scholarship
No full textWhile global fact-checking practice pivots away from its political origins towards debunking projects for platform partners, the subfield of election promise tracking provides an interesting counterpoint. Little scholarly attention has been paid to the international rise and significance of Campaign Pledge Evaluation Tools (CPETs), which are digital platforms that directly inform voters about the fulfilment of election campaign promises throughout the political term. This article therefore asks: How do the routines and boundaries of journalism shape CPETs that are created and operated by fact-checkers? Analysis of interviews with fact-checkers and political scientists involved in researching, designing, and producing Australia’s RMIT ABC Promise Tracker demonstrates that election promise tracking is a subset of fact-checking that remains committed to the normative values and traditions of public interest journalism through information provision with a clear democratic aim and outcome.</p
Recommendations for a successful assessment of Nature-based Solutions in an urban context. URBAN GreenUP project lessons learnt.
No full textThe whole process of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) implementation is a complex procedure that requires the achievement of many aspects to finish as a successful hit. One of these aspects is the assessment of the value and functionality of the NbS. In this paper, we present a description of the main aspects related to the assessment that are necessary for a successful NbS implementation process. First, we provide an evaluation of the monitoring processes, the performance on the NbS and the assessment of the NbS impact. The European projects framework provides a wide number of examples of NbS implementation and in the case of this paper, as is the case for the project on which this report is based. By considering KPI (Key Performance Indicators) and the NbS efficiency this document delivers an assessment of the impact of NbS and an overview of the final status of the interventions in each of city as demo site in the project. The assessment has been conducted considering two main sources of information: 1) Evaluations developed during the initial phases of the project and the weights assigned to each variable under study, including the prioritization of the KPIs for each NbS implemented in each demo city and the evaluation of the potential impact that those NbS produced on several city challenges. 2) The monitoring of the NbS implemented and data collected, which has provided the assessment of combined impact of each NbS regarding city challenges. Likewise, the paper describes the methodology applied to make the overall assessment of the NbS through the performance of the KPIs. Additionally, we show the data an analysis of the technical, economic, social and environmental barriers, boundaries appeared in the course of KPI monitoring, and NbS implementation phases in demo sites. As conclusion, our work provides a user-friendly assessment methodology that takes into account economic, technical, social and ecological aspects related to NbS implementation processes and that has been validated in real case studies.</p