23 February 2016: Tackling the incidence of scabies in remote communities and reviving a 350-kilometre trade route are two of a set of projects to receive research funding through the University of Canberra's Collaborative Indigenous Research Initiative (UC CIRI).
The University's recently appointed Dean of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership and Strategy, Professor Peter Radoll said UC CIRI is emerging as a strong network of researchers, who are keenly committed to undertake Indigenous research.
"Importantly, UC CIRI's work places engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities at the centre, making collaboration one of its core aims," Professor Radoll said.
"To conduct research side-by-side with the people you are focused on, with the shared intention to increase understanding and make a real difference in their lives is a wonderful approach to research and one which we know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been seeking for a long time."
UC CIRI has committed a total of $260,376 to four projects announced today by Professor Peter Radoll.
The first study to receive a UC CIRI grant, worth $100,000, is trialling the use of natural and native tea-tree oil in treating scabies infection, which is prevalent in remote Indigenous communities.
Assistant professor of pharmacy Dr Jackson Thomas, who is leading this research, said he's excited about this project.
"We're engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in their communities from the beginning and designing the research project in a collaborative approach," Dr Thomas said.
A second project looks at the design and development of a gateway precinct for the Bundian Way, a traditional Aboriginal trade route between the New South Wales south coast and the Snowy Mountains.
The project is led by assistant professor of cultural heritage Dr Scott Heyes, and will engage with the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council about the Bundian Way trail system, a 350 kilometre route stretching from the Far South Coast region in NSW to Mount Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains. The project will receive $85,000 in funding from UC CIRI.
The third research grant, worth $35,724 will go towards another investigation of the relationship between Aboriginal people and the landscape, with a focus on Cullunghutti Mountain (Mount Coolangatta) near the Shoalhaven Heads community.
University researchers will use Indigenous memory, place and landscape methods in order to understand and communicate the entanglement ties between the mountain and the people through their shared history.
The final project, receiving $39,652, will examine the use of statistics and other official attempts to describe and quantify achievement in Aboriginal education.
The researchers will focus on how these attempts emphasise presumed failures or deficiencies in achievement. It will also evaluate the relationship between education measurements, policy and practice.
These UC CIRI projects all engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, Elders and community members as well as non-Indigenous researchers across the University and other institutions.
Additional funding support will be provided by UC CIRI towards research projects, Indigenous Honours scholarships and Indigenous PhD scholars later in the year.