Aboriginal communities, information technology and the economics of knowledge

© 2016 Dr. Lyndon Charles Ormond-ParkerThis thesis is a study of the digitisation and distribution of information and Aboriginal knowledge held by a variety of museums and institutions, both locally in Aboriginal communities and internationally, and how Australian Aboriginal communities access that information and knowledge. There are economic relationships at play in the creation and maintenance of, and access to, archives, and in their application for the transmission of information and knowledge via information technologies to local Aboriginal communities and their future generations. Their significance in contributing to the survival of Indigenous cultures demands a better understanding of these phenomena. Institutions around the globe are increasingly turning to digitisation as a way of ordering and preserving their vast collections. Indigenous communities are seeking out archives to return materials, information and knowledge. Utilising Foray’s theory of the economics of knowledge as a critical tool, the development and sustainability of local Aboriginal digital archives and their application for the transmission of knowledge to future generations is explored. Through an articulated set of studies, this thesis examines the way Aboriginal communities consider the return of digital material, their relationships and interactions with institutions and the development of local community digital archives, and the skills and wider benefits that accrue. In doing so, this thesis demonstrates the value of archives as sustainable and effective instruments in community economic futures

Repatriation in the Kimberley: Practice, approach, and contextual history

The Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC) is the peak organisation for repatriation matters in the Kimberley region of north Western Australia. Along with many other responsibilities, it receives Ancestral Remains repatriated from domestic and overseas museums, cares for them in its Keeping Place, undertakes the complex consultation processes with communities across the Kimberley region, and supports and facilitates these communities to receive their Old People and return them to their traditional country. It has been heavily involved in repatriation matters since the early 2000s. Its work in repatriation is embedded in a broader cultural governance approach. This chapter takes an holistic approach in its exploration of the role of KALACC in repatriation, from detailed description of the processes involved, to the importance of repatriation archives both historical and contemporary, and provides a view of repatriation from a community development perspective

Archiving First Nations Media: the race to save community media and cultural collections

Since the 1970s First Nations media organisations have been established across remote, regional and urban Australia, and have been broadcasting and producing media in and for their local communities. Many of the resulting community-managed audiovisual collections have yet to be digitised or archived and are often stored in substandard conditions. With UNESCO's deadline of 2025 for digitisation of analogue media rapidly approaching, these rich social and cultural heritage collections are at high risk of being lost. Since 2013 First Nations Media Australia (FNMA, formerly Indigenous Remote Communications Association) has worked closely with member organisations and national collection agencies to develop a First Nations Media Archiving Strategy and to support community organisations develop the capacity to manage their collections according to best practice. FNMA is committed to keeping strong community control of media collections and recordings, and believes that the relationship between media production and access to archived recordings is intrinsically linked to the processes of self-determination and to social, cultural and economic sustainability and benefit. This paper explores the ways in which on-country archiving work enables local decision-making processes, which are considered critical to future collection access and use. The paper discusses how First Nations media organisations are often hampered by a lack of funding for the equipment, software and training needed for preservation work and ongoing management of community collections

Information Technology and Indigenous Communities

This document sets out key issues identified in the final plenary session at the AIATSIS research symposium on information technologies and Indigenous communities. Over 70 papers were presented at ITIC on the use of information technologies by Indigenous peoples. Illustrating the strength and vibrancy of the sector, presentations were delivered on programs, projects and research being implemented and undertaken by a range of community organisations,institutions and researchers across Australia. ITIC demonstrated the growing presence of an impressive and exciting IT sector in which digital media is being used in diverse and creative ways by Indigenous Australians to support, for example, innovation, employment, training and governance, as well as the production, maintenance and transmission of culture. The sector builds on over 30 years of cultural and social capital in IT and Indigenous communities. The use of digital media was showcased in a range of programs and initiatives spanning education, language, health and wellbeing, local and national digital archiving repositories, and the burgeoning creative industries and broadcasting sectors. The symposium highlighted the ability of IT to generate unique opportunities for income generation and local enterprise development. In particular, ITIC demonstrated the key capacity of IT to engage young people, particularly in creative media, thus providing new platforms for formal and informal training to support personal and career development. Overall, the symposium revealed not only the extent and variety of services already provided through IT by Indigenous people for the communities (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in which they live, but also the clear benefits arising from increasing engagement with digital media and the digital economy, and the potential for future growth. IT harnesses many crucial aspects associated with the economic future of Indigenous communities across the country

Shaping the Curriculum: Embedding Indigenous Cultural Competence in the Master of Business Administration

Through this document we invite you to discover the process which was followed to embed Indigenous Cultural Competence (ICC) across the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at The University of Sydney Business School. This includes the outputs developed during the process and practical guidance for other programs seeking to embed Indigenous Cultural Competence and improve Indigenous engagement

Equitable expanded carrier screening needs Indigenous clinical and population genomic data

Expanded carrier screening (ECS) for recessive monogenic diseases requires prior knowledge of genomic variation, including DNA variants that cause disease. The composition of pathogenic variants differs greatly among human populations, but historically, research about monogenic diseases has focused mainly on people with European ancestry. By comparison, less is known about pathogenic DNA variants in people from other parts of the world. Consequently, inclusion of currently underrepresented Indigenous and other minority population groups in genomic research is essential to enable equitable outcomes in ECS and other areas of genomic medicine. Here, we discuss this issue in relation to the implementation of ECS in Australia, which is currently being evaluated as part of the national Government’s Genomics Health Futures Mission. We argue that significant effort is required to build an evidence base and genomic reference data so that ECS can bring significant clinical benefit for many Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians. These efforts are essential steps to achieving the Australian Government’s objectives and its commitment “to leveraging the benefits of genomics in the health system for all Australians.” They require culturally safe, community-led research and community involvement embedded within national health and medical genomics programs to ensure that new knowledge is integrated into medicine and health services in ways that address the specific and articulated cultural and health needs of Indigenous people. Until this occurs, people who do not have European ancestry are at risk of being, in relative terms, further disadvantaged