Responding to Yandruwandha : a contemporary Howitt's experience

3 page(s

Richie Howitt

Staff record for Research Data Managemen

Scales of coexistence : tacking the tension between legal and cultural landscapes in post-Mabo Australia

16 page(s

Alice Springs to Darwin railway impact study

Research Data Collection of Prof Richie Howit

Use of personal mobility devices for first-and-last mile travel: The Macquarie-Ryde trial

Electric-motored personal mobility devices (PMDs) are appearing on Australian roads. While legal to import and own, their use is typically illegal for adult riders within the road transport system. However, these devices could provide an answer to traffic congestion by getting people out of cars for short trips (“first-and-last mile” travel). City of Ryde council, Macquarie University, and Transport for NSW examined PMD use within the road transport system. Stage 1 of the project examined PMD use within a controlled pedestrian environment on the Macquarie University campus. Three PMD categories were used: one-wheelers (an electric unicycle, the Solowheel); two-wheelers (an electric scooter, the Egret); and three-wheelers (the Qugo). The two-wheeled PMD was most effective in terms of flexibility. In contrast, the three-wheeled PMD was most effective in terms of speed. One-wheeled PMD riders were very satisfied with their device, especially at speed, but significant training and practice was required. Two-wheeled PMD riders had less difficulty navigating through pedestrian precincts and favoured the manoeuvrability of the device as the relative narrowness of the two-wheeled PMD made it easier to use on a diversity of path widths. The usability of all PMDs was compromised by the weight of the devices, difficulties in ascending steeper gradients, portability, and parking. This was a limited trial, with a small number of participants and within a unique environment. However, agreement has been reached for a Stage 2 extension into the Macquarie Park business precinct for further real-world trials within a fully functional road transport system

Cross-cultural research : ethics, methods and relationships

21 page(s)2nd ed

Frontier imaginings and subversive Indigenous spatialities

One of the most powerful and enduring aspects of publicly projected Anglo-Australian national identities is part of what [Howitt, R., 2001. Frontiers borders, edges: liminal challenges to the hegemony of exclusion. Australian Geographical Studies 39, 233-245.] has referred to as frontier imaginings: the carving out of the Australian physical and socio-cultural landscape into familiar, settled, and productive spaces. These frontier imaginaries have been leveraged to exact social control and 'zealously order rural space' [Philo, C., 1992. Neglected rural geographies: a review. Journal of Rural Studies 8, 193-207, 197]. Government policy has historically been imbued with frontier imaginaries, privileging population movements that are constructed as appropriately bounded, and disciplining those which are not. Much Indigenous mobility falls into the latter category. This paper tells a story of competing rationalities about the purpose and nature of rural 'settlement', both past and present, and the implications of these rationalities for contemporary Indigenous population dynamics. In so doing, it creates a discursive space for examining the cultural content and hidden assumptions in constructions of appropriate 'settlement patterns'. Ultimately, it speaks of spatial struggles across the Australian geographical and temporal landscape. It also opens windows onto the fragile geographies of co-existence that need to be engaged with to shift the discourses of rural livelihood and well being toward discourses of accommodation, recognition and sustainable ways of being together

Adaptive management of Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone in the Blue Mountains : is it occurring?

Adaptive management is a prominent concept in natural resource management in Australia, heralded for its attention to the prioritisation and implementation of rehabilitation actions, and its acknowledgement of uncertainty and focus on “learning by doing”. To date, as part of adaptive management frameworks, little attention has been paid to monitoring and incorporating landscape components beyond a biological realm. Additionally, the application of adaptive management frameworks across biophysical and social scales is yet to be explored. Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (THPSS), listed as endangered ecological communities (EEC) at the Commonwealth scale, are a form of upland swamp, positioned in the landscape above the headwaters of streams. The majority of THPSS are located within the Blue Mountains’ region. These swamps have been studied to varying degrees in the past with regards to their formation, vegetation assemblages and geomorphic condition. Whilst the physical condition of these important EEC provides insights for prioritisation and rehabilitation, there is little understanding of the current approaches to management, particularly the within and cross scalar influences from the Commonwealth to the micro-local scale. This paper will explore how factors, at a variety of scales, influence management decisions of these EEC, including threatened species legislation, river management and funding opportunities. Social factors are particularly influential at the micro-local and local scales, with much rehabilitation undertaken by Bushcare, Landcare and Swampcare groups. Consequently, there are significant disconnections from one scale to the next with regards to priorities and management, with little adaptive management evident beyond the micro-local scale.7 page(s