The geometry of the Toda equation

I show that solutions of the SU(infinity) Toda field equation generating a fixed Einstein-Weyl space are governed by a linear equation on the Einstein-Weyl space. From this, obstructions to the existence of Toda solutions generating a given Einstein-Weyl space are found. I also give a classification of Einstein-Weyl spaces arising from the Toda equation in more than one way. This classification coincides with a class of spaces found by Ward and hence clarifies some of their properties. I end by discussing the simplest examples.Comment: AMS-LaTeX 11 pages; minor changes to title, keywords and reference

Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia

Most research into consumption and popular culture in Indonesia has been focussed on the middle and upper classes who have been characterised as opting for a consumption-based culture over traditional ways of life. However, this paper on popular culture in Padang, West Sumatra, demonstrates that consumption is also an important element of working class Indonesians' lives. The angkutan (modified vans used for public transport) and bis kota (city buses) in Padang in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra are brightly decorated with pictures and items depicting local and global themes. They are also equipped with expensive entertainment systems, produced by an expanding global marketplace, that broadcast local, Indonesian and foreign music in a variety of genres. In this paper, I explore the different factors that shape visual and musical expression on local transport. After providing a description of this popular cultural formation, I identify two constructions as the most prominent organising sensibilities: a youth culture that celebrates modernity and the culture of an older generation that emphasises an ongoing relationship to tradition and nature

Sentencing Schapelle A Drug-Induced Discussion on the Differences between Australia and Southeast Asia

The spate of high-profile drug trafficking cases involving Australians provided an avenue of expression for the thinly veiled feelings of superiority of some Australian media commentators over our Southeast Asian neighbours. The Australian public heard repeated expressions of outrage at the severity of the sentences and, particularly in the case of Shapelle Corby, comparisons to Abu Bakar Bashir's three year jail term, which was then reduced to eighteen months, for immigration offences connected with terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah. One of the more outlandish criticisms was from 2GB radio commentator Malcolm T. Elliott who stated that the Indonesian judges presiding over the Corby case were "straight out of the trees" and that they "look like the three wise monkeys". The underlying assumption of such commentary was that the Indonesian legal system was flawed and inferior to the Australian legal system. In comparison to the hyperbole, there were relatively few attempts in the mainstream media to understand the underlying reasons for the differences in handling drug cases. Exploring the issue of sentencing offers a window on historical differences between Australia and Southeast Asia that have been mistaken, and in some cases lauded, as backwardness

The second wave: Aboriginal cultural centres in sustainable development

Over the past 10 years there has been a widespread, localised, uncoordinated effort across Australia to create Aboriginal cultural centres. Generally funded by regional development bodies and/or local government, these centres focus on leveraging culture to drive human development (training, employment) while meeting a range of social and cultural goals. Among their goals are cultural events, engagement with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, and education about Aboriginal cultural knowledge. They can be differentiated from the first wave of Aboriginal arts centres that began in the 1970s that were controlled by Aboriginal organisations in which the Federal government exercised influence via funding models, had the principle activity of facilitating the production and marketing of art, and tended to be in remote locations. The focus here is on an exemplar of the established, though still developing, second wave of Aboriginal cultural centres. This paper presents a hypothesis on the characteristics of the second wave of Aboriginal cultural centres and their alignment with state-defined priorities for sustainable development through the case study of an Aboriginal culture and heritage centre. Insights are drawn from key informant interviews about the creation and operation of Gwoondwardu Mia, the Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre in Carnarvon, Western Australia

Researching Tourism to the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, or how the Social Sciences can Collaborate in Researching Complex Problems

There is an increasing recognition that development can bring with it complex problems, particularly when social and natural systems interact. This paper explores research methodologies that address such problems by utilising and integrating expertise from a number of different disciplines, and discusses how the social sciences can contribute. It does this by firstly analysing existing research methodologies and then through a detailed discussion of a research project that addresses sustainable tourism planning to the Ningaloo Coast, a remote tourist destination in Western Australia whose major attraction is a 300 kilometre long fringing coral reef. The paper identifies four features that are likely to become widespread within research projects that address issues of sustainable development: a common understanding of the dynamics of systems aimed at addressing complexity; an encouragement of group learning through collaboration; a pragmatic approach that aims to address problems facing managers and affected groups; and the incorporation of different disciplines as needed to address problems. The paper concludes by identifying how the social sciences can both be equipped to engage with large research projects that integrate a number of disciplines and strengthen such research approache

Revisiting Duffus and Dearden's wildlife tourism framework

This paper revisits Duffus and Dearden (1990) article 'Non-Consumptive Wildlife-Oriented Recreation: a conceptual framework' published in Biological Conservation two decades ago. This model was developed as a tool to assist managers and researchers in achieving the best outcomes for both environmental conservation and the provision of wildlife tourism experiences. The body of literature examining wildlife tourism has grown significantly over the intervening period; however, this highly respected model has not been subject to critical review even though a number of recent empirical studies have successfully applied the concept. This has created an opportunity for reflection on its merits and potential. In particular, this paper discusses these findings to assess the contemporary value of this approach. It is contended that the framework still provides an appropriate means of predicting and managing change in a wildlife tourism system. Given the ability of the model to combine theoretical perspectives with practical outcomes and the now emerging body of literature based upon it, continued application and refinement of this model is more pertinent than ever

Indonesian cultural policy, 1950-2003: culture, institutions, government

This thesis examines official cultural policy in Indonesia, focussing on the cultural policy of the national governments from 1950 until 2003. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s writings about government and debates about cultural policy in Cultural Studies, the study proposes that the features of cultural policy in Indonesia are primarily determined by the changing ways that the state has put culture to work in its versions of modern governance. Part I of the thesis provides a history of official cultural policy, including a background chapter on the late colonial era and the Japanese occupation. Although contemporary cultural policy was first articulated within Western liberal democracies to shape self-governing national citizens, the Dutch colonial cultural policy differed in that it assumed indigenous subjects had reduced capacities and focussed on managing ethnic populations. The cultural policies of subsequent governments maintained the twin imperatives of ‘improving’ individuals and managing populations, but with different understandings of both imperatives. While a more autonomous subject was assumed during Constitutional Democracy, Guided Democracy exercised greater state guidance as part of Sukarno’s mobilisation of the population behind his political program. Cultural policy during the New Order era rejected Sukarno’s ‘politicisation’ of culture, replaced ‘improvement’ with ‘development’ and further strengthened the role of the state in providing cultural guidance, a move justified by designating Indonesians backward by modern standards.The Japanese administration was the first government to address a national population. Relations among indigenous ethnic populations and between ethnicity and the nation were addressed in cultural policy from 1956 and were central to cultural policy throughout the New Order era. Part II of the thesis consists of two case studies of cultural programs in the New Order and Reform eras: (1) the arts councils and cultural parks and (2) a cultural research project. It explores New Order centralism, demonstrating the heterogeneity between different levels of the state and how governmental goals imbued particular practices and objects with special significance and meaning by constructing them as culture. Cultural policy in the post-Suharto period is addressed in both Parts I and II. While the practices of the New Order era are generally continuing, decentralisation created the possibility of a plurality of cultural policies across Indonesia, as lower levels of government are responsible for administering cultural policy. Decentralisation could result in a more participatory cultural policy as more cultural practices are addressed or a narrowing of cultural policy if conservative ethnic identity politics drives changes

Einstein--Maxwell--Dilaton metrics from three--dimensional Einstein--Weyl structures

A class of time dependent solutions to $(3+1)$ Einstein--Maxwell-dilaton theory with attractive electric force is found from Einstein--Weyl structures in (2+1) dimensions corresponding to dispersionless Kadomtsev--Petviashvili and $SU(\infty)$ Toda equations. These solutions are obtained from time--like Kaluza--Klein reductions of $(3+2)$ solitons.Comment: 12 pages, to be published in Class.Quantum Gra