Changing narratives: colonised peoples, criminology and social work

Abstract: There is growing recognition in criminology and social work of the importance of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies. Yet to date there have been limited attempts (particularly in criminology and criminal justice social work) to consider the theoretical and practice implications of Indigenous understandings and approaches to these disciplines. Both disciplines have also been slow to recognise the importance of understanding the way in which colonial effects are perpetuated through knowledge control, particularly in the operation of criminal justice systems. Our paper thus begins by examining the historical and institutional factors that have contributed to the continuing subjugation of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies. A discussion of the connections between the hegemony of Western science, the construction of race, and the colonial project follows. While herein Western and Indigenous approaches are conceptualised broadly, the dangers of over-simplifying these categories is also acknowledged. The paper proceeds by examining the distinctive character of each approach through a consideration of their ontological, epistemological, axiological, and methodological differences. Whilst acknowledging the considerable challenges which arise in any attempt to develop connections between these differing worldviews, a pathway forward for understanding both theoretically and methodologically the relationship between Western and Indigenous approaches is proposed

The civil and family law needs of Indigenous people in Victoria

This report identifies the most pressing legal needs of Indigenous Victorians, which involve housing, discrimination and debt.The report presents key findings and recommendations of research conducted in 2012- 2013 by the Indigenous Legal Needs Project (ILNP) in Victoria. The ILNP is a national project. Its aims are to:identify and analyse the legal needs of Indigenous communities in non-criminal areas of law (including discrimination, housing and tenancy, child protection, employment, credit and debt, wills and estates, and consumer-related matters); and provide an understanding of how legal service delivery might work more effectively to address identified civil and family law needs of Indigenous communities. ILNP research is intended to benefit Indigenous people by improving access to civil and family law justice

The place of Indigenous people: locating crime and criminal justice in a colonising world

[Extract] Since British colonisation began at the end of the 18th century, the history of Australia has been a struggle between Indigenous peoples and the colonisers over place. This is often represented as a struggle over land - its control and use. Yet for Indigenous people, land was never simply an economic commodity to be exploited. It was 'place' in a deeper sense of the word, a fundamental part of Indigenous cosmology and a necessary foundation to a person's or group's ontology or being in the world. Place, then, can be conceptualised as both a physical and metaphysical domain. Indeed both domains are intertwined, perhaps inseparable

The place of Indigenous people: locating crime and criminal justice in a colonising world

[Extract] Since British colonisation began at the end of the 18th century, the history of Australia has been a struggle between Indigenous peoples and the colonisers over place. This is often represented as a struggle over land - its control and use. Yet for Indigenous people, land was never simply an economic commodity to be exploited. It was 'place' in a deeper sense of the word, a fundamental part of Indigenous cosmology and a necessary foundation to a person's or group's ontology or being in the world. Place, then, can be conceptualised as both a physical and metaphysical domain. Indeed both domains are intertwined, perhaps inseparable

Green Reintroducing Nature to the City

The architecture of present day America reflects the way in which we give little consideration to the impact that built forms have on the environment. American cities are expanding beyond their former limits into the natural environment previously untouched by built form. It is important for us to foster a sense of environmental concerns in an age of increasing development and advancements. While technology continues to progress it seems that these advancements are applied to everything but architecture. We have designed ways to get more mileage out of a tank of gas, and created appliances that reduce our electric consumption, but what have we done to implement advancements into architecture? Not only do we need to start responding to idea of preserving our environment socially and politically, but architecturally as well. The question that remains then is; how do we being to create architecture that is capable of responding to and merging the built environment with the natural environment

Entering into the Profound Mystery: Yves Congar’s Via Media on the Salvation of People of Non-Christian Religions

The twenty-first century Catholic Church is in the process of understanding its relation to the Second Vatican Council. Yves Congar, one of the most influential theologians at the council, had a theological career spanning over fifty years, and his theological insights remain pertinent to contemporary historical and cultural concerns. This paper describes Yves Congar’s particular ecclesiological, pneumatological and Christological insights in response to the question of the salvation of people of non-Christian religions. Congar seeks to find a via media, or middle way, which denies two extreme perspectives, one of which holds that explicit non-Christians are not saved, and the other affirms the salvation of all people regardless of their professed religious tradition. Although his work is not extensive on the question of the salvation of adherents of non-Christian religions, he offers theological insights that reflect the Roman Catholic Church’s shift in understanding of this question demonstrated in the Vatican II documents. In this paper, I differ from other scholars who have sought to elucidate Congar’s via media by considering a wider range Congar’s writings in addition to Congar’s explicit discussion of salvation outside the Church. In doing so, I provide a more accurate appraisal of his understanding of the salvation of people of non-Christian religions, recognizing that his extensive writings on the Church, the Holy Spirit, Christ, and salvation must be considered in order to understand his articulation of the salvation of adherents of non-Christian religions

Juror comprehension and the hard case - Making forensic evidence simpler

The complexity/comprehension nexus as it impacts on juror decision-making is addressed in the particular context of prosecution-led DNA evidence. Such evidence is for jurors the subject of pre-trial preconceptions, and is notoriously difficult to present and argue before a jury. The article looks at the comprehension of forensic evidence by jurors, a task qualified by the opinion of legal professionals whose responsibility it is to present and interpret such evidence in adversarial contexts. Jurors were surveyed post-verdict in trials where forensic evidence featured in circumstantial cases. These insights into comprehension were qualified by contesting views of legal professionals, and critical reflections from independent observation teams regarding the manner in which this evidence was used and its intended impact on the jury. What results is both declared and implicit indicators of comprehension, not so much against broad measures of complexity [Findlay, 2001. Juror comprehension and complexity: strategies to enhance understanding. British Journal of Criminology 41/1, 56.], but rather the particular place of popularly endowed forensic evidence within the circumstantial case. The article explores the utility of a multi-methodological study of comprehension from the perspectives of the proponents, commentators, recipients and observers of the adversarial contest. To this is employed a interactive analysis of important decision-sites and relationships of influence in the trial as they may impact on comprehension and be measured as ‘complex’