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This study explores ethnobiological and bioprospecting research through the lens of Carissa spinarum L., using it as a case study to examine wider trends in such research. Hunn’s Phasing in Ethnobiology is used as a framework, analysing the extensive research of a species used in healing, diet and other domains. Most reported studies are illustrative of Phase I Ethnobiological research based on the lack of basic context, emic or ecological detail, or a sense of collaboration with participants or across disciplines. Elements of Phases II, III and IV are evident in some studies highlighting ethnographic context, ecological issues or indigenous knowledge and rights. The extractive character of Phase I research, usually used for bioprospecting purposes, decontextualises plant use and may contribute to the historically poor results from ethno-directed bioprospecting. The widespread marginalisation of the social sciences in bioprospecting research can invalidate the whole research project and in turn ethnomedical plant use itself. A species such as Carissa spinarum L., emerging from Phase I research, can become a mere collection of its phytochemical parts, invalidated if those parts do not meet scientific measures of value. The collaborative character of Phase IV and V Ethnobiology would reward with more ethical and effective research with healing plants.

[No abstract available] non-peer-reviewed

This is not just the latest commentary on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter)1 but the definitive commentary, at least until it is overtaken by developments in the European courts and requires an update. Authored by the leading commentators on the various rights including several members of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and edited by Peers, Hervey, Kenner and Ward – all authorities on the Charter – this collection brings together the key concepts, debates, intricacies and unresolved questions concerning the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The net result is a handbook for practitioners wishing to use the Charter in legal argumentation and a conceptual springboard for scholars teaching and researching on matters of EU law. peer-reviewed

It is argued that expectations of mothers intensified over the course of the twentieth century, culminating in an ideology of intensive mothering. This intensification corresponds with the broadening of parents remit to encompass responsibility for children s cognitive development. Although this responsibility was enshrined in parenting advice materials by the 1960s, new brain research in the 1990s emphasised the importance of the early years for optimising children s cognitive development. In this thesis, I explore whether, why and how Australian parents try to foster their children s cognitive development in the preschool years and I follow two lines of inquiry. The first examines cultural messages communicated to parents concerning their responsibility for fostering their preschool child s cognitive development through a content analysis of a sample of Australian parenting publications and an Australian government-funded parenting website. The findings indicate that the message that parents are responsible for fostering their child s cognitive development in the preschool years pervades the analysed content and that it is directed predominantly at mothers. The second line of inquiry explores whether parents accept responsibility for fostering their preschool child s cognitive development, how and why they enact this responsibility. The methods employed to meet this aim are qualitative interviews with parents of preschool-aged children and a quantitative analysis of a nationally representative data set. The interview findings suggest that most parents feel responsible for fostering their child s cognitive development to some degree in the preschool years, which they pursue through three key strategies: parenting for cognitive development , outsourcing for cognitive development, and concerted cultivation . Parents concern about their child s cognitive development also factored into decisions concerning: school starting age; school choice; and TV viewing. The quantitative findings correspond broadly with the qualitative interview findings, suggesting that the parenting practices identified through the interviews may apply in the wider population. This study argues that early years parenting in Australia has become increasingly cognitively-focussed. Parents are subject to the expectation that they should foster their child s cognitive development in the preschool years and the majority have accepted and responded to this expectation. This expectation demands intensive parenting practices, and it is directed at and shouldered by mothers to a far greater extent than fathers.

Report 3/08

The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) undertakes research across a wide range of issues and locations across Australia. It is important that our work fully reflects the diversity of the populations and situations being researched. In this context, there are complexities and obligations that require a special focus on how we work with Indigenous peoples and communities. These arise from the cultural and linguistic distinctiveness of Indigenous peoples, the diversity of Indigenous peoples and situations, and the social, economic and psychological effects of the history of their interaction with the broader society. Indigenous peoples and communities are over-represented in much of the SPRC’s research and their interests are priorities for action in many areas of social policy. As a group, Indigenous people are amongst the most disadvantaged people in Australia against many social indicators, but they also have unique strengths on which social policy affecting them needs to be based. There is strong commonality between Indigenous peoples across Australia arising from their shared culture and heritage; equally, there is much diversity. Indigenous peoples and communities have a wide range of backgrounds, needs and aspirations, and interact with ‘mainstream’ society in many different ways. It is important that this complexity and diversity be appropriately reflected in the Centre’s work and that the principles and processes in this Strategy are embedded in the overall values, culture, policy, and operations of the Centre. This Strategy reflects the commitment and work of the SPRC to ensure the relevance and quality of its research involving Indigenous peoples and communities., SPRC Report Series 14/08

This study was commissioned by the Commonwealth, State, Territories and New Zealand Ministers on the Status of Women with funds from the Women's Activities Trust Fund. It aims to capture the labour market transition experiences of Australian mothers who are balancing work and family responsibilities. The study employed a qualitative approach, which enables women’s stories and voices to be heard. The qualitative data was supplemented by quantitative analysis. The study seeks to fill a gap in existing Australian research on work and family issues, much of which focuses exclusively on quantitative analysis. It attempts to give policy makers a better understanding of mothers’ labour market experiences, their work preferences and the factors that constrain or facilitate their ability to balance their parenting and paid employment roles over the life course. The study reveals the contextual, fluid and complex nature of the life and work decisions that women who are parents make over the life course., SPRC Report 7/06

This report is the third of a new series of advocacy papers produced by the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI). The first advocacy paper focussed on the reform and harmonisation of migration policy in Ireland, the second focussed on international perspectives relating to the future of Irish born children and their non-national parents in Ireland. non-peer-reviewed

SPRC Report 13/04

This study reviews the current and projected availability of foster carers in New South Wales. It was commissioned by the NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS) and undertaken by a research team based at the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales. The study commenced in October 2003 and was completed in April 2004. The aim of the study is to develop a demographic profile of current carers in NSW and to predict the likely availability of foster carers in specific locations based on that profile and exogenous projected demographic developments. The study’s main goal in this area is to identify the changes and forward projections of socio-demographic trends in NSW that may impact on the availability of carers., SPRC Report 12/04