Sickness ruins the complexion, breeding disappears without gold: culture and the i nterpretation of illness among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Indonesia

The interpretation of illness and its meaning to individuals and groups is largely a product of culture and is based on shared experience, historical significance, and the social function of individuals in the community. West Sumatra, like many parts of Indonesia, has experienced rapid development and modernization since the nation achieved independence in 1945 and is currently 12 years into Regional Autonomy, a dramatic shift in national administration from a highly centralized system to one which devolved authority to the level of district or municipal government. These changes have brought Indonesians into contact with an increasingly globalized culture and have put pressure on traditional institutions and practices. This is especially significant in the area of health, where considerable tension exists between the allopathic conceptualization of health (as espoused by health care professionals in the formal sector) and traditional interpretations of health that derive from a traditional cultural and linguistic frame of reference. This paper, based on fieldwork in the Indonesian region of Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, describes the impact of cultural and linguistic factors on the interpretation of illness among rural residents and elucidates the growing impact of multiple systems of meaning in local understanding of health.

A comparison of Australian rural and metropolitan cardiovascular risk and mortality: the Greater Green Triangle and North West Adelaide population surveys

Objectives:
Cardiovascular (CVD) mortality disparities between rural/regional and urban-dwelling residents of Australia are persistent. Unavailability of biomedical CVD risk factor data has, until now, limited efforts to understand the causes of the disparity. This study aimed to further investigate such disparities.

Caroline Springs: Does this estate in Melbourne's west master open space?

A study of the use of two open spaces - a small park and an oval - at Caroline Springs, a Master Planned Estate in Melbourne's west.

Muslim active citizenship in the West

Muslim Active Citizenship in the West investigates the emergence and nature of Muslims’ struggle for recognition as full members of society in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. What actions have been taken by Muslims to achieve equal civic standing? How do socio-political and socio-economic factors impact on these processes? And how do Muslims negotiate their place in a society that is often regarded as sceptical – if not hostile – towards Muslims’ desire to belong? This book sheds new light on Muslims’ path towards citizenship in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. Existing research and statistics on Muslims’ socio-economic status, community formation, claim-making and political responses, and the public portrayal of Islam are systematically examined. These insights are tested ‘through the eyes of Muslims’, based on in-depth interviews with Muslim community leaders and other experts in all three countries. The findings offer unique perspectives on Muslim resilience to be recognised as equal citizens of Islamic faith in very different socio-political national settings. Pursuing an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, this book examines the country-specific interplay of historical, institutional, political, and identity dimensions of Muslims’ active citizenship and will be invaluable for students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Religious Studies and Political Science.

South west Victoria 2012-2050 : are the settlements sustainable?

Over the past few decades coastal cities around the world have grown at an incredible rate. With this growth have come major challenges relating to land use planning, social relationships, economic development, bio diversity and the ecological footprint. The following paper selects three regional coastal towns (Warrnambool, Portland and Port Fairy) situated in the Australian state of Victoria, and addresses the issues of: increasing population and population density, open space requirements, residential density issues, public transport coverage, employment and employment density, a shifting economic climate, environment and climate change, water quality issues and building energy consumption with subsequent C02 emissions. Through a series of simulations the nine issues for each of the three cities will be examined from 2012 through to 2030. The goal is to highlight the current and simulated future impacts of the selected issues and propose solutions that could mitigate those impacts.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow : attempting to plan for coastal change in South West Victoria

Learn from yesterday, live for today hope for tomorrow. When Albert Einstein penned these opening words, the realm of planning was least on his mind despite the aptness of the thoughts. This paper, having regard to this quotation, questions whether demographic change in one coastal area is occurring at a faster rate than in non–coastal areas? The South West coastal area of Victoria, from 1981 onwards, has witnessed a dramatic increase in population and also major shifts in the social and economic characteristics of the region. What have been the historic demographic and employment characteristics of the area and has there been a shift in these characteristics leading to the rapid population growth? These questions are considered using the City of Warrnambool, the largest urban centre in South West Victoria, as a study vehicle. The impact of a growing population on the municipal landscape can be demanding in terms of land use planning, land supply and the urban design. This paper will review the population growth using a shift share analysis method compared against overall growth patterns in the Victorian state population and Australia overall. It will then examine government population forecasts for the City of Warrnambool and suggest those impacts upon the current City of Warrnambool landscape.

The experience of old age in West Sumatra, Indonesia: Culture shift and cultural consonance in the modern era

The past four decades have seen enormous social change in Indonesia as the nation continues to experience rapid urbanization and social pressures in the globalized economy that have led to tensions between traditional cultures and the modern mainstream around the nation. This cultural shift has been felt strongly in West Sumatra, a region of Indonesia inhabited almost entirely by members of the matrilineal Minangkabau ethnic group. While the traditional social values of the area remain strong, they are eroding, and the Minang are becoming more like other Indonesians in terms of their family structure, occupations, and lifestyle. This has had a significant impact on the experience of old age as social and culture change has affected the traditional matrilineal structures that supported and ensured care for the elderly in past generations. This paper will describe the ways in which traditional institutions accommodated older individuals and describe how these systems have changed in the present day. Case studies across generations will be presented to illustrate the ways in which traditional matrilineal social structures are, and have been, perceived in the context of aging. Further, the paper will describe what this means for the elderly and their families in terms of cultural consonance in today’s society, and discussion will focus on the changing experience of old age in a society in transition against a backdrop of rapid urbanization and modernization.

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of fluoride in the calcareous and siliceous sand sheet aquifers of south-west Victoria, Australia

This study assessed the sustainability of utilising groundwater systems to manage an aluminium smelters fluoridated trade wastewater stream. Replacing ocean discharge of the wastewater with land irrigation is one option. Using a groundwater model (developed using MODFLOW incorporating parameter estimation software (PEST-ASP)), we found that most of the groundwater flow takes place through surface sands. Fluoride is adsorbed in these sands during the drier summer months, but desorption is rapid when winter rain flushes the aquifer. Underlying clays and other layers prevent significant contamination of the deeper aquifer.

A plant macrofossil identification tool for south-west Victoria

The ‘Seeds of South-Western Victoria’ database is presented here. The database is a digital collection of seed information that can be searched based on a range of seed morphological characters. Additionally it provides colour photographs of seeds and ecological detail of the plant species. It aims to facilitate plant macrofossil studies in Australia by aiding the identification of unknown sub-fossil seed material. It contains descriptions of 156 commonly occurring species of the Victorian Volcanic Plain, but design allows for continual addition of species from this region and elsewhere. The application of the database system to plant macrofossil identification, from both surface and fossil samples allows, for the first time, comparability of fossil assemblages and modern vegetation at a resolution of relevance to ecologists and conservationists. The taxonomic refinement of the pollen data provided by the macrofossils adds to a better understanding of recent vegetation dynamics and management, demonstrating the applicability of the technique to palaeoenvironmental analyses. A current application is to better understand the past environments and activities of Indigenous people on the Mt Eccles lava flow and assist in landscape restoration for potential World Heritage listing.