Engaging with Asia : the Chifley government and the New Delhi conferences of 1947 and 1949

This article is a study of the Chifley government's foreign policy towards Asia, in particular India and Indonesia, as evidenced by Australia's attendance at the 1947 Asian Relations Conference and the 1949 New Delhi Conference on the Indonesian-Dutch conflict. Australia's presence at these two conferences provides an ideal opportunity to examine the Chifley government's response to the momentous changes that occurred in post-war Asia as a result of the dismantling of the European colonial world order. Through detailed examination of the archival material and contemporary accounts generated from Australia's involvement in the New Delhi conferences, this article will argue that despite significant political constraints, the Chifley government did adopt a distinctive and innovative policy towards the emergent nations of Asia in the immediate post-war years.

The traditional decision-making process of Berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra : its nature and significance

Berkaul is a traditional practice associated with the rice cultivation cycle in West Sumatra, Indonesia, intended to seek consensus within the local community about agricultural practices and management of water for irrigation. Berkaul is deeply rooted in the adat and worldview of the region but is much less commonly practiced today than in the past and has disappeared in many parts of the region. This article describes the process of berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra, places it within the context of Minangkabau adat and tradition, and considers its value in fostering participation, empowerment, and social inclusion in the context of rural development.

The importance of extinguishing secondhand smoke

Government policies have enormous influence on the health of nations. Arguably, this is illustrated most vividly with tobacco control. However, smoking continues to be a global problem and the major cause of preventable death. The countries with the highest per-capita smoking prevalence rates include (alphabetically) Bangladesh (20.9% of adults), Brazil (16.2% of adults), China (31.4% of adults), Germany (27.2% of adults), India (32.7% of men, 1.4% of women), Indonesia (34.5% of adults), Japan (43.3% of men and 12% of women), the Russian Federation (60.4% of men, 15.5% of women), Turkey (34.6%), and the United States(23.2%).1 Prevalence rates among younger people vary, but in the United States, 18.4% of youths still smoke.

Two steps forward, one step back : Indonesia’s arduous path to reform

Australians have long worried about whether Indonesia is ‘special’ or ‘normal’. Instead, we need to deal with Indonesia as it really is—a country experiencing simultaneously the challenges of political reform, economic development and a shifting regional security environment. The country’s political future is less certain than we would hope: after SBY’s term of government ends, the choice of a successor will be critical in determining the future of reform. We can’t rule out that Indonesia might slide back to old ways of doing business—democratisation is a fraught process.
As the Indonesian economy grows, so too do the prospects for Indonesia to establish its natural position as the leader of Southeast Asia. As the world is re-examining Indonesia, so too Indonesia is looking afresh at the world—more interested in external issues than it was a decade ago. The Southeast Asian subregion increasingly finds itself at the centre of a more strongly interconnected Indo-Pacific region—so Indonesia’s strategic importance is going up.
It’s important for Australia to build a better strategic relationship with Indonesia. The two are complementary partners. Australia should be proactive in exploring new opportunities for cooperation with a reform minded Indonesia—it’s in our interests to draw Indonesia into a more important strategic role in regional security.
Professor Damien Kingsbury, the author of this Strategy, is the Director, Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne.

Misconceptions about density of decimals : insights from Indonesian pre-service teachers’ work

Extensive studies have documented various difficulties with, and misconceptions about, decimal numeration across different levels of education. This paper reports on pre-service teachers’ misconceptions about the density of decimals. Written test data from 140 Indonesian pre-service teachers, observation of group and classroom discussions provided evidence of pre-service teachers’ difficulties in grasping the density notion of decimals. This research was situated in a teacher education university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Incorrect analogies resulting from over generalization of knowledge about whole numbers and fractions were identified. Teaching ideas to resolve these difficulties and challenges in resolving pre-service teachers’ misconceptions are discussed. Evidence from this research indicates that it is possible to remove misconceptions about density of decimals.

Plant variety protection and traditional agricultural knowledge in Southeast Asia

This article provides an overview of the emerging plant variety protection (PVP) systems in Southeast Asia. The case studies are from countries that form part of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), mainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The focus will be on the intersection between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and popular demands for the protection of the traditional knowledge (TK) of local communities. Factors that fuelled the emergence and shaped the content of the PVP laws were the obligation to comply with art 27(3)(b) of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), aspirations for the development of the biotechnology industry, avoidance of possible sanction under the US ‘Special 301’ procedure, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the role played by the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV), technical assistance from UPOV member countries, membership of international biodiversity treaties and demands from civil society organisations for protection of TK. The PVP laws that resulted present an uneasy amalgam of conventional property rights with some aspects of protection of TK. It is very likely that the local communities claiming TK rights will face legal hurdles, in as much as government agencies implementing the law will face administrative and technical complications.

Twitter tsunami early warning network : a social network analysis of Twitter information flows

In the aftermath of earthquakes, tsunamis, such as the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, caused enormous damage around the world. With the extreme disaster events of the past, nations improved disaster preparedness and response through sensors and tsunami early warning systems. Even with system usage, however, governments still need to warn the targeted citizens – who may be anywhere within the vulnerable areas – of predicted tsunami and ordered mass evacuations within a very limited lead time. While social media research is on the rise outside the domain of social networking, very little is written about Twitter use for tsunami early warning. In this research, therefore, we examined the utility of Twitter as a tsunami early warning network, which engages citizens and disaster management agencies in diffusing disaster information. We conducted a social network analysis of Twitter information flows among the central disaster warning agency’s Twitter followers during the 2012 Indonesia Earthquake.

Exemplifying a model-eliciting task for primary school pupils

Mathematical modelling is a field that is gaining prominence recently in mathematics educaiton research and has generated interests in schools as well.  In Singapore, modelling and applications are included as process componens in revised 2007 curriculum document (MOE, 2007) as keeping to reform efforst. In Indonesia, efforts to place stronger emphasis on connecting school mathematics with real-world contexts and applications have started in Indonesian primary schools with the Pendidikan Matematika Realistik Indonesia (PMRI) movement a decade ago (Sembiring, Hoogland, Dolk, 2010). Amidst others, modeling activities are gradually introduced in Singapore and Indonesian schools to demonstrte the relevance of school mathematics with real-world problems. However, on order for it to find a place in the mathematics classroom, ther eis a need for teacher-practitioners to know what mathematical modelling and what a modelling task is. This paper sets out to exemplify a model-eliciting task that has been designed and used in both a Singapore and Indonesian mathematics classroom. Mathematical modelling, the features of a model-eliciting task, and its potential and advice on implementation are discussed. 

Religion and post-disaster development

This chapter discusses the role religion and religious organizations can play in development following a natural disaster. The development efforts in Aceh, Indonesia, following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 provide examples of how the nature of Acehnese society, its views on religion, the role of religious organizations in the region, and the activities of aid agencies at the time all contributed the the post-disaster experience in this society.The chapter also considers what the role of faith in such situations might mean for future development efforts, especially in the context of natural disaster.

Post-disaster coping in Aceh : sociocultural factors and emotional response

This chapter describes how disaster survivors in the Indonesian province of Aceh responded to the unprecedented level of international aid following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. It is based on research conducted by Ismet fanany, as part of an Outside Studies program supported by Deakin University, and centers on the conceptualization of disasterr of the survivors, the role religion and traditional culture played in their ability to cope, and their emotional state in relation to their perception of the cause of the event.

The politics of Timor-Leste : democratic consolidation after intervention

The Politics of Timor-Leste explores the critical issues facing the Asia-Pacific's youngest nation as it seeks to consolidate a democracy following years of international intervention. The authors study the challenges that have burdened the state since it broke from Indonesia amid the violence of 1999 and formally achieved full independence in 2002. They assess the notable accomplishments of Timor-Leste’s leaders and citizens, and consider the country’s future prospects as international organizations prepare to depart. A close study of Timor-Leste sheds light on ambitious state-building projects that have been initiated, with varying success, across the globe.

Contributors to this volume map the nation’s recent political evolution through studies of its constitutional debates, political parties, and foreign policy responses to powerful neighbors. They address the social and economic conditions that complicate Timor-Leste’s political development, such as gender discrimination, poverty, corruption, and security-sector volatility. The contemporary history of Timor-Leste reflects the experiences of many postcolonial and developing countries that have sought to establish a viable state following conflict and a declaration of independence. This small nation has been the subject of five consecutive UN missions with varying mandates. The Politics of Timor-Leste ought to serve as a key source for comparative postcolonial studies and a guide to future trends in international state-building and assistance.

A study of building materials to create an identity of traditional Balinese architecture for urban housing

The use or local architecture characteristics is regulated by the spatial planning and building code of Indonesia. Balinese tmditional architecture has existed, coloured the traditional architecture of Indonesia and can be used as Bali's identity that is different from other regions in Indonesia.On the other hand, the cost of such building is high and most of people in urban areas are unable to afford to build in the traditional architecture style, especially in the residential housing sector .. Some of the major components that determine the price of housing units are the price of land, building materials, labour and technology. In developing countries, the first and second components that affect the unit price of the building are building materials representing about 70% and skilled labour respectively (Ural, 1980). Based on this, a good strategy to adopt in order to minimize the price is to manipulate these two components.Based on a literature review and observation, this study will explain which aspects of building material technology can reduce the building cost and how it can maintain the identity of local architecture.The results of the study indicate that the building material can be created to both reduce cost and adopt traditional architecture style as an identity. The materials have some shapes that can be joined easily to facilitate the skill of the worker and yet still be able to adopt the forms of traditional Balinese architecture.