Melbourne Polytechnic Research Repository

Welcome to the Melbourne Polytechnic Research Repository.

The Research Repository is administered by the Melbourne Polytechnic Library.

It aims to collect, preserve and make freely available the applied research and scholarship of the staff and students of Melbourne Polytechnic. It is an open access digital collection.

Find out more in our Research Repository Guide.

 

Recent Submissions

Item
Traces of Incipient Aboriginal Urbanism in South-Eastern Australia: Paper presented at 15th Australasian Urban History / Planning History Conference, Launceston, 5-7 February 2020
(Not published, 2020-02-06) Hogg, Peter T. M.
Conference paper: Traces of Incipient Aboriginal Urbanism in South-Eastern Australia (2020). Paper presented at Edge Conditions: Invented Peripheries, Hidden Centres, 15th Australasian Urban History / Planning History Conference, University of Tasmania, Launceston, 6 February 2020
Item
Permanence, Transience and Transformation in Traditional Aboriginal Dwellings in Southeastern Australia
(Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 2023-12-01) Hogg, Peter T. M.
This paper discusses the historical and archaeological evidence of permanent First Nations dwellings and shelters and settlements in South East Australia, as well as the evidence for the use of temporary and transient shelters. It makes the case that western notions of permanence need to be reconsidered in the context of the Indigenous building tradition. It argues that permanent settlements and habitations were mostly found in specific areas and may not have been used by all First Nations people in the study area. Where permanent dwellings did exist in pre-colonial times, they were largely abandoned in favour of more temporary shelters as colonists and pastoralists appropriated the most favorable locations and drove First Nation people from Country.
Item
A Culture of Remembrance
(Arena Quarterly, 2023-09-14) Pohl, Andreas
"Culture of Remembrance ?" explores whether the approach taken by Germany to remember the crimes of National Socialist rule might be applicable to honouring the memory of colonial and post-colonial injustices against First Nations people. The text is informed by the author's personal knowledge of Germany’s culture of remembrance and his experiences of the public discourse on indigenous history as a migrant to Australia. It also explicitly refers to the work of Jewish-American philosopher Susan Neiman who in her book "Learning from the Germans: Confronting Race and the Memory of Evil" examines similar issues in the context of the American legacy of slavery and the Civil War. The essay argues that a genuine culture of remembrance would primarily be an act of self-reflection by non-indigenous Australians which puts the onus on the descendants of the perpetrators and places the descendants of the victims into the role of arbiter, advising on whether what is proposed is right or appropriate. Woven into both the political and everyday culture it would be a symbolic acknowledgement of the attempted genocide of First Nations people through what Neiman calls ‘rites of repentance’. The essay concludes that if the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a generous invitation by First Nations people to build a better future together through the Voice, Treaty and Truth-Telling, a meaningful culture of remembrance could well be the reciprocal offer by white Australia to acknowledge and confront Australia's genocidal past.
Item
Wisdom and strategies that support engagement for students
(Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council [VALBEC], Fine Print, 2022) Matovinovic Rosanna
Personal reflection on the wisdom and strategies that support engagement for students. What works for your students and how do you know it is effective?
Item
Supporting Teacher Wellbeing in the Classroom
(The Australasian Vocational Education and Training Research Association [AVETRA], Research Today, 2021-10) Cook Karen, Matovinovic Rosanna, Wahr Fiona
Student mental health issues have a significant impact on learning and engagement. Teachers respond to and manage a wide range of student attitudes, behaviours and issues in the classroom. The complexity of these needs often impact the classroom environment as a whole, and on teachers working in these diverse learning contexts, despite teachers' experience, training and professional commitment. The research sought to investigate an approach to support teacher wellbeing within this context.