SSEAC Stories

In the last of our five special podcasts about from the recent SSEAC field schools to Southeast Asia, we will be hearing from students and staff from the field school to Cambodia, which looked anti-microbial resistance (AMR). This field school was offered to students from medical sciences, pharmacy, arts, international relations, media and communications, science, public health, vet science, and social work. Leaders Justin Beardsley and Leanne Howie are joined by two University of Sydney students – Sam and Alannah.

The students consider many of the important aspects of their experience including: the value of transdisciplinary research, challenges, learnings, cultural differences and navigating these with sensitivity, and gaining insights into their own educational experience by moving outside their usual environment.

Dr Natali Pearson is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, a university-wide multidisciplinary center at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia.

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In the fourth of five special podcasts about from the recent SSEAC field schools to Southeast Asia, we will be hearing from students and staff from the field school to Timor Leste, which looked at disability and work. This field school was offered to students from health sciences, psychology, and social work. Leader Natali Pearson is joined by co-leader, Kim Bulkeley, and two University of Sydney students – Rosie and Alana.

The students consider many of the important aspects of their experience including: what it’s like to meet a head of state, the value of learning transdisciplinary research methods, managing cultural differences, and gaining insights into their own educational experience and culture by moving outside their usual environment.

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In the third of five special podcasts about from the recent SSEAC field schools to Southeast Asia, we will be hearing from students and staff from the field school to the Philippines, which looked at disaster risk and resilience. This field school was offered to students from Engineering, Architecture and Anthropology. Leader Aaron Opdyke is joined by co-leader, Emily Nabong, and two University of Sydney students – Oli and Sophia.

The students consider many of the important aspects of their experience including flexibility in research goals, managing change, the value of transdisciplinary research, cultural differences and navigating these with sensitivity, and gaining insights into their own educational experience by moving outside their usual environment.

Dr Natali Pearson is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, a university-wide multidisciplinary center at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia.

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In the second of five special podcasts about from the recent SSEAC field schools to Southeast Asia, we will be hearing from students and staff from the field school to Indonesia, which looked at social justice. This field school was offered to students from law, political economy, geography, gender and cultural studies, Indonesian studies, and Asian studies. Leader Sonja van Wichelen is joined by co-leader, Dadung Muktiono, and two University of Sydney students – Bella and Sam.

The students reflect on their learning, how to interact with the task at hand and research using methods from different disciplines, understanding the value of considering and applying the approach of students from faculties they don’t usually interact with, all while seeking to meet the needs of the local culture and situation.

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In the first of five special podcasts hearing from the recent SSEAC field schools to Southeast Asia, we will be talking with students and staff from the field school to Singapore, which was looking at the COVID Vaccination Rollout in Singapore. This field school was offered to students from Pharmacy, Geography, International Relations and Health and Medical Sciences. Natali Pearson is joined by co-leader, Hoi Kay, and two University of Sydney students – Celia and Jie-Rui.

The students consider many of the important aspects of their experience including: the value of transdisciplinary research, challenges, learnings, cultural differences and navigating these with sensitivity, and gaining insights into their own educational experience by moving outside their usual environment.

Dr Natali Pearson is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, a university-wide multidisciplinary center at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia.

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The International Labour Organization estimates that in Southeast Asia there are 30 million children engaged in paid work, 17 million in engaged in unpaid work and 50 million who don’t attend school. These figures can be a shock to people living in countries like Australia where childhood is typically a non-productive stage of life more readily associated with schooling and dependence on adults. What is the meaning of “childhood” in contexts of adversity where if you don’t work as a child, you and your family won’t survive? What does it mean where to attend school is to place your family in a precarious financial situation? To discuss these questions is Dr Maria Amigó, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney. Maria is a social anthropologist and has studied children and childhood in contexts of adversity for over 20 years.

Amigó is the author of Children Chasing Money: Children's Work in Rural Lombok, Indonesia (VDM, 2010).

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Inequality has always been key to understanding Indonesia’s development. But this is a multidimensional issue, and one that has manifested in vastly different ways in Indonesia over the years: from low and stable inequality, to the aspiration to inequality, to the relationship between inequality and collective violence. The way we understand inequality is contingent on what objects (of inequality) we are looking at, how it is conceptualised, and how it is measured.

Zulfan Tadjoeddin, Associate Professor in Development Studies at Western Sydney University (WSU) shares the thinking he has on these issues. Inequality has been central to Zulfan’s research on political economy of development, about which he has published two books.

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Demographic changes, rise in disposable income, and steady economic growth has led to a growing demand for healthcare services in Vietnam. But the public healthcare system struggles to meet the diverse healthcare needs of the Vietnamese population. Within this context, the private sector in Vietnam fills an important gap left by the public sector. Today’s guest is interested in why consumers choose private over public health services in Vietnam, and in particular, the social factors that influence these choices, including word of mouth referrals, the patient-doctor relationship, the behaviour of healthcare staff, and marketing.

To discuss these issues is Dr Mai Nguyen, a public health specialist with the Ministry of Health in Vietnam. Mai was a SSEAC Writing Fellow in 2022, and her article looked at how public and private healthcare providers interact with consumers to affect their choices.

Dr Natali Pearson is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, a university-wide multidisciplinary center at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia.

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There is a growing list of human rights abuses and acts of violence against those who have sought to promote political transparency and freedom in Laos. Laos has long been an authoritarian state with no tolerance for public criticism. Increasingly, however, it appears to be also becoming a criminal state, where corrupt elites have enmeshed themselves within the state apparatus for the purpose of accumulating wealth.

To discuss whether Laos is now a criminal state, Dr Kearrin Sims, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at James Cook University, joins Natali Pearson on SSEAC Stories. Dr Sims researches the politics of development and regional connectivity within Mainland Southeast Asia, with a focus on ethical and inclusive development. His recent work examines the intersections between extractive development, criminality, and human rights.

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In lower–income economies, a small change in people’s wellbeing may trigger a suite of behavioral responses, some of which may be unlawful as well as violent. Motives and modes of conflict vary. In regions with high agricultural dependence, conflict can be linked with harvest-time windfalls. Agriculture is a crucial sector for employment and income generation in South East Asia, where poverty is relatively high, and civil conflict and social unrest have been defining features of the region’s politics. Associate Professor of Economics David Ubilava discusses harvest time violence and why this is occurring in South East Asia.

Dr Natali Pearson is Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, a university-wide multidisciplinary center at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia.

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