http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1319 Search the Channel search http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1518 Title: History, memory and music: The repatriation of digital audio to Yolngu communities, or, memory as metadata<br/><br/>Authors: Toner, Peter<br/><br/>Abstract: This paper will examine a range of issues surrounding the documentation, digitization, and repatriation of archival field recordings of Yolngu music as an integral part of a project on the history of Arnhem Land music research. This research project, 'Yolngu Music: Anthropological and Indigenous Perspectives', aims to examine the history of Yolngu music research through two inter-linked perspectives: the intellectual history of Australian anthropology and ethnomusicology in their specific engagement with Yolngu music; and Yolngu oral history and memory concerning the singers who were recorded, perspectives on musical change, and prospects for the contemporary use of digitized archival field recordings produced since the 1920s.An important feature of the latter aim of the project was the decision to repatriate archival collections of field recordings back to the Yolngu communities in which they were made. Although this decision was ethically based, the more specific decision to repatriate digitized collections was grounded in practical concerns: the virtual impossibility of such a large volume of recordings to be made available by AIATSIS archival staff due to existing time and resource pressures; the need to provide multiple copies of any given recording for different individuals or communities; and the need for a process of repatriation that is sustainable over the long term. The use of digitized materials has had a significant impact on methodology (both in the archive and in the field), on documentation, and on the various ways in which these recordings can find a new life upon their return to Yolngu communities.This paper will examine a range of issues revolving around the digitization, documentation, and repatriation of archival recordings of Yolngu music to their traditional owners, and will consider the ongoing engagement with Aboriginal communities that is required for such work beyond the life of any particular research project. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1517 Title: Representing information about words digitally<br/><br/>Authors: Simpson, Jane<br/><br/>Abstract: The late 1960s saw the start of the "electronic-dictionary age" (de Schryver, 2003). The growth in the use of computers has transformed all aspects of dictionary-making, from collecting data about word meanings and uses, creating a set of dictionary entries, and displaying, using, preserving and distributing these entries and the data on which they are based. This paper discusses the transformations, and considers the ways in which dictionaries for minority languages are leading or lagging in the electronic-dictionary age. Illustrations are taken mostly from the uses of digital sound in modern multimedia dictionaries. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1514 Title: Introduction: The need for a Pacific languages archive<br/><br/>Authors: Pawley, Andrew<br/><br/>Abstract: Why do we need an archive of sound recordings of the languages (and music, oral literature, etc.) of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands? The short answer is simple: To preserve for posterity as rich as possible a record of the languages and cultures which existed in this region at the times such recordings were first made, in the mid-20th century and which, to a large extent still exist. The Pacific Islands contain some 1300 languages, almost a quarter of the worlds total, and perhaps as many different societies with their own distinctive oral and musical traditions. The forces of modernisation are inexorably transforming traditional ways of life and many languages, oral literatures and other kinds of traditional knowledge are being lost or diminished. The paper will consider a number of more specific questions, such as: Who are the intended users of the archive? What sorts and quantities of materials already exist, needing to be archived? And how is the existence of such an archive likely to shape or influence the research agenda and methods of fieldworkers in the future? Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1513 Title: The politics of context: issues for law, researchers and the creation of databases<br/><br/>Authors: Anderson, Jane; Koch, Grace<br/><br/>Abstract: Field recordings pose many dilemmas for intellectual property law, researchers, and the creation of databases containing Indigenous knowledge. Challenges arise because these field recordings in tangible form undergo constant change through processes such as digitisation and through differing types of demand for copies. The changing form means that the law is challenged to accommodate the various rights and interests that change with the material; and, researchers must be accountable for interpreting and clarifying the original context of the recordings. Given these difficulties, database designers and users face extremely complex problems in organising and representing Indigenous cultural material. The paper is divided into three sections. The first considers the challenges for the law in accounting for 'originality' along with the dilemma of fixing ownership and private rights in the recording. This leads to the second section of the paper examining how the changing context of the recordings in relation to the law and to the needs of archives affects the researcher. The final section touches briefly on digitisation and copyright, and then raises some pertinent concerns for creating databases of Indigenous knowledge. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT