Towards a more regional federalism: rural and urban attitudes to institutions, governance and reform in Australia

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Greek identity in Australia

The Greek diaspora community is well-established in Australia. While arrivals from Greece began in the nineteenth century and continued through the twentieth, peak migration occurred in the years following World War II and the Greek Civil War. Today people of Greek background are highly integrated into the mainstream of Australian society and culture. Nonetheless, the characteristics that are most closely associated with cultural identity, specifically the Greek language, membership in the Greek Orthodox Church, and a Greek lifestyle, are still prominent among members and tend to be viewed as extremely important, even by younger individuals. Older members of the community experienced considerable racism and exclusion, but this has now faded, and younger people tend to see themselves as possessing a dual identity as Greek and also fully Australian. As the Australian-born generations come to dominate the Greek community, an increasing shift from Greek to English has been observed, with many younger people lacking the fluency their parents (the transitional generation) usually possess. This, along with an attitude of pride and acceptance of their cultural heritage, is helping to create a new Greek identity that derives not just from individuals’ own experiences in Australia but also from travel to Greece and interaction on the Internet with members of other diaspora communities elsewhere in the world as well as with people in Greece. The result is a conceptualization of Greek identity that is both more transnational in nature but also more characteristically Australian, reflecting the established nature of people of Greek background within the English-speaking Australian mainstream

Capitalizing on community music: a case study of the manifestation of social capital in a community choir

There is an extensive literature on social capital and its generation and use in communities, but less is known about the ways in which social capital is manifested in community music settings. The literature suggests that social capital is evidenced through a range of `indicators', including trust, community and civic involvement, and networks. This article reports the findings of a research project that examined the manifestation of social capital in a community choir in regional Tasmania. The study employed multiple data-generation methods including survey, field notes, and artefact-elicited, semi-structured interviews in a qualitative interpretive case study design. An analysis of narrative approach was used to interrogate data generated with the 27 members (the Tutti) of the `Milton' Community Choir, and to identify those social capital indicators present. Through analyses of these data, findings suggest that the social capital indicators identified in the literature, specifically those of shared norms and values, trust, civic and community involvement, networks, knowledge resources, and contact with families and friends are present in the community choir. Further, a previously unemphasized social capital indicator, that of fellowship, is identified as a key component in fostering group cohesion and social capital development in the community choir