Dr Sara Niner
Web: http://saraniner.blogspot.com/
Projects, Placements and Positions
Awards and Presentations
Publications
- Tel: +61 3 9903 2108
- Tel: +61 4 1735 7298 (mobile)
- Fax: +61 3 9905 2410
- Email: Sara.Niner@arts.monash.edu.au
- Building H (Room H5.43) Caulfield Campus
Projects, Placements and Positions
- 2009 Aug-Current Swinburne University—Research Consultant:—‘International Commencing Student Study’: qualitative research into commencing international student perspectives on their academic progress in the Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies.
- 2009 May-Current Monash University—Honorary Research Associate
- 2009 May-Aug SAIC (Science Application International Corporation)—Research Consultant: ‘Gender and Society in Timor Leste’
- 2007 Apr—2009 May Monash University—Post-doctoral Fellowship (part-time), School of Political and Social Inquiry, Arts Faculty. Research Project: ‘Strong Cloth in Timor-Leste: Women’s Craft and Development’.
- 2008 April—Dec RDTL (Timor-Leste Government) Ministry of Finance, Dili—Writing Consultant: Capacity Building Project managed by Sinclair, Knight, Mertz funded by AusAid
- 2007 Feb-Nov Deakin University, Melbourne—Lecturer, Masters of International Development, (part-time), School of International Politics, Arts Faculty. (Gender and Development; Participatory Approaches to Development)
- 2006-2007 Australian International Health Institute, University of Melbourne—Development Consultant: finalise AusAID project design, implementation schedule and budget for national 'Health Seeking Behaviour Study' as requested by Ministry of Health, Timor Leste.
- 2006-April—Oct University of Melbourne, School of Population Health—Research Consultant: designing and facilitating focus groups on research priorities in suicide prevention (funded by Department of Health and Aging).
- 2006 Feb—Aug Swinburne University—Research Assistant: ‘Women in Information Technology (WIT) Project’. Quantitative research into gender performance in non-traditional academic programs.
- 2004—2006 Maternity Leave
- 2001—2004 Alola Foundation, East Timor & Australia—Board of Directors (2003-2004). As well as serving on the Board overseeing the development of the major program areas I was also responsible for advising on the economic empowerment focused Handcrafts Industry Project. This project requires working alongside East Timorese staff to develop the programs including writing program proposals to donors, planning and co-ordination, developing strategy and reporting and acquittal. While in Australia I curated several exhibitions of Timorese women’s craft and gave many public presentations on the subject. I also was variously responsible for writing, editing and production of Alola Foundation website, promotional brochure and newsletter
- 2003 Sept—Oct. RDTL (Timor-Leste Government) Ministry of Finance, Dili—Key Messages Writer, Poverty Assessment Project (funded by UNDP): Design and formulation of series of public information workshops, including assembling material and planning campaign with East Timorese team of advocates. I distilled the core meanings or key messages from a complex series of documents including national surveys conducted by various international, bilateral, national and local organizations, along with the National Development Plan.
- 2001 Jun—2003 Aug Latrobe University: full-time study
- 2000 Sept—2001 May United Nations Development Program, East Timor—Administrative Advisor in Xanana Gusmao's Presidential Office of CNRT (National Council of Timorese Resistance, the peak national Timorese political organisation 1998-2002). This position was funded by UNDP to assist the development of capacity of the Timorese leadership. I advised on administrative development including document preparation, procedures, visitor and media liaison.
- 2000 May—June Australian Volunteers International, East Timor—Conference Organiser: 'National Development Planning Conference'. Working for East Timor Development Agency in collaboration with peak national political body CNRT to support and assist the East Timorese conference team. Assisting with the funding applications to a variety of international and bi-lateral agencies. Significant duties were: conference program planning and document preparation and production of final report.
- 1999 Jan-May Conference Organiser, ‘Strategic Development Planning for East Timor’, April 1999, in conjunction with the National Council of Timorese Resistance and Victoria University of Technology.
Awards and Presentations
- 2009 July. Presentation • ‘The Contested Place of Women in Post-conflict Timor-Leste’ • Timor-Leste Studies Association Conference, University of Timor-Leste, Dili
- 2009 April. Presentation • ‘The Contested Place of Women in the Contemporary Post-conflict Setting of Timor-Leste’ • Anthropology Lecture Series, Monash University
- 2009 March. Presentation • ‘Handcrafts and Development in Timor-Leste: Looking to the Future’, Women for Peace International Conference, Timor-Leste
- 2008 October. Guest Lecture • ‘Introduction to Gender and Development’ for International Development in a Globalising World, Monash University
- 2008 September. Presentation • ‘The Contested Place of Women in Contemporary Society in Timor-Leste’ • Security, Nation-Building and Development in Timor-Leste Conference, Flinders University
- 2008 September. Presentation • ‘Change for the better? Handcraft Development in Timor-Leste’ • Monash University Centre for South East Asian Studies
- 2008 September. Convener and Presenter • Timor-Leste Textiles Exhibition & Forum: Meaning, Makers and Markets • Monash University & City of Port Phillip
- 2008 February. Presentation • Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste Conference, Charles Darwin University, 'Timor-Leste Women's Handcrafts and Development'
- 2007 June. Presentation • 14th Annual Conference on SE Asian Women, Monash University, 'Strong Cloth in Timor-Leste: Handcrafts, Gender and Development'
- 2007 April. Presentation to 2007 Parliamentary Election Observers Mission (AETA): 'The New CNRT'
- 2007 April. Awarded Arts Faculty Post-doctoral Fellowship, Monash University.
- 2006 September. Presentation "Exploring the Tensions of Nation Building in Timor-Leste Forum", University of Melbourne
- 2006 June. Presentation 'Gender and Security in the Asia Pacific' • Wollongong Uni
- 2006 January. Presentation Asia Pacific Week • Australian National University
- 2005 June. Presentation East Timor Academic Symposium • Victoria University
- 2003 March. Presentation 'Timor Handcrafts' Craft Victoria Forum
- 2002 October. Presentation to Textile School Lecture Series • RMIT
- 2002 March. International Woman's Day Address • Australian Volunteers International
- 2002 2006. Appointment to the Board of Directors of the Alola Foundation
- 2002 February. Australian Volunteers International •Volunteer Service Certificate
- 2001 May. Dept. of Foreign Affairs • Service Certificate for Volunteers to East Timor
- 2000 April. Latrobe University—Politics Dept • Top Ranked Scholarship Award
- 2000 August. Appearance with To Resist is to Win at the Edinburgh Book Festival, UK
- 2000 June. To Resist is to Win Book Launch with Xanana Gusmão, Dili, East Timor
- 2000 May. To Resist is to Win Book Launch with Xanana Gusmão • Melbourne
- 2000 March. To Resist is to Win Literary Launch • Adelaide Festival Book Week
Publications
Books
- Xanana: Leader of the Struggle for Independent Timor-Leste, Australian Scholarly Publishing 2009 http://www.scholarly.info/new.htm#xanana
- To Resist is to Win: the Autobiography of Xanana Gusmão with selected letters and speeches, Ed. Sarah Niner, Aurora Books, Melbourne, 2000 http://www.davidlovellpublishing.com/title.php?isbn=1863550712
Book Chapters and Refereed Articles
- Lang, Catherine; Meyer, Denny; Niner, Sarah et al (2009) ‘The Impact of Gender and Pedagogical Factors on Female Pass Rates’, Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 25, Article 28. http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol25/iss1/28
- Sara Niner, Jane Pirkis, Karolina Krysinska, Jo Robinson et al, ‘Research priorities in suicide prevention: A qualitative study of stakeholders’ views’, Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, Volume 8, Issue 1, 2009
- Sara Niner, ‘Women’s handcrafts production in East Timor: change for the better?’', Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste: Reconciling the Local and the National, edited by David Mearns, Charles Darwin University Press, Nov 2008, pp. 240-249
- Jo Robinson, Jane Pirkis, Karolina Krysinska, Sara Niner et al, ‘Research Priorities in Suicide Prevention in Australia’ Crisis: the Journal of Crisis prevention and Suicide Prevention Volume 29, No. 4, 2008
- Sara Niner, 'Martyrs, Heroes and Warriors: The Leadership of Timor-Leste', D Kingsbury and M Leach (eds) East Timor after Independence, Monash Asia Institute Press, April 2007
- Sara Niner, 'President Xanana Gusmão: A transforming leadership', P Thomas and H Hill (eds), Development Bulletin No. 68: Cooperating with Timor-Leste, ANU, Canberra, p. 39-41, October 2005 http://devnet.anu.edu.au/db%2068-pdfs/08%20Niner%2068.pdf
- Sara Niner, 'A Long Journey of Resistance: The Origins and Struggle of CNRT', Ed., Tanter, Selden and Shalom, Bitter Flowers, Sweet Flowers: East Timor, Indonesia and the World Community, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, USA, 2001
- Sara Niner, 'A Long Journey of Resistance: The Origins of the National Council of Timorese Resistance', The Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol 31, no. 4, Cornell University, USA, 2000
Articles
- Sara Niner, 'Reinado a product of Timorese trauma', Eureka Street.com.au, Vol 18, No 4, 22 February 2008, http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=5664
- Sara Niner, 'Major Alfredo Alves Reinado: Cycles of Torture, Pain and Violence in East Timor', Z-Net, 22 February 2008, http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/16583
- Sara Niner, "The Revitalisation of Customary Practices in Timor-Leste", Proceedings of Exploring the Tensions of Nation Building in Timor-Leste Forum, SAGES Working Papers, University of Melbourne, May 2007, http://www.social-environmental.unimelb.edu.au/research/researchpapers/SSEEResearchPaper1-EastTimor.pdf
- 'Guerrilla to President: Xanana Gusmão', Eureka Street, Melbourne, May 2004 http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=835
- 'Strong Cloth: The Textiles of East Timor', Craft Culture, Melbourne, September 2003
- 'Maun Bo't: Profile of a President', Meanjin, Melbourne, September 2002
- "Report and Update: East Timorese Textiles (Tais) Exhibition & Weaving Women's Stories", Craft Victoria Website: Melbourne, September 2001