Kurt W. Seemann BSc(Hons)(UNSW)DipEd(UNSW) Grad Cert (Competent Management) Deakin, ACM-Australian Institute of Management, PhD(UNSW) APPOINTMENTS: Director of Research (2009-2010) School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Southern Cross University Adjunct Associate Professor – Sustainable Settlements Research (2008+) Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP) URL: http://sustainability.curtin.edu.au/. National Core Project Manager (2006-2009) Desert Knowledge CRC - Sustainable Desert Settlements School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Southern Cross University. Project Leader (2003-2005) Desert Knowledge CRC - Aboriginal Remote Housing and Technology Education Lifecycle Research School of Education Southern Cross University. PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS 2010+ Appointed Thinker Online/Thinker On-Hand, to the Design and Technology Teacher's Association of Victoria. 2009+ Invited Member of the World Society for Ekistics (WSE). World membership limited to 400. AREA OF EXPERTISE: Dr Seemann's research investigates the relationship between People, Technology and the Environment as a complex adaptive system. The scale of his research has focussed at two levels: the human scale of holistic technology education and processes of innovation, and the larger societal scale of systems driving and defining the sustainability of human settlements. Dr Seemann's research has addressed, at the curriculum level, developmental processes from years K to 12 in design and technology education and at the policy level, the role of design and technology education in sustainable settlement development. He has led, and participated as education and training specialist, in several national research projects in the areas of cross-cultural technologies and technology transfer education, design and technology education curriculum for rural and remote development, and indigenous technacy education. Dr Seemann has worked as Research Scientist with the CSIRO in technology transfer specialising in applying socio-technical and sustainability research methodologies in education. He has published in several refereed journals, education conferences and research reports in both national and international settings. His current research focuses on: assessment and developmental indicators in design and technology education; behaviour management in design and technology educational settings; and the role of technacy education in accelerating literacy and numeracy skills particularly in cross-cultural settings.
Journal articles - Peer Reviewed
Community Conversations for Sustainability in the Desert: Leonora, Western Australia (with Dora Marinova and Silvia Lozeva), Journal of Economic and Social Policy (2010)
The concept of sustainability calls for a holistic perspective where the prospects for future generations...
Desert Settlements: Towards Understanding the Mutuality of Influence and Scale-free Network Concepts (with Dora Marinova), Journal of Economic and Social Policy (2010)
While most Australian human settlements are large, densely networked urban systems located on the east-south-eastern...
Introduction Desert Knowledge CRC Special Edition, Journal of Economic and Social Policy (2010)
Welcome to this Special Edition of the Journal of Economic and Social Policy (JESP). We...
Community Conversations for Sustainability in the Desert: Leonora, Western Australia. (with Dora Marinova and Silvia Lozeva), Journal of Economic and Social Policy (2010)
The concept of sustainability calls for a holistic perspective where the prospects for future generations...
The ‘viability’ and resilience of communities and settlements in desert Australia (with Mark Stafford-Smith and Mark Moran), The Rangeland Journal (2008)
There is a continuing policy debate about whether it is possible to have sustainable small...
Books and Monographs Peer Reviewed
Seeds of Sustainability: Growing your Desert Communities (with Bernard Guerin and Pauline Guerin) (2011)
One of the key lessons shown in our research is that: While some people think...
Housing for livelihoods: The lifecycle of housing and infrastructure through a whole-of-system approach in remote Aboriginal settlements (with Matthew Parnell, Stephen McFallan, and Selwyn Tucker) (2008)
This study set out to review work to date on sustainable investment in desert settlements,...
Remote controlled waste: research study of waste in remote aboriginal communities in Central Australia for the Northern Territory Dept. of Health and Community Services (with Bruce William Walker), School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Papers (1991)
The Aboriginal Technical Worker feasibility study (ATWORK): a national co-operative curriculum development project of the Australian Conference of TAFE Directors (with Bruce William Walker), School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Papers (1990)
The Aboriginal Technical Worker Feasibility Study (ATWORK): a national co-operative curriculum development project of the Australian Conference of TAFE Directors (draft) (with Bruce William Walker), School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Papers (1988)
Theses - Peer Reviewed
The socio-technical sustainability of shelter systems and hardware in remote indigenous Australian communities, PhD Thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (1997)
This study examines the sustainability of introduced shelter systems and hardware in remote indigenous Australian...
An argument for industrial arts in education: an alternative to the current manual arts model, BSc. Ind. Arts (Hons) thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (1986)
Appropriate technology in Iriri: a micro-hydroelectric project in the Solomon Islands, BSc. Ind. Arts thesis project, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (1986)
Conference Proceedings - Peer Reviewed
Weaving virtual service networks into regional cities: “nurture the body here, and offer the mind anywhere” – anecdotes from the Coffs Harbour community forums to minimise carbon usage and maximise regional innovation, Sustaining Our Future: Understanding and Living with Uncertainty, Proceedings: MODSIM2011, 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (2011)
Almost all cities around the world are looking for ways to ease the pressure upon...
The teaching of food technology in secondary schools (with Angela Turner), 43rd Annual Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Convention, Creating the Future of Food (2010)
This paper presents a summary of findings from a recent Australian study that investigated perceptions...
Clarifying sustainable food technology futures through technacy genre theory (with Angela Turner), Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Technological Learning and Thinking, ‘Moving to Think: Culture, Design, Sustainability, Human Ingenuity’ (2010)
In order for education systems to nurture a culture of innovation and sustainability in the...
Understanding connectivity of settlements: implications of the power curve (with Dora Marinova), 18th World IMACS Congress and MODSIM09 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (2009)
Research on human settlements has traditionally focussed on one or a few descriptive or functional...
The silent death of food technology rigor in school curriculum (with Angela Turner), Exploring technology education: solutions to issues in a globalised world: Proceedings of the 5th Biennial International Conference on Technology Education Research (2008)
There is a major concern in the world supply of food (Martin, 2007; World Health...