STAFF PROFILE
Associate Professor John Whyte
John is the Deputy Dean of the Policy Practice and Social Innovation discipline in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies as well as the Deputy Dean of the University's Indigenous Studies Unit.
John has worked, researched and taught in the area of human services engagement for more than 15 years, internationally. In his work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian and Native American communities, his research has explored not only the implications of cross-worldview social service practice, but it has also examined reconceptualised notions of identity, communications, and interactions arising from developments in physics, consciousness, and complexity dynamics across Western and Indigenous paradigms.
These understandings have served as a base for his further development of chaos and complexity approaches in practice contexts, including how when combined with critical theory concepts and design principles they can inform social innovation initiatives.
Research interests:
- Chaos and complexity theory applications in social science contexts
- Cross-cultural and cross-worldview social services considerations
- Implications of quantum-level developments in consciousness and communications
- Design for social innovation applications
Research supervision areas:
- Social theorising
- Complexity dynamics
- Indigenous identity
- International sex trafficking
John Douglass Whyte is the Deputy Dean, Policy Practice and Social Innovation in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies; as well as the Deputy Dean of the University’s Indigenous Studies Unit. He has taught more than 18 different courses, across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, at five different universities, internationally.
John Douglass Whyte is the Deputy Dean, Policy Practice and Social Innovation in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies; as well as the Deputy Dean of the University’s Indigenous Studies Unit. He has taught more than 18 different courses, across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, at five different universities, internationally.
- Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning, RMIT University
- Doctor of Philosophy, School of Social Work & Centre for Health and Society, The University of Melbourne
- Doctor of Philosophy (ABD), College of Social Science, Michigan State University
- Master of Social Work, Michigan State University
- Bachelor of Social Work, Ferris State University
- Video & Voiceover Production Program, Del Mar Media Arts
John has over 25 years of industry practice and research engagement in the areas of community development and program evaluation—including experience as program manager on a number of urban low income housing and rural community development projects—as well as more than 15 years of experience with Indigenous Australian and Native American communities and agencies.
- Whyte, J.,Anderson, I. (2016). Populations at Special Health Risk: Indigenous Populations In: International Encyclopedia of Public Health, Elsevier Science and Technology Books, United States
- Jones, M.,Whyte, J.,Coote, M. (2015). Development and refinement of a wellbeing measurement tool in the community services sector In: Windermere Melbourne, Australia
- Whyte, J.,McDonald, C. (2014). The last frontier? Indigenous Australians and social justice In: The Routledge International Handbook of Social Justice, Routledge, Abingdon, United Kingdom
- Chaffey, E.,Whyte, J. (2014). Dynamics and dimensions: Ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief of partners following a miscarriage, stillbirth or TOPFA In: Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement, 17, 52 - 57
- Whyte, J.,Barrow, E. (2012). Us, not us: religious meaning, existential othering and dimensions of concordance and contention In: The International Journal of the Humanities, 9, 113 - 126
- Harms, L.,Middleton, J.,Whyte, J.,Anderson, I.,Clarke, A.,Sloan, J.,Hagel, M.,Smith, M. (2011). Social work with Aboriginal clients: Perspectives on educational preparation and practice In: Australian Social Work, 64, 156 - 168
- Whipple, E.,Whyte, J. (2010). Evaluation of a healthy families America (HFA) Program: A deeper understanding In: British Journal of social work, Advance, 1 - 19
- Whyte, J.,Krakouer, J. (2009). Researching social work with Indigenous people in Australia: Across worldviews, across time, across the table In: Critical Edge Issues in Social Work and Social Policy : Comparative Research Perspectives, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana
- Whyte, J.,Clarke, A. (2009). You can't talk about this with social workers In: Indigenous Issues in Australian Universities: Research, Teaching, Support, Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin
- Whyte, J.,Harms, L. (2009). Cross-cultural spiritualities: Implications for teaching, learning and practice In: Indigenous Issues in Australian Universities: Research, Teaching, Support, Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin
5 PhD Completions and 1 Masters by Research Completions