Sustainable farming in Australia: Market instruments for improved land management. Sustainable farming has become a national priority. As climate change and global economic pressures increase the problems facing rural areas, Australian governments have attempted to combine more sustainable land management with a competitive agricultural sector. Several policy instruments using market incentives have been proposed to manage the competing demands of farm viability and environmental sustainability. ....Sustainable farming in Australia: Market instruments for improved land management. Sustainable farming has become a national priority. As climate change and global economic pressures increase the problems facing rural areas, Australian governments have attempted to combine more sustainable land management with a competitive agricultural sector. Several policy instruments using market incentives have been proposed to manage the competing demands of farm viability and environmental sustainability. This project will examine the responses of beef, dairy and grain farmers to these initiatives and their potential for addressing pressing environmental issues. The research will make a vital contribution to the design of policies for the future of farming, resilient rural communities and an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Rural Australia: Addressing violence in rural settings. The project will produce outcomes that address the national priority of safeguarding Australia and are of benefit to srengthtening the social fabric of rural communities experiencing high rates of violence. Little is known about why men in rural communities have higher rates of preventable injury, morbidity and mortality associated with violence compared to men from urban areas. Even less is known about the differences between ....Safeguarding Rural Australia: Addressing violence in rural settings. The project will produce outcomes that address the national priority of safeguarding Australia and are of benefit to srengthtening the social fabric of rural communities experiencing high rates of violence. Little is known about why men in rural communities have higher rates of preventable injury, morbidity and mortality associated with violence compared to men from urban areas. Even less is known about the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous men. The project will shed new light on these problems and develop new models for the prevention and control of violence in rural settings of benefit to a wide range of end users in government and community agencies.Read moreRead less
Local government, mining companies and resources development in regional Australia: meeting the governance challenge. Sustainable regional development and continuing growth of the resources sector are key national priorities. The current resources boom is placing significant pressure on the physical, social and governance infrastructure of mining-intensive regions. Unless these issues can be better managed, new resource projects risk being delayed or deferred and the trend to fly-in fly-out oper ....Local government, mining companies and resources development in regional Australia: meeting the governance challenge. Sustainable regional development and continuing growth of the resources sector are key national priorities. The current resources boom is placing significant pressure on the physical, social and governance infrastructure of mining-intensive regions. Unless these issues can be better managed, new resource projects risk being delayed or deferred and the trend to fly-in fly-out operations will be accelerated, with deleterious consequences for sustainable regional growth. This project will contribute to a more effective response to these challenges by investigating the changing nature of local level governance in mining intensive regions and how these arrangements can be improved.Read moreRead less
Negotiating the Lifecourse: Changing and Maintaining Household and Labour Market Links. This study builds upon and extends a unique longitudinal Australian project concerned with the way in which men and women negotiate employment and domestic responsibilities over the lifecourse. We are seeking funds to collect a third wave of data from our sample and to extend the project in three key areas concerning the domestic division of labour, women's employment and marital stability, and family formati ....Negotiating the Lifecourse: Changing and Maintaining Household and Labour Market Links. This study builds upon and extends a unique longitudinal Australian project concerned with the way in which men and women negotiate employment and domestic responsibilities over the lifecourse. We are seeking funds to collect a third wave of data from our sample and to extend the project in three key areas concerning the domestic division of labour, women's employment and marital stability, and family formation. The significance of the project lies in its longitudinal design enabling us to address key social questions that have not been examined in Australia in the past. The project will deliver important information to policy-makers as well as providing a unique database for social researchers.Read moreRead less
Modernising Islam through Indonesia's New Media: Celebrity Preachers and the Shaping of Cosmopolitan Values. Indonesia is recognised as a leading producer of moderate Muslim scholarships, reconciling Islam to modern, pluralistic political life, but little is understood of how cosmopolitan values permeate everyday religious practice. This project focuses on an emergent arena of Indonesian Muslim communication, celebrity preaching, to determine how 'modern' modes of religiosity are being promoted ....Modernising Islam through Indonesia's New Media: Celebrity Preachers and the Shaping of Cosmopolitan Values. Indonesia is recognised as a leading producer of moderate Muslim scholarships, reconciling Islam to modern, pluralistic political life, but little is understood of how cosmopolitan values permeate everyday religious practice. This project focuses on an emergent arena of Indonesian Muslim communication, celebrity preaching, to determine how 'modern' modes of religiosity are being promoted through the new electronic media. It examines how communications and religious practices cultivated in this arena help middle and upper class Muslims respond to destabilising social changes with reflexive and tolerant stances supportive of civic pluralism, and identifies the conditions in which they might yield to fundamentalism.Read moreRead less
Social Futures and Life Pathways of Young People in Queensland: Waves 2 and 3 of Longitudinal Study. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that young people's life trajectories are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past. In 2006 the investigators surveyed over 6000 young Queenslanders aged 13 about what they think of their future and how they cope with change. This ....Social Futures and Life Pathways of Young People in Queensland: Waves 2 and 3 of Longitudinal Study. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that young people's life trajectories are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past. In 2006 the investigators surveyed over 6000 young Queenslanders aged 13 about what they think of their future and how they cope with change. This project follows-up participants when they are 15 and 17 to provide important information for researchers, policymakers and others about how young people think about their futures, engage with society, and move through school, work and family in a world of rapid change and uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Understanding police and ethnic group interactions: Testing an integrated theoretical model. This project uses social science research methods to examine perceptions of the roles and authority of the police among ethnic groups in Australia. Outcomes will have implications for police community cooperation and cooperation with social institutions more generally (e.g. government authorities). The research addresses issues that impact on the provision of information to the police and the willingness ....Understanding police and ethnic group interactions: Testing an integrated theoretical model. This project uses social science research methods to examine perceptions of the roles and authority of the police among ethnic groups in Australia. Outcomes will have implications for police community cooperation and cooperation with social institutions more generally (e.g. government authorities). The research addresses issues that impact on the provision of information to the police and the willingness of groups in Australia to participate in collaborative crime control. National and community benefits include ascertaining how greater levels of cooperation with the police can be promoted among ethnic groups who feel ill-served and marginalised by the criminal justice system. Read moreRead less
The social and environmental implications of privately regulated food quality standards for agri-food networks in Asia-Pacific. This proposal will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia in two ways. First, the research will highlight barriers to the uptake of environmental standards among fruit and vegetable growers as well as potential strategies to encourage certification. Second, the research will assess the extent to which compliance with internationally harmonised standards ....The social and environmental implications of privately regulated food quality standards for agri-food networks in Asia-Pacific. This proposal will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia in two ways. First, the research will highlight barriers to the uptake of environmental standards among fruit and vegetable growers as well as potential strategies to encourage certification. Second, the research will assess the extent to which compliance with internationally harmonised standards actually assists or encourages farmers to address local priority environmental issues. Improved understanding of the social and environmental impact of standards will highlight domestic policy and regulatory shifts which may be necessary to maximise positive environmental outcomes.Read moreRead less
Examining the impact of employment on social relationships in urban communities. Intra-community relationships are associated with positive health outcomes for communities and residents by increasing social support, promoting engagement and encouraging community belonging. Community health outcomes are also linked to community socio-economic disadvantage suggesting that strengthened community relationships can potentially reduce socio-economic disparities in health. However, first an understan ....Examining the impact of employment on social relationships in urban communities. Intra-community relationships are associated with positive health outcomes for communities and residents by increasing social support, promoting engagement and encouraging community belonging. Community health outcomes are also linked to community socio-economic disadvantage suggesting that strengthened community relationships can potentially reduce socio-economic disparities in health. However, first an understanding of the complex effects of employment on forming and sustaining community relationships is needed. This research will provide policy makers with evidence to better balance and address objectives of increasing employment, strengthening community and improving health by taking into account their interdependencies.Read moreRead less
Therapeutic pluralism in pregnancy, labour and birthing: Decision-making, communication and inter-professional dynamics. Women are frequent users of practices outside 'mainstream' medicine. Pregnancy, labour and birthing (PLB) is a key area of integration, but no research has examined how women perceive obstetrics, midwifery and complementary medicine, or the impact on their health and wellbeing. This study systematically document Australian women's experiences of PLB with a nationally-represe ....Therapeutic pluralism in pregnancy, labour and birthing: Decision-making, communication and inter-professional dynamics. Women are frequent users of practices outside 'mainstream' medicine. Pregnancy, labour and birthing (PLB) is a key area of integration, but no research has examined how women perceive obstetrics, midwifery and complementary medicine, or the impact on their health and wellbeing. This study systematically document Australian women's experiences of PLB with a nationally-representative sample of women of child-bearing age to document decision making, lay-professional communication, and inter-professional dynamics.Read moreRead less