Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understandi ....Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understanding of why some occupations remain male dominated despite 20 years of policy and program level change initiatives. It will have direct benefits for both metropolitan and rural firefighting services in Australia, assisting them to adapt to new professional and equity imperatives.Read moreRead less
Domestic Technology and the Management of Time. This project will make a significant contribution to temporary debates about time poverty and work-family balance. It proposes to analyse under-utilised data sources to investigate whether time pressure can be alleviated through the application of information and communications technology, such as personal computers, mobile phones and programmable domestic equipment. It is a widespread assumption that domestic technologies simply save time. This pr ....Domestic Technology and the Management of Time. This project will make a significant contribution to temporary debates about time poverty and work-family balance. It proposes to analyse under-utilised data sources to investigate whether time pressure can be alleviated through the application of information and communications technology, such as personal computers, mobile phones and programmable domestic equipment. It is a widespread assumption that domestic technologies simply save time. This project explores the extent to which technologies in the home instead facilitate 'time-shifting- or the re-scheduling of tasks in a way that may reduce feelings of time pressure and enhance the quality of leisure time.Read moreRead less
Work-life tensions: Time pressure, leisure and well-being among dual-earner parents in Australia. Empirical studies of work-life tensions, especially for women, have rarely considered how individuals actually experience time pressures.
The main aim of this project is to examine the hypothesis that well-being is positively related to reduced time pressure, more leisure and greater control over time schedules.The project will use an innovative time-use sampling method to examine this hypothesis ....Work-life tensions: Time pressure, leisure and well-being among dual-earner parents in Australia. Empirical studies of work-life tensions, especially for women, have rarely considered how individuals actually experience time pressures.
The main aim of this project is to examine the hypothesis that well-being is positively related to reduced time pressure, more leisure and greater control over time schedules.The project will use an innovative time-use sampling method to examine this hypothesis for parents in dual-earner households.
The project will also investigate relationships between women's time use, life course experience and measures of physical and mental well-being through being nested within the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
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Restructuring the male breadwinner model: New challenges for a rapidly changing Australia. This project investigates changes to the Australian male breadwinner gender order in the key spheres of labour markets, households and public policies. Gender arrangements in these spheres play a key role in economic development reflecting the intertwining of economic and social processes in a country's well-being. Increased understanding of the implications of current changes affecting the gender order an ....Restructuring the male breadwinner model: New challenges for a rapidly changing Australia. This project investigates changes to the Australian male breadwinner gender order in the key spheres of labour markets, households and public policies. Gender arrangements in these spheres play a key role in economic development reflecting the intertwining of economic and social processes in a country's well-being. Increased understanding of the implications of current changes affecting the gender order and social reproduction will enhance economic well-being for both individuals and society in Australia. The impact of these changes are vital policy issues. This international collaboration will develop a conceptual framework for identifying policy reform to strengthen Australia's social and economic sustainability.Read moreRead less
Working from home: New media technology, workplace culture and the changing nature of domesticity. New media technologies are often marketed as liberating people from the workplace, providing flexibility in meeting work obligations. Communication technologies in particular make working from home increasingly possible: laptops, mobile phones and PDAs make any space a potential site for paid labour. This research studies the effect of new media technologies on how work is performed, where and by w ....Working from home: New media technology, workplace culture and the changing nature of domesticity. New media technologies are often marketed as liberating people from the workplace, providing flexibility in meeting work obligations. Communication technologies in particular make working from home increasingly possible: laptops, mobile phones and PDAs make any space a potential site for paid labour. This research studies the effect of new media technologies on how work is performed, where and by whom, to gauge their impact on the community more broadly. It also asks whether these new relationships to work raise the prospect of changing traditional attitudes to the work performed in and outside the home by men and women.Read moreRead less
The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance. The telecommuncations industry exemplifies the frontier technologies that are at the heart of Australia's successful knowledge economy. Mobile phones are developing innovative capacities far ahead of consumer needs and requirments. For example, third generation technologies are currently seeking to find the 'killer application' that will provide them with a mass market. A profound understanding of the social dimensions of existing mobile telec ....The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance. The telecommuncations industry exemplifies the frontier technologies that are at the heart of Australia's successful knowledge economy. Mobile phones are developing innovative capacities far ahead of consumer needs and requirments. For example, third generation technologies are currently seeking to find the 'killer application' that will provide them with a mass market. A profound understanding of the social dimensions of existing mobile telecommunications will provide insights for the development of new technologies and new services. It will provide the industry with a competitive advantage in a fast developing sector.Read moreRead less
The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will ....The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will produce a comprehensive and practical assessment of the quality of part-time employment in Australia, including two detailed industry case studies. Finally, the project will evaluate the main policy paths for improving the quality of part-time employment.Read moreRead less
Engineering diversity: An investigation of gender, workplace culture and change. Workplaces are changing rapidly in restructuring economies, but equity and diversity remain elusive. The engineering profession continues to experience difficulty attracting and retaining women. Gender equity programs that focus on women's training, socialisation and non-traditional 'choices' overlook the centrality of workplace cultures. This study reframes the issue, problematising the work context, rather than wo ....Engineering diversity: An investigation of gender, workplace culture and change. Workplaces are changing rapidly in restructuring economies, but equity and diversity remain elusive. The engineering profession continues to experience difficulty attracting and retaining women. Gender equity programs that focus on women's training, socialisation and non-traditional 'choices' overlook the centrality of workplace cultures. This study reframes the issue, problematising the work context, rather than women themselves. A qualitative investigation of discourses and practices at a range of engineering sites will be conducted. As the first major study of the work place culture in Australian engineering the findings will provide a basis for change in engineering industry, policy, and education settings.Read moreRead less
The production of pay (in)equity for women: a study of emerging occupations. The aims of this project are to extend understanding of current impediments to pay equity for women, and to elaborate the ways in which pay inequality is re-created in new contexts. The focus is on emerging occupations likely to provide increasing employment opportunities in the near future. This is highly significant research at a time of structural change and when new procedures for addressing pay equity are being dev ....The production of pay (in)equity for women: a study of emerging occupations. The aims of this project are to extend understanding of current impediments to pay equity for women, and to elaborate the ways in which pay inequality is re-created in new contexts. The focus is on emerging occupations likely to provide increasing employment opportunities in the near future. This is highly significant research at a time of structural change and when new procedures for addressing pay equity are being developed in several States following pay equity inquiries. Expected outcomes include enhanced comprehension of the reproduction of pay inequality and evidence to assist the advancement of pay equity through identified mechanisms and strategies.Read moreRead less
Industrial relations, gender equity and work/family balance: assessing the impact of changing law and practice in Queensland. The project has potential to contribute to improvements in the economic and social well-being of Australian families and communities by identifying effective strategies to enhance gender equity in employment and work/family balance. It seeks to extend understanding of how these outcomes vary across regions and sectors of the Queensland economy in the context of a changing ....Industrial relations, gender equity and work/family balance: assessing the impact of changing law and practice in Queensland. The project has potential to contribute to improvements in the economic and social well-being of Australian families and communities by identifying effective strategies to enhance gender equity in employment and work/family balance. It seeks to extend understanding of how these outcomes vary across regions and sectors of the Queensland economy in the context of a changing industrial relations framework, and to provide an evidence-base to inform the best ways to secure high quality employment and labour force attachment over the life course.Read moreRead less