Connecting Government to Community: A study of social and political connectivity at the municipal level. Facilitating community strengthening by making public institutions more responsive to the needs of citizens is a central policy challenge in the global era. This project will advance theoretical, methodological and practical understandings of this issue by using comparative measures of personal ties and organizational connectedness in four municipalities to explicate the networks linking poli ....Connecting Government to Community: A study of social and political connectivity at the municipal level. Facilitating community strengthening by making public institutions more responsive to the needs of citizens is a central policy challenge in the global era. This project will advance theoretical, methodological and practical understandings of this issue by using comparative measures of personal ties and organizational connectedness in four municipalities to explicate the networks linking politicians, bureaucrats, civic leaders and ordinary citizens. The study will generate new measures of which kinds of connections count most, which ties bring more isolated groups closer to engagement, and which community strengthening strategies are likely to make improved governance outcomes feasible.Read moreRead less
Nation Building and Elite Formation in Singapore, 1966-85. * The project will study elite formation, the praxis of elite governance, and the development of the relationship between elitism and nation building in Singapore from independence in late 1965 to approximately 1985.
* This study is significant because it is arguably the pivotal axis on which the Singapore experience of governance rests, and yet it has not been the subject of a dedicated study.
* It is expected that the study will prod ....Nation Building and Elite Formation in Singapore, 1966-85. * The project will study elite formation, the praxis of elite governance, and the development of the relationship between elitism and nation building in Singapore from independence in late 1965 to approximately 1985.
* This study is significant because it is arguably the pivotal axis on which the Singapore experience of governance rests, and yet it has not been the subject of a dedicated study.
* It is expected that the study will produce a series of articles and a book that will contribute to our understanding of elite formation and nation building generally, as well as specifically in Singapore.
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Auditing the Victorian Charter: Australian and international perspectives on applied human rights. This project is a detailed legal, government and policy case study of the most important human rights initiative in recent Australian history. It will provide research and new knowledge in key areas of human rights: the operation of human rights Bills, links between human rights and social disadvantage, education and community attitudes, and strategic government implementation. The project will d ....Auditing the Victorian Charter: Australian and international perspectives on applied human rights. This project is a detailed legal, government and policy case study of the most important human rights initiative in recent Australian history. It will provide research and new knowledge in key areas of human rights: the operation of human rights Bills, links between human rights and social disadvantage, education and community attitudes, and strategic government implementation. The project will develop a new policy tool (a national Audit) to monitor, plan and strengthen human rights in government and the community, and contribute to better social wellbeing and stronger democracy in Australia.Read moreRead less
Digital dissent in the People's Republic: the language of protest and criticism in Sino-cyberspace. As Australia's relations with China continue to deepen, it is vital for Australia to acquire in-depth knowledge of how rapidly China is changing as a consequence of digital information flows. The project provides that knowledge through its analysis of digital dissent. The project explores how non-state players in the People's Republic respond and react to urgent problems in their midst. It will ....Digital dissent in the People's Republic: the language of protest and criticism in Sino-cyberspace. As Australia's relations with China continue to deepen, it is vital for Australia to acquire in-depth knowledge of how rapidly China is changing as a consequence of digital information flows. The project provides that knowledge through its analysis of digital dissent. The project explores how non-state players in the People's Republic respond and react to urgent problems in their midst. It will also shed light on present-day tensions in China between state and civil society. More specifically, the project will deepen Australia's critical engagement with China by focussing on such issues of consequence as censorship, corruption, environmental pollution, governance reform and calls for democracy and human rights.Read moreRead less
Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now ....Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now under considerable attack in political theory and from some groups for being "too sectarian", the project defends the importance of autonomy to liberal citizenship, while elaborating its moral and political implications for liberals and cultural minorities alike.Read moreRead less
From France to Europe: The Shift from Nationalism in French Discourse, 1900-1950. The aim of the project is to analyse a shift from France to Europe in French political rhetoric. The Revolution had inscribed Enlightenment ideals on terms like France and nation. After World War I, they no longer carried these ideals. For some citizens, Europe took them on. For others, Europe opened the possibility of inscribing new values on the polity. The project seeks to measure the extent of this shift and it ....From France to Europe: The Shift from Nationalism in French Discourse, 1900-1950. The aim of the project is to analyse a shift from France to Europe in French political rhetoric. The Revolution had inscribed Enlightenment ideals on terms like France and nation. After World War I, they no longer carried these ideals. For some citizens, Europe took them on. For others, Europe opened the possibility of inscribing new values on the polity. The project seeks to measure the extent of this shift and its contribution to the new mentality which made possible the construction of Europe. The result will be a major innovation in the way the construction of Europe is understood.Read moreRead less
Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics an ....Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics and cultures' (National Research Priority 4). Australia has been a world leader in expertise on Indonesia; we need projects like this to train junior scholars and thus sustain Australia's international reputation for excellence in Indonesian Studies into the future. Read moreRead less
Community consultation and the hard to reach. Local government, social profiling and civic infrastructure. This study offers conceptual insights into reasons for non-participation in local government consultation, drawing on critical policy analysis and debates on governance and democratic capacity. The collaboration of 7 local councils and the VLGA enable the development of a transferable, generally viable framework linking: (i) sophisticated demographic profiles (ii) types of communication me ....Community consultation and the hard to reach. Local government, social profiling and civic infrastructure. This study offers conceptual insights into reasons for non-participation in local government consultation, drawing on critical policy analysis and debates on governance and democratic capacity. The collaboration of 7 local councils and the VLGA enable the development of a transferable, generally viable framework linking: (i) sophisticated demographic profiles (ii) types of communication media on a continuum of intensity (face to face, telephone/mail survey, email/Internet); (iii) issues on which residents wish to be consulted; and (iv) implications for civic infrastructure. Outcomes will benefit councils and Victorian citizens by providing an innovative, practically applicable framework for policy implementation using consultative processes.Read moreRead less
Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Investigating Innovative Applications of Digital Media for Participatory Journalism and Citizen Engagement in Australian Public Communication. This project benefits the Australian community by undertaking the first comprehensive audit of collaborative online news production, and linking this to prototypes developed with leading industry partners such as SBS and Cisco Systems, to promote greater citizen participation in news production and public communication. It marks the first sustained applic ....Investigating Innovative Applications of Digital Media for Participatory Journalism and Citizen Engagement in Australian Public Communication. This project benefits the Australian community by undertaking the first comprehensive audit of collaborative online news production, and linking this to prototypes developed with leading industry partners such as SBS and Cisco Systems, to promote greater citizen participation in news production and public communication. It marks the first sustained application of an open source framework to understanding the future of journalism and news media, and public communication in a democratic society, through the development of user-generated content derived from online user communities and peer-to-peer interaction. It promotes smart innovation use through collaboration and user-led innovation in digitally networked online environments. Read moreRead less