Social sustainability in dairying communities impacted by the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. This project will address the social and community impacts of the Murray-Darling Basin proposed Plan in dairy communities identified as especially vulnerable. It will identify social supports that will build social sustainability, aid adaptation and foster individual and community resilience.
Natural Hazard Vulnerability: A study of risk, vulnerability, behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of warnings. This project builds on original research into community vulnerability, awareness and preparedness for natural hazards. During the second half of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the trend in emergency management and disaster mitigation research has been towards the social and community impacts of natural disasters. The aim of the project is to exa ....Natural Hazard Vulnerability: A study of risk, vulnerability, behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of warnings. This project builds on original research into community vulnerability, awareness and preparedness for natural hazards. During the second half of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the trend in emergency management and disaster mitigation research has been towards the social and community impacts of natural disasters. The aim of the project is to examine risk perception amongst hazard vulnerable communities. The expected outcomes include an improved awareness campaign and a better understanding of the ways in which warnings and forecasts are filtered and distorted by the public.Read moreRead less
Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-be ....Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-being. This project will develop a framework and software system for evaluating and applying indicators in common planning and reporting situations. The project will benefit Australian organisations by a) developing clear, practical sustainability goals; b) lowering cost of reporting compliance and c) improving sustainability practices.Read moreRead less
Science and Citizenship: Democracy in the age of science-mediated risk. This community-based project in the Goulburn Valley focuses on citizens' negotiation of scientific expertise, perceptions of risk and participation in policy formation. It asks: 'how can democracy work in a world of proliferating cultures of expertise?' The project will produce an environmental history drawn from citizens' experience of transforming the landscape for irrigation and agribusiness, and of scientific advice ov ....Science and Citizenship: Democracy in the age of science-mediated risk. This community-based project in the Goulburn Valley focuses on citizens' negotiation of scientific expertise, perceptions of risk and participation in policy formation. It asks: 'how can democracy work in a world of proliferating cultures of expertise?' The project will produce an environmental history drawn from citizens' experience of transforming the landscape for irrigation and agribusiness, and of scientific advice over time. It will explore how citizens deal with conflicting scientist-generated scenarios around climate change and environmental flows in the light of their historical experience, and trial new modes of public policy formation.Read moreRead less
Exploring the construction of memory and place in repeat disaster landscapes. Community disaster resilience requires active engagement from emergency management agencies and people in at-risk landscapes. There is tension between collaborative planning in preparing for emergencies and command-and-control procedures during actual emergencies. Communities and agencies need new ways to interact and adapt to future repeat disasters in changing landscapes. This innovative research project analyses com ....Exploring the construction of memory and place in repeat disaster landscapes. Community disaster resilience requires active engagement from emergency management agencies and people in at-risk landscapes. There is tension between collaborative planning in preparing for emergencies and command-and-control procedures during actual emergencies. Communities and agencies need new ways to interact and adapt to future repeat disasters in changing landscapes. This innovative research project analyses community-led planning projects underway nation-wide, identifying emergent theory, assessing opportunities and benefits, as well as barriers to change. It aims to build community resilience and shared responsibility by integrating and refining existing practices; strengthening civic society through social resilience to risk.Read moreRead less
Incendiary cultures: co-constructing resilience to engage with fire and risk in landscape management. Effective communication and management of bushfire risk can be hindered by wide divergence between expert views and community understandings. Building on resilience theory, this project will draw together experts from fire agencies and local communities to rethink fire from modelling to combat, and from resisting to engaging in response activities.
Net Zero Precincts: an interdisciplinary approach to decarbonising cities. This project aims to help cities and urban regions reach net zero emissions by taking the precinct as an optimal scale for urban transition. This project expects to co-create a new approach grounded in transition management and design anthropology. This will be tested in an action-oriented case study in the Monash Technology Precinct through three Living Lab experiments across energy, mobility and buildings. Expected outc ....Net Zero Precincts: an interdisciplinary approach to decarbonising cities. This project aims to help cities and urban regions reach net zero emissions by taking the precinct as an optimal scale for urban transition. This project expects to co-create a new approach grounded in transition management and design anthropology. This will be tested in an action-oriented case study in the Monash Technology Precinct through three Living Lab experiments across energy, mobility and buildings. Expected outcomes include a validated approach for net zero transitions that delivers to the real-life experiences of the precinct community of business, government, knowledge institutes and civil society. This should provide significant benefits to industry seeking to enhance community engagement for accelerating urban transitions.
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Understanding low skilled men's access to jobs: An occupational case-study approach. The withdrawal of low skilled men from the labour force has been substantial over recent decades. As many as 40% of men without post-school qualifications do not have full-time jobs. This development has many negative social consequences. It damages the affected men's wellbeing, and that of their families. It reduces labour supply at a time of labour shortages. It increases dependency on the welfare system. ....Understanding low skilled men's access to jobs: An occupational case-study approach. The withdrawal of low skilled men from the labour force has been substantial over recent decades. As many as 40% of men without post-school qualifications do not have full-time jobs. This development has many negative social consequences. It damages the affected men's wellbeing, and that of their families. It reduces labour supply at a time of labour shortages. It increases dependency on the welfare system. This project will develop new understandings of the barriers low skill men face when they seek jobs in areas of rising employment, such as the service sector. It will provide an assessment of the possibilities of overcoming these barriers, and develop ideas about how best to enhance low skilled men's access to good jobs. Read moreRead less
Work, life and sustainable living: how work, household and community life interact to affect environmental behaviours and outcomes. The project addresses the research priority of an environmentally sustainable Australia. It examines how the circumstances and interaction of work, home and community affect capacities to reduce negative environmental impacts especially workplace and household transport, waste, energy and water use practices. The project brings the changing configuration of work to ....Work, life and sustainable living: how work, household and community life interact to affect environmental behaviours and outcomes. The project addresses the research priority of an environmentally sustainable Australia. It examines how the circumstances and interaction of work, home and community affect capacities to reduce negative environmental impacts especially workplace and household transport, waste, energy and water use practices. The project brings the changing configuration of work to the fore, addressing a gap in current research. It examines the implications for environmental change of the temporal and spatial organisation of 'work-life', including analysis of socio-economic and gender differences, informing practice and theory about how workers, workplaces and households can change for the better, in the interests of a sustainable, socially inclusive society.Read moreRead less
Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separa ....Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separate bodies of literature with innovative quantitative and qualitative data, the project seeks to generate new knowledge about the impacts of precarious work on women and families. This knowledge is expected to inform policies and services to improve women’s lives and promote economic inclusion and social cohesion.Read moreRead less