Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on thes ....Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on these assumptions policy implementation, which increasingly relies on community capacity, infrastructure and human resources, may have the unintended outcome of exacerbating disadvantage. This project examines these contested concepts and explores Local Government's role in creating local partnership options and modes of governance to facilitate equitable outcomes for disadvantaged communitiesRead moreRead less
Building connections: schools as community hubs. This project aims to support school systems and planning authorities enhance engagement between schools and local communities. The key objective is to advance the cost-effective development of the infrastructure required to deliver community programs and services from school sites, in addition to education programs for school-aged students. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how best to plan, design, govern and manage facilities a ....Building connections: schools as community hubs. This project aims to support school systems and planning authorities enhance engagement between schools and local communities. The key objective is to advance the cost-effective development of the infrastructure required to deliver community programs and services from school sites, in addition to education programs for school-aged students. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how best to plan, design, govern and manage facilities and infrastructure to enable schools to operate successfully as more than a school, encouraging the development of resilient and connected communities. The outcomes are expected to include a development framework for maximising schools as community hubs.Read moreRead less
Australian Global Identities: Images of Globalization, Transnationalism and Individualism among New Expatriates. Globalization is dramatically transforming Australian society. By exploring the neglected terrain of emergent 'Australian global identities', this research will benefit policy analysts, government and the public they serve. Research findings on how globalization influences the decisions of Australians to live and work abroad, promoting new lifestyles and international careers, will ....Australian Global Identities: Images of Globalization, Transnationalism and Individualism among New Expatriates. Globalization is dramatically transforming Australian society. By exploring the neglected terrain of emergent 'Australian global identities', this research will benefit policy analysts, government and the public they serve. Research findings on how globalization influences the decisions of Australians to live and work abroad, promoting new lifestyles and international careers, will be used by organizations and government to shape policy in employment, education and professional development. The research will shed new light on the rising numbers of Australians working abroad, as well as detail ways Australia might better adapt to global institutional networking in order to attract expatriates back to Australia.Read moreRead less
A model to investigate the relationships between social capital, social inclusion and industrial development. This study will develop a new model for investigating the relationships between social capital, social inclusion and industry development in a designated area under the Commonwealth Government Initiative in Regional Australia. The project will address whether high levels of social capital reduce social exclusion and the likely impacts of the ?dark side? of social capital upon communiti ....A model to investigate the relationships between social capital, social inclusion and industrial development. This study will develop a new model for investigating the relationships between social capital, social inclusion and industry development in a designated area under the Commonwealth Government Initiative in Regional Australia. The project will address whether high levels of social capital reduce social exclusion and the likely impacts of the ?dark side? of social capital upon communities. The study will draw on relevant contemporary theory, survey analysis, interviews and discussion forums to develop new explanations that will help build community capacities and inform the development of social policy, employment and industrial development.Read moreRead less
Acceptability of reclaimed water use in urban Australia: Establishing a baseline and variations based on experience, consultation and trust. Under current, prolonged drought conditions, with the reappearance of water restrictions in major cities, the widely identified need for research into social factors that affect public acceptance of water reuse is increasingly urgent. This project will produce national baseline data on the public acceptability of water reuse, and its predictors. This benc ....Acceptability of reclaimed water use in urban Australia: Establishing a baseline and variations based on experience, consultation and trust. Under current, prolonged drought conditions, with the reappearance of water restrictions in major cities, the widely identified need for research into social factors that affect public acceptance of water reuse is increasingly urgent. This project will produce national baseline data on the public acceptability of water reuse, and its predictors. This benchmark data will be compared with results from case studies of implemented or mooted water reuse projects, focusing on the impact of differing public consultation and other implementation processes in public acceptance of water reuse. The role of risk perceptions and trust in relevant authorities will be explored.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
Playing for Life: the everyday music practices of marginalised youth as strategic pathways to agency, employment and socio-economic inclusion. Popular music is widely recognised as affectively and culturally central to marginalised youth, often providing strategic pathways to employment and socio-economic inclusion. This project is the first comparative international project to explore how marginalised youth engage with popular music in post-industrial societies, and how they develop their music ....Playing for Life: the everyday music practices of marginalised youth as strategic pathways to agency, employment and socio-economic inclusion. Popular music is widely recognised as affectively and culturally central to marginalised youth, often providing strategic pathways to employment and socio-economic inclusion. This project is the first comparative international project to explore how marginalised youth engage with popular music in post-industrial societies, and how they develop their music and technological skills by using local cultural resources that exist outside of formal schooling. Located in community-based organisations, the study will identify processes of learning and agency from the perspectives of young people themselves. The findings will enrich current social theory on youth, policy and program development of youth services.
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Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through th ....Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through the development of a new measure of vicarious trauma. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing a clear means to assessing vicarious trauma, and through the development of a mobile app that will enable foster families in Australia to monitor and report experiences of vicarious trauma.Read moreRead less
Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon househol ....Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon households, along with individual preferences and household, community and workplace structures (and their interaction), drawing out implications for social theory and policy. It will analyse policy, quantitative data, and collect and analyse new qualitative data at Australian sites, within an international context.Read moreRead less
Towards an understanding of the relationship between creative capital and regional economic and employment development. The project aims to investigate the role of creative capital and creative industries in regional economic and employment development. It will critically examine strategies designed to foster innovation and creativity: developing and attracting the ?creative classes?, and fostering the connection of creative capacity across industry, business and cultural realms.