Activating and maintaining community participation in natural and cultural resources initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin. The project goes beyond the rhetoric of participation to discover what factors activate communities and individuals to become involved in programs and voluntary initiatives for natural resource management. It assesses the effectiveness of existing communication channels and develops new models for more effective and representative participation. It combines the National M ....Activating and maintaining community participation in natural and cultural resources initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin. The project goes beyond the rhetoric of participation to discover what factors activate communities and individuals to become involved in programs and voluntary initiatives for natural resource management. It assesses the effectiveness of existing communication channels and develops new models for more effective and representative participation. It combines the National Museum of Australia's expertise in environmental history and public communication with the imperative of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to improve community participation in natural resource management. The potential for harnessing communications technology to facilitate new channels for participation is assessed through carefully evaluated pilot programs.Read moreRead less
Will older workers change their retirement plans in line with the Government’s calls for later retirement? The study will inform and contribute to the integration of retirement policy reform across all tiers of Government. It will especially project probabilities of change in workforce and retirement behaviour, and evaluate the likely efficacy of policy measures aimed at encouraging labour market participation among older workers and reversing current trends to early retirement. The study is tim ....Will older workers change their retirement plans in line with the Government’s calls for later retirement? The study will inform and contribute to the integration of retirement policy reform across all tiers of Government. It will especially project probabilities of change in workforce and retirement behaviour, and evaluate the likely efficacy of policy measures aimed at encouraging labour market participation among older workers and reversing current trends to early retirement. The study is timely because population ageing in Australia is just becoming a factor in labour market considerations, but its effects (which differ markedly by region) will soon escalate. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354531
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Social research network for sustainable rural communities. The triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental imperatives forms the accepted ingredients of sustainability. While the economic and environmental dimensions have been relatively well researched, there is insufficient understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions and how these determine environmental and health outcomes. The interactions between the dimensions are also poorly understood. While there are some researchers in ....Social research network for sustainable rural communities. The triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental imperatives forms the accepted ingredients of sustainability. While the economic and environmental dimensions have been relatively well researched, there is insufficient understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions and how these determine environmental and health outcomes. The interactions between the dimensions are also poorly understood. While there are some researchers in this field, they have tended to work in isolation. The development of a resourced interdisciplinary network to facilitate collaboration will increase the contribution and innovativeness of their collective research and contribute to understanding socio-economic determinants of dynamic regions and healthy rural communities.Read moreRead less
Youth Gangs: The Australian Experience. Little systematic research has been undertaken in Australia into the nature and activities of youth gangs. The aim of this project is to provide a national study of youth group formations, processes of group transformation (toward or away from gangs), and strategies the might be employed to curtail gang formation and gang-related behaviour. The study will involve interviews with young people in each capital city, and focus group discussions with youth serv ....Youth Gangs: The Australian Experience. Little systematic research has been undertaken in Australia into the nature and activities of youth gangs. The aim of this project is to provide a national study of youth group formations, processes of group transformation (toward or away from gangs), and strategies the might be employed to curtail gang formation and gang-related behaviour. The study will involve interviews with young people in each capital city, and focus group discussions with youth service providers in each city. The research methods draw upon the instruments presently being developed by the Eurogang Research Network in order to facilitate cross-national comparisons. It will be the first national study of its kind, and will provide new conceptual insights into the character of youth group formation in Australia, baseline youth gang data, and analysis of possible intervention strategies.
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Student retention beyond the compulsory schooling years in rural, regional and disadvantaged communities. This project will incorporate longitudinal mixed-methods study to investigate the factors that influence student retention in schooling beyond the compulsory years in rural, regional and disadvantaged communities. Research outcomes will identify best-practice educational strategies to enhance retention in such communities across Australia.
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0882982
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Building and supporting community led partnership initiatives to respond to Indigenous family violence in Victoria. This project contributes to the evidence base of responses to Indigenous family violence by detailing models of practice in Victoria. It will focus on how partnerships between Indigenous and mainstream responses can be built and sustained. The critical analysis of these models of practice and partnerships will also have implications for future policy and funding directions. The ....Building and supporting community led partnership initiatives to respond to Indigenous family violence in Victoria. This project contributes to the evidence base of responses to Indigenous family violence by detailing models of practice in Victoria. It will focus on how partnerships between Indigenous and mainstream responses can be built and sustained. The critical analysis of these models of practice and partnerships will also have implications for future policy and funding directions. The research will be most beneficial within the local family violence sector. The research methodology facilitates a process of information brokerage and critical reflection within and between Indigenous and mainstream family violence interventions that may influence ongoing community and organisational practices.Read moreRead less
Building futures for young Australians at risk: a coordinated measurement framework and data archive. This project will build a national data base of evidence about and for programs that address the needs of the 16 per cent of young Australians currently at risk of school non-completion. It will generate important knowledge for program improvement and sustainability and coordination of evidence across diverse and fragmented programs.
Developing Evidence Based Strategies For Addressing Childhood Vaccination Rejection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,927.00
Summary
Parental rejection of vaccines is a global concern that threatens to undermine disease control. A lack of evidence hampers the responses to this complex and persistent problem. We will interview parents who don’t vaccinate their children to learn what influences their decisions. We will then hold community juries and a public engagement process to refine strategies for responding to vaccination rejection that are acceptable to a well informed citizenry, practical and ethically justified.
Indicative impacts of population ageing on Australia's States, Territories and Local Communities. Population ageing and its associated shift to zero population growth and/or natural decline is occurring at substantially different rates across and within Australia's States and Territories. The trends, which are perhaps most marked in Tasmania - Australia's fastest ageing State - have significant implications for the economic growth and socio-economic composition of each region. This multi-level ....Indicative impacts of population ageing on Australia's States, Territories and Local Communities. Population ageing and its associated shift to zero population growth and/or natural decline is occurring at substantially different rates across and within Australia's States and Territories. The trends, which are perhaps most marked in Tasmania - Australia's fastest ageing State - have significant implications for the economic growth and socio-economic composition of each region. This multi-level study will project the impact of population ageing on economic welfare at State and Territory level; and on the socio-demographic profile of Local Government regions in Tasmania. The two analyses will then be bought together in developing policy responses.Read moreRead less
Waithood: The experience of being on the social housing waiting list. This project aims to investigate the circumstances of people on the social housing waiting-list and how they manage their everyday lives while waiting for a social housing property to become available. It also aims to conduct a review of how social housing waiting list assessments are done and profile the waiting list population. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the study expects to generate new knowledge on different groups o ....Waithood: The experience of being on the social housing waiting list. This project aims to investigate the circumstances of people on the social housing waiting-list and how they manage their everyday lives while waiting for a social housing property to become available. It also aims to conduct a review of how social housing waiting list assessments are done and profile the waiting list population. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the study expects to generate new knowledge on different groups of applicants. Expected outcomes include an enhanced understanding of the impacts of being on the waiting list for extended periods. This study will provide significant benefits as the high quality evidence produced should enhance policymakers’ understandings of applicants' circumstances and lead to better outcomes.Read moreRead less