The nature, extent and effect of infant removal by child protection. This project aims to provide new knowledge about the nature, extent and effect of removals of babies from their parents in Australia. Removal is the highest level of intervention by the child protection system, and one which some mothers experienced on multiple occasions. Little is known, however, about its incidence and effects, nor whether there are over-represented groups (e.g. Aboriginal mothers and babies) who would respon ....The nature, extent and effect of infant removal by child protection. This project aims to provide new knowledge about the nature, extent and effect of removals of babies from their parents in Australia. Removal is the highest level of intervention by the child protection system, and one which some mothers experienced on multiple occasions. Little is known, however, about its incidence and effects, nor whether there are over-represented groups (e.g. Aboriginal mothers and babies) who would respond to targeted interventions. This project aims to identify appropriate early intervention and prevention strategies, preventing the need for babies to spend their whole childhood in care at great financial and societal cost.Read moreRead less
Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour o ....Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour orange today symbolise Protestantism and the Dutch worldwide as a result of this pivotal family's self-presentation in the early modern period. We will produce monographs, PhD thesis, and research training in an international humanities team led by Australian researchers. Read moreRead less
Developing the capacity to model the impact of interventions that target high-risk drinking among young Australians. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to social and health problems among young Australians. The project will inform the development of effective policy by providing multidisciplinary research evidence and the capacity to model how various interventions impact on the prevalence of alcohol-related problems.
Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involveme ....Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involvement, disability, poverty and housing insecurity). Intergenerational (child and parent) linked data in three states will be utilised to investigate these families longitudinal trajectories of system involvement and to identify opportunities for enhanced prevention, points of early intervention and service planning. Read moreRead less
Voicing the Welfare State: Experiences of the Sixteenth-Century French Poor. This research enhances our historical understanding of poverty and its support mechanisms in Europe's past, through reconstruction of a comprehensive and detailed picture of the sixteenth-century French poor. New methodologies and techniques for recovery of formal and informal social networks will be developed. Historical models of such mechanisms provide context of the long history of Australia's welfare structure mode ....Voicing the Welfare State: Experiences of the Sixteenth-Century French Poor. This research enhances our historical understanding of poverty and its support mechanisms in Europe's past, through reconstruction of a comprehensive and detailed picture of the sixteenth-century French poor. New methodologies and techniques for recovery of formal and informal social networks will be developed. Historical models of such mechanisms provide context of the long history of Australia's welfare structure models, philosophy and participation strategies. The programme provides expert research training for early career researchers, in a collaborative Humanities team environment. Australian historians can thus continue to generate globally competitive and significant research.Read moreRead less
Farm Women, Networks and ICTs. Considerable national funds have been spent on brining rural Australians online. In the previous year over half of those living in non-metropolitan Australian accessed the internet. However, little is known about how new technologies are being integrated into the daily lives of rural people. This research moves from quantifying technology take-up in rural Australia and describing the possibilities of what new technologies may offer rural people, to analysing and cr ....Farm Women, Networks and ICTs. Considerable national funds have been spent on brining rural Australians online. In the previous year over half of those living in non-metropolitan Australian accessed the internet. However, little is known about how new technologies are being integrated into the daily lives of rural people. This research moves from quantifying technology take-up in rural Australia and describing the possibilities of what new technologies may offer rural people, to analysing and critiquing the extent to which these possibilities are being realised. It will inform policy on rural and regional technology access and use.Read moreRead less
Social Capital, Natural Resources and Local Governance in Indonesia. Australia's relationship with Indonesia is critical to our political and environmental security. This proposed research addresses the need for more effective development assistance policy, and will broaden public understanding of Indonesia's urgent social and environmental issues. International collaboration among an experienced team of field researchers, working with government agencies and NGOs, will enhance the capacity of I ....Social Capital, Natural Resources and Local Governance in Indonesia. Australia's relationship with Indonesia is critical to our political and environmental security. This proposed research addresses the need for more effective development assistance policy, and will broaden public understanding of Indonesia's urgent social and environmental issues. International collaboration among an experienced team of field researchers, working with government agencies and NGOs, will enhance the capacity of Indonesian communities to achieve more sustainable and equitable outcomes, contributing to regional security. Social capital questions concerning local capacity building and public engagement in decision-making also have comparative importance for the role of civil society and NGOs in Australian public policy.Read moreRead less
Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to incr ....Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to increase community support for international development and environmental sustainability. Benefits are expected both in terms of the promotion of positive attitudes in society and in overcoming apathy within organisations.Read moreRead less
Outcomes of collective action: After the blockade, what next? The project intends to study how collective actors react when conventional or radical collective action succeeds or fails. If a democratic protest rally is ignored by authorities, does support for violence increase? If a turbulent riot attracts favourable media attention and concessions, does this increase the likelihood of future riots or undercut them? This project aims to answer these questions. It plans to test a new, theoreticall ....Outcomes of collective action: After the blockade, what next? The project intends to study how collective actors react when conventional or radical collective action succeeds or fails. If a democratic protest rally is ignored by authorities, does support for violence increase? If a turbulent riot attracts favourable media attention and concessions, does this increase the likelihood of future riots or undercut them? This project aims to answer these questions. It plans to test a new, theoretically integrative model of collective action and the intergroup dynamic, using a mixed-methods approach including experiments, small group research and longitudinal field surveys. Project outcomes may provide an evidence basis for policy-makers' debates about trajectories of radicalisation and deradicalisation, and for recommendations about engagement and negotiation of tactics for activists, political parties, and nongovernment organisations.Read moreRead less
Roads to the Future: Infrastructure and the New Development in Africa. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis of new road schemes in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (a region which sits at the intersection of several major global transport and development corridors), in order to understand their economic, socio-political, cultural and public health effects. As global road-building accelerates at an unprecedented rate, especially in the developing world, there is an urgent n ....Roads to the Future: Infrastructure and the New Development in Africa. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis of new road schemes in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (a region which sits at the intersection of several major global transport and development corridors), in order to understand their economic, socio-political, cultural and public health effects. As global road-building accelerates at an unprecedented rate, especially in the developing world, there is an urgent need for new models for understanding roads' potential economic benefits, as well as their risks, including their environmental risks. This project is benefitting citizens, NGOs, donors and governments, by generating new knowledge about how we have in the past, do at present, and should in the future, engage with roads.Read moreRead less