The History of an Urban Chinese Factory Community in Transition. Changes over the past five decades at a Chinese state-owned industrial enterprise and its adjoining residential compound will be explored largely through in-depth oral histories by a collaborative team of Australian and Chinese researchers; and the implications for China's ongoing economic and urban social transformation will be addressed. This will be the first study of its kind, and the University of California Press, a leading p ....The History of an Urban Chinese Factory Community in Transition. Changes over the past five decades at a Chinese state-owned industrial enterprise and its adjoining residential compound will be explored largely through in-depth oral histories by a collaborative team of Australian and Chinese researchers; and the implications for China's ongoing economic and urban social transformation will be addressed. This will be the first study of its kind, and the University of California Press, a leading publisher in this field, is keen to publish a book based on the study.Read moreRead less
Communities and New Patterns of Stratification in a Chinese City. China plays a major geopolitical role in the Asia-Pacific region. It is essential to understand the political and social challenges faced by China. Whether or not Chinese urban areas are going to experience a period of further growth and stability depends largely on the ability of the Chinese government to manage social change. This research will be the first systematic investigation into contemporary community building in China. ....Communities and New Patterns of Stratification in a Chinese City. China plays a major geopolitical role in the Asia-Pacific region. It is essential to understand the political and social challenges faced by China. Whether or not Chinese urban areas are going to experience a period of further growth and stability depends largely on the ability of the Chinese government to manage social change. This research will be the first systematic investigation into contemporary community building in China. By looking at the fundamental re-organisation of urban society, it will significantly improve the understanding of the complex social implications of China's rapid modernization and regional integration, and provide unprecedented insights on the perspectives for political reform. Read moreRead less
Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an ac ....Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an active and ongoing participation in the creation of the bodies of kin and of the country itself. This is done in a way which actively participates in, rather than merely reproduces, the creative travels of the first ancestral beings. Phenomenology and psychoanalysis theoretically inform my approach.Read moreRead less
Reducing child deaths among the poor in Asian cities: the cultural, social and institutional determinants of child survival. The urban poor experience more, and more variable, child mortality than richer compatriots. Although there are many contributing factors including material poverty, insanitary housing, inaccessible health services, and parental ignorance of good childcare, these do not explain the full extent of the inequities. A key factor is the interest and ability of poor households to ....Reducing child deaths among the poor in Asian cities: the cultural, social and institutional determinants of child survival. The urban poor experience more, and more variable, child mortality than richer compatriots. Although there are many contributing factors including material poverty, insanitary housing, inaccessible health services, and parental ignorance of good childcare, these do not explain the full extent of the inequities. A key factor is the interest and ability of poor households to use their resources, and those of the health services to protect their children's health. This project will use an anthropological-demographic approach in Dhaka and Jakarta to investigate the cultural, social and institutional factors influencing health beliefs and hence treatment decisions at the household level.Read moreRead less
Converting farmland for development: politics, community and conflict in China. This project examines the conversion of farmland for development in China, and examines how different modes of land conversion affect people's participation in local governance, community cohesion and conflict. The research will enhance understanding of domestic Chinese political processes.
The effect of unconventional advocates on public support for climate policy. This project aims to discover whether the presence of unconventional climate advocates in public debate can foster broad-based support for climate policy in Australia. Unconventional advocates include political conservatives, farmers, resource industry workers, and businesspeople. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the role of intersectional social identities in contentious policy debates. Expected outc ....The effect of unconventional advocates on public support for climate policy. This project aims to discover whether the presence of unconventional climate advocates in public debate can foster broad-based support for climate policy in Australia. Unconventional advocates include political conservatives, farmers, resource industry workers, and businesspeople. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the role of intersectional social identities in contentious policy debates. Expected outcomes of this project include evidence-based insights on how to reduce social division about climate policy. This should provide significant benefits such as guidance for policy actors for how to overcome social cleavages to implement climate policy, with relevance to other contentious policy domains.Read moreRead less
Changing children’s chances: Exploring pathways to developmental inequities. This project aims to investigate the causes of health and developmental inequities between Australian children. Inequities are increasingly observed in Australian children’s physical health, social and emotional wellbeing, and academic learning. Such inequities are unjust, unnecessary and potentially preventable. This project aims to understand the pathways leading to these inequities by examining the many contexts in w ....Changing children’s chances: Exploring pathways to developmental inequities. This project aims to investigate the causes of health and developmental inequities between Australian children. Inequities are increasingly observed in Australian children’s physical health, social and emotional wellbeing, and academic learning. Such inequities are unjust, unnecessary and potentially preventable. This project aims to understand the pathways leading to these inequities by examining the many contexts in which children and their families live and grow. Through a series of innovative analyses using existing data, the project aims to identify potentially modifiable factors at the child, family, school, and community level that contribute to developmental inequities. Understanding of the most promising leverage points for interventions to reduce inequities for Australian children could be used to inform policy.Read moreRead less
Trust in a social and digital world. This project aims to provide a systematic and empirically-informed account of the way networks facilitate or hinder knowledge. Distinguishing on-line information from disinformation can be difficult. This task can be greatly assisted by networks of trusted peers, but figuring out who to trust is itself a challenge. Identifying, designing, and facilitating networks of trust is therefore an urgent task. By using the tools of social epistemology, virtue epistemo ....Trust in a social and digital world. This project aims to provide a systematic and empirically-informed account of the way networks facilitate or hinder knowledge. Distinguishing on-line information from disinformation can be difficult. This task can be greatly assisted by networks of trusted peers, but figuring out who to trust is itself a challenge. Identifying, designing, and facilitating networks of trust is therefore an urgent task. By using the tools of social epistemology, virtue epistemology, and network science, this project will identify how individuals should distribute their trust when embedded in epistemically hostile environments.Read moreRead less
The social determinants of childhood injury. Child hood injury is a preventable problem of major importance. This project will provide a comprehensive, research-based policy solution that will minimise death and disability among children zero to three years of age.
Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersectio ....Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersections between postcolonial and cultural studies to speak -- not for Indigenous peoples -- but to the non-Indigenous representation of First Nations. Why? Because this provides key insights into the future of race relations in western democracies.Read moreRead less