The Smith Family VIEW Clubs of Australia: From Philanthropy towards Social Enterprise. This project offers the opportunity to do original and innovative research with one of Australia's most successful women's community service organisations, The Smith Family VIEW (Voice, Interests and Education of Women) Clubs. The research will investigate the clubs' response to The Smith Family plan for them to play a new role in social development and social change, and whether this response differs among cl ....The Smith Family VIEW Clubs of Australia: From Philanthropy towards Social Enterprise. This project offers the opportunity to do original and innovative research with one of Australia's most successful women's community service organisations, The Smith Family VIEW (Voice, Interests and Education of Women) Clubs. The research will investigate the clubs' response to The Smith Family plan for them to play a new role in social development and social change, and whether this response differs among clubs in rural and regional and metropolitan areas. Conducted in collaboration with a major national community organisation, the project will provide multi-disciplinary training in social policy in the specialist research environment of the Social Policy Research Centre.Read moreRead less
Making a Difference: Building on Children's Perspectives on Economic Adversity. Governments allocate a large volume of resources to address the needs of children. Investigating children's perspectives on the nature and impacts of economic adversity in the family, at school and in the community will provide a better understanding of how policy can make a difference to children's lives. The direct involvement of major government and non-government agencies in the research will strengthen its relev ....Making a Difference: Building on Children's Perspectives on Economic Adversity. Governments allocate a large volume of resources to address the needs of children. Investigating children's perspectives on the nature and impacts of economic adversity in the family, at school and in the community will provide a better understanding of how policy can make a difference to children's lives. The direct involvement of major government and non-government agencies in the research will strengthen its relevance and impact. The resulting improvements in service design and delivery will generate substantial economic and social benefits in areas that align with the designated national research priorities.Read moreRead less
Life after care: the life-histories of those who left institutional and other forms of out-of-home care, 1945-1989. This project, developed in close collaboration with the Industry Partner, MacKillop Family Services, will examine the impact of having been in out-of-home care for the subsequent identities and life histories of successive generations of care leavers. While focused on Catholic institutions in Victoria, it will provide more general insights into the role of church-based children's h ....Life after care: the life-histories of those who left institutional and other forms of out-of-home care, 1945-1989. This project, developed in close collaboration with the Industry Partner, MacKillop Family Services, will examine the impact of having been in out-of-home care for the subsequent identities and life histories of successive generations of care leavers. While focused on Catholic institutions in Victoria, it will provide more general insights into the role of church-based children's homes. Based on archival and oral history methods, it will also be an opportunity for those who experienced care to tell the story of life after leaving care.Read moreRead less
Left Out and Missing Out: Towards New Indicators of Social Exclusion and Material Deprivation. This ground-breaking project will utilise academic knowledge and practical agency experience built up over decades to produce a new framework for identifying and measuring exclusion and deprivation in contemporary Australian society. It will generate new findings on public attitudes to the 'necessary requirements' needed to participate at all levels in society and the economy. It will examine the popul ....Left Out and Missing Out: Towards New Indicators of Social Exclusion and Material Deprivation. This ground-breaking project will utilise academic knowledge and practical agency experience built up over decades to produce a new framework for identifying and measuring exclusion and deprivation in contemporary Australian society. It will generate new findings on public attitudes to the 'necessary requirements' needed to participate at all levels in society and the economy. It will examine the population profile of the individuals and groups who are denied these opportunities, using both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group) data, and its findings will complement existing data collections.Read moreRead less
Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community service ....Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community services in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Meals on Wheels is integral within community care for frail, older people and those with disabilities, keeping people in their own homes and out of institutional care. Using national and international examples, the research has the potential to be adopted by the broad community services sector in Australia.Read moreRead less
History of the Victorian Women's Refuge Movement, 1974-2004. Using a rich archive of source material and in-depth interviews, this PhD project will trace the unique history of the women's refuge movement in Victoria, from its initiation in 1974 through to a period of significant change in 2004. In doing so, the project will consider the ways that a diverse range of organisations worked together to achieve significant social change. These changes will be located within the wider domestic violence ....History of the Victorian Women's Refuge Movement, 1974-2004. Using a rich archive of source material and in-depth interviews, this PhD project will trace the unique history of the women's refuge movement in Victoria, from its initiation in 1974 through to a period of significant change in 2004. In doing so, the project will consider the ways that a diverse range of organisations worked together to achieve significant social change. These changes will be located within the wider domestic violence policy context and the research will inform future policy development through the careful consideration of services provided in the past.Read moreRead less
Social disadvantage and economic recession: promoting inclusion and combating deprivation. The onset of recession in the wake of the global financial crisis has reawakened concern over inequality and exclusion. This project will feed directly into the government's new social inclusion agenda by providing a better understanding of the nature of social exclusion, its relation to location-specific and other dimensions of disadvantage, and the processes that trigger and sustain exclusion. A speciall ....Social disadvantage and economic recession: promoting inclusion and combating deprivation. The onset of recession in the wake of the global financial crisis has reawakened concern over inequality and exclusion. This project will feed directly into the government's new social inclusion agenda by providing a better understanding of the nature of social exclusion, its relation to location-specific and other dimensions of disadvantage, and the processes that trigger and sustain exclusion. A specially designed survey will be coordinated with other data collection activity to provide timely new information that will assist government and non-government agencies to promote social inclusion and tackle the root causes of disadvantage.Read moreRead less
Ten Thousand Homeless People. Effective interventions to assist homeless people depend upon understanding the reasons why households become homeless. This research will investigate people's pathways into and out of the homeless population, and explain why some households experience a short period of homelessness, whereas others remain homeless for a sustained period of time. The research will also investigate why some 'at risk' households become homeless. This will be the largest data base ev ....Ten Thousand Homeless People. Effective interventions to assist homeless people depend upon understanding the reasons why households become homeless. This research will investigate people's pathways into and out of the homeless population, and explain why some households experience a short period of homelessness, whereas others remain homeless for a sustained period of time. The research will also investigate why some 'at risk' households become homeless. This will be the largest data base ever analysed on homeless pathways in Australia (N=10,000). The research will provide guidance for policy makers and service providers for some years to come.Read moreRead less
Growing Old in a Rapidly Changing World: Living Conditions and Inequalities Amongst the Aged in China. China is set to dominate the world stage in the current millennium and ageing will present challenges to all nations. This research will benefit understanding of these issues by enriching our understanding of how older people in China cope with rapid change by documenting the factors that produce improved living conditions, including strong family and community relations. A component of the res ....Growing Old in a Rapidly Changing World: Living Conditions and Inequalities Amongst the Aged in China. China is set to dominate the world stage in the current millennium and ageing will present challenges to all nations. This research will benefit understanding of these issues by enriching our understanding of how older people in China cope with rapid change by documenting the factors that produce improved living conditions, including strong family and community relations. A component of the research will draw comparisons with Australia in order to increase the relevance of the study which will build ageing research capacity in both China and Australia.Read moreRead less
Creating better pathways into civic participation for young homeless people through sustainable accommodation and support program models. A sustained independent living environment is a significant contributor to health and well being. This project will offer new insights into how young homeless people use and experience supported accommodation and programs. It will recommend practical models for policy development, practice and service delivery.