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
From the inevitability of prejudice to the origins of social change: The emergence of perceived illegitimacy in intergroup relations. This project examines the social psychological processes underpinning the (il)legitimacy of intergroup relations, prejudice, and social stability and change. To date it is accepted that those who do not perceive a social system (community, culture, society) as politically and morally legitimate are more likely to reject the status quo and seek change. What is miss ....From the inevitability of prejudice to the origins of social change: The emergence of perceived illegitimacy in intergroup relations. This project examines the social psychological processes underpinning the (il)legitimacy of intergroup relations, prejudice, and social stability and change. To date it is accepted that those who do not perceive a social system (community, culture, society) as politically and morally legitimate are more likely to reject the status quo and seek change. What is missing is the crucial analysis of how and when perceived legitimacy is transformed into illegitimacy. The project elaborates a novel and comprehensive approach to the illegitimacy question based on social identity and self-categorization theories and tests it through a major program of survey and laboratory-based research.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the grea ....Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the greatest benefit; and, investigate the effectiveness of a training program as an intervention to enhance refugee job performance and retention. Results will have significant benefits for refugees, their employers and their communities, and will provide a road-map to improve integration of refugees into Australian society.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354802
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,000.00
Summary
Migration and its socio-economic and cultural consequences in Australia. This network will develop an interdisciplinary multi-layered approach to understanding migration processes and the related social, health and economic effects. With the input of scholars in diverse fields, the network will play a significant role in the development of a national migration database, in training early career researchers and in developing social policy. It will also stimulate new areas of research, integrate t ....Migration and its socio-economic and cultural consequences in Australia. This network will develop an interdisciplinary multi-layered approach to understanding migration processes and the related social, health and economic effects. With the input of scholars in diverse fields, the network will play a significant role in the development of a national migration database, in training early career researchers and in developing social policy. It will also stimulate new areas of research, integrate the dynamics of migrant populations with migrants' own experiences and perceptions, add to knowledge in the priority area 'safeguarding Australia', and enhance our understanding of the cultural, social and economic impact on Australia of a significant migrant presence.Read moreRead less
What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than ....What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than focusing solely on the legal status of migrants, seek to develop mechanisms (eg hotline numbers) to assure their safety. This research examines the claims of safety that this shift from anti-trafficking to safe migration has engendered, and whether and in what terms labour migrants might be consequently safer’. Project results may inform aid programs and government policies.Read moreRead less
Mobility Shocks: Understanding disruptions to Australian migration. This Fellowship aims to generate new knowledge about the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on human migration and mobility, in order to advance understanding of major disruptive changes to population movement more broadly. Fellowship outcomes will include designing innovative geospatial research methods, linking and analysing cutting-edge datasets, and building cross-sector collaborations, in order to develop a new theory of ‘Mob ....Mobility Shocks: Understanding disruptions to Australian migration. This Fellowship aims to generate new knowledge about the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on human migration and mobility, in order to advance understanding of major disruptive changes to population movement more broadly. Fellowship outcomes will include designing innovative geospatial research methods, linking and analysing cutting-edge datasets, and building cross-sector collaborations, in order to develop a new theory of ‘Mobility Shocks’. This will benefit Australia and its migration partners with new ideas, tools, evidence and expertise to help scholars, policy makers and practitioners to understand, anticipate, and manage future disruptive changes to human migration and mobility in the Australian context and beyond.Read moreRead less
Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded t ....Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded typology of contact approach-avoidance that aims to: identify personal and situational determinants driving out-group approach in natural settings; delineate outcomes of out-group approach for psychological processes critical to intergroup relations; and, indicate new interventions for encouraging intergroup contact.Read moreRead less
When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way ....When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way for positive social change. This is not just an academic exercise, but a chance to expose and tackle a form of racism to which the broader public and our own profession appears to turn a blind eye. Moreover, as we expect this research to yield timely and influential discoveries, it will help maintain Australia's position as a world leader in the field of social psychology.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354600
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of th ....Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of the project is to research the commonplace claim that it is reassertions of older forms of traditionalism or cultural and civilizational difference that are the well-spring of contemporary global violence, including terrorism.Read moreRead less
Enlightened Explorations?: Revisioning Gender and Sexuality in British and French Exploratory Voyages of the Pacific. This project aims to compare the representations of gender and sexuality on British and French exploratory voyages of the Pacific from the late eighteenth to the mid- nineteenth century. Starting from the islands of Samoa (Tcherkézoff ) and Vanuatu (Jolly), we will consider the centrality of gender and sexuality in categorizations of different ?races? or ?nations? and especially ....Enlightened Explorations?: Revisioning Gender and Sexuality in British and French Exploratory Voyages of the Pacific. This project aims to compare the representations of gender and sexuality on British and French exploratory voyages of the Pacific from the late eighteenth to the mid- nineteenth century. Starting from the islands of Samoa (Tcherkézoff ) and Vanuatu (Jolly), we will consider the centrality of gender and sexuality in categorizations of different ?races? or ?nations? and especially the distillation of the contrast between Polynesia and Melanesia. These voyages were foundational not just for enduring European visions of the Pacific but for Islander perceptions of and relations with Europeans, and later transformations of indigenous patterns of gender and sexuality.Read moreRead less