Enhancing mothers' engagement with the workforce in the preschool years. Increasing the workforce participation of mothers is a key national policy agenda. This project will produce unique data that provides insights into how leave arrangements, childcare, flexibility, job characteristics and individual circumstances interact to influence mothers' workforce engagement and how this varies for different groups of mothers.
A new healthy living minimum income standard for low-paid and unemployed Australians. This project will generate family budgets to support healthy living among low-wage workers, the unemployed and their families. The project will build on past Australian and recent international research and embody current experience to make it relevant to real needs.
A study of the prevalence, experience and nature of child-to-mother violence in a high risk geographical area. Child-to-mother violence is an under acknowledged but serious problem in the Australian and international contexts. This four phased study will measure the extent, scope and nature of child-to-mother violence in a high risk geographic area of Sydney. It will provide insights into the perspectives of mothers, health and welfare workers. Data will be generated from population survey and ....A study of the prevalence, experience and nature of child-to-mother violence in a high risk geographical area. Child-to-mother violence is an under acknowledged but serious problem in the Australian and international contexts. This four phased study will measure the extent, scope and nature of child-to-mother violence in a high risk geographic area of Sydney. It will provide insights into the perspectives of mothers, health and welfare workers. Data will be generated from population survey and in-depth interviews. Synthesised data will provide a framework for sustainable and supportive interventions for affected families. The findings can be utilised by policy makers and the community to expose and address this complex problem of family violence.Read moreRead less
Are the kids alright? Understanding the wellbeing of Australian children in their middle years. This project will produce the first comprehensive national stock-take of wellbeing among Australian children in their middle years, with a special focus on children who experience disadvantage. Findings will reflect children's views and experiences, have direct policy relevance and lay the groundwork for comparing and monitoring of child wellbeing.
Trends in Time: Work, Family and Social Policy in Australia 1992-2006. This project will contribute to the national priority goal of 'strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric to help families and individuals live healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives', within the National Research Priority of 'promoting good health and well being for all Australians'. It will provide sound new evidence for effective strategies fostering the policy goals of reducing stress on families, maintaining ....Trends in Time: Work, Family and Social Policy in Australia 1992-2006. This project will contribute to the national priority goal of 'strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric to help families and individuals live healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives', within the National Research Priority of 'promoting good health and well being for all Australians'. It will provide sound new evidence for effective strategies fostering the policy goals of reducing stress on families, maintaining fertility and encouraging women into paid work. Identifying measures that most support men and women to balance work-family commitments, to spend adequate time with their children and social networks, and most facilitate female workforce participation, will promote national wellbeing. Read moreRead less
Carers and social inclusion: new frameworks, evidence and policy lessons. This project aims to improve our understanding of informal carers' social inclusion through new conceptual frameworks, geographical and longitudinal analysis and lessons from international best practice. The outcomes of the project will inform Australia policies fostering social inclusion and the social and economic wellbeing of Australian carers.
Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and chi ....Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and child outcomes. The Growing-Up in Australia study (available in 2005) surveys 10,000 children, combining measures of child well-being, existing validated measures of work conditions and family functioning, with a new child-focused diary that measures time and activities undertaken with children. New knowledge generated will inform future policy development.Read moreRead less
Social Support Provided in China to Older People with Disabilities. The project contributes to understanding our region through the opportunity to demonstrate Australia's engagement with China, with which it is establishing strong links in social, economic and cultural interests. It contributes to national understanding of East Asian policies for older people with a disability, including partnership approaches to social support between government, non-government and communities. The project stre ....Social Support Provided in China to Older People with Disabilities. The project contributes to understanding our region through the opportunity to demonstrate Australia's engagement with China, with which it is establishing strong links in social, economic and cultural interests. It contributes to national understanding of East Asian policies for older people with a disability, including partnership approaches to social support between government, non-government and communities. The project strengthens connections between Australian researchers and policy officials, the China Research Centre on Ageing, and Chinese government organisations.Read moreRead less
The emotional and social burden of caring for a young child with complex health needs. The National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Stronger Families and Community Strategy provide a framework for achieving efficient and effective outcomes in early childhood. This project will contribute to those strategies by gaining an understanding of the currently unknown issues faced by the group of families of young infants and children with complex health needs in a variety of geographic, community and ....The emotional and social burden of caring for a young child with complex health needs. The National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Stronger Families and Community Strategy provide a framework for achieving efficient and effective outcomes in early childhood. This project will contribute to those strategies by gaining an understanding of the currently unknown issues faced by the group of families of young infants and children with complex health needs in a variety of geographic, community and service settings, and the government supported services required. The identification of risk and resilience factors will enable the early detection of children at 'high-risk' and provide the opportunity to implement preventative and early intervention programs.Read moreRead less
Inclusion of young children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood services. The aim of this APAI doctoral project is to investigage the barriers to, and factors which facilitate effective inclusion of young children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood services in the Australian funding, policy and practice context. The proposed project combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the process and outcomes of inclusion in long day care, preschool and family day ca ....Inclusion of young children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood services. The aim of this APAI doctoral project is to investigage the barriers to, and factors which facilitate effective inclusion of young children with disabilities in mainstream early childhood services in the Australian funding, policy and practice context. The proposed project combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the process and outcomes of inclusion in long day care, preschool and family day care. The findings will inform policy and practice by enabling early childhood agencies to be more responsive and to better tailor their services to individual child and family needs.Read moreRead less