Understanding an important aspect of current-day family dynamics: the institution of repartnering in Australia. Families are at the core of Australia's social fabric. Understanding their dynamics assists in developing good policies and mechanisms to support them. Repartnering is an important aspect of current-day family dynamics. Yet we know relatively little about how these partnerships operate. This project will illuminate the patterns and issues central to repartnering and provide a significa ....Understanding an important aspect of current-day family dynamics: the institution of repartnering in Australia. Families are at the core of Australia's social fabric. Understanding their dynamics assists in developing good policies and mechanisms to support them. Repartnering is an important aspect of current-day family dynamics. Yet we know relatively little about how these partnerships operate. This project will illuminate the patterns and issues central to repartnering and provide a significant contribution to social research. Results from this study will equip policy makers with appropriate knowledge to develop policies aimed at assisting families. The findings will contribute to growing international knowledge on family dynamics in repartnered relationships, as well as strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric through stronger families.Read moreRead less
Do Australian parents want both a son and a daughter? From the late 1990s, policy makers became more aware of the importance of fertility in influencing population age structure and growth rates in Australia. The proposed project will augment our understanding of fertility dynamics both current, and over high and low fertility regimes. It will also highlight an important factor in fertility decision-making. There is considerable speculation on the impact of shifting gender-role attitudes on sex ....Do Australian parents want both a son and a daughter? From the late 1990s, policy makers became more aware of the importance of fertility in influencing population age structure and growth rates in Australia. The proposed project will augment our understanding of fertility dynamics both current, and over high and low fertility regimes. It will also highlight an important factor in fertility decision-making. There is considerable speculation on the impact of shifting gender-role attitudes on sex preference, but evidence supporting this is mixed. By developing a deeper understanding of the factors influencing progression to having more children we will be better able to predict fertility trends and provide support to Australian parents. Read moreRead less
Family Formation and Fertility Decline in Nineteenth-Century Tasmania. The fertility decline which began across the industrialised world in the late nineteenth century greatly impacted the demographic, economic and social milieux of the twentieth century and beyond. Using family reconstitution techniques and a wide range of data, this project will explore the mechanisms by which fertility decline was achieved in nineteenth-century Tasmania and the broader societal influences that brought these m ....Family Formation and Fertility Decline in Nineteenth-Century Tasmania. The fertility decline which began across the industrialised world in the late nineteenth century greatly impacted the demographic, economic and social milieux of the twentieth century and beyond. Using family reconstitution techniques and a wide range of data, this project will explore the mechanisms by which fertility decline was achieved in nineteenth-century Tasmania and the broader societal influences that brought these mechanisms into play. The results will advance our understanding of Australia's evolution over the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. The research will result in three journal articles, a single-authored monograph and wide public dissemination.Read moreRead less
Childbearing within cohabiting unions in Australia: trends, explanations and comparison. This project will explore the trends and determinants of childbearing within cohabitation in Australia. The project will contribute to our understanding of modern family dynamics and change. By comparison with other countries we will learn more about the policy settings that assist and support couples to realise their family formation plans.
Inequality in first family formation in contemporary Australia. The timing and context of Australians' entry into parenthood differs across the socio-economic spectrum. This project investigates the socio-economic disparities in entering parenthood, particularly focusing on education and employment differentials as well as socio-demographic factors such as ethnic and religious background, and experience of family dissolution. Using longitudinal panel data, this project aims to: determine the soc ....Inequality in first family formation in contemporary Australia. The timing and context of Australians' entry into parenthood differs across the socio-economic spectrum. This project investigates the socio-economic disparities in entering parenthood, particularly focusing on education and employment differentials as well as socio-demographic factors such as ethnic and religious background, and experience of family dissolution. Using longitudinal panel data, this project aims to: determine the socio-economic and demographic differentials of inequality in first family formation in Australia; discover how inequality in first family formation has changed since the middle of the 20th Century; and, assess how family-policy regime mediates or exacerbates this inequality.Read moreRead less
Using national surveys to uncover and assess potentially harmful sexual practices in Southeast Asia. Studies in Southeast Asia have revealed a wide variety of sexual practices carrying risks to the reproductive health of women and men. This proposal builds on that base to design methods for population level analysis of behaviour and attitudes. It will address key hypotheses related to gender and the assessment of risk, harm and disadvantage. The Australian Aid program and national health depart ....Using national surveys to uncover and assess potentially harmful sexual practices in Southeast Asia. Studies in Southeast Asia have revealed a wide variety of sexual practices carrying risks to the reproductive health of women and men. This proposal builds on that base to design methods for population level analysis of behaviour and attitudes. It will address key hypotheses related to gender and the assessment of risk, harm and disadvantage. The Australian Aid program and national health departments will use the data on unhealthy practices for reproductive health programs. Major beneficiaries include individuals who will be guided away from unhealthy practices, and medical providers who will have more evidence to guide their practice.Read moreRead less
Below replacement fertility among Indigenous Australians: Course, Causes and Regional Variations. This research will enhance the knowledge base on Indigenous Australian fertility and provide a timely contribution to current debate about the social and economic consequences of low fertility and ageing. By engaging an early career researcher and an Indigenous research student, it will expand Australia's research capability on current and future Indigenous population dynamics in what has become a ....Below replacement fertility among Indigenous Australians: Course, Causes and Regional Variations. This research will enhance the knowledge base on Indigenous Australian fertility and provide a timely contribution to current debate about the social and economic consequences of low fertility and ageing. By engaging an early career researcher and an Indigenous research student, it will expand Australia's research capability on current and future Indigenous population dynamics in what has become a neglected area of research. It will ensure that full use is made of public expenditure on the collection of Indigenous social and demographic data. By extending linkages with researchers internationally, it will place Australia at the forefront of global efforts to understand Indigenous demographic transition.Read moreRead less
Socio-economic determinants of future fertility trends in Australia and other developed countries. Future demographic trends will do much to determine Australia's future. Fertility levels will dominate in deciding population numbers, age structure, and the optimum balance between natural increase and immigration. Current ARC-supported research on the theory of demographic transition provides a paradigm for forecasting likely trends, especially when employed with an existing data bank of findings ....Socio-economic determinants of future fertility trends in Australia and other developed countries. Future demographic trends will do much to determine Australia's future. Fertility levels will dominate in deciding population numbers, age structure, and the optimum balance between natural increase and immigration. Current ARC-supported research on the theory of demographic transition provides a paradigm for forecasting likely trends, especially when employed with an existing data bank of findings on social and demographic interrelations. The research is of great national benefit because even small differences in age structure will impact significantly on the size of the labour force, health services, the support of the aged and taxation levels. Relevant policy decisions will need to be made in the near future.Read moreRead less
Interactive Demographic Transition: Analysis and Theory. The demographic transition, or decline in mortality and fertility levels to produce the modern small family and normally long-lived individuals, may well be the most important social change of our time. It has occasioned much research but theory is still in disarray. This is at least partly explained by a disregard for feed-back mechanisms in the form of organized movements supporting and opposing such demographic change. My aim is to r ....Interactive Demographic Transition: Analysis and Theory. The demographic transition, or decline in mortality and fertility levels to produce the modern small family and normally long-lived individuals, may well be the most important social change of our time. It has occasioned much research but theory is still in disarray. This is at least partly explained by a disregard for feed-back mechanisms in the form of organized movements supporting and opposing such demographic change. My aim is to reanalyze data from my own and others? work, taking such interactions into account, to produce a demographic transition theory suited both to historical explanation and the guidance of contemporary policy.Read moreRead less
Social exclusion and teenage motherhood in Australia. Our current understanding of teenage motherhood paints a very grim picture of the lives of teenage mothers and their babies. An over-reliance on the welfare system and social isolation lead to inadequate opportunities for education, employment and productive relationships and are responsible for enhancing social exclusion and weakening a society's social and economic fabric. This project provides great benefit to both the Australian community ....Social exclusion and teenage motherhood in Australia. Our current understanding of teenage motherhood paints a very grim picture of the lives of teenage mothers and their babies. An over-reliance on the welfare system and social isolation lead to inadequate opportunities for education, employment and productive relationships and are responsible for enhancing social exclusion and weakening a society's social and economic fabric. This project provides great benefit to both the Australian community and individual teenage mothers and their children. A deeper understanding will lead to better design of support systems and programs for young mothers and their children.Read moreRead less