Integrated Futures for the use of Motorised Mobility Devices. People using Motorised Mobility Devices (MMDs) face increased regulation. A pessimism exists about the future of MMDs because of the lack of evidence and explanation of MMD use in transport decision making. This project aims to fundamentally change knowledge about the everyday meanings and experiences of MMDs. The project seeks to provide comparative, trustworthy and in-depth baseline empirical data about how people who are reliant u ....Integrated Futures for the use of Motorised Mobility Devices. People using Motorised Mobility Devices (MMDs) face increased regulation. A pessimism exists about the future of MMDs because of the lack of evidence and explanation of MMD use in transport decision making. This project aims to fundamentally change knowledge about the everyday meanings and experiences of MMDs. The project seeks to provide comparative, trustworthy and in-depth baseline empirical data about how people who are reliant upon MMDs negotiate the current transport infrastructure. Expected outcomes with our Partner Organisation, Assistive Technology Services Australia, include a database of deliberative strategies. This project will benefit Australia’s urban and regional communities through a better understanding of transport. Read moreRead less
The impacts of land ownership change on rural social and economic change. This project aims to develop a comprehensive framework for explaining how and why rural land is changing hands, what this means for the ways we understand socio-economic change in rural Australia, and how it can inform best-practice rural and regional decision making by public, private and community sector interests. The project will generate a unique, research-ready database that will detail every land transaction in rura ....The impacts of land ownership change on rural social and economic change. This project aims to develop a comprehensive framework for explaining how and why rural land is changing hands, what this means for the ways we understand socio-economic change in rural Australia, and how it can inform best-practice rural and regional decision making by public, private and community sector interests. The project will generate a unique, research-ready database that will detail every land transaction in rural NSW over a period of ten years, and analyse these data in light of complementary datasets and a series of in-depth interviews with land-owners and key stakeholders. The project expects to transform national understanding of rural land-ownership change, and promote best practice decision making.Read moreRead less
Mapping the Political Ecology of the Edible Birds’ Nests Trade in Indonesia. This study examines the origins and impacts of the rapidly emerging edible birds’ nests (EBN) trade for rural livelihoods and ecologies in Southeast Asia. A high-value Chinese delicacy, the EBN trade has surged across rural Indonesia and beyond. In partnership with the WWF and Tropenbos, our pioneering study investigates how rural producers negotiate the uneven social, economic and environmental influences of the EBN co ....Mapping the Political Ecology of the Edible Birds’ Nests Trade in Indonesia. This study examines the origins and impacts of the rapidly emerging edible birds’ nests (EBN) trade for rural livelihoods and ecologies in Southeast Asia. A high-value Chinese delicacy, the EBN trade has surged across rural Indonesia and beyond. In partnership with the WWF and Tropenbos, our pioneering study investigates how rural producers negotiate the uneven social, economic and environmental influences of the EBN commodity chain in the threatened Heart of Borneo, Indonesia, and the major urban trading centres of Jakarta, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The project offers novel insights into the trade’s sustainability across rural and urban regions of Asia and informs policy for poverty reduction and environmental management in the region.Read moreRead less
Storying and repairing water places in Wiradjuri Country. This project will centre Aboriginal knowledges to story, care for and repair Wiradjuri Country around the Mudgee area, central west NSW. Sharing information is a key goal of this project. Wiradjuri people are keen to see their cultural, economic, social and environmental knowledge about Country recorded and shared for people in the Mudgee area and beyond. By documenting in story form the proposed on-Country Learning, this project can faci ....Storying and repairing water places in Wiradjuri Country. This project will centre Aboriginal knowledges to story, care for and repair Wiradjuri Country around the Mudgee area, central west NSW. Sharing information is a key goal of this project. Wiradjuri people are keen to see their cultural, economic, social and environmental knowledge about Country recorded and shared for people in the Mudgee area and beyond. By documenting in story form the proposed on-Country Learning, this project can facilitate this process and serve as a pathway for other co-management contexts. At the heart of the project is on-Country Learning which will bring key collaborators, community members and local school students together on, and with, Country. Read moreRead less
Settling well in regional Australia: Experiences of people from refugee backgrounds. Regional humanitarian settlement is a key priority across all levels of government in Australia. This study aims to provide the first longitudinal assessment of the impacts of regional settlement for humanitarian migrants and destination communities. Its innovative, mixed-method and multi-sited approach will generate new knowledge of the opportunities and challenges for sustainable regional settlement. Expected ....Settling well in regional Australia: Experiences of people from refugee backgrounds. Regional humanitarian settlement is a key priority across all levels of government in Australia. This study aims to provide the first longitudinal assessment of the impacts of regional settlement for humanitarian migrants and destination communities. Its innovative, mixed-method and multi-sited approach will generate new knowledge of the opportunities and challenges for sustainable regional settlement. Expected outcomes include enhanced community, organisational and government decision-making capacity. By guiding end-users’ current and future actions, the study has strong potential to support the wellbeing of humanitarian migrants and to contribute to healthy and resilient regional communities.Read moreRead less
Living with Urban Heat: Becoming Climate-Ready in Social Housing . This project aims to address liveability in rapidly warming cities by focusing on the role that social practice plays in complementing technical and infrastructural cooling solutions. This project expects to generate new knowledge about equitable heat adaptive practices. It does so by working with culturally diverse social housing residents using an innovative blend of participatory action research and transition design. Expected ....Living with Urban Heat: Becoming Climate-Ready in Social Housing . This project aims to address liveability in rapidly warming cities by focusing on the role that social practice plays in complementing technical and infrastructural cooling solutions. This project expects to generate new knowledge about equitable heat adaptive practices. It does so by working with culturally diverse social housing residents using an innovative blend of participatory action research and transition design. Expected outcomes of this project include practical, low-cost cooling strategies that can be implemented now, along with increased social input into planning for the hotter urban future. This should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced civic capacity to generate society-wide climate readiness. Read moreRead less
The impacts of industry restructuring. This project aims to shed light on how Australia's workforce and communities will engage with the world of work in a future shaped by new business models and disruptive technologies. Using the closure of the automotive industry as a lens into this topic, the project will provide new insights into how displaced workers find work, use services, relate to others, and reshape their futures. It sheds light on the community-wide impacts of restructuring, providin ....The impacts of industry restructuring. This project aims to shed light on how Australia's workforce and communities will engage with the world of work in a future shaped by new business models and disruptive technologies. Using the closure of the automotive industry as a lens into this topic, the project will provide new insights into how displaced workers find work, use services, relate to others, and reshape their futures. It sheds light on the community-wide impacts of restructuring, providing new perspectives on how local resources and public policies best advance the process of adjustment.Read moreRead less
Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills devel ....Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills development and contributions to regional economic development. Research outputs will provide a sound evidence base for government policy and decision-making and strengthen conceptual understanding of drivers and enablers of reuse and links with broader economic activities. Read moreRead less
The power of public spaces to connect communities and places. The project aims to uncover the vital role of public spaces during COVID-19 and in a time of climate change. Public spaces are not just places that are nice to have, they are an essential civic and environmental asset. The project adopts a collaborative framework to build dialogue, bridge academic and industry practice and promote debate about how to sustain public spaces now and in the future. Expected outcomes include new understand ....The power of public spaces to connect communities and places. The project aims to uncover the vital role of public spaces during COVID-19 and in a time of climate change. Public spaces are not just places that are nice to have, they are an essential civic and environmental asset. The project adopts a collaborative framework to build dialogue, bridge academic and industry practice and promote debate about how to sustain public spaces now and in the future. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the diversity of community connections to public space and the importance of Indigenous leadership in public space-making and design. Benefits include an interactive website that will communicate new roles for public space and provide a valuable resource for communities, educators and governments. Read moreRead less
Solar E-Waste in Africa: facilitating the right to repair. This project aims to investigate the issue of solar e-waste in Sub Saharan Africa – an outcome of the global transition to renewable energy – and emergent local repair geographies equipped to address this challenge. This project is designed to generate new knowledge regarding solar e-waste using interdisciplinary approaches to critically map the issue and assess the viability and justice implications of possible product repair solutions. ....Solar E-Waste in Africa: facilitating the right to repair. This project aims to investigate the issue of solar e-waste in Sub Saharan Africa – an outcome of the global transition to renewable energy – and emergent local repair geographies equipped to address this challenge. This project is designed to generate new knowledge regarding solar e-waste using interdisciplinary approaches to critically map the issue and assess the viability and justice implications of possible product repair solutions. Expected outcomes of this project include a detailed understanding of the solar e-waste problem in Global South settings, and an assessment of local repair approaches. This will provide significant benefits for actors in Sub Saharan and similar Global South contexts grappling with solar e-waste.Read moreRead less