Technologies of performance, technologies of governance: the bane, benefits, ethics and future of performance measurement in government. This study examines governments' increasing use of performance management and the complex ways this is transforming schools, universities, health and welfare services. It aims to improve service performance by identifying problems areas and engaging wider public perspectives.
Measuring and enhancing community capacity in outback NSW: the case of Broken Hill. The project will elucidate the necessary conditions for rural renewal through intensive analysis of social capital formation and mobilisation in one outback community in NSW. This entails a multidimensional analysis of social capital at the micro and macro levels in Broken Hill, in relation to cross-sector collaboration, interaction with economic, human and ecological factors, the role of community organisations ....Measuring and enhancing community capacity in outback NSW: the case of Broken Hill. The project will elucidate the necessary conditions for rural renewal through intensive analysis of social capital formation and mobilisation in one outback community in NSW. This entails a multidimensional analysis of social capital at the micro and macro levels in Broken Hill, in relation to cross-sector collaboration, interaction with economic, human and ecological factors, the role of community organisations and the social entrepreneur. The project directly addresses the widely acknowledged need to find effective pathways for sustainability of rural communities. The project will produce practical recommendations to policy makers and the community, and will contribute to social capital theory.Read moreRead less
Reading the Social Future of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. This project investigates how and if the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) is building social capital. It does this by interrogating existing practices and operations at the ARCBS and by surveying donors and non-donors. This project aims to develop a Deleuzian critique of the notion of social capital.
Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon househol ....Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon households, along with individual preferences and household, community and workplace structures (and their interaction), drawing out implications for social theory and policy. It will analyse policy, quantitative data, and collect and analyse new qualitative data at Australian sites, within an international context.Read moreRead less
Challenging the neoliberal critique of deficit spending and public debt. This project aims to analyse the rhetoric of balanced budgets by examining its intellectual and political history and revisiting counterarguments. Expected outcomes from the project will include insights into the development of rhetoric based on analysis of archival, textual and interview-based data . Findings from the project will be published in online fora with wide readership in national and international policy circle ....Challenging the neoliberal critique of deficit spending and public debt. This project aims to analyse the rhetoric of balanced budgets by examining its intellectual and political history and revisiting counterarguments. Expected outcomes from the project will include insights into the development of rhetoric based on analysis of archival, textual and interview-based data . Findings from the project will be published in online fora with wide readership in national and international policy circles. The project has the capacity to provide insights into and benefits for policy discourse on government deficit-spending and public debt.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200443
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$241,000.00
Summary
Inequality in Australia: Housing in the Asset Society. The project addresses the role of housing in growing inequalities of wealth in Australia in an era when housing prices have risen faster than wages. It will generate new knowledge about 1) the institutional drivers that have led to a combination of house price appreciation and wage stagnation and 2) the role that intergenerational housing-based wealth transfers are playing in shaping the life chances and trajectories of young people. An expe ....Inequality in Australia: Housing in the Asset Society. The project addresses the role of housing in growing inequalities of wealth in Australia in an era when housing prices have risen faster than wages. It will generate new knowledge about 1) the institutional drivers that have led to a combination of house price appreciation and wage stagnation and 2) the role that intergenerational housing-based wealth transfers are playing in shaping the life chances and trajectories of young people. An expected outcome will be a model of social stratification that takes full account of household asset positions. The findings of the project will provide benefits to organisations seeking practical policy options for addressing growing wealth inequality and for enhancing social cohesion in Australia.Read moreRead less
Social Division and the Pursuit of Harmony Across the Antipodes in the Twentieth Century. Into the twentieth century,reformers envisaged the antipodes as a liberal utopia. The social laboratory in Australia and New Zealand is now viewed as a reactionary social model. This project sets out to place Paul Kelly's influential notion of an Australian Settlement within a series of frames which establish the extent of division and the limits to inclusion alongside the achievements of the antipodean exp ....Social Division and the Pursuit of Harmony Across the Antipodes in the Twentieth Century. Into the twentieth century,reformers envisaged the antipodes as a liberal utopia. The social laboratory in Australia and New Zealand is now viewed as a reactionary social model. This project sets out to place Paul Kelly's influential notion of an Australian Settlement within a series of frames which establish the extent of division and the limits to inclusion alongside the achievements of the antipodean experiment. It considers Arbitration as the core institution of the new liberal utopia, and its transformation by Labor into the 1980s. It will result in a major book, two shorter books and two doctoral theses.Read moreRead less
E-Government: prospects for public administration, citizenship and social theory. This project examines how electronic technologies effect modes of governing and citizenship in liberal democracies. It focuses on electronic client records and electronic communications in social security, taxation and primary health care. It uniquely adopts and extends a theoretical framework (of 'governmentality') and applies an innovative research design to the study of e-government. Attention is given to how e- ....E-Government: prospects for public administration, citizenship and social theory. This project examines how electronic technologies effect modes of governing and citizenship in liberal democracies. It focuses on electronic client records and electronic communications in social security, taxation and primary health care. It uniquely adopts and extends a theoretical framework (of 'governmentality') and applies an innovative research design to the study of e-government. Attention is given to how e-government differently affects rural, urban, young, old, rich and poor persons. Outcomes include theoretical developments in studies of technology, government and citizenship, and the identification of practical ways to realise governmental objectives such as active citizenship, individualised service delivery, access and equity.Read moreRead less
Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, ....Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, regional and national levels. It will help Australian governments and civil society address new challenges in this field. It will also contribute to developing a highly-trained workforce for fundamental research on migration and social transformation. Read moreRead less
Global arenas of knowledge: centre/periphery relations and change in knowledge production on a world scale. This research will increase our understanding of the production and exchange of organised knowledge in the global context. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, quantitative analysis and new social theory, it will provide sociological input into higher education policy and establish a new research trajectory in this emerging international field.