Place, Commonality and the Human: Towards a New Philosophical Anthropology. This project proposes a new philosophical vision of what it means to be human. Combining historical and conceptual approaches, the project aims to develop a new philosophical anthropology that centres on understanding human beings in terms of both place and commonality. This account is designed to provide the basis for a rethought conception of the ethics that are bound to human life and that understands the ethical as e ....Place, Commonality and the Human: Towards a New Philosophical Anthropology. This project proposes a new philosophical vision of what it means to be human. Combining historical and conceptual approaches, the project aims to develop a new philosophical anthropology that centres on understanding human beings in terms of both place and commonality. This account is designed to provide the basis for a rethought conception of the ethics that are bound to human life and that understands the ethical as essentially a matter of judgment rather than prescriptive rule. Given the centrality of the concept of the human to any thinking about our contemporary situation, the project would have both applied and interdisciplinary relevance.Read moreRead less
Time and Politics: A Rapprochement of Analytic Political Philosophy and Post-structuralism. The most obvious benefits of this project will be academic, in that it will enrich contemporary political philosophy and advance theoretical work on the post-structuralism of Derrida and Deleuze. I will also be consulting with philosophers across Australia of both analytic and 'European' persuasion, and encouraging such a dialogue contributes to what is an emerging movement to break down the oppositional ....Time and Politics: A Rapprochement of Analytic Political Philosophy and Post-structuralism. The most obvious benefits of this project will be academic, in that it will enrich contemporary political philosophy and advance theoretical work on the post-structuralism of Derrida and Deleuze. I will also be consulting with philosophers across Australia of both analytic and 'European' persuasion, and encouraging such a dialogue contributes to what is an emerging movement to break down the oppositional thinking that has pervaded the Australian philosophical community. Finally, the findings of this project will also be used to instigate new ways of thinking regarding political issues afflicting Australians and the world, particularly in regard to refugees and reconciliation.
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Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public ....Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public holds these views; and what influence these views have on policy and practice. The project is expected to make contributions to: creating information strategies that properly inform the public; supporting prisoner reintegration strategies; and shaping criminal justice policies based on informed community feedback.Read moreRead less
Architecture and industry: the migrant contribution to nation-building. This project aims to explore the post-war architectural, rural and industrial landscapes of Australia as shaped by the labour of displaced persons. Migrants after the Second World War were critical to the spatial making of modern Australia. Major federally-funded industries driving post-war nation-building programs depended on the employment of large numbers of war-displaced persons. While the immigrant contribution to natio ....Architecture and industry: the migrant contribution to nation-building. This project aims to explore the post-war architectural, rural and industrial landscapes of Australia as shaped by the labour of displaced persons. Migrants after the Second World War were critical to the spatial making of modern Australia. Major federally-funded industries driving post-war nation-building programs depended on the employment of large numbers of war-displaced persons. While the immigrant contribution to nation-building in cultural terms is well-known, its everyday spatial, architectural and landscape transformations remain unexamined. This project aims to bring to the foreground post-war industry and immigration to comprehensively document a how Australia has uniquely shaped its built environment.Read moreRead less
Challenging the stigmatisation of poverty and place-based disadvantage. There is widespread community tolerance for using demeaning and derisory stereotypes to describe individuals experiencing poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage. This negative stereotyping, which also attaches to neighbourhoods with high proportions of disadvantaged households, has many adverse effects and undermines poverty reduction efforts. The proposed research will examine the influence of the media on wider community a ....Challenging the stigmatisation of poverty and place-based disadvantage. There is widespread community tolerance for using demeaning and derisory stereotypes to describe individuals experiencing poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage. This negative stereotyping, which also attaches to neighbourhoods with high proportions of disadvantaged households, has many adverse effects and undermines poverty reduction efforts. The proposed research will examine the influence of the media on wider community attitudes to poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage in Australia and the United Kingdom, develop an innovative method for research involving populations vulnerable to being stigmatised, and generate new knowledge of the effects of poverty stigma. Findings will inform strategies for challenging stigma. Read moreRead less
Deliberative Democracy and Citizenship: A Study of Deliberative Polling and Participatory Budgeting in China. The result of this research will enhance Australian democracy-promotion activities overseas, foster Chinese learning from Australian deliberative democratic experiences, as well as benefiting Australian governmental agencies such as AusAID and Australian NGOs working in this field. The project will also strengthen cooperation between Australian researchers and their counterparts in China ....Deliberative Democracy and Citizenship: A Study of Deliberative Polling and Participatory Budgeting in China. The result of this research will enhance Australian democracy-promotion activities overseas, foster Chinese learning from Australian deliberative democratic experiences, as well as benefiting Australian governmental agencies such as AusAID and Australian NGOs working in this field. The project will also strengthen cooperation between Australian researchers and their counterparts in China. The lessons learned from this Chinese experiment can be used to improve the quality of citizen participation and to develop more effective means of public participation and consultation in Australia. The project will contribute to the Australian government's dialogue approach to human rights issues in China since 1989.Read moreRead less
Western Theory of Deliberative Democracy and Chinese Practice of Participatory and Deliberative Institutions. This project is aimed to study how various participatory and deliberative institutions are pursued and promoted by peasants and residents in local governance in China. It is the first study that builds a bridge between Western theory of deliberative democracy and Chinese deliberative practice, adding to our knowledge of local participatory institutions in local China, contributing to a b ....Western Theory of Deliberative Democracy and Chinese Practice of Participatory and Deliberative Institutions. This project is aimed to study how various participatory and deliberative institutions are pursued and promoted by peasants and residents in local governance in China. It is the first study that builds a bridge between Western theory of deliberative democracy and Chinese deliberative practice, adding to our knowledge of local participatory institutions in local China, contributing to a better design of, and improvement of, these institutions, and developing lessons and policy implications that will be broadly applicable not only to most parts of China, but also to other developing countries and beyond.Read moreRead less
Enabling social innovation for local climate adaptability. Climate variability and change is likely to be felt most acutely at the local scale in Australia. This is where inter/national and State policies are translated into practices to prepare for, and adapt to, anticipated impacts of heatwaves, bushfires and floods. This project will investigate tensions and potentialities between risk-based assessments by local governance agencies and innovations by local groups and Non-Government Organisati ....Enabling social innovation for local climate adaptability. Climate variability and change is likely to be felt most acutely at the local scale in Australia. This is where inter/national and State policies are translated into practices to prepare for, and adapt to, anticipated impacts of heatwaves, bushfires and floods. This project will investigate tensions and potentialities between risk-based assessments by local governance agencies and innovations by local groups and Non-Government Organisations. The research will utilise an innovative mixed-methods approach to investigate and to analyse the strategies and experiments of adaptation practices. It aims to develop new ways of identifying and implementing practical, local, adaptive responses that are contextually relevant, socially innovative and capacity building.Read moreRead less
School retention through alternative schooling: towards a socially just approach to education. This project is concerned with how mainstream schools may become more socially just and inclusive of all young people through an analysis of alternative schools specifically designed for this purpose. Such a concern is critical for lifting school retention rates of marginalised young people and improving practices in all schools.