Speed, Time and the Political Process in Australia. The project represents the first empirically-based study to research the traditional processes of political decision-making from the perspective of time and speed in the context of economic globalisation and the networked society. A clearer understanding of how political processes function in a globally-networked setting will provide valuable insight into how well the fundamental, politically grounded, aspects of Australian life and culture are ....Speed, Time and the Political Process in Australia. The project represents the first empirically-based study to research the traditional processes of political decision-making from the perspective of time and speed in the context of economic globalisation and the networked society. A clearer understanding of how political processes function in a globally-networked setting will provide valuable insight into how well the fundamental, politically grounded, aspects of Australian life and culture are functioning. This unique perspective will form the basis of an incisive method of applying 'time-awareness' not only to the political process, but to the many national/community sectors across Australian society that depend upon responsible and effective decision-making practices.Read moreRead less
Reasons and Rationality. The project explains how we assess the truth and falsehood of everyday claims about what people have reason to do. It also explains what legitimizes our practice of praising and blaming people for their success and failure at doing what we think they have reason to do. In so doing it provides a foundation for both our ordinary practice of holding people responsible, and for the more institutionalised counterpart of this ordinary practice in the law.
The uneasy alliance between democracy and justice. This project will make a significant contribution to the understanding of our commitment to democratic values and practices, and what it entails for our local, regional and international obligations. It will directly address the challenge of maintaining social cohesion in an era of rapid social, economic and political change. And it will offer a fresh perspective on important public debates to do with Australian national identity and the relatio ....The uneasy alliance between democracy and justice. This project will make a significant contribution to the understanding of our commitment to democratic values and practices, and what it entails for our local, regional and international obligations. It will directly address the challenge of maintaining social cohesion in an era of rapid social, economic and political change. And it will offer a fresh perspective on important public debates to do with Australian national identity and the relation between democratic rights and individual responsibility. The project will also contribute to helping maintain and develop Australian research excellence and innovation in the field of political philosophy.Read moreRead less
The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain o ....The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain of cultural practice.Read moreRead less
A Generic Study of Colette's Short Writing. The study uses "genre" as a key to a literary-historical account of Colette's short writing in its cultural context. The corpus is generically ambiguous, since it first appeared as "articles" in magazines and was later collected in volumes, thus acquiring a more "literary" status as "essays". Taking into account both the conditions of publication and the rhetoric of these pieces, I shall investigate the network of cultural relations in which they parti ....A Generic Study of Colette's Short Writing. The study uses "genre" as a key to a literary-historical account of Colette's short writing in its cultural context. The corpus is generically ambiguous, since it first appeared as "articles" in magazines and was later collected in volumes, thus acquiring a more "literary" status as "essays". Taking into account both the conditions of publication and the rhetoric of these pieces, I shall investigate the network of cultural relations in which they participate, and their command of their readership. This will show how Colette made a place for "women's knowledge" in public culture and what that place was.Read moreRead less
Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that st ....Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that stands to integrate film studies within the core of humanities education in tertiary institutions. This will ensure the ongoing relevance of philosophical and aesthetic research to contemporary cultural formations and stimulate ethical debates about culture and the mass media in the broader community.Read moreRead less
Work and self-development: a philosophical reappraisal. Many Australians are worried about work, perhaps in more complex ways than ever before. Young people entering work lack the orientation once provided by established career paths, mid-life workers are often subject to disorienting shifts in role and difficulties finding the right 'work-life' balance, and many people leaving work find their lives suddenly bereft of meaning. This project will shed light on these anxieties by framing work withi ....Work and self-development: a philosophical reappraisal. Many Australians are worried about work, perhaps in more complex ways than ever before. Young people entering work lack the orientation once provided by established career paths, mid-life workers are often subject to disorienting shifts in role and difficulties finding the right 'work-life' balance, and many people leaving work find their lives suddenly bereft of meaning. This project will shed light on these anxieties by framing work within an image of the human that does justice to the depth and complexity of contemporary work experience. It promises a deeper understanding of work that would help promote good health and strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Applying the Ethics of Recognition: Work and the Social Bond. Work matters to most Australians. It is not just of instrumental value, worth it just for the money: a good, fulfilling job is integral to a fulfilled life. Our sense of well-being is inseparably bound up with how things are going at work. But how is this well-being sustained? What moral expectations do we bring to work and what happens when they are not met? This project will develop new answers to these questions by focusing on clai ....Applying the Ethics of Recognition: Work and the Social Bond. Work matters to most Australians. It is not just of instrumental value, worth it just for the money: a good, fulfilling job is integral to a fulfilled life. Our sense of well-being is inseparably bound up with how things are going at work. But how is this well-being sustained? What moral expectations do we bring to work and what happens when they are not met? This project will develop new answers to these questions by focusing on claims for recognition arising out of work. Experiences of misrecognition at work, we propose, seriously damage one's capacity to lead a fulfilling life. By identifying ways in which recognition can be given or denied at work, the project will be of great community benefit.Read moreRead less
The Atacama and Australian mining companies: identity, intercultural communication and negotiation in northern Chile. The involvement by state administrations and global corporations in planning for social responsibility in mining and the resulting negotiations with citizens - especially groups identified as indigenous - brings a range of people into dialogue. However, these contexts are under-researched. The proposed project will contribute an independent study of relationships between Chilean ....The Atacama and Australian mining companies: identity, intercultural communication and negotiation in northern Chile. The involvement by state administrations and global corporations in planning for social responsibility in mining and the resulting negotiations with citizens - especially groups identified as indigenous - brings a range of people into dialogue. However, these contexts are under-researched. The proposed project will contribute an independent study of relationships between Chilean citizens, Australian mining companies and the state in northern Chile. It seeks to provide theoretical insights and offer practical information in academic and plain language for local negotiators, global business and state administration: a timely analysis given recently (2008) signed Free Trade Agreement with Chile.Read moreRead less
Autonomy and Identity: A Relational Theory. Autonomy is widely regarded as an important value in liberal democratic societies and underpins many of the basic rights and legal protections enjoyed by citizens. The principle of respect for autonomy is a guiding ethical principle in a range of areas, including in medical and legal contexts, for example in requirements regarding informed consent, and in ethical guidelines governing protocols for research involving human subjects. A better understandi ....Autonomy and Identity: A Relational Theory. Autonomy is widely regarded as an important value in liberal democratic societies and underpins many of the basic rights and legal protections enjoyed by citizens. The principle of respect for autonomy is a guiding ethical principle in a range of areas, including in medical and legal contexts, for example in requirements regarding informed consent, and in ethical guidelines governing protocols for research involving human subjects. A better understanding of autonomy and its relationship to the social context has the potential to produce indirect socio-economic benefits by informing theory and practice in these and other areas. Read moreRead less