The Australian Book Industry: Authors, publishers and readers in a time of change. The Australian book sector contributes over $2 billion annually to the economy and is one of our most important creative industries. But the rise of e-books and other developments in digital technologies are leading to paradigmatic change across the entire book supply chain. This project addresses the nature of responses to these changes at three principal points in the chain: authors, publishers and readers. The ....The Australian Book Industry: Authors, publishers and readers in a time of change. The Australian book sector contributes over $2 billion annually to the economy and is one of our most important creative industries. But the rise of e-books and other developments in digital technologies are leading to paradigmatic change across the entire book supply chain. This project addresses the nature of responses to these changes at three principal points in the chain: authors, publishers and readers. The project develops an innovative approach to analysing the contribution the book industry makes to the Australian economy and to our national cultural life. It will generate extensive new data and analyses to inform government and industry policy-making at this critical period in the industry’s history.Read moreRead less
Assessing the economic and cultural value of Australian theatre. The aim of this project is to determine how the economic and cultural value of artistic and cultural enterprises is created, transmitted and received, with application to the live theatre. The project takes a novel theoretical approach to analysing these issues and develops new methods for empirical application. It expects to develop an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to analysing how theatre companies create value for their ....Assessing the economic and cultural value of Australian theatre. The aim of this project is to determine how the economic and cultural value of artistic and cultural enterprises is created, transmitted and received, with application to the live theatre. The project takes a novel theoretical approach to analysing these issues and develops new methods for empirical application. It expects to develop an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to analysing how theatre companies create value for their audiences, for theatre practitioners, for theatre as an artform, and for communities. The expected benefits include providing performing arts organisations and policymakers with new methods to demonstrate the full range of value yielded by the arts – enabling greater confidence in the allocation of funding.Read moreRead less
Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater empha ....Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater emphasis on engaging students more directly in decisions about their education, including those with special needs. Schools urgently require knowledge about the key elements of participation that impact on wellbeing and a tool for measuring and monitoring their performance in facilitating these elements.Read moreRead less
Bridging worlds, linking cultures: an electronic planning tool for the Western Sydney region. This project aims to address, theoretically and practically, goals and demands for cultural planning in the information age. It will develop principles and procedures for using the immense power of digital resources within a framework that is aware of the richness and diversity of societies, communities and cultures, integrating subjective and objective data holistically into local government planning p ....Bridging worlds, linking cultures: an electronic planning tool for the Western Sydney region. This project aims to address, theoretically and practically, goals and demands for cultural planning in the information age. It will develop principles and procedures for using the immense power of digital resources within a framework that is aware of the richness and diversity of societies, communities and cultures, integrating subjective and objective data holistically into local government planning processes. It will use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) digital infrastructure to develop new information architecture, new interface designs and new strategies to interrogate and use available databases and information systems relevant to regional strategic cultural planning in Greater Western Sydney.Read moreRead less
'The Independents' and Cultural Policy. This project will establish research partnerships between two cultural policy research centres at the University of Belfast and Nottingham Trent University, and Griffith University to develop; (1) best practice frameworks and analytical instruments for research on the independent micro-business sector of the creative industries in Australia and the UK, and (2) the evaluation of cultural policies designed to facilitate and cohere this sector.
Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerabili ....Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerability, dependency and the like. This project aims to better understand and address the tensions between the protection of children and their participation in research, and to explore how ethics committees, parents, other gatekeepers and children themselves manage and navigate these tensions.Read moreRead less
Beyond global discourses of data: Storying learning in marginalised schools. Globally, Australian school education is seen as under-performing. Consequently, attention to data, particularly numeric and standardised test data, in schools have become pervasive. This project aims to understand how teachers and educators in schools and school systems actually engage with a broader conception of data for enhanced learning, on a truly global scale, particularly in schools serving struggling communiti ....Beyond global discourses of data: Storying learning in marginalised schools. Globally, Australian school education is seen as under-performing. Consequently, attention to data, particularly numeric and standardised test data, in schools have become pervasive. This project aims to understand how teachers and educators in schools and school systems actually engage with a broader conception of data for enhanced learning, on a truly global scale, particularly in schools serving struggling communities. This project will reveal the myriad ways educators in diverse settings - England, Australia, Singapore and Bangladesh - engage with data. The project will re-conceptualise how data are understood globally, and will provide significant benefits including informing education policy-making and improving teaching practices.Read moreRead less
How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling setting ....How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling settings in a broadly neoliberal, global context.Read moreRead less
Teaching workforce development through integrated partnerships. This project aims to understand integrated school-university partnerships’ effects on schools as workplaces and as learning spaces for beginning teachers. Australian governments endorse integrated partnerships to enhance the quality of teaching and address changing environments, but the effects of these partnerships on teaching workforce development are unknown The project will research partnerships as complex and entangled networks ....Teaching workforce development through integrated partnerships. This project aims to understand integrated school-university partnerships’ effects on schools as workplaces and as learning spaces for beginning teachers. Australian governments endorse integrated partnerships to enhance the quality of teaching and address changing environments, but the effects of these partnerships on teaching workforce development are unknown The project will research partnerships as complex and entangled networks, develop a theory of partnership work, and identify practical models that inform partnership development and capacities and strategies necessary in partnership work. The project is expected to contribute to the renewal of teaching workforce development in Australia.Read moreRead less
Creative Industries in Queensland: Cluster Mapping and Value-chain Analysis. 'Creative industries' is a new term in academic, policy and industry discourse that captures 'new economy enterprise' dynamics which associated categories 'the arts', 'media' and cultural industries' do not. This project will advance the conceptualisation of creative industries and assist policy and industry by analysing the creative industries in Queensland with a business model of value chain and cluster mapping. Si ....Creative Industries in Queensland: Cluster Mapping and Value-chain Analysis. 'Creative industries' is a new term in academic, policy and industry discourse that captures 'new economy enterprise' dynamics which associated categories 'the arts', 'media' and cultural industries' do not. This project will advance the conceptualisation of creative industries and assist policy and industry by analysing the creative industries in Queensland with a business model of value chain and cluster mapping. Significantly, it will highlight integrated value chain relationships rather than 'silo' constructions of the sector; and produce data useful for informed economics and cultural development strategies by industry partners. Its innovations will benefit industry, and governments, agencies, and councils.Read moreRead less