Enhanced Humans, Robotics and the Future of Work. The aim of the project is to generate new and powerful understandings of the social consequences of robotics and artificial intelligence. The project aims to develop an understanding of technologically-mediated mobility processes and test their capacity to address such issues as social futures and the sorts of digital skills that Australians will require for future jobs. It plans to use social theory to explore technological scenarios and hypothe ....Enhanced Humans, Robotics and the Future of Work. The aim of the project is to generate new and powerful understandings of the social consequences of robotics and artificial intelligence. The project aims to develop an understanding of technologically-mediated mobility processes and test their capacity to address such issues as social futures and the sorts of digital skills that Australians will require for future jobs. It plans to use social theory to explore technological scenarios and hypotheses concerning possible societal futures in Australia and beyond. Project outcomes may inform social science and contribute to worldwide efforts to solve global policy problems from work and unemployment to lifestyle change.Read moreRead less
Far Right in Australia: Intellectuals, Masculinity and Citizenship. This project will investigate male-dominated far right groups in Australia by looking at their intellectual underpinnings. The sociological focus is on how core ideas inflect tropes of masculinity and the phenomena of weak citizenship. This moves beyond a simple stereotype of angry, disenfranchised young men; to grasp the radical right-wing thinking that motivates them, and informs their hate rhetoric and actions. Using multi-me ....Far Right in Australia: Intellectuals, Masculinity and Citizenship. This project will investigate male-dominated far right groups in Australia by looking at their intellectual underpinnings. The sociological focus is on how core ideas inflect tropes of masculinity and the phenomena of weak citizenship. This moves beyond a simple stereotype of angry, disenfranchised young men; to grasp the radical right-wing thinking that motivates them, and informs their hate rhetoric and actions. Using multi-methods, we will explore attitudes, and use of transnational far right ideas to 'imagine' Australia. The project will generate new knowledge of how bonds of citizenship have weakened amongst men who define themselves at the margins; yielding insights into how masculinity is actively utilised as a recruitment mechanism.Read moreRead less
Generating insights for the future: A retrospective, comparative study of attempts to implement large-scale electronic health record systems. This is a retrospective, comparative study of five attempts to set up regional and national systems for sharing electronic health records in Australia and Britain. The purpose is to learn from the mistakes and successes of the past, so that complex technology projects such as these can be better managed in the future.
Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-be ....Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-being. This project will develop a framework and software system for evaluating and applying indicators in common planning and reporting situations. The project will benefit Australian organisations by a) developing clear, practical sustainability goals; b) lowering cost of reporting compliance and c) improving sustainability practices.Read moreRead less
Living apart together: how mobile work is transforming Australian homes. This project aims to provide important information about how mobile work is transforming Australian homes. Mobile working practices – where the labour force is away from their homes for days, or even weeks, at a time – are an increasingly essential but under-explored part of Australia’s economy. However, the social impacts on personal and family wellbeing are not well understood. This project aims to investigate the changes ....Living apart together: how mobile work is transforming Australian homes. This project aims to provide important information about how mobile work is transforming Australian homes. Mobile working practices – where the labour force is away from their homes for days, or even weeks, at a time – are an increasingly essential but under-explored part of Australia’s economy. However, the social impacts on personal and family wellbeing are not well understood. This project aims to investigate the changes wrought by different sorts of mobile work on household life in Australia, with specific attention to personal and family wellbeing. It also plans to undertake qualitative research with stakeholders and households to identify the kinds of multifaceted support that might be required for this practice to flourish without negative impacts.Read moreRead less
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.
Globalisation and the formation of meaning: the career of a key concept. How did globalisation become the most powerful buzzword of our time? The project will examine texts, contexts and interview the most prominent globalisation experts in the English-speaking world to develop the first comparative history of the concept.
Understanding selfie-editing apps in youth visual digital cultures. This project aims to investigate how young people navigate identity and body image concerns online through new digital editing tools provided by selfie-editing apps. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the literacies young people use in reading, evaluating and editing images of themselves, and the role of digital technologies in forming young people’s embodied identities, using an innovative participatory methodo ....Understanding selfie-editing apps in youth visual digital cultures. This project aims to investigate how young people navigate identity and body image concerns online through new digital editing tools provided by selfie-editing apps. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the literacies young people use in reading, evaluating and editing images of themselves, and the role of digital technologies in forming young people’s embodied identities, using an innovative participatory methodology. Expected outcomes include a new evidence base and youth-centred conceptual framework on the connections between youth selfie-editing, body image, and wellbeing. This should provide significant benefits in helping young people to better navigate body image and wellbeing in online cultures.Read moreRead less
Disability and ability: how young people with impairments make the transition to adulthood. Compared to their able-bodied peers, 15-29 year olds with disabilities have an increased risk of negative social, physical and mental health outcomes. By analysing the life histories of 100 young people with physical impairments and tracking their development over four years, this project will explore how to reduce these risks.
Alcohol use and harm minimisation among Australian university students. Alcohol-related harms cost Australians over $15.3 billion per year, and in 2008 were described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as having reached 'epidemic proportions'. Young people are at greatest risk of alcohol-related damage and university students are among the heaviest drinkers, with up to 70% engaging in binge drinking. By examining the social dynamics of university students' drinking practices and their understanding of ....Alcohol use and harm minimisation among Australian university students. Alcohol-related harms cost Australians over $15.3 billion per year, and in 2008 were described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as having reached 'epidemic proportions'. Young people are at greatest risk of alcohol-related damage and university students are among the heaviest drinkers, with up to 70% engaging in binge drinking. By examining the social dynamics of university students' drinking practices and their understanding of harm minimisation, together with the policies and measures offered by colleges and State health authorities, the proposed project will yield a new evidence base and innovative theoretical approach for developing fresh strategic harm minimisation interventions.Read moreRead less