Living With Uncertainty: Creating the Postmodern Self in Contemporary Australia. Life in postmodernity is marked by rapid change and uncertainty. Increasingly, as tradition is worn away, individuals must create new scripts to give life meaning and structure. Through a case study of gays and lesbians, this project will investigate how a group of Australians are creating postmodern selves. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it traces the relationship between discursive and psychological accounts of t ....Living With Uncertainty: Creating the Postmodern Self in Contemporary Australia. Life in postmodernity is marked by rapid change and uncertainty. Increasingly, as tradition is worn away, individuals must create new scripts to give life meaning and structure. Through a case study of gays and lesbians, this project will investigate how a group of Australians are creating postmodern selves. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it traces the relationship between discursive and psychological accounts of the postmodern self and their political effects. With a particular interest in emotional life, this study will provide critical information on how individuals and communities can manage creatively the uncertain conditions of postmodernity.Read moreRead less
The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about ....The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about whether the 'virtual community' of the Internet can build social capital. The study will explore the potential benefits as well as harms to those homosexually active men who use the internet to access health information, meet sexual partners and build friendships that affirm gay identity and community inclusion.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
Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and chi ....Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and child outcomes. The Growing-Up in Australia study (available in 2005) surveys 10,000 children, combining measures of child well-being, existing validated measures of work conditions and family functioning, with a new child-focused diary that measures time and activities undertaken with children. New knowledge generated will inform future policy development.Read moreRead less
Living with personal data: Australians' understandings and practices. This project aims to involve citizens and other stakeholders in generating new knowledge about Australians' practices and understandings related to their personal data and data futures. Personal digital data have possible benefits not just for the individuals from whom the data are generated, but also for society, government and the economy. Yet there are also potential harms, such as challenges to civil rights, life opportuni ....Living with personal data: Australians' understandings and practices. This project aims to involve citizens and other stakeholders in generating new knowledge about Australians' practices and understandings related to their personal data and data futures. Personal digital data have possible benefits not just for the individuals from whom the data are generated, but also for society, government and the economy. Yet there are also potential harms, such as challenges to civil rights, life opportunities and data privacy. The project intends to develop applied and theoretical insights into the nature of people’s understandings of and engagements with their data. Its findings are expected to contribute knowledge relevant to policy development and data privacy advocacy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100071
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,000.00
Summary
Understanding intergenerational financial assistance with home ownership. Rates of intergenerational financial support with first home ownership have skyrocketed over the last decade. This project aims to understand how this support is negotiated within families. It will use innovative qualitative methods to identify how this form of financial assistance impacts upon families over time, and from the perspectives of multiple family members. Expected outcomes include a new, systematic framework to ....Understanding intergenerational financial assistance with home ownership. Rates of intergenerational financial support with first home ownership have skyrocketed over the last decade. This project aims to understand how this support is negotiated within families. It will use innovative qualitative methods to identify how this form of financial assistance impacts upon families over time, and from the perspectives of multiple family members. Expected outcomes include a new, systematic framework to recognise how families shape young adults’ pathways into home ownership and to develop evidence-based financial policy. This should provide significant benefits including greater protection for both donors and recipients of financial assistance when purchasing property. Read moreRead less
Young hospitality workers and value creation in the service economy. This project aims to investigate how labour performed by young people in the hospitality industry contributes to the creation of economic value. The project intends to examine the specific practices through which hospitality workers create value as well as the personal capacities and forms of identity that allow young people to become a successful part of the hospitality labour force. The knowledge gained in this project will i ....Young hospitality workers and value creation in the service economy. This project aims to investigate how labour performed by young people in the hospitality industry contributes to the creation of economic value. The project intends to examine the specific practices through which hospitality workers create value as well as the personal capacities and forms of identity that allow young people to become a successful part of the hospitality labour force. The knowledge gained in this project will inform current social and political debate about working conditions, wages and penalty rates in the service economy. This project will enhance growth and job creation within the service sector together with the quality of Australia’s service workforce.Read moreRead less
Knowledge-making in Australian society: sociology and its social impact. This project aims to reveal how Australians, over several generations, have sought to make sense of society in an organised way. The project intends to draw from interviews with key scholars, archival and citation data to ascertain how sociological knowledge has been shaped by a context of post-colonialism, multiculturalism and global capitalism as well as the extent to which these ideas have contributed to, and been influe ....Knowledge-making in Australian society: sociology and its social impact. This project aims to reveal how Australians, over several generations, have sought to make sense of society in an organised way. The project intends to draw from interviews with key scholars, archival and citation data to ascertain how sociological knowledge has been shaped by a context of post-colonialism, multiculturalism and global capitalism as well as the extent to which these ideas have contributed to, and been influenced by, policy, legislation and public debate. Expected outcomes include new evidence about the role of disciplines and contribute to the international research effort in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Employment Activation and the Changing Economy-Society Relation. Underemployment and joblessness have emerged as serious social problems in an age of global economic uncertainty. This project focuses on how, across advanced liberal societies, these problems are being redefined via transnational policy models and experiments seeking to 'activate' underemployed and unemployed populations. This project posits that these experiments articulate a new dynamic between economy and society and aims to pr ....Employment Activation and the Changing Economy-Society Relation. Underemployment and joblessness have emerged as serious social problems in an age of global economic uncertainty. This project focuses on how, across advanced liberal societies, these problems are being redefined via transnational policy models and experiments seeking to 'activate' underemployed and unemployed populations. This project posits that these experiments articulate a new dynamic between economy and society and aims to provide a better understanding of this dynamic. It aims to deliver a reconceptualisation of under- and unemployment, a new and relevant analysis of policy models, and new empirical insight into the mobilisation of activation policies.Read moreRead less
Growing Old in a Rapidly Changing World: Living Conditions and Inequalities Amongst the Aged in China. China is set to dominate the world stage in the current millennium and ageing will present challenges to all nations. This research will benefit understanding of these issues by enriching our understanding of how older people in China cope with rapid change by documenting the factors that produce improved living conditions, including strong family and community relations. A component of the res ....Growing Old in a Rapidly Changing World: Living Conditions and Inequalities Amongst the Aged in China. China is set to dominate the world stage in the current millennium and ageing will present challenges to all nations. This research will benefit understanding of these issues by enriching our understanding of how older people in China cope with rapid change by documenting the factors that produce improved living conditions, including strong family and community relations. A component of the research will draw comparisons with Australia in order to increase the relevance of the study which will build ageing research capacity in both China and Australia.Read moreRead less