Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and th ....Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and the wider roles of courts will produce new and valuable understandings of gender and judging, gender and work, and courts and social change. Better knowledge about these complex relationships will strengthen Australian society and its legal integrity.Read moreRead less
EEO in a Culture of Uncertainty. Australia appears to be losing its commitment to equal opportunity as work becomes increasingly insecure. Deference to employers, including transnational corporations, is already exercising a disproportionate effect on women, racial minorities and people with disabilities. The impact of the market, globalisation and free trade agreements is resulting in the increasing marginalisation of EEO and anti-discrimination measures. As a turning away from social justice i ....EEO in a Culture of Uncertainty. Australia appears to be losing its commitment to equal opportunity as work becomes increasingly insecure. Deference to employers, including transnational corporations, is already exercising a disproportionate effect on women, racial minorities and people with disabilities. The impact of the market, globalisation and free trade agreements is resulting in the increasing marginalisation of EEO and anti-discrimination measures. As a turning away from social justice in favour of the market and profit-making can only impoverish a democratic society, this timely study will examine the nature of the retreat in the hope that something might be done about it. Read moreRead less
New Initiatives in Enforcing Employment Standards: Assessing the Effectiveness of Federal Government Compliance Strategies. The well-being of more than eight million Australian employees is underpinned by statutory workplace entitlements. For the large majority of those employees, these are set by federal legislation. The statutory entitlements are meaningful only in so far as they are complied with, and improving the effectiveness of the federal enforcement agency, the Workplace Ombudsman, is t ....New Initiatives in Enforcing Employment Standards: Assessing the Effectiveness of Federal Government Compliance Strategies. The well-being of more than eight million Australian employees is underpinned by statutory workplace entitlements. For the large majority of those employees, these are set by federal legislation. The statutory entitlements are meaningful only in so far as they are complied with, and improving the effectiveness of the federal enforcement agency, the Workplace Ombudsman, is therefore of crucial public importance. This project provides the first comprehensive scholarly empirical evaluation of the Workplace Ombudsman. Its findings will identify multiple ways in which enforcement practices can be improved, not only for the Workplace Ombudsman, but also for comparable compliance agencies domestically and overseas.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
Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strain ....Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strains family relationships, which are critical to children's development and well-being. As well as informing industrial relations changes, this project will benefit the twin economic and social policy goals of workforce participation while at the same time supporting the health and well-being of parents and their children.Read moreRead less
Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia (ABBA): Informing Actions For Better Retirement. The research will improve understanding of baby boomers & inform action to achieve positive outcomes individually & for an ageing Australia. It will: 1)inform baby boomers of ways in which their actions in late middle age can increase the chance of having satisfying healthy lives in retirement; 2)inform employers & governments on key factors enabling people to work longer; 3)challenge stereotypes of baby boomers b ....Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia (ABBA): Informing Actions For Better Retirement. The research will improve understanding of baby boomers & inform action to achieve positive outcomes individually & for an ageing Australia. It will: 1)inform baby boomers of ways in which their actions in late middle age can increase the chance of having satisfying healthy lives in retirement; 2)inform employers & governments on key factors enabling people to work longer; 3)challenge stereotypes of baby boomers by showing their variability over the life course & in retirement; 4)provide four researchers with knowledge & expertise in applied, multi-disciplinary research on individual & population ageing; 5)identify baby boomers' expectations for themselves, governments, & the community to guide directions for Australia's response to ageing.Read moreRead less
Negotiating Transitions to Retirement. This project will track diverse pathways in work/retirement transitions, by analysing how the present policy mix accommodates shifts in labour markets, demographic shifts and shifts in households and income distributions. Focused on cohorts aged 45 to 64, it firstly analyses national data sets to track the impact of the current policy mix in terms of income security, industrial relations, housing, health, education and training and work/life. Secondly, i ....Negotiating Transitions to Retirement. This project will track diverse pathways in work/retirement transitions, by analysing how the present policy mix accommodates shifts in labour markets, demographic shifts and shifts in households and income distributions. Focused on cohorts aged 45 to 64, it firstly analyses national data sets to track the impact of the current policy mix in terms of income security, industrial relations, housing, health, education and training and work/life. Secondly, it draws on qualitative data to further examine how these transitions are played out. The research will develop a new policy matrix for older workers that addresses risk, social exclusion and social protection.Read moreRead less
Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, ....Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, regional and national levels. It will help Australian governments and civil society address new challenges in this field. It will also contribute to developing a highly-trained workforce for fundamental research on migration and social transformation. Read moreRead less
Women Consider Retirement: A Critical Investigation of Attitudes Towards Work, Ageing and Retirement in Three Generations of Australian Women. The broad aim of this project is to investigate what work and retirement mean for women as they age and to consider the implications of these attitudes, intentions and experiences for government policy, especially given current concerns about workforce maintenance in view of population ageing.
The project will:
- develop a comprehensive understanding ....Women Consider Retirement: A Critical Investigation of Attitudes Towards Work, Ageing and Retirement in Three Generations of Australian Women. The broad aim of this project is to investigate what work and retirement mean for women as they age and to consider the implications of these attitudes, intentions and experiences for government policy, especially given current concerns about workforce maintenance in view of population ageing.
The project will:
- develop a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics, attitudes and experiences of three generations of women in relation to work, ageing and retirement
- examine the extent and consequences of generational and geographic differences in attitudes and choices
- explore the complex social and cultural factors shaping these attitudes, choices and consequences.
Read moreRead less
Negotiating the Life Course: Education, Work, Family and Lifestyle Behaviour in Australia. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource accessible to and widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. Beyond its major academic contributions, its results have been extensively reported in the media and have greatly increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important and on-going role in several areas ....Negotiating the Life Course: Education, Work, Family and Lifestyle Behaviour in Australia. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource accessible to and widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. Beyond its major academic contributions, its results have been extensively reported in the media and have greatly increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important and on-going role in several areas of policy formulation especially in the development of policies related to the balance of work and family. Its principals are leading social commentators in these policy areas because, in large part, they are able to draw upon this significant national resource. Read moreRead less