Work/Life Balance, Well-Being and Health: Theory, Practice and Policy. This project links to the national research priority of promoting and maintaining good health in two ways. It establishes a new annual national measure of work/life balance, a critical element of good health and well-being, assisting understanding about work/life conflict and informing workplace and government policy responses to it, strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Deep study of work/life issues in the h ....Work/Life Balance, Well-Being and Health: Theory, Practice and Policy. This project links to the national research priority of promoting and maintaining good health in two ways. It establishes a new annual national measure of work/life balance, a critical element of good health and well-being, assisting understanding about work/life conflict and informing workplace and government policy responses to it, strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Deep study of work/life issues in the health sector will also inform recruitment, retention and well-being in the health workforce, with flow-on to the health system more broadly. The project includes analysis of 'pre-retirement' work/life issues, also linking to the 'ageing well, ageing productively' priority. Read moreRead less
Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon househol ....Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon households, along with individual preferences and household, community and workplace structures (and their interaction), drawing out implications for social theory and policy. It will analyse policy, quantitative data, and collect and analyse new qualitative data at Australian sites, within an international context.Read moreRead less
The Work, Housing, Services and Community Project. Australian cities are bursting at their seams. Major new housing developments are being undertaken to meet housing demand. These new developments sit alongside existing developments and raise issues about socio-spatial integration. New developments attempt to meet changing work, housing, services and community needs. This project examines how they are succeeding, how workers and residents see the relationship between work, home, services, and th ....The Work, Housing, Services and Community Project. Australian cities are bursting at their seams. Major new housing developments are being undertaken to meet housing demand. These new developments sit alongside existing developments and raise issues about socio-spatial integration. New developments attempt to meet changing work, housing, services and community needs. This project examines how they are succeeding, how workers and residents see the relationship between work, home, services, and the community they want to live amidst, and what kinds of spatial alignments they seek. The project will assist urban planners, workplaces, service providers and the developer community, potentially improving the well being of men, women and children.Read moreRead less
Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contempora ....Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contemporary debate about social exclusion and its corollary social inclusion. The results will have important implications for government policy makers, not to mention improving the quality of life for residents in these neighbourhoods. It will also integrate Australian research into the international debate.Read moreRead less
Protecting while they prosper? Organisational responses to whistleblowing. This project aims to examine the adequacy of organisational responses to whistleblowing (employee reporting of wrongdoing). So far, research into public-interest whistleblowing has revealed much about the incidence, significance and experience of whistleblowers. This project now extends the research to the other side of the issue — the organisations. By comparing employee and managerial experience in multiple public and p ....Protecting while they prosper? Organisational responses to whistleblowing. This project aims to examine the adequacy of organisational responses to whistleblowing (employee reporting of wrongdoing). So far, research into public-interest whistleblowing has revealed much about the incidence, significance and experience of whistleblowers. This project now extends the research to the other side of the issue — the organisations. By comparing employee and managerial experience in multiple public and private sector organisations in Australia and New Zealand, the project intends to identify the factors that influence good and bad responses across a range of institutions; provide a clearer basis for reform of policies, procedures and law; and set benchmarks for comparative research worldwide.Read moreRead less
Facilitating workplace change: Redefining the role of industrial tribunals in Australia. Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 passed in 2013 have the potential to re-define the role of Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, by requiring it to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations. This project aims to identify an innovative model of tribunal intervention that meets these new imperatives through case studies from the Hunter region of NSW, whe ....Facilitating workplace change: Redefining the role of industrial tribunals in Australia. Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 passed in 2013 have the potential to re-define the role of Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, by requiring it to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations. This project aims to identify an innovative model of tribunal intervention that meets these new imperatives through case studies from the Hunter region of NSW, where tribunal members have for two decades been working proactively with managers, employees and their representatives in major construction projects and large public sector organisations to achieve cooperative and effective workplace change. Read moreRead less
A dynamic understanding of labour market mobility of new migrants. Australia is an immigrant country. Despite this, we know little about the factors that enable some migrants to integrate quickly and successfully into the labour market, while others do not. This project will use an excellent set of longitudinal data that follow new migrants over a period of three and a half years. It will apply sophisticated panel data econometric techniques to identify the causes of their success or otherwise ....A dynamic understanding of labour market mobility of new migrants. Australia is an immigrant country. Despite this, we know little about the factors that enable some migrants to integrate quickly and successfully into the labour market, while others do not. This project will use an excellent set of longitudinal data that follow new migrants over a period of three and a half years. It will apply sophisticated panel data econometric techniques to identify the causes of their success or otherwise in the labour market. It will also examine the link between labour market success and the overall settlement experience, including satisfaction with life in Australia, of migrants.Read moreRead less
Cycle Aware: Driving with Bikes. This project focuses on the education and training required by drivers to interact safely with cyclists. It uses two ontologically diverse methodologies to examine how Australian drivers become cyclist aware and the education and training necessary to foster safe driver–cyclist interactions. The project aims to provide a critical knowledge base for state and territory driver education policies and a cycle-aware module for learner drivers. These outcomes are inten ....Cycle Aware: Driving with Bikes. This project focuses on the education and training required by drivers to interact safely with cyclists. It uses two ontologically diverse methodologies to examine how Australian drivers become cyclist aware and the education and training necessary to foster safe driver–cyclist interactions. The project aims to provide a critical knowledge base for state and territory driver education policies and a cycle-aware module for learner drivers. These outcomes are intended to reduce cyclist road trauma and on-road tensions between cyclists and drivers, and to improve opportunities for active travel to tackle the growing issue of inactivity.Read moreRead less
Emerging from the shadows: the evaluation of intervention strategies to reduce social isolation amongst the aged. Social isolation imposes a high cost on affected individuals and the community at large. This project will determine what interventions work in addressing social isolation amongst the older population.
The rise of the consumer: engagement of older people with consumer directed care. Australia is adopting a new model of care for older Australians - consumer directed care. This project will provide the evidence needed by governments and service providers to create the most effective and supportive system.