Climate change, place and community: An ethnographic study of the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The project contributes to the National Research Priority of "An Environmentally Sustainable Australia" and the Priority Goal of "Responding to Climate Change and Variability." The interdisciplinary approach will advance social research on climate change in Australia, enhancing Australia's international profile in this crucial field. The research will contribute to public debates on policy initiativ ....Climate change, place and community: An ethnographic study of the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The project contributes to the National Research Priority of "An Environmentally Sustainable Australia" and the Priority Goal of "Responding to Climate Change and Variability." The interdisciplinary approach will advance social research on climate change in Australia, enhancing Australia's international profile in this crucial field. The research will contribute to public debates on policy initiatives relevant to global warming and climate change. The regional and community focus of the study has the potential to contribute valuable knowledge about adaptive practices at the local level that can be applied to other locations in Australia and overseas. Read moreRead less
The Politics of Moral Order: How Peripheralised Communities are Made and Masked. The focus of this research is two peripheralised communities, one in Central Australia, and the other Kingston, Jamaica. It will analyse their anomalous economies, the welfare economy in Central Australia and the drug economy in downtown Kingston, in order to demonstrate how cultural difference and disprivilege are masked by a politics of moral order. The project will therefore explore a central feature of modernity ....The Politics of Moral Order: How Peripheralised Communities are Made and Masked. The focus of this research is two peripheralised communities, one in Central Australia, and the other Kingston, Jamaica. It will analyse their anomalous economies, the welfare economy in Central Australia and the drug economy in downtown Kingston, in order to demonstrate how cultural difference and disprivilege are masked by a politics of moral order. The project will therefore explore a central feature of modernity and demonstrate striking structural parallels, both mythic and social, at sites with different histories and cultures.Read moreRead less
An analysis of research ethics and the ethical review process as culture and cultural process. This project explores research ethics and the ethical review process as culture and cultural process. It includes analyses of international ethics review-related documents, literature, and processes, case studies, key informant interviews, and observation of ethics committees in the process of deliberation. It focuses primarily on work associated with the paradigms and methods used or borrowed from t ....An analysis of research ethics and the ethical review process as culture and cultural process. This project explores research ethics and the ethical review process as culture and cultural process. It includes analyses of international ethics review-related documents, literature, and processes, case studies, key informant interviews, and observation of ethics committees in the process of deliberation. It focuses primarily on work associated with the paradigms and methods used or borrowed from the social sciences and topics and populations that seem to be the most problematic. This understanding might help us better address the issues involved and allow the development of policies and applications that are less problematic for all concerned.Read moreRead less
The impacts of commercial gambling on Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. The project will represent the first detailed exploration of the effects of commercial gambling on Aboriginal people in Northern Australia. It specifically aims to assess the impact of continued commercial gambling expansion, including the spread of electronic gaming machines (EGMs), on Aboriginal communities. The project will explore how Aboriginal cultures react to, and adopt, western gambling into existing cul ....The impacts of commercial gambling on Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia. The project will represent the first detailed exploration of the effects of commercial gambling on Aboriginal people in Northern Australia. It specifically aims to assess the impact of continued commercial gambling expansion, including the spread of electronic gaming machines (EGMs), on Aboriginal communities. The project will explore how Aboriginal cultures react to, and adopt, western gambling into existing cultural frameworks. The core task of the project will be to develop appropriate methodological tools for the assessment of gambling activity in Aboriginal communities. The result will have direct policy impacts in the context of regional well-being and identifying and protecting vulnerable communities.Read moreRead less
Understanding regulatory networks: Assessing the relevance of the 'rule of law' to business regulation in Vietnam. Consistent with Research Priority 4, the project will assist Australian policy makers and business investors/exporters to understand why market laws frequently produce fragmentation and instability in developing East Asia. It will also inform important theoretical debates about the relative influence of law, social norms, ethno-religious orientations and sentiment in forming regulat ....Understanding regulatory networks: Assessing the relevance of the 'rule of law' to business regulation in Vietnam. Consistent with Research Priority 4, the project will assist Australian policy makers and business investors/exporters to understand why market laws frequently produce fragmentation and instability in developing East Asia. It will also inform important theoretical debates about the relative influence of law, social norms, ethno-religious orientations and sentiment in forming regulatory networks that augment and rival state power. The project will strengthen linkages between Australian and Asian universities and research institutions and improve post-graduate research and teaching programs.Read moreRead less
CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMPTION ETHICS. This research addresses the influence of such culturally distinct variables as the relevance of important others in determining and acting on ethical interpretations, the significance of external factors such as prominence of brand name on interpretations by consumers, and the importance of the type of potential ethical infraction. It utilises an interpretive research paradigm that poses potential ethical consumption dilemmas and ....CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMPTION ETHICS. This research addresses the influence of such culturally distinct variables as the relevance of important others in determining and acting on ethical interpretations, the significance of external factors such as prominence of brand name on interpretations by consumers, and the importance of the type of potential ethical infraction. It utilises an interpretive research paradigm that poses potential ethical consumption dilemmas and examines consumers? reactions. The interpretations of the dilemmas (are ethical issues perceived?) and informants? justifications for their actions are investigated across countries to examine how the cultural lens through which consumption decisions are viewed can shape reactions.Read moreRead less
Gifts of Friendship: intimacy and exchange in cross-cultural contact. This project will investigate an apparently contradictory phenomenon: the existence of explicit policies of friendship-making within Euro-American imperial exploration and colonial settlement. Focusing on the Pacific islands in the period 1767-1830, it will look at the interaction of European and Polynesian traditions and practices of friendship, particularly in relation to practices of exchange. The project will examine a hug ....Gifts of Friendship: intimacy and exchange in cross-cultural contact. This project will investigate an apparently contradictory phenomenon: the existence of explicit policies of friendship-making within Euro-American imperial exploration and colonial settlement. Focusing on the Pacific islands in the period 1767-1830, it will look at the interaction of European and Polynesian traditions and practices of friendship, particularly in relation to practices of exchange. The project will examine a huge body of archival evidence, which initial findings suggest will prove to be much more self-conscious and anxious about the ethical and ideological implications of cross-cultural friendship-formation than current understandings of the operations of colonial discourse would allow.Read moreRead less
Ethos and Topos: A Philosophical Investigation of the Ethics and Politics of Place. This project will contribute to the public and academic understanding of the way our sense of place relates to our sense of who we are, and the ethical implications of that relation. The outcomes of the project will have an application to a wide range of applied and policy areas in which questions of identity and belonging are at issue. It will connect directly with ongoing public discussion about a number of cr ....Ethos and Topos: A Philosophical Investigation of the Ethics and Politics of Place. This project will contribute to the public and academic understanding of the way our sense of place relates to our sense of who we are, and the ethical implications of that relation. The outcomes of the project will have an application to a wide range of applied and policy areas in which questions of identity and belonging are at issue. It will connect directly with ongoing public discussion about a number of critical contemporary issues relating to ideas of nationhood and community, our connection to land and environment, and our sense of identity and belonging.Read moreRead less
Victorian Fishers: an ethnographic study. The project will study fishers and their families in three Victorian coastal communities- Lakes Entrance, the Corner Inlet ports, and Portland - to investigate how the character of fishing communities and perceptions of fishing as a way of life are affected by socio-economic context. The project will contribute new conceptual understandings of the construction of identity in fishing communities, establish a basis for studying diversity in discourse and p ....Victorian Fishers: an ethnographic study. The project will study fishers and their families in three Victorian coastal communities- Lakes Entrance, the Corner Inlet ports, and Portland - to investigate how the character of fishing communities and perceptions of fishing as a way of life are affected by socio-economic context. The project will contribute new conceptual understandings of the construction of identity in fishing communities, establish a basis for studying diversity in discourse and practice in contexts where access to marine resources is governed by legislative control and scientific advice, and has the potential to provide input to policy development within the Victorian and Commonwealth fishing industryRead moreRead less
Open Cuts to Land and Culture: Rural Community Engagement with Large-Scale Industrial Development. The effects of coal mining and combustion on local communities have not been adequately researched even though export-oriented coal production is a key element of Australia's economy in the 21st century. Increasing numbers of rural Australian communities are affected by profound changes to climate, environment and social life associated with open-cut mining and coal-fired power stations. This resea ....Open Cuts to Land and Culture: Rural Community Engagement with Large-Scale Industrial Development. The effects of coal mining and combustion on local communities have not been adequately researched even though export-oriented coal production is a key element of Australia's economy in the 21st century. Increasing numbers of rural Australian communities are affected by profound changes to climate, environment and social life associated with open-cut mining and coal-fired power stations. This research examines the impact of these developments in the Hunter Valley of NSW, from the point of view of local communities. The understandings we gain will offer government, corporate and community stakeholders the prospect of mutually beneficial outcomes in dealing with these impacts. Read moreRead less