Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symb ....Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symbolic' managers and mediators in a society in which information is the key productive resource. The project will generate a detailed analysis of how the professionalization of political communication is transforming representative democracy in network society.Read moreRead less
Reading the Social Future of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. This project investigates how and if the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) is building social capital. It does this by interrogating existing practices and operations at the ARCBS and by surveying donors and non-donors. This project aims to develop a Deleuzian critique of the notion of social capital.
Customer Responsive Risk-Managed Network Planning. The aim of this project is to reduce the cost of network delivery of electricity though a reduced network build. The cost of the network is balanced against the cost of reliability of supply. The key developments are optimisation of investment considering batteries etcetera, combined with customer load response and explicit inclusion of the uncertainties of load growth and in the response level of the customer loads. The project combines skills ....Customer Responsive Risk-Managed Network Planning. The aim of this project is to reduce the cost of network delivery of electricity though a reduced network build. The cost of the network is balanced against the cost of reliability of supply. The key developments are optimisation of investment considering batteries etcetera, combined with customer load response and explicit inclusion of the uncertainties of load growth and in the response level of the customer loads. The project combines skills of power engineering optimisation, software systems and social science. Most of the demand response programs globally have focused on a pure economic incentive for variation of customer load. This project aims to make use of recent findings on the benefits of combining community engagement with the incentives.Read moreRead less
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
Locating science fiction. The project will devise and develop a new 'cultural materialist' paradigm for science fiction studies and apply it to a case study of science fictional representations of catastrophe, especially nuclear war, plague and extreme climate change.
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.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100325
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,931.00
Summary
Revisiting the foundations of mainstream economics: a cooperative account of wellbeing and moral improvement. This study presents a major theoretical challenge to the individualistic definition of wellbeing that defines mainstream economics. It does so by advancing an alternative paradigm for understanding individual wellbeing as co-dependent on the wellbeing of others, exploring intersubjective attitudes that facilitate cooperative economic behaviour.
Speed, Time and the Political Process in Australia. The project represents the first empirically-based study to research the traditional processes of political decision-making from the perspective of time and speed in the context of economic globalisation and the networked society. A clearer understanding of how political processes function in a globally-networked setting will provide valuable insight into how well the fundamental, politically grounded, aspects of Australian life and culture are ....Speed, Time and the Political Process in Australia. The project represents the first empirically-based study to research the traditional processes of political decision-making from the perspective of time and speed in the context of economic globalisation and the networked society. A clearer understanding of how political processes function in a globally-networked setting will provide valuable insight into how well the fundamental, politically grounded, aspects of Australian life and culture are functioning. This unique perspective will form the basis of an incisive method of applying 'time-awareness' not only to the political process, but to the many national/community sectors across Australian society that depend upon responsible and effective decision-making practices.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100626
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Othering in penal policy and practice: a cross-national study of imprisonment in Australia and Sweden. This is a comparative project between Australia and Scandinavia, focusing on prisons and practices of punishment. Based on innovative normative theory, it will propose a model of practice than can reduce violence and disorder in prisons, lead to a safer work environment for staff, and more humane treatment of prisoners.
Policing the border: security, human rights and gender. Women are the fastest growing group undertaking extra-legal border crossing, yet we know little about the gendered character of border enforcement. This project will develop a regulatory framework for border policing that is adaptable to the gender determinants of mobility, human rights and the future challenges of border management.