Twenty-first century urban renewal: rethinking Australian planning and building regulations and their effects on the life of the city. This project compares legislative, regulatory and financing approaches to large scale urban renewal projects in Germany, Canada and Australia. It assesses their varying capacities to enable socially diverse uses of inner cities, and will advise on ways of reducing the place-based social divisions that are increasing as Australian cities expand.
Families on the Edge: Lived Experiences of Citizenship of Homeless Families. Families on the Edge will provide an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of homeless families, comprising predominantly women and children, who are one of the most marginalised and under-researched groups in Australian society. The findings will enable governments and not-for-profit agencies to improve services for homeless families to improve their health and well being. They will also inform policy debates ....Families on the Edge: Lived Experiences of Citizenship of Homeless Families. Families on the Edge will provide an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of homeless families, comprising predominantly women and children, who are one of the most marginalised and under-researched groups in Australian society. The findings will enable governments and not-for-profit agencies to improve services for homeless families to improve their health and well being. They will also inform policy debates about other approaches which draw on human rights and the rights/responsibilities of citizenship. The projects findings will provide a sound framework and empirical basis for improvements to legislation, policy and practice across a range of areas.Read moreRead less
Understanding identity, social change and emerging needs: Melbourne's Jewish community and Australian society. Understanding current developments within ethnic and religious groups is of vital national importance. The detailed profile of Australian ethno-religious groups to be produced will be of relevance to a range of planning issues, including: strategies to maximize the life potential of young Australians, preventative health care, appraisal of future needs of an ageing population and of the ....Understanding identity, social change and emerging needs: Melbourne's Jewish community and Australian society. Understanding current developments within ethnic and religious groups is of vital national importance. The detailed profile of Australian ethno-religious groups to be produced will be of relevance to a range of planning issues, including: strategies to maximize the life potential of young Australians, preventative health care, appraisal of future needs of an ageing population and of the capacity of voluntary agencies to maintain their existing levels of social welfare provision. Integral to the project is ongoing consultation with communal leaders, social workers and policy makers. It will provide for informed public discussion and promote a climate of consultation and dialogue. Read moreRead less
Young injecting drug users, embodied identities and social worlds: an ethnographic study. This research explores the social experience of young injecting drug users, mapping processes of initiation, the hidden drug experience, and modes of maturing out of drug use. It analyses and compares the trajectories of young drug users in both rural and urban contexts, focusing on the experience of embodied selfhood, social worlds and identities, exploring injecting use as a medium of relationship with t ....Young injecting drug users, embodied identities and social worlds: an ethnographic study. This research explores the social experience of young injecting drug users, mapping processes of initiation, the hidden drug experience, and modes of maturing out of drug use. It analyses and compares the trajectories of young drug users in both rural and urban contexts, focusing on the experience of embodied selfhood, social worlds and identities, exploring injecting use as a medium of relationship with the self and the other, and mapping social networks and cultures of risk. It will develop key implications for national and local drug policy in three critical areas: prevention, harm minimisation and withdrawal.Read moreRead less
Social networks and subjective wellbeing in Australia, China and the United Kingdom. Governments, industry and the community increasingly recognise that people's networks matter for health and wellbeing. For the first time this project compares developed and developing societies, Australia, China and the United Kingdom, to see how social networks affect well-being in different cultural and societal contexts.
Fluid security in the Asia Pacific. At a time of global and regional insecurity fuelled by economic and terrorism concerns, this project will provide a rigorous evidence base for the Asia Pacific to better manage mobility in a more inclusive way. This directly fits with understanding our region and the world by providing an evidence base for better understanding of how and why people move throughout the Asia Pacific and their impact and experiences of security. It also contributes to protecting ....Fluid security in the Asia Pacific. At a time of global and regional insecurity fuelled by economic and terrorism concerns, this project will provide a rigorous evidence base for the Asia Pacific to better manage mobility in a more inclusive way. This directly fits with understanding our region and the world by providing an evidence base for better understanding of how and why people move throughout the Asia Pacific and their impact and experiences of security. It also contributes to protecting Australia from terrorism and crime by identifying the reasons and ways people move in unauthorized ways and therefore to help to design systems that reduce experiences of victimization and criminalisation.Read moreRead less
Making policy reform work: a comparative analysis of social procurement . This project aims to clarify the institutional and cross-sectoral conditions needed for successful implementation of emerging social procurement policy reforms; these seek through public spending to increase employment and business opportunities for people experiencing social exclusion. Via a mixed-methods comparative study in the leading jurisdictions of Victoria and Scotland, the project will extend scholarly knowledge o ....Making policy reform work: a comparative analysis of social procurement . This project aims to clarify the institutional and cross-sectoral conditions needed for successful implementation of emerging social procurement policy reforms; these seek through public spending to increase employment and business opportunities for people experiencing social exclusion. Via a mixed-methods comparative study in the leading jurisdictions of Victoria and Scotland, the project will extend scholarly knowledge of implementing policy reforms that rely on government and non-government actors working together in new ways, and practical understanding of what is needed to realise social procurement policy goals. This will contribute to effective public expenditure and ultimately help redress the societal consequences of exclusion.Read moreRead less
Local Governance, Multiculturalism and Active Citizenship: The Case of Arab-Muslim Diaspora in the West. This project will advance our understanding of the best practice approaches towards the management of intercultural relationships within multicultural communities. It will generate international benchmark data on the management of multicultural spaces and will lead to a range of practical policies for local city councils, NGOs and state governments. The findings will form a robust empirical b ....Local Governance, Multiculturalism and Active Citizenship: The Case of Arab-Muslim Diaspora in the West. This project will advance our understanding of the best practice approaches towards the management of intercultural relationships within multicultural communities. It will generate international benchmark data on the management of multicultural spaces and will lead to a range of practical policies for local city councils, NGOs and state governments. The findings will form a robust empirical basis for understanding the optimal way of formulating government-NGOs partnerships in the successful implementation of culturally responsive policies. The study will also result in the development of effective policy responses aimed at enhancing active citizenship, social cohesion and intercultural understanding.Read moreRead less
Capacitating student aspirations in classrooms and communities in a high poverty region. This project studies the aspirations of students in a disadvantaged area, as cultural resources for completing school, accessing higher education and realising desirable futures. It will produce new concepts and research methods for increasing social equity by working closely with students and families, and making links between schools and communities.
Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustain ....Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustainable futures, it applies a novel combination of methods. This application examines the consequences of involvement and non-involvement in these processes. The project seeks to extend theories of social change and social mobilisation.Read moreRead less