Working from home: New media technology, workplace culture and the changing nature of domesticity. New media technologies are often marketed as liberating people from the workplace, providing flexibility in meeting work obligations. Communication technologies in particular make working from home increasingly possible: laptops, mobile phones and PDAs make any space a potential site for paid labour. This research studies the effect of new media technologies on how work is performed, where and by w ....Working from home: New media technology, workplace culture and the changing nature of domesticity. New media technologies are often marketed as liberating people from the workplace, providing flexibility in meeting work obligations. Communication technologies in particular make working from home increasingly possible: laptops, mobile phones and PDAs make any space a potential site for paid labour. This research studies the effect of new media technologies on how work is performed, where and by whom, to gauge their impact on the community more broadly. It also asks whether these new relationships to work raise the prospect of changing traditional attitudes to the work performed in and outside the home by men and women.Read moreRead less
From the Tap to the Bottle: an international study of the social and material life of bottled water. Water is a critical resource in Australia yet little is known about water in bottles. This project will be the first comparative study of bottled water marketing, consumption and disposal. It will make a significant contribution to national and international understandings of changing practices in the consumption of drinking water. The research will produce an analysis of the rise of the bottle i ....From the Tap to the Bottle: an international study of the social and material life of bottled water. Water is a critical resource in Australia yet little is known about water in bottles. This project will be the first comparative study of bottled water marketing, consumption and disposal. It will make a significant contribution to national and international understandings of changing practices in the consumption of drinking water. The research will produce an analysis of the rise of the bottle in relation to the tap. Specifically, how various anxieties associated with drinking tap water, in Australia and elsewhere, impact on bottled water consumption. The knowledge produced about bottled water collection, circulation and regulation will contribute to wider debates about sustainable water provision and access to safe water for all.Read moreRead less
Backpacker cultures, residential communities, and the construction of tourist spaces and landscapes: A regional study of changing tourism dynamics in Sydney. This interdisciplinary project draws on Cultural Studies, Cultural Geography, and Tourism to respond to industry calls for more comprehensive, long-term research on tourism issues, particularly backpacker tourism in the Sydney metropolitan region. The project will explore tourism as a complex cultural practice through an innovative approach ....Backpacker cultures, residential communities, and the construction of tourist spaces and landscapes: A regional study of changing tourism dynamics in Sydney. This interdisciplinary project draws on Cultural Studies, Cultural Geography, and Tourism to respond to industry calls for more comprehensive, long-term research on tourism issues, particularly backpacker tourism in the Sydney metropolitan region. The project will explore tourism as a complex cultural practice through an innovative approach investigating the links between backpacker tourism and the transformation of places and communities. The focus is on backpackers, with a special emphasis on the problems Local Government faces in relation to backpackers within residential communities. The project will generate new approaches to these issues, informing a range of policies for local councils.Read moreRead less
Crisis and change: cultural-economic research on the adaptability and sustainability of Australian households. This research will enable better understanding of the ways in which households respond to governmental imperatives to become more sustainable in their own circumstances. It will reveal unheralded patterns of adaptation and innovative responses among ordinary households to the problems of climate change, financial crisis, and demographic transition. Funding this research will provide an ....Crisis and change: cultural-economic research on the adaptability and sustainability of Australian households. This research will enable better understanding of the ways in which households respond to governmental imperatives to become more sustainable in their own circumstances. It will reveal unheralded patterns of adaptation and innovative responses among ordinary households to the problems of climate change, financial crisis, and demographic transition. Funding this research will provide an opportunity for government to listen to Australian households, and to learn from their experiences as they grapple with contemporary economic, environmental and demographic challenges. It will enhance Australia's ability to become more environmentally sustainable, strengthen the social fabric of communities and reveal vernacular forms of innovation culture.Read moreRead less