Founders and survivors: Australian lifecourses in historical context. This project will create one of the world's outstanding longitudinal studies of human health and resilience. It will contribute to the historical understanding of European migration, settler colonialism, forced labour and human health under stress, long-run family formation and falling fertility, household economy, and the social determinants of health. It will contribute to debate both nationally and internationally on the lo ....Founders and survivors: Australian lifecourses in historical context. This project will create one of the world's outstanding longitudinal studies of human health and resilience. It will contribute to the historical understanding of European migration, settler colonialism, forced labour and human health under stress, long-run family formation and falling fertility, household economy, and the social determinants of health. It will contribute to debate both nationally and internationally on the long-run effects of social and biomedical interventions and of investment in human capital. It will tell the grassroots history of the Australian penal and colonial experiments and it will form a scholarly coalition with the great community of family historians. Read moreRead less
Social exclusion and teenage motherhood in Australia. Our current understanding of teenage motherhood paints a very grim picture of the lives of teenage mothers and their babies. An over-reliance on the welfare system and social isolation lead to inadequate opportunities for education, employment and productive relationships and are responsible for enhancing social exclusion and weakening a society's social and economic fabric. This project provides great benefit to both the Australian community ....Social exclusion and teenage motherhood in Australia. Our current understanding of teenage motherhood paints a very grim picture of the lives of teenage mothers and their babies. An over-reliance on the welfare system and social isolation lead to inadequate opportunities for education, employment and productive relationships and are responsible for enhancing social exclusion and weakening a society's social and economic fabric. This project provides great benefit to both the Australian community and individual teenage mothers and their children. A deeper understanding will lead to better design of support systems and programs for young mothers and their children.Read moreRead less
The Efficacy of Family Mediation where Family Violence is Present. The family mediation model of dispute resolution offers separated couples a cheaper, more empowering method to resolve property and child custody matters. Current government policy encourages family mediation even where a history of violence exists, yet little is known about the safety and effectiveness of this approach. Family violence is experienced by over 20% of the adult female population with far reaching effects on emotion ....The Efficacy of Family Mediation where Family Violence is Present. The family mediation model of dispute resolution offers separated couples a cheaper, more empowering method to resolve property and child custody matters. Current government policy encourages family mediation even where a history of violence exists, yet little is known about the safety and effectiveness of this approach. Family violence is experienced by over 20% of the adult female population with far reaching effects on emotional and health status, family stability and child development. There is thus a critical need to determine the safety and wellbeing outcomes of current practice to inform policy development in handling difficult family violence cases. Read moreRead less
Investigating Transport Disadvantage, Social Exclusion and Well Being in Metropolitan, Regional and Rural Victoria. This project strengthens national approaches to a pervasive Australian problem; fringe urban and rural communities who are excluded from life opportunities due to lack of transport. Evidence suggests this problem is growing as fuel costs rise, the population ages and rural/fringe urban migration continues. Australia spends Billions annually to address these issues but Australian ....Investigating Transport Disadvantage, Social Exclusion and Well Being in Metropolitan, Regional and Rural Victoria. This project strengthens national approaches to a pervasive Australian problem; fringe urban and rural communities who are excluded from life opportunities due to lack of transport. Evidence suggests this problem is growing as fuel costs rise, the population ages and rural/fringe urban migration continues. Australia spends Billions annually to address these issues but Australian research exploring the nature of behaviours and links between transport problems and life opportunities is limited. This project fills this important knowledge gap in an Australian project that will advance world knowledge in this growing international research field. Findings will better focus Australia's approach to increasingly challenging transport futures.Read moreRead less
Maintaining the social self: Living with acquired disability in Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. This project will explore the impact of physical disability on the social inclusion and wellbeing of people with amputation from serious chronic disease or trauma, or with limited mobility and function following stroke. By contrasting the lived experience of disability in rural Australia, Thailand and Vietnam, the project will explore the implications for individuals under different conditions of dev ....Maintaining the social self: Living with acquired disability in Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. This project will explore the impact of physical disability on the social inclusion and wellbeing of people with amputation from serious chronic disease or trauma, or with limited mobility and function following stroke. By contrasting the lived experience of disability in rural Australia, Thailand and Vietnam, the project will explore the implications for individuals under different conditions of development, different health systems and different cultural understandings of health and illness. The goal is to enhance understanding of the social body while also contributing to public health policy debate on disability and well-being, and social support of people with disabilities.Read moreRead less
Self, the social body and wellbeing: Embodiment and adaptation in cross-cultural perspective. This interdisciplinary programme will contribute to understanding how ideas of the self, social relationships and their meanings, are revised and restructured as a result of embodied change. Ethonographic research will be conducted with Australian men and women who have had serious chronic illness and surgery, including stroke and kidney disease. Comparative research will be conducted in Thailand, the C ....Self, the social body and wellbeing: Embodiment and adaptation in cross-cultural perspective. This interdisciplinary programme will contribute to understanding how ideas of the self, social relationships and their meanings, are revised and restructured as a result of embodied change. Ethonographic research will be conducted with Australian men and women who have had serious chronic illness and surgery, including stroke and kidney disease. Comparative research will be conducted in Thailand, the Cameroon and Haiti throughcollaborations developed during the Fellowship. The work will contribute to international debates about wellbeing, social capital and resilience in different cultural, social and economic settings.Policy implications relate to community connectedness, health and welfare services, and infrastructure.Read moreRead less