A psychosocial approach to subjectivity and the changing Australian labour market. An examination of the discourses and narratives people draw on to make sense of and adapt to the changing Australian labour market will be undertaken. The meanings that are made and the patterns of adaptation to the changing workplace in terms of fatigue, uncertainty, insecurity, stress and depression, and the effects these have on workers, their families and their places of work will also be scrutinised. Attempti ....A psychosocial approach to subjectivity and the changing Australian labour market. An examination of the discourses and narratives people draw on to make sense of and adapt to the changing Australian labour market will be undertaken. The meanings that are made and the patterns of adaptation to the changing workplace in terms of fatigue, uncertainty, insecurity, stress and depression, and the effects these have on workers, their families and their places of work will also be scrutinised. Attempting to understand these narratives offers the opportunity to think about the production of healthy work narratives and healthy workers, and about possible interventions in policy, work place practices and training.Read moreRead less
Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, ....Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, regional and national levels. It will help Australian governments and civil society address new challenges in this field. It will also contribute to developing a highly-trained workforce for fundamental research on migration and social transformation. Read moreRead less
Women Consider Retirement: A Critical Investigation of Attitudes Towards Work, Ageing and Retirement in Three Generations of Australian Women. The broad aim of this project is to investigate what work and retirement mean for women as they age and to consider the implications of these attitudes, intentions and experiences for government policy, especially given current concerns about workforce maintenance in view of population ageing.
The project will:
- develop a comprehensive understanding ....Women Consider Retirement: A Critical Investigation of Attitudes Towards Work, Ageing and Retirement in Three Generations of Australian Women. The broad aim of this project is to investigate what work and retirement mean for women as they age and to consider the implications of these attitudes, intentions and experiences for government policy, especially given current concerns about workforce maintenance in view of population ageing.
The project will:
- develop a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics, attitudes and experiences of three generations of women in relation to work, ageing and retirement
- examine the extent and consequences of generational and geographic differences in attitudes and choices
- explore the complex social and cultural factors shaping these attitudes, choices and consequences.
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Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and th ....Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and the wider roles of courts will produce new and valuable understandings of gender and judging, gender and work, and courts and social change. Better knowledge about these complex relationships will strengthen Australian society and its legal integrity.Read moreRead less
Work-life tensions: Time pressure, leisure and well-being among dual-earner parents in Australia. Empirical studies of work-life tensions, especially for women, have rarely considered how individuals actually experience time pressures.
The main aim of this project is to examine the hypothesis that well-being is positively related to reduced time pressure, more leisure and greater control over time schedules.The project will use an innovative time-use sampling method to examine this hypothesis ....Work-life tensions: Time pressure, leisure and well-being among dual-earner parents in Australia. Empirical studies of work-life tensions, especially for women, have rarely considered how individuals actually experience time pressures.
The main aim of this project is to examine the hypothesis that well-being is positively related to reduced time pressure, more leisure and greater control over time schedules.The project will use an innovative time-use sampling method to examine this hypothesis for parents in dual-earner households.
The project will also investigate relationships between women's time use, life course experience and measures of physical and mental well-being through being nested within the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
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Workers of the world: International labour movement responses to globalization. Industrial relations was the most significant issue in the 2007 federal election. The return of the Labor Government suggests the majority of Australians wished to preserve workers' rights to bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions. This project speaks directly to such concerns by analysing the global forces that have prompted anti-worker policies internationally and the worldwide responses on th ....Workers of the world: International labour movement responses to globalization. Industrial relations was the most significant issue in the 2007 federal election. The return of the Labor Government suggests the majority of Australians wished to preserve workers' rights to bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions. This project speaks directly to such concerns by analysing the global forces that have prompted anti-worker policies internationally and the worldwide responses on the part of labour movements. It will also incorporate Australian scholarship and subject-matter into a major comparative study for an international audience, at a time when the global political pendulum has swung in the direction of confronting corporate excesses and improving employees' living and working standards.Read moreRead less
Negotiating the Life Course: Education, Work, Family and Lifestyle Behaviour in Australia. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource accessible to and widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. Beyond its major academic contributions, its results have been extensively reported in the media and have greatly increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important and on-going role in several areas ....Negotiating the Life Course: Education, Work, Family and Lifestyle Behaviour in Australia. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource accessible to and widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. Beyond its major academic contributions, its results have been extensively reported in the media and have greatly increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important and on-going role in several areas of policy formulation especially in the development of policies related to the balance of work and family. Its principals are leading social commentators in these policy areas because, in large part, they are able to draw upon this significant national resource. Read moreRead less
Understanding the Spatial and Social Drivers of Employment Transitions. This project reconsiders significant changes in the Australian labour market by utilising new conceptual tools based on temporal and spatial dimensions of productive activities and employment. The analysis provides an understanding of the socio-economic and spatial drivers of job and employment transitions and how they vary across Australia. The outcomes will be a new hierarchical model of labour market regions for assessin ....Understanding the Spatial and Social Drivers of Employment Transitions. This project reconsiders significant changes in the Australian labour market by utilising new conceptual tools based on temporal and spatial dimensions of productive activities and employment. The analysis provides an understanding of the socio-economic and spatial drivers of job and employment transitions and how they vary across Australia. The outcomes will be a new hierarchical model of labour market regions for assessing the social impact of employment transitions in regions, localities and remote areas providing evidence to inform region-specific policy. The innovative statistical methodology to enhance current analytical models of spatial variation in employment transitions will contribute significantly to international research. Read moreRead less
Negotiating the Lifecourse: Longitudinal research into work and family transitions and trajectories. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. The research on life course pathways will see Australian researchers contribute to major advances that are being made in this field, particularly in Europe. Beyond its major academic contributions, results have been extensively report ....Negotiating the Lifecourse: Longitudinal research into work and family transitions and trajectories. The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. The research on life course pathways will see Australian researchers contribute to major advances that are being made in this field, particularly in Europe. Beyond its major academic contributions, results have been extensively reported in the media and have increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important role in several areas of policy formulation especially in work/family, housing and education. Its principals are leading social commentators in these policy areas partly because they are able to draw upon this significant national resource. Read moreRead less
Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon househol ....Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon households, along with individual preferences and household, community and workplace structures (and their interaction), drawing out implications for social theory and policy. It will analyse policy, quantitative data, and collect and analyse new qualitative data at Australian sites, within an international context.Read moreRead less