Violence, Religion and Well-being in Contemporary Burma (Myanmar): A Medical Anthropological Study of Everyday Life Under Dictatorship. For 40 years, Burma has been controlled by a military dictatorship with human rights abuses occurring daily. Terror and political violence are used as tools of repression. An in-depth ethnographic study will be conducted into the relationship between emotional/psychological distress and the violence and fear that pervades everyday Burmese life. The project will ....Violence, Religion and Well-being in Contemporary Burma (Myanmar): A Medical Anthropological Study of Everyday Life Under Dictatorship. For 40 years, Burma has been controlled by a military dictatorship with human rights abuses occurring daily. Terror and political violence are used as tools of repression. An in-depth ethnographic study will be conducted into the relationship between emotional/psychological distress and the violence and fear that pervades everyday Burmese life. The project will test the hypothesis that religion plays an important role in mediating responses to fear. No other study has been conducted of everday life under this dictatorship, or of survival strategies created to alleviate fear. Outcomes will include refereed articles, a major monograph on the subject and the development of a new methodology appropriate for aiding victims of terror and torture.Read moreRead less
Understanding Burma's Health Crisis and its Challenge to Regional Security: New Pathways to Peacebuilding. Researching ways in which war-torn societies can build the human capital necessary for long-term implementation of peacebuilding initiatives will contribute to making peace interventions more successful. The unique focus upon the right to health and its linkages with human rights within conflict economies will provide significant information and new policy directions for improving human sec ....Understanding Burma's Health Crisis and its Challenge to Regional Security: New Pathways to Peacebuilding. Researching ways in which war-torn societies can build the human capital necessary for long-term implementation of peacebuilding initiatives will contribute to making peace interventions more successful. The unique focus upon the right to health and its linkages with human rights within conflict economies will provide significant information and new policy directions for improving human security and stability among Australia's neighbours in the Asian region.Read moreRead less
Development, Disease and Desire: AIDS and women's understandings of maternity and health among the Gogodala of PNG. This project explores articulations and experiences of health and illness among women in rural PNG, in light of the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities. It examines the incorporation of new diseases, like HIV/AIDS, into Gogodala women's conceptualisations of sickness and health, arguing that in-depth analyses of cross-cultural notions of disease are vital for the provision of e ....Development, Disease and Desire: AIDS and women's understandings of maternity and health among the Gogodala of PNG. This project explores articulations and experiences of health and illness among women in rural PNG, in light of the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities. It examines the incorporation of new diseases, like HIV/AIDS, into Gogodala women's conceptualisations of sickness and health, arguing that in-depth analyses of cross-cultural notions of disease are vital for the provision of effective health care. Given HIV's rapid spread into rural communities, and its devastating effects on women and children in PNG, the project seeks to provide ethnographically-informed material that contributes to the development of regional health care policies and programs.Read moreRead less
Gender, family conflict, and suicide in rural China. The principal outcome of this anthropological study is an understanding of the social and cultural causes of suicide in rural China, achieved through close collaboration with Chinese researchers. This will enhance cross-cultural awareness and build cooperative institutional ties with China, both of which are crucial to Australia's development and security in the region. The project will make a major contribution to a global re-conceptualisatio ....Gender, family conflict, and suicide in rural China. The principal outcome of this anthropological study is an understanding of the social and cultural causes of suicide in rural China, achieved through close collaboration with Chinese researchers. This will enhance cross-cultural awareness and build cooperative institutional ties with China, both of which are crucial to Australia's development and security in the region. The project will make a major contribution to a global re-conceptualisation of suicide as a social, as well as a mental health problem, and will raise the profile of Australian institutions in suicide studies, gender studies, anthropology, and Asian studies. Through postgraduate training, the project will also help build much-needed research capacity.Read moreRead less
An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector ....An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector benefits in assisting health reforms to be more effective; and education sector benefits in understanding how professionals from different disciplines can learn together more collaboratively. The benefits are transferable to other industries and professional groups, as well as to Australia's international partners.Read moreRead less
Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strain ....Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strains family relationships, which are critical to children's development and well-being. As well as informing industrial relations changes, this project will benefit the twin economic and social policy goals of workforce participation while at the same time supporting the health and well-being of parents and their children.Read moreRead less
Socio-economic determinants of future fertility trends in Australia and other developed countries. Future demographic trends will do much to determine Australia's future. Fertility levels will dominate in deciding population numbers, age structure, and the optimum balance between natural increase and immigration. Current ARC-supported research on the theory of demographic transition provides a paradigm for forecasting likely trends, especially when employed with an existing data bank of findings ....Socio-economic determinants of future fertility trends in Australia and other developed countries. Future demographic trends will do much to determine Australia's future. Fertility levels will dominate in deciding population numbers, age structure, and the optimum balance between natural increase and immigration. Current ARC-supported research on the theory of demographic transition provides a paradigm for forecasting likely trends, especially when employed with an existing data bank of findings on social and demographic interrelations. The research is of great national benefit because even small differences in age structure will impact significantly on the size of the labour force, health services, the support of the aged and taxation levels. Relevant policy decisions will need to be made in the near future.Read moreRead less
Improving Government Policy Making and Needs-Based Delivery of Services: Innovative Techniques to Enhance Administrative Data by Adding Socioeconomic Status. This project will create major national benefits by illuminating whether there are significant differences in access to or usage of such key government services as health and education by socio-economic status. Currently, most departments do not fully exploit their administrative data to answer such questions, because of the difficulty of ....Improving Government Policy Making and Needs-Based Delivery of Services: Innovative Techniques to Enhance Administrative Data by Adding Socioeconomic Status. This project will create major national benefits by illuminating whether there are significant differences in access to or usage of such key government services as health and education by socio-economic status. Currently, most departments do not fully exploit their administrative data to answer such questions, because of the difficulty of identifying the socio-economic status of users. This project will help Australia in its on-going but recently intensified efforts to make better use of its administrative data, resulting in a more efficient use of our data resources; better targeting of scare government resources; and improved identification of those in greatest need. Read moreRead less
Interactive Demographic Transition: Analysis and Theory. The demographic transition, or decline in mortality and fertility levels to produce the modern small family and normally long-lived individuals, may well be the most important social change of our time. It has occasioned much research but theory is still in disarray. This is at least partly explained by a disregard for feed-back mechanisms in the form of organized movements supporting and opposing such demographic change. My aim is to r ....Interactive Demographic Transition: Analysis and Theory. The demographic transition, or decline in mortality and fertility levels to produce the modern small family and normally long-lived individuals, may well be the most important social change of our time. It has occasioned much research but theory is still in disarray. This is at least partly explained by a disregard for feed-back mechanisms in the form of organized movements supporting and opposing such demographic change. My aim is to reanalyze data from my own and others? work, taking such interactions into account, to produce a demographic transition theory suited both to historical explanation and the guidance of contemporary policy.Read moreRead less
Food systems, urban health equity and climate stabilisation: the need for a common agenda. This research will help address two great contemporary human struggles - achieving health equity and climate stabilisation. Action concerned with economic and social policy, food systems and urban living will improve Australian and global health, and help reduce social inequity such that communities are better able both to cope with the impacts of climate change and to avert further damage to the global en ....Food systems, urban health equity and climate stabilisation: the need for a common agenda. This research will help address two great contemporary human struggles - achieving health equity and climate stabilisation. Action concerned with economic and social policy, food systems and urban living will improve Australian and global health, and help reduce social inequity such that communities are better able both to cope with the impacts of climate change and to avert further damage to the global environment. Providing an evidence base that demonstrates, for the first time, what can be done in an integrated manner, will help mobilise political and popular support for a radical break with the compartmentalised and short term approach that dominates the political agenda at state, national and global levels.Read moreRead less