Youth Cultures of Eating: A Cultural Analysis of Youth Obesity, Gender, Class, Ethnicity and Generation. Australian children and teenagers rank among the most overweight in the world. While there has been ample information about healthy eating, the message does not seem to be getting through to youth. This will be the first in-depth nationwide cultural study of the effects of gender, ethnicity, class, generation and geographical location on the food consumption practices of youth. It will provid ....Youth Cultures of Eating: A Cultural Analysis of Youth Obesity, Gender, Class, Ethnicity and Generation. Australian children and teenagers rank among the most overweight in the world. While there has been ample information about healthy eating, the message does not seem to be getting through to youth. This will be the first in-depth nationwide cultural study of the effects of gender, ethnicity, class, generation and geographical location on the food consumption practices of youth. It will provide information and analysis about how primary and high school students, teachers and parents perceive the problem of youth obesity. it will also provide insights which will enable policy-makers, school authorities and health practitioners to better understand this issue.
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Can there be good policy? Tracing the paths between policy intent, evidence and practical benefit in regional and remote Australia. By tracking major health, housing and education reforms currently underway across regional and remote Australia, this research generates fresh perspectives on an urgent contemporary debate in Indigenous social affairs: namely, are governments best placed to drive social change or to determine policy imperatives; and if not, are there alternate ways to generate good ....Can there be good policy? Tracing the paths between policy intent, evidence and practical benefit in regional and remote Australia. By tracking major health, housing and education reforms currently underway across regional and remote Australia, this research generates fresh perspectives on an urgent contemporary debate in Indigenous social affairs: namely, are governments best placed to drive social change or to determine policy imperatives; and if not, are there alternate ways to generate good policy? An anthropological approach will be used to observe government policy at work. The research will explore the institutional reasons behind the gap between intention and outcome in Indigenous social policy; how failure cycles in policy are replicated; and possible techniques for creating and implementing a new ethics of policy engagement.Read moreRead less
Changing spaces of HIV prevention: a cultural analysis of transformations in sexual sociability. Australia's response to HIV/AIDS is grounded in a unique engagement between gay community and government. But no cultural account exists of how people become engaged in HIV prevention. This project will address this gap by examining transformations in gay culture over the past 30 years and investigating the connections to HIV prevention.
Taste and Place: the transglobal production and consumption of food and drink. This project will explore the challenges and potentials that the transformations in production and consumption of food and drink pose to Australia. We have an enviable reputation for our wine and the quality of our food produce. But we have stiff competition from around the world. This is exacerbated by economic and cultural trends, which are changing the face of how and what we eat and drink. The homogenisation of ma ....Taste and Place: the transglobal production and consumption of food and drink. This project will explore the challenges and potentials that the transformations in production and consumption of food and drink pose to Australia. We have an enviable reputation for our wine and the quality of our food produce. But we have stiff competition from around the world. This is exacerbated by economic and cultural trends, which are changing the face of how and what we eat and drink. The homogenisation of mass-market consumption is producing a widespread dissatisfaction with our diet, and obesity. This cross-cultural project will result in important information about how we can best respond to these challenges.Read moreRead less
Mobile Indonesians: social differentiation and digital literacies in the twenty first century. This is the first dedicated study of the social implications of mobile telephony's recent and rapid popularisation throughout the country. This project will study metropolitan, urban and rural users to understand how mobile phones create the new and unexpected social networks which will shape tomorrow's Indonesians.
Autobiography of a People: Aboriginal Writing in Queensland, 1890s-1930s. As the recent "history wars" confirm, Australians today care deeply about the colonial past, because its legacies are "all around us and within" (as Oodgeroo noted). This project advances knowledge and conceptual understanding in the key areas of colonial race relations, Indigenous self-representation, and Indigenous literacy. Aboriginal autobiography is an especially effective tool for stimulating the empathetic imaginati ....Autobiography of a People: Aboriginal Writing in Queensland, 1890s-1930s. As the recent "history wars" confirm, Australians today care deeply about the colonial past, because its legacies are "all around us and within" (as Oodgeroo noted). This project advances knowledge and conceptual understanding in the key areas of colonial race relations, Indigenous self-representation, and Indigenous literacy. Aboriginal autobiography is an especially effective tool for stimulating the empathetic imagination, and bridging social, temporal and geographical distances between people. This research will strengthen the nation's social fabric by promoting inter-racial understanding, and by adding historical depth to present thinking about contemporary Aboriginal attitudes to literacy.Read moreRead less
Creativity and cultural production in the Hunter: an applied ethnographic study of new entrepreneurial systems in the creative industries. This project will be an applied study of key collaborative groups across all the major creative industries in the Hunter region in New South Wales. Mapping these industries' approach to creativity and cultural production in the digital realm will provide detailed insights into the dynamic systems at the heart of creative industries.
Cultural Research for the 21st Century: Building Cultural Intelligence for a Complex World. This project will advance our knowledge of the complex cultural challenges facing 21st century Australia, and how these challenges can be addressed through engaged cultural research. It will promote cultural innovation by enabling public institutions to develop effective responses to the increasing complexity of their operating environments, especially in light of society's proliferating cultural diversit ....Cultural Research for the 21st Century: Building Cultural Intelligence for a Complex World. This project will advance our knowledge of the complex cultural challenges facing 21st century Australia, and how these challenges can be addressed through engaged cultural research. It will promote cultural innovation by enabling public institutions to develop effective responses to the increasing complexity of their operating environments, especially in light of society's proliferating cultural diversity. The project will expand the national innovation system by building the capacity of cultural researchers (and humanities and social science researchers more generally) to conduct collaborative and interdisciplinary research that contributes to the solution of important social and cultural problems. Read moreRead less
Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that st ....Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that stands to integrate film studies within the core of humanities education in tertiary institutions. This will ensure the ongoing relevance of philosophical and aesthetic research to contemporary cultural formations and stimulate ethical debates about culture and the mass media in the broader community.Read moreRead less
Connections/Disconnections: Australia - India comparative studies. A program of staff and postgraduate exchanges to build systematic research links between the Universities of Wollongong and Madras in the Humanities & Social Sciences. Current Wollongong projects will benefit from access to the Centre for Indian Studies and Madras will be able to develop further its Centre for Australian Studies.
The project will explore several historical, social and cultural connections between both countrie ....Connections/Disconnections: Australia - India comparative studies. A program of staff and postgraduate exchanges to build systematic research links between the Universities of Wollongong and Madras in the Humanities & Social Sciences. Current Wollongong projects will benefit from access to the Centre for Indian Studies and Madras will be able to develop further its Centre for Australian Studies.
The project will explore several historical, social and cultural connections between both countries, viz.:
- relations between Indian and Australian troops in the First world war
- comparisons of negotiations between the state and indigenous minorities
-textiles, trade and postcolonial texts
-comparative labour studies
-the writing of David Malouf
Outcomes will include:
- research papers,
- an international conference and proceedings,
- M.Phil and Doctoral theses,
- a reader on Australian Studies for Indian students.Read moreRead less