Cosmopolitan development: the impacts of international volunteering. This project will provide new ways of thinking about the impact of international development volunteering. It examines how volunteering contributes to more equal partnerships between Australia and its neighbouring countries and how it transforms the ways volunteers and host organisations perceive and respond to global challenges.
Policy frameworks and market/non-market activity of young and older adults . The project intends to compare the social and economic participation of young adults and older people across nations to reveal best practice policy in engaging both ends of the age spectrum in productive activity. Population ageing has implications for the wellbeing and prosperity of both the older and younger generations. This project intends to investigate how contemporary young adults and older people spend their tim ....Policy frameworks and market/non-market activity of young and older adults . The project intends to compare the social and economic participation of young adults and older people across nations to reveal best practice policy in engaging both ends of the age spectrum in productive activity. Population ageing has implications for the wellbeing and prosperity of both the older and younger generations. This project intends to investigate how contemporary young adults and older people spend their time in productive activities across countries with contrasting policy frameworks. This may yield important policy-relevant information for Australia on how to both protect the old and invest in the young, while balancing financial sustainability and the principles of social justice and fairness.Read moreRead less
Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual ....Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer; the mezzo level of the volunteer-involving organisation; and the macro level of society. This innovative approach aims to identify, analyse and develop a tool to help organisations build Australia’s civil society and develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector into the future.Read moreRead less
Work Experience: Labour Law at the Intersection of Work and Education. This project aims to examine the regulatory challenges relating to post-secondary work experience, such as internships, in the areas of labour and employment, anti-discrimination and workers compensation law in Australia. The analysis is designed to establish a global and comparative context, examining policy and regulatory responses in Canada, Europe (including Britain), New Zealand, and the United States of America and at t ....Work Experience: Labour Law at the Intersection of Work and Education. This project aims to examine the regulatory challenges relating to post-secondary work experience, such as internships, in the areas of labour and employment, anti-discrimination and workers compensation law in Australia. The analysis is designed to establish a global and comparative context, examining policy and regulatory responses in Canada, Europe (including Britain), New Zealand, and the United States of America and at the international level. By offering a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical and practical implications of law's boundary between work and education, it is expected to identify optimum approaches to the regulation of post-secondary work experience, and thereby expand policy debates and enhance future law reform.Read moreRead less
Who You Know or Where You Go? The Role of Formal and Informal Networks in Finding Employment and Maintaining Wellbeing. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that informal social networks improve well-being and labour market outcomes for the unemployed in Europe. However, no comparable Australian study has been conducted and there is little research on the role of the 'formal' networks represented by employment services programs in Australia or overseas. This project aims to explore unemplo ....Who You Know or Where You Go? The Role of Formal and Informal Networks in Finding Employment and Maintaining Wellbeing. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that informal social networks improve well-being and labour market outcomes for the unemployed in Europe. However, no comparable Australian study has been conducted and there is little research on the role of the 'formal' networks represented by employment services programs in Australia or overseas. This project aims to explore unemployed people's formal and informal networks and the impact of those networks on employment status and wellbeing. This project aims to inform unemployment policy design and service delivery by providing a greater understanding of the role that social networks play in finding jobs and surviving unemployment.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100333
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,294.00
Summary
Is Precarious Employment Reshaping the Lives of Young Adults? This project aims to investigate the impact of the growth of insecure and non-standard employment on the transition to adulthood. It is recognised that precarious employment among young people can influence career outcomes, but very little is known about its impact beyond work. In Australia and other developed countries, many young people are making housing transitions, building relationships and forming attitudes towards work–life–fa ....Is Precarious Employment Reshaping the Lives of Young Adults? This project aims to investigate the impact of the growth of insecure and non-standard employment on the transition to adulthood. It is recognised that precarious employment among young people can influence career outcomes, but very little is known about its impact beyond work. In Australia and other developed countries, many young people are making housing transitions, building relationships and forming attitudes towards work–life–family questions while negotiating complex and insecure employment. This project has the potential to provide new knowledge of the resources that government, educators, and youth service providers should make available to help young people achieve their goals, hence supporting economic participation, social inclusion and quality of life.Read moreRead less
Overweight/obesity, Activity Patterns, And Health In 4-year-olds: The Longitudinal Study Of Australian Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$108,800.00
Summary
Levels of overweight and obesity are at an all-time high, but we know little about: - its prevalence in young Australian children - the activity patterns of young children and how this relates to overweight-obesity, at an age when lasting patterns of sedentary behaviour are becoming established. A better understanding of this relationship is important, because low levels of physical activity are probably a major driver in the current epidemic - how overweight-obesity affects very young children ....Levels of overweight and obesity are at an all-time high, but we know little about: - its prevalence in young Australian children - the activity patterns of young children and how this relates to overweight-obesity, at an age when lasting patterns of sedentary behaviour are becoming established. A better understanding of this relationship is important, because low levels of physical activity are probably a major driver in the current epidemic - how overweight-obesity affects very young children - how a familial predisposition to gain weight is translated into excessive weight gain during early childhood The present study will utilise data collected as part of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). In March 2004, LSAC will enrol a nationally-representative cohort including 5000 4-year-olds for comprehensive longitudinal study, with the first wave of data available for analysis in April 2005. A unique feature of LSAC is direct measurement of children's weight and height coupled with detailed data about their use of time and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The availability of these data will enable us for the first time to study the relationship between childhood overweight-obesity, detailed activity patterns of young children, parental overweight-obesity and the relationship between these variables and children's HRQoL. In late 2003, the National Health and Medical Research Council published its evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents. This application addresses several of its key research recommendations, far more efficiently than could be done if a new study had to be set up specifically for this purpose. The proposal acknowledges the common problem of under-funding for analysis of important large datasets, and seeks to address this issue right from the start of LSAC.Read moreRead less
Pro bono service: drivers, delight, dark side and downside for the professional. Pro bono work, common in the professions, is important to Australia's economy. This ground breaking research provides rich insights into why pro bono givers feel unappreciated, unacknowledged, unreciprocated, and often taken advantage of and, importantly, equips professionals with strategies for enhanced outcomes.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,720.00
Summary
Promoting work-life balance: do flexible work arrangements really work for employees in Australia? The research investigates the impact of flexible work arrangements available in the workplace on the time use and work-life balance of employees. It establishes which arrangements most effectively support employees to balance work and non-work time, with significant implications for social and organisational policy.
Bold Experiment: an historical evaluation of the Australian Assistance Plan. Australia and similar western democracies continue to wrestle with growing citizen disengagement with political processes and declining levels of active participation in society. This project is expected to provide the first historical examination of the Australian Assistance Plan (AAP), an innovative yet forgotten program from the 1970s. The AAP sought to reframe participation at a local level, stimulate voluntary orga ....Bold Experiment: an historical evaluation of the Australian Assistance Plan. Australia and similar western democracies continue to wrestle with growing citizen disengagement with political processes and declining levels of active participation in society. This project is expected to provide the first historical examination of the Australian Assistance Plan (AAP), an innovative yet forgotten program from the 1970s. The AAP sought to reframe participation at a local level, stimulate voluntary organisations and provide a framework that engaged with all levels of governments. Using archival sources and oral history methods, the project seeks to offer a new interpretation of an important initiative in Australian history and demonstrate how historical analysis can inform policy and shape debates in government and non-profit sectors in the future.Read moreRead less