Feminist theory meets indigenous art. Aboriginal reconciliation is high on the social and cultural agenda in Australian life. The place of art in this political moment has been critical - the culture of Australian indigenous people has come to international attention, and won recognition, largely through art works. This reflects in many cases a political strategy on the part of indigenous communities to use art to depict their traditional Dreamings, of which the world was ignorant. But underlyin ....Feminist theory meets indigenous art. Aboriginal reconciliation is high on the social and cultural agenda in Australian life. The place of art in this political moment has been critical - the culture of Australian indigenous people has come to international attention, and won recognition, largely through art works. This reflects in many cases a political strategy on the part of indigenous communities to use art to depict their traditional Dreamings, of which the world was ignorant. But underlying this, is the assumption made in Aboriginal philosophies that the art is the knowledge it portrays, which in turn evokes title to land through the law of Dreaming, of belonging to "country". To better understand this negotiation advances debate on issues surrounding reconciliation.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
Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understandi ....Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understanding of why some occupations remain male dominated despite 20 years of policy and program level change initiatives. It will have direct benefits for both metropolitan and rural firefighting services in Australia, assisting them to adapt to new professional and equity imperatives.Read moreRead less
Understandings of Women's Disadvantage at Work: Discourses of Discrimination in the Workplace. In analysing the persistence of women's disadvantage in the workplace, research has focused on the inadequacy of anti-discrimination law and both government and corporate EEO policies. Less attention has been paid to the myriad ways in which these proscriptions of discrimination are understood and implemented in the workplace. This project will examine workplace discourses around sex discrimination in ....Understandings of Women's Disadvantage at Work: Discourses of Discrimination in the Workplace. In analysing the persistence of women's disadvantage in the workplace, research has focused on the inadequacy of anti-discrimination law and both government and corporate EEO policies. Less attention has been paid to the myriad ways in which these proscriptions of discrimination are understood and implemented in the workplace. This project will examine workplace discourses around sex discrimination in a range of industry case studies. It will contribute to a better theoretical understanding of the ways in which women's workplace disadvantage is constructed and negotiated within specific organisational contexts and cultures and also provide practical guidance for human rights agencies.Read moreRead less
Sexual harassment in Australia: Contexts, outcomes and prevention. Sexual harassment remains a persistent workplace issue with significant social costs. The project will examine how to most effectively prevent sexual harassment and to reduce the impact of sexual harassment for individuals and organizations where it occurs. A comprehensive analysis will be undertaken, drawing on a longitudinal study of more than 100 'targets' of sexual harassment, interviews with a wide range of employers and ext ....Sexual harassment in Australia: Contexts, outcomes and prevention. Sexual harassment remains a persistent workplace issue with significant social costs. The project will examine how to most effectively prevent sexual harassment and to reduce the impact of sexual harassment for individuals and organizations where it occurs. A comprehensive analysis will be undertaken, drawing on a longitudinal study of more than 100 'targets' of sexual harassment, interviews with a wide range of employers and external complaint handling bodies, and an analysis of formal and informal reports. The project outcomes will contribute to improved policy and practice in workplaces and human rights and assist other bodies to prevent and more effectively respond to sexual harassment.Read moreRead less
Development assistance to women in postconflict situations. In the last decade, internal armed conflicts have attracted increasing attention as major obstacles to development in poor countries. For development assistance organisations this poses serious challenges. Moreover, men and women experience conflict differently. This project documents, analyses and assesses work amongst women in post-conflict situations by an Australian non-government development agency, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (OCAA ....Development assistance to women in postconflict situations. In the last decade, internal armed conflicts have attracted increasing attention as major obstacles to development in poor countries. For development assistance organisations this poses serious challenges. Moreover, men and women experience conflict differently. This project documents, analyses and assesses work amongst women in post-conflict situations by an Australian non-government development agency, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (OCAA). Three countries, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and East Timor, comprise the case studies. In reports and scholarly articles, this research will evaluate how well OCAA meets women's needs in the post-conflict transition, and identify how development organisations can improve such work in future.Read moreRead less
The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will ....The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will produce a comprehensive and practical assessment of the quality of part-time employment in Australia, including two detailed industry case studies. Finally, the project will evaluate the main policy paths for improving the quality of part-time employment.Read moreRead less
Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and ge ....Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and gender in Ireland and the Irish diaspora. It will promote collaboration between Irish and Australian universities, provide training for a PhD student and help foster Irish Studies in Australia. Read moreRead less
Assessing development: designing better indices of poverty and gender equity. Contributing to development worldwide, this research raises Australia`s global standing and helps fulfil the values and responsibilities of the Australian people. It strengthens the basis for gender-related and poverty-related policy development and service delivery within Australia and helps correct the current over-emphasis, in measuring domestic gender inequity, on the more privileged women.
Because severe poverty ....Assessing development: designing better indices of poverty and gender equity. Contributing to development worldwide, this research raises Australia`s global standing and helps fulfil the values and responsibilities of the Australian people. It strengthens the basis for gender-related and poverty-related policy development and service delivery within Australia and helps correct the current over-emphasis, in measuring domestic gender inequity, on the more privileged women.
Because severe poverty and radically unequal gender relations burden many of our South East Asian and Pacific neighbours, development aid remains an important plank of our foreign policy. By providing better tools for measuring poverty and gender inequity, this project can improve our understanding of our region and augment the impact of our aid.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