Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100603
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
Understanding the Causes of Political Trust through Survey Experiments. This project intends to improve our understanding of the drivers of political trust and point to ways that political trust could be improved. Despite the importance of political trust to the functioning of democratic systems, we have no experimental data on what the causes of political trust are, and political trust has been said to have reached crisis levels in many democracies. By integrating existing survey data with expe ....Understanding the Causes of Political Trust through Survey Experiments. This project intends to improve our understanding of the drivers of political trust and point to ways that political trust could be improved. Despite the importance of political trust to the functioning of democratic systems, we have no experimental data on what the causes of political trust are, and political trust has been said to have reached crisis levels in many democracies. By integrating existing survey data with experiments in five established democracies, this project aims to identify the causes of political trust and how these differ by country. Understanding political trust and how it can be improved may provide input to successful policies to deal with challenges such as ageing populations and environmental change.Read moreRead less
Regulation and social capital. This project looks at regulation from the perspective of regulators and regulated communities. It seeks an account of regulatory implementation that is most likely to produce respectful, cooperative and effective engagement between authorities and the public.
Managing trust: a comparative historical study of political accountability in Australia. Some Australian political leaders have acknowledged a crisis in their trust relationship with voters and seek ways to fix it. By historicising the 'crisis of trust' thesis, and testing its assumptions, I expect to demonstrate that, far from being alienated from voters, representatives both reflect and shape society's notions of trustworthiness. This knowledge offers political leaders new ways of approaching ....Managing trust: a comparative historical study of political accountability in Australia. Some Australian political leaders have acknowledged a crisis in their trust relationship with voters and seek ways to fix it. By historicising the 'crisis of trust' thesis, and testing its assumptions, I expect to demonstrate that, far from being alienated from voters, representatives both reflect and shape society's notions of trustworthiness. This knowledge offers political leaders new ways of approaching their relationships with voters in order to redress the trust dilemma. It also provides fresh, more positive ways of conceptualising trust relations generally, offering a way forward from the present cynicism, for a variety of trust relationships to be made anew.Read moreRead less
Eternal Vigilance: A History of the Returned Serices League of Australia. The history will provide a better understanding of what has been, throughout most of the twentieth century, an extremely influential and powerful institution with close connections to government, an active and vociferous membership, and the ability to command considerable press attention. Its history, oddly, has been poorly understood. The work will also inform contemporary concerns with "exclusionary nationalism" and the ....Eternal Vigilance: A History of the Returned Serices League of Australia. The history will provide a better understanding of what has been, throughout most of the twentieth century, an extremely influential and powerful institution with close connections to government, an active and vociferous membership, and the ability to command considerable press attention. Its history, oddly, has been poorly understood. The work will also inform contemporary concerns with "exclusionary nationalism" and the treatment of minorities in wartime. In light of recent international conflict and the potential for internal social and ethnic conflict, analysis of the discourse and politics of "loyalism" and their potentially marginalising effects on dissident groups seems especially socially important and relevant.Read moreRead less
Reading the Social Future of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. This project investigates how and if the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) is building social capital. It does this by interrogating existing practices and operations at the ARCBS and by surveying donors and non-donors. This project aims to develop a Deleuzian critique of the notion of social capital.
The 2012/13 Australian Election Study: volatility and electoral change. The 2012/13 Australian Election Study will provide both an in-depth understanding of general patterns of voting behaviour and a detailed, objective account of how and why voters made up their minds in this federal election. The study adds to the unbroken series of national surveys conducted after each Australian federal election since 1987.
Culture Circuits: Exploring the International Networks and Institutions Shaping Contemporary Cultural Policy. This comparative Project will analyse the international export and exchange of cultural policy discourses and personnel, and their local consequences. The Project will provide a sophisticated understanding of cultural policy formation and the primary relations between culture, governance and nation shaping its development and orientation in Australia. In analysing significant external in ....Culture Circuits: Exploring the International Networks and Institutions Shaping Contemporary Cultural Policy. This comparative Project will analyse the international export and exchange of cultural policy discourses and personnel, and their local consequences. The Project will provide a sophisticated understanding of cultural policy formation and the primary relations between culture, governance and nation shaping its development and orientation in Australia. In analysing significant external influences on Australian cultural development, the Project will aid in the creation and maintenance of a distinctive national culture, so enabling the formulation of cultural policy that is attuned to specific Australian circumstances and better able to play a productive and strategic role in Australia's social and economic development.
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Islamic religiosity and challenge of political engagement and national belonging in multicultural western cities. This project will investigate how participation in Islamic religious practices strengthens attachments to the western cities where Muslims have chosen to live. It will contribute to global, national and local policy outcomes that focus on the challenges of accommodating minority religions in diverse western cities.
Children, Community and Social Capital in Australia. Contributing to our understanding of children's roles and contributions to their communities in Australia, this research will strengthen the basis for policies and interventions relating to social inclusion, community strengthening, children's well-being and family policy. Currently, there is a strong policy focus on children's issues in Australia, but children's own experiences and perspectives are often missing from policy deliberations. T ....Children, Community and Social Capital in Australia. Contributing to our understanding of children's roles and contributions to their communities in Australia, this research will strengthen the basis for policies and interventions relating to social inclusion, community strengthening, children's well-being and family policy. Currently, there is a strong policy focus on children's issues in Australia, but children's own experiences and perspectives are often missing from policy deliberations. This research will provide the foundation for policy and interventions that are inclusive of children and value children as community members and citizens. Read moreRead less
Community and Governance; Urban Activism in Melbourne in the 1960s and beyond. As the economy of Melbourne's central and inner areas has been transformed over the last three decades, conflicts over urban redevelopment have impacted significantly on governance, urban policies and inner city communities. By studying the new generation of activists attracted to Melbourne's working class suburbs in the 1960s, this project will push beyond gentrification interpretations of urban change to examine th ....Community and Governance; Urban Activism in Melbourne in the 1960s and beyond. As the economy of Melbourne's central and inner areas has been transformed over the last three decades, conflicts over urban redevelopment have impacted significantly on governance, urban policies and inner city communities. By studying the new generation of activists attracted to Melbourne's working class suburbs in the 1960s, this project will push beyond gentrification interpretations of urban change to examine the motivations of activists and the process of forging partipatory structures of governance and community partnerships. The project will assess the significance of this period of transition for managing urban development in the new millennium.Read moreRead less