Home helper robots: Understanding our future lives with human-like AI. This fellowship aims to understand and plan for the social effects of embedding ‘cute’ home helper robots into people’s everyday lives. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and resources to understand and respond to the emerging opportunities and risks associated with home helper robots, including their ability to support household tasks, and to provide child and aged care and companionship. Expected outcomes inc ....Home helper robots: Understanding our future lives with human-like AI. This fellowship aims to understand and plan for the social effects of embedding ‘cute’ home helper robots into people’s everyday lives. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and resources to understand and respond to the emerging opportunities and risks associated with home helper robots, including their ability to support household tasks, and to provide child and aged care and companionship. Expected outcomes include an improved understanding of anthropomorphised robots in everyday life and innovation in home helper robot theory and imaginaries. This should provide benefits such as informing robot design and policy to improve social outcomes, consumer protections and human-robot relationships.Read moreRead less
The social determinants of childhood injury. Child hood injury is a preventable problem of major importance. This project will provide a comprehensive, research-based policy solution that will minimise death and disability among children zero to three years of age.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100994
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,882.00
Summary
Philanthropy in Australian Public Schooling. Philanthropic involvement in schooling is prevalent, yet there is no academic research that investigates the substantive consequences of this development in Australian public schooling. The aim of this project is to develop new knowledge in education sociology of how philanthropy is influencing practices of school governance and contributing to systemic inequity within the public school system. The project seeks to build the capacity of education stak ....Philanthropy in Australian Public Schooling. Philanthropic involvement in schooling is prevalent, yet there is no academic research that investigates the substantive consequences of this development in Australian public schooling. The aim of this project is to develop new knowledge in education sociology of how philanthropy is influencing practices of school governance and contributing to systemic inequity within the public school system. The project seeks to build the capacity of education stakeholders to critically evaluate public school privatisation. Further, it hopes to inform sociological theories of what post-Welfare democracies are, and what the state's role ought to be in the public provision of schooling, particularly in relation to equitable school funding arrangements.Read moreRead less
Protecting Australia’s food future: shared responsibility for biosecurity. This project aims to investigate whether Australia’s ‘shared responsibility’ approach to biosecurity is capable of facing the growing threat from exotic pests and diseases. Through the analysis of policy documents and the use of semi-structured interviews, this project intends to contribute to a deeper understanding of the inter- and intra-organisational characteristics that influence implementation of biosecurity. Expect ....Protecting Australia’s food future: shared responsibility for biosecurity. This project aims to investigate whether Australia’s ‘shared responsibility’ approach to biosecurity is capable of facing the growing threat from exotic pests and diseases. Through the analysis of policy documents and the use of semi-structured interviews, this project intends to contribute to a deeper understanding of the inter- and intra-organisational characteristics that influence implementation of biosecurity. Expected outcomes include crucial insights into the capacity of a shared responsibility approach to protect agri-food production against biological threats, and the forms of institutional change that may be needed to enhance responsiveness to those threats. This in turn will benefit Australia's biosecurity system.Read moreRead less
Social Networks and Political Change in Contemporary Rural China. Rural China is home to nearly one-sixth of the world's population. Reforms in the Chinese countryside triggered a prolonged period of economic growth that has become the engine of the world economy and the major destination for Australian exports. Political and economic developments in the agricultural sector and the continued industrialisation of China's rural regions have an immediate impact on the Australian economy and will sh ....Social Networks and Political Change in Contemporary Rural China. Rural China is home to nearly one-sixth of the world's population. Reforms in the Chinese countryside triggered a prolonged period of economic growth that has become the engine of the world economy and the major destination for Australian exports. Political and economic developments in the agricultural sector and the continued industrialisation of China's rural regions have an immediate impact on the Australian economy and will shape Australia's relations with China long into the twenty-first century. Australia is a world leader in research on contemporary China and this project will help to consolidate that position.Read moreRead less
Development and evaluation of a web-based decision and safety planning aid for women experiencing domestic violence (I-DECIDE). This project will develop and evaluate a web-based intervention process which enables women experiencing domestic violence to consider their safety planning and support options, reach a carefully thought through decision (reflecting their personal priorities) and then make appropriate plans safely for themselves and their children.
Communities and New Patterns of Stratification in a Chinese City. China plays a major geopolitical role in the Asia-Pacific region. It is essential to understand the political and social challenges faced by China. Whether or not Chinese urban areas are going to experience a period of further growth and stability depends largely on the ability of the Chinese government to manage social change. This research will be the first systematic investigation into contemporary community building in China. ....Communities and New Patterns of Stratification in a Chinese City. China plays a major geopolitical role in the Asia-Pacific region. It is essential to understand the political and social challenges faced by China. Whether or not Chinese urban areas are going to experience a period of further growth and stability depends largely on the ability of the Chinese government to manage social change. This research will be the first systematic investigation into contemporary community building in China. By looking at the fundamental re-organisation of urban society, it will significantly improve the understanding of the complex social implications of China's rapid modernization and regional integration, and provide unprecedented insights on the perspectives for political reform. Read moreRead less
Business collective action, networks and discourse: a fiscal sociology of mining tax reform in Australia. The mining tax revolt in 2010 was a landmark event in government-business relations in Australia, acknowledged by multinational corporations and governments around the world for its broader ramifications. This project is the first systematic study of what happened, and its implications for our understanding of government-business relations.
Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and th ....Courts, the Judiciary and Social Change. While few Australians have direct experience of courts, nearly all agree that courts are important to the community, though public confidence is low. Social changes and the ambiguous position of courts in relation to change are part of this tension. This project will undertake a concrete examination of one aspect of social change and the courts: the increasing number of women in the judiciary. The focus on how gender interacts with judicial work and the wider roles of courts will produce new and valuable understandings of gender and judging, gender and work, and courts and social change. Better knowledge about these complex relationships will strengthen Australian society and its legal integrity.Read moreRead less
The re-emergence of political labour in Indonesia. This project examines trade unions' attempts to encourage Indonesian political parties to think less about charismatic leadership and money politics and more about policy. The project will document and analyse unionists' strategies for the upcoming local and national elections and assess their efficacy and impact on the outcomes of those elections.