Where commerce and culture connect? Corporate governance and social capital in the global era: the case of the AFL. This project investigates a central puzzle that confronts many community organisations in the global era: how does an organisation sustain its cultural core while negotiating the new challenges of commercial viability and strategic governance? Increasingly, community organisations are confronted with the logics of the market and corporate management. At stake is their cultural ....Where commerce and culture connect? Corporate governance and social capital in the global era: the case of the AFL. This project investigates a central puzzle that confronts many community organisations in the global era: how does an organisation sustain its cultural core while negotiating the new challenges of commercial viability and strategic governance? Increasingly, community organisations are confronted with the logics of the market and corporate management. At stake is their cultural identity, autonomy and their embeddedness in local communities. Through a study of the 16 clubs of the Australian Football League, this project aims to generate a new analytical framework to evaluate organisations that seek to blend corporate governance and community engagement in novel and innovative ways.Read moreRead less
The New Politics of Trade: Complexity, Innovation and Policy Development in the Asia Pacific Region. In Australia and the Asia Pacific region the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements has become a central element of the foreign economic policies of many countries. The outcomes of the project will have particular relevance for Australia: understanding how our trade partners determine their trade agendas, and being able to identify potential allies and obstacles to ....The New Politics of Trade: Complexity, Innovation and Policy Development in the Asia Pacific Region. In Australia and the Asia Pacific region the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements has become a central element of the foreign economic policies of many countries. The outcomes of the project will have particular relevance for Australia: understanding how our trade partners determine their trade agendas, and being able to identify potential allies and obstacles to the securing of bilateral trade agreements, is crucial for the successful negotiation and conclusion of trade agreements. This project will contribute to our understanding of how the processes of globalization are reconfiguring interactions between government, business and civil society both within and across national boundaries. Read moreRead less
Community consultation and the hard to reach. Local government, social profiling and civic infrastructure. This study offers conceptual insights into reasons for non-participation in local government consultation, drawing on critical policy analysis and debates on governance and democratic capacity. The collaboration of 7 local councils and the VLGA enable the development of a transferable, generally viable framework linking: (i) sophisticated demographic profiles (ii) types of communication me ....Community consultation and the hard to reach. Local government, social profiling and civic infrastructure. This study offers conceptual insights into reasons for non-participation in local government consultation, drawing on critical policy analysis and debates on governance and democratic capacity. The collaboration of 7 local councils and the VLGA enable the development of a transferable, generally viable framework linking: (i) sophisticated demographic profiles (ii) types of communication media on a continuum of intensity (face to face, telephone/mail survey, email/Internet); (iii) issues on which residents wish to be consulted; and (iv) implications for civic infrastructure. Outcomes will benefit councils and Victorian citizens by providing an innovative, practically applicable framework for policy implementation using consultative processes.Read moreRead less
The political economy of military reform in Indonesia: Opportunities and challenges for civilian control of the TNI. Despite Suharto's fall, and limited reform process, the Indonesian military
(TNI) remains deeply involved in Indonesian politics, at Cabinet level, and
in state maintenance. The TNI also has substantial economic interests, about
two-thirds of which is illegal. The TNI is therefore still central to
Indonesia's political processes, and constitutes the major impediment to
Indone ....The political economy of military reform in Indonesia: Opportunities and challenges for civilian control of the TNI. Despite Suharto's fall, and limited reform process, the Indonesian military
(TNI) remains deeply involved in Indonesian politics, at Cabinet level, and
in state maintenance. The TNI also has substantial economic interests, about
two-thirds of which is illegal. The TNI is therefore still central to
Indonesia's political processes, and constitutes the major impediment to
Indonesia's democratisation. This project will locate military reform within
a broader Security Sector Reform agenda, assess the likelihood of further
voluntary TNI reform and external reform drivers, and structural problems
facing this process. It will analyse the TNI's reform process, and
investigate options for bilateral reform assistance.
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Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, econo ....Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, economic, environmental and regional development challenges.Read moreRead less
Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities ....Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities of the democratic process. Supplementary research will investigate prospects for making stronger institutional connections between the Archives, citizenship education and teachers' professional formation. Benefits include increased understanding of immigration, Australian political history, educational strategies and the Archives' role and resources. Read moreRead less
Australian Responses to Refugees, 1901-2005. Determining appropriate responses to refugees is a definitive political concern in contemporary Australia. However, conceptual and historical analysis is lacking of the global context and genealogy of Australia's current policy. This project will analyse Australian reactions to refugees from Federation to the present. It is hypothesised that positions on refugees have been integral to the constitution of Australian national identity. Using an innovati ....Australian Responses to Refugees, 1901-2005. Determining appropriate responses to refugees is a definitive political concern in contemporary Australia. However, conceptual and historical analysis is lacking of the global context and genealogy of Australia's current policy. This project will analyse Australian reactions to refugees from Federation to the present. It is hypothesised that positions on refugees have been integral to the constitution of Australian national identity. Using an innovative combination of theory (relating to nationhood), cultural reading and archival research, this project will explore the complex interaction between government policy, humanitarian concerns, and the culture of security considerations. The project will inform public and policy debate.Read moreRead less
Political careers: a cohort analysis. The work of our MPs has influential effects on the lives of all of us. An informed citizenry deserves to have a close understanding of the nature of that work and of the people who undertake it. This research will provide that opportunity. Informed understanding could encourage greater esteem for politicians and more realistic expectations of what they can achieve in politics. For those aspiring to political careers, this comprehensive study will detail the ....Political careers: a cohort analysis. The work of our MPs has influential effects on the lives of all of us. An informed citizenry deserves to have a close understanding of the nature of that work and of the people who undertake it. This research will provide that opportunity. Informed understanding could encourage greater esteem for politicians and more realistic expectations of what they can achieve in politics. For those aspiring to political careers, this comprehensive study will detail the potentials and the limitations of their intended course. Analysts of parliament and of social change will benefit from this case study in social history.Read moreRead less
Freedom of Expression in Democratic States: A New Theoretical Direction. Modern democratic states must protect freedom of expression while also responding to the harms caused by hateful, violent and dangerous form of speech - a problem accentuated by increasing racial, religious and ethnic conflict and the threat of (and responses to) terrorism.
The project is important because it aims to develop a theory of freedom of expression that - free from the distorting influence of the United States ....Freedom of Expression in Democratic States: A New Theoretical Direction. Modern democratic states must protect freedom of expression while also responding to the harms caused by hateful, violent and dangerous form of speech - a problem accentuated by increasing racial, religious and ethnic conflict and the threat of (and responses to) terrorism.
The project is important because it aims to develop a theory of freedom of expression that - free from the distorting influence of the United States jurisprudence - can explain and guide the courts in other democratic countries. Its comparative and theoretical innovation will place Australian scholarship at the forefront of a central problem in modern political life and enrich scholarly and public debate.Read moreRead less
Democratizing the Middle East: implications of Washington's policies. Regime change has been justified by the coalition of willing as beneficial to the promotion of democracy and stable governance in the Middle East. It is, therefore, important to examine how effective this project has been. Australia's foreign policy towards the region resembles that of the United States, including military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. This involvement warrants an assessment of the way state building h ....Democratizing the Middle East: implications of Washington's policies. Regime change has been justified by the coalition of willing as beneficial to the promotion of democracy and stable governance in the Middle East. It is, therefore, important to examine how effective this project has been. Australia's foreign policy towards the region resembles that of the United States, including military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. This involvement warrants an assessment of the way state building has set these two societies on a democratic trajectory, and whether they are serving as beacons of democracy in their neighbourhood. It is in Australia's national interests to have a realistic assessment of its foreign policy impact in the Middle East and Central Asia. Read moreRead less