Negotiating the Lifecourse: Changing and Maintaining Household and Labour Market Links. This study builds upon and extends a unique longitudinal Australian project concerned with the way in which men and women negotiate employment and domestic responsibilities over the lifecourse. We are seeking funds to collect a third wave of data from our sample and to extend the project in three key areas concerning the domestic division of labour, women's employment and marital stability, and family formati ....Negotiating the Lifecourse: Changing and Maintaining Household and Labour Market Links. This study builds upon and extends a unique longitudinal Australian project concerned with the way in which men and women negotiate employment and domestic responsibilities over the lifecourse. We are seeking funds to collect a third wave of data from our sample and to extend the project in three key areas concerning the domestic division of labour, women's employment and marital stability, and family formation. The significance of the project lies in its longitudinal design enabling us to address key social questions that have not been examined in Australia in the past. The project will deliver important information to policy-makers as well as providing a unique database for social researchers.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Spatial and Social Drivers of Employment Transitions. This project reconsiders significant changes in the Australian labour market by utilising new conceptual tools based on temporal and spatial dimensions of productive activities and employment. The analysis provides an understanding of the socio-economic and spatial drivers of job and employment transitions and how they vary across Australia. The outcomes will be a new hierarchical model of labour market regions for assessin ....Understanding the Spatial and Social Drivers of Employment Transitions. This project reconsiders significant changes in the Australian labour market by utilising new conceptual tools based on temporal and spatial dimensions of productive activities and employment. The analysis provides an understanding of the socio-economic and spatial drivers of job and employment transitions and how they vary across Australia. The outcomes will be a new hierarchical model of labour market regions for assessing the social impact of employment transitions in regions, localities and remote areas providing evidence to inform region-specific policy. The innovative statistical methodology to enhance current analytical models of spatial variation in employment transitions will contribute significantly to international research. Read moreRead less
Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustain ....Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustainable futures, it applies a novel combination of methods. This application examines the consequences of involvement and non-involvement in these processes. The project seeks to extend theories of social change and social mobilisation.Read moreRead less
Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produc ....Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produce macro-level mapping of post-pandemic national work/care regimes, and micro-level survey data on young people’s experience of and attitudes to the future of work in Australia, the UK and Japan, to deliver insights on the gendered economic and social impact of the pandemic and inform a more inclusive global recovery.Read moreRead less
Addressing the deficit in men's participation in paid care work. This project aims to address the chronic and ongoing underrepresentation of men in front line, low paid occupations in the Health Care and Social Assistance Sector by exploring how men already employed in the sector overcome the barriers to participating in such jobs. Utilising a qualitative methodology, this project expects to generate new theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of critical studies of men and masculinity ....Addressing the deficit in men's participation in paid care work. This project aims to address the chronic and ongoing underrepresentation of men in front line, low paid occupations in the Health Care and Social Assistance Sector by exploring how men already employed in the sector overcome the barriers to participating in such jobs. Utilising a qualitative methodology, this project expects to generate new theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of critical studies of men and masculinity and labour market transitions. Expected outcomes include producing a better understanding of men in the low paid care work labour market. This should provide significant benefits in relation to tackling the serious current and projected shortages of personal and aged/disability carers in the coming years.Read moreRead less
Labour Matters: The Recomposition of Trade Union Action in a Globalising Era: Australia and Canada1983-2003. Trade unions are struggling to craft innovative responses to globalisation's pressures, while seeking to shore up their traditional role in 'porous' national economies. We compare Australia with Canada 1983-2003: semi-peripheral countries facing similar pressures from globalisation, but responding differently in governance and trade union action. Labour innovation is set against the backd ....Labour Matters: The Recomposition of Trade Union Action in a Globalising Era: Australia and Canada1983-2003. Trade unions are struggling to craft innovative responses to globalisation's pressures, while seeking to shore up their traditional role in 'porous' national economies. We compare Australia with Canada 1983-2003: semi-peripheral countries facing similar pressures from globalisation, but responding differently in governance and trade union action. Labour innovation is set against the backdrop of changes in employment regulation and employment security. We examine innovation through national and transnational union campaigns that parallel in two countries, to evaluate innovation in Australia. Postgraduate research training in internationally comparative social science methodology is provided and results disseminated in academic, practitioner and public fora.Read moreRead less
Pathways then and now: new student transitions to adulthood in a comparative context. This project will generate new knowledge about young people's development and use of 'creative capital', which is crucial to their participation in the new labour markets in a post-industrial society. The research is designed to contribute directly to new policy frameworks in post-compulsory education and training that acknowledge the need for young people to make creative choices, develop positive pathways and ....Pathways then and now: new student transitions to adulthood in a comparative context. This project will generate new knowledge about young people's development and use of 'creative capital', which is crucial to their participation in the new labour markets in a post-industrial society. The research is designed to contribute directly to new policy frameworks in post-compulsory education and training that acknowledge the need for young people to make creative choices, develop positive pathways and to live within supportive family and community contexts. In this way, the project will support the Government's agenda of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric in the fact of weaker traditional support structures.Read moreRead less
Improving the life chances of young disabled Australians. This project will determine the social and economic impact of disability on young people and identify why some young people experience more negative outcomes. The outcome will be a model of the impact of disability which can be used to guide and monitor progress towards Australia's social inclusion agenda for people with disabilities. A substantial benefit will be growth in Australia's capacity in disability disadvantage research.
Flexible career patterns: graduate redefinitions of outcomes in the new labour market. The research will identify graduate redefinitions of the meaning of ?career? and the construction of flexible career patterns in response to changes in the labour market. The centrepiece of the research program is the extension of a ten-year cohort of 1300 Australian graduates who are now 5-7 years out from graduation. The wider significance of the emerging themes is tested through comparison with a Canadian ....Flexible career patterns: graduate redefinitions of outcomes in the new labour market. The research will identify graduate redefinitions of the meaning of ?career? and the construction of flexible career patterns in response to changes in the labour market. The centrepiece of the research program is the extension of a ten-year cohort of 1300 Australian graduates who are now 5-7 years out from graduation. The wider significance of the emerging themes is tested through comparison with a Canadian cohort and with a younger Australian cohort. The research findings are significant to the formation of responsive post-compulsory education and training policy and programs that meet the changing needs of young Australians.Read moreRead less
Trade union futures: purposes, capacities and organisation towards a green transition. What is the future of trade unions? They face uncertain futures especially in the traditional industrial communities. While unions are aware of these challenges it is unclear how they will renew themselves to meet the new conditions. The research will show how unions can contribute to an environmentally sustainable world.