Biotechnology Across the Borders of Life: Stem Cell Technology and Global Medical Exchange. This project interrogates the debates and policy surrounding embryonic stem cell technology and two intimately connected medical technologies - reproductive technologies, in which it is founded, and organ transplantation, which it seeks to overcome. Each of these technologies repeatedly confronts and tests social, cultural, ethical and legal precedents, fuelling world-wide political and media debate. The ....Biotechnology Across the Borders of Life: Stem Cell Technology and Global Medical Exchange. This project interrogates the debates and policy surrounding embryonic stem cell technology and two intimately connected medical technologies - reproductive technologies, in which it is founded, and organ transplantation, which it seeks to overcome. Each of these technologies repeatedly confronts and tests social, cultural, ethical and legal precedents, fuelling world-wide political and media debate. The project addresses the social effects - locally and globally - of these technologies. Analyses of altruism, giving and commodification underpin the study, and are used to elucidate the social ramifications of the practices and expert discourses of these biotechnologies in four nation-states: Australia, Singapore, UK and USA.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100134
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$323,088.00
Summary
Addiction in the Australian legal system: A sociological analysis. This project is designed to analyse and compare legal approaches to addiction to alcohol and other drugs (AOD), identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Harms associated with AOD cost Australia over $25 billion per year. The law plays a central role in managing these harms. Yet legal responses to AOD and the key concept of ‘addiction’ are often inconsistent. These variations have unintended and often adve ....Addiction in the Australian legal system: A sociological analysis. This project is designed to analyse and compare legal approaches to addiction to alcohol and other drugs (AOD), identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Harms associated with AOD cost Australia over $25 billion per year. The law plays a central role in managing these harms. Yet legal responses to AOD and the key concept of ‘addiction’ are often inconsistent. These variations have unintended and often adverse economic, social and health implications. The expected project outcomes will inform new, more productive approaches to AOD-related harms in Australian law, contributing to improved economic, social and health outcomes.Read moreRead less
High hopes, high risk? A sociological study of stem cell tourism. This project investigates the phenomenon of stem cell tourism, particularly the factors shaping patients’ expectations and decisions in relation to the promising new field of stem cell research. As the first in-depth study on this form of medical travel, the project will provide valuable information to policy makers.
How expectations shape testing in healthcare. This project aims to understand the sociocultural processes underpinning optimism for the use of testing technologies in healthcare. Australians are using more tests, which increases healthcare costs. This project will use the Australian national cancer screening programmes and routine clinical practice as case studies to determine human decision-making traits in sociological terms. The project expects to increase understanding of the sociocultural f ....How expectations shape testing in healthcare. This project aims to understand the sociocultural processes underpinning optimism for the use of testing technologies in healthcare. Australians are using more tests, which increases healthcare costs. This project will use the Australian national cancer screening programmes and routine clinical practice as case studies to determine human decision-making traits in sociological terms. The project expects to increase understanding of the sociocultural factors that influence decision-making and behaviour in healthcare settings, and help formulate effective social and economic policies.Read moreRead less
Patients’ use of digital media. This project aims to determine how Australians use digital media and how this influences the development and availability of treatments and the sociocultural factors underlying this digital media use. Patients can use digital media to manage their own health, but this may result in patient harm and a loss of public confidence in the underlying science. The intended outcome is to gain insights into this recent and fast-growing sociological phenomenon, and provide a ....Patients’ use of digital media. This project aims to determine how Australians use digital media and how this influences the development and availability of treatments and the sociocultural factors underlying this digital media use. Patients can use digital media to manage their own health, but this may result in patient harm and a loss of public confidence in the underlying science. The intended outcome is to gain insights into this recent and fast-growing sociological phenomenon, and provide a scientific basis for formulating public policy strategies to ensure that healthcare resources are used efficiently and cost-effectively.Read moreRead less
A sociological analysis of the anti-ageing treatment market: the dynamics of expectations. Public expectations of new medical treatments are often high, indeed higher than warranted by medical evidence. This project will reveal how expectations arise and function in the market of so-called anti-ageing treatments and will explore the implications for treatment practices and decisions. It will clarify the socio-cultural factors sustaining expectations of treatments, including the respective roles ....A sociological analysis of the anti-ageing treatment market: the dynamics of expectations. Public expectations of new medical treatments are often high, indeed higher than warranted by medical evidence. This project will reveal how expectations arise and function in the market of so-called anti-ageing treatments and will explore the implications for treatment practices and decisions. It will clarify the socio-cultural factors sustaining expectations of treatments, including the respective roles played by those who produce, sell, regulate and consume them. The project will offer a new perspective on the dynamics of emerging medical treatment markets that will assist regulatory efforts.Read moreRead less
Complex Ties: Investigating the Role of Networks in the Commercialisation of Public Research. This project seeks to understand the social processes that lead to commercialisation successes or failures in a competitive global economy and thereby identify activities that increase Australia’s ability to commercialise inventions from public research. Innovation is essential to Australia’s prosperity, bringing economic and social benefits. This project examines platform technologies which have a pote ....Complex Ties: Investigating the Role of Networks in the Commercialisation of Public Research. This project seeks to understand the social processes that lead to commercialisation successes or failures in a competitive global economy and thereby identify activities that increase Australia’s ability to commercialise inventions from public research. Innovation is essential to Australia’s prosperity, bringing economic and social benefits. This project examines platform technologies which have a potentially larger impact than single use technologies, because they can be applied in multiple ways. Using the latest advances in social network models, the project will detail the important substructures of collaboration networks which lead to commercialisation successes and failures, providing insights to improve the innovation process.Read moreRead less
Building the Australian response to the ‘superbugs’ crisis. This project aims to investigate the Australian public’s engagement with communications and media on antimicrobial resistance, examine the public’s trust in expert knowledge and study how the public enacts expert advice about antimicrobial drugs in everyday life. The resistance of common infections to antibiotics and other drugs (the ‘superbugs’ crisis) jeopardises health worldwide. The ‘superbugs’ crisis means that individuals and care ....Building the Australian response to the ‘superbugs’ crisis. This project aims to investigate the Australian public’s engagement with communications and media on antimicrobial resistance, examine the public’s trust in expert knowledge and study how the public enacts expert advice about antimicrobial drugs in everyday life. The resistance of common infections to antibiotics and other drugs (the ‘superbugs’ crisis) jeopardises health worldwide. The ‘superbugs’ crisis means that individuals and care givers need to use drugs as prescribed and reduce their expectations for drug treatments. Research findings are expected to underpin Australia’s public health policy and communications response to ‘superbugs’, improving national and international health outcomes.Read moreRead less
Exploring social innovations in urban water systems with a novel modelling approach. The project will investigate how wide reaching social renewal takes place in the urban water sector. With improved understanding of how social innovation works, the project will develop a computer model to assist decision-making under conditions of high uncertainty with systematic scenario analysis.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354600
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of th ....Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of the project is to research the commonplace claim that it is reassertions of older forms of traditionalism or cultural and civilizational difference that are the well-spring of contemporary global violence, including terrorism.Read moreRead less