Affinities in Multicultural Australia. Concern has grown in Australia and other advanced societies about perceived threats to social cohesion and national identity through diversity. But are people’s values really so different, and are they directly related to ethnicity? This project will provide the first systematic analysis of the affinities (similarities in values and practices) that link diverse groups and individuals in multicultural Australia. It will examine whether such affinities can ou ....Affinities in Multicultural Australia. Concern has grown in Australia and other advanced societies about perceived threats to social cohesion and national identity through diversity. But are people’s values really so different, and are they directly related to ethnicity? This project will provide the first systematic analysis of the affinities (similarities in values and practices) that link diverse groups and individuals in multicultural Australia. It will examine whether such affinities can outweigh differences and provide the basis for local belonging in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. The Affinities Project turns the current emphasis on difference on its head. It will provide a new knowledge base, crucial to social scientific analysis as well as to policy formation.Read moreRead less
Standing up to racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This project aims to substantially increase understandings of bystander responses (including their extent, nature, potential, merits, benefits, and constraints) as a means of countering racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This aims to be achieved through examining experiences of, attitudes towards, and responses to, racism and racial bullying among school students; identifying health, wellbeing, ....Standing up to racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This project aims to substantially increase understandings of bystander responses (including their extent, nature, potential, merits, benefits, and constraints) as a means of countering racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This aims to be achieved through examining experiences of, attitudes towards, and responses to, racism and racial bullying among school students; identifying health, wellbeing, education and social outcomes of racism and racial bullying for individuals, schools and communities; exploring the enablers and obstacles associated with bystander responses to racism and racial bullying; and by developing and piloting a school-based program to foster bystander responses to racism and racial bullying.Read moreRead less
An exploration of the frequency, outcomes, enablers and constraints of bystander anti-racism. Bystander anti-racism involves ordinary people speaking up and taking prosocial action when witnessing racism. This project will develop empirical understandings of this underexplored, yet potentially powerful, form of anti-racism, including its frequency, the outcome of action, and factors that enable and constrain bystander anti-racism.
Cyber-racism and community resilience. Racism has become a significant source of social stress, facilitated through the internet, undermining community cohesion. This project will document perpetrators’ creation of racist content, internet users’ exposure to cyber-racism, the capacity of regulation to manage the impact, and how social media can help communities to resist cyber-racism.
The Circulation of Nonviolence: Gandhi and the History of Global Politics. Global protest movements have become a feature of recent campaigns against war and corporate power. The diffusion of protest across national boundaries disrupts official routine, threatens state power, and raises new questions about global citizenship. However, the history, dynamics and novelty of transnational diffusion is still only dimly understood. This project will address such absences. It focuses on the circulation ....The Circulation of Nonviolence: Gandhi and the History of Global Politics. Global protest movements have become a feature of recent campaigns against war and corporate power. The diffusion of protest across national boundaries disrupts official routine, threatens state power, and raises new questions about global citizenship. However, the history, dynamics and novelty of transnational diffusion is still only dimly understood. This project will address such absences. It focuses on the circulation of Gandhian nonviolence, and it offers the first comparative, long-term study of the diffusion of collective action. This will greatly enhance our understanding of the processes currently reshaping politics and society and should enrich the practice of contemporary democratic participation.Read moreRead less
The invisible parents project - exploring the barriers to effective parental and community involvement in three Northern Territory Schools. Education outcomes in the Northern Territory, particularly for Indigenous students, lag far behind those of other Australians, to the point that the situation can be considered a national emergency. This research program will explore ways to improve parental involvement. This will inform the Smith Family's efforts to undertake early intervention for children ....The invisible parents project - exploring the barriers to effective parental and community involvement in three Northern Territory Schools. Education outcomes in the Northern Territory, particularly for Indigenous students, lag far behind those of other Australians, to the point that the situation can be considered a national emergency. This research program will explore ways to improve parental involvement. This will inform the Smith Family's efforts to undertake early intervention for children who are at risk of education failure. It will provide benefits to the rural and regional communities who feed schools in Darwin and Katherine and provide national benefits through making a significant contribution of anthropologically-informed knowledge on the determinants of successful school outcomes.Read moreRead less
Developing a Community Partnership for supporting Aboriginal and remote students in nursing through distance education. Remote and Aboriginal students are culturally isolated in the distance education (DE) environment. With the critical need to increase numbers of registered nurses in isolated communities, Area Health and Aboriginal Health are collaborating with CSU to identify problems faced by nursing students under DE conditions. The study will use a critical theoretical approach to identifyi ....Developing a Community Partnership for supporting Aboriginal and remote students in nursing through distance education. Remote and Aboriginal students are culturally isolated in the distance education (DE) environment. With the critical need to increase numbers of registered nurses in isolated communities, Area Health and Aboriginal Health are collaborating with CSU to identify problems faced by nursing students under DE conditions. The study will use a critical theoretical approach to identifying resource (including social capital) deficits to this group. It will develop and evaluate a partnership model involving health services, university and local community. This partnership will construct a network of support to systematically address these deficits. This model would be transferable to all remote learning.Read moreRead less
The Political Sociology of the Australian Jewish Community. This project will examine the internal dynamics of the Australian Jewish community, its institutional structure, and responses to internal and external pressures, including terrorism. The study will analyse the interaction of the Jewish community with the broader Australian society, including relations between the internalised norms of the community and the demands made by participation in a pluralist society. Primarily sociological a ....The Political Sociology of the Australian Jewish Community. This project will examine the internal dynamics of the Australian Jewish community, its institutional structure, and responses to internal and external pressures, including terrorism. The study will analyse the interaction of the Jewish community with the broader Australian society, including relations between the internalised norms of the community and the demands made by participation in a pluralist society. Primarily sociological and political in approach, the study will also explore previously unexamined archives. The project will develop an improved model for Jewish community leadership which may also be useful for other communities.Read moreRead less
Constructing regionally appropriate anti-racism strategies for Australia. Racism is an international social scourge, and Australia is not immune from its injurious effects. The experience of racism degrades senses of belonging and generates disaffection, leads to ill-health and restrictions of mobility, as well as other social and individual pathologies. Reducing racism will strengthen Australia's social fabric. This project tests the utility of anti-racism templates and does so in rural as well ....Constructing regionally appropriate anti-racism strategies for Australia. Racism is an international social scourge, and Australia is not immune from its injurious effects. The experience of racism degrades senses of belonging and generates disaffection, leads to ill-health and restrictions of mobility, as well as other social and individual pathologies. Reducing racism will strengthen Australia's social fabric. This project tests the utility of anti-racism templates and does so in rural as well as urban Australia. The templates will be usable by local authorities and NGOs in framing their anti-racism efforts.Read moreRead less
Digital energy futures: forecasting changing residential electricity demand. This project aims to understand and forecast changing digital lifestyle trends and their impact on future household electricity demand, including at peak times. The project expects to generate new knowledge by employing digital ethnography and sociological theories to investigate how changing social practices will impact on electricity sector planning. Expected outcomes include: scenarios and principles for digital ener ....Digital energy futures: forecasting changing residential electricity demand. This project aims to understand and forecast changing digital lifestyle trends and their impact on future household electricity demand, including at peak times. The project expects to generate new knowledge by employing digital ethnography and sociological theories to investigate how changing social practices will impact on electricity sector planning. Expected outcomes include: scenarios and principles for digital energy futures; an interdisciplinary energy demand forecasting methodology; and demand management tools to help the sector meet future residential consumption. This should provide significant benefits, such as lowering the cost of infrastructure spending, and helping secure affordable electricity provision.Read moreRead less