Assessing the Nation's Infrastructure: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Information. Presently governments do not disclose information about the condition of legacy infrastructure, and the extent of projected (often, non-discretionary) expenditure to repair or upgrade the functionality of those assets. This project builds on an analytical framework developed by Walker Clark & Dean (2000). It examines the viability of alternative proposals for providing information to external stakeholders ....Assessing the Nation's Infrastructure: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Information. Presently governments do not disclose information about the condition of legacy infrastructure, and the extent of projected (often, non-discretionary) expenditure to repair or upgrade the functionality of those assets. This project builds on an analytical framework developed by Walker Clark & Dean (2000). It examines the viability of alternative proposals for providing information to external stakeholders, on either an agency or ?whole of government? basis. Using a combination of case studies and stated preference data, the study seeks to derive an optimal reporting framework which can assist governments better measure and more effectively manage the nation's infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Understanding political debate and policy decisions using big data. This project aims to empirically test a novel framework for analysing the relationship between political debates and policy decisions. Using digital sources and computational modelling approaches, it will investigate three specific issues to test this framework. These issues, all drawn from different policy sectors, will be examined as a series of debates linked to specific decisions, over the last two decades. The expected outc ....Understanding political debate and policy decisions using big data. This project aims to empirically test a novel framework for analysing the relationship between political debates and policy decisions. Using digital sources and computational modelling approaches, it will investigate three specific issues to test this framework. These issues, all drawn from different policy sectors, will be examined as a series of debates linked to specific decisions, over the last two decades. The expected outcomes will provide insights into links between political debates and policy decisions with potential benefits for politics and policy-making.Read moreRead less
Government Finance Statistics versus Accrual Accounting Standards as the Basis for Financial Reporting and Budgeting on the Operating, Financing and Investing Performance of Governments. More than one third of our economic activity is subject to public expenditure management processes. However, recent decisions of the FRC to harmonize GFS and AASs will fundamentally reshape public sector financial reporting. Harmonization has certain benefits, but the proposal warrants careful consideration as ....Government Finance Statistics versus Accrual Accounting Standards as the Basis for Financial Reporting and Budgeting on the Operating, Financing and Investing Performance of Governments. More than one third of our economic activity is subject to public expenditure management processes. However, recent decisions of the FRC to harmonize GFS and AASs will fundamentally reshape public sector financial reporting. Harmonization has certain benefits, but the proposal warrants careful consideration as it is unclear whether a converged GFS system will better service the needs of the community and enhance public sector accountability more generally. Focusing on the heterogeneous information needs of key stakeholder groups, this study will provide one of the first pioneering empirical investigations of alternative GFS methods and practices in Australia.Read moreRead less
The Role and Impact of the Social Support System on the Well-being of the Elderly in China. This research will examine how recent changes to the system of formal and informal support for the elderly in China has affected their well-being. The project will analyse two unique data sets that provide a wealth of information on the economic and social circumstances on the elderly in China in 1992 and 2000. The proposed collaboration with Chinese researchers on aging will generate new insights into ho ....The Role and Impact of the Social Support System on the Well-being of the Elderly in China. This research will examine how recent changes to the system of formal and informal support for the elderly in China has affected their well-being. The project will analyse two unique data sets that provide a wealth of information on the economic and social circumstances on the elderly in China in 1992 and 2000. The proposed collaboration with Chinese researchers on aging will generate new insights into how the circumstances of the elderly are changing in a context of economic transformation and social change. The results will have implications for social policy development in China and shed light on theoretical debate over the role of confucianism in China's version of 'welfare orientalism'.Read moreRead less
Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of endur ....Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of enduring sustainable environment attitudinal and behavioural change is central to the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, which sees a clear role for governments, business and individuals in progressing ecologically sustainable development. The results will contribute to developing new place-based integrated eco-sustainability models for implementation by local/state governments.Read moreRead less
Analysis of the financial circumstances of local governments, to assess viability, and improve planning, resource allocation and accountability. The project aims to (a) develop a framework for improved reporting by local government, through a critical analysis of AAS 27 and extant legislative guidelines; (b) assess the financial viability of existing local government units; (c) identify units which may be candidates for amalgamation. Outcomes will include (i) proposals to enhance NSW's pioneer ....Analysis of the financial circumstances of local governments, to assess viability, and improve planning, resource allocation and accountability. The project aims to (a) develop a framework for improved reporting by local government, through a critical analysis of AAS 27 and extant legislative guidelines; (b) assess the financial viability of existing local government units; (c) identify units which may be candidates for amalgamation. Outcomes will include (i) proposals to enhance NSW's pioneering provisions for infrastructure reporting, contained in the NSW Local Government Act 1993 and accompanying guidelines; (ii) a pioneering assessment of the financial circumstances of local government units, having regard to the projected costs of upgrading legacy infrastructure; (iii) development of a framework for assessing future funding needs. Read moreRead less
Multiculturalism and governance: evaluating arts policies and engaging cultural citizenship. This project examines the capacity of multicultural arts to promote a sense of belonging within culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Through its study of arts policy, production, and consumption at three levels of government it will generate a new framework for evaluating the significance of multiculturalism.
Pathways or cul-de-sacs: the causes, impact and implications of part-time senior secondary study. The research will investigate the factors contributing to the relatively high proportion of SA students who undertake their senior secondary studies part-time, and explore the implications for the students and their communities in terms of educational and employment outcomes. It will also map the geographic, gender and socio-economic dimensions of this phenomenon and identify whether there is a rela ....Pathways or cul-de-sacs: the causes, impact and implications of part-time senior secondary study. The research will investigate the factors contributing to the relatively high proportion of SA students who undertake their senior secondary studies part-time, and explore the implications for the students and their communities in terms of educational and employment outcomes. It will also map the geographic, gender and socio-economic dimensions of this phenomenon and identify whether there is a relationship between part-time senior secondary study, early school leaving and re-entry pathways. The project will draw on recent state and national research, and educational policy analyses, together with qualitative and quantitative data analysis at the state and regional level, to enhance understandings of these issues and inform the development of educational and youth policy at the state and national levels.Read moreRead less
The relocation tool kit: A guide for implementing relocation policies that enhance residents health and well-being and social inclusion. The project aims to identify and rank in order of importance key factors affecting the health, wellbeing and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups when they are rehoused as part of housing upgrading projects. This information will increase our understanding of the impacts of changes to housing quality, social networks (familial, friends), neighbourhood envir ....The relocation tool kit: A guide for implementing relocation policies that enhance residents health and well-being and social inclusion. The project aims to identify and rank in order of importance key factors affecting the health, wellbeing and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups when they are rehoused as part of housing upgrading projects. This information will increase our understanding of the impacts of changes to housing quality, social networks (familial, friends), neighbourhood environments (reputation, socio-economic mix, services) and project management models (resident involvement, community consultation processes). The expected outcome is a tool kit for policy makers to form innovative responses to promote health and well being and social inclusion amongst the most disadvantaged groups in Australian society.Read moreRead less
Transforming 21st century creativity education in Australasia. This project aims to address the development of Australasian creativity education by advancing a unified intercultural approach to the enhancement of creative skills and capacities in compulsory schooling. The project will use an innovative approach across the education lifespan, marked by emerging models of education and workplace training. The expected outcomes of this project include a consistent approach to develop creative skill ....Transforming 21st century creativity education in Australasia. This project aims to address the development of Australasian creativity education by advancing a unified intercultural approach to the enhancement of creative skills and capacities in compulsory schooling. The project will use an innovative approach across the education lifespan, marked by emerging models of education and workplace training. The expected outcomes of this project include a consistent approach to develop creative skills and capacities to better prepare Australians as high quality global workforce. This will help to ensure creative and cultural industrial advancement in our region and provide significant benefits across education, economic and transnational alliances.Read moreRead less