Developing and testing a best practice model of enterprise bargaining in the retail sector. Recently, the Australian labour market has seen a decrease in the manufacturing sector and an increase in the retail sector. The SDA with over 230,000 members is the largest trade and industrial union in Australia. It negotiates EB Agreements on behalf of employees. This research will assess improved job satisfaction and job conditions - a key EB goal, which will have tangible benefits in reducing turnove ....Developing and testing a best practice model of enterprise bargaining in the retail sector. Recently, the Australian labour market has seen a decrease in the manufacturing sector and an increase in the retail sector. The SDA with over 230,000 members is the largest trade and industrial union in Australia. It negotiates EB Agreements on behalf of employees. This research will assess improved job satisfaction and job conditions - a key EB goal, which will have tangible benefits in reducing turnover of retail sector employees, recognised as a major problem for employers. This research will enhance effectiveness for unions and employers in the implementation of agreements commensurate with the needs of employees, the findings of which will have broad applicability across Australian industryRead moreRead less
Generativity in young male (ex)prisoners: caring for self, other, and future within prison and beyond. As strategic basic research, the project will provide practitioners and academics with much needed qualitative data on the social, cultural and emotional dimensions of incarceration and how these impact life within and beyond custody. Such knowledge is critical for developing policies and practices capable of meaningfully reducing the high rates of reincarceration in all Australian states and t ....Generativity in young male (ex)prisoners: caring for self, other, and future within prison and beyond. As strategic basic research, the project will provide practitioners and academics with much needed qualitative data on the social, cultural and emotional dimensions of incarceration and how these impact life within and beyond custody. Such knowledge is critical for developing policies and practices capable of meaningfully reducing the high rates of reincarceration in all Australian states and territories. Importantly, the focus on generativity offers a new conceptual lens through which to reconsider the philosophy and practice of imprisonment, and, more specifically, to prisoner management or 'through-care' with regard to those who constitute the majority of the prison population nationally and internationally (young males).
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Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for ....Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for example, environment risk, climate change, and energy and security problems.Read moreRead less
Dynamic risk measures. Exposure to risk is a pervasive problem. The results will be of importance for financial institutions when they estimate their exposure to risk. Other applications will be to determine the level of risk from a terrorist attack or regional instability. Companies wish to allocate resources to minimize their exposure to adverse events.
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
A cross-disciplinary investigation of creative arts as intervention activity for young people at risk in urban and rural Victoria. The research project will investigate whether the involvement of "at risk" teenagers in creative arts activities can act as effective diversions from harmful risk taking behaviour. The project will set up, document and analyse creative arts projects in three urban and rural Victorian localities where there is a high proportion of marginalised youth. This research wil ....A cross-disciplinary investigation of creative arts as intervention activity for young people at risk in urban and rural Victoria. The research project will investigate whether the involvement of "at risk" teenagers in creative arts activities can act as effective diversions from harmful risk taking behaviour. The project will set up, document and analyse creative arts projects in three urban and rural Victorian localities where there is a high proportion of marginalised youth. This research will explore how involvement in creative expression results in increased self-esteem, an improved sense of goal setting and achievement together with community commitment. It will provide justice and social agencies with a model for effective youth program planning which will facilitate re-education and work opportunitiesRead moreRead less
Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to inv ....Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to investigate the link between healthy eating and the design and management of school canteens with the view to developing design and management guidelines that will influence the life-long eating habits of Australian children.Read moreRead less
New Information and Communication Technologies and The Elderly: Practice, Problems and Potential. Recent government reports (Costello 2002; 2004; Productivity Commission, Australian Government 2005) indicate that demographic ageing which will see a doubling of the aged population both numerically and as a proportion of the total population in the next quarter century presents a substantial challenge to Australia. One element of that challenge is to maintain and enhance the wellbeing of older Au ....New Information and Communication Technologies and The Elderly: Practice, Problems and Potential. Recent government reports (Costello 2002; 2004; Productivity Commission, Australian Government 2005) indicate that demographic ageing which will see a doubling of the aged population both numerically and as a proportion of the total population in the next quarter century presents a substantial challenge to Australia. One element of that challenge is to maintain and enhance the wellbeing of older Australians while controlling the costs of providing them with support services. New developments in ICT have the potential to facilitate achieving these twin goals but little is known of the take up of ICT among older Australians and those who will enter the older ages over the next three decades.Read moreRead less
Linear programming approach to nonlinear deterministic and stochastic control problems: perturbations methods and numerical analysis. The proposed research will significantly advance knowledge by creating new analytical and numerical methods for tackling complex nonlinear control problems arising in many applications. The study's outputs will lead to a deeper understanding of fundamental issues in mathematical modelling. Collaboration with renowned researchers will further improve Australia's st ....Linear programming approach to nonlinear deterministic and stochastic control problems: perturbations methods and numerical analysis. The proposed research will significantly advance knowledge by creating new analytical and numerical methods for tackling complex nonlinear control problems arising in many applications. The study's outputs will lead to a deeper understanding of fundamental issues in mathematical modelling. Collaboration with renowned researchers will further improve Australia's standing in the international research community. Also their visits may further promote research both within and outside the host institution. In particular, lectures and seminars that they will deliver will be transmitted to Australian universities participating in the Access Grid Room Project.Read moreRead less
Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contempora ....Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contemporary debate about social exclusion and its corollary social inclusion. The results will have important implications for government policy makers, not to mention improving the quality of life for residents in these neighbourhoods. It will also integrate Australian research into the international debate.Read moreRead less