Global Indigenous rights and local effect in Central Australia: tracing relations of power and locating potentialities. This ethnographic study investigates the practice of Indigenous rights in central Australia by exploring the apparently entrenched disjunctures between the declaration of rights and social fact. Working with Aboriginal people, government and non-government organisations will reveal how rights are understood and negotiated, thus locating new pathways for change.
The high conflict post-divorce shared-time family. Since the 2006 family law reforms encouraging shared-time parenting after separation, Australia has seen a marked increase in shared-time parenting where parents are in high conflict, and even where there are safety concerns. This project will examine how the children fare under shared-time parenting where their parents remain in conflict.
Nothing works? Re-appraising research on Indigenous-focused crime and justice programs. Research on Indigenous-focused crime and justice programs often finds little or no impact on outcomes such as reductions in re-offending. This project aims to determine whether such findings are an accurate reflection of program ineffectiveness or are a consequence of how the research was carried out. With an analysis of three case studies of crime and justice programs, this project aims to show why findings ....Nothing works? Re-appraising research on Indigenous-focused crime and justice programs. Research on Indigenous-focused crime and justice programs often finds little or no impact on outcomes such as reductions in re-offending. This project aims to determine whether such findings are an accurate reflection of program ineffectiveness or are a consequence of how the research was carried out. With an analysis of three case studies of crime and justice programs, this project aims to show why findings that show no difference in re-offending outcomes may occur, and offer a more Indigenous-centric methodology to assess program effectiveness. Comparisons will be made with indigenous methodologies used in New Zealand and Canada.Read moreRead less
Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk ....Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk of poor mental health, absenteeism, and exit from the workforce. This project will analyse data following people over time to investigate the long-term health and employment consequences of poor psychosocial job quality, and consider the special case of mature age workers. It will identify those individuals at greatest risk, and factors that can buffer against the adverse effects of poor quality work.Read moreRead less
Solving and estimating dynamic models of strategic interaction. This project aims to investigate how firms interact with each other through time and how these interactions drive both the operation of, and value created in, economic markets. While recent theoretical models predominantly capture the complexity of these dynamic interactions, the methods for testing these models’ predictions against observed data do not. Instead, they are based on a range of simplifying assumptions that undermine th ....Solving and estimating dynamic models of strategic interaction. This project aims to investigate how firms interact with each other through time and how these interactions drive both the operation of, and value created in, economic markets. While recent theoretical models predominantly capture the complexity of these dynamic interactions, the methods for testing these models’ predictions against observed data do not. Instead, they are based on a range of simplifying assumptions that undermine the reliability of their analysis. This project will develop statistical and computational methods to better understand observed economic behaviour. By allowing the effects of proposed economic interventions and regulations ex ante, this project will support the development of more efficient and better-targeted policies in every area of the economy.Read moreRead less
Cultural heritage and the mediation of identity, memory and historical narratives. Anxiety pervades many Western countries about the direction, nature and expression of social debate regarding community identities, and the social and cultural values underpinning them. In developing our understanding of heritage, and how it is used to construct and legitimatise certain social values and identities in certain national, cultural and social contexts, the research will inform the development of museu ....Cultural heritage and the mediation of identity, memory and historical narratives. Anxiety pervades many Western countries about the direction, nature and expression of social debate regarding community identities, and the social and cultural values underpinning them. In developing our understanding of heritage, and how it is used to construct and legitimatise certain social values and identities in certain national, cultural and social contexts, the research will inform the development of museum and heritage exhibition/interpretation policies. In examining the agency of heritage audiences, the research will inform and facilitate the abilities of museum and heritage professionals to effectively convey messages about contentious issues or make more informed interventions into social debates.Read moreRead less
Fostering Safe Nanotechnology Research Focused on Critical Public Health Problems. This Project builds upon the applicant's unique interdisciplinary research and collaborations to develop an innovative framework for improving occupational health and safety standards of nanotechnology research at the Australian National University and fostering its focus on critical public health problems such as biosecurity, food and water safety, pollution control and equitable access to health technologies.
Research to enhance measurement, understanding, and policy regulatory approaches to emerging markets and trade in mothers' milk. Innovation affecting human milk supply challenges current regulation of infant food, but new markets in human milk assist the economic valuation of breastfeeding. Mothers are finding new ways to share their milk, and milk banking and human milk-based products are emerging as alternatives to commercial infant formula. This project builds on previous world-leading Austra ....Research to enhance measurement, understanding, and policy regulatory approaches to emerging markets and trade in mothers' milk. Innovation affecting human milk supply challenges current regulation of infant food, but new markets in human milk assist the economic valuation of breastfeeding. Mothers are finding new ways to share their milk, and milk banking and human milk-based products are emerging as alternatives to commercial infant formula. This project builds on previous world-leading Australian research into the economics of breastfeeding. It aims to increase understanding of markets in milk for infants and inform regulation of milk markets and milk exchange. It will investigate key features of these markets, how milk is priced, and how to access data on market prices which might improve the social and economic valuation of breastfeeding.Read moreRead less
'Trading' Women's Rights in Transitions: Designing Diplomatic Interventions in Afghanistan and Myanmar. This project aims to examine the link between diplomatic negotiations and their impact on the shifting status of women during times of deep political change. It will assess three key areas of international diplomatic negotiations around peace agreements, aid, and security sector reform and assess how these negotiations affected women's status on the ground. It will seek to design approaches to ....'Trading' Women's Rights in Transitions: Designing Diplomatic Interventions in Afghanistan and Myanmar. This project aims to examine the link between diplomatic negotiations and their impact on the shifting status of women during times of deep political change. It will assess three key areas of international diplomatic negotiations around peace agreements, aid, and security sector reform and assess how these negotiations affected women's status on the ground. It will seek to design approaches to diplomatic interventions that may be more cognisant of gendered impacts and aim to benefit women.Read moreRead less
The science and engineering of defects and impurities in photovoltaic silicon. This project will create the knowledge and techniques that are essential to make low-cost, impure silicon suitable for producing highly efficient solar cells. This will help to drive down the cost of solar electricity, since the silicon material itself is a significant component of the overall cost of most photovoltaic modules.