New Concepts of Human Security and AIDS. This project recognises that the AIDS pandemic is a significant example of non-military threats to international security, and that different national responses to AIDS are a product of different political, economic and cultural factors. It seeks to explore the complex relationship between national, international and grass roots responses to HIV/AIDS, with some emphasis on those countries most significant to Australia's security needs. It seeks to use soc ....New Concepts of Human Security and AIDS. This project recognises that the AIDS pandemic is a significant example of non-military threats to international security, and that different national responses to AIDS are a product of different political, economic and cultural factors. It seeks to explore the complex relationship between national, international and grass roots responses to HIV/AIDS, with some emphasis on those countries most significant to Australia's security needs. It seeks to use social theory to illuminate practical issues facing HIV/AIDS advocacy at local, national and international levels, in particular how does one assure effective responses from all stakeholders.Read moreRead less
Australian welfare policy, 1950 to 2007: continuity and disruption. This project aims to analyse Australian welfare policy from the end of the Chifley government in 1949 to the end of the Howard government in 2007. The project intends to generate new understandings about the challenges facing the income support system, the key dynamics of policy reforms such as Medicare and Superannuation, and the “exceptionalism” of the Australian model. Expected outcomes include a new database based on time-se ....Australian welfare policy, 1950 to 2007: continuity and disruption. This project aims to analyse Australian welfare policy from the end of the Chifley government in 1949 to the end of the Howard government in 2007. The project intends to generate new understandings about the challenges facing the income support system, the key dynamics of policy reforms such as Medicare and Superannuation, and the “exceptionalism” of the Australian model. Expected outcomes include a new database based on time-series data concerning the core income support systems from 1950 to 2020. Intended benefits include a better understanding of the sort of welfare reform needed to pay for major social risks of unemployment, poverty, aged care, disability and the needs of children.Read moreRead less
Women in Local Government: Understanding their Political Trajectories. This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office. By following men and women councillors across an election cycle, this research seeks to robustly compare and measure women's experienc ....Women in Local Government: Understanding their Political Trajectories. This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office. By following men and women councillors across an election cycle, this research seeks to robustly compare and measure women's experiences of local politics to develop a new framework to map and address obstacles preventing political equity. Expected outcomes include theoretical advances and a 'best practice' guide for achieving parity.This should provide significant public benefits by advancing female participation across all levels of governments.
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Understanding a changing Australia: Ordinary people's politics. This project will use a body of interview material collected in the late 1980s supplemented with new material (to be collected) to investigate how Australians have made sense of the social and political changes of the past two decades. In particular it will focus on: how individual Australians construct their sense of moral community, their expectations of the role of government, and how they have negotiated the shift from an expli ....Understanding a changing Australia: Ordinary people's politics. This project will use a body of interview material collected in the late 1980s supplemented with new material (to be collected) to investigate how Australians have made sense of the social and political changes of the past two decades. In particular it will focus on: how individual Australians construct their sense of moral community, their expectations of the role of government, and how they have negotiated the shift from an explicitly white, British national identity to a multicultural one, their understandings of settler-indigenous relations. It will integrate these responses with analysis of their life histories and characteristic political ideologies.Read moreRead less
Appropriate Development Interventions to Violent and Hateful Extremism. This project investigates how the international development/humanitarian activities of Plan International should best address violent and hateful extremism (VHE). VHE impacts about 70% of Plan’s $1bn global activity, and around USD80bn foreign aid globally. This project thoroughly examines VHE impacts on their work in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia, to develop new situation assessment tools and indicators, in ....Appropriate Development Interventions to Violent and Hateful Extremism. This project investigates how the international development/humanitarian activities of Plan International should best address violent and hateful extremism (VHE). VHE impacts about 70% of Plan’s $1bn global activity, and around USD80bn foreign aid globally. This project thoroughly examines VHE impacts on their work in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia, to develop new situation assessment tools and indicators, in order to facilitate mainstreaming VHE into project planning and design and offer recommendations for primary (population), secondary (at-risk) and tertiary (those involved) interventions. Reduced VHE will benefit not only individuals participating in programs, but societies in those countries plus regional stability.Read moreRead less
Understanding a Changing Australia. This project will use a body of interview material collected in the late 1980s supplemented with new material to investigate how Australians have made sense of the social and political changes of the past two decades. An APD Fellow will focus on changes in people's understandings of indigenous issues in these decades, and the project as a whole will include a comparison of metropolitian and rural/regional responses. The project will integrate participants' r ....Understanding a Changing Australia. This project will use a body of interview material collected in the late 1980s supplemented with new material to investigate how Australians have made sense of the social and political changes of the past two decades. An APD Fellow will focus on changes in people's understandings of indigenous issues in these decades, and the project as a whole will include a comparison of metropolitian and rural/regional responses. The project will integrate participants' responses to the changes of the past two decades with analysis of their life histories and characteristic political ideology.Read moreRead less
Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symb ....Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symbolic' managers and mediators in a society in which information is the key productive resource. The project will generate a detailed analysis of how the professionalization of political communication is transforming representative democracy in network society.Read moreRead less
Urbanising Western China: Nation-building on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This project aims to explore urbanisation as a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet and the novel opportunities it affords for Tibetan identity, language, and culture. An international, multidisciplinary team will combine analysis of key government texts, interviews with government officials and ethnic minority elites, as well as observations of daily life amongst urban Tibetans. The project will produ ....Urbanising Western China: Nation-building on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This project aims to explore urbanisation as a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet and the novel opportunities it affords for Tibetan identity, language, and culture. An international, multidisciplinary team will combine analysis of key government texts, interviews with government officials and ethnic minority elites, as well as observations of daily life amongst urban Tibetans. The project will produce new understandings of the challenges of governing diversity in China, and will benefit Australia by exploring a fundamental aspect of the changing social fabric of our region’s dominant power.Read moreRead less
Democratising Taiwan. On 18 March 2000, over 12.6 million Taiwanese voters cast their ballots and elected two former political prisoners, candidates of the opposition political party, as president and vice-president. This peaceful transfer of power from government to opposition marked a key stage in a thirty year history of liberalisation and transition to democracy. How did Taiwan's political system change from being one of Asia's most authoritarian regimes to one of its most democratic? This p ....Democratising Taiwan. On 18 March 2000, over 12.6 million Taiwanese voters cast their ballots and elected two former political prisoners, candidates of the opposition political party, as president and vice-president. This peaceful transfer of power from government to opposition marked a key stage in a thirty year history of liberalisation and transition to democracy. How did Taiwan's political system change from being one of Asia's most authoritarian regimes to one of its most democratic? This project seeks to explore and answer the many aspects raised by this question. The answers have relevance to Australia's peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.Read moreRead less
A study of Australia's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical. This project addresses the ARC's priority goals Protecting Australia from Terrorism and Crime and Transformational Defence Technologies. In the fight against terrorism and as defence technologies evolve it is crucial to uphold the Australian military's ethical commitments and international reputation. Australian soldiers must be responsive to rapidly changing threats in ways that maintain the military's core ethical co ....A study of Australia's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical. This project addresses the ARC's priority goals Protecting Australia from Terrorism and Crime and Transformational Defence Technologies. In the fight against terrorism and as defence technologies evolve it is crucial to uphold the Australian military's ethical commitments and international reputation. Australian soldiers must be responsive to rapidly changing threats in ways that maintain the military's core ethical commitments. By assessing current military practices in light of these commitments this project enhances the military's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical fighters. The internationally important outcomes of this project will also enhance Australia's high standing in the area of applied ethics.Read moreRead less