Business collective action, networks and discourse: a fiscal sociology of mining tax reform in Australia. The mining tax revolt in 2010 was a landmark event in government-business relations in Australia, acknowledged by multinational corporations and governments around the world for its broader ramifications. This project is the first systematic study of what happened, and its implications for our understanding of government-business relations.
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.
The institutional structure of e-government: a cross-policy, cross-country comparison. Governments have expended vast resources on building websites, yet how government is structured on the internet is unknown. This project will map Australia's online government for the first time and assess to how websites are supporting improved government service. The study will support government innovation in web design and service delivery.
Stewarding thin markets: improving public sector market effectiveness. This project aims to develop methodologies to identify thin markets in the public service sector. Thin markets, where there are a low number of buyers or low number of sellers, are a major risk for governments utilising a personalised approach to service delivery. This project will develop new methodologies for identifying thin markets and determine ways emerging markets can be stewarded to better achieve their aims.
Household Vulnerability and the Politics of Social Protection in Indonesia: Towards an Integrated Approach. Despite rapid economic growth in the middle income countries of Asia, rural populations face multiple shocks and new sources of stress, and significant pockets of chronic poverty remain. While states have instituted new social protection policies to deal with household vulnerability, these programs have had limited effectiveness. This project addresses the weaknesses in diagnostic approach ....Household Vulnerability and the Politics of Social Protection in Indonesia: Towards an Integrated Approach. Despite rapid economic growth in the middle income countries of Asia, rural populations face multiple shocks and new sources of stress, and significant pockets of chronic poverty remain. While states have instituted new social protection policies to deal with household vulnerability, these programs have had limited effectiveness. This project addresses the weaknesses in diagnostic approaches to poverty and vulnerability in Indonesia. Combining case-study analyses of poverty drivers, investigations of social protection practices, and an analysis of the politics of social protection, it will develop a new integrated framework for conceptualising vulnerability and social protection programs. Read moreRead less
The 2006 Census and Indigenous People in Remote Areas: Assessing the Quality of the Enumeration Process and Resulting Data. Rigorous assessment of the quality of census data will benefit Indigenous communities, policy makers, and researchers in the area of Indigenous policy and service delivery. Of particular note is the direct benefit to the ABS in seeking to improve their methods for enumerating remote Indigenous populations. The research directly addresses the National Research Priorities rel ....The 2006 Census and Indigenous People in Remote Areas: Assessing the Quality of the Enumeration Process and Resulting Data. Rigorous assessment of the quality of census data will benefit Indigenous communities, policy makers, and researchers in the area of Indigenous policy and service delivery. Of particular note is the direct benefit to the ABS in seeking to improve their methods for enumerating remote Indigenous populations. The research directly addresses the National Research Priorities relating to rural and remote areas and strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric because it will enhance assessment of the reliability of statistical information for social, economic and community planning in remote Indigenous communities.Read moreRead less
Sustainable Development, Cultural Diversity, and Global Transformations: An Ethnography of Agricultural and Environmental Practices in East Timor. Civil unrest, low productivity, and environmental degradation in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, PNG, Nauru, and Indonesia, highlight the new challenges for international development policy. By providing culturally specific analyses of development processes and by advancing new policy directions, the study will enhance the capacities of Australian NG ....Sustainable Development, Cultural Diversity, and Global Transformations: An Ethnography of Agricultural and Environmental Practices in East Timor. Civil unrest, low productivity, and environmental degradation in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, PNG, Nauru, and Indonesia, highlight the new challenges for international development policy. By providing culturally specific analyses of development processes and by advancing new policy directions, the study will enhance the capacities of Australian NGOs, as well as international NGOs with Australian offices, government agencies and Indigenous communities, effectively to tackle acute poverty and environmental degradation in our region. These issues are increasingly pertinent to Australia.Read moreRead less
The Political and Economic Agency of Africans in Australia. This project examines the nature and impact of political and economic agency among African migrants in Australia, using mixed methods (survey, interviews, media and policy analysis). With the right policy settings, African migrants and Australian communities stand to benefit enormously from projected African population growth. However, due to a two decade research focus on African refugees, little is known about the successful navigatio ....The Political and Economic Agency of Africans in Australia. This project examines the nature and impact of political and economic agency among African migrants in Australia, using mixed methods (survey, interviews, media and policy analysis). With the right policy settings, African migrants and Australian communities stand to benefit enormously from projected African population growth. However, due to a two decade research focus on African refugees, little is known about the successful navigation of political and economic life among the wider African diaspora. This project will generate new knowledge offering a blueprint for such policy settings. Outcomes include a monograph, 8 papers, and evidence-based policy advice on enhancing African migrant political and economic engagement in Australia. Read moreRead less
Impact of evaluation-based funding on the content of scientific research. Evidence suggests that evaluation-based funding mechanisms trigger adaptive behaviour in scientists, leading to unintended changes in knowledge production. However, there is no conclusive evidence about when (under what circumstances), how (by what processes) and with what effects researchers adapt to these mechanisms. This study aims to answer these crucial questions. To overcome the methodological weaknesses of earlier s ....Impact of evaluation-based funding on the content of scientific research. Evidence suggests that evaluation-based funding mechanisms trigger adaptive behaviour in scientists, leading to unintended changes in knowledge production. However, there is no conclusive evidence about when (under what circumstances), how (by what processes) and with what effects researchers adapt to these mechanisms. This study aims to answer these crucial questions. To overcome the methodological weaknesses of earlier studies, a comparative investigation of several research fields and universities will be conducted, combining for the first time: qualitative interviews, ethnographic observations and bibliometric studies. It will enhance Australian research policy with a critical assessment of existing research funding models.Read moreRead less
The social and environmental implications of privately regulated food quality standards for agri-food networks in Asia-Pacific. This proposal will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia in two ways. First, the research will highlight barriers to the uptake of environmental standards among fruit and vegetable growers as well as potential strategies to encourage certification. Second, the research will assess the extent to which compliance with internationally harmonised standards ....The social and environmental implications of privately regulated food quality standards for agri-food networks in Asia-Pacific. This proposal will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia in two ways. First, the research will highlight barriers to the uptake of environmental standards among fruit and vegetable growers as well as potential strategies to encourage certification. Second, the research will assess the extent to which compliance with internationally harmonised standards actually assists or encourages farmers to address local priority environmental issues. Improved understanding of the social and environmental impact of standards will highlight domestic policy and regulatory shifts which may be necessary to maximise positive environmental outcomes.Read moreRead less