The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will ....The Quality of Part-Time Employment in Australia: Dimensions, Prospects and Policy. Part-time employment is an important and growing phenomenon in Australia, as in most OECD countries. While research has focused on the quantity of part-time employment, the key dimension of quality has been neglected. This project will develop a sophisticated conceptual framework for assessing the quality of part-time employment, drawing on cross-national comparisons and using a gender systems approach. It will produce a comprehensive and practical assessment of the quality of part-time employment in Australia, including two detailed industry case studies. Finally, the project will evaluate the main policy paths for improving the quality of part-time employment.Read moreRead less
Retiring women: Understanding older female work-life transitions. There are significant gaps in knowledge in relation to the later life experiences of work and retirement among older women, whose career opportunities and trajectories, experiences of balancing work and personal aspects of life, social relationships both at work and in the community, financial security, and lived experience of ageing, may differ from those of men. As a consequence of such gaps, public policymaking and that of empl ....Retiring women: Understanding older female work-life transitions. There are significant gaps in knowledge in relation to the later life experiences of work and retirement among older women, whose career opportunities and trajectories, experiences of balancing work and personal aspects of life, social relationships both at work and in the community, financial security, and lived experience of ageing, may differ from those of men. As a consequence of such gaps, public policymaking and that of employers is based on an incomplete understanding of older women's orientations and attitudes. The study will develop policy and practice recommendations for structuring and enriching women's later job and retirement opportunities.Read moreRead less
Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understandi ....Professional induction of female and male firefighters in a metropolitan fire station. This research offers new understanding of how the gendered professional identity of recruit firefighters is shaped by the regimes of selection, training and transition to work, in a metropolitan fire station. Doctoral research will explore whether women's relational and communication capacities are developed or discouraged in a masculinist work setting such as firefighting. The project will enhance understanding of why some occupations remain male dominated despite 20 years of policy and program level change initiatives. It will have direct benefits for both metropolitan and rural firefighting services in Australia, assisting them to adapt to new professional and equity imperatives.Read moreRead less
Development assistance to women in postconflict situations. In the last decade, internal armed conflicts have attracted increasing attention as major obstacles to development in poor countries. For development assistance organisations this poses serious challenges. Moreover, men and women experience conflict differently. This project documents, analyses and assesses work amongst women in post-conflict situations by an Australian non-government development agency, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (OCAA ....Development assistance to women in postconflict situations. In the last decade, internal armed conflicts have attracted increasing attention as major obstacles to development in poor countries. For development assistance organisations this poses serious challenges. Moreover, men and women experience conflict differently. This project documents, analyses and assesses work amongst women in post-conflict situations by an Australian non-government development agency, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (OCAA). Three countries, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and East Timor, comprise the case studies. In reports and scholarly articles, this research will evaluate how well OCAA meets women's needs in the post-conflict transition, and identify how development organisations can improve such work in future.Read moreRead less
Genetic Identity Testing and the Family: the articulation between biotechnology and family relationships, politics and policy. Genetic identity testing cuts to the very nature of the family itself. For the first time in human history, it is possible to identify paternity - and misattributed paternity - with reasonable certainty. Parentage testing has become a vehicle for the fathers? rights movement, and is influencing the management of child support policy. Governments are currently developing ....Genetic Identity Testing and the Family: the articulation between biotechnology and family relationships, politics and policy. Genetic identity testing cuts to the very nature of the family itself. For the first time in human history, it is possible to identify paternity - and misattributed paternity - with reasonable certainty. Parentage testing has become a vehicle for the fathers? rights movement, and is influencing the management of child support policy. Governments are currently developing broad policy frameworks on this issue. Yet there is almost no social research on parentage testing. This study will provide scope for Australian leadership in an area of study that will become progressively more important with the rapid development of DNA chip technology. Read moreRead less