Collective futures: The effects of beliefs about future states of society on the support for and enactment of social change. This research addresses a novel and potentially critical factor in support for social change, beliefs about society in the future, that helps build Australia's capacity to effectively address important social issues that depend on widespread support and action, such as climate change. The research provides a basis for a more informed public debate about these issues, and e ....Collective futures: The effects of beliefs about future states of society on the support for and enactment of social change. This research addresses a novel and potentially critical factor in support for social change, beliefs about society in the future, that helps build Australia's capacity to effectively address important social issues that depend on widespread support and action, such as climate change. The research provides a basis for a more informed public debate about these issues, and enhances the effectiveness of policy-makers and information campaigns. Scientifically, it enhances Australia's reputation as a leader in social change research. Read moreRead less
Transforming attitudes into action through identification under uncertainty. Basic and applied research are articulated with social practice and policy to develop new knowledge about the social psychology of societal innovation and social change. How, and under what conditions, can leaders and active minorities mobilise people to act in accordance with attitudes that accommodate changed circumstances? Our analysis integrates research on uncertainty, minority influence, and leadership, within the ....Transforming attitudes into action through identification under uncertainty. Basic and applied research are articulated with social practice and policy to develop new knowledge about the social psychology of societal innovation and social change. How, and under what conditions, can leaders and active minorities mobilise people to act in accordance with attitudes that accommodate changed circumstances? Our analysis integrates research on uncertainty, minority influence, and leadership, within the perspective of social identity theory and new attitude-behaviour relations research. This innovative integration significantly advances basic theory, and concretely addresses social change regarding cultural relations and immigration, sustainable natural resource management, healthy living, national economic activities, and business and organizational practices.
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Using empirical materials to inform normative thinking about the organization of groups for the production of knowledge. It is increasingly apparent that knowledge is produced by organized groups-e.g. research or management teams. The idea of heroic individual creators is still presented in popular media, but has little credence in hard-headed organizational contexts, where, e.g., Wenger's idea of the community of practice plays an important role in steering policy and institutional development. ....Using empirical materials to inform normative thinking about the organization of groups for the production of knowledge. It is increasingly apparent that knowledge is produced by organized groups-e.g. research or management teams. The idea of heroic individual creators is still presented in popular media, but has little credence in hard-headed organizational contexts, where, e.g., Wenger's idea of the community of practice plays an important role in steering policy and institutional development. Finding out how we can organize collectives so that they can function WELL as producers of knowledge is the aim of this project in social epistemology. Its success will contribute directly to theoretical discourse about innovation in organizations and promises to contribute indirectly to the improvement of the institutional bases of our cultural and economic capital.Read moreRead less