The Great Disruption of COVID-19: Re-imagining the work-family interface. This project aims to highlight new possibilities to re-imagine and reduce parents’ work-family conflicts. Covid-19 brought an unprecedented disruption to Australian parents' work-care routines, with different effects for women, and those working ‘at work’ versus at home. Using mixed-methods approaches and multiple Australian datasets collected pre- and post-pandemic, this unique project intends to identify families who are ....The Great Disruption of COVID-19: Re-imagining the work-family interface. This project aims to highlight new possibilities to re-imagine and reduce parents’ work-family conflicts. Covid-19 brought an unprecedented disruption to Australian parents' work-care routines, with different effects for women, and those working ‘at work’ versus at home. Using mixed-methods approaches and multiple Australian datasets collected pre- and post-pandemic, this unique project intends to identify families who are at risk of longer-term scarring to family wellbeing from work-care conflicts; and critical workplace supports which may prevent this. Together, this urgently-needed evidence contributes to family-friendly work for diverse parents, employers and policy, protecting social and economic participation for Australian parents.Read moreRead less
Migration, Mixed Marriage and Integration in Australia. This project aims to investigate the prevalence, experience and variations of ethnic and religious mixed marriage in Australia, which will guide policies that facilitate social integration and cohesion. The implications of a lack of integration have been demonstrated by recent events in Europe and US, which reflect strong anti-immigration tendencies. This project expects to generate new sociological knowledge of ethnic/religious mixed-marri ....Migration, Mixed Marriage and Integration in Australia. This project aims to investigate the prevalence, experience and variations of ethnic and religious mixed marriage in Australia, which will guide policies that facilitate social integration and cohesion. The implications of a lack of integration have been demonstrated by recent events in Europe and US, which reflect strong anti-immigration tendencies. This project expects to generate new sociological knowledge of ethnic/religious mixed-marriage, new understanding in social integration and enhanced research capacity in the area of migration and integration. This research should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced cultural understanding and appropriate policies that foster social integration of cultural groups.Read moreRead less
Ready to launch? young Australians’ work and family transitions. This project aims to establish reasons for young Australians delaying life-course milestones such as nest leaving and marriage. Are we seeing a shift of these milestones from “cornerstones” that lay the foundations for accomplishment to “capstones” that depend on economics accomplishments in areas such as employment? The project will investigate the timing of and conditions surrounding young Australians’ economic accomplishments an ....Ready to launch? young Australians’ work and family transitions. This project aims to establish reasons for young Australians delaying life-course milestones such as nest leaving and marriage. Are we seeing a shift of these milestones from “cornerstones” that lay the foundations for accomplishment to “capstones” that depend on economics accomplishments in areas such as employment? The project will investigate the timing of and conditions surrounding young Australians’ economic accomplishments and key household transitions. This will provide significant benefits such as identifying the economic, personal and family drivers of life-course transitions that are consequential for Australians' health, economic and social well-being, and use of public assistance programs.Read moreRead less
The 'long arm of the job': Improving parents' jobs and child development. This project aims to identify the priority job stressors that impact working families' wellbeing and child development, and to generate innovative job-based strategies to reduce work-family conflicts for working parents. Conflicts between work and family are common in Australia, reported by one in three parents. These affect productivity, family relationships and ultimately, child development. Evidence reveals that employe ....The 'long arm of the job': Improving parents' jobs and child development. This project aims to identify the priority job stressors that impact working families' wellbeing and child development, and to generate innovative job-based strategies to reduce work-family conflicts for working parents. Conflicts between work and family are common in Australia, reported by one in three parents. These affect productivity, family relationships and ultimately, child development. Evidence reveals that employers have struggled to implement family-friendly practices despite recent national policy initiatives. Using national cohort data and industry partnerships, this project investigates solutions to this urgent national dilemma to benefit those most affected by parents' job stressors – working parents and their children.
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The Consequences of the Mental Load for Australian Families. This project aims to investigate the mental load; a structure of household work that combines cognitive and emotional labour. While there are theoretical understandings of the mental load, there is a dearth of quantitative research. This project expects to develop a consistent and reliable measure of the mental load and an understanding of its impacts on Australian families. The expected outcomes of the project include a comprehensive ....The Consequences of the Mental Load for Australian Families. This project aims to investigate the mental load; a structure of household work that combines cognitive and emotional labour. While there are theoretical understandings of the mental load, there is a dearth of quantitative research. This project expects to develop a consistent and reliable measure of the mental load and an understanding of its impacts on Australian families. The expected outcomes of the project include a comprehensive measurement of the mental load both in Australia and abroad. This will allow for the development of policy alleviating its impacts on caregivers, particularly mothers, and assist workplaces and Government in incorporating women into employment to reduce gender inequality.Read moreRead less
Policy frameworks and market/non-market activity of young and older adults . The project intends to compare the social and economic participation of young adults and older people across nations to reveal best practice policy in engaging both ends of the age spectrum in productive activity. Population ageing has implications for the wellbeing and prosperity of both the older and younger generations. This project intends to investigate how contemporary young adults and older people spend their tim ....Policy frameworks and market/non-market activity of young and older adults . The project intends to compare the social and economic participation of young adults and older people across nations to reveal best practice policy in engaging both ends of the age spectrum in productive activity. Population ageing has implications for the wellbeing and prosperity of both the older and younger generations. This project intends to investigate how contemporary young adults and older people spend their time in productive activities across countries with contrasting policy frameworks. This may yield important policy-relevant information for Australia on how to both protect the old and invest in the young, while balancing financial sustainability and the principles of social justice and fairness.Read moreRead less
Transition to adulthood in greater Jakarta: A longitudinal perspective. Interviewing 3,000 young adult Indonesians at two points in time, this project examines whether their economic and social outcomes change across time or whether early experience determines longer-term outcomes. What are the factors involved in transition to adulthood among young people in a rapidly developing metropolis of a developing country?
Understanding an important aspect of current-day family dynamics: the institution of repartnering in Australia. Families are at the core of Australia's social fabric. Understanding their dynamics assists in developing good policies and mechanisms to support them. Repartnering is an important aspect of current-day family dynamics. Yet we know relatively little about how these partnerships operate. This project will illuminate the patterns and issues central to repartnering and provide a significa ....Understanding an important aspect of current-day family dynamics: the institution of repartnering in Australia. Families are at the core of Australia's social fabric. Understanding their dynamics assists in developing good policies and mechanisms to support them. Repartnering is an important aspect of current-day family dynamics. Yet we know relatively little about how these partnerships operate. This project will illuminate the patterns and issues central to repartnering and provide a significant contribution to social research. Results from this study will equip policy makers with appropriate knowledge to develop policies aimed at assisting families. The findings will contribute to growing international knowledge on family dynamics in repartnered relationships, as well as strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric through stronger families.Read moreRead less
Do Australian parents want both a son and a daughter? From the late 1990s, policy makers became more aware of the importance of fertility in influencing population age structure and growth rates in Australia. The proposed project will augment our understanding of fertility dynamics both current, and over high and low fertility regimes. It will also highlight an important factor in fertility decision-making. There is considerable speculation on the impact of shifting gender-role attitudes on sex ....Do Australian parents want both a son and a daughter? From the late 1990s, policy makers became more aware of the importance of fertility in influencing population age structure and growth rates in Australia. The proposed project will augment our understanding of fertility dynamics both current, and over high and low fertility regimes. It will also highlight an important factor in fertility decision-making. There is considerable speculation on the impact of shifting gender-role attitudes on sex preference, but evidence supporting this is mixed. By developing a deeper understanding of the factors influencing progression to having more children we will be better able to predict fertility trends and provide support to Australian parents. Read moreRead less
Australian diasporas and brain gain: exploring current and potential transnational linkages. The research will investigate current and potential future roles of diasporas in both Australia and overseas in facilitating trade and investment. The study will examine their political, cultural and kinship ties with homelands and map the geography of seven diasporas in Australia. This will provide new data that describes the character, motivations and movements of diasporas in Australia. Data analysis ....Australian diasporas and brain gain: exploring current and potential transnational linkages. The research will investigate current and potential future roles of diasporas in both Australia and overseas in facilitating trade and investment. The study will examine their political, cultural and kinship ties with homelands and map the geography of seven diasporas in Australia. This will provide new data that describes the character, motivations and movements of diasporas in Australia. Data analysis will determine the current and potential role diaspora play in adding value to Australian society through 'brain gain' and 'circulation' versus 'brain drain'. Findings will inform migration and social policy aimed at maximising benefits of migration.Read moreRead less