2008
Integration and Multiculturalism: A Harmonious Combination
Project Directors: Dr James Jupp (ANU) and Professor Michael
Clyne (Monash University)
The Project will apply several social science disciplines, namely
Linguistics, Sociology, Demography, Political Science, History
and Psychology. These will focus on issues raised by the transformation
of Australia into a multicultural society as a result of post-1945
immigration. Among these issues are the maintenance and consolidation
of social cohesion, the development of a common national identity
and core values and the role of public agencies in securing these
objectives. As these are contested issues, the Project aims at
exploring the variety of analyses which have been applied to ethnic
and cultural variety and the concrete outcomes of public policy.
Language use and maintenance will be an important focus, as will
participation in social and public life. Human interactions, including
marriage patterns, choice of location and political participation
are all within the professional interests of the proposed research
team.
The Project will provide a clearer picture of social aspects
of life in a culturally diverse society, and will aim to provide
a clarification of the policy approaches to deal with the effects
of continuing immigration. Various prejudices and misconceptions
should be analysed and placed in the context of Australia's role
in its region and in a globalising world. A reasoned survey of
public debates will be provided, analysed through the perspectives
of the social science disciplines. This approach should illuminate
and benefit various public policies, including migrant settlement,
citizenship testing, national security, language policy and social
integration. The bases for continuing social harmony will be analysed
in the light of existing local experience and comparative studies
from comparable societies. Hopefully a lasting basis should be
laid for interdisciplinary co-operation around these issues and
for the encouragement of generational change from those who have
laid the foundations to those who are developing new approaches.
Many of those working in these fields are now at or beyond retirement
age, but there is also an active younger generation at the Doctoral
level, especially in the study of specific migrant communities.
The two Team Leaders are well known for their expertise in language
policy and ethnic community issues respectively. Members are known
for their active involvement in national and international studies
of relevant policy developments and issues. The major outcome
will be a carefully analysed account of social cohesion and community
relations within a globalised migration system.
2007
Creativity and Innovation: Social Science Perspectives and Policy
Implications
Project Directors: Professors Janet Chan (UNSW) and Leon
Mann (University of Melbourne)
This project aims to provide a multidisciplinary social science
understanding of creativity and innovation. The project will examine
how nine different social science disciplines -sociology, psychology,
law, management, economics, history, policy studies, education
and political science -- conceptualise and explain creativity
and innovation and the relationship between the two processes.
These social science perspectives will be used to examine several
Australian case studies and to develop a set of policy recommendations
for fostering creativity and innovation in Australia. The contributions
will form the chapters of an edited book by Janet Chan and Leon
Mann. The project is significant as it addresses critical drivers
of national progress and productivity --creativity and innovation
- and contributes to a key national research priority goal, Promoting
an innovation culture and economy.
The project will contribute directly to the priority goal 'Promoting
an innovation culture and economy' under the National Research
Priority framework. A recent report by a working party of the
Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
2005) concludes that "to be globally competitive, Australia needs
to formulate a comprehensive approach to fostering creativity"
(page 5). Keith Smith and Jonathan West point out that "innovation
is the critical dimension of productivity improvement and that
productivity is the vital basis for sustainable prosperity" (The
Australian HES, Sept 27 2006).There is a general perception that
Australia is more adept at creativity than at innovation. The
proposed project will bring together a multidisciplinary team
of social science researchers to examine factors and conditions
conducive to creativity and innovation in the Australian setting.
The project outcomes will be (1) an analysis of how the different
disciplines of the social sciences combine to elucidate the human,
social, economic, political, historical, and legal processes underpinning
creativity and innovation; (2) a better understanding of the links
between creativity (which is about generation of novel ideas)
and innovation (which is the process of making ideas useful through
application and implementation); and (3) development of policy
initiatives and recommendations to reinforce and foster creativity
and innovation in Australia.
2006(2007)
New Social Policy Approaches for Sharing Risk
Project Directors: Professor Bruce Chapman (ANU) and Dr
Glenn Withers
The project will develop principles for the application of a
new and internationally innovative public policy, income related
loans (IRL). IRL is an arrangement in which the financial resources
are delivered to groups in adverse situations, conditional on
the activity having public benefits, with some part of this support
being repaid depending on future economic success (for example,
HECS). IRL then provide a form of default insurance to borrowers.
It is the premise of the project that there are many further possible
economic and socially beneficial IRL applications.
There are three separate aspects of the proposal. First, while
IRLs are becoming a significant new financing instrument for government,
the theoretical basis of the approach has yet to be modelled rigorously.
The project will address this.
Second, there are now sophisticated research and policy applications
of IRL, including HECS, the AUSTUDY Loans Supplement, the Child
Support Scheme, and with respect to the financing of drought relief,
to provide credit lines for low income housing, and as a substitute
for fines for low level criminal activity. However, there are
many more potential applications, including for paid maternity
leave, fines for collusion and insider-trading, the financing
of R & D expenditure, for the training of elite athletes, and
for social investment community projects, including for indigenous
communities. The project will address all these areas, and more.
Third, the project will explore the costs and benefits of governmental
institutional change necessary for the successful design, monitoring
and administration of a plethora of disparate IRL applications,
a task not so far attempted.
2005
Internal Migration and Australian mobility beyond the millennium
Project Directors: Professor Martin Bell (UQ), Professor
Graeme Hugo (University of Adelaide) and Professor Peter McDonald
(ANU)
2004
What is to be done with management ethics? Addressing national
needs and priorities
2003
Building a better future for our children
2002
Rethinking wellbeing: Policy and program issue in disability,
disadvantage and community development
2001
Sustainability of Australian rural communities
2000
The economic and social costs of unemployment
1999
Postgraduate training in the social sciences
1997/8
Creating unequal futures? Rethinking poverty, inequality &
disadvantage
