Government & industry research
Faculty staff currently hold a number of exciting grants with government agencies and industry partners. These grants exemplify the Faculty's commitment to integrating practice and theory in research that "makes a difference".
This page contains a listing of Gov't & Industry grants (Cat. 2 & 3 plus Cat. 1 non-ARC) awarded within the faculty for first year funding 2007. (Projects receiving funds from ARC Linkage partners do not appear in this list - see ARC funding).
Other annual lists: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Full listing of all Gov't & Industry grants (Cat. 2 & 3) awarded within the faculty for first year funding 2007 - 2013
Faculty of Arts and Education research projects with first year funding 2007
Connecting disengaged rural young people with lifelong physical activity
GippsSport funding 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Dr K Meldrum
Administering Organisation: Deakin University
Project Summary: A pilot program titled “Girls Rule” had been previously developed in Gippsland in response to low connectivity to school and peers. That program involved local community groups and professionals offering their support and incorporated mental health, emotional health, and physical health components. This project follows on from that pilot study and with a focus on rural and remote areas of Gippsland, aims to-
- Increase physical activity participation in disengaged rural youth
- Increase connectedness of participants with each other, their school and community
- Establish and maintain sporting and active recreation links with the community
- Sustain the program through an active mentoring program at school with strong ties to the community
Deakin Travel Smart Travel plan
Assoc Prof L Hancock, Dr J Garrard and Assoc Prof P Beech
Victorian Department of Transport funding 2007-2009
Project Summary: TravelSmart is a State Government program with the objective of motivating ongoing sustainable travel behaviour. TravelSmart aims to reduce people’s dependency on cars and encourage them to choose sustainable travel alternatives such as cycling, walking and public transport. Smarter travel choices can be made by changing one or two trips per week, or by reducing the number of car journeys. The Deakin University TravelSmart Project, has been successful with the implementation of a number of activities. An integral component of the program involved extensive staff and student surveys and evaluation processes, with the results added to the ‘library’ of information available to planners and policy makers for the establishment of better communities.
Essentials Course and Thinking with Technology
Ongoing Evaluation undertaken by the Centre for Educational Leadership and Renewal
Administering organisation: Deakin University
Project Summary: The 'Intel Teach Program Essentials Course' is a professional development program designed to assist teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. Emphasis is on effective use of ICT/eLearning in the classroom to enhance learning, research, communication, productivity strategies and working in teams to solve problems. Over 10,000 teachers have undertaken the Essential Course in Australia and over 5 million globally.
Evaluation is an integral and ongoing part of the 'Essentials Course and Thinking with Technology'. Evaluators appointed within each country, use consistent but localized instruments and approaches to gather and report on the training outcomes and longer term impact. Deakin University, through the Centre for Partnerships and Projects in Education has been conducting this evaluation in Australia. Their work also contributes to the global evaluation of the Intel Teach programs.
Non-DU led projects
‘What a great night’: The cultural drivers of drinking practices among 14-24 year-old Australians
Drinkwise Aust funding 2007 - 2009
Assoc Prof P Kelly, Dr J Lindsay, Dr L Harrison, Dr C Hickey
Administering organisation: Monash University
Project summary: The purpose of this research was to gather information about the cultural drivers of alcohol consumption by young people in Australia. While there is a substantial amount of quantitative information available on alcohol consumption patterns there is limited research on why different groups of young people consume alcohol in high-risk, risky or low-risk ways. There is little nuanced qualitative and socio-cultural research which explores young people’s alcohol related practices and activities and why they engage in these activities. This report presents these findings which will be a crucial platform for developing effective public health interventions on youth drinking in Australia.
Young people’s alcohol consumption is a complex field and a variety of cultural drivers have an impact on consumption patterns. These include broader social processes such as individualization, globalization, demographic and labour market change which makes youth a less certain and longer phase in the life-cycle for this generation of young people. At the same time, local drinking settings, drinking cultures and social networks of families and peers also have a direct impact on youth drinking. Finally, social location in terms of gender, age, social class, ethnicity, religion and geography shape drinking practices in important ways. We illustrate the meaning alcohol has for young people and connections with risk taking, identity and social context.
This project involved two complementary and largely qualitative studies: (1) the drinking biographies study involved in-depth interviews and a quantitative questionnaire with young people, aged 20-24 and (2) the sporting clubs study involved in-depth interviews and focus groups with young people and key informants at Victorian sporting clubs. The research was conducted in inner and outer suburban settings plus provincial and rural locations in Victoria to identify the most salient cultural drivers of youth alcohol consumption.
