Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemCommunity perceptions of environmental water: a review(Cambridge University Press, 2023)Allocation of water specifically to the environment (often dubbed ‘environmental water’ or ‘environmental flows’) can be contentious within government, among irrigators and between community members. The reduction in supply of fresh water has led to questions surrounding the efficiencies and ecological value of securing these adequate flows for waterways. This literature review examines the evidence on these perceptions of environmental water allocations, focusing foremost on general public, irrigator, Indigenous and decision-maker perspectives. Existing studies are predominantly in Global North areas such as Australia, Canada and the USA. Two themes featured strongly in the papers: the importance of personal values in the acceptance of environmental water and the perception of fairness in environmental water allocation processes. Although the research area has been expanding, there is still limited representation in types of study, disciplinary backgrounds and study locations, and as such many research opportunities remain.
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ItemFactual Divergence and Risk Perceptions(University of Warwick, )The communication of information (‘facts’) by experts to the general public becomes challenging if there is an absence of trust in experts, and in the institutions they represent. There has been a perceived sense of a decline of public trust in expertise and science, an issue of concern highlighted by political leaders such as MP Michael Gove and Former US President Donald Trump. This paper presents a synthesis of differing fields of study to reflect upon the dynamic between expertise, risk and public response in democratic practice. It incorporates studies and theories from the fields of psychology, risk analysis, communication, epistemology and political studies to answer questions such as: what evidence is there that public antipathy toward experts exists? Is a war being waged between laypeople and experts, and what does this mean for public policy? How can risk perception research effectively contribute to the debate on trust in expertise? The role of heuristics and psychology in decision-making is explored (as well as a brief sojourn into the sociology of risk) with regard to how risk perceptions are formed, and the role that experts play in this dynamic. In this article, I argue that the reports of a decline in trust in expertise are not based in evidence; in fact, experts and scientists are generally trusted by the public at large. However, this trust cannot be taken for granted as it continues to represent an increasingly critical element in communicating risk and upholding democratic principles in governance.
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ItemLiability, War, and Peace(Wiley, 2015-01-27)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableSearching for virtue ethics: A survey of social work ethics curriculum and educators(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2019)This article discusses whether, and to what extent, virtue ethics is covered in the social work ethics curriculum and views of social work ethics educators in Australia. Drawing on a survey of social work ethics curriculum and education, it presents the nature and scope of social work ethics subjects in terms of learning outcomes; overall curriculum content; textbooks used; teaching approaches, challenges and strategies for teaching; and social work ethics educators’ views about teaching virtue ethics. It argues that attention to virtues is largely absent in terms of consciously developing certain qualities and character. The findings, conclusions and implications of the study will be useful to social work researchers, educators and practitioners alike.
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ItemCritical Notice’ David Coady What to Believe Now: Applying Epistemology to Contemporary Issues(The Institute of Mind and Behavior, 2014)
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ItemETHICAL FREE-FOR-ALL OVER MEDIA ACCESS TO THE FIRE ZONE(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2010-11)A major issue to arise in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in February 2009 concerned access by the media to the places destroyed. This issue arose in five main forms: media efforts to circumvent roadblocks; use of deception by media to get into areas that were open only to residents; use of private property by media, with and without the connivance of the authorities, as venues for gathering material; balancing residents' rights of access and property protection against the media's need to discharge their legitimate function of informing the community; and managing crime scenes and protecting survivors from the media. This article explores these issues from the perspective of 28 media professionals who covered the fires. It identifies and discusses the ethical dilemmas raised, and describes how the journalists concerned resolved them. It contains many lessons for the media, the authorities and the public. It lays bare the lack of an ethical consensus among media people. In doing so, it points up some exemplary decision-making by individual journalists and the weaknesses of their profession's institutional framework. It is argued that these matter because ethical lapses at disaster scenes can cause harm to victims and survivors, as well as placing the safety of media personnel at risk. Parallel ethical issues confronted the authorities too. These are canvassed as well, and the implications for public policy discussed – particularly in relation to the justification for controlling media access, and balancing justifiable restrictions against competing interests such as the public right to information and the autonomy of survivors in being able to make their own decisions about whether to speak to the media.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePolitical pacifism( 2003)