2013 VU Researcher Development Grant Scheme

Congratulations to the following faculty staff, who were all awarded 2013 VU Researcher Development Grants:

• Dr Torgier Watne & Assoc. Prof. Anne-Marie Hede:
  Agents of change: An investigation of how young consumers learn and pass on information about alcohol.
  The proposed study will investigate how young consumers learn, teach and develop identities around alcohol consumption by exploring ‘consumer socialisation agency’ amongst peer groups. The aim of this study is to develop a typology of alcohol identities in young consumers by investigating identity development through a social media simulation. The project proposes a bottom-up approach to social marketing centered on understanding how young consumers learn from each other with regard to alcohol and its consumption. The outcome will allow social marketers to develop campaigns that offer young consumers better behavioural alternatives.
• Dr Kamrul Ahsan & Prof Pauline Stanton
  Green practices and e-procurement: Reducing carbon footprint in public hospital procurement.Cutting operational costs, improving efficiency, and protecting environmental resources are growing concerns among government and business organisations. It is therefore essential to identify the interface issues of green and e-procurement i.e. e-green procurement, and the impact on reducing carbon footprint in the health care supply chain. With this aim, our research focuses on the Australian Government Health Purchasing regulatory bodies to analyse current practices and existing barriers of implementing green procurement and e-procurement in hospitals. Our research also identifies availability of common green practices and e-procurement processes and if together they can help to minimise the impact of carbon footprint. The study involves content analysis of policies and reports; case studies and structured interviews. Research findings will improve sustainable hospital purchasing practices and strategies, and create a model for other public sector organisations.
• Dr Gayathri Mekala & Dr Roger Jones (CSES), with Dr D Hatton Macdonald:
  Urban green infrastructure – An institutional analysis.
  While the significance and value of urban green infrastructure has been proven time and again, the questions as to why it is not a priority for urban planners and how it can be funded for healthy sustainable cities remains. The current research will do an institutional analysis of the urban green infrastructure in Melbourne West (case study area) and develop a framework which will present the different stakeholders, the distribution of governance responsibilities related to the green infrastructure and their performance. The results would provide the basis for a project proposal involving the key stakeholders identified.
• Dr Roger Bodman & Prof Roger Jones (CSES), with Dr B O’Neill & Prof P Friedlingstein: 
  Exploring science-policy links for the new generation of climate change scenarios.New scenarios developed by an international consortium for climate change research and IPCC assessments are being used to link earth systems and integrated assessment models. Although these new scenarios are appropriate for scientific research, their wider application to policy remains unclear. For many purposes, direct translation from science to policy is infeasible.
  We will use our simple, probabilistic Earth system model to explore the links between this scenario framework and policy needs. Collaboration with international modelling groups and attendance at expert meetings will result in high profile publications. ARC research proposals developed with international partners will move this agenda forward.
• Dr Riccardo Natoli & Prof Terrence Hallahan, with Dr K Ohtsuka:
  Identifying a financial literacy risk profile in the CALD communities – A case study of the Vietnamese community.