ICS Researchers Feature in Future-Makers

Issue 4 of the University's Future-Makers publication, a showcase of innovative and impactful research, has been released, featuring ten stories of success from Institute for Culture and Society researchers.

Research Stories

• Dr Kylie Budge: Research for a Better Future. Western Sydney University Research Theme Fellows discuss their work’s impact.
• Professor Katherine Gibson: A Bridge to the Future. An experimental geographical study captures the traditional socioeconomic fabric of monsoonal. Asia as a lens for the future.
• Professor Gay Hawkins: From Plastic Fantastic to a Waste Quagmire. Charting the history of plastic packaging can lead to new insights on how to manage it.
• Dr Stephen Healy: Making a Sustainable Difference. Australian enterprises are working towards a just, sustainable, and financially viable economy.
• Dr Emma Power: Raising the Roof about Housing Insecurity. Using the stories of society’s most vulnerable to effect positive change for renters.
• Professor Juan Francisco Salazar: Custodians of the Ice. At the southernmost reaches of the globe, five ‘Antarctic cities’ are discovering a shared identity in relation to a fragile frozen continent.
• Dr Hayley Saul and Associate Professor Emma Waterton: Restoring the Heritage of Langtang. An interactive exhibition will help preserve the history of Nepal’s Langtang valley.
• Professor Margaret Somerville: Course of Nature. Child-led activities with animals and the outdoors can broaden the scope of learning in unexpected ways.
• Associate Professor Amanda Third: Putting Children at the Table in the Nutrition Discussion. The views of young people and mothers to shape global nutrition policies.
• Dr Jessica Weir: A Cool Approach to Land Management. Researchers are collaborating with Indigenous people to understand the benefits of controlled ‘cool’ burning of bushland in natural hazard management.

The pioneering research highlighted in this edition focuses on four key themes: education and work; environment and sustainability; health and wellbeing; and urban living futures and society. The highlighted stories intersect and address the challenges these global themes present.

The University aims to use knowledge to help create a better future, locally, regionally and globally. Its breadth of research expertise and effective collaborations with external partners including industry, community, government and policy makers, are reflected in these stories of research excellence and shared endeavour.

Posted: 4 June 2020.