Australian Workplace Innovation
and Social Research Centre (WISeR)

WISeR focuses on how organisational structure and practices, technology and economic systems, policy and institutions, environment and culture interact to influence the performance of workplaces and the wellbeing of individuals, households and communities.

Latest News

National Growth Areas Alliance Forum - Population and Jobs

L-R    Mr Ian Ostermann, Mr Tim Jackson, Mayor Glenn Doherty, Associate Professor John Spoehr and Ruth Spielman

Talk given by Associate Professor John Spoehr - 29th May 2013

ARC Linked Data Project Partnership

WISeR is involved in a new project titled the Linked Data Project Hub, a new infrastructure project supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure and Equipment grant for 2013.

The project partnership between WISeR, Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University and Victoria University of Wellington (NZ) will address a crucial part of the information infrastructure puzzle: How can online research collections reflect the interconnected nature of complex research problems, rather than appear as disconnected sets of documents?

Aiming to answer this complex research question, the Linked Data Policy Hub will transform the accessibility and utility of social science publications, grey literature and data in Australia by linking documents and data from multiple collections across the internet, enabling innovative new forms of social and policy research and analysis.

The three major components of the project are:

• Transforming two major research collections - Australian Policy Online and Informit - into linked databases on semantic web principles;
• Connecting these databases to internationally recognised taxonomies and collections based on key metadata elements such as author, subject, location or other concepts; and
• Creating online hubs of linked resources designed for research across the social sciences but with a focus on the research interests of participating researchers and partner organisations in four inter-related areas: media and communications, migration and settlement, social poilcy and public administration.

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$11.3m grant to help boost jobs in Adelaide's north

Funded by the Australian Governments Suburban Jobs program, The Stretton Centre is a partnership between the University of Adelaide, City of Playford and the South Australian Government.

View The Hon Tony Burke MP - Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Media Release 2012

L-R Associate Professor John Spoehr, Vice-Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington, Hon Tony Burke MP, Premier Jay Weatherill and Mayor Glenn Docherty

Olympic Dam delay is not the end of the world for South Australia

Hopes were understandably high in South Australia that the Olympic Dam expansion would get the green light by the BHP-Billiton Board.

The Hon. Jay Weatherill, Premier of South Australia launches a book co-edited by Associate Professor John Spoehr  - The Engaging State

"This is a book for its time," Associate Professor Spoehr says. "It demonstrates just how important the Asia-Pacific region has become to our State, from many different perspectives."

"Since taking office in October 2011, the Premier has vindicated the importance of this book through his international engagements," Associate Professor Spoehr says.

L-R Associate Professor John Spoehr, Vice-Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington, Premier Jay Weatherill and Professor Purnendra Jain

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