UQ Summer/Winter Research Program

2022/23 Summer Research Program

The Summer/Winter Research Program is an opportunity for undergraduate, honours and postgraduate coursework students to get involved in exciting research projects within the school.

Summer research projects are available for 6 - 10 weeks between November and February.

Applications for the 2022/23 Summer Research Program will open 15 August 2022, and close on 18 September 2022.

For queries contact polsis@uq.edu.au

Find out how to apply

Available Projects with POLSIS:

The use of ‘market-based’ instruments in environmental management

Project title:	The use of ‘market-based’ instruments in environmental management [e.g. biodiversity offsets]
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode	Duration of the project, 8 weeks during Summer Vacation. Hours of engagement 20hrs per week COVID-19 considerations – the project can be completed under a remote working arrangement through desk-based research.
Description:	Environmental regulation has been slow, difficult and expensive to achieve through direct enforcement of environmental standards and regulatory approaches have created political resistance. Two alternatives have been popular in recent decades: (1) voluntary codes of conduct by industry associations which encourage ‘good practice’ and discourage cowboy behaviour; and (2) market-based incentives to encourage pro-environment choices and to ‘trade-off’ environmental harm by compensatory investments (‘offsets’). The latter are promoted as allowing economic development projects to proceed while simultaneously protecting environmental values. A recent example is paying farmers to maintain or expand their forest resources (‘carbon farming’). Another example is allowing a developer to destroy the habitat of endangered species in return for promised investment elsewhere to protect other habitats. The project seeks (1) to ‘map’ the extent of these new approaches in Australia with particular emphasis on ‘offset’ schemes; (2) to examine the limitations and main criticisms of how ‘biodiversity offset’ schemes have actually worked in practice.
Expected outcomes and deliverables:	Students will gain skills in data collection, data analysis and program evaluation, based on examining existing governmental and scholarly literature. Students will produce a report of 5000 words at the end of their project.
Suitable for:	Please highlight any particular qualities that individual supervisors are looking for in applicants to assist with the selection process. This project is open to applications from students in political science who have a strong GPA and have completed the equivalent of 2 years full-time studies; familiarity with other disciplines such as economics or law or statistics may also be relevant.
Primary Supervisor:	Professor Brian Head brian.head@uq.edu.au
Further info:	Potential applicants may seek further information from the project supervisor prior to submitting an application.

The History of War: Weapons and Women

Project title:

The History of War: Weapons and Women

Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode

10 weeks during Summer Vacation.

Hours of engagement must be between 20-36hrs per week

Applicant will be required on-site for the project.

Description:

This Summer Research Project will involve assistance with two projects related to the history of war and international relations:

The decision to place Australian women in combat roles – this project is to develop a history of when and how Australia made the decision to open all combat roles to women. This is an article length project.
The history of weapons: this project examines how new weapons are developed, and how the international community has attempted to control these weapons. This is the start of a book project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables:

Students involved in these projects will experience two different types of research.

Project 1: a contemporary history project that relies on interviews, and will help collate and work with the interview data, and see how an academic article is developed and written.

Project 2: this is the start of a book-length project and the students involved will learn how new projects begin, assist with writing a book proposal, and conduct research into the history of weapons and war. As this is a book designed for a wide commercial audience these skills will be highly transferable both inside and outside academia.

Suitable for:

This project is suitable for students with a background politics, international relations, history, or law, particularly with an interest in history. Strong research skills and curiosity are a must. It is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Primary Supervisor:

Associate Professor Sarah Percy

Further info:

If you would like further information about the research projects themselves please contact s.percy@uq.edu.au

For information about the mechanics of the program and eligibility please contact the admin team polsis@uq.edu.au

Indigenous Voice: An Intellectual History

Project title:	Indigenous Voice: An Intellectual History
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode	10 weeks during Summer Vacation. 30 hours per week COVID-19 considerations: The project can be completed under remote working arrangements.
Description:	Background: The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has promised to hold a referendum on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution. His proposal draws support from the Uluru Statement from the Heart. All of this has been at the centre of recent politics. What is usually forgotten, however, is Australia’s prior experiments with a consultative body dating back to the 1960s, which were brought to an end by the creation of a body that combined representative and executive functions: ATSIC (1990). Alongside these developments there has been consistent calls for Treaty and the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. This project aims to investigate the pattern of argument that this aspect of Australian politics exhibits, focusing on the dynamics that exist between the competing concepts of ‘representation’ and ‘sovereignty’. The project will adopt the methods of contextual intellectual history, meaning that the first priority will be to assemble the primary sources.
Expected outcomes and deliverables:	The project will clarify the pattern of debate and its changes over the last 50 years. It is also hoped that a website will be prepared that will make available key primary sources for the general public. The successful applicant will not only gain knowledge of the topic area but also skills in building an archive of primary sources and experience in website design.
Suitable for:	This project is open to students with a relevant background in politics or history or cognate field.
Primary Supervisor:	Assoc. Prof. Ryan Walter