CAPSTRANSAn Australian Research Council Key Centre  for Teaching and Research, the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS) is a joint venture of the University of Wollongong and the University of Newcastle . Its geographical focus - the Asia Pacific region - is a relatively new concept, established over the last two decades, and its boundaries are still being defined. Originally confined to countries in East and Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, its scope has broadened to include members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group as well as the countries of the Indian subcontinent. The Asia Pacific region includes some of the most populous countries in the world; some of the largest economies as well as the poorest; and some of the most remarkable examples of industrial transformation outside Europe and North America, such as Japan and Korea . It is, therefore, a region which offers unique insights into social transformation processes triggered by national and international development policies and their effects at local, regional and transnational levels. CAPSTRANS seeks to examine these processes through innovative research combining methods from a variety of disciplines, including political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, social history, education and media studies. CAPSTRANS concentrates on six inter-linked research themes to achieve an understanding of social transformation in the Asia Pacific region:
- Colonial histories
- International agencies and NGOs
- Labour and mobility
- Nation-states and regulatory regimes
- Citizenship and identity
- Community and substainability.
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