Edited by the Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology

New Research

Recognising, preventing and responding to abuse of older people living in the community: A resource for community care workers

18 March 2010There is a growing recognition of the incidence of abuse of older people by people in a relationship of trust with them such as family, friends or others on whom they depend. Community care workers are in a unique position to support older people who are vulnerable to abuse, and to assist them if abuse occurs.

Targeting scams

08 March 2010More than 20,000 scam reports were made to the ACCC in 2009, an approximate increase of 16 per cent compared with 2008. This report explains key trends in scam activity and highlights the impact of scams on the community.

Assessing the impact of 'available street time' and mortality on estimates of recidivism

04 March 2010Using survival analysis techniques to derive estimates of reoffending, the study compares adjusted and unadjusted rates and assesses how these rates vary for different offender populations and over different follow-up periods.

Child protection and freedom of speech online

01 March 2010Advocates of online child protection and freedom of expression share a deep-seated belief in the importance of protecting basic human rights. Yet these beliefs are often clouded by perceived (and real) opposition in the actual practice of law, policy, and regulation. This has restricted the policy options available for dealing with threats to both child safety and free speech online, and has often resulted in these interests being portrayed as diametrically opposed.
Challenges in dealing with politically exposed persons

Challenges in dealing with politically exposed persons

26 February 2010This paper outlines some of the key challenges and policy implications related to dealing with prominent people and risks when entering into financial transactions and business relationships with them.

Family violence, help-seeking and the close-knit Aboriginal community

19 February 2010This paper examines attitudes and experiences regarding help-seeking by Aboriginal people affected by family violence and explores some foundation issues of Aboriginal community and kinship network relationships.
More...

Crime

From crisis to crime: the escalation of civil and family law issues to criminal matters in Aboriginal communities in NSW

10 March 2010The issue of appropriate legal and social supports is critical to the question of Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. This article discusses this relationship, arguing that the overwhelming emphasis on communities' criminal law needs distracts from other equally important, though perhaps less urgent, practical concerns.

Rights

The future of outstations/homelands

The future of outstations/homelands

15 March 2010This report records the broad commentary from a workshop about Aboriginal homelands or outstations held at the ANU in October 2009.

Do employers discriminate by gender? A field experiment in female-dominated occupations

05 March 2010This paper tests for gender discrimination by sending fake CVs to apply for entry-level jobs.

Commentary

Australia-India: reimagining the relationship

15 February 2010First, let’s fix the education problems. Then let’s recognise the missing link in Australia–India relations, writes Robin Jeffrey in Inside Story

Making prison work

24 November 2009Why are prisons less a portal to a new life than a revolving door? Corrective services need to correct, not just punish, writes Andrew Leigh in On Line Opinion

Why South Australia bikie laws went too far

08 October 2009Quite apart from their potential for misuse, they are corrosive of core legal values, writes Andrew Lynch in The Australian
More...

Audio

Artists working with children

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22 February 2010 The Australia Council is reviewing the protocols developed last year for artists working with children. One of the interested parties is the National Association for the Visual Arts, NAVA, who thinks the protocols are unnecessary.

Internet piracy

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13 January 2010Copyright began 300 years ago, but now laws can't cope with the anarchy of new technologies.

Law

Video

Policing our minds

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13 November 2009Should we disregard individual rights such as privacy, informed consent and free will, in order to protect the community from serious and organised crime?

Change the 'lock em up' mentality

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23 October 2009Ted Wilkes, Chair, National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee, speaks about alcohol use in Indigenous Communities and the links between self esteem, substance abuse and incarceration. The Australian Drug Foundation's conference Thinking Drinking 3 held in Brisbane in August 2009, looked at the role of alcohol in entertainment, violence and crime, the night-time economy, marketing, taxation, competition policy, alcogenic environments and more. 9.59 minutes

Justice system

Websites

Taking the Initiative

13 January 2010Taking the Initiative has been designed for police around Australia, to help them get to know what other jurisdictions are doing to improve their relationships with Australia's new arrivals.

Cybercrime

21 September 2009This section of The Australian Institute of Criminology's website outlines extensive research into various forms of crime relating to the use of electronic communications and computing systems.

Project Respect

18 June 2009Project Respect is a non-profit community-based organisation that aims to empower and support women in the sex industry including women trafficked to Australia.

Most viewed: This week

1
The future of outstations/homelands
2
Rethinking the Rules Governing Australia
3
Criminal courts, Australia, 2008-09
4
Nuclear weapons: Arms control, proliferation and nuclear security
5
Memory, Trauma and Reconciliation in post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina

Jobs

Events

Seminar
Memory, Trauma and Reconciliation in post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 Mar 2010 - 6:00pm
Melbourne
Conference
ACOSS National Conference 2010: A vote for equity
25 Mar 2010 - 9:00am - 26 Mar 2010 - 5:00pm
Canberra
Conference
Workforce Policy in 2010 and Into the Future
31 Mar 2010
Sydney

Books

The mother of Mohammed: An Australian woman's extraordinary journey into Jihad

The mother of Mohammed: An Australian woman's extraordinary journey into Jihad

  • Sally Neighbour
  • Melbourne University Publishing
From Mudgee girl, to hippy backpacker, to Muslim convert and perceived threat to Australia’s national security, the extraordinary story of Rabiah Hutchinson.
Drawing the global colour line: white men's countries and the international challenge of racial equality

Drawing the global colour line: white men's countries and the international challenge of racial equality

  • Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds
  • Melbourne University Publishing
A pioneering account of the transnational production of whiteness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Noticeboard

ALRC Family Violence Inquiry - monthly newsletter
11 January 2010

The 2009 report of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children—Time For Action—identified the complex interaction between state and territory family and domestic violence and child protection laws and the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The National Council made a number of recommendations, including that the ALRC should undertake an inquiry into these laws.

Policy Guides

Arts for all: opening doors to people with a disability

This guide provides practical and long-term ways for artists and arts organisations to enhance their access, market their events to the disabled community and build new audiences.

15-02-10

Topics

APO