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

New Research

Australian crime: facts and figures 2009

19 March 2010This quick reference guide summarises trends in crime and criminal justice in Australia.

Responding to intimate partner violence victimisation: effective options for help-seeking

19 March 2010Using data from the International Violence Against Women Survey, this paper examines predictors of help-seeking by intimate partner violence victims and considers whether such responses are influenced by the severity of abuse experienced.

A review of confiscation schemes in Australia

19 March 2010This report outlines the crime confiscation schemes operating in Australia but points to the need for more systematic recording and reporting of information.

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.
The health and psychological effects of "ecstasy" (MDMA) use

The health and psychological effects of "ecstasy" (MDMA) use

15 March 2010This monograph considers a number of possible consequences of ecstasy use and identifies the research needed to more definitively answer questions about whether ecstasy has adverse effects on health of type reviewed.

The Brotherhood's social barometer: living the second fifty years

09 March 2010The fourth Social Barometer examines the extent of disadvantage among older Australians through indicators of people’s capabilities covering eight key dimensions of life, including employment, income, health, housing, safety and social participation.

Community

Mass localism: A way to help small communities solve big social challenges

17 March 2010  Localism presents a dilemma. Government has traditionally found it difficult to support genuine local solutions while achieving national impact and scale. This UK report offers a solution

The open book of social innovation

17 March 2010This volume describes the hundreds of methods and tools for innovation being used across the world, as a first step to developing a knowledge base.

Beyond corporate responsibility: the 'spiritual turn' and the rise of conscious business

15 March 2010This paper asks whether the Corporate Responsibility movement can transform business practices enough to assist society address key human and environmental sustainability challenges.

Welfare

Demography as destiny: Schooling, work and Aboriginal population change at Wadeye

Demography as destiny: Schooling, work and Aboriginal population change at Wadeye

05 March 2010Recent Commonwealth Treasury intergenerational reports have failed to consider the very different challenges that arise for the Indigenous population as a consequence of demographic ageing.

A national quality framework to support quality services for people experiencing homelessness

01 March 2010This discussion paper is part of consultations to develop a national quality framework (NQF) that will maximise the outcomes and life opportunities for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Commentary

Government: Don't feed the trolls

04 March 2010Colin Jacobs of Electronic Frontiers Australia laments the depressing cycle of internet nastiness, media attention, government condemnation.

Perils of prediction

08 February 2010The federal government's Intergenerational Report stretches the boundaries of forecasting, writes Stephen Lunn in the Australian

Welfare quarantining: reversing the burden of truth

06 February 2010The federal government's new quarantining rules won't solve the problem they're designed to address, argues Kemran Mestan

Audio

The global recession and the future of social policy in Australia

Listen to audio
02 November 2009Vital Issues Seminar with speakers Paul Smyth, Professorial Fellow in Social Policy, University of Melbourne and Brotherhood of St Lawrence, and Professor Bob Gregory, Emeritus Professor in Economics, ANU.

The new Australian alcohol guidelines: what happens now?

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07 September 2009The National Health and Medical Reserach Council (NHMRC) recently released the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. These new guidelines are different in many ways from the previous ones (NHMRC 2001) and aim to establish the evidence base on reducing alcohol-related health risks.

Immigration & refugees

Economic, civic and social contributions of refugees and humanitarian entrants: a literature review

Economic, civic and social contributions of refugees and humanitarian entrants: a literature review

17 March 2010This report highlights the entrepreneurial spirit and a strong commitment to education and volunteerism brought to Australia by the 740,000 refugee and humanitarian migrants settled since Federation.

Stronger, simpler, smarter ESOS: supporting international students

09 March 2010This final report of the Baird review of the legislation that governs international education in Australia makes a series of recommendations for reform.

Video

Bess Nungarrayi Price on the NT Intervention

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15 February 2010Bess Nungarrayi Price, a Walpiri woman from Yuendemu in the N.T. discusses the issues facing her community and explains why she thinks policies such as enforced income management are needed and welcome.

Secondary school students and sexual health 2008

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20 November 2009Researchers from La Trobe University's Australian Research Centre for Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) discuss The Fourth National Survey of Australian Secondary School Students and Sexual Health.

Families & households

The political economy of intergenerational income mobility

17 March 2010International comparisons of intergenerational mobility must take into account differences in politico-economic institutions, according to this study.

The added worker effect and the discouraged worker effect for married women in Australia

17 March 2010This paper investigates both the added worker effect (the labour supply responses of women to their partners’ job losses) and the discouraged worker effect (workers withdrawing from the labour market because of failed searches) for married women in Australia, with the emphasis on the former.

Websites

Bringing Them Home

19 February 2010This website features oral history interviews with people who were involved in or affected by the removal of Indigenous children from their families.

Community Indicators Victoria

29 October 2009This site uses local community wellbeing indicators to improve citizen engagement, community planning and policy making.

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.

Events

18 Mar 2010 - 9:00am - 30 Mar 2010 - 5:30pm
Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne
Conference
25 Mar 2010 - 26 Mar 2010
Sydney

Books

Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia

Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia

  • Edited by Scott Poynting and George Morgan
  • ACYS Publishing
In this detailed examination of case studies, a distinguished group of experts demystifies the social processes of moral panic in Australia.
Racial Folly: A twentieth-century Aboriginal family

Racial Folly: A twentieth-century Aboriginal family

  • Gordon Briscoe
  • ANU E Press
A memoir and history of an Aboriginal family living under the race laws, practices and policies of Australia in the twentieth century.

Noticeboard

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

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