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

New Research

The impact of a sustained gender wage gap on the Australian economy

16 March 2010Pay inequity costs the Australian economy $93 billion per year, or 8.5% of GDP, according to this report.

Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia

16 March 2010This report provides an economy-wide blueprint for how Australia can achieve an ambitious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions while building a growing low-carbon economy.

State of the climate

16 March 2010Australia will experience more extremely hot days and fewer cold ones and conditions will be wetter in the north and drier in the south, according to this snapshot of the national climate.

VET E-portfolio privacy impact assessment research report

16 March 2010E-portfolios by nature contain a significant amount of personal information about learners, some of which may be quite sensitive and, if not managed well, can compromise learner privacy.

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.

Evidence and perceptions of inequality in Australia

15 March 2010This paper considers the ways in which globalising economic forces have affected the level of income and wealth inequality within Australian society.
More...

Creative Economy

Australian vocational education and training: Apprentices and trainees 2009 - September quarter

15 March 2010Estimates of apprentice and trainee activity in Australia for the September quarter, 2009 are presented in this publication.

Economics

Education

Rates of return to university education: the regression discontinuity design

15 March 2010This paper develops a model to estimate the value of returning to a university degree and the causal effect of a university education on earnings in China.

Health

Child mortality target: analysis and recommendations

15 March 2010Indigenous children aged 0-4 years die at 3 times the rate of non-Indigenous children. This analysis provides direction to achieve the Government’s commitment to halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children by 2018.

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.

International

Nuclear weapons: Arms control, proliferation and nuclear security

15 March 2010The nuclear arms control agenda currently enjoys a prominence that it has not had since the first half of the 1990s. 

Justice

Criminal courts, Australia, 2008-09

15 March 2010This publication presents nationally comparable statistics relating to the criminal jurisdiction of the Higher (Supreme and Intermediate), Magistrates' and Children's Courts across Australia for the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.

Social Policy

Commentary

Community broadcasting means community relevance

16 March 2010Community broadcasting engages a range of people who may be left behind in the digital economy, writes Deborah Welch in the National Times

It takes more than money to raise a child

16 March 2010We are still very far from resolving the complex relationship between children, parents and work, writes Sarah Kanowski in Eureka Street

Where's the payoff? Convincing citizens to engage with government

12 March 2010Governments regularly hold consultations with their public. Craig Thomler wants value given for value received.
More...

Audio

Liberalism and Australian foreign policy

Listen to audio
15 March 2010From the Vietnam War to the Afghanistan War, from international law to the treatment of refugees, Mr Fraser discusses the meaning of liberalism in the global context.

Open government: the Information Commissioner

Listen to audio
12 March 2010Following on from the conversation last week on 'open government' this program hosts the head of the newly created Office of the Information Commissioner.

Environment

Video

Media watching: David Marr, Margaret Simons and Michael Gawenda

Listen to audio
05 March 2010David Marr hosts a discussion with Margaret Simons and Michael Gawenda about the current state of the media, in particular the print media, and the challenges presented by new online media outlets. Part one  

Realising our broadband future

Listen to audio
05 March 2010 Key speakers at this two-day conference held in December 2009 included NBN Co. CEO, Mike Quigley and Jeff Cole, Director USC Annenberg School, who outlined the potential of the NBN for Australia's digital economy. The forum was co-chaired by Dr Paul Twomey and participants included leaders from all parts of Australia. All sessions can be viewed as webcasts with audio or video provided here

Indigenous

Websites

Indigenous Vocational Education and Training

15 March 2010 The purpose of this resource is to provide a simple summary of NCVER's statistics and research on Indigenous Australians and vocational education and training (VET).

The Program

05 March 2010The Program is a nationwide what's on guide, providing the latest info on events, festivals, gigs, performances, theatre shows, exhibitions and loads more

Human Rights Act myth busters

02 March 2010Monash University's Castan Centre 'myth-busters' address claims made during the spirited debate following the 2009 National Human Rights Consultation Committee report recommending the adoption of an Australian Human Rights Act.

Politics

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.

Obama in his own words: On leadership, force, and rebuilding US primacy

15 March 2010 For over sixty years Australia has done well out of a US-led world, according to this report.  Our strategic interests would be well served by Obama’s successfully rebuilding US primacy. 

Most viewed: This week

1
The impact of a sustained gender wage gap on the Australian economy
2
The Way Forward for Indigenous Health: A Focus on food and Nutrition
3
Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia
4
Teens and social media
5
Community broadcasting means community relevance

Jobs

Events

Delivering Policy Masterclass: Led by Prof Scott Prasser
18 Mar 2010 - 9:00am - 30 Mar 2010 - 5:30pm
Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne
Seminar
Brotherhood of St Laurence lunchtime research seminar - Living the second fifty years: generation matters
18 Mar 2010 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Melbourne
Seminar
Memory, Trauma and Reconciliation in post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 Mar 2010 - 6:00pm
Melbourne

Noticeboard

Rethinking the Rules Governing Australia
16 March 2010

Australian citizens are being asked to provide input into a nation-wide
discussion about how to improve the rules governing our country.

Rethink Australia spokesperson Rodger Hills, says the time has come to
review the way Australia is run. “As citizens, we have a responsibility to
plan for a brighter future and a more enlightened democratic process than
the one we have inherited from our fore bearers.”

Rethink Australia has released a public discussion paper today to provide
the basis for dialogue and deliberation amongst members of the public over

Secrecy law reforms strike a blow to old culture of government secrecy
12 March 2010

The Australian Law Reform Commission report into Commonwealth secrecy laws, Secrecy Laws and Open Government in Australia (ALRC Report 112) is the result of a 15 -month inquiry which identified 506 secrecy provisions in 176 pieces of Commonwealth legislation, including 358 criminal secrecy offences.

WANTED: Communications Projects (Melbourne)
16 February 2010

RMIT University in Melbourne runs a degree program where groups of
communication research‐trained students work on a communication research
project for a not‐for‐profit client.

Books

TV drama in China

  • Edited by Ying Zhu, Michael Keane, and Ruoydon Bai
  • University of Washington Press
This collection of essays brings together the first comprehensive study of TV drama in China. Examining in depth the production, distribution, and consumption of TV drama, an international team of experts demonstrate why it remains the pre-eminent media form in China. The collection explores industry dynamics, how TV dramas are marketed and consumed on DVD, and China's aspirations to export its television drama rights.
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.

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