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

New Research

Family violence: Towards a holistic approach to screening and risk assessment in family support services

25 October 2010This paper reviews the current research and literature specific to family violence screening and risk assessment.

Review of NCVER building researcher capacity initiative

25 October 2010In mid-2010 NCVER undertook a review of a program that encourages early-career researchers, VET professionals and experienced researchers from outside the sector to undertake research in vocational education and training.

Attitudes to superannuation

25 October 2010These reports provide the results of qualitative and quantitative research into community attitudes about superannuation.

Skills for jobs

25 October 2010This report is the annual update of the Skills for Jobs Five Year Plan. The update reflects the changing priorities of industry in South Australia and what is required to meet those priorities over the next five years.

The merits of ability in developing and developed countries

25 October 2010Comparing the labour market returns to numeracy and cognitive ability in Indonesia and the United States, this paper argues that different economic characteristics between developing and developed countries may require workers with different skills.

Comparing the Copenhagen emissions targets

25 October 2010Following the Copenhagen climate Accord, developed and developing countries have pledged to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, emissions intensity or emissions relative to baseline. This paper puts the targets for the major countries on a common footing, and compares them across different metrics.

Lessons of Defence Housing Australia for affordable housing provision

25 October 2010Encouraging private investment in affordable housing Australia has been recognised as a major challenge by researchers and policy-makers for some time and this has generated considerable work on possible models.

Medical labour force 2008

25 October 2010The supply of employed medical practitioners increased between 2004 and 2008, from 283 to 304 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population.

Does support for VET reduce employee churn? A case study in local government

25 October 2010To what extent do local governments use vocational education and training as a staff retention strategy?

State of our schools survey 2010

State of our schools survey 2010

24 October 2010This survey of over 11,000 Australian public school principals and teachers examines the affect of class size on student education as well as the extent of fundraising undertaken to provide basic classroom resources.

Labor market returns, marriage opportunities, or the education system?

Labor market returns, marriage opportunities, or the education system?

23 October 2010This paper measures the evolution of the gender differences in numeracy among school age children using a longitudinal dataset from Indonesia.

A guide for using statistics for evidence based policy, 2010

A guide for using statistics for evidence based policy, 2010

22 October 2010There in an increasing emphasis within Australia on using good statistical information in policy-making. This guide provides an overview of how data can be used to make well informed policy decisions

Perceptions of poverty

Perceptions of poverty

22 October 2010Finding that poverty is a complex phenomenon, The Salvation Army commissioned this report to have a closer look at the true impact poverty is having on people and their families.

Snapshot 2010: Children and young people in Queensland

22 October 2010Data from a range of sources is collated to provide this eighth annual Snapshot report, a contemporary representation of the status of children and young people in Queensland.

Guide to the proposed Basin Plan: Technical background

22 October 2010This volume reflects the content of the overview and the regional guides, but at a more detailed level, with more of the technical background identified and explained.

Removing poverty traps in the tax transfer system

22 October 2010The Australian tax-transfer system targets those in need and, as a consequence, is prone to poverty traps, where higher private income leads to very little gain in disposable income. This paper examines available evidence on this problem, and looks at both incremental and radical solutions.

Water management partnerships: Report on performance 2009

22 October 2010Provides an assessment of governments' performance against 2009 reform obligations, an assessment of risks to meeting reform obligations in future years, and an overview of governments' progress in developing and delivering priority projects.

Managing conflict of interest in Victoria Police

21 October 2010Deficiencies in the recognition and management of conflict of interest in Victoria Police are identified in this OPI report.

Why the Henry Review fails on family tax reform

Why the Henry Review fails on family tax reform

21 October 2010Proposing a return to a strongly progressive individual based income tax and universal family payments, this paper shows that the reforms suggested by the Henry Review would consolidate the existing, unfair, family tax system.

Commentary

Living, breathing Canberra

25 October 2010Barnaby Joyce praising Canberra? It’s a reminder of the mixed feelings evoked by the national capital, writes Norman Abjorensen in Inside Story

Leading from the front on aid

25 October 2010Kevin Rudd might prove to be a much better foreign minister than prime minister, writes Mike Steketee in the Australian

Unsung servants of Labor ideals

22 October 2010As the ALP begins its official investigation into the causes of its recent near catastrophe, political advisers will be singled out for blame. Denis Glover argues in The Australian that this is unjust and wrong.

Audio

Humane or tough: a response to asylum seeker arrivals in Australia

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25 October 2010As more and more refugees arrive in Australian waters by boat, Rear Vision takes a look at the history of Australia's policies on asylum seekers, from the first boatload of Vietnamese back in 1976 through to today.

Cities - who decides their future?

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25 October 2010 A new report by The Grattan Institute titled Cities: who decides? looks closely at eight successful OS cities and asks - is there something in the way they make decisions - that has impacted on their success?

Video

Good ideas = bad politics

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22 October 2010In a country where Question Time is a blood sport and a strong current of anti-intellectualism runs through public life, it can be dangerous to have ideas in politics.

Quarterly Essay: China, America and Australia's future in Asia

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08 October 2010In the September Quarterly Essay, Hugh White considers Australia’s place between Beijing and Washington.As the power balance shifts, and China’s influence grows, what might this mean for the nation?

Websites

Homelessness Information Clearinghouse

18 October 2010A website for sharing information and good practice solutions for the homelessness service sector in Australia.

YouCommNews

07 October 2010YouCommNews is a non-profit, people-powered news site run as part of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation (PIJ Foundation) based at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.

Ecolabel Index

30 September 2010Ecolabel Index is the largest global database of ecolabels, currently tracking 348 ecolabels in 212 countries, and 40 industry sectors.

Latest commentary

Noticeboard

21 October 2010

Organisations in the non-government, non-profit community services and welfare sector are encouraged to participate in this year's Australian Community Sector Survey.

21 October 2010

Achieving the Goals of the Melbourne Declaration

08 October 2010

Making sure Australia can build socially vibrant communities will be part of the work of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.

Books

Australia: William Blandowski’s illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia

Australia: William Blandowski’s illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia

  • Edited by Harry Allen, With Mark Dugay-Grist, Brook Andrew, Luise Hercus and Thomas A Darragh
  • Aboriginal Studies Press
Harry Allen convincingly makes the case for Blandowski’s manuscript being a genuinely unique conception – a sort of visual anthropology of Aboriginal life, which is really a very modern conception. Harry Allen makes a compelling case for its significance and all power to him for seeing this. — Prof. Nicolas Peterson, ANU
Reinventing Public Service Television for the Digital Future

Reinventing Public Service Television for the Digital Future

  • Mary Debrett
  • Mary Debrett l Intellect
Once regarded as part of a system in decline, public service broadcasters have acquired renewed legitimacy in the digital environment, as drivers of digital take-up, innovators and trusted brands.

Policy Guides

This guide was compiled by Australia's Commonwealth Parliamentary Library to assist Members and Senators as they prepared for the 20 October 2010 debate on Australia's involvement in Afghanistan. It provides indisensable background information and statistics on the Aghanistan conflict and Australia's role in it.

Read the full guide>

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