News
Information poverty is widely recognised as having a negative impact upon peoples’ health and wellbeing, and socioeconomic prosperity; however, whilst an issue of significant societal concern evidenced across a wide variety of adult groups and socioeconomic contexts, no studies have been previously undertaken with children. This appears a significant oversight given that many children across the globe are considered multi-dimensionally poor. (J. Lib. & Info. Sci., Nov 2022)Policies focussed on removing barriers to participation could substantially improve health and wellbeing for people with disability.
By Dr Zoe Aitken, Dr Glenda Bishop, and Alex Sully, University of Melbourne
Describing various demographic characteristics of disadvantaged students, the programs they study and their employment outcomes is a significant area of research interest in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. This article offers a preliminary exploration of how groups are problematised and the consequent influence on VET research into disadvantage in Australia. (J. Edu. Policy, Dec 2022)
- The Wellbeing economy
The ‘wellbeing economy’ is an economic term describing economies which adopt a holistic approach to prosperity and develop objectives that benefit people, culture, and the environment together. Wellbeing frameworks are emerging across the globe at an increasing rate. There are several established wellbeing frameworks including, but not limited to, those from Bhutan, New Zealand, Canada, Wales, Germany, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom.
The Australian Federal Government has shown a renewed commitment to its own wellbeing framework in its recent budget, dedicating one of the Budget Strategy and Outlook’s ten statements to "Measuring what matters".
Podcasts/Streaming
Narrated by Margot Robbie and sharing the often secret lives of an eclectic group of women across Australia, UNDER COVER shines a light on the devastating reality that women over 50 are the fastest growing cohort experiencing homelessness in the country. Their moving but optimistic portraits reveal the struggles these women face, and lay bare the flaws in our society, as well as our economic fragility in the modern world. Available for viewing on iView.2022 Keith Hancock Lecture, presented by Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark. Increasing social and economic opportunity is one of the defining challenges of our time. Entrenched socio-economic disadvantage across generations in Australia is discussed. It is argued that the intergenerational persistence in economic disadvantage can largely be understood through an education lens. Children growing up in families that are reliant on social assistance experience many more disruptions in their schooling and receive less financial support from their parents, both of which impact on their chances of completing high school and avoiding the need for social assistance. This lecture is presented by The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in partnership with the University of Sydney.
Prof. Richard Layte presents this lecture. There are two broad ‘social facts’ across societies that are usually analysed separately but which are, in reality, intimately connected: the inverse association between social and economic position (SEP) and health (known as the ‘social gradient in health‘) and the strong association between family environment and a child’s subsequent educational and occupational attainment (known as the ‘reproduction of social position’). Rather than being separate issues, these stylised facts actually share a common origin in a process which I term ‘embodiment’ where individual physiology and psychology come to embody socio- structural position. Embodiment shapes individual health and life chances and through this, forges societal inequalities in health and social position across social groups. Using the work of Pierre Bourdieu and evidence from longitudinal studies from across the life course, the seminar will explore the mechanisms through which social and economic environment shapes us and the policy implications of this. This lecture is presented by the Life Course Centre, ARC Centre of Excellence.
Vedran Drakulić helps us navigate the relationship between philanthopy and social cohesion. Vedran Drakulić OAM is the CEO of Gandel Foundation, one of the largest private family foundations in Australia.
Dr. James O'Donnell shares his insights on the current state of social cohesion in Australia. A lecturer at the Australian National University, Dr. O'Donnell is the author of the 2022 Mapping Social Cohesion Report.
Learning
- Essential Reading List 2022: compiled by the Australia Institute, fiction and non-fiction.
- New resources from the Multilingual Centre for Women's Health. MCWH’s aims to improve the health and wellbeing of migrant and refugee women across Australia.
- Grattan Academy program 2023: expert-led policy and data visualisation training from Australia’s leading domestic think tank.