A Charles Darwin University population expert has urged State and Territory governments to consider how ‘Closing the Gap’ will affect needs for health, housing and education by Indigenous people in the Territory and remote Australia. Senior Research Fellow with CDU’s The Northern Institute, Andrew Taylor, has released his research, which models the demographic effects of … Continue Reading
Category Archives: Social Science
Internet a boost for answers to mental health
University of Melbourne researchers have found Wikipedia is the most highly rated website for accessing information on mental-health related topics. The researchers assessed a range of on-line and print material on mental health-related topics and found that in the majority of cases, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in most domains. Content about mental health… Continue Reading
More single mums get back to work under reforms
More single mothers have joined the workforce while others have increased their hours of employment since two sets of major welfare reforms were implemented, University of Canberra researchers have found. Preliminary findings of independent research conducted by researchers at the University’s National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) and colleagues have shown that the… Continue Reading
Keep ‘tweens’ fashion free from seductive adult moves
A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic says the release of web-based videos of child models for a brand of clothing targeting ‘tweens’ (aged between child and teenager) has surprised child protection and child health advocates with what they consider to be ‘a new low in the history of advertising in Australia’. Dr Emma Rush, a… Continue Reading
Slip SLOP Slap: school children don’t apply enough sunscreen
Queensland children may not be applying enough sunscreen to protect them from sunburn and skin cancer, a Queensland University of Technology sun safety researcher has found. Postgraduate researcher Abbey Diaz, from QUT’s AusSun Research Laboratory, investigated how much SPF 30+ sunscreen 87 primary school-aged children in Queensland applied. She also studied whether using a pump,… Continue Reading
Young people need healthy approach to sex
Parents need to be given the right information to talk to their children about sex and sexuality, as many feel they are doing a dismal job, a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher says. Professor Alan McKee, a research leader in QUT’s Creative Industries Faculty, said parents should focus on a positive model of healthy… Continue Reading
UQ study uncovers covert prejudice in the suburbs
Covert prejudice and negative perceptions towards minority groups are a significant problem for Australian communities, according to a new Australian study. The Australian Community Capacity Study, led by University of Queensland criminologist, Dr Rebecca Wickes, was conducted among almost 10,000 Brisbane and Melbourne residents living across 300 suburbs. The study results show that residents are… Continue Reading
Continuous care means continuous satisfaction for Queensland mums
Queensland mums who received continuity of carer during their pregnancy, labour and birth have the highest rates of satisfaction according to work by UQ’s Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies (QCMB). Professor Sue Kruske, Director of the QCMB, said results from the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey, a survey run by the Centre asking… Continue Reading
It’s not OK to smack children
A Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer in child youth and family welfare strongly endorses a recent call by leading paediatricians to outlaw physical chastisement of children. Mr Neil Barber, a lecturer at the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Wagga Wagga, supports the recently publicised call by Dr Gervase Chaney and Professor Frank… Continue Reading
Through the eyes of babes
Researchers at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are developing a fresh look at the world of early childhood education – directly through the eyes of young children who are not yet able to speak about their experiences. With the use of a baby-cam, a research team at CSU is studying footage taken from a tiny camera… Continue Reading
Measuring up for the start of school
New research conducted by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has found children start school with ‘highly sophisticated and rich’ understandings of measurement, which they developed for themselves during everyday activities ahead of their formal education. The study by Dr Amy MacDonald, from the School of Education at CSU, examined what children know about measurement… Continue Reading
The course of true love was never about profit
OPINION: Valentine’s Day. What’s not to love about overpriced roses, overbooked restaurants and overstuffed soft toys? Today is the day we render the most multifaceted and untameable of human passions as flat and commercialised as a Kardashian marriage. Perhaps my attitude’s not surprising for a scientist who studies sexual conflict, the intriguing but somewhat depressing… Continue Reading
