Measuring Well-Being: Why Health, Gender and Communities Need to be Counted in Surveys
The OECD’s Better Life Index attempts to compare well-being amongst OECD nations using education, housing, environment measures. The Economist has reproduced this graphic, which ranks Australia first, the USA second and Norway third.
On the one hand these types of surveys are useful because they measure social conditions rather than simply material wealth. On the other hand, this particular graphic neglects other socio-economic measures that give a different picture of national well-being.
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Blogging Tip: WordPress Username
Your username serves two purposes. First, it’s your login for the back-end administration of your website. Second, it’s the public name that will appear on your blog, whenever you comment on other WordPress sites and when you join other blogs. The two don’t have to be the same.
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Career As An Applied Sociologist
Earlier today I spoke on a careers panel at the postgraduate students’ day for The Australian Sociological Association.
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Culturally Relevant Mental Health Services for Indigenous Youth
Indigenous communities in remote areas face problems of access and relevance when it comes to mental health services. In areas such as Darwin and Alice Springs, where mental health practitioners are so far away that they need to be flown in, mental health delivery is costly.
Continue reading “Culturally Relevant Mental Health Services for Indigenous Youth”What is the link between sustainability and social justice?
The United Nations Environment Programme states that the full participation of society’s most vulnerable and marginalised groups are essential in environmental management.
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Discrimination of Pregnant Workers
Pregnant women face several workplace issues that makes it difficult for them to hold onto their jobs under inequitable conditions.
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Race as an Ideological Construction
“Race” is called an ideological construction, and not just a social construction, because the idea of “race” has never existed outside of a framework of group interest. As a nineteenth-century pseudoscientific theory, as well as in ceontemporary “popular” thinking, the … Continue reading Race as an Ideological Construction
Women Entrepreneurs Making the Most of Investment
Kenyeh Barlay, from the United Nations Development Program, argues that women entrepreneurs represent maximum potential for community growth.
Continue reading “Women Entrepreneurs Making the Most of Investment”Creative Diversity
M. Laura Moazedi has written a great summary about a study on diversity and creativity. Laura writes: According to research findings, heterogeneous teams perform more creatively than homogeneous teams. This seems to be particularly true when they engage in perspective taking. … Continue reading Creative Diversity
Building Better Business
Chandana Rathnasiri Hewege, researcher with Swinburne University, argues that management theory would be revitalised with social science input. In particular, Hewege focuses on management control. This term describes how organisations monitor the behaviour of employees. The aim is to improve … Continue reading Building Better Business
Social Science Insights 