Tag: Education

Social Science QuotesLeave a comment
Protestors carry ant-war signs and the Palestinian flag

Orientalism

Social Science Insights

Our quote of the month comes from Palestinian-American literary critic and postcolonialist scholar, Edward Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003). We deep dive into his work on knowledge production and Orientalism. We see how this theoretical framework continues to have terrible urgency in the present-day.

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Business

Workplace Compliance

Social Science Insights

Social science can be used to encourage employers to follow workplace regulations. This post covers how to increase compliance by appealing to social norms, providing practical examples of how to implement new requirements, and by sending timely messages that encourage change.

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Business

Increasing Program Applications

Social Science Insights

How can organisations get more people to apply to their programs? We break down a case study of how to entice students to apply for an education achievement award. We use a customer journey map, and a behavioural journey map, to show the issues and opportunities in the application process. We show how to design an effective message to attract applicants, as well as how to improve the application form and customer experience.

  • Two groups of apprentices in blue uniforms gather around large machines. Title: Increasing program applications
  • Three young people stand and listen to young teacher describing a machine. Title: Education applications
  • A lime green poster has a chart showing five phases and colourful pin tacks under each column. Title: Customer journey map
  • A white man wearing a headset gives a "thumbs up" as he sits typing at his desk. Title: Behavioural insights
  • A young, smiling Black man holds up a tablet as he sits at a desk. Title says: Make it attractive
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Social Policy

Using Social Science to Address Injustice

Social Science Insights

Social science was used in a state inquiry into social injustice. This includes a review of information services, analysis of policy and program outcomes, and identifying the social and economic impact of racial inequity.

  • Infographic showing people talking in quadrants, a man holding a giant magnifying glass, people holding puzzle pieces making a heart, and a man frowning at graphs. Title reads: Using social science to address injustice
  • Infographic showing a man standing beside a giant folder showing houses, writing, and starred reviews, as well as a person moving items around a giant calendar. Title: My team used social science in a State inquiry into social justice
  • Infographic of a man in a uniform and cap holding a giant magnifying glass with a question mark in the centre, surrounded by giant letters, charts, mail, and photos, as well as a man with a frustrated expression, sitting on his knees on top of a giant laptop, as the screen and surrounding files show error warnings. Title: How we used social science theorey and method
  • Infographic of a white woman holding a giant magnifying glass in front of a giant signed document. Title: review of state archives
  • Infographic showing a woman presenting to an audience while standing in front of a line graph. Title: evaluation of programs
  • Infographic showing a smiling man, with his hands behind his back, standing in front of three giant documents, the one in the centre with a ribbon over the top, as well as a woman pointing to a giant laptop. Title: Thematic analysis
  • Infographic showing a person with a speech bubble that has a bar chart inside, as they point to a giant clipboard holding a document. Title: evidence framework
  • Infographic of people holding pieces of a pie chart. Each piece shows buildings, a megaphone, a truck, and icons of people. Title: Methodology to measure inequality
  • Infographic of five people arranged in a semi circle around a giant speech bubble. Title: admive on anti-racism
  • Infographic showing people along a line graph, one with a speech bubble, one holding giant light bulb over their head, and another pointing to a presentation of a box. Text: Learn more about how social sciennce supports policy and justice: SocialScienceInsights.com
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Business

Messages to Change Behaviour

Social Science Insights

Here are some tips on how to send effective SMS campaigns.

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Social Policy

Supporting Vulnerable Students

Social Science Insights

Timely, targeted, and informative messages can motivate young workers to continue pursuing their qualifications. Employers can adopt these social science tips to better support students at work.

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Social Policy

Increasing Take-Up of Training Services

Social Science Insights

Employers can reduce the number of people dropping-out of vocational training by encouraging students to proactively seek help when they start struggling. Simple but effective communication with practical advice, sent at optimum times, is key.

  • A man and woman of colour inspect a bricklaying site. Tite: Increasing Take-Up of Training Services
  • A young Black woman mechanic in a blue uniform fixes the chain on a bicycle. Text describes how 40% of students quit their apprenticeships and traineeships due to lack of support at work
  • A young Aboriginal man looks up at stock on a shelf, while an older Aboriginal man inspects a tool. Text explains the study, which tested six behavioural messages over 6 months. The intervention is timely SMS
  • A young chef picks up leftover food with tongs, while an older supervisor watches. Text describes how students who received the behavioural messages were more likely to still be studying 12 months later
  • A young white man wearing a white hard hat with an energy company logo and a high-vis vest holds a device, while another woman in safety gear with her back to the audience looks on. Text describes that 16% of students who received behavioural messages were less likely to drop out
  • A Southeast Asian man in a high-vis vest holds a hard hat while looking with determination to the side, with a tractor and soil in the background. Text says: our behavioural messages offer a sevenfold return on investment
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Day in the Life of an Applied Sociologist
Protesters at the Stop Black Deaths in Custody march in Sydney. One man carries the Aboriginal flag

Racial Justice at Work

Social Science Insights

A lunchtime seminar on Aboriginal queer people at work, revising data from our randomised control trial to improve outcomes for students, public communications, and personal research.

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Day in the Life of an Applied Sociologist
An Asian woman talks on the phone with a serious look on her face

COVID-19, and Recruitment Feedback

Social Science Insights

Over my lunch break, I went to an online lecture by Professor Raina MacIntyre from the Kirby institute. She was talking about the latest international research on COVID-19. I spent most of the day working on recruitment for a program matching disabled students with policy work.

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Day in the Life of an Applied Sociologist
A colourful wall with a sign that says: accessible entry

Intersectionality Action Plan

Social Science Insights

I spent most of the day finalising my feedback for the disability inclusion action plan for our sector, and sitting on a recruitment panel. Both of these activities involved active practice of intersectionality. That’s a concept that discribes how gender and race are interconnected with other forms of institutional disadvantage.

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