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Symposium and Cunningham Lecture 2002
18 November 2002
The 2002 Symposium 'Building a better future for our children' was
undoubtedly the most innovative in a long line of ASSA Symposia.
It was innovative in format and in the diversity of participants
involved in the program. It included: paper presentations on the
symposium theme by leading scholars; a book launch; a 'hypothetical'
with a panel of experts and community representatives grappling
with the problem of what to do about 'Eugene', a very difficult
eight year old; a group of young people making statements about
their concerns and interests; a panel of 'stakeholders' from the
public service, media, and academe, identifying which single group
of children was most at risk and where they would direct additional
support to make most difference to children's well being. Of the
many highlights, two stand out: Paul Jennings, a writer of children's
books, reflecting on children's worlds, and his understanding of
children's needs and their anxieties, interspersed with excerpts
from his story about Lenny's quest to find his biological mother;
and Fiona Stanley's memorable Cunningham Lecture 'Doing more for
our children in the twenty-first century'. Experimenting with the
program and format of ASSA activities is a sign of organisational
innovation, and Fellows Margot Prior, Sue Richardson and Fiona Stanley,
the convenors of the 2002 Symposium, were highly creative and innovative
in their concept and delivery.
Leon Mann, President
The 2002 Cunningham Lecture delivered by Professor Fiona Stanley
will be available as an Occasional Paper around February
2003.
The Academy publication Investing in our Children: Developing
a Research Agenda is available online <click
here>
More information on the 2002
Symposium.
Early
Career Award for 2002
18 November 2002
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Photo of Associate
Professor Jason Mattingley receiving his award (right). Award
presented by Professor Fay Gale, former ASSA President (centre),
and Professor Leon Mann (ASSA President). |
The recipient of the Academy Early Career Award for 2002 is Associate
Professor Jason B Mattingley. Professor Mattingley is Director of
the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Behavioural Science,
University of Melbourne.
He received his Bachelor of Science Degree with first class Honours
from Monash University in 1988, his Master of Science Degree in
Clinical Neuropsychology in 1990 from the University of Melbourne,
and his Doctor of Philosophy from Monash University in 1995. He
spent three years as an National Health and Medical Research Council
(NHMRC) Neil Hamilton Fairley post-doctoral scientist in Cambridge,
England, where he was also elected a Fellow of King's College.
Professor Mattingley's research spans the broad field of cognitive
neuroscience, with particular emphasis on the behavioural effects
of brain injury caused by stroke. His work has helped to elucidate
the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human selective attention
and motor control. He has published more than 60 articles in scholarly
journals and books, and has co-authored a major textbook on clinical
neuropsychology. He currently sits on the editorial boards of several
major international journals, including Cognitive Neuropsychology,
Cortex, and Neuropsychologia.
He has been honoured by an Amrad Postdoctoral Award for Excellence
in Biomedical Research, and an Australian Psychological Society
Early Career Award. His research has been funded by grants from
the ARC, NHMRC, the British Stroke Association, and through collaborations
with industry.
New
Academy Fellows 2002
18 November 2002
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New
Fellows Induction at the Academy
on 12 November 2002 |
Nineteen new Fellows have been elected to the Academy of the Social
Sciences in Australia in 2002. They have been so honoured for having
achieved distinction, in the opinion of their peers, in one or more
of the social sciences. They are:
Professor David Badcock, Head, Department of Psychology,
University of Western Australia.
Professor Jeffrey Borland, Professor of Economics, University
of Melbourne.
Professor Janet Chan, School of Social Science and Policy,
University of New South Wales.
Professor Joseph Camilleri, Personal Chair in Politics,
School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University.
Professor Martin Davies, Professor of Philosophy, Research
School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.
Professor Desley Deacon, Professor of Gender History, History
Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National
University.
Professor Ruth Fincher, Professor of Urban Planning, Faculty
of Architecture, Building & Planning, University of Melbourne.
Professor Christopher Findlay, Professor of Economics, Asia
Pacific School of Economics and Management, Australian National
University.
Professor Stephen Garton, Professor of History, and Dean,
Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney.
Professor Simon Grant, Professor of Economics, Australian
National University.
Ms Michelle Grattan, Political Commentator, The Age.
Professor Wayne Hall AM, Professorial Research Fellow and
Director, Office of Public Policy and Ethics, Institute for Molecular
Bioscience, University of Queensland.
Professor Beryl Hesketh, Dean, Faculty of Science, University
of Sydney.
Professor Robin Jeffrey, Professor of Politics, School of
Social Sciences, La Trobe University.
Professor Martin Krygier, Faculty of Law, University of
New South Wales.
Professor Colin MacLeod, Department of Psychology, University
of Western Australia.
Professor Jake Najman, Professor of Sociology and Director,
Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre, University
of Queensland.
Professor Ronald Weber, Professor and Research Director,
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, University of Queensland.
Professor Frederick Westbrook, Professor of Psychology,
University of New South Wales.
Australia
Post's 2002 Australian Legends Award
Academy Fellow, Professor Fiona Stanley, was one of five prominent
Australian scientists to be honoured in stamp issue for their outstanding
contribution to medical science.
For more information, go to the <Australia
Post> web site.
It's
Time to Celebrate: 100 Years of Women's Politics
14 June 2002
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Launch
at Parliament House
12 June 2002
(Photo
- left to right): Welcome by Mr Ian Castles (Fellow and former
Vice President), Launch by Hon Amanda Vanstone (Senator),
Editor's Response by Dr Marian Simms (Volume Editor).
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Senator the Hon. Amanda Vanstone launched a special edition of
the Academy's Occasional Papers Series, A Hundred Years of
Women's Politics, on Wednesday, 12 June at Parliament House.
Edited by Marian Simms and published by the Academy, the volume
marks the centenary of legislation under which most Australian women
gained the right to vote. In 1902 Australia become the first country
in the world to give women the right to stand for the national Parliament
as well as vote. A Hundred Years of Women's Politics brings
together a remarkable collection of historical material that captures
the debate, controversy, passion and personalities of the era in
which women came to enter the political fray.
By reproducing snippets from the scrapbook of Vida Goldstein (the
first woman to run for political office in the British Empire) and
the writings of other leading figures in the women's franchise movement,
the volume helped tell an important chapter in the story of women's
politics in Australia, Dr Simms said.
In his Preface to the book, Emeritus Professor Peter Karmel, AC,
links the new publication to Women in Australia, the first major
research publication of the Academy 40 years ago. Professor Karmel
also pays tribute to the distinguished contribution to the Academy
and to Australian scholarship of the late Paul Bourke, former Fellow
and President of the Academy, whose previously unpublished essay
"Women and electoral politics" is included in A Hundred Years
of Women's Politics.
The volume is available for purchase from the Academy, <Click
Here> for more details.
Academy
Fellow Presents the 2002 Boyer Lectures
31 May 2002
The Academy has pleasure in announcing that Fellow and former
Vice President Ian Castles will present the ABC's prestigious Boyer
Lectures in 2002. ABC Chairman, Donald McDonald AO, said "we are
delighted that a social scientist of Mr Castles' standing has agreed
to be our Boyer Lecturer for 2002; he will be a worthy addition
to the roll-call of distinguished Australians who have undertaken
this role."
Each year the ABC invites a prominent Australian or group of Australians
to present six talks expressing their thoughts on major social,
cultural, scientific or political issues. The lectures by Ian will
be broadcasted on ABC Radio National in November and December.
Ian is currently a Visiting Fellow at the National Centre for Development
Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra. During
a career of almost forty years in the Australian Public Service
he was a senior adviser to successive governments in the Federal
Treasury and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet before
his appointment as Secretary of the Department of Finance and Australian
Statistician. Following his retirement from the public service he
was appointed a member of the Committee of Review of the Institute
of Advanced Studies at ANU, and Executive Director and Vice President
of ASSA. Ian had previously been elected a Fellow of ASSA in 1989
and subsequently became an Honorary Fellow in 2001. He was made
an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 1986.
As the author of many studies of the meaning and measurement of
economic progress and a former President of the International Association
of Official Statistics, Ian Castles has stressed the vital importance
of official statistics in assisting and encouraging informed decision-making,
research and discussion by governments and international organisations,
and within the wider community.
Indigenous
Postgraduate Research Students Workshop
19 March 2002
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Workshop
Participants
4-8 February 2002
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Pictured
above are students, supervisors and some of the faculty on
the steps of Ormond College.
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ASSA hosted the first residential summer workshop for Indigenous
postgraduate students in the social sciences at Ormond College,
University of Melbourne, February 4-8. The workshop was attended
by 14 students and seven of their supervisors. Fellows participating
as faculty included Professors Marcia Langton and Leon Mann (Co-Directors),
Nancy Williams, Bob Tonkinson, Fay Gale, and Lenore Manderson. Senior
Indigenous scholars Professors Martin Nakata and Larissa Behrendt
also participated as faculty.
Academy Fellow Bob Officer, a member of the Colonial Foundation
Philanthropy Committee which supported the workshop with a grant
for $26000, was guest speaker at the Course Dinner. Students and
their supervisors voted the workshop an outstanding success.
Book
Launch: People of the Rivermouth
11 March 2002
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Book
Launch at the National Museum of Australia
28 February 2002
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(Photo
- left to right): Les Hiatt (author), Dawn Casey (Museum Director),
Michael Dodson (AIATSIS Chairperson), Russell Taylor (AIATSIS
Principal).
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On 28 February, Sue Richardson (Chair of the Academy's Research
Committee), John Beaton (Executive Director), and members of the
ASSA Secretariat attended the launch of People of the Rivermouth
- The Joborr Texts of Frank Gurrmanamana by Les Hiatt FASSA
and Kim McKenzie, at the National Museum of Australia. The book
and accompanying CD, arguably the most comprehensive work produced
on a single Australian Aboriginal group, were officially launched
by Dawn Casey, Director of the Museum and other key speakers connected
to the project with a live video hook-up to Frank Gurmanamana at
Maningrida.
This project, which has been undertaken in association with the
Academy, centres on a remarkable body of work created by Frank Gurrmanamana
of the Anbarra people of north-central Arnhem Land. In 1960 Gurrmanamana
dictated to anthropologist Les Hiatt a sequence of imagined scenarios
as a way of explaining Anbarra kinship and the responsibilities
that accompany relationships. The Book and CD together has enabled
Gurrmanamana's scenarios to be placed within a rich context of written,
visual and audio texts.
For further information <CLICK
HERE>
A
Major Challenge to Policy Makers -- Diversity, Dynamism and Dichotomy
in Australia's Regional Population
MEDIA RELEASE: 7 March 2002
There are many myths concerning non-metropolitan Australia and
its residents, but among the least tenable is the stereotyping of
these areas as being less dynamic and less differentiated than the
nation's metropolitan areas.
In his presentation today at the Academy of the Social Sciences'
sponsored seminar Is the social fabric of rural communities intact
or in tatters? at OUTLOOK
2002 Conference, Professor Graeme Hugo argues that the most
important resource in regional Australia are its people, but our
knowledge of them is somewhat limited. It may come as a surprise
that 37.3 percent of Australians live outside of cities. They are
changing in substantial and important ways under the influence of
economic, social, political, and environmental shifts.
Professor Hugo's research shows that Australia's non-metropolitan
based population is becoming more diverse, and that this increased
diversity offers considerable potential in efforts to work toward
social, economic and environmental sustainability in rural Australia.
However, along with that increased diversity, there has been a
polarization which has meant that gaps between growing areas and
declining or static areas is increasing.
Professor Hugo's paper is <AVAILABLE
HERE (pdf - 1mb)>
Further information is also available at ASSA's
Workshop
Program site.
Professor Graeme Hugo is at the Department of Geographical
and Environmental Studies and Director of the National Key Centre
in Research and Teaching in Social Applications of Geographical
Information Systems at the University of Adelaide.
Contact: Academy of the Social Sciences Telephone: 02 6249
1788, Email: assa.secretariat@anu.edu.au
Is
the Decline of Inland Rural Towns Inevitable? Or are Country Towns
the Victims of Inept Policy and a Lack of Effective Support?
MEDIA RELEASE: 7 March 2002
In her presentation today at the Academy of the Social Sciences-sponsored
seminar Is the social fabric of rural communities intact or in
tatters? at OUTLOOK
2002 Conference, Associate Professor Margaret Alston said the
issue is complex but the future of country towns is not totally
reliant on market conditions and globalisation. For country towns
to have a future, a reliance on market forces is a poor substitute
for good policy. Economic prosperity is but one factor, equally
important is attention to human, institutional and social capital
in rural communities.
Further, the effects of globalisation and the changes in the fortunes
of agriculture coupled with the pursuit of neoliberal policies by
successive Australian governments have resulted in major social
changes in inland Australia. Associate Professor Alston stated that
the resulting decline in small country towns is creating controversy
between rationalists who argue that country towns will inevitably
decline and those, mostly rural dwellers, who argue that preserving
and supporting rural communities is essential to our national development.
Associate Professor Margaret Alston said the country communities
were missing out on education, jobs and brides. Associate Professor
Alston said young women had to leave their towns for educational
opportunities, and when they return home they discovered there were
no jobs to fill. Traditional female occupations such as nursing
and teaching were reducing to such small numbers that it was not
only undermining the entire economy, but is leaving a generation
of young country men as bachelors.
Associate Professor Alston's paper is <AVAILABLE
HERE (pdf - 75kb)>
Further information is also available at ASSA's
Workshop
Program site.
Associate Professor Margaret Alston is Director, Centre for
the Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University,Wagga Wagga.
Contact: Academy of the Social Sciences. Telephone: 02 6249
1788 Email: assa.secretariat@anu.edu.au
Book
Launch and Dinner
15 January 2002
Members of The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia are
invited to a function at the Forum Restaurant in the Darlington
Centre at the University of Sydney on Thursday 21 February 2002.
The Darlington Centre is a new facility located next to the Institute
Building on City Road. There will be a book launch at 6.30 pm, followed
by a dinner at 7.30 pm.
Professor Leon Mann (University of Melbourne), President of the
Academy will launch the book:
Working Futures: The Changing Nature of Work
and Employment Relations in Australia,
Edited by Ron Callus and Russell Lansbury.
The book is the product of a conference sponsored by the Academy
and is published by Federation Press. It examines the changes which
are transforming work in Australia and proposes a number of policy
initiatives. Complimentary refreshments will be served at the book
launch.
Following the book launch, a dinner will be held for members of
the Academy in the Forum Restaurant of the Darlington Centre from
7.30pm. Leon Mann will also make an informal presentation at the
dinner on issues of interest to Academy members.
The cost of the dinner is $50.00 (excluding beverages which can
be chosen from the Forum restaurant menus). Please make your cheque
to the University of Sydney and mail it to Professor Russell Lansbury,
Work and Organisational Studies, School of Business (H69), Faculty
of Economics and Business, University of Sydney, NSW 2006.
If you are able to join us for this occasion, please contact Rawya
Mansour on 9351 6656 or by email at r.mansour@econ.usyd.edu.au
by 14 February.
Russell Lansbury
NSW Chair, ASSA
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