Society & Culture

Middle School Misfortunes Then and Now, One Teacher’s Take

I started teaching in 2009. At that time, public school was very much the way I remembered it. That’s not the case anymore. Smartphones and social media have transformed students into creatures craving one thing: content. It’s a sad state of affairs. But there’s hope. Over the last few years, my students have become increasingly [...]

Where Kids Find Hate Online

Hate speech is all over the internet. Fueled by trolls, extremists, false information, and a group mentality, this kind of cruelty against a religion, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender, race -- or anything, really -- has reached a fever pitch. And while some kids will be attacked, and some may be swept up in the powerful [...]

Eyes on WA school students accused of sex offences

Dozens of WA school students have been convicted or accused of sex offences and need to be monitored under risk assessment management plans, Education Minister Sue Ellery has revealed. She told a hearing at State Parliament last week there were 72 students under RAMPs. “The department has been notified about 72 cases where students are [...]

By |2021-02-22T18:18:19+11:00November 19th, 2018|Categories: Cybersafety, Society & Culture, Technology, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

The NDIS hasn’t made much difference to carers’ opportunities for paid work

Myra Hamilton, UNSW The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) began a full national rollout in July 2016 with a fundamental objective to give those with a disability choice and control over their daily lives. Participants can use funds to purchase services that reflect their lifestyle and aspirations. Two years on, how is the scheme faring? [...]

Letter to President Trump from Pittsburgh Jewish Leaders

President Trump: Yesterday, a gunman slaughtered 11 Americans during Shabbat morning services. We mourn with the victims’ families and pray for the wounded. Here in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, we express gratitude for the first responders and for the outpouring of support from our neighbors near and far. We are committed to healing as a community [...]

By |2018-11-12T11:57:17+11:00November 12th, 2018|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

If We’re to Have Another Inquiry into Mental Health, it Should Look at Why the Others Have Been Ignored

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to hold a royal commission into mental health if Labor wins the November state election. Last week’s announcement comes a couple of weeks after the federal government asked the Productivity Commission to inquire “into the role of mental health in the Australian economy and the best ways to support [...]

Indigenous People with Disability Have a Double Disadvantage and the NDIS Can’t Handle That

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with severe disability face many barriers to fully accessing the support offered by the NDIS. This group of people has already experienced long-standing isolation and are particularly vulnerable to being left behind, again. The prevalence of disability among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is twice that experienced by [...]

By |2021-03-03T15:39:10+11:00November 5th, 2018|Categories: Mental Illness, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

The Neuroscience of Hate Speech

Do politicians’ words, the president’s especially, matter? Since he has been in office, President Trump has relentlessly demonized his political opponents as evil and belittled them as stupid. He has called undocumented immigrants animals. His rhetoric has been a powerful contributor to our climate of hate, which is amplified by the right-wing media and virulent [...]

By |2018-11-05T12:07:11+11:00November 5th, 2018|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

What to do When Teens and Tweens’ Online Habits Blow the Family Budget

Glancing through her bank statement made Brisbane mother-of-two Belinda* realise there was a problem. What had started with a few small amounts, as little as $1.60, for video game purchases, a song or an app “add on”, racked up almost unknowingly by her teenagers, was now totalling almost $300. Neither Belinda nor her children, aged [...]

Trash Talk in Junior Footy Can Damage Kids

It should be one of the happy rituals of parenthood. You drag yourself out of bed early on a weekend, stand by the side of a sports field and with a bit of good natured grumbling about the cold, the heat or the hour, cheer your child on in sport. But for one Melbourne mother [...]

By |2018-10-29T10:55:47+11:00October 29th, 2018|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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