Project Descriptions
Tamworth Regional Social Plan
In 2006 CARSS undertook the research for the Tamworth Regional Council Community Plan. A team of CARSS researchers led by Dr John Scott undertook extensive community consultations through written submissions, surveys, focus groups, individual interviews and community meetings in Barraba, Kootingal-Moonbi, Manilla, Nundle, and Tamworth. The draft social plan containing 175 recommendations for improving the quality of life in the region was presented to the Tamworth Regional Council Meeting on 10 October and has since been released for public comment. The Social Plan is a vital document for collaborative planning involving the three spheres of government, the community and commercial sectors, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life in the Tamworth region over the next five years. Download the Report (pdf).
The New England Youth Speeding Project
The New England Youth Speeding Project undertaken by CARSS was commissioned by the New England Strategic Alliance Councils including Armidale Dumaresq, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha Shires. The research was undertaken because young drivers aged 17-25 years old are over represented in road accidents in region. They are responsible for 43% of speeding related casualty crashes, yet comprise only 25% of the driving population in the area. Young male drivers account for the majority of these crashes. The research team undertook a survey of drivers aged 18-25 in the region. By analyzing data from questionnaires by male and female participants the research project evaluated a number of road safety advertisements to assess which ones are most effective in conveying road safety messages to young people. The pilot survey found that young people do take messages about safe driving seriously and are susceptible to being made aware of the devastating effects of speeding on their family, their friends and on their local community. The research also found there were striking gender differences in terms of which messages appealed to young people. Download the Report (pdf).
Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia
What is the research about?
CARSS has undertaken the first nation wide study into the impact of migration on Australian society. The project was overseen by a Joint Commonwealth, State, and Territory Research Advisory Committee of the Ministerial Council of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. Around one quarter of the Australian population were born elsewhere and almost half have both parents born overseas. Using the four capitals framework for measuring Australia’s progress, this study has synthesised a vast amount of evidence about the social costs and benefits of migration. It has consolidated material from 49 different data sets and a large volume of existing although disparate research. Original empirical material was gathered through four community studies, two in regional Australia and two in metropolitan cities on the East Coast of the continent.
The evidence that is available overwhelmingly supports the view that migrants to Australia have made and continue to make substantial contributions to Australia’s stock of human, social and produced capital, that far outweigh any costs. Migration also contributes substantially to Australia’s capacity for innovation, productive diversity and economic prosperity, opening up valuable cultural and business opportunities with the rest of the world. As an island continent in the southern hemisphere the benefits to Australia, while incalculable, clearly have been enormous.
Immigration is a dynamic policy field, where outlooks can be rapidly superseded as international settings unfold. The study outlines three scenarios or migration futures. Migration is no longer confined to poor people seeking a better life but relates to a large and growing cohort of people living as global citizens seeking careers and personal development across the world. The notion of immigration as a form of permanent relocation may itself become superseded. Progressively more employers have a global view of labour recruitment, recognising sponsored temporary skilled workers as essential for successful operations. The ability to attract migrants will probably be influenced by their perceptions about Australian society in general and the ease with which their re-settlement and acceptance can be accomplished. Our study concluded that to date, Australia has been a beacon to the rest of the world but more research into how local factors impact upon the success or otherwise of the settlement process warrants further research.
Who will benefit from the research?
Policy makers at all levels of government, local, state and commonwealth will benefit substantially from the evidence gathered by this first national study. Academics, community stakeholders will also benefit from the study’s findings. While much is known about the economic impact of migration, very little is known about the social impact of migration, which our project studied. New and emergent migrant communities will benefit from the research that dispels a number of myths about their impact on the host community. There are very few social costs associated with migration and most of these are short-term integration issues. Regional Migration is a recent policy development and is set to grow under current Commonwealth policy settings. Hence rural and regional communities considering the sponsorship of new migrants will find much valuable knowledge in the report about the largely positive impact of these schemes on their stocks of social, produced and human capital. In particular migrants are filling skills shortages in regional Australia and replenishing the stock of social and human capital in the face of widespread rural population decline. Download the Report (pdf).
Media and Society: Review of Research Literature
This extensive review of research literature undertaken for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is part of a larger Media and Society project. The project as a whole aims to understand the ‘long-term psychological effect of the media on children, families and society’. The objective of the literature review component is to establish the current state of knowledge in the academic research literature about this topic. It seeks to provide a frame of reference through which to interpret the findings of the community research component of the larger project, which investigates children and young people’s consumption of media and associated community attitudes. In order to guarantee currency, the review prioritizes, but does not confine itself to, research published in the last 5-10 years. Sometimes the most seminal works date from earlier period and have been included wherever they represent best currently available knowledge.
The review brings together a range of research from differing academic disciplines, together with studies conducted by regulatory bodies. Important research contributions to the long-term impact of media on children and young people come from a variety of disciplines. Therefore this review covers research using diverse methodologies and theoretical approaches. Investigating the psychological effects and influences on family and society requires moving beyond the academic discipline of psychology to a consideration of research traditions in communication and cultural studies, sociology, education, public health. The communication and education literatures, in particular, identify both risk factors and opportunities associated with media use by children and young people.
Consistent with the scope of the Media and Society project, the review concentrates on use of media in children’s discretionary time and thus excludes use of media in school settings. The review prioritizes media for which ACMA has primary regulatory jurisdiction. It also avoids sustained discussion of Television Advertising, which has recently been dealt with in a complementary review.
Falls Prevention Through Healthy Ageing
This study commissioned by the NSW Department of Health, examines the critical dimension of “ageism” within the current discourse on injury and prevention of falls. Nationally it is estimated that approximately 30% of persons in the 65+ cohort living in the community fall at least once per year. Despite the extensive body of evidence about the unequivocal benefits of exercise for the health and well-being of older people, this cohort is not acting upon the evidence. From our enquiry, the literature associated with both research and policy orientated strategies to challenge and reverse the incidence of falls and their social and economic consequences contain a vital contradiction that we contend operates as a hidden barrier to its success.
Our contention is that this is a critical dimension which resides within and behind falls prevention; one that has so far been replicated in published research and reflected in policy outcomes. Download the Report (pdf).
Living standards of Apprentices
On behalf of Group Training Australia CARSS undertook research into the current skill shortages experienced by employers in the Australian labour market. It is already a problem for employers and governments and is projected to get worse. There are three ways policy-makers can respond to this problem – import more skilled labour, train more local workers, or rely on a mix of immigration and training. Vocational training and apprenticeships provide the forms of study of this report. This overview sets out the main possibilities for assessing the degree of attractiveness of apprenticeships in the current Australian labour market. The aim of the exercise is twofold: to assemble information about the relative living standards of apprentices; and, second, develop criteria which would guide informed judgements about the adequacy of apprentice earnings and, ultimately, the relative attractiveness of apprenticeships.
The first step was to document current earnings of apprentices and to compare these against a variety of benchmarks widely accepted in the community. Apprentice earnings have been compared to earnings of (a) qualified tradespersons; (b) unskilled labourers; (c) minimum wages (determined by relevant tribunals/commission); (d) average male earnings (as used in the famous Henderson Poverty Line); and (e) Newstart (the Australian government benefit that would paid to apprentices if they were unemployed). Download the Report (pdf).