Family Matters articles from December 2008

Family Matters archives from December 2008

Director's report.(Australian Institute of Family Studies)(Conference news)
December 22, 2008... The global financial crisis makes these particularly uncertain times, and its ramifications and impacts on the economy are both extensive and difficult to foresee. Such a climate of uncertainty places extra stresses on many, while galvanising...

Work and family balance: issues in research and policy.(OVERVIEW)
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Homemaking (including childrearing) and breadwinning are the two main responsibilities of parents. Families have always had to cope with these competing needs, ever since human beings became hunter-gatherers. The...

Matching work and family commitments: Australian outcomes in a comparative perspective.(Report)
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since 2002, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a series of five reports in the Babies and Bosses series on family-friendly policies in OECD countries. The first of these...

Breastfeeding, employment and leave: an analysis of mothers in Growing Up in Australia.(Report)
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The importance of breastfeeding to the wellbeing of infants and mothers is well established (Fifty-Fourth World Health Assembly, 2001). However, women often discontinue breastfeeding in the first few months after...

What kinds of jobs help carers combine care and employment?
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The likelihood of employees becoming carers In an era in which policies aim to increase labour force participation in the context of an ageing population, an important question is how many employees will...

Multiple partnerships and children's wellbeing.
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A half century ago, most people in Western nations, including Australians and Americans, had one lifetime partner: their spouses. The daring or the bohemian may have lived with someone without marrying, but most...

Engaging fathers in child and family services: participation, perceptions and good practice.(Report)
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Research has consistently indicated that positive father involvement in childrearing can lead to good child outcomes across socio-emotional, behavioural and cognitive/educational domains (Lamb & Tamis-LeMonda, 2004)....

Enhancing service systems for protecting children: promoting child wellbeing and child protection reform in Australia.(Report)
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction During the past decade there has been a shift, internationally, in child protection policy and practice towards greater recognition of the importance of preventive, family-focused support (see Lonne,...

History of social security in Australia.
December 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This law must be regarded as a social experiment, the success or otherwise of which has yet to be shown by experience. Its, al and economic effects, both near and remote, are problematical, and it is not probable...

Form and substance: an evolving federal family law system.(FAMILY LAW UPDATE)(Report)
December 22, 2008... In an historic move, the Australian Government has acted to create a more inclusive family law system for separating couples by removing distinctions relating to marital status and sexual preference. And as the courts determine the scope and...

International Association for Feminist Economics conference.(CONFERENCE REPORT)(Brief article)
December 22, 2008... In June 2008, Dr Jennifer Baxter attended the 17th conference of the International Association of Feminist Economics (IAFFE) in Torino, Italy. The range of topics covered at the conference was vast, and included numerous papers of interest to...

Life at 3.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)(Television program review)(Brief article)
December 22, 2008... The Institute is pleased to be associated with the Life at series, produced by Film Australia (now Screen Australia) in association with Heiress Films, which tracks 11 families through their ordinary routines and milestones, and looks at the...

Social Policy Association conference.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)(Brief article)
December 22, 2008... While overseas, Dr Jennifer Baxter also attended the UK Social Policy Association conference, "Challenging Boundaries", in Edinburgh. Interestingly, there was some overlap in themes covered by this and the IAFFE conferences, although approached...

Growing Up in Australia update.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)
December 22, 2008... The third round of interviews for Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children have been underway for most of 2008. While interviewers have been busy "in the field", Institute researchers have been busy publicising the...

Institute seminars.
December 22, 2008... The 2008 program for the Australian Institute of Family Studies Seminar Series offered quality speakers focusing on contemporary family-centred research issues. Recent highlights are summarised below. Work and conflict at home: Some aspects...

On the outside: Pathways in and out of homelessness.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... On the outside: Pathways in and out of homelessness. (2008). Guy Johnson, Hellene Gronda and Sally Coutts. Kew: Australian Scholarly Publishing. Price: $34.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This Australian book reports on research conducted...

Understanding inequality, poverty and wealth: Policies and prospects.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Understanding inequality, poverty and wealth: Policies and prospects. (2008). Edited by Tess Ridge and Sharon Wright. Bristol: Policy Press. Price: 19.99 [pounds sterling]. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This UK textbook is divided into four...

Australian social trends 2008.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Australian social trends 2008. (2008.) Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Price: Hard copies $60.00, online copies gratis. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4102.0 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This annual...

Navigating the empty nest: Recreating relationships.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Navigating the empty nest: Recreating relationships. (2008). Robyn Vickers-Willis. Cottles Bridge: Wayfinder Publishing. Price: $29.95. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Written from her own experiences as both a psychologist and mother of adult...

Building resilience in rural communities: Toolkit.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Building resilience in rural communities: Toolkit. (2008). Toowoomba: Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health, University of Southern Queensland. Price: $35.00. Further information available from: http://www.usq. edu.au/crrah/default.htm ...

Grandparents raising grandchildren: An information resource for relative caregivers.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Grandparents raising grandchildren: An information resource for relative caregivers. (2007). Adelaide: Government of South Australia and Grandparents for Grandchildren SA Inc. Price: Gratis. Available from: http://www.familiesand...

Researching the margins: Strategies for ethical and rigorous research with marginalised communities.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... Researching the margins: Strategies for ethical and rigorous research with marginalised communities. (2007). Edited by Marian Pitts and Anthony Smith. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Price: $144.00. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This...

It all starts at home: Male adolescent violence to mothers.(BOOK NOTES)(Adolescent violence to parents: A resource booklet for parents and carers)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2008... It all starts at home: Male adolescent violence to mothers. (2008). Jo Howard; and Adolescent violence to parents: A resource booklet for parents and carers. (2008). Denise Friend, Jo Howard and Trish Parker. South Melbourne: Inner...

New: annual reports.(INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS)(Conference notes)
December 22, 2008... AIFS Annual Report 2007-08 The Institute's Annual Report provides information about its operations and activities, including detailed listings of our research publications, conference presentations and other research outputs. Printed...

New: Research Report.(INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS)(Report)
December 22, 2008... Research Report 16 (2008,140 pages). The nature and impact of caring for family members with a disability in Australia, by Ben Edwards, Daryl Higgins, Matthew Gray, Norbert Zmijewski and Marcia Kingston. In coming decades, as the...

Online: Australian Family Relationships Clearinghouse.(INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS)(Report)
December 22, 2008... Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter 16(1) (2008, 28 pages).This issue of the newsletter includes new data on child protection activity in Australia from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published in its annual Child Protection...

Available now online: Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault.(INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS)(Report)
December 22, 2008... ACSSA Aware No. 18 (2008, 24 pages).This edition's feature article is an interview with Dr Jan Jordan, from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, whose previous work includes The Word of a Woman? Police, Rape, and Belief. Dr...