A great new resource available through your local public library is Points of View Reference Centre.  This database provides students with an overview of a topic then 2 points of view for and against.  Each article is researched and written by experts.  One topic available on this database is Surrogate Mothers.  There are 4 main articles: Surrogate Parenting is a Useful Practice for Couples who are Unable to Conceive a Child.  Surrogate Motherhood Attacks Human Dignity by Buying and Selling Children.  Surrogate Mothers: An Overview and a Guide to Surrogate Mothers.  This is a fantastic source for topics in Family and Community Studies.  To get to the Points of View Reference Centre check your local public library website – you can access the database from home but you will need a Library card.

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

University is a big decision. At anywhere from $20,000 -$100,000, university is the 3rd largest purchase we make in our life. It influences the future direction of our life. Our occupation, happiness, health and wealth. Currently, the only way for anyone to make such a big decision is to rely on sales pitches at university orientations, education agencies, and word of mouth from friends and family.  

With such limited information it is no surprise that nearly 20% of students drop out of university by the end of their first year. In response to this alarming figure, we contacted tens of thousands of past and present university students to discover their authentic and candid thoughts in relation to their university and course.  Using this research, we have compiled over 30,000 of these constantly updated raw reviews for students and parents to read for free! Uni Australia is the first and only website in Australia that provides student generated rankings of all Australian Universities, based on actual student experiences. We have no university affiliations, and all our rankings and extensive student reviews are raw and honest. 

Check out what students are saying about their university & course at:   http://www.uniaustralia.com.au/

  (from a Youth GAS post)

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

In an exciting new development, five heavily used chapters of the Law Handbook

are now available in full text (pdf) via the Find Legal Answers website. 

The chapters are: Chapter 1 – About the legal system, Chapter 3 – Accidents and compensation, Chapter 12 – Contracts, Chapter 16 – Criminal law, Chapter 26 – Family law

The chapters can be found under Legal Books Online, at: http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/guides/

 Information from the Legal Information Access Centre, State Library of NSW

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Did the ‘Enrol to vote’ message reach you?  Share your thoughts about enrolling to vote and what would encourage you to enrol. Let the Australian Electoral Commission know what you think, post your suggestions now.

How would you go about encouraging others to enrol to vote?

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Do you keep using the word Belonging in your English essays?  Are you tired of the word Belonging!  The insidebreak website has a great list of other terms that you can use in place of Belonging.  Our section titled “Exploring the Concept of Belonging” has over 50 other terms that might suit your writing.  Take a look here

http://www.insidebreak.org.au/belonging/

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Do you have an idea about how Anzac Day shouldbe commemorated? Between 2014 and 2018 Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenary, marking 100 years since our involvement in the First World War. During this time we will all remember not only the Anzacs who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front, but all Australian servicemen and women, including those who fought along the Kokoda Track and at Tobruk; those who were held as prisoners of war; those who fought on the seas and in the skies; and those who served from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. 
The Australian Government have established a Commission to look in to how Australian’s should commemorate the Anzac Centenary. For more information about the Commission head to www.anzaccentenary.gov.au 

A group of  people (through YouthGAS) are passionate about ensuring that the Anzac spirit lives on. Therefore we want to hear from young people aged 12-30 about how we should commemorate the Anzac Centenary. We will then collate this information into a submission which hopefully reflects the views of young people from around Australia.  If you would like to take part in our survey follow this link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MH9FT8B

 Regards,  Hayley, on behalf of  How Should We Remember

(this post was reposted from the YouthGAS e-list- Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library)

Don Weatherburn, Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research gives us the facts about violence and young people and schools.

The death of a young high school student in Queensland in February has focused attention on violence by young people, particularly in schools. As often happens in public debate about crime, much of the commentary is misleading or wrong. Here are the facts. Rates of violence among young people are high. The latest national survey figures indicate one in 14 Australians aged 15-24 is assaulted every year. Only one in 25 Australians aged 25-44 and one in 100 aged over 45 years are assaulted each year. In NSW, the majority of these assaults do not involve a weapon and do not occur on school grounds. From January to September last year, for example, only 15% of non-domestic assaults involving young offenders were on school grounds. Most young offenders assaulted their victim in the street. Over the past five years, non-domestic assaults by youths aged 10 to 17 rose about 4% each year. But the number of young people committing assaults with a weapon has not increased.

Research has shown the typical characteristics of young people involved in assaults on school grounds: they have low impulse control, live with only one parent (or neither biological parent), come from families that have frequent or constant problems at home and are disciplined at home in harsh, erratic or inconsistent ways. Regardless of their background, students are less likely to get involved in an assault if their school has a clear anti-bullying policy consistently and fairly enforced, if it deals swiftly with allegations of racism and if the classroom experience for students is stimulating rather than boring. To reduce violence by young people, we need to reinforce the message at home and school that violence is unacceptable. Too many young people experience violence at home and then see it glorified by football stars. We need to ensure every school has an antibullying policy clearly understood by every student and consistently enforced by every teacher. There also needs to be a crackdown on under-age drinking. Almost 20% of non-domestic assaults by young people aged 10 to 17 are alcohol-related. We also need to enforce the prohibition against carrying knives in a public place. The prohibition won’t stop knife attacks, but the fewer kids wandering around with knives in their pockets, the less likely altercations will turn fatal.

[First published Sydney Morning Herald 20/2/10]

and republished in YAPRAP June 2010 www.yapa.org.au

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Work with purpose and passion for a social cause? 18-29 years old? Apply now for Young Social Pioneers 2010. Applications close June 11.

 The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is now calling for applications to Young Social Pioneers 2010, an exceptional year-long training and development program for social change-makers.  Drawing on international best-practice, the program is designed specifically for young Australians working with purpose and passion for a social cause. Fourteen social pioneers will land a place on YSP 2010 and can benefit from skills development, mentoring, intensive group and individual training and access to a global network of social innovators. 

 Applications are now open and close Friday 11th June,   Applicants must be between 18-29 years old and have been actively working on an idea or project for six months, Ø  Areas of work can include: education, environment, health and wellbeing, human rights, media and technology, performing and visual arts, politics, and science.

“YSP has made me feel like what I am doing has great value in the world and is worth taking seriously. The program has also had a profound impact on my organisation.” Tim Kenworthy, founder of Youth Tree and participant in the 2009 YSP program.

 For further information, profiles of past recipients or to apply visit http://www.youngsocialpioneers.org.au/

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

If you’re using social media well, then you’re fans, followers and friends will be interacting with you. But what happens when you encounter an online meanie – someone who’s saying not-so-nice things, laying into other members of your group or just trying to start something. Just because you have lots of interaction on your Facebook, blog or twitter doesn’t guarantee that everyone will follow the rules and get along. If this happens, you’ll want to know how to handle it. Here’s a link to the ActNow guide on dealing with anger, hate and down-right pessimism on your social media sites. Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library from information on the ActNow website – ActNow is run by the Inspire Foundation, that creates opportunities for young people to change their world.

The Australian Youth Music Council (AYMC), formed in 2009, is committed to the development of young Australians in music across a diverse range of genres and fields. Working in tandem with the Music Council of Australia, AYMC members will form a common platform for any musical venture in which young people are active. The Council aims to enrich music education nationwide, and to support artists as well as organisers from every field in their pursuit of a career and in their enjoyment of music in all its forms.

The current members of the AYMC are: Alex Masso (Chair), Kellie Bates (Vice Chair), Daniel Ward (Secretary), Rowan Brand (Treasurer), Andrew Stone, Jehan Kanga, James “Jimblah” Alberts, Tim Price and Erinn Swa.  Last week the AYMC launched ourselves online with the AYMC website and our  Facebook and Twitter profiles (see links on website) so please join us if you’re interested in music for young people.  Our group has young people  from across Australia who are involved in a variety of genres (contemporary music, jazz, early music, classical, hip hop etc) and with different experiences in the music industry.  If you’re interested, take a look at the new website (http://aymc.org.au/) and keep in touch!

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library ( from the AYMC website)