Archive for the ‘social issues’ Category

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is launching a global “young reporter” competition, aimed at enabling people between the ages of 18 and 25 to better understand how violence affects young lives and share their views on armed conflict with others. 

Each of the four winners of the competition will be invited to travel to a country that has been affected by armed conflict – Georgia, Lebanon, Liberia or the Philippines – where they will be able to talk with other young people who have lived through fighting or suffered its consequences.

This is a golden opportunity for some talented young adults to discover a new culture, challenge their perceptions, exchange views on important topics and give a voice to other youths. It’s also a chance to stand up and say, in their own words, what needs to change. 

To be eligible, applicants must have strong communication skills. They should be interested in youth issues, have a desire to do something that will have an effect on people’s lives, and have done voluntary work related to social or humanitarian services. Aspiring young reporters must submit an article, photo essay or short video on a humanitarian challenge of their choice. Entries will be judged on the basis of editorial quality, originality and relevance. Candidates must be between the ages of 18 and 25. The deadline for submissions is 1 October 2010

For full details visit the site at http://www.icrc.org/eng/competition

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

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

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.

New teaching resources will help students understand human rights

 Teachers and students now have access to a new range of interactive human rights education resources, just released by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

“Human rights education is critical if we are to make real inroads in our efforts towards true social inclusion in Australia.  Commission President Ms Branson said the rightsEd resource includes a range of interactive education activities for teachers and students which introduce human rights concepts in an engaging and relevant way. rightsED is guided by a clear set of education principles and learning outcomes and consists of nine resources which each feature activities around different human rights issues and topics searchable by the Key Learning Area into which they fit. 

The nine resources in the new range include: Understanding human rights, Commemorate Human Rights Day, Child rights, Bringing them home, Face the Facts, Voices of Australia, Disability Rights – What about Doug’s Rights?, Young people in the workplace, and Tackling sexual harassment.

All resources are available free online at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Do you have an opinion about how the media reports on drugs? The first ever study in Australia into youth attitudes to media reporting on drugs is being held. now.

Why is this important? • Drugs are one of the most topical issues of media reporting. • Drugs are also the number one concern for Australian youth. • Youth deserve a voice in how media report on drugs. DPMP want to be able to show the government and media outlets in Australia what young people think about media reporting on drugs. The more people we hear from, the more likely they are to listen. So if you’re aged 16-24 and live in Australia, and haven’t done our survey, we would love to hear what you think about media reporting on illicit drugs! Please visit http://drugmediasurvey.com/ to take our 10-20 minute online survey.  The more participants we get, the more your voice will count.

This study is being conducted by the Drug Policy Modelling Program and is commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. This is a study about media reporting so you don’t need to have tried drugs to participate. Thank you for your help!  — Bridget Spicer Research Officer National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia Tel: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/ndarc.nsf

posted by Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

There is a new video out for young web users called

“Protecting Reputations Online”: http://www.commoncraft.com/protecting-reputations-video

This short video is by the people at CommonCraft and it explains the long term risks of sharing inappropriate information online.

It encourages viewers to “think before you click” and offers tips for being
responsible with photos, video and stories.
The video includes information about  Why photos are permanent on the web,  Future consequences of sharing inappropriate information,  Tips for protecting reputations (personal and friends),  What to do when inappropriate info is shared

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly

  

The Impact of Racism upon the Health and Wellbeing of Young Australians REPORT is at http://www.fya.org.au/media/publications/ 

A total of 823 students from eighteen Australian secondary schools were involved in this study.

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library

Some new research from Monash University Accident Research Centre indicates that safer vehicles produce less injuries in crashes where young drivers are involved.  The report “Vehicle safety and young drivers Stages 2 and 3: Analysis of young driver crash types and vehicle choice optimisation” (Report number 292, 2009)

The overall aim of this study was to examine the implications of young driver vehicle choice on secondary safety outcomes. This was achieved by  investigating the young driver crash profile and developing and assessing scenarios for changing young driver vehicle choice to optimise road trauma outcomes.  The research demonstrated that it is possible to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities if the vehicle choices of young drivers move towards vehicles with high crashworthiness ratings.

The full report can be found at http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/

Louise McMorland, Youth Librarian, Manly Library