Get Informed and Get Involved in the United Nations Say No to Gender Violence Campaign

The United Nations has launched its latest campaign, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. This year also marks the 15 year anniversary of the United Nations Trust Fund to End violence. The United Nations reports thatĀ up to 70% of women and girls will be beaten, coerced into sex or abused in their lifetime. OtherContinueContinue reading “Get Informed and Get Involved in the United Nations Say No to Gender Violence Campaign”

How to Read and Respond to Media Reports on Social Science

Andrew Gottlieb of The Psychology Lounge recently posted a useful article about the way the media misrepresents social science research. Although Gottlieb is a clinical psychologist, his analysis has relevance for applied sociology. I include his tips on how to identify the typical ways journalists misuse scientific data. I then discuss some of my ownContinueContinue reading “How to Read and Respond to Media Reports on Social Science”

Eastern Europe and Central Asia: the Need for Practical Skills-Based Learning

The World Bank has released a new report – Skills Not Just Diplomas, which presents a critical evaluation on the state of education in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the former Soviet Union. The report lends support for some of the goals of our applied social research network here at Sociology at Work – specificallyContinueContinue reading “Eastern Europe and Central Asia: the Need for Practical Skills-Based Learning”

Sociology Media Resources

Here are a couple of sociology media resources that might be of interest: the Sociology Spotlight and the United Nations webcast. iPhone & iPad For those of you with iPhones and iPads here’s a free app: Sociology Spotlight By Wiley Publishing. I can’t check it out myself as I don’t have either (I’m an Androider!),ContinueContinue reading “Sociology Media Resources”

Continuing Questions

By Alan Scott Alan Scott is the Convenor of the Applied Sociology Group, The Australian Sociological Association (TASA). In this article, Alan poses some questions about how Applied Sociologists carry out their work, whether or not social theory is important to their daily jobs, and the extent to which the training we receive as sociologyContinueContinue reading “Continuing Questions”

To Be or Not to Be ā€˜Too Academic’: Theory and Practice in Applied Contexts

Welcome to the second edition of Working Notes, the online bulletin for Sociology At Work. In this edition, we tackle the question of what it means to be ‘too academic’ in an applied context. The idea of being ‘too academic’ (or ‘not academic enough’ as the case may be) refers to a way of definingContinueContinue reading “To Be or Not to Be ā€˜Too Academic’: Theory and Practice in Applied Contexts”

Language, Ideas and Policy: Insights From the Periphery. Melbourne, Australia

In this paper Dina Bowman draws parallels between her initial encounters with the jargon and assumptions of employment services policy and the treatment of ā€˜invalid’ survey responses. The paper was presented at the Australian Sociological Association annual conference in 2010. Dr Dina Bowman dbowman@bsl.org.au Research and Policy Manager, Brotherhood of St Laurence, and fellow (honorary)ContinueContinue reading “Language, Ideas and Policy: Insights From the Periphery. Melbourne, Australia”