Monash University Research on Legal Risks of Social Networking Sites

This is new Victorian Research from Monash University, funded by Victoria Law Foundation, providing great insight into the perceptions of Teenagers, Parents and Teachers in relation to the Legal Risks of Social Networking Sites. Over 1000 middle school students, 204 teachers and 49 parents participated in the study.

In addition to the research Monash University has established a web site to provide additional resources aimed at schools for curriculum inclusion you can find them here:

http://newmediaresearch.educ.monash.edu.au/moodle/pluginfile.php/2119/mod_label/intro/SNSandRisks_EducationResource.pdf

Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing (YAW-CRC) Publications

Over the next five years the Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing (YAW-CRC) will publish new research exploring the role of technologies in young people’s lives and the opportunities to leverage these technologies to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

The research can be accessed from http://www.yawcrc.org.au/publications

National Press Club address by the new YAW-CRC head

National Press Club address by the new YAW-CRC head

On 18 August the CEO of the recently established Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing (YAW-CRC) Associate Professor Jane Burns addressed the National Press Club in Canberra about ways in which technologies could be used to improve young people’s wellbeing. 

Her address outlined the rationale for the establishment of the YAW-CRC and the vital importance of supporting the mental health of young people, and stressed that Australia needs to ‘look to new solutions and think in innovative ways’ if it is to overcome the mental health epidemic among its youth. It needs to make young people part of the solution to the problem.

Following her address, an open forum discussion took place with Professor Ian Hickie (Executive Director of the Brain & Mind Research Institute), Professor Patrick McGorry (Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health), Michelle Blanchard (researcher, YAW-CRC) and Jonathan Nicholas (CEO of the Inspire Foundation).

It is heartening to see youth wellbeing issues getting high-profile coverage in an NPC address. The address is important reading for anyone working with youth. Go to the new YAW-CRC website to download a transcript: http://www.yawcrc.org.au/ This website is sure to become a valuable source of information for youth researchers and policymakers.

(Source: email from YAW-CRC, 15 August 2011.)

The case for prevention science

The case for prevention science

The most efficient and cost-effective approach to the high prevalence of social, emotional and behavioural health problems in children and young people is to prevent them from occurring, not ‘cure’ them after they occur. The challenge is in determining what to prevent and how to do so. 

A paper published in the Australian Review of Public Affairs documents the potential of prevention and argues for prevention science as a framework for advancing a coherent, evidence-based approach to address the problems of Australian children and youth. This paper examines some of the opportunities and challenges in a shift to an evidence-based prevention agenda to improve the lives of children and young people.

The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) has established a Prevention Science sub-network to provide a forum for people specifically interested in the science (and art) of prevention across multiple domains to share their experience and knowledge, identify needs for further development of the field, and plan collaborative activities.

The paper can be downloaded from the Australian Policy Online website: http://www.apo.org.au/research/science-prevention-children-and-youth

More information about the ARACY Prevention Science Network is available from the ARACY website: http://www.aracy.org.au/index.cfm?pageName=prevention_science_network

(Source: APO weekly briefing, 28 July 2011.)