8-14 September 2025

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Making a Difference: How Does Social Change Happen?

Recorded session

Recorded session - available on demand Policymakers confront growing challenges in areas as diverse—and often interrelated—as climate change, social inequality, artificial intelligence, work, migration, declining biodiversity, and new threats to public health. Responses require changes or modifications to deeply entrenched social and economic structures. Consequently, reform attempts often generate conflict and resistance from those with a real or perceived interest in those structures. How can such conflict be managed to deliver urgently needed reforms? This question is central to social scientists, whose work is vital to both the implementation of effective policy, and to understanding the societal implications of policy choices. A panel of six leading social scientists analysed foundations and strategies of policy change in their areas of expertise—including some of the biggest, most difficult and pressing global and national challenges. This panel highlighted the breadth, diversity, and interrelationships within and between, social scientific and other disciplines, and their central importance to addressing these challenges. Each panellist addressed three thematic questions: What is the central conflict or problem inherent to their research topic? How can this be managed or overcome? What skills or insights enable social science to make a difference to public policy—and debate thereof—in their research field? […]

An introduction to Computational Social Science

Virtual

Computational social science (CSS) frequently uses Agent-based models (ABMs) to model social phenomena. ABMs are ‘bottom-up’ representations of individuals (computational agents) who exist within a society of other agents and who interact on a local scale based on sets of rules that govern their behaviour. When used like this, ABMs are attempts to create ‘Artificial Societies’ that we can study. The advantage of creating artificial societies is that imagined policies or interventions can then be made within these representations and the outcomes of those policies can be observed prior to implementation in the real world. The models can be anywhere between instructive or predictive, with the sophistication and detail of models often geared toward their purpose in this regard. In general, the most interesting models are those that try to replicate the generation of a large-scale social phenomenon when the mechanisms that create that phenomenon are currently unknown or contested (e.g., crowd behaviour, social behaviour, health behaviour, political behaviour, etc.). This session will introduce the audience to example agent-based models used in Computational Social Science and show how they can be used to augment existing research agendas, test theory, and trial simulated policies. We'll provide some very brief introductory 'how […]

Free

Wilderness Therapy and the Dissociative Mechanism of Change: Protecting Youth from Systemic Harm

Virtual

This presentation explores the use of cognitive or adaptive dissonance and involuntary treatment foin Wilderness and adventure therapy (WT, AT) for youth. Past WT participants have protested that involuntary, inescapable and harsh conditions harmed them through PTSD and dissociation. In this presentation, we compare dissonance and dissociation using a critical realist and argumentative research process using publicly available data. We argue that dissociation is a response, recorded both in the design of some WT practices and in participant statements and is often mistaken for dissonance. Deliberate use of forced cognitive dissonance during involuntary treatments align with the conditions that may cause dissociation. Therefore, planning to enforce cognitive dissonance during coercive WT or AT is likely to be harmful and, knowing of this potential, may be regarded as malpractice.

Free
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Gender equality and women’s empowerment

Virtual

This event brings together academics from across a range of disciplines to engage in meaningful discussions and collaborative efforts towards a more just and secure society for women. Join RMIT academic experts as they share knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions to help promote and protect the rights and wellbeing of women: Dr Leila Afshari (Management) Associate Professor Brianna Chesser (Criminology and Justice) Dr Bronwyn Coate (Economics) Dr Rojan Afrouz (Social Work) Moderated by Professor Lisa French. Tuesday 10 September Time: 10.30-11.30am Online via Teams

Enhancing Metadata for Inclusive Research on Entrenched Disadvantage

Virtual

Join us during Social Science Week for a webinar on some exciting new developments from the ARDC. Learn about the ARDC’s HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons and the collaborative project: Enhancing Metadata for Inclusive Research on Entrenched Disadvantage, and improvements to metadata for an important dataset for social science researchers. Learn about developments in integrated administrative social science data (IASSD); of the Higher Education (HE) administrative data within the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) (formerly known as Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP) data) with a view to increasing the ongoing utility of this data for researchers and analysts. The project was led by researchers at the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) at the University of Queensland, in collaboration with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Department of Education, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course (Life Course Centre). Speakers * Professor Wojtek Tomaszewski, Deputy Director (Research) and a Research Group Leader at the Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland * Dr Matthew Curry, Research Fellow, Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland * Jenny Fewster, Director, HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons, ARDC Who Should Attend? * social […]

Free

How organisations thrive in a fast-changing global society: Challenges and opportunities

Virtual

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, evolving market dynamics, and unprecedented global interconnectedness, organisations are constantly navigating a landscape of both challenges and opportunities. This event will delve into the strategies and insights that enable organisations to not only survive but thrive in such a fast-changing global society. Join the following innovative academic thinkers as they explore the key factors that contribute to organisational success amidst volatility and complexity. Professor David Fan (Human Resource Management) Dr My Nguyen (Finance) Dr Marian Makkar (Marketing) Dr. June Tran (Management) Through an expert-led panel discussion, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of embracing cultural diversity, sustainability and corporate responsibility and global market trends and opportunities. This event is a must-attend for executives, managers, and professionals who are keen on equipping their organisations with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Attendees will leave with actionable insights and practical strategies to drive their organisations forward, ensuring they remain competitive and resilient in the face of ongoing global challenges. Join us as we explore the multifaceted ways in which organisations can achieve lasting success in a fast-changing global society. Tuesday 10 September 2024 Time: 2-3pm Online via Teams

Engaging Young Children in Nature-Play

Virtual

This presentation provides a synthesises of the research evidence relating to young children's engagement in nature play. The presentation will cover what nature play is factors, impacting the likelihood of young children engaging in nature play, and ways to support parents to involve young children in nature play.

Free