Events

A/Prof Marietta Martinovic leads The Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective (BSWAC), which comprises of people with criminal justice lived experience, RMIT staff and students. As part of Social Sciences Week 2023, BSWAC will run an interactive session, which comprises of a diverse panel and workshop discussion. This session will centre on the themes of inclusivity, diversity and social collaboration with diverse lived experiences. This thought-provoking session will provide an opportunity to put fresh perspectives into practice. Participants will leave the session with their biases and preconceived beliefs shattered. Panellists include: Pattie - Lived Criminal Justice experience representative, BSWAC Michael - Lived Criminal Justice experience representative, BSWAC Kate Kennedy - Researcher Lived Criminal Justice experience, BSWAC Igor Tomic - Senior Program Manager, Justice Services, Corrections Victoria Melanie Field-Pimm - Development Manager, VACRO

Protecting individuals’ identities is a continual challenge for researchers in the data age, when individuals can be easily identified based on their statements, images, and even their grammatical tendencies in writing or speaking. How can researchers using social science methods protect the privacy or anonymity of participants? One solution is to rebuild raw data into composite forms that present and/or evoke the researchers’ interpretations but do not use original materials gathered from participants. This is done primarily at later stages of the research when presenting findings. Using the strength of qualitative approaches, the researcher can transform verbal and visual materials gathered in field observations, interviews, and focus groups, as well as larger datasets generated through data scraping. In this masterclass, Professor Annette Markham presents her concept of ‘Ethical Fabrication’ followed by a workshop where participants practice techniques for building composites as narrative vignettes. The workshop will conclude with a brainstorming session on the practice and types of ethical fabrication in the era of generative AI. While it might seem easy to consider fabricating composite accounts in an automated fashion with cloud-based generative AI (ChatGPT, for example), this practice is ethical risky at present, as it essentially shares the raw dataset […]

University of Tasmania researchers and students take the burning issues in the Social Sciences direct to members of the Tasmanian Parliament. Hosted by Professor Kate Darian-Smith, FASSA, (Executive Dean – College of Arts, Law and Education) with Professor Ian Anderson, FASSA, (Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic).

A workshop for school staff and researchers, presented by The Australian Sociological Association (Sociology of Education Thematic Group) What kinds of social research is of benefit to schools? How can schools make room for research? How can researchers co-design projects with schools to achieve common goals? How can researchers manage institutional barriers, e.g. onerous approvals processes, financial constraints, and time constraints? Social scientists working on education have always worked productively with schools. However, that is becoming increasingly difficult because of the pressures facing both schools and the research sector. The aim of this workshop is to bring together researchers and school staff to share ideas and experiences, in order to increase understanding and create possibilities for new ways of working together. Participating researchers work on issues including: Educational inequality Cultural diversity and schooling Impacts of Covid on schooling Selective schools and educational segregation Transitions to post-school life Our panel includes: Cathy Wilton, Principal, Yennora Public School Sarah Loch, Research Director, Pymble Ladies College Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, Research Director, Trinity Grammar College Eliza Buckley, Youth and Community Services Manager, 3 Bridges Community Centre Dr Quentin Maire, University of Melbourne

The Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) group at James Cook University invites Year 9 students to attend the Futures Thinking workshop. Students will meet and engage with social scientists and learn how AI and social sciences impact our everyday lives. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere – we talk about it in classrooms, on the news, on social media, and it’s fast becoming part of our everyday lives. But what does AI mean for people and for society? What are the ethical issues involved? Spend a day exploring these questions at JCU. September 4 to 10 is Social Sciences Week in Australia. The theme for 2023 is Social Sciences are Everywhere. On Friday, 8 September, the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) group at JCU is inviting Year 9 students to come to campus for a day of discussion, activities, and scenario-based learning with social scientists and current social science students from a range of disciplines. The day will include short ‘lightning talks’ from experts in a range of social science disciplines, interactive ‘beat the bot’ sessions to apply a critical lens to AI, and small group activities to facilitate inquiry skills, ethical thinking, and futures thinking about the impacts of AI on society and […]

The Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) group at James Cook University invites Year 9 students to attend the Futures Thinking workshop. Students will meet and engage with social scientists and learn how AI and social sciences impact our everyday lives.

“2023 Spring Encounters: with(in) place” is series of activities organised by the Alliance for Praxis Research (APR), composed by artists, researchers and PhD candidates from Monash and RMIT. Spring Encounters provides a platform for researchers, activists and artists to connect in a relaxed setting of informal conversations and action. Its purpose is to break the boundaries of disciplines and institutions, creating cracks for open dialogue and the sprouting of ideas. Our program this year will be hosted in different locations across Melbourne. This year, we've designed these gatherings as a means to nurture our connections with place and, simultaneously, to highlight initiatives that are collaboratively shaping communities across Melbourne. From Preston Market to the Catalyst Social Centre, we hope that by the end of this journey, we will be able to entangle relationships, cultivate care, ground ourselves, and reimagine our work and lives with(in) place. 09 September | Make only radical plans Meeting at Bell station | 10 to 12 pm Facilitated by Zheng Chin (APR/Monash University) + TBA Radical planning questions existing power structures to prioritise social justice, sustainability, and community empowerment. By reimagining urban spaces and engaging in social transformation, radical communities seek to create more equitable and […]