Canadian Social Research Newsletter
December 9, 2007

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1850 subscribers.

Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. Why is it so tough to get ahead? How our tangled social programs pathologize the transition to self-reliance (Metcalf Foundation - John Stapleton) - November 2007
2. Ontario welfare history (from Open Policy - John Stapleton)
--- The [1932] Campbell report: The origins of modern public assistance in Ontario - 2005 (John Stapleton)
--- Coming of age in a man’s world : The life, times and wisdom of Dorothea Crittenden - January 2007 (John Stapleton)
3. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, November 2007 - December 7
--- Satellite account of non-profit institutions and volunteering, 1997 to 2004 - December 7
--- Fixed assets, 2007 - December 5
--- Performance of Canada's youth in science, reading and mathematics, 2006 - December 5
--- Study: Canadian Health Measures Survey - December 5
---2006 Census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and migration - December 4
--- Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2006 - December 3
4. Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2006 - July 2007 (Childcare Resource and Research Unit, University of Toronto) (Posted December 7)
5. A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada (Canadian Policy Research Networks) - December 6
6. Liberal Women’s Caucus Releases Pink Book II - December 5
7. Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada report shows who gets hurt most by housing crisis - November 21
8. Ontario Throne Speech (Nov. 29) and housing (Michael Shapcott, The Wellesley Institute Blog) - November 30

International Content

9. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
10. European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
11. Reconciling Work and Family Life: Findings for Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - November 29
12. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing : Selected recent content:
--- Australia's welfare 2007 - Posted 06-12
--- Housing occupancy and costs, Australia, 2005-06 - Posted 05-12
--- Adult literacy and life skills survey, summary results, Australia - Posted 05-12
--- The wellbeing of Australians: carer health and wellbeing - Posted 03-12
--- The financial impact of welfare targeting in public housing - Posted 03-12-2007
13. PovertyNet Newsletter (World Bank)
14. CRINMAIL (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

Why is it so tough to get ahead? How our tangled
social programs pathologize the transition to self-reliance (PDF file - 1MB, 62 pages)
John Stapleton
November 2007
[ Power point Presentation -(in PDF format - 7.2MB, 24 slides]
This report documents the disincentives to achieving greater self-reliance within Ontario’s welfare, housing and social support system. It aims to make understandable to policymakers and the public how removing subsidies from poor Ontarians in an uncoordinated way makes it impossible for recipients to achieve greater self-reliance. Research was undertaken with members of the Somali, Vietnamese-Chinese and St. Christopher House communities. The issues of disincentives are viewed through the lens of first generation poor immigrants receiving benefits from multiple sources, and youth who have grown up in public housing in households with social assistance as the main income source.(...) The report outlines a series of recommendations for policy solutions that can be taken right away to eliminate some of the barriers thrown up by multiple subsidies and program policies. The ultimate goal for this report is to call attention to the need for a new governance model – one that enables governments and their agencies to forge policies and procedures in a coordinated way so that the transition to self-reliance is a healthy, supported process for people.
Source:
The Metcalf Foundation
The goal of the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation is to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy and creative society.

Related links from the Toronto Star:

Remove bricks from welfare wall
Editorial
December 08, 2007
You would think that taxpayers who foot the bill for welfare would want the government to do everything in its power to help people on welfare to break free from the system and become self-sufficient. Yet in many ways, the government puts a massive wall in the way of those trying to get off welfare. What that wall consists of is a tangle of rules and regulations that can leave welfare recipients worse off if they try to make the transition from welfare to work or if they try to better themselves by getting an education.

The treadmill of poverty
System penalizes people who attempt to get ahead, study finds
December 6, 2007
By Laurie Monsebraaten
"(...) The report, funded by the privately endowed Metcalf Foundation, lists a litany of barriers to self-reliance. It starts with welfare, which deducts 50 cents for every dollar earned the moment a person on welfare gets a job. Other social supports such as public housing and subsidized child care are also often slashed as income increases, leaving those on welfare little incentive to move ahead."

And from The National Post:

Destroy Canada's welfare trap
December 08, 2007
Last month, the Metcalf Foundation -- an eclectic, privately funded Toronto group committed to the betterment of "the environment, performing arts and low-income communities" -- released a report entitled Why is it so tough to get ahead? How our tangled social programs pathologize the transition to self-reliance. Its conclusions should be required reading among federal and provincial politicians alike. (...) Politicians must get serious about lowering the effective tax rate on the working poor. Yes, this would mean letting many poor people "have their cake and eat it, too" -- i.e., permitting them to earn an income even as they keep most of their public benefits according to a gradually tapering scale. But in the long run, it would benefit everyone by increasing the number of adults who become productive members of our society.

HMMMMM - this John Stapleton guy must be on to something when he can get The Star and The National Post to agree on something!

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

Attention Ontario welfare history buffs:

The [1932] Campbell report: The origins of modern public assistance in Ontario (PDF file - 100K, 12 pages)
2005
Article by John Stapleton and Catherine Laframboise
"(...) The report of Wallace R. Campbell and the Advisory Committee on Direct Relief to the Provincial Government of Ontario resulted in the first standardized welfare policy in Ontario and laid the foundation for welfare as we know it today — cash assistance to needy families and individuals."

Coming of age in a man’s world:
The life, times and wisdom of Dorothea Crittenden
Canada’s first female deputy minister (PDF file - 356K, 22 pages)
January 2007
By John Stapleton and Catherine Laframboise
Dr. Crittenden was Deputy Minister of Community and Social Services from 1974 to1978. In the early sixties, she was Ontario’s chief negotiator during the development and implementation of the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP), which came into effect in April 1966. She offers valuable historical insights on life during and after the war, on the development of social assistance in Ontario, and on the federal-provincial aspects of welfare in Canada's largest provinces.

Source:
Open Policy
Recommended site!
Browse through the growing collection of John Stapleton's publications, media commentary and presentations on his personal site, just recently launched.

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

December 7, 2007
Labour Force Survey, November 2007
Employment rose by an estimated 43,000 in November, pushing the employment rate to another record high (63.8%). So far this year, employment has increased 2.3% (+388,000), stronger than the 1.8% increase seen over the same period in 2006. As more people entered the labour force in November, the unemployment rate moved up 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9%.

December 7, 2007
Satellite account of non-profit institutions and volunteering, 1997 to 2004
Canada's core non-profit sector accounted for an estimated 2.5% of the nation's economic activity in 2004, as measured by gross domestic product.

December 5, 2007
Fixed assets, 2007
Canada's national wealth in net fixed assets—as measured by the total value of all its non residential buildings, engineering structures and machinery and equipment—increased by 22% between 1997 and 2007, largely the result of strong investment by the nation's mining and oil and gas extraction industries.

December 5, 2007
Performance of Canada's youth in science, reading and mathematics, 2006
Canadian 15-year-old students still are among the best in the world when it comes to science, reading and mathematics, according to new results from an international study that assesses the skill level of students nearing the end of their compulsory education.

December 5, 2007
Study: Canadian Health Measures Survey
In March 2007, Statistics Canada launched the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), the most comprehensive national survey using direct health measures ever conducted in Canada. This report, a supplement to Statistics Canada's regular publication Health Reports, contains five articles explaining key facets of the CHMS.

December 4, 2007
2006 Census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and migration
Statistics Canada today releases detailed analyses of data from the 2006 Census on immigration and citizenship, as well as the composition of Canada's language groups.

December 4
New Products
Wow - talk about a low-key release for such valuable products!
* Language
* Immigration and citizenship
* Mobility and migration

Release topics and dates for 2006 Census data
[Click this link to access the datasets below]
* Release no. 1: March 13, 2007 - Population and dwelling counts
* Release no. 2: July 17, 2007 - Age and sex
* Release no. 3: September 12, 2007 - Families and households - Marital status (including common-law status) - Housing and shelter costs (including dwelling characteristics)
* Release no. 4: December 4, 2007 - Languages - Immigration and citizenship - Mobility and migration

SPECIAL NOTE TO NUMBER-CRUNCHERS:
The New Products page contains 100+ links to just-released Census 2006 data (some of the tables is free, and some is for sale. Below, you'll find just a few sample resources:

* Thematic Maps
A thematic map shows the spatial distribution of one or more specific data themes for standard geographic areas. The map may be qualitative in nature (e.g., predominant farm types) or quantitative (e.g., percentage population change).

* GeoSearch 2006
This interactive mapping application makes it easy to find many places in Canada, see them on a map, and get basic geographic and demographic data for those places. Click and zoom in on a map of Canada or search by place name, street name, street intersection or postal code. GeoSearch will display the appropriate map showing boundaries and other features. GeoSearch automatically displays population and dwelling counts for the selected places, and shows what kind of geographic area it is and its relationship to other geographic areas.

2006 Community Profiles, Census year 2006 (update)
These profiles present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population. Users can search for an area of interest by typing its 'place name' in the box below or by clicking on a province or territory from the list below and selecting the area from a list.

Census Trends, 2006 Census
Census Trends presents a series of summary data trends spanning the 2006, 2001 and 1996 censuses. The product is designed to facilitate the analysis and comparison of the changing demographic and socio-economic composition of selected geographic areas across Canada. Summary data trends include percentage distributions and percentage change.

More...

December 3, 2007
Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2006
More than 4.4 million Canadians—one out of every seven in the population—reported having a disability in 2006, an increase of more than three-quarters of a million people in five years, according to a new report.

- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

What's new from the
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) (University of Toronto):
(Posted December 7, 2007)

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2006
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit has periodically assembled Canadian data to produce a national snapshot of early childhood care and education. The seventh edition of Early childhood education and care in Canada and the second edition of Trends and analysis present 2005 and 2006 data. These data – together with data compiled for earlier editions – 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004 reveal trends in ECEC over a decade and a half.

Early childhood education and care in Canada 2006
(Table of contents + links to provincial/territorial reports, tables, Federal ECEC programs and funds, Aboriginal ECEC, and more...)
June 2007
by Martha Friendly, Jane Beach, Carolyn Ferns, and Michelle Turiano
This publication provides cross-Canada data and information on regulated child care and kindergarten by province/ territory, maternity and parental leave together with relevant demographic information.

Trends & Analysis 2007:
Early childhood education and care in Canada 2006 (PDF file - 338K, 12 pages)
December 2007
This document presents a summary and analysis of the data and identifies key issues. Includes illustrative charts and graphs.

Other new content added to the CRRU website in the past week:

Ensuring the best start in life: Targeting versus universality in early childhood development
Report by Gillian Doherty for the Institute for Research on Public Policy says Canada must establish a universal early childhood education system.

Pink Book II: A policy framework for Canada's future
Report from the Liberal Women's Caucus re-affirms commitment to increasing federal funding for child care to one percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Gender and working conditions in the European Union
Report from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions "examines the extent of occupational segregation by gender and how it impacts on the quality of women’s and men’s working lives."

Child care in the news

Women still face workplace inequality [GB]
Reuters UK, 6 Dec 07

Getting rich on child care [CA]
Straight Goods, 4 Dec 07

Nations thrive by helping families [CA]
Toronto Star, 30 Nov 07

Canadian parents need support: OECD [CA]
CanWest News Service, 29 Nov 07

Subscribe to the CRRU email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

Related Links:

Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) (University of Toronto)

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada
December 6, 2007
In 2007, CPRN partnered with the Social Housing Services Corporation of Ontario, the Knowledge Mobilization Unit of York University, and the City of Ottawa (for Infrastructure Canada's Knowledge Building, Outreach and Awareness Program) to support research on social housing by social policy interns.

Complete report:

A Safer Haven: Innovations
for Improving Social Housing in Canada (PDF file - 244K, 33 pages)
- this report is a synthesis of key findings from six research papers produced by CPRN research interns

Social Housing in Canada
- includes links to all six research reports in the collection:
* A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada
* City-Regions and the Provision of Affordable Rental Housing
* Fostering Better Integration and Partnerships for Housing in Canada: Lessons for Creating a Stronger Policy Model of Governmental and Community Collaboration
* Inclusion and Social Housing Practice in Canadian Cities: Following the Path from Good Intentions to Sustainable Projects
* Moving Towards Sustainability: City-Regions and Their Infrastructure
* Social Lives in Social Housing: Resident Connections to Social Services
* Sustaining Ontario's Subsidized Housing by Supporting Non-Profit Organizations

Source:
Canadian Policy Research Networks

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm

Liberal plans for women seem pretty in Pink Book
December 07, 2007
Comment
By Antonia Zerbisias
It's easy to dispute all the statistics cited by the federal Liberal Women's Caucus in volume two of its Pink Book: A Policy Framework for Canada's Future, which was released Wednesday. Too easy...
Source:
The Toronto Star

Related links from
the Liberal Party of Canada:

Liberal Women’s Caucus Releases Pink Book II
December 5, 2007
News Release
Calls for changes to Divorce Act, elimination of fees
OTTAWA – The Liberal Women’s Caucus today released Volume II of the Pink Book: A Policy Framework for Canada’s Future, to respond to concerns about violence against women, housing, Aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women and rural women.

The Pink Book, Volume II: A
Policy Framework for Canada’s Future (PDF file - 425K, 39 pages)
Source:
Liberal Women’s Caucus

Pink Book, Volume I (2006) (2.6MB, 29 pages)

Co-operative Housing Federation Canada report shows who gets hurt most by housing crisis (PDF file - 48K, 2 pages)
Media Release
November 21, 2007
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada has released a new report on the almost four million Canadians without acceptable housing. The report shows that renters, new immigrants, lone parent families, young adults, the elderly and Aboriginal households are hardest hit by the lack of affordable housing.
Source:
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada

More Canadian housing links:

Housing Again

Shared Learnings on Homelessness

Raising the Roof

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

Ontario Throne Speech and housing
November 30, 2007
By Michael Shapcott
The Ontario government opened the current session of the provincial Legislature on Thursday, November 29, with a promise to “begin work” on “reducing child poverty” by developing a poverty reduction strategy that would include “more affordable housing”. This promise needs to be matched with funding and programs before it will have any impact on actually reducing poverty in Ontario.
Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

Related link:

Ontario Throne Speech
November 29, 2007
Source:
Premier of Ontario

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

December 6, 2007
* Kids Count Report - Michigan
* Children's Health Insurance Program - California
* State Budgets and Medicaid Spending
* Health Care and Poverty - Texas
* Health Care Costs - Iowa, Michigan, Ohio
* Low-income Residents and Rental Housing - New Orleans, LA
* Food Stamp Application Process - Texas
* Editorial: Food Stamp Program and the Farm Bill
* Child Support Enforcement - Minnesota
* Teenage Birth Rates
* Increasing Wage Gap - Illinois
* Inequality and Prison Sentences
* Early Childhood Education - New Jersey

December 3, 2007
* Poor Families and Child Support
* People Living in Poverty - Minnesota, Texas
* Medicaid Reform - Ohio
* State Children's Health Insurance Program - Ohio
* Food Banks and Shortages
* Hurricane Katrina Emergency Housing and Renters
* State Health Care Plan - Maryland
* Federal Definition of Homelessness
* Low-income Utility Assistance - Pennsylvania
* Home Foreclosures
* Low-income Drivers and Auto Insurance - California
* No Child Left Behind Reauthorization

Search Poverty Dispatches
IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare reform, and related topics twice a week. Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media. Persons wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.

Past Poverty Dispatches - back to June 2006

Poverty Dispatch Digest Archive - archive of weekly digests* of dispatches from August 2005 to May 2006
(*For a few years prior to the creation of this new web page for the Dispatch, I was compiling a weekly digest of the e-mails and redistributing the digest to my mailing list with IRP's permission.
This is my own archive of weekly issues of the digest back to August 2005, and most of them have 50+ links per issue. I'll be deleting this archive from my site gradually, as the links to older articles expire.)

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
The European Centre is a UN-affiliated intergovernmental organization concerned with all aspects of social welfare policy and research. All governments of States that are members of the United Nations, in particular those of countries of the UN-European Region, are invited to participate in and contribute to the activities of the European Centre. This results in a geographical domain of potential Member Countries of more than fifty European nations as well as the United States of America, Canada and Israel. [ About Us ]

Research Areas
The European Centre provides expertise in the fields of welfare and social policy development in a broad sense - in particular in areas where multi-or interdisciplinary approaches, integrated policies and inter-sectoral action are called for.

Selected research areas:
(Click the link above to access the whole list)
[each research area includes links to events, projects, publications and a few websites.]

Ageing & Generations

Childhood, Youth & Families

Health and Disability Policy

Incomes, Poverty & Social Inclusion

Labour Market & Social Policy

Pensions & Social Security

Welfare Society

-------------------------

Most recent release:

Time Poverty or Time Welfare in Austrian Families?
Impact of family factors on children’s school achievements
By Renate Kränzl-Nagl, Martina Beham
Policy Brief
December 2007
Vienna
This Policy Brief illustrates main findings of two European Centre's studies on whether today's parents have enough time for their children and/or provide sufficient support (for their children's achievements in school) focusing on: 1) the time spent by parents with their children of compulsory school age and 2) the links between family factors and school achievements. The authors are presenting main findings of an analysis of national and international data as well as the results of a survey carried out among Austrian parents and their children of compulsory school age (9 - 14). This policy brief is rounded off by conclusions and recommendations.

Policy Brief:

Time Poverty or Time Welfare in Austrian Families?
Impact of family factors on children’s school achievements (PDF file - 255K, 9 pages)

- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm

New from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:

Improved childcare policies needed to achieve better work/life balance, says OECD
News Release
November 29, 2007
Getting family-friendly policies right will help reduce poverty, promote child development, enhance equity between men and women and stem the fall in birth-rates, according to a new OECD report. Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life compares the different approaches that the 30 OECD countries take to help parents balance their work and family commitments.

Babies and Bosses - Reconciling Work and Family Life:
A Synthesis of Findings for OECD Countries
The Babies and Bosses reviews of work and family reconciliation analysed policies and family outcomes in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands (OECD, 2002); Austria, Ireland and Japan (OECD, 2003); New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland (OECD, 2004); and Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (OECD, 2005). This report, the last in the series, synthesises these findings and extends the scope to include other OECD countries. Based on OECD-wide indicators, it examines tax/benefit policies, parental leave systems, child and out-of-school-hours care support, and workplace practices that help determine parental labour market outcomes and family formation across the OECD.

Babies and Bosses (Vol. 4): Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom
Finding a suitable work/family life balance is a challenge that all parents face. Many parents and children in Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom are happy with their existing work and care outcomes. However, many others feel seriously constrained in one way or another, and their personal well-being suffers as a consequence.

Key Outcomes of Canada compared to OECD average

Selected Tables and Charts (Excel format) from Babies and Bosses (Vol. 4): Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom

--------------

This book is part of the Babies and Bosses series, consisting of comparative studies of work and family reconciliation policies.
To get a more comprehensive picture of reconciliation policies, you can consult the first three volumes:
- Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands (volume 1) , which was published in 2002
- Austria, Ireland and Japan (volume 2), which was published in 2003
- New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland (volume 3), which was released in 2004

--------------

Main OECD Social Policy Activities in 2006-2007
- click the link above for info about the activities listed below (incl. links to many key documents), or click a link below
* Family Policies (employment-oriented)
* Making Work Pay (ongoing)
* Policies to support and integrate the disabled of working age
* Pension system monitoring (ongoing)
* Development of social indicators
* Income Distribution and Poverty

Source:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

APO Weekly Briefing ===> the content of this link changes each week
The content of this page changes each week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new reports, a few job ads and 60+ events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...

Recent APO content:

Australia's welfare 2007
Posted 06-12-2007
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
'Australia's welfare 2007' is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of national information on welfare services in Australia. Topics include children, youth and families; ageing and aged care; disability and disability services; housing for health and welfare; dynamics of homelessness; welfare services resources; and indicators of Australia's welfare.

Housing occupancy and costs, Australia, 2005-06
Posted 05-12-2007
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The number of homes that are owned outright by their occupants has decreased over the last decade, according to this ABS report. In 2005-06, just over a third (34%) of homes were owned outright by their occupants - down from 42% in 1994-95. Over the same time, the proportion of homes owned with a mortgage increased from 30% to 35%.

Adult literacy and life skills survey, summary results, Australia
Posted 05-12-2007
Australian Bureau of Statistics
There are fewer Australians with literacy assessed as being in the lowest category than there were a decade ago, according to this ABS survey. Approximately 17% (2.5 million) of people were assessed at the lowest prose literacy level (down from 20% in 1996), while 18% (2.7 million) were assessed at the lowest document literacy level (down from 20% in 2006).

The wellbeing of Australians: carer health and wellbeing
Posted 03-12-2007
Robert A. Cummins, Joan Hughes and others
Australian Centre on Quality of Life, Deakin University
This study finds that the carers group from the current AustralianUnity Wellbeing study has a lower personal wellbeing index than any of the other groups. While this finding alone is concerning enough, it is compounded by the sheer number of people who make up the sample.

The financial impact of welfare targeting in public housing
Posted 03-12-2007
Jon Hall and Mike Berry
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Greater targeting of housing and greater access to concessional rents cost public housing authorities around $200 million in 2004-05 compared with the mid-1990s, according to this Research and Policy Bulletin.

Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO)
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

PovertyNet Newsletter
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that contains updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* Poverty Reduction Strategies
* Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality
* Poverty Analysis
* Poverty Monitoring
* Impact Evaluation
* Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA)
* Empowerment

Latest newsletter content:

World Bank PovertyNet Newsletter # 108, November 2007
In this issue:
1. U.N. Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World
2. Africa World Development Indicators
3. Brazil Bolsa Familia Program
4. New book! Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data: A Guide to Techniques and Their Implementation
5. Upcoming Conference: “Making Smart Policy: Using Impact Evaluation for Policy Making”
6. "Moving Out of Poverty" Book Launch
7. Help Us!
8. To Receive this Newsletter

Source:
PovertyNet Newsletter ===> the content of this link changes each month
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter containing updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* Poverty Reduction Strategies * Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality * Poverty Analysis * Poverty Monitoring * Impact Evaluation * Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) * Empowerment
- includes links to earlier issues
Source:
The World Bank

- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

6 December 2007 - CRINMAIL 939
* UN: Impose Burma Arms Embargo to End Child Soldier Use [news]
* NIGERIA: Govt to ratify child rights Optional Protocols [news]
* INDIA: US guidelines on child labour prompt action [news]
* UN: Follow-up meeting to a 'World Fit For Children' [event]
* UNITED STATES: Landlord fined for child discrimination [news]
* SOUTH AFRICA: No registration, no benefits [news]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

4 December 2007 - CRINMAIL 938
* DISABILITY: International Day of Disabled Persons 2007 [news]
* MALTA: Bill to tighten laws on child abuse, pornography [news]
* UGANDA: Doubly Traumatised - Lack of access to justice for female victims of sexual and gender-based violence in northern Uganda [publication]
* CHINA: End child labour in state schools [news]
* NEW ZEALAND: Child crime bill set to fail [news]
* JUVENILE JUSTICE: Final Report of the Cayman Islands' Human Rights Committee [publication]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 200+ earlier weekly issues, many of which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the launch of the EURONET Website.

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm

Links to resources concerning the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence were included in the December 2 issue of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/personal/news021207.htm

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I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

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Thanks, CUPE!

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You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

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There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

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Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

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Quote(s) of the week:

Comedian Walsh seeks bold volunteers to pose in the buff
December 7
Newfoundland's own Mary Walsh is looking for volunteers to stand naked on the St. John's waterfront next week. She's looking for up to 500 people to become "flesh architecture" in a new film.
When she mentioned the project on CBC Radio earlier this week, phone lines at police headquarters immediately lit up with objections.

Made me laugh:

"....it's 500 bums and backs of head, so there are no dangly bits available to anyone."

"Walsh says she'll be participating, but behind the camera as she'll be directing the shoot.
'I'm a 55-year-old woman, let's face it, I don't want people to be frightened,' she said."

Source:
CBC

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In closing...

English Pronouncing Dictionary with Instant Sound (needs speakers - well, duh.)
"A well-read person knows hundreds, even thousands, of words that they've never heard anyone pronounce. Search through the 82,576 sound files and listen while somebody pronounces your mystery word."

Note from Gilles: It's true, it's true! I had that problem with *awry* as in "things going.." - I was 35 years old when some nice person told me it's pronounced "a-rye" and not "awe-ree". Made me feel si-llee. Now I can check the English pronouncing dictionary and always pronounciate keerectly.

Forbidden Love

America's Joyous Future - Praise the Lord!