Research Seminar Series

ISSR's Research Seminar Series provides an opportunity for domestic and international researchers to present and prosecute their research and encourage networking and collaboration. The seminars are an integral part of the Institute's research culture.

April

Immigrants’ Diverse Employment Trajectories: The Role of Immigration Policy and Gender in the United States and Australia
Dr Rennie Lee, Senior Research Fellow, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research and ARC Life Course Centre

How does immigration policy shape immigrants’ employment behaviour? How does this differ for immigrant men and women? Focusing on empirical results from the United States and Australia, I will show the enduring effects of immigration policy, specifically initial visa categories, on immigrants’ labour market participation and employment behaviour and how these effects differ for immigrant men and women. My findings have important implications for immigration policymaking and shows that selecting immigrants on their skill alone does not produce the same employment outcomes for men and women.

Intergenerationally penalized? The long-term wage consequences of parental joblessness
Dr Matthew Curry, Research Fellow, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research and ARC Life Course Centre

Studies of intergenerational stratification and mobility have long called for investigation of the joint role of mothers and fathers in affecting labor market outcomes of children. However, long-term effects of parental joblessness—where no co-residing parent is employed at a given time—are not well understood. Using longitudinal data (covering 9,942 person-year observations from 2,281 children) from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, this study investigates the long-term association between parental joblessness and children’s wages during early adulthood. It examines whether these associations are mediated by family income, educational attainment and subsequent employment inactivity of the child, and whether exposure at earlier ages is associated with more detrimental effects.


May

To p or not to p? The seductive (un)certainty of statistical significance
Dr Mark Robinson, Senior Evaluation Manager, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research
Dr Peter Rankin, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research

Five years ago, the American Statistical Association (ASA) published a landmark statement on p values, arguably the world’s most widely used, abused, and misunderstood statistical concept. The ASA statement aimed to “draw renewed and vigorous attention to changing the practice of science with the regards to statistical inference” and represented the latest in a long history of debate about p values and their arbitrary division into ‘significant’ and ‘non-significant’ findings. In this session, a non-statistician (backed up by a real statistician) provided an overview of the viewpoints relevant to this ongoing debate, drawing on personal experiences (and struggles) to explore the question: to p or not to p?


 

January

Fun with stats: Making the most of Stata software
Associate Professor Paco Perales, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research and ARC Life Course Centre


February

Families in times of Recession: Irish exceptionalism?
Dr Carmel Hannan, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland

In this seminar Dr Carmel Hannan presented findings from her research with co-author Dr Ross Macmillan. Dr Hannan first discussed the “econo-centric” turn in family studies and its implications for both theory and research. She further shared findings from a UK/Ireland study of the combined effects of socioeconomic status, economic change associated with the Great Recession, and variation in the strength of familistic culture on the risk of family dissolution during the adolescent years.


March

Sexism and Attitudes Towards Women’s Reproductive Autonomy in the New Zealand Context
Dr Yanshu Huang, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research and ARC Life Course Centre
 
Although New Zealand has historically been on the forefront of women’s rights, barriers to reproductive autonomy have persisted. This seminar presented data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a national longitudinal panel sample of New Zealand adults. I examined how the endorsement of sexist attitudes correlates with attitudes towards two areas of women’s reproductive experiences: (a) attitudes toward abortion and (b) attitudes toward breastfeeding in public. The findings suggest that although attitudes toward gender roles are shifting towards greater egalitarianism, sexism is nonetheless implicated in public support for women’s reproductive autonomy in New Zealand.
 
Discover Social Network Analysis to Create Change
Dr Chiara Broccatelli, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research

This seminar aims at offering a nutshell description of basic assumptions, research goals and potential research benefits of applying Social Network Analysis (SNA) in social science. Using examples from the literature and recent applications, Chiara discusses what SNA is, presents some theoretical SNA concepts and basic SNA research design strategies. She will also explain why this method is different from other statistical approaches and what it is useful for.

View seminar recording here (interal UQ user only)


May

Improving the view of Scotland’s health: the influence of a Public Health Observatory on informing and evaluating public policy​
Dr Mark Robinson, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research

Mark recently joined ISSR after 10 years at Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) and will use this seminar to share his reflections on the science, art and challenges of using data and evidence to influence public policy in Scotland. He’ll do so by telling the story of several high profile projects, including: 1) the Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy work programme, which incorporates the evaluation of minimum unit pricing; 2) a programme of research to describe and understand recent trends in life expectancy and mortality rates; and 3) the Informing Interventions to reduce health Inequalities (Triple I) project, which uses epidemiological modelling to compare the estimated impact of different interventions on population health in Scotland.

View seminar recording here (internal UQ user only)


June

Pitching a Social Solutions Lab for ISSR
Professor Tim Reddel, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research

There is growing interest by policy makers, researchers and civil society in methodologies and engagement approaches that bring together theories of change, data analytics, stakeholder co-design and evaluative strategies to support innovation and problem solving in a more adaptive delivery ecosystem. The current COVD-19 crisis with its unpreceded disruption and unavoidable dilemmas brings a laser beam focus on what we mean by adaptive policy making and social outcomes. To promote dialogue this seminar will scan historical and contemporary literatures associated with various approaches to policy innovation and research addressing these ‘wicked’ social problems. While acknowledging broader political and policy challenges, new strategies and methodologies for solving complex social problems will be investigated, including how academic researchers and public policy stakeholders work together to solve real world practical problems. The emerging trend for universities, public sector agencies and other bodies to establish policy innovation, engagement and impact entities will be examined. In this seminar, a proposal for a Social Solutions Lab as an approach to building social solutions capability in the ISSR will be outlined. A value proposition, implementation challenges and the short-to-medium term priorities of this model will be presented to promote more informed debate and deeper partnerships between researchers and public policy practitioners to solve critical social problems. 

View seminar recording here (internal UQ user only)


July

The wellbeing affordances of active participation in music performance
Dr Mary Broughton, University of Queensland, School of Music

Music performance is potentially a cost-effective means to promote population wellbeing, which is a global challenge. Scant research has examined music performance through the lens of wellbeing, or from a public health perspective. Through my Faculty Fellowship, I have been addressing this gap by conjoining music performance, psychology of music, social science and health perspectives to investigate how music performance in everyday life contexts, such as concerts through to community activities and events, provides non-clinical populations opportunities to self-manage and promote both individual and community wellbeing. Emerging research is examining the impact of COVID-19 on music performance communities.

January

Stata workshop
Dr Paco Perales, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research


February

Academic Achievement of Children in Same-Sex-Parented and Different-Sex-Parented Families: A Population-Level Analysis of Linked Administrative Data from the Netherlands
Dr Jan Kabátek, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research 


March

‘Un-neighbourliness’: The neighbourhood context of problems and disputes between neighbours
Professor Lynda Cheshire, University of Queensland, School of Social Science

Australian Muslims: The Challenge of Islamophobia and Social Distance
Professor Riaz Hassan, Flinders University and Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore


April

Quantitative social science for health and wellbeing research: the COMPASS Research Centre
Dr Barry Milne and Dr Nichola Shackleton, Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences (COMPASS), University of Auckland

Test Anxiety under 15-year olds: A comparative study between Australia and The Netherlands
Tim de Vries, University of Queensland, Institute for Social Science Research and Utrecht University

Initial findings of the Millennium Cohort Study
Dr Lisa Calderwood, Centre for Longitudinal Studies - UCL Institute of Education, London


May

Explaining the evolution of ethnicity differentials in academic achievements: The role of time investments
Dr Ha Nguyen and Dr Francis Mitrou, Telethon Kids Institute

Where is Reconciliation going for Australia? And how can the University take a role?
Adjunct Associate Prof Charles Passi, University of Queensland


July

Language growth from 4 to 8 and developmental circumstances: Meeting policy demands from the early years sector
Professor Stephen Zubrick, Telethon Kids Institute and University of Western Australia

Predictive analytics for social good: Essential elements & data science challenges​
Dr Diana Benavides Prado, Centre for Social Data Analytics, Auckland  

Administrative data and learning analytics
Professor Tim Maloney, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Auckland University of Technology


August

How people's own upbringing influences their subsequent parenting practices: A mixed method study of vulnerable mothers
Simon Barrett, Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

The West vs the Rest: Exploring the Global Divide in Attitudes towards Homosexuality
Dr Mahalia Jackman, Department of Economics, University of the West Indies


September

Data, Design and Public Good
Associate Professor Anna Brown, College of Creative Arts, Massey University


October

Putting Young Children on a Path to Success: Mechanisms Transmitting Income Inequality
Professor Rebekah Levine Coley, Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College


November

Translating cross-cultural research into design evidence for healthcare architecture
Professor Paul Memmott, Professor Michele Haynes, Dr Timothy O’Rourke and Dr Daphne Nash, University of Queensland and Australian Catholic University

Occupational aspirations of girls and boys across ethnic groups in the UK
Professor Lucinda Platt, London School of Economics and Political Science

Contextualizing Productive Ageing in Asia: Determinants and Health Implications
Dr Pei-Chun Ko, Singapore University of Social Sciences


December

Gender and Education
Professor Deevia Bhana and Dr Yuwei Xu, University of KwaZulu-Natal and UCL Institute of Education

Sleep regulation in early childhood
Associate Professor Monique, LeBourgeois, University of Colorado Boulder

May

The masculinity paradox and the origins of fatherhood
Dr Barnaby Dixson, School of Psychology, UQ

Homelessness, poverty and a developing social welfare program of research
Associate Professor Cameron Parsell, ISSR (now School of Social Science, UQ)


July

Policy capability and evaluation
Dr Lyn Alderman, Chief Evaluator, Policy Capability and Evaluation Branch, Department of Social Services

The role of sex and age on predrinking: An international comparison of 25 countries
Associate Professor Jason Ferris, ISSR (now Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, UQ)

Inequalities in mothers’ lives and disparities in children’s education in multiple countries
Professor Robert Crosnoe, Rapaport Centennial Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is Chair of the Department of Sociology

Economic uncertainty and love: Family building behaviors in young adulthood
Associate Professor Shannon Cavanagh, The University of Texas at Austin, College of Liberal Arts


September

Age in cohort, school indiscipline and crime: Regression–discontinuity estimates for Queensland
Dr Matteo Sandi and Dr Tony Beatton, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Honorary Research Fellow, ISSR


October

Education: The panacea to poverty?
Dr Matteo Sandi and Dr Tony Beatton, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Honorary Research Fellow, ISSR

Gender attitudes: Do we know what we are measuring?
Professor Ester Rizzi, Centre for Demographic Research, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium

The changing shape of religion in Australia: How Gen Z leads the way elsewhere
Gary D Bouma AM FAICD, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific, Associate Priest, The Anglican Parish of St John and St Agnes, East Malvern


November

Bubble CPAP in childhood severe pneumonia: Trial in Bangladesh and post-trial implementation plan
Dr Md. Jobayer Chisti, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh


December

Gender equality in early childhood education and care in Norway
Professor Kari Emilsen, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Norway

Citizenship and immigrant anti-rumour strategies: A critical outlook from the Barcelona case
Associate Professor Òscar Prieto-Flores, University of Girona