Keeping up with information and communication technology

Examines survey respondents\u27 beliefs about whether they felt they had been left behind by information and communication technology (ICT) developments, and whether they were worried about being left behind in the future. Summary The rapid advances in information and communication technology (ICT) in recent decades have had an enormous effect on many facets of everyday life, including our relationships, formal and informal education, work,recreational pursuits and shopping. Access to information  has exploded, with the scope and detail of material available increasing almost beyond comprehension. For those who have kept up with ICT developments and wish to make use of them, staying in touch with family members and friends, sharing information, and organising social activities have never been so easy, thanks to mobile telephones, email and social media services. In addition, bills can be paid at any time without leaving home, and fresh groceries can be ordered online and delivered to our front door, while global positioning systems (GPSs) enable easy navigation of unfamiliar territories. Australians’ speedy and widespread take-up of advances in ICT has been captured in various surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). For example, in 2012–13, 83% of adults (aged 18 years and over) were Internet users, and 83% of all households had access to the Internet. In addition, three-quarters of Internet users had purchased or ordered goods or services online (ABS, 2014). In 1998, on other hand, only 45% of households had a computer and 16% had home Internet access (with the latter percentage having quadrupled over the previous two years). Only one-third of adults were Internet users in 1998, with 13% accessing it via their home computer (ABS, 1999)

Life satisfaction across life course transitions

This paper looks at how life satisfaction changes as we pass through various life transitions on the pathway from adolescence through young adulthood, middle age and into old age. It explores how leaving home, commencing a relationship, having children, separating, entering the “empty nest” phase, retirement and widowhood affect life satisfaction. Summary We all experience ups and downs at various points throughout life. This paper explores whether we experience predictable changes in life satisfaction over the life course—both as we get older and as we pass through a range of common life course transitions. The paper looks at how life satisfaction changes as we pass through various life transitions on the pathway from adolescence through young adulthood, middle age and into old age. It explores how leaving home, commencing a relationship, having children, separating, entering the “empty nest” phase, retirement and widowhood affect life satisfaction. We concentrate on three main questions: Do these life course transitions have an effect on life satisfaction, and if so, in what way? Is any such effect of life course transitions greater for men or for women? When a life course transition affects life satisfaction, is the change longlasting or relatively short-lived? For example, do people tend to “bounce back” within some years of experiencing transitions that erode life satisfaction, and if so, how long after the transition is this likely to become apparent? The same questions arise in relation to transitions that enhance life satisfaction. Research into subjective wellbeing suggests that most people tend to view life in a positive light and are able to adapt to various circumstances (Cummins, 2000; Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006). It is argued that, except in extreme circumstances, people have their own “normal” level of wellbeing, which increases or decreases in response to personally important changes and challenges, but eventually returns to their “normal” level. That is, the ups and downs of wellbeing will usually be transitory and are governed by some sort of homeostatic mechanism. But people do not always bounce back—especially under severe circumstances (e.g., Cummins, 2000; Diener et al., 2006; Lucas, 2007). Diener et al. argued that individuals may have multiple “set points”, such that after experiencing adversity a person may bounce back, but not all the way, and thus they establish a new (but lower) baseline of life satisfaction. Cummins also maintained that extremes in adversity can defeat the homeostatic process

Australian families with children and adolescents

This report highlights some of the ways in which Australian families with children under 18 years old have changed or remained stable.Key messagesThis fact sheet examines the extent and nature of change in household and family forms. The broad trends observed include the following: Family size has decreased, with the proportion of those families with only one or two children younger than 18 years increasing over successive Census periods.In turn, larger families, with three, four or more children are less prevalent.For those families headed by an unpartnered parent, however, the numbers of children in the family have changed little over the last decade.Women are having children later in life than was apparent for earlier generations. As a result, the proportion of mothers (of children under 18 years old) in the 45-54 year age group has steadily increased over the last two decades. These trends are similar both for mothers in couple families and for unpartnered mothers, though fewer of the former than the latter group tend to be younger than 25 years old.The proportions of intact, step- and blended families with children under 18 years old have not changed over the last 20 years. While rates of cohabitation have increased steadily over the decades, step-families show the highest rate, followed by blended families.Given that as children mature their chance of having experienced parental separation at some stage in their childhood increases, the proportion living in one-parent families or in step-families also increases progressively with increases in the children\u27s age.Rates of paid employment of mothers have steadily increased, typically involving part-time work when children are younger than 12 years.When family forms (couple or one-parent family) and the employment circumstances of the parent(s) who are living with the child are taken into account, then the most common arrangements for children aged under 5 years old is for them to live in a couple family in which one parent works full-time and the other is either not employed or away from work. For older age groups, the most common situation is to be living in a dual-earning couple family.Mothers continue to spend more time than fathers on household work, even if working full-time. Some fathers work well beyond the standard full-time hours. This tends to generate dissatisfaction and lowered wellbeing across a range of areas, including family relationships, though some fathers appear to thrive on such work hours, at least in the short-term.Most parents in intact families report high satisfaction with their relationship with each other, though fathers tend to be more satisfied than mothers. While most are highly satisfied with their own and the other parent\u27s relationship with their children, both mothers and fathers are more likely to express high satisfaction with the mother-child than father-child relationship.Biological parent—child relationships tend to be viewed more favourably by those experiencing them than is the case for step-parent—child relationships. Compared with step-fathers, step-mothers report lower relationship quality with their step-children.Overall, adolescents seem highly satisfied with their relationship with their parents, but relationships with step-parents are less likely to be viewed in such a favourable light. Step-daughters seem less satisfied than step-sons with these relationships

Families, life events and family service delivery

Life events or transitions are understood to be circumstances that have an unsettling element for individuals (and from a systemic perspective, for family members also). Life events or transitions, even when pursued and ultimately beneficial, usually require adjustment on one or more fronts and relinquishment of at least some areas of familiarity. Examples of life events include: births, establishing a new relationship, moving house, entering the education system, starting a new job, experiencing a physical or mental illness, deaths, and so on. The Australian Institute of Family Studies (the Institute; AIFS) has completed this literature review on life events at the request of the Portfolio Department of Human Services (the Department; DHS)

Long work hours and the wellbeing of fathers and their families

The average hours worked by full-time employees in Australia have increased since the late 1970s. This, combined with increases in female labour force participation, has led to concerns about the impact of long work hours on family life. This paper explores the relationship between fathers' work hours, their own wellbeing and that of their families using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The analysis is restricted to full-time employed fathers with a partner and dependent children. Overall, satisfaction with work hours decreases as the number of hours worked increases. However, long work hours are not necessarily, or even on average associated with pervasively lower wellbeing. Work hours are negatively related to only two of the thirteen measures of wellbeing examined. For fathers working very long hours, their satisfaction with their work hours is found to be very important to the relationship between work hours and wellbeing.

Determinants of Australian mothers' employment: An analysis of lone and couple mothers

While the lower rates of employment of lone mothers as compared with couple mothers has been well documented, the reasons for the employment gap are less well understood. This paper uses data from the 1996 Australian Census to analyse the factors which explain the employment gap.

Changes in the labour force status of lone and couple Australian mothers, 1983-2002

Over the last twenty years there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of lone mothers employed part-time, while the proportion employed full-time is much the same in 2002 as it was in 1983. The experience of couple mothers is quite different, with both full-time and part-time employment increasing at similar rates. This paper uses data from the 1986 and 1996 Censuses to explore the possible reasons for the differences in the labour market trends of lone and couple mothers.

The economic consequences of divorce in six OECD countries

This report presents a cross-national comparison of the short- and medium-term economic effects of divorce. Overview This paper uses longitudinal data to estimate the short- and medium-term economic effects of divorce in the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Korea, Germany and Australia during the first decade of the 21st century. While the data, collected during the 2000s, were generally consistent with the findings from the existing literature, they reveal that the effects of divorce differ between the six countries included in this study

Fluorescent sensing of mercury(II) based on formation of catalytic gold nanoparticles

A fluorescence assay for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ using a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based probewas proposed. The assay was based on the formation of Hg-Au alloys, which accelerated the oxidization of o-phenylenediamine by dissolved oxygen to produce 2,3-diaminophenazine, a fluorescent product.;A fluorescence assay for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ using a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based probewas proposed. The assay was based on the formation of Hg-Au alloys, which accelerated the oxidization of o-phenylenediamine by dissolved oxygen to produce 2,3-diaminophenazine, a fluorescent product

The Australian Institute of Family Studies Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms: Key findings

The Australian Institute of Family Studies' Evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms was released in January 2010. It is based on an extensive amount of empirical research, unprecedented in Australia and arguably internationally, comprising 17 separate studies involving 28,000 people, 1724 court files, administrative data and legal analysis. This article presents some key findings of the Evaluation. Specifically, the Evaluation found that for the majority of families, the family law system is working satisfactorily. At the same time however, the Evaluation findings underline the existence of complex issues, including family violence and child abuse concerns, mental health problems and substance misuse which affect many families that rely on the federal family law system^ for assistance. While the introduction of family dispute resolution with exceptions+ has resulted in more disputes being resolved without court action, there is a need for refinement of processes and understandings with respect to cases that are unsuitable for such processes or cases that require additional support in order for disputes to be resolved safely and responsibly. Similarly, while children in shared care represent a minority overall, and while the majority of families with shared care appear to be doing well, there is evidence that these arrangements are sometimes being made even in circumstances where parents have safety concerns, with adverse consequences for the well-being of children