143 research outputs found
Economic progress, social disquiet: the modern paradox
Abstract Surveys of social attitudes are revealing a perhaps unprecedented paradox: a booming economy but persistent community disquiet. The puzzling coincidence is fuelling interest in what is perhaps the ultimate public policy question: is life getting better -or worse? The relationship between economic growth and human development is not as clear-cut as conventional wisdom and government policy assume. Public opinion surveys suggest that the driving dynamic in Australia and other Western societies in the early decades of the new century will be a growing tension between values and lifestyles. How this tension is resolved will fundamentally determine national and global futures
Societal and personal concerns, their associations with stress, and the implications for progress and the future
A survey of more than 2000 people in four countries examined levels of concern across 19 personal and 23 societal issues. On average, 49% were moderately or seriously concerned about the personal issues, with health, wellbeing and financial concerns topping the ranking. Country differences were small, but generational differences were substantial. An average of 58% of Generation Y were moderately or seriously concerned, compared to 35% of Pre-boomers, with significant differences for 14 of the 19 issues. In terms of societal issues, an average of 41% were moderately or seriously concerned, with social and moral issues ranking ahead of economic and environmental matters. Americans were the most concerned with societal issues and Australians the least. Societal concerns increased with age. Both sets of concerns, but especially personal, were predictors of perceived personal stress, although specific concerns were both positively and negatively associated with stress. The ranking of societal concerns, country differences, age differences, and the relationship between concerns and stress are discussed. Findings provide insights into the relationships between social conditions, personal circumstances and wellbeing, supporting an argument that researchers need to pay more attention to the psychosocial dynamics of contemporary life in assessing human progress as a pathway to the future
Clogging the machinery: the BBC's experiment in science coordination, 1949â1953
In 1949, physicist Mark Oliphant criticised the BBCâs handling of science in a letter to the Director General William Haley. It initiated a chain of events which led to the experimental appointment of a science adviser, Henry Dale, to improve the âcoordinationâ of science broadcasts. The experiment failed, but the episode revealed conflicting views of the BBCâs responsibility towards science held by scientists and BBC staff. For the scientists, science had a special status, both as knowledge and as an activity, which in their view obligated the BBC to make special arrangements for it. BBC staff, however, had their own professional procedures which they were unwilling to abandon. The events unfolded within a few years of the end of the Second World War, when social attitudes to science had been coloured by the recent conflict, and when the BBC itself was under scrutiny from the William Beveridgeâs Committee. The BBC was also embarking on new initiatives, notably the revival of adult education. These contextual factors bear on the story, which is about the relationship between a public service broadcaster and the external constituencies it relies on, but must appear to remain independent from. The article therefore extends earlier studies showing how external bodies have attempted to manipulate the inner workings of the BBC to their own advantage (e.g. those by Doctor and Karpf) by looking at the little-researched area of science broadcasting. The article is largely based on unpublished archive documents
Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability
Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, Ï2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, Ï2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Public perceptions of future threats to humanity and different societal responses: a cross-national study
There is growing scientific evidence that humanity faces a number of threats that jeopardize its future. Public perceptions of these threats, both their risks and reactions to them, are important in determining how humanity confronts and addresses the threats. This study investigated the perceived probability of threats to humanity and different responses to them (nihilism, fundamentalism and activism), in four Western nations: the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Overall, a majority (54%) rated the risk of our way of life ending within the next 100 years at 50% or greater, and a quarter (24%) rated the risk of humans being wiped out at 50% or greater. The responses were relatively uniform across countries, age groups, gender and education level, although statistically significant differences exist. Almost 80% agreed we need to transform our worldview and way of life if we are to create a better future for the world (activism). About a half agreed that the world\u27s future looks grim so we have to focus on looking after ourselves and those we love (nihilism), and over a third that we are facing a final conflict between good and evil in the world (fundamentalism). The findings offer insight into the willingness of humanity to respond to the challenges identified by scientists and warrant increased consideration in scientific and political debate
Population Measures of Subjective Wellbeing: How Useful are they?
Social indicators, Subjective wellbeing, Happiness, National progress, Human development,
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