Academy Of The Social Sciences In Australia
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The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the
social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Australia, founded in 1942. The Academy was established in 1971 to recognise and champion excellence in the social sciences and to provide evidence-based advice on a range of social policy issues. The Academy consists of an elected
Fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of almost 700 distinguished Australian social science researchers and professionals who work together to: * Provide advice to governments on issues of national importance; * Promote understanding and awareness of the social sciences; and * Coordinate international cooperation and collaboration in the social sciences.


Origins

ASSA's functions were originally fulfilled through the Social Science Research Council of Australia, which was founded in 1942. A timeline of events leading up to ASSA's formation in 1971 is as follows: * 1942 – Members of the Australian National Research Council propose the establishment of a Social Science Research Council. * 1943 – The Australian National Research Council considers the proposal and establishes a Social Science Research Committee. * 1952 – Nine years later, the Social Science Research Committee resolves to become an autonomous body. A draft constitution for the new body is accepted by the Australian National Research Council and all members of the Committee are invited to become members of the new Social Science Research Council of Australia. * 1953 – The new Council holds its first meeting with a membership of 44. * 1957 – The Social Science Research Council becomes an incorporated association. * 1970 – The Council adopts a recommendation that it become the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. * 1971 – The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is incorporated on 7 July 1971. The 96 members of the Council become Fellows of the Academy.


Fellowship

Fellows of the Academy include Australia’s leading researchers and practitioners across the breadth of social science disciplines, as well as a number of honorary Fellows (those who have made significant contributions to the social sciences beyond research), and overseas Fellows working outside of Australia. To become a Fellow of the Academy individuals must be nominated by three existing Fellows, and have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to one or more fields of social science research or practice in Australia. Nominations are considered by the Academy’s disciplinary Panels, by independent assessors, then by the Membership Committee before being put to a vote of Academy Fellows in a general ballot. As of 2020, there are over 680 Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA). On election, each Fellow is assigned to one of four panels, depending on their discipline: *Panel A:
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
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Demography Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...
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Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
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Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
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Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
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Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
. *Panel B:
Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
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Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
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Economic History Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and i ...
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Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
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Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
. *Panel C:
History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
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Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
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Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
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Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. *Panel D:
Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
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Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
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Social Medicine The field of social medicine seeks to implement social care through # understanding how social and economic conditions impact health, disease and the practice of medicine and # fostering conditions in which this understanding can lead to a health ...
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Governance

The Academy is an incorporated association and a registered charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. It is governed by an elected President and Executive Committee responsible for strategy and direction, and its National Office is led by a CEO responsible for day to day management. Sub-Committees of the Executive include the Finance Committee, the Membership Committee, the Policy and Advocacy Committee, the Public Forums and Communications Committee and the Workshops Committee. The President serves a three-year term with an additional year as President-Elect and two-years as Immediate Past-President. From 1 January 2020, the Committee is composed of *President (Chair): Jane Hall (2019–2021) *Immediate Past President:
Glenn Withers Glenn Alexander Withers is an Australian economist, policy adviser, and academic. He is an Honorary Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Australian National University and Visiting Professorial Fellow at University of New South Wales Can ...
(2019–2020) *Treasurer:
Wai Fong Chua Wai or WAI may refer to : Places * Wai, Maharashtra, a small town in India ** Wai (Vidhan Sabha constituency), a Maharashtra Legislative Assembly constituency centered around the town * Wao State (Vav, Wai, Way), a former princely state in Banas ...
(2019–2021) *International Secretary: James J. Fox (2014–2021) *Chair, Public Forums & Communication Committee: Richard Holden (2018–2020) *Chair, Policy & Advocacy Committee: Sue Richardson (2019–2021) *Chair, Workshop Committee: J. Michael Innes (2014–2020) *Chair, Panel A:
Neal Ashkanasy Neal M. Ashkanasy (born 5 June 1945) is an Australian academic best known for his work on emotions in the workplace. He was honored for his "service to tertiary education, to psychology and to the community." He began his career as a civil eng ...
(2020–2022) *Chair, Panel B: Kevin Fox (2019–2021) *Chair, Panel C:
Kate Darian-Smith Katherine Darian-Smith, (born 25 February 1961) is an Australian social historian and academic. She is executive dean and pro vice-chancellor at the University of Tasmania. Early life and education Katherine Darian-Smith was born in Sydney, N ...
(2019–2021) *Chair, Panel D:
Kevin McConkey Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...
(2018–2020) *CEO:
Chris Hatherly Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), ...
The Academy’s National Office is located in Canberra on the grounds of the Australian National University. A small team of staff work closely with the Academy’s committees and Fellows to manage all aspects of the Academy’s programs.


Events, Awards, and Workshops

Each year, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia hosts and supports a wide range of social science or policy-focused lectures, forums, roundtables and other events around the country. Many of these events are free of charge and open to the public.


Events

The Annual Symposium is the highlight of the Academy’s calendar. Convened by one or more Fellows and held over a full day in November , the Annual Symposium is a public forum examining an important issue in the social sciences and/or public policy arena. The Academy also hosts a series of lectures over the year. These include, but are not limited to: * Cunningham Lecture — presented by an eminent social scientist as part of the Annual events immediately following the Symposium. The Cunningham Lecture is named in honour of Professor Kenneth Stewart Cunningham, Founding President of the Social Science Research Council. * Fay Gale Lecture — presented each year by a distinguished female social scientist. * Keith Hancock Lecture — presented each year by a distinguished social scientist nominated by the Academy Fellows. * Paul Bourke Lectures — presented each year by each recipient of the Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research. * Peter Karmel Forum — held each year to provoke public discussion on a particular policy of Australian government, the policy making process itself, or comparisons of policies or policy processes found in Australia with those found in other jurisdictions.


Awards

The Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research are named in honour of the Academy’s past president Paul Francis Bourke (1938–1999) who was a product of the History school at the University of Melbourne and went on to become one of the first Australian historians to obtain American style doctoral training. Whilst at Flinders University, he served as Professor of American Studies and also as Pro-Vice Chancellor. From Flinders University, he went on to become the Director of the RSSS at the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
and also served as the President of The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (1993–1997). Amongst scholars, the contribution Paul made to the field of performance measurement is considered to be invaluable. Based on nominations from Fellows, each Panel of the Academy will select one outstanding scholar to receive one of four Paul Bourke Awards. It is the intention of the Academy that the awards are presented to social science researchers who, at the time of nomination, do not yet hold an Associate Professor or Professorial appointment. Such persons are normally within five years of receiving their doctorate, but allowances are made for career interruptions. The awards consist of a Citation and Medallion presented to each of the four winners at the Academy Annual Dinner. With the agreement of the winners’ home university, a jointly-sponsored lecture will be delivered by each of the winners during the year following receipt of the awards. The winners will also prepare a promotional article on their research to be published by the Academy.


Workshops

The Academy’s long-standing Workshop Program provides small grants to support interdisciplinary meetings discussing contemporary policy or research issues of interest to the social sciences. The workshops usually run for two-days and involve around 20 invited experts; mostly from the research sector, but also where relevant from government, the community sector or industry. It is a condition of funding that workshops are gender balanced in terms of speakers and participants, and include at least two early career researchers. Each workshop supported by the Academy must also produce a report for online or physical publication by the Academy.


Other Academies

There are three other learned Academies in Australia, those of Humanities (
Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...
), Science (
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...
) and Technological Sciences and Engineering ( Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering). The four Academies cooperate through the National Academies Forum, formed in 1995.


References


External links

* {{authority control 1942 establishments in Australia Australian National Academies Educational institutions established in 1942
Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...