Dr Kerry O’Brien, from the School of Political and Social Inquiry, is currently heading an international study on discrimination against obese women in the workplace.

The study has found that obese women are more likely to be discriminated against when applying for jobs and receive lower starting salaries than their non-overweight colleagues.

The findings were recently published in the International Journal of Obesity, and examined whether a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice, the universal measure of bias (UMB), predicted actual obesity job discrimination.

Dr O’Brien said the nature of the study was initially concealed from the participants to avoid biased results.

“Participants viewed a series of resumes that had a small photo of the supposed job applicant attached, and were asked to make ratings of the applicants’ suitability, starting salary and employability,” Dr O’Brien said.

For more information about the study see the Monash news service.

Bridget Mattingley in the Banaue Rice Terraces, the Philippines

Just days after the world celebrates International Women’s Day, one Monash student will begin walking in the shoes of women less fortunate to show she cares.

Bridget Mattingley, a fourth year Bachelor of Arts (Global) and Bachelor of Science student at Monash University’s Clayton campus, will begin walking 10,000 steps, or approximately eight kilometres, each morning as part of CARE Australia’s ‘Walk in her Shoes’ Challenge.

Every day millions of women and girls around the globe walk over six kilometres in search of food, water and firewood, leaving them with little time for school, accessing health services or earning an income.

“CARE works in a range of countries, with the money raised from this particular challenge put towards empowering women and their communities through principles such as equal access to education,” Bridget said.

“One of my key motivations for participating has been my experience studying at Monash University’s Sunway campus in 2011, during which I also travelled extensively throughout Southeast Asia. This deepened my awareness of key issues and complexities prevalent through the region.

“It was a joy to see the smiling faces of locals and the strong sense of community shared and open hospitality, even in places where hardships and discrimination were widely evident.”

At Monash Bridget is focusing on international studies and conservation biology, two passions which she hopes to eventually combine.

“I am interested in issues of sustainability, environmental education and how to maximise livelihoods and development without compromising cultural diversity, access to and resilience of natural resources and the land,” Bridget said.

From 12-18 March Bridget will walk 10,000 steps a day in order to raise her target of $750. Just $250 can provide a girl with an education scholarship that includes uniforms, travel costs and food for one year. A simple rope water pump and maintenance training for a community can be bought with $500, drastically reducing the time taken to collect water.

“Such funding is important in providing economic opportunity, with the overall goal of strengthening the capacity of individuals and communities alike to be independent, dynamic and resilient while upholding values of dignity, respect and cultural diversity,” Bridget said.

For more information on CARE Australia, visit their website. To donate to Bridget’s cause, visit her Walk In Her Shoes fundraising page.

The article has now been published, with modifications, in the online newspaper ‘The Thesis Whisperer’.

“For a couple of years I helped to run a course called “Contemporary Issues in Sociological Research” which was designed to provide an ‘authentic’ research experience for third-year undergraduate students in the social sciences. While we had no doubt the unit offered a valuable and even transformative experience for the majority of students who completed, there were some real challenges to teaching it. Some of the brightest students had difficulties in making the transition from one mode of learning (course work) to another (research)…”

Read the full article.

Dr Ranstorp is the Research Director at the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies (CATS) at the Swedish National Defence College. He is also the author of Hizballah in Lebanon (Macmillan, 1997) and editor of Mapping Terrorism Research (Routledge, 2006); International Terrorism and Unconventional Weapons (Routledge, 2009); and Understanding Violent Radicalisation (Routledge, 2010).

See video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iue9Uk4zrs

Professor Greg Barton, Global Terorrism Research Centre, on the Taliban attack that killed Afghanistan’s chief peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani; Benbrika terrorism trial.

See the interview on ABC News.

Monash University presentation

The death of Bin Laden and what it means for international terrorism on SlowTV. See video on SlowTV.

Alumni Speaker Series: Mission Accomplished? The death of Osama Bin Laden and what it means for global terrorism.

Dr Lentini’s nomination was considered amongst an outstanding field of nominees. He was chosen by the selection panel on the basis of his strong record of HDR completions and outstanding quality of supervision, supported by the numerous nomination statements.

The Arts Faculty acknowledges at all times the vital role its staff play in supporting and fostering research but takes this opportunity, again, to thank and congratulate Dr Lentini for his efforts.

The Mayer prize, awarded by the Australian Political Studies Association in conjunction with the Mayer trust, is for an outstanding book on Australian Politics.

Watch video on Youtube.