Does art have the power to persuade? You bet! In a slightly left-of-field blog entry for P2P, today’s post features a piece by Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National University that originally appeared in the Conversation. In it, Sasha reviews an exhibition of work by prolific Australian artist Ben Quilty that invites important questions about the role of art in bringing compassion to the front of national debate.
Read MoreJulie Leask is a social scientist specialising in immunisation and a strong and popular advocate on mainstream and social media. She also posts regularly on her Human Factors blog. Last week she gave an engaging insight into her work, and the opportunities and challenges of research and advocacy, in a post that she has updated here. Follow her on Twitter at @julieleask.
Read MorePower to Persuade aims to improve understanding and communication between the main groups involved in the policy process: government, academics and the community sector. Often that is done, or fails to happen, through the media.
Read MoreThe Power to Persuade blog tackles policy change from many angles. In today’s post, Ina Mullin, Communications Specialist with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, tracks the change in public perception on the government’s asylum seeker policies which has culminated in the high-profile #LetThemStay campaign.
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Australia is grappling with the real world consequences of successive governments' harsh asylum seeker policies. Some journalists and media organisations have been singled out for government criticism over their reporting of the plight of people caught in the system. In an environment of near total government secrecy, how can media fulfil the public interest responsibility of ensuring people are accurately informed? This piece, by Thomas Schillemans from Utrecht University and Sandra Jacobs from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands (originally published on the Policy and Politics blog) examines the public accountability role of media in reporting on asylum seekers in Europe.
Read MoreDr Melissa Stoneham and her colleagues at the Public Health Advocacy Institute WA (PHAIWA) at Curtin University last year looked at the portrayal of Indigenous health in selected Australian media. Their findings were not just valuable for media outlets but for people and organisations working in research, policy development and advocacy.
Read MoreA new approach is needed to delivering justice in the growing outer urban areas. This article by Shorna Moore, Senior Policy Lawyer at Wyndham Legal Service Inc, challenges narrow definitions of justice and argues for a 'precinct model'. The Outer Sight, Out of Justice Project uses critical stakeholder engagement, innovative public-private funding models and thought-leadership to challenge current policy thinking and processes.
Read MoreAs anyone with a stake in social policy change knows well, the media can play a big role in generating the ‘power to persuade’ – making the case for change in a way that moves the public, policy makers, and politicians.
Read MoreResearchers often bemoan the beatups in the media about their work, yet a recent UK study shows that many university press releases exaggerate or hype research findings or made them more determinist. UK scientist and blogger Alasdair Taylor looks at the risks of "churnalism" and asks in the wake of a recent conference: can scientists themselves offer the needed reflection on their research that an investigative journalist might do?
Read MoreMoral and ethical arguments sit at the core of public policy. Politics and policymaking is, after all, a contest over ideas and world views.
The evidence-based policy paradigm has encouraged academics and, to a lesser extent, advocates to disengage from the moral dimensions of the arguments they make. But, by disengaging we sidestep the very ground upon which policy arguments are fought and won.
Below, Associate Professor Brent Sasley and Associate Professor Mira Sucharov reflect on the opportunities presented when we combine evidence with a moral stance through social media:
Read MoreTo get our blog rolling, we at Power to Persuade have set ourselves the challenge of imagining what a cross-sectoral blog focusing on the policy process can offer. Below, I reflect on this from an academic perspective:
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