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Tag Archives: social issues

Census sense

id Informed Decisions are the Australian and New Zealand ‘population experts’ providing demographic profiling and forecasting:  ‘We believe that by making demographic information accessible to the broadest possible audience, and promoting evidence-based decision making, we are contributing to a fairer and more sustainable society’.

Their id blog has many observations drawn from a range of data. A prime source of data being the 2011 Australian Census.

Here are some of the small graphics drawn for a number of the blog posts.

The coffee economy

The coffee economy

2012 review

2012 review

Grim reaper

Grim reaper

Economic modelling

Economic modelling

 

Discover Frank Fisher!

 

Frank Fisher, who died earlier this year, was an inspiration to many people, an environmental educator committed to ‘social transformation to a more sensitive self-aware world’.  Among other things he was professor in the National Centre for Sustainability, Swinburn University of Technology, Melbourne.

 

Frank established The Understandascope in 2005, the name coming from cartoonist Michael Leunig’s cartoon. It was relaunched this year as a website www.understandascope.org – to continue Frank Fisher’s vision of ‘a more circumspect, humble and considerate society, increasingly sensitive and responsive to the consequences of our actions upon each other and the rest of nature’.

 

The Understandascope has launched an ebook Everyday Transcendence: the influence of Frank Fisher. Discover Frank Fisher and a link to download the ebook here.

 

Frank Fisher was a committed cyclist. Here is one cartoon from the ebook.

Fisher cyclist pic

 

 

 

 

Election – make a difference!

November’s New Internationalist is out. This issue tackles Medicine and ‘inequality’s toxic effect on health and healthcare’.  However, with the US election only days away my Scratchy Lines cartoon took a look at how electing our representatives works …

Affordable housing … oxymoron!

 

Affordable housing doesn’t seem like a big ask ….

 

 

A recent cartoon from the Pro Bono news page.

 

 

 

 

From Micro to Macro….

 

 

The next set of books from Independence Educational Publishers has appeared. From the Poverty book here is a cartoon illustrating a positive article on the value of microfinance.

 

 

Elephant in the room…

 

 

The focus of the latest issue of New Internationalist is Youth. The cover states:  ‘Youth rising – why apathy is not an option’, and to quote from one article “young people are carrying the can for capitalism’s structural failings’. Those who do read the magazine will know that it presents a global snapshot (and fact-shot) of complex issues.

 

 

This month the cartoon does relate to the theme – as well as using a bit too popular metaphor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overseas students

The City of Melbourne is developing an International Students Strategy  to  ‘continue to develop the programs and initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of International Students… and acknowledge and promote the substantial contribution International Students make to Melbourne’s diverse social and cultural fabric…’

Here are two of the cartoons illustrating their fact sheet and discussion questions.

 

Global Cloud upload hitch!

In a slightly deluded belief that providing a cloud for uploading files is cutting edge community development ‘Global cloud computing giant, Salesforce.com has defended its plans to trademark the term ‘social enterprise’ world wide’. Click here to read the story on the Pro Bono website.

Quoting from the article:

‘US author and social entrepreneur, Auren Kaplan responded … saying “the trademarking of “social enterprise” by Salesforce degrades the work of social entrepreneurs all over the world, and is unacceptable.”

 

‘Many responses … have described the Salesforce.com moves as absurd, ridiculous, foolish and brand suicide’.

 

Here is today’s NFP Kneebone cartoon for Pro Bono News:

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Rupert…

The Winter 2012 Edition of Australian Options (in newsagents now!) has an article  ‘The real politics of Rupert Murdoch’  by David McKnight, author of the book Rupert Murdoch: an Investigation of Political Power.

The article argues that, although saying he simply runs his newspapers as profit making businesses, Rupert Murdoch has a deeper interest in political influence, and uses free market populism to sway debate on important issues.

These are the cartoons that illustrated the article (the article will explain just what they are referring to, but I hope they can stand alone).

Bold New World!

 

This is the cartoon in the current edition of New Internationalist.

 

If you don’t subscribe, buy a copy and check it out. To find out more and follow their blog, visit the website here.

 

And there is the Australian New Internationalist page, shop and blog here.