NAOMI LEVIN

A RECENT study has shown that Australians do not think multiculturalism has encouraged extremism or terrorism at home.

In fact, the study revealed that some Australians believe strong multicultural policies have helped avoid social tensions between ethnic groups, such as those found in some European countries.

The study, titled Perception of Multiculturalism and Security in Victoria, was recently completed by Monash University. It involved 120 people from metropolitan and regional Victoria.

Participants indicated that while they felt Australia was more of a target for terrorism now than it was 10 years ago, this was because of foreign policy decisions, such as Australia’s participation in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the growth of global terrorism, rather than migration.
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Professor Andrew Markus.

NAOMI LEVIN

THE first round of results are in and Australia’s Jewish community is set to discover more than it ever knew about itself.

The preliminary findings from the Jewish Population Study were launched this week by Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation.

The study’s lead author Professor Andrew Markus said the findings provided a “rich insight into the various subgroups within the Jewish population, ranging from the strictly Orthodox to the disconnected”.

“We have been actively working on this project for more than two years, beginning with the establishment of advisory committees, proceeding to focus group discussions, finalising the content of the questionnaire, pilot testing, more than six months of surveying and then three months for this first stage of data analysis,” he said. Read the full story

By Danny Gocs

FOR the past three years, Kelly Hartman has been working for the Reach Foundation, a non-profit, non-denominational organisation based in Melbourne that helps young people. The job has enabled Hartman, 35, who studied arts and psychology at Monash University, to travel to many parts of the world, including a fascinating 10-day trip to the west African nation of Mali earlier this year.

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