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.id community monthly newsletter
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July 2012
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Greetings!
I am a little embarrassed to admit that I started crunching Census data back in 1981 - as part of my Geography Honours thesis. This required quite a bit of tedious data entry and even extracting some of the 1976 Census data from microfiche!
The point of mentioning this is that since then we have seen the advent of the 'Digital Age'. As a result, how much easier is it to manage data, turn it into information and knowledge, and communicate the results?
Over this 30 year period I have observed a convergence of several key advancements regarding the dissemination and consumption of data:
1. The development of the internet to the extent that presenting and updating data is so rapid and effective that the flow of information is now making traditional forms of communication obsolete;
2. The general public has become more literate in reading and understanding data presented as maps and charts; and
3. There is an ever increasing requirement for organizations to make decisions based on empirical evidence.
Consequently over this period interest in and use of the Census has radically grown. Census data used to be the realm of a few geeks and nerds (and of course the team at .id has several of these). However, as a passionate advocate of the use of Census data in community and business decision-making, I am pleased to see the level of interest and use of Census data significantly broaden and increase across all sectors.
I can provide you with some evidence of this.
For example, much of our newsletter content is about how we use Census data and the readership has grown from zero to over 4,200 subscribers in just over 12 months of publishing!... and I'm sure that only about 2 or 3 percent of you could be classified as geeks or nerds, right?
Sincerely,
Ivan |
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 Focus on Local Government
The population of the Gold Coast - a story of spectacular growth
Until the 1960s, the Gold Coast was just a string of sleepy coastal villages.
The Gold Coast population explosion that has occurred since that time is one of the amazing stories in Australian demographics, as this place, which didn't exist as a city before 1958 has grown to become Australia's 6th largest urban centre, and largest non state capital.
read more..
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 Census 2011 Our ever changing age structure
How old are you?
Some would consider this a personal question but there's no getting away from the fact that our age is part of who we are. The age structure of a population is an important determinant as to services demanded, policies implemented and consumer behaviour.
This blog will examine how Australia's age structure has changed over the last three Censuses and what this might mean...
read more.. |
 Census Australia 2011 - a quality result? Well the Census Australia 2011 results are out, and we're working away now to get the 2011-based community profile and atlas sites online, and looking closely at the Census data.
We've already noticed something significant about it. The results seem better this year...
read more.. |
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Spotlight on NZ
Demographics is for the Nerds....discuss!
It was a pleasure to spend time in Wanganui recently at the Wanganui District Council-run TechEx (checkout their website www.techex.co.nz ). It was a three day IT expo focusing on the opportunities that their new ultra-fast broadband link could and would facilitate in the region. We attended and discovered just how many and varied users are accessing demographic information.
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inside .id
.id announces online training suite
Since .id was launched 14 years ago, we have believed comprehensive training is an essential part of all of our products. We believe it's critical that council staff, as well as local businesses, understand how best to use the .id tools to create a richer evidence base for their decision-making and planning.
As such, .id will always continue to deliver training onsite, as we can tailor the content of the sessions to each council, respond to questions and discuss "hot topics" to maximise the benefits of the session. However - every day, new staff members are joining councils around the country. We would like them to also have access to .id training, without having to wait for our next onsite session. And, we would like all .id users to be able to conveniently access a store of information, for use in refresher training or as a quick "how to" guide. So, with the new release of census data we will also be announcing our online suite of training videos. The videos will be available via our website, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will be categorised by product (e.g. profile, atlas) but also by function, such as "How do I find where most of the older people are living?" or "Which of our suburbs has the highest percentage of young people aged 12-17?" or "Which languages are emerging as significant in our council area, and which suburbs have the highest concentrations?" The videos will be short (4-5 minutes each) and will start appearing on our website by the end of September. If you have any topics you would specifically like us to cover in the videos, please let us know by emailing Jim@id.com.au |
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A word from our researchers
Census 2011 - the where and how of vacant dwellings
While many people get excited about the population characteristics revealed by Census data, many forget that it is a Census of Population AND Housing.
The type, structure and composition of dwellings and households also form an important part of the story around urban and regional change.
The number and proportion of unoccupied, or vacant, dwellings has particular spatial characteristics that are important to local government planners.
What does the 2011 Census reveal about vacant dwellings in Australia?
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 Tips and Tricks
It's time to update the .id link page on your website...
Does your .id link page still say it has the "new" data from the 2001 Census?
As you know, the .id tools (profile.id, atlas.id, economy.id, forecast.id) are managed websites, hosted and regularly updated by .id. Councils that subscribe to these tools provide a link from their own websites to the .id tools for their council area.
The links are normally under a council website heading, such as "Community Demographics" or "Local Statistics" or "Population Statistics".
To update the links to reflect the latest census release data, we suggest that you replace the text on your website link page with the following for each of your .id tools. Just please remember to change "City of Example" with your own council name!
read more..
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 Final word Adult diapers outsell baby diapers in Japan It's true - and apart from being a weird, interesting fact that you can use at your next quiz night, it indicates a much broader issue - an ageing population in a country with little immigration.
As a result, Japan have a massive ageing population, with only natural childbirth to provide new additions to population.
What other "paradigm shifts" are we seeing "for the first time" in 2012?
read more.. |
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+61 3 9417 2205 info@id.com.au
NZ Freecall : 0800 955 481 www.id.com.au
10 Easey Street, PO Box 1689, Collingwood, Victoria 3066, Australia
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