Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
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More about usInside Business
Championing Indigenous women politicians
The theme for 2020’s National Reconciliation Week is ‘In this Together’; an edited extract from a new book celebrates the contribution of Australia’s Indigenous women in political leadership
Inside Business
The impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s housing market
As the world faces one of the fastest and largest global economic contractions in living memory, Australia’s house prices are likely to fall for months – possibly years
Humanities
A long way from home
As India’s COVID-19 lockdown continues, many migrant workers from the country’s Northeast are unable to return home. But even when they can, they face fear and stigma
The maths and ethics of minimising COVID-19 deaths
A University of Melbourne experts says the government must factor in the maths and ethics of either flattening the curve or an eradication endgame for COVID-19.
Modelling the spread of COVID-19
Forecasting the spread of COVID-19 including undetected cases is difficult but important; a University of Melbourne scientist has an app to track the outlook.
Why do some people believe the Earth is flat?
Although science says the Earth is round, there are some people around who still think it's flat; two University of Melbourne experts look at why.
The impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s housing market
As the global economy contracts due to COVID-19, University of Melbourne research finds Australia’s house prices are likely to fall for months – even years.
Coins and constellations
A new $A1 coin features the Emu in the Sky, a famous dark constellation with special meaning for Indigenous Australians, says a University of Melbourne expert.
Have resistance, will travel
University of Melbourne finds that insects, like mosquitoes, are becoming resistant to insecticides. So, how are these genetic invasions impacting pest control?
Science Matters
Have resistance, will travel
Pest insects, like mosquitoes, are becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides. So how are these genetic invasions threatening pest control?
Design
What can Australia’s pandemic response teach us about bushfire recovery?
While Australia’s state and federal governments responded rapidly to COVID-19, the response to the summer’s devastating bushfires suffers by comparison
Inside Business
Who’s hit hardest by the COVID-19 economic shutdown?
The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey shines a light on those most vulnerable to the COVID-19 economic downturn – low-wage workers, women and young people
Learning & Teaching
Embracing a new normal in ourselves and communities
COVID-19 restrictions have gone on long enough to establish new habits. So what do we want to keep doing and stop doing, both individually and as a community?
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COVID-19
COVID-19
Watch Episode 1: Life Beyond Coronavirus: The Expert View
Flattening the Curve is a term that’s trending right now but there’s a lot of confusion about what it means
Health & Wellbeing
Watch Episode 2: Life beyond Coronavirus: The Expert view
From the government’s Covidsafe tracking app to a new testing regime - what will it take to end isolation?
Health & Wellbeing
Watch Episode 3: Life Beyond Coronavirus: The Expert View
Experts around the world are racing to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, but what are the challenges? And who is getting close?
Health & Wellbeing
The race in the elimination stakes
Australia’s states and territories, along with New Zealand, are racing toward elimination of COVID-19, but not everyone is on the home straight – and some may not cross the line
Health & Wellbeing
A powerful opportunity for change
Can the challenges we face during the coronavirus pandemic help us reconsider what matters most and how we live our lives?
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
Innovation during crisis
Mark Quigley, Associate Professor in Earth Sciences discusses how the impacts of the 2010-2012 Canterbury earthquakes have many parallels to the current COVID-19 crisis – both inspired innovative responses
PodcastEngineering & Technology
The danger of surveillance tech post COVID-19
Facial recognition technology is one tool in the fight against COVID-19, but once the pandemic ends, is surveillance tech going to stick around?
Science Matters
The dual risks of natural disasters and COVID-19
How would people and systems cope if a major earthquake or cyclone occurs while the COVID-19 pandemic continues? The answer is – preparation is key
Engineering & Technology
The privacy paradox: why we let ourselves be monitored
Digital virtual assistants make life more convenient but we are trading off our privacy. Here are some simple steps to keeping the AI where you want it
Science Matters
Mapping our COVID-19 recovery
SWARM technology has brought together the country’s leading experts from Australian universities to work on our recovery after COVID-19
Science Matters
Going beyond political borders to protect threatened animals
As a global community, we must work beyond our national borders to protect threatened species and maintain biodiversity
Health & Medicine
Health & Wellbeing
China’s chronic health burden revealed
An international study has helped to quantify China’s multiple chronic disease burden as COVID-19 places even more pressure on the country’s health system
Health & Wellbeing
Understanding the response of our immune system’s powerful army
Our immune systems can swing from cytokine storm to immune suppression when fighting infection; understanding why could help us tackle the flu and COVID-19
Health & Wellbeing
Caring for India’s elderly during COVID-19
India’s recently extended lockdown for COVID-19 is particularly difficult for the country’s elderly, but there are steps than can be taken to ease the burden
Health & Wellbeing
The mental marathon of COVID-19
Dr Grant Blashki, a GP, professor of global health and lead clinical advisor at Beyond Blue, helps us understand our mental health during isolation
PodcastHealth & Wellbeing
Public trust and controlling COVID-19
Australia has a long history of tackling health challenges collectively, but public trust in government is a crucial ingredient, especially now during COVID-19
Environment
Animals, Food & You
Helping dairy cows to beat the heat
Heat stress is a key issue for the dairy industry, but some strategies may help to reduce the negative impacts on dairy cows and increase the resilience and sustainability of the industry
Science Matters
Australia’s mountains are still growing
Research using the age of caves shows the Eastern Highlands of Victoria have been steadily growing at a rate of 76 metres every million years, and are still going
Health & Wellbeing
Australian homes on the line
Despite the government’s efforts to defend employment and the economy, the second line of defence needs to be housing – keeping renters and mortgage holders in their homes
Design
COVID-19 is an opportunity to reset our environmental future
The COVID-19 restrictions are having short-term environmental benefits, but the crisis also presents an opportunity to plan Australia’s low or zero net emissions future
Design
Reduce, reuse and recycle for a circular economy
Using a university campus as a ‘living laboratory’, a new study evaluates what materials universities use, their associated environmental effects and how to curb them
Design
Disasters, planning and Australian tourism
Australia’s summer of bushfires is hitting our tourism industry to the tune of billions of dollars; future planning must integrate tourism and disaster resilience
Arts & Culture
Humanities
Will COVID-19 end globalisation?
A spectre is haunting the world but it isn’t COVID-19, it’s the idea that the pandemic could lead to the end of globalisation
Humanities
How will the arts recover from COVID-19?
Working with the limitations and opportunities of online interfaces, artists whose careers survive the pandemic will emerge with an altered sense of what they do, and of their place in society
Humanities
Museums in cyberspace
In the face of COVID-19, museums have moved to engage audiences online. Here are some lessons on what works and what doesn’t
Humanities
How plague helped make Rome a superpower
Epidemics haunt history, but at a time of COVID-19 it pays to remember they shape history too, as happened in 212 BC at Syracuse
Humanities
Learning a language at home: You are not alone
High demand for online language learning during COVID-19 confinement indicates our craving for real-life travel might be met by virtual voyages within language communities
Education
Education
How do we teach students about their wellbeing online?
As schools across the globe have settled into online teaching, the next step will be how to teach social emotional learning in digital classrooms
Legal Affairs
Education technology, schooling and privacy
COVID-19 has highlighted the increasing growth of education technology or EdTech, but more legal reform is needed for children’s privacy as they learn online
Health & Wellbeing
Being a student during COVID-19
A new online exhibition of photos explores the student experience of life and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
Learning & Teaching
Helping Year 12 students stay on track
As Term 2 starts for many students, COVID-19 means schooling at home has become a reality. So, how can parents and carers help? Particularly those in their final year of school?
Learning & Teaching
The world is a classroom
Educators and government have long talked about 21st Century learning, but COVID-19 presents an opportunity to reevaluate our attitudes to modern education - right here, right now
Education
The psychology of isolation
Self-isolation needn’t be a burden; it can be an opportunity for self-reflection and renewal. Here are some tips for preparing yourself and, possibly even, enjoying the experience
Business & Economics
Public Affairs
Time for a Universal Basic Income?
The socio-economic crisis brought about by COVID-19 reveals cracks in existing social welfare systems and the need for radical transformation
Legal Affairs
Should we trust in trusts during COVID-19?
The economic downturn is exposing trust beneficiaries to a series of risks, but the trust structure can still help those in financial distress
Legal Affairs
Holding corporations to account
The slippery concept of corporate guilt too often allows companies off the hook. The law needs reforming
Inside Business
Flexible working beyond COVID-19
COVID-19 is an unprecedented experiment for the modern workplace, and while it proves flexible working for many, it can magnify problems for others
Inside Business
The do’s and don’ts of bolstering your financial resilience
There are some key steps all Australians can take to bolster their financial resilience as COVID-19 continues to impact on our economy
Politics & Society
Health & Wellbeing
The young Australians hit hard during COVID-19
For governments and policy makers, COVID-19 is a chance to address the existing problems for younger Australian workers as youth unemployment looks set to peak
Legal Affairs
Breaking down COVID-19 barriers for people with disability
COVID-19 poses particular challenges for people with disability, but some aren’t the issues that people might assume
Public Affairs
India’s local governments tackling COVID-19
Telephone booth-style testing centres, stay-at-home talent competitions and community kitchens are helping India face the challenges of COVID-19
Design
Where to now for Australian property?
The COVID-19 hit to the economy is accelerating some trends that were already underway in Australia’s different property markets
Legal Affairs
Efficacy, ideology and COVIDSafe
Questions remain over measuring the effectiveness of the Australian government’s tracking app, COVIDSafe, along with the mission creep it is sure to entail
Legal Affairs
Discrimination in a pandemic
Many Australians are facing potential unemployment, but the reality is some people are more likely to face discrimination and inequality in the workplace during COVID-19