Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
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Prisons are communities too
COVID-19 has exposed the urgent need to reform incarceration systems globally to end overcrowding and improve health care
Humanities
Against erasure
Using witness accounts and smuggled information, researchers and technicians have created a 3D digital model of the infamous but dismantled Manus Island Detention Centre
Engineering & Technology
Challenging decisions made by algorithm
If an algorithm makes a decision about you that you think is unfair, a lack of process can make it difficult to challenge, appeal or even contest that decision
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.
Making sense of war through art
Two former official war artists and University of Melbourne academics are using art to research and explore how we respond to, and cope with, conflict.
Prisons are communities too
COVID-19 has exposed the urgent need to reform incarceration systems globally to end overcrowding and improve health care, say University of Melbourne experts
Challenging decisions made by algorithm
If an algorithm makes an unfair decision about you, a lack of process makes it hard to challenge, appeal or even contest it, say University of Melbourne experts
Public Affairs
Finding Australia’s new Asia narrative
Australia’s challenge beyond COVID is finding a new narrative for how it relates to its Asian neighbours – particularly China
Learning & Teaching
Rebuilding trust in a less trusting environment
COVID-19 and lockdowns have challenged our trust in institutions and in each other, but simple every day actions can help us to rebuild
Health & Wellbeing
Bringing an Aboriginal lens and ownership to health data
By working in partnership with Aboriginal communities, data research has for the first time built a comprehensive view of maternal health on Yorta Yorta country
Humanities
Measuring diversity in Australian publishing
Diversity in publishing workplaces is good for our books, but exactly how diverse is our publishing industry?
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COVID-19
Legal Affairs
The need for more parliament in Victoria’s Pandemic Bill
The big problem with Victoria’s Pandemic Management Bill is too much power to government and far too little to parliament to balance things out
Inside Business
Ensuring families aren’t left behind in the recovery
The COVID-19 economic shock has seen widespread financial stress among families with young children and now is the time to tackle it
Health & Wellbeing
Choose (vaccinated) life
Around four per cent of people hospitalised with COVID-19 are fully vaccinated – 96 per cent aren’t. One Emergency doctor says there’s no escaping the life-saving truth that vaccines do work
Health & Medicine
The facts of vaccinating our kids against COVID-19
Does the risk versus benefit equation justify having my Year 7 child vaccinated against COVID-19? The answer is yes
Learning & Teaching
Submarines and vaccines: France’s 2022 presidential elections
Why do the French elections matter to Australia? More now due to new challenges to France’s commitment alongside Australia in the fraught geo-politics of the Indo-Pacific
Politics & Society
Health & Wellbeing
Dispelling the myths about transgender people
Transgender people are simply trying to live their best and most authentic lives, just like anyone else
Legal Affairs
Can Crown’s old habits die?
The Royal Commission says disgraced casino operator Crown Melbourne needs to reform itself - how will we be able to judge whether it has or not?
Engineering & Technology
Surveillance: What is it good for?
Online monitoring raises serious questions about privacy and rights, but where justified it can be used for good if organisations consider wider issues like transparency and fairness
Humanities
How to rescue free trade in the post-COVID world
Free Trade Agreements have ended up as the ‘poster boy’ of anti-globalisation, but labour and environmental provisions in FTAS could provide an answer to the critics
Humanities
Racism in sport: So where to from here?
While we have made great steps forward, when the ‘rubber hits the road’ Australia is coming up short when it comes to racism in sport
Science Matters
The case for an Australian Climate Accord
Australia lacks national leadership on climate policy, but an Australian Climate Accord could foster agreement on reducing emissions while improving Australia’s living standards
Business & Economics
Inside Business
Q&A: Australia’s COP26 report card
Globally, Australia lags when it comes to climate change policy, despite having policy and economic potential in the zero emissions economy
Inside Business
Targeting support to break the cycle of disadvantage
Families’ reliance on income support is being passed down across generations, primarily among children of single parents and parents with disabilities
Inside Business
The power shift in global economics
Low interest rates and COVID-19 mean governments, not central banks, now control the world’s key economic levers
Legal Affairs
Directors’ duties and cyber security - it’s complicated
Effective management of cyber security risks is a core governance concern but the imposition of a new mandatory directors’ duty would be a step too far
Inside Business
It’s more than the money: Getting GPs to go to rural areas
While Australia’s Federal Budget promises more money to rural GPs, will the cash make a difference when it comes to getting and keeping doctors in remote Australia?
Arts & Culture
Humanities
Understanding China through education
Australia’s changing and challenging relationship with China needs far more – not less – China literacy in our schools
Humanities
The symbolism of Australia’s Southern Cross
Australia’s Southern Cross has been used on flags and coats of arms since the early colonial period but, despite its endurance, it’s a very difficult emblem for many Australians
Humanities
Don’t forget the sweets!
Childhood letters are rare in the historical record, but like those of the young Malcolm Fraser, they provide unique insight on the experience of children
Music, Arts & Screen
Using music and words to bridge dementia
Music and reading can help people living with dementia. Now an international trial is showing that specific programs can help carers deliver these benefits to their loved ones at home
Humanities
How smaller can be better for memorialising history
Major historic events like 9/11 seem to demand monuments, but for many communities, smaller, more intimate memorials can provide a closer connection
Humanities
The poem behind the Green Knight
The medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is now a movie, but the poem itself already has a surprisingly contemporary message about tradition, modernity and our sense of self
Health & Medicine
Health & Wellbeing
Indian and Australian health workers reach out on COVID-19
New palliative care training for Sister Doctors in India is supporting patients and families during the pandemic and broadening understanding of care across the Indian Ocean
Health & Wellbeing
The tech boosting world-class antimicrobial research
As we mark Antimicrobial Awareness week, one Australian collaboration has been pioneering software solutions and research into antimicrobial stewardship for nearly two decades
Health & Wellbeing
Gender bias skewing surgeon referrals
A new study shows women surgeons are missing out on referrals because male doctors are much more likely to refer patients to male surgeons
Health & Wellbeing
Is treating obesity the future of managing type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes isn’t an inevitably progressive disease, but in treating it we must include weight management as a primary goal
Legal Affairs
Data protection is a mental health issue for young people
Australia’s leading use of digital technologies in youth mental health services could help inform Australia’s Privacy Act review, with lessons for mental health services along the way
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
Looking inside a pigeon’s ear using quantum technology
Quantum microscopy is able to image tiny biological magnetic structures inside a pigeon’s ear and may help to explain how animals use magnetic fields to navigate
Science Matters
Mini-beast renaturing: A time for local action
Insect numbers are dwindling around the world and that has an ecological knock-on effect, but we could help by renaturing mini-beasts in our own urban backyards
Science Matters
Tech can do a lot, but won’t get us to net zero on its own
The Morrison government’s emphasis on technology to drive down emissions will still need taxes and subsidies to achieve net zero
Engineering & Technology
Using maths to prove computer security
Eureka prize winner Associate Professor Toby Murray thought maths was boring, but he now relies on it to secure critical systems like those of Defence against hackers
Animals, Food & You
Tackling a global crop pandemic - from the air
The spread of Xf bacteria is a huge threat to global agriculture, but research is enhancing our capacity to detect it in crops using airborne monitoring
Science Matters
Indigenous knowledge and the myth of ‘wilderness’
Aboriginal ideas of ‘wilderness’ are in contrast to romantic views of a ‘pristine’ environment. But it actively excludes Indigenous and local people from conservation
Environment
Science Matters
To limit future flooding in Sydney, COP26 pledges need action
Weather events that led to Sydney’s 2021 floods will likely increase by 80 per cent by the end of the 21st Century under both high and moderate emissions scenarios.
Legal Affairs
What was achieved at COP26?
As the dust settles on the international climate negotiations at COP26, 1.5°C may still be alive but it’s on life support and the road from Glasgow remains an uphill climb
Animals, Food & You
Cutting agricultural emissions will reduce air pollution and save lives
Reducing ammonia emissions from agriculture will substantially benefit global health and can be done at low cost shows new research
Under the Microscope
Cultivating inclusive research
Being outside of the mainstream helped guide Dr Andrea Rawluk onto a path of research that asks us to challenge the status quo to integrate the environment and society
Humanities
Building island climate resilience
The India-led effort to provide infrastructure for Pacific island states vulnerable to climate change is a concrete outcome from COP26 and backed by Australia
Education
Design
Despairing about climate change?
Education is playing a key role in inspiring cities and communities to create better, more resilient places for our climate future
Humanities
Understanding China through education
Australia’s changing and challenging relationship with China needs far more – not less – China literacy in our schools
Under the Microscope
The language of learning
Stanley Wang is one of this year’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians for his work on bilingualism in school to help foster cultural identity in Australia
Health & Wellbeing
Giving students time for recovery and learning
Over the next years, our focus shouldn’t be to rapidly return schools to the old ‘normal’, but to provide students with adequate time and support to enjoy learning and retain knowledge and skills
Design
Building stronger connections between schools and communities
While all schools are part of their local community, some are developing partnerships and sharing spaces to become hubs for school-community connections
Education
International students enhance Australia’s universities
Highlighting the strengths, rather than the vulnerabilities, of international students will help draw attention to how they enhance Australia’s education sector