Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
Welcome to Pursuit
More about usLegal Affairs
COP28 is a global stocktake of climate change
This year’s international climate change conference could disappoint or deliver meaningful actions to combat the climate emergency and support adaptation measures
Legal Affairs
On the ground and hoping ambition triumphs at COP28
Director of Melbourne Climate Futures Professor Jacqueline Peel is in Dubai and hoping for positive progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement
Humanities
China welcomed Albanese but remains wary of Australia-US relations
Although the Australian PM’s recent visit was well-received in Beijing, Chinese media remains unsure how Australia can balance its interests with both China and the US
Dodging disease and death in the first US presidential debate
A University of Melbourne expert says the first US presidential debate didn’t have a winner but was a testimony to dire political discourse without compassion.
Should foreign countries intervene in civil wars?
Professor Anne Orford explores the legitimacy of foreign intervention in civil wars such as those being currently waged in Syria, Iraq and the Ukraine
The podcast shining a light on a murder verdict
A hit podcast called "Serial" - around the trial of the murderer of US teenager Hae Min Lee - demonstrates the role journalism can play in revisiting cases.
COP28 is a global stocktake of climate change
This year’s UN climate change conference (COP28) could disappoint or deliver meaningful actions, say University of Melbourne experts.
On the ground and hoping ambition triumphs at COP28
University of Melbourne's Professor Jacqueline Peel is in Dubai for COP28 and hoping for positive progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement
China welcomed Albanese but remains wary of Australia-US relations
The Australian PM’s visit to China was welcomed, but Chinese media remains wary about Australian-US international relations, say University of Melbourne experts
Legal Affairs
When AI gets it wrong, workers suffer
AI can be just as discriminatory in the workplace as any human manager and the law needs to catch up to this new reality
Engineering & Technology
The elite athlete training for an extreme Arctic race in a fridge
An ultra-marathon runner is training in a research refrigerator with a team of engineers ahead of a 230-kilometre Arctic race
Health & Wellbeing
Our duty of care to those who care
With looming workforce shortages, a new study finds a comprehensive approach to ensuring the wellbeing of cancer healthcare workers is essential
Public Affairs
The impasse between Israel and Hamas
It’s increasingly difficult to see a way out of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas that has already seen thousands of civilians lose their homes, families and lives
Subscribe to Pursuit
Receive your weekly email digest from Pursuit
Health & Medicine
Health & Wellbeing
Parents of premature babies are being left behind
The Australian paid parental leave scheme has no provision for babies born prematurely or unwell, it’s time for a change to support all families
Health & Medicine
Australia needs to value Indigenous knowledge in medical education
PhD candidate Dr Paul Saunders is bringing inter-cultural capabilities into medical practice with an aim to inspire generational change
Health & Medicine
5 things you didn’t realise you need to know about perimenopause
One woman having a perimenopausal hot flush on live TV has started a national conversation about normalising the symptoms
Health & Wellbeing
The future of cancer is very personal
Precision medicine allows us to develop treatments for a specific disease in one person. But we must ensure all Australians can access these benefits
Health & Wellbeing
Supporting Australian doctors to help kids with anxiety
While there is guidance for health professionals to identify anxiety in adults, our new Australian-first guidelines are designed to help treat and manage anxiety in our young people
COVID-19
Health & Medicine
What we now know about long COVID and our brains
Almost three years into the global pandemic, we may know more about Post-COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome (PCNS), but there’s a critical need for more global collaboration
Health & Wellbeing
The rise and fall in Australia’s life expectancy during the pandemic
Australia is a valuable international case study into life expectancy trends during the COVID-19 pandemic
Health & Wellbeing
The steps we can take to combat COVID-19 in 2023
New computer modelling suggests that ongoing vaccinations and early public health measures are the most effective responses to future COVID-19 variants
Health & Wellbeing
More resilient than we thought during lockdown
New research finds that many people coped relatively well emotionally during Melbourne’s long COVID-19 lockdowns – but with caveats.
Design
The COVID cost for Asia’s informal workers
A new book investigates the ravages of the COVID-19 impact on people in the informal economy across Southeast and South Asia
Inside Business
The rise and rise of job insecurity
Blue collar workers were the winners in a COVID-19 job market that saw the biggest rise in job insecurity in two decades, finds the annual HILDA survey
Business & Economics
Inside Business
Avoiding the cliff and the freefall into poverty
For more than 20 years, Anti-Poverty Week has campaigned to ensure that every Australian has adequate food and shelter. How far have we come?
Inside Business
Think the best footy players earn too much? Here’s why they should be paid more
The pursuit for competitive balance means teams are underpaying AFL’s top players, even those sitting on million-dollar contracts
Inside Business
The role you play in modern slavery in Australia
There are more than 40,000 people living and working in conditions considered modern slavery in Australia – but do Australian consumers care?
Inside Business
A sustainable solution to Australia’s engineering skills shortage
To solve the skills shortage for good, we need to inspire a stronger connection with engineering
Inside Business
The business leaders ‘hiding’ chronic illness
After COVID, the impact of long-term health conditions is being felt across the workforce. But managers are keeping their illnesses a secret over career concerns
Arts & Culture
Humanities
Quiz: 100 years of Disney vs Warner Bros.
As two giants of Hollywood’s culture-defining studios turn 100 this year – Warner Bros. and Disney – test your knowledge about their creative history
Humanities
Remembering and forgetting the dead
Ancient Celtic Halloween – or All Hallow’s Eve – was a day to acknowledge the dead. Modern rituals of marking death continue this tradition, both remembering and letting go
Humanities
Homicide on Hydra
A new book explores the more-or-less forgotten crime novels of one of Australia’s most successful authors, George Johnston
Music, Arts & Screen
Working to preserve cultural tradition through technology
Ngarluma man Andrew Dowding’s research fuses education, innovation and heritage in digital mapping to empower Indigenous Australians
Music, Arts & Screen
The rebirth of ‘The Doll’ at its theatre of origin
History and future come together with a new staging of Ray Lawler’s iconic play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at the new Union Theatre
Music, Arts & Screen
Sharing the universal language of music
Composer Melody Eötvös wrote her first composition at age eight. Now, her latest piece ‘Hun Tur’ is set to captivate audiences as part of the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra tour to Asia
Education
Learning & Teaching
Communication and education to mobilise global climate action
Evidence-informed strategies for promoting global climate literacy and action are essential for addressing the climate crisis
Learning & Teaching
Helping more students ‘see themselves’ in the classroom
Increasing the diversity of Australia’s teaching workforce hasn’t been a policy priority. It’s time for a rethink
Legal Affairs
Universities can’t forget about lower socio-economic students
If the Government wants to increase higher education participation, it first needs to tackle the very real financial, psychological and cultural barriers for disadvantaged students
Learning & Teaching
School refusal needs a national response
The recent Senate Inquiry rightly recommends a coordinated national approach to a growing national problem
Learning & Teaching
Talking to young people about the Voice
Explaining a referendum on constitutional law to young people can seem a tall order, but they already have a good knowledge of the world around them
Sciences & Technology
Engineering & Technology
How Australia’s prefab industry can help the housing crisis
Prefabrication is a practical solution to meet Victoria’s urgent housing needs by providing speedy and cost-efficient dwellings
Engineering & Technology
Kids with disability are gamers too
Working with an eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, researchers have co-designed a video game controller to provide more opportunities for fun and social connection
Science Matters
The great mystery of interstellar chemistry
Researchers are replicating the cold vacuum of space to study how interstellar molecules are produced and what they’re made of
Science Matters
Sports coaches make these seven kinds of decisions
Understanding the seven decision types sports coaches make – with their strengths and pitfalls – can help us all make better choices
Science Matters
You can’t explore the solar system on an empty stomach
Australian research on plants and food for space could provide vital fresh, nutritious and delicious meals for astronauts on Moon and Mars missions
Engineering & Technology
The splendour of cybersecurity
Young people may be social media savvy but many need help with the Big Four of cybersecurity. A free device Tune Up gave hundreds a chance to learn
Environment
Science Matters
Human rights law demands climate change adaptation
Supporting climate adaptation for vulnerable peoples is not just a matter of ‘aid’ but rather a legal obligation that must be met
Design
Five ways retrofitting cities can help decarbonise our future
New construction is the source of massive amounts of carbon pollution. Retrofitting existing infrastructure is cleaner, and brings multiple benefits
Design
Decarbonising transport for our health
Transforming Australia’s carbon-intensive road transport system can also solve one of our most significant public health challenges
Science Matters
From diet to climate, our fertility is at risk
A childhood fascination with the family dairy farm led Associate Professor Mark Green to a career in reproductive biology
Design
Informal settlements are where cities are made
Far from the superficial notion of ‘slums’, informal settlements shape urban development across most of the world’s cities
Politics & Society
Humanities
The great ‘gayby’ boom
Changing social and legal perspectives of parenthood, and access to the global fertility industry has enabled a huge rise in queer people raising children
Public Affairs
Q&A: Israel, Hamas and the future of the Middle east
Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel marks a dramatic escalation in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Design
How disinformation is undermining our cities
Disinformation is a modern reality. It sows distrust and division in communities, but it’s also affecting our cities’ ability to function
Health & Wellbeing
The 3 big lies of the no campaign
As Australians vote in the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Professor Marcia Langton AO says the no campaign has used misinformation and lies to confuse a very simple question
Public Affairs
Australia must include people with cognitive disability in politics
People with cognitive disability want to have their say in Australian politics. And we must do more to recognise their political inclusion
Legal Affairs
Universities can’t forget about lower socio-economic students
If the Government wants to increase higher education participation, it first needs to tackle the very real financial, psychological and cultural barriers for disadvantaged students