Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
Welcome to Pursuit
More about usEducation
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
Health & Wellbeing
What disaster movies can teach us about coping with COVID-19
Cinema may have a lesson or two to teach us about how society can work together and collectively overcome shared threats like a pandemic
Health & Wellbeing
Where is the data on whether Australia aims to squash or flatten the curve?
The types of questions that Australians will soon want answers to means allowing transparent and open access to disease modelling data for the public and health experts
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 psychology of isolation
The need to self-isolate needn’t be a burden; it can be an opportunity for self-reflection and renewal. Here a University of Melbourne expert provides some tips
The COVID-19 responsibility we all own
As citizens, we have a responsibility to heed COVID-19 health advice or risk increasingly severe government restrictions says a University of Melbourne expert.
Australian homes on the line
As the government focuses on defending Australia’s economy, University of Melbourne research looks at how many people are now at risk of losing their homes.
Inside Business
The COVID-19 responsibility we all own
Call it common sense or call it ‘self-leadership’, as citizens, we all have a responsibility to heed the current health advice or risk increasingly severe government restrictions
Engineering & Technology
Do devices help us regulate our emotions?
We are increasingly relying on digital technologies for work, play, socialising and relaxing. It may be that we are even using them to help us regulate our emotions.
Inside Business
Oil wars, petrol prices and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and global oil price wars are having an economic impact worldwide, but one consequence is lower fuel prices at Australian petrol pumps for the foreseeable future
Animals, Food & You
Our food supply has problems with equity, not quantity
Shocks to our food supply, like COVID-19, provide an opportunity to transform our food systems in a way that is healthier, more sustainable and equitable
Subscribe to Pursuit
Receive your weekly email digest from Pursuit
Health & Medicine
Health & Wellbeing
Flattening the curve to help Australia’s hospitals prepare
Mathematical and epidemiological modelling helps us understand whether Australia is flattening the COVID-19 curve and allows us to work backwards from a manageable health services demand – keeping it ‘just flat enough’
Health & Wellbeing
Protecting our ageing population from COVID-19
While Australia works to prevent the spread of COVID-19, there are extra health considerations when it comes to older Australians and our ageing society
Health & Wellbeing
How to take care of yourself if you have COVID-19
From managing your symptoms to good hygiene at home, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 there are some steps you can take to make your isolation more comfortable
Health & Medicine
The maths and ethics of minimising COVID-19 deaths
The Australian Government must clarify its COVID-19 strategy, but to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of either ‘flattening the curve’ or an eradication endgame
Health & Wellbeing
What is COVID-19 doing to our mental health?
Coronavirus isn’t only taking a physical toll, it’s playing with our minds, too. But there are steps we should all be taking to keep ourselves mentally well
Business & Economics
Inside Business
The COVID-19 shock to supply chains
The coronavirus pandemic is only the latest shock to supply chains – but COVID-19 is a wake-up call to businesses in terms of the cost of being under-prepared
Inside Business
Rebelling against modern slavery
Seventy-five per cent of modern slaves are women and girls. As consumers, we need to challenge the way we think about what we buy to help end exploitation
Legal Affairs
Women, age discrimination and work
Ageism and sexism are nothing new, but many countries are reporting an increase in age bias, particularly against women. So why are women less likely to make an age discrimination claim?
Inside Business
Thinking about using donated eggs to start a family?
In Australia, the donor egg industry is heavily regulated, but in countries like the US, it can feel more like online shopping. Here’s what you need to know
Learning & Teaching
Our business leaders must think critically
Critical thinking has become highly valued in business, but these skills aren’t taught to business students. So, how do we ensure that the next generation of business leaders don’t repeat the mistakes of the past?
Inside Business
Why do we say things we later regret?
Experiments show that when we are stressed, exercising or otherwise aroused, we are more prone to say things we shouldn’t. So, to keep a secret, try to stay calm
Education
Education
How to keep your head during COVID-19
When there’s a crisis the first impulse can be fear and panic. But the COVID-19 pandemic demands clear thought, here is one way to adapt your thinking
Learning & Teaching
Five tips for keeping kids learning at home
As schools in several Australian states close their doors, many parents are concerned about the disruption to their child’s education. So, what’s the best way to keep kids learning at home?
Learning & Teaching
The soft power of education
Since the 1950s, Australia has been consistent about the way education can build our nation’s soft power, but the time has come to update our approach
Education
Tech-bots, virtual worlds and personalised everything
Technology is changing our world at an unprecedented rate, and it’s up to educators to help equip today’s children to become future-ready citizens
Education
The enduring ‘cultural cringe’ about teaching Australian literature
Australian literature hasn’t received the attention it deserves in the classroom, but a new project aims to help teachers share its diversity with Australian high-school students
Politics & Society
Health & Wellbeing
COVID-19 can reframe health politics
The response to COVID-19 is a reminder of the huge capacity of states to improve health outcomes and exposes how our acceptance of suffering on the basis of ‘affordability’ costs lives
Public Affairs
The symbolism of the Olympic Games
With indications that it may have to accept the inevitable, why has Japan been adamant that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games should go ahead in the face of COVID-19?
Engineering & Technology
Disarmament: What is it good for?
Efforts to control the weaponisation of new technologies like AI are fragmented, but the UN hosts an existing disarmament framework that could bring these efforts together
Humanities
Uncivil society
Civil society has been seen as a bedrock of democracy, but around the world democracy is being undermined by the same forces that were supposed to sustain it
Public Affairs
A superpower in transition
A resurgent China is challenging the hegemony of the Indo-Pacific and here’s how it’s testing the Australia-United States alliance
Sciences & Technology
Engineering & Technology
COVID-19 drop in pollution to be short-lived
COVID-19’s hit to the global economy is cutting air pollution, but the eventual recovery could leave our environment worse off and further behind in reducing emissions
Engineering & Technology
Keeping aged care residents connected
As COVID-19 increasingly impacts on our day-to-day lives, people in aged care homes are already isolated. But new technologies can play a role keeping residents connected
Science Matters
Modelling the spread of COVID-19
Forecasting the spread of COVID-19, including the likely number of undetected cases, is fraught and difficult, but a sense of the numbers is important for appreciating the challenges ahead
Science Matters
Machine learning to scale up the quantum computer
A machine learning framework has been created to precisely locate atom-sized quantum bits in silicon – a crucial step for building a large-scale silicon quantum computer
Science Matters
What causes an ice age to end?
In order to know why an ice age ends, we need to know when it ended. Now, new research is working to solve one of the enigmas in palaeoclimatology
Environment
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
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
Building equity into architecture
We’ve had qualified women architects in Australia for nearly 120 years, but there is no way that we’ve reached gender parity in the professions
Eavesdrop on Experts
Renewing Democracy in a time of environmental crisis
Social researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley says renewing democracy is critical to dealing with climate change because there’s little trust in our current politics to do anything about it
PodcastDesign
Curving concrete’s carbon footprint
In a bid to reduce waste while achieving great design, researchers have developed an adjustable frame for casting curved concrete panels
Arts & Culture
Eavesdrop on Experts
Our flesh after fifty
Professor of gynaecology Martha Hickey and curator Jane Scott discuss the inspiration behind ‘Flesh After Fifty’, an exhibition celebrating positive images of older women in art
PodcastHumanities
Motherhood in a climate crisis
Historically there’s been a strong link between mothers and environmental advocacy, but as our planet and society changes, women are on the frontline of the ecological battle
Humanities
Kangaroo hunting in colonial Australia
A new book explores how the kangaroo became a quarry, a resource and a point of violent conflict between settlers and Australia’s Aboriginal people
Music, Arts & Screen
The healing history of dance
Dance movement therapy is a relatively new healing practice, but its cultural roots date back a millennia. So, how can this history inform modern therapies?
Humanities
Has Hollywood run out of original ideas?
With remakes of Mulan, Dune, The Witches and The Invisible Man all due out this year, a new book answers the big question: what justifies a remake?