The fascinating history of boredom

By Michelle Fu

Im bored is a statement many parents dread hearing during the summer holidays. Should parents scramble to fill the unstructured time of summer for their kids so they dont complain of nothing to do (or worse, get into...

Shouldn’t there be a law against reckless opioid sales? Turns out, there is

By Nicolas Paul Terry

The massive scale of prescription opioid shipments as the ongoing overdose epidemic unfolded has started to come into focus. Drug companies shipped 76 billion opioid pain pills to U.S. health care professionals,...

Beijing is moving to stamp out the Hong Kong protests – but it may have already lost the city for good

By Adam Ni

Since the start of mass demonstrations in Hong Kong in early June, there has been a significant escalation of Beijings rhetoric and tactics. Instead of addressing the root causes of the public anger, Beijing has demonised...

Disconnect between business and state contributed to Marikana massacre

By Ralph Hamann

The Marikana massacre, in which 34 striking mineworkers were shot dead by police on 16 August 2012, was a tragic and historic event in South Africa. A judicial commission of inquiry set up to investigate how it came about...

Amid talk of recessions, our progress on wages and unemployment is almost non-existent

By Richard Holden

Legend has it that, when asked by US President Richard Nixon in 1972 what he thought about the impact of the French Revolution, Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai replied: its too early to say. Waiting for progress on wages...

The battles of South Africa's Public Protector: why the law must win

By Cathleen Powell

In the book of Esther, the Bible tells a story from the 5th century BCE, when the Jews were in exile in Persia. The Persian king, Ahasuerus, had installed a Jewish woman, Esther, as his queen at the time that one of the...

Good character testimonies aren't a defence for sexual harassment

By Martina Orlandi

Suppose youre watching the news, and you learn that someone, lets call her Mary, has been accused of murdering her colleague Sally. There is compelling evidence that Mary is guilty. Several of Marys colleagues come forward...

Courts are handcuffed on corporate human rights abuses abroad

By Hassan M. Ahmad

Last month marked the first time a lawsuit between a Canadian company and victims of foreign human rights violations ended with a confidential settlement and public apology. British Columbia mining company Tahoe...

A day at the beach: Deep learning for a child

By Lotje Hives Et Al

The beach offers a wide open playscape where children are fuelled by curiosity. Whether at the beach or elsewhere outdoors, it helps to take a moment to see the world through the lens of a child who is discovering the...

Women aren't better multitaskers than men – they're just doing more work

By Leah Ruppanner

Multitasking has traditionally been perceived as a womans domain. A woman, particularly one with children, will routinely be juggling a job and running a household in itself a frantic mix of kids lunch boxes, housework,...

New research shows that Antarctica's largest floating ice shelf is highly sensitive to warming of the ocean

By Dan Lowry

Scientists have long been concerned about the potential collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to global sea level rise. Much of West Antarcticas ice lies below sea level, and warming ocean...

Who am I? Why am I here? Why children should be taught philosophy (beyond better test scores)

By Ben Kilby

In a recent TED talk titled No Philosophy, No Humanity, author Roger Sutcliffe asked the audience whether a flagpole was a place. Around half the audience said yes, the other said no. He went on to describe the response...

Tighter alcohol licensing hasn't killed live music, but it's harder for emerging artists

By Nicholas Carah Et Al

This is the fourth in a series of articles discussing a recently released comprehensive evaluation of the Queensland governments 2016 policy reforms to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence and the implications for liquor...

Analysis across Africa shows how social media is changing politics

By Maggie Dwyer Et Al

In mid-July Chad lifted its 16-month social media ban. This ended the longest social media blockage seen in any African country. The government argued that the lengthy ban was necessary for security reasons. The Chadian...

Ghana wants to grow more cashews. But what about unintended consequences?

By James Boafo Et Al

Over at least the last decade, one of Ghanas most vital breadbaskets has been converted into cashew nut production to feed export markets. Bono East, Bono and the Ahafo regions previously known as the Brong Ahafo region ...

South Africa's 2019 poll showed dangerous signs of 'insiders' and 'outsiders'

By Roger Southall

The general election in South Africa in May conveyed mixed messages: one was that democracy is maturing, the other that it is failing. The good news was that this was very clearly an outcome of a discerning electorate...

Ghana needs more efficient spending to fix gaps in education

By Victor Osei Kwadwo

The Millennium Development Goals were announced to the world in the year 2000. They marked a significant milestone in instituting a goal-based approach towards development. In terms of policies, they have arguably been the...

Get rid of private schools? We'd be better tackling inequalities between state schools

By Dave Griffiths Et Al

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is the 20th Etonian to become prime minister of the UK. Most of his cabinet is composed of privileged, privately educated people, with two-thirds of his ministers among the 7% of the...

Who won the war? We did, says everyone

By Nick Chater

Ask any of the few remaining World War II veterans what they did during the war and youre likely to get a humble answer. But ask the person on the street how important their countrys contribution to the war effort was and...

A brief astronomical history of Saturn's amazing rings

By Vahe Peroomian

With giant Saturn hanging in the blackness and sheltering Cassini from the Suns blinding glare, the spacecraft viewed the rings as never before. Many dream of what they would do had they a time machine. Some would...

One budget line Congress can agree on: Spending billions on the US military

By Rebecca U. Thorpe

The two-year budget deal signed into law in July marks a rare bipartisan agreement. The deal adds US$320 billion over current spending levels spread across defense and non-defense programs, averting the threat of debt...

Gaslighting: from partners to politicians – how to avoid becoming a victim

By Stephan Lewandowsky

President Donald Trumps statement on the horrific mass shooting in El Paso on August 3 that killed 22 people and injured 24 covered a lot of ground. From video games and mental illness to the death penalty, the president...

It's no wonder the military likes violent video games – they can help train civilians to become warriors

By Neve Gordon

Following the recent massacres in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the bestselling author Keith Boykin tweeted: Trump is on TV blaming the Internet, social media, video games and mental health for the mass shootings....

Ignore liveable cities rankings – they do citizens a disservice by trying to quantify urban life

By Oli Mould

At last count, there were over 500 rankings that pit cities around the world against each other: from the most intricately measured quality of life indices, to infographics of how often postal workers get attacked by...

What US wants from UK on security after Brexit – and why this puts Britain in a tricky position

By Simon J Smith

Even before Boris Johnson became prime minister, the Trump administration has been on a charm offensive towards the UK and him in particular. When Britains Johnson met US National Security Advisor John Bolton on August 12...

NHS is so valuable to Wales that its whole economy could be affected by Brexit fallout

By Laura Reynolds Et Al

One of the biggest Brexit worries is what will happen to the NHS when the UK leaves the EU. Among the many uncertainties is whether the NHS might be involved in a US trade deal. Although international trade secretary Liz...

Why Buhari's long-awaited cabinet leaves a lot to be desired

By Ini Dele-Adedeji

It took President Muhammadu Buhari 54 days after his second term began to send a list of ministerial nominees to the Nigerian Senate for screening. This is a better record than his first term, which began in May 2015. Then...

AI is in danger of becoming too male – new research

By Juan Mateos-Garcia Et Al

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are becoming smarter every day, beating world champions in games like Go, identifying tumours in medical scans better than human radiologists, and increasing the efficiency of...

Is the UK ready for an election? Inside a system straining at the seams

By Toby James

Speculation has it that an early general election is around the corner for the UK. If it does come, it wont be the countrys first unexpected election this year. The European parliamentary elections were not supposed to...

'It's a national crisis': UK's birth rate is falling dramatically

By Carly-Emma Leachman

The birth rate in England and Wales is now the lowest it has ever been since records began. Only 11 babies were born for every 1,000 people in 2018, with 657,076 born overall. To put this in perspective, 957,782 babies...

Hong Kong protests: history lessons for Beijing from British colonial era uprising

By Nicholas Ross Smith Et Al

Beijing has made no secret that it is weighing up the option of using force either through deploying the Peoples Liberation Army or Peoples Armed Police to quell the increasingly disruptive protests in Hong Kong. On...

Australia's tax office can use global data leaks to pursue multinationals, High Court rules

By Ann Kayis-Kumar Et Al

Can something that has been seen be unseen? Its an axiom of the internet age that it cant and though the worlds biggest mining company, Glencore would like it to be otherwise, its one with which the High Court of...

Gold rush-era rules to stop mining pollution are still in use – but they’re failing

By Susan Lawrence Et Al

This is an edited extract from SLUDGE: disaster on Victorias goldmines. Bento Rodrigues, Brazil, 6 November 2015 Wet, orange mud covers everything: streets, houses, cars, animals, trees, fields. The violent force...

Patients have rights. Here's how to use yours

By Lisa Eckstein Et Al

Working your way around the health-care system can be overwhelming. This is especially hard when care takes place in health systems under stress. However as a patient, you have rights about how youre treated. This...

Biden still leads US Democratic primaries, Trump's ratings fall slightly after gun massacres, plus Australian preference flows

By Adrian Beaumont

After the first Democratic presidential debate on June 25-26, Joe Biden fell in Democratic national presidential polls, and Kamala Harris surged. In the lead-up to the July 30-31 debate, Biden recovered lost support while...

Explainer: what is China's United Front, and how much influence does it have in Australia?

By Gerry Groot

As China grows more powerful and influential, our New Superpower series looks at what this means for the world how China maintains its power, how it wields its power and how its power might be threatened. Read the rest of...

Leave your phone at home this holiday and you'll feel better (after you feel worse)

By Brad McKenna Et Al

What did we do before smartphones? Our devices have become an essential tool for modern life, even when were on holiday. In fact, technology is revolutionising tourism. We navigate with Google Maps, we use TripAdvisor to...

Understanding how Hitler became German helps us deal with modern-day extremists

By Klaus Meyer

The 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War is approaching. Its important to understand how the conflict and the Holocaust could have happened and how we can prevent such atrocities from happening...

The demand for luxury shellfish is polluting the ocean with plastic

By Leah Bendell

The federal government has taken action recently to reduce the amount of plastic waste found on land and in oceans, rivers and lakes. In June, for example, it said it would ban single-use plastics by 2021. It is tough...

Rethinking the approach to fighting Alzheimer’s disease

By Étienne Aumont

The idea of seeing a loved one decline and lose their ability to recall their most treasured memories is devastating. However, it is a fact of life for an increasing number of Canadians. A group of experts on population...

Unwanted sexual attention plagues young women going out at night

By Dominique de Andrade Et Al

This is the third in a series of articles discussing a recently released comprehensive evaluation of the Queensland governments 2016 policy reforms to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence and the implications for liquor...

How recycling is actually sorted, and why Australia is quite bad at it

By Jeff Seadon

Recycling in Australia used to be fairly simple. Our older readers may remember bottle drives, paper and cardboard collections, and the trip to the scrap metal merchant to sell metals. This is called, in recycling...

Morrison needs to take control of China policy - but leave room for dissent

By Tony Walker

The Morrison government is at risk of losing control of China policy. Push-back from within its own ranks is complicating its ability to manage relations with Beijing. China policy is being subjected to a buffeting from...

Hong Kong fears losing its rule of law; the rest of the world should worry too

By John Garrick

Whats happening in Hong Kong right now has direct bearings on Australia. It goes to an issue crucial to our position in a world economic order that is likely to be shaped less by the United States, still our most important...

Regulating Facebook, Google and Amazon is hard given their bewildering complexity

By Zac Rogers

Back in the 1990s a lifetime ago in internet terms the Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells published several books charting the rise of information networks. He predicted that in the networked age, more value would...

Mexico wants to run a tourist train through its Mayan heartland — should it?

By Gabriel Diaz Montemayor

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a dream for the Yucatan Peninsula. He wants to build a train that will leverage the tourism economy of Cancun by bringing more visitors inland to the colonial cities,...

How Twitter is helping the Scots language thrive in the 21st century

By E Jamieson Et Al

Rude, crude and extremely funny, Scottish Twitter has garnered much attention in recent years for its uniquely Celtic wit and for the specific ways it uses language. Journalist Eve Livingstons recent article for The...

Russian protests highlight how authorities crackdown on activists – by targeting their families

By Philip Boobbyer

When Dmitri Prokazov and his wife Olga Prokazov recently found themselves caught up in an unsanctioned demonstration in Moscow, while out with their one-year-old son, they didnt expect it to end with prosecutors...

Dismissal of directors: South Africa's law needs clarity on the role of courts

By Rehana Cassim

Over eight years ago South African company law gave boards of directors the power to remove a fellow director, provided they do so in defined circumstances. The law also requires them to follow the correct legal...

Why we can't just blame rising inequality for the growth of populism around the world

By Brian Nolan

The idea is now commonplace that income inequality is inexorably on the rise. The US experience in particular has become central to a new grand narrative prominent in public debate and taken to apply across rich countries:...