Why Trump's Make America Great Again hat makes a dangerous souvenir for foreign politicians

By Dominic O'Sullivan

It looked just like any posed political picture. The politician, in this case the National Partys newly elected leader, Todd Muller, standing by a bookcase. So far so normal. It wasnt even a new photo. Except that...

Third time's the charm for Joe Biden: now he has an election to win and a country to save

By Bruce Wolpe

At age 77, in his twilight years, the third time was the charm for Joe Biden. He prevailed over a field of 24 Democrats from across the political spectrum and has emerged as his partys nominee for president in a manner...

Einstein’s two mistakes

By François Vannucci

Scientific research is based on the relationship between the reality of nature, as it is observed, and a representation of this reality, formulated by a theory in mathematical language. If all the consequences of the...

High-speed rail on Australia's east coast would increase emissions for up to 36 years

By Greg Moran

Bullet trains are back on the political agenda. As the major parties look for ways to stimulate the economy after the COVID-19 crisis, Labor is again spruiking its vision of linking Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane...

Can't resist splurging in online shopping? Here's why

By Adrian R. Camilleri Et Al

The demand for online shopping has obviously increased since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. But less obvious are the subtle psychological drivers behind our collective online shopping splurge. In fact, online...

Vietnam's prudent, low-cost approach to combating Covid-19

By Mieszko Mazur

The author has been on a research visit at the Da Nang University of Economics since February 2020. The article is based on his personal observations, exchange with local residents, and independent research based on public...

How the coronavirus pet adoption boom is reducing stress

By L.F. Carver

As has been discussed in so many articles, sharing our lives with pets is good for our health. Not only do they make us healthier in normal times, in stressful times the benefit of a pandemic puppy (or cat), or other...

China's new coronavirus recovery strategy explained

By Jane Duckett Et Al

When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered his annual report to Chinas national legislature on May 22, his focus was firmly on COVID-19. His 55-minute speech to the annual gathering of Chinas National Peoples Congress (NPC)...

Coronavirus won't kill globalisation – but a shakeup is inevitable

By Jun Du Et Al

The COVID-19 pandemic is now expected to trigger the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Many argue it could unravel globalisation altogether. Globalisation relies on complex links global value chains...

How the movie industry is fighting lockdown

By Sarah Atkinson Et Al

Its a tough time for the global film industry, for which the pandemic represents a disruption of seismic proportions. All movie production spaces have been officially locked down and all talent whether in front of or...

Intermittent fasting: if you're struggling to lose weight, this might be why

By David Clayton

Intermittent fasting is a way of losing weight that favours flexibility over calorie counting. It restricts the time you are allowed to eat, which reduces calorie intake by limiting opportunities to eat. Thats the theory,...

Aiming for novelty in coronavirus coverage, journalists end up sensationalizing the trivial and untrue

By Michael J. Socolow

For centuries, what has made news valuable and news organizations profitable has been the speed at which journalists collect and disseminate information. This is useful for both commerce and public service. But the rush...

In the opioid crisis, young queer and trans men are navigating risk reduction on their own

By Trevor Goodyear Et Al

The opioid overdose crisis has killed over 14,700 Canadians since January 2016. Unfortunately, we dont know how many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer (LGBTQ+) peoples lives are among those lost, because...

Coronavirus volunteers aren't just a source of free labour – don't take advantage of them

By Matt Baillie Smith

The diverse groups of volunteers responding to COVID-19 around the world are a source of positivity and hope. But volunteers are not simply a source of free labour. Volunteering is both political and influenced by...

Cape Town's creative firms are business innovators – but they're vulnerable

By Jen Snowball

In 1941 Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood actress, and George Antheil, an experimental composer, patented frequency hopping. The technique is still used today for secure radio communications, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. Frequency...

Economic policy remains hotly contested in South Africa: this detailed history shows why

By Edward Webster

Economic inequality in post-apartheid South Africa has deepened. This is not what was expected. Firstly, the African National Congress (ANC) won an overwhelming victory in the 1994 elections and promised to significantly...

COVID-19 is eroding scientific field work – and our knowledge of how the world is changing

By Richard B. Primack Et Al

Editors note: Summer is prime time across much of North America for scientists to do field research outdoors. But this year the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many researchers to cancel or scale back their plans. We asked...

US seeks to change the rules for mining the Moon

By Scott Shackelford

Private industries have helped drop the cost of launching rockets, satellites and other equipment into space to historic lows. That has boosted interest in developing space both for mining raw materials such as silicon...

68% of Americans do not have a will

By Reid Kress Weisbord Et Al

Significant Figures is a series from The Conversation where scholars explain an important number in the news. As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the country, more people may find themselves in urgent...

How to recover from an exercise injury – according to a sports physiotherapist

By Sheila Leddington Wright

Being active is beneficial for our bodies and mental health. But sometimes we can overdo it, resulting in sprains, strains, or pulled muscles. We need time to rehabilitate, or more injuries will occur. If youve...

China used anti-dumping rules against us because what goes around comes around

By Simon Lacey

Australia has acted with dismay to Chinas decision to impose punitive mostly anti-dumping tariffs of 80.5% on imports of Australian barley. The culmination of an 18-month investigation, Chinas move threatens to wipe out...

Delirium, depression, anxiety, PTSD – the less discussed effects of COVID-19

By Jonathan Rogers Et Al

Cough, fever, loss of sense of smell … these are the symptoms of COVID-19 that we all know about. But did you know that confusion affects 20% or more of patients in hospital with COVID-19? Or that previous...

The big stimulus spending has just begun. Here's how to get it right, quickly

By Richard Denniss

Responding to COVID-19 required governments to make hard choices with enormous consequences. The biggest were whether to let the disease rip, lock it down, or strike out in search of a middle ground that delivered the best...

Health-care workers share our trauma during the coronavirus pandemic – on top of their own

By Pippa Blackburn Et Al

Health-care staff are trained to deal with whatever comes through the hospital doors. But COVID-19 is a completely different ballgame. During this pandemic, health-care workers are facing traumatic experiences in both...

Returning to work? An employment law expert explains your rights in getting your boss to accommodate you and your family’s safety

By Elizabeth C. Tippett

With states reopening or planning to reopen in the coming weeks and months, you may be worried about what returning to work will mean for you and your family, particularly if it means increased exposure to...

After the crisis: how to avoid (some of) our misleading beliefs

By Anne-Laure Sellier

Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman and his colleague and friend Amos Tversky formalised the concept of cognitive bias in 1972, and considerable research since then has shown that our brain finds it remarkably difficult to...

Blockchains can trace foods from farm to plate, but the industry is still behind the curve

By Michael Rogerson Et Al

Food supply chains were vulnerable long before the coronavirus pandemic. Recent scandals have ranged from modern slavery in Vietnamese fisheries to the persistent problem of child labour in the cocoa industry. Perhaps the...

How academics in health sciences cope with stress

By Josè Frantz Et Al

Higher education is becoming a stressful occupation, research shows. And academics in health professions experience additional sources of stress related to clinical training. Yet these academics, working in fields like...

How manufacturers can survive this period of radical change – services

By Professor Tim Baines Et Al

Change, a 1985 paper argued, can be characterised as a punctuated equilibrium: long periods of relative calm and small incremental alterations that are interrupted by brief, but radical, seismic shifts. COVID-19 means that...

Four ways economic crisis can change things for the better

By Alexander Tziamalis Et Al

It is common to hear people say that the epoch of enormous economic progress which characterised the last century is over. That a decline in prosperity is more likely than an improvement in the decade which lies ahead of...

Coronavirus is not a bioweapon — but bioterrorism is a real future threat

By Trushar R. Patel Et Al

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has far-reaching implications as Canadians face unemployment, diminishing returns on their purchasing power and the prospect of an ensuing recession. These challenges will be faced in the...

Pay cuts to keep jobs: the tertiary education union's deal with universities explained

By Ray Markey

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) last week announced its negotiated draft agreement with universities. The deal aims to save at least 12,000 university jobs at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic in return for...

Forget work-life balance – it's all about integration in the age of COVID-19

By Melissa A. Wheeler Et Al

It wasnt the usual end to our staff meeting. This time, the head of our university department wrapped up the video conference by inviting her nine-year-old son to come and say hello to about a hundred colleagues. It...

Economists back social distancing 34-9 in new Economic Society-Conversation survey

By Peter Martin1

Australian economists overwhelmingly back social distancing measures that slow the spread of coronavirus over the alternative of easing restrictions and allowing the spread of the disease to pick up. But a significant...

Self-employed Australians' hours have fallen 32% since coronavirus hit – double the impact on all employees

By Matthew Gray Et Al

Australia Bureau of Statistics data has confirmed the massive economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, with total hours worked across the economy officially falling 9% between early March and early April 2020. Our...

The trade-offs 'smart city' apps like COVIDSafe ask us to make go well beyond privacy

By Kurt Iveson

The Commonwealth government says if enough of us download its COVIDSafe app, restrictions on our movements and activities can be lifted more quickly and life can return to normal. As important as it is to contain the...

Supermarkets claim to have our health at heart. But their marketing tactics push junk foods

By Gary Sacks Et Al

Supermarkets like to portray themselves as having the health of the community at heart. And in the middle of a pandemic, were all grateful supermarkets are still open and, for the most part, the shelves are well...

Experts are back in fashion – now more than ever we need to question them

By Richard Shaw

Once upon a very different time, British cabinet minister Michael Gove sneered that people have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently...

Giving private schools federal emergency funds slated for low-income students will shortchange at-risk kids

By Derek W. Black

Public schools have faced three distinct challenges since the coronavirus pandemic began scrambling to make sure that low-income children dont go hungry, teaching students remotely who lack internet access and bracing for...

The costs of the shutdown are overestimated -- they're outweighed by its $1 trillion benefit

By Richard Holden Et Al

As Australia begins to relax its COVID-19 restrictions there is understandable debate about how quickly that should proceed, and whether lockdowns even made sense in Australia in the first place. The sceptics arguing...

Does your AI discriminate?

By Julie Manning Magid

Women leaders like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and San Francisco Mayor London Breed are receiving recognition for their quick action in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. But men are chosen as leaders of...

The lack of women in cybersecurity leaves the online world at greater risk

By Nir Kshetri

Women are highly underrepresented in the field of cybersecurity. In 2017, womens share in the U.S. cybersecurity field was 14%, compared to 48% in the general workforce. The problem is more acute outside the U.S. In...

Who's in charge of lifting lockdowns?

By David Swindell

In a nation with more than 90,000 governments, responses to the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted the challenges posed by the United States system of federalism, where significant power rests with states and local...

Football returns in empty stadiums – research shows home advantage disappears

By Carl Singleton Et Al

For millions of football fans, weve had nothing but repeats to watch to get our fix in recent months. But starting from May 16, elite European football kicks off, courtesy of the German Bundesliga. But there will be a few...

Two refs are better than one, so why does the NRL want to drop one?

By Dr Kath O'Brien

Plans to kick-start the sporting season with a return to rugby league games later this month could be stalled by a row over referees. The NRL confirmed this week it wants to drop the two-referee system that has been in...

Technology, international bonds, and inspiration: why astronomy matters in times of crisis

By Fred Watson

In an international emergency like the present one, you might expect the science of the stars to be the last thing on peoples minds. The problems facing both individuals and governments are infinitely more pressing than...

Social distancing is no reason to stop service learning – just do it online

By Marianne E. Krasny

At Troy University in Alabama, students went online to help a county with a high infant mortality rate in the state of Georgia to analyze health disparities and develop solutions. At Cornell University, where I teach,...

Americans may be willing to pay $5 trillion to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives

By Diego C. Nocetti Et Al

The big idea A new analysis suggests Americans are willing to pay about US$5 trillion to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save as many lives as possible dwarfing the $3 trillion Congress has so far agreed to spend to...

The paradox of social distancing: We've grown closer to co-workers during the coronavirus pandemic

By Andrew Gaudes

While driving to work in the first week of 2020, I came upon the aftermath of a horrific vehicle collision involving a pedestrian. An hour later, I was in a meeting with colleagues at Brock University. Although still...

Coronavirus vaccine: how we're preparing to make enough for the whole world

By Qasim Rafiq Et Al

There are 102 candidate vaccines being explored as a means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic, as of April 30. Eight of these have already made it to clinical trials in humans, and another 94 are in the pre-clinical...