COVID changed travel writing. Maybe that's not a bad thing

By Ben Stubbs

In 2019, international travel and tourism was a $1.7 trillion global industry. A new cruise ship with space for 6600 passengers was launched. And dog friendly holidays in the French Riviera were seen as the next big...

Tinkering with the mortgage market won't solve the UK housing affordability crisis

By Mark Stephens

UK borrowers may see the return of larger, longer-term loans as the government plans a comprehensive review of the mortgage market with the aim of boosting access to finance for first-time buyers. Rather than addressing...

Ukraine is losing this war at the moment. The west needs to massively step up its military aid

By Frank Ledwidge

For a few weeks Ive been in Kyiv, partly as a visiting fellow at leading Ukrainian thinktank the Transatlantic Dialogue Center. Kyiv is an astonishingly elegant and beautiful city; a premier league European capital. The...

Australians lost $2b to fraud in 2021. This figure should sound alarm bells for the future

By Cassandra Cross

Australian consumers and businesses lost more than A$2 billion to scams in 2021, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) annual Targeting Scams report released on Monday. This figure should...

Why we talk about computers having brains (and why the metaphor is all wrong)

By Tomas Fitzgerald

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that the machines are taking over. What is less clear is whether the machines know that. Recent claims by a Google engineer that the LaMBDA AI Chatbot might be conscious made...

Are we learning the wrong lessons from history?

By Frank Bongiorno

Can historians influence government policy? Should they? And, if so, what kinds of historical knowledge should they produce? I suspect policy-makers only rarely think of historians as a first port of call when seeking...

Flu may be back, but COVID is far from over. How do they compare?

By Paul Glasziou Et Al

Since Australias first Omicron wave after borders opened late last year, the pandemic has largely faded from the news and public perception. Gone are the daily briefings with updates on the numbers of cases,...

Higgs boson: 10 years after its discovery, why this particle could unlock new physics beyond the standard model

By Stephen Jones Et Al

Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helps explain why elementary particles (the smallest building blocks of nature) have mass. For particle physicists, this was the end of a...

Your body has an internal clock that dictates when you eat, sleep and might have a heart attack – all based on time of day

By Shogo Sato

Anyone who has suffered from jet lag or struggled after turning the clock forward or back an hour for daylight saving time knows all about what researchers call your biological clock, or circadian rhythm the master...

China, Russia and climate change: why Australia's place at the NATO Summit was so important

By Susan Harris Rimmer

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Public Forum that some Australians may not understand why hes at a NATO meeting in Spain. But that since COVID and the invasion of...

The FDA and Juul are fighting over a vape ban, but the role of e-cigarettes in the world of tobacco abuse is not clear-cut

By Lynn T. Kozlowski

On June 23, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that all Juul products must be removed from U.S. markets. This decision essentially broadened an existing ban on teen use of the companys nicotine...

What's driving Uber's historic agreement with the TWU on gig work

By Caleb Goods

Uber Australia has struck a historic agreement with the Transport Workers Union a statement of principles that re-regulate work in the Australian rideshare and food delivery industry. This is a major shift to...

The impact of Christian purity culture is still being felt – including in Britain

By Denise Thwaites

In the 1990s and 2000s, a Christian movement now known as purity culture reached its height. Purity culture was most significant in America, and since the noughties, it has gradually faded from cultural prominence. Its...

Why the Supreme Court's football decision is a game-changer on school prayer

By Charles J. Russo

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools. At the same time, lower courts have generally forbidden public school employees from openly praying in the workplace, even if no...

What does equity in schools look like? And how is it tied to growing teacher shortages?

By Lucas Walsh

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared victory on election night, he said he wanted to unite Australians around our shared values of fairness and opportunity, and hard work and kindness to those in need. So what...

Drones and DNA tracking: we show how these high-tech tools are helping nature heal

By Jake M Robinson Et Al

Technology has undoubtedly contributed to global biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Where forests once stood, artificial lights now illuminate vast urban jungles. Where animals once roamed, huge factories now...

The dangers of big data extend to farming

By Kelly Bronson

Most internet users are by now aware of the vulnerability of their personal data. When the news broke that tech companies misuse and manipulate our personal data, there was a widespread techlash against the corporate...

Market research is essential for entrepreneurs who want their businesses to succeed

By Philippe Massiera

According to the U.S. research and consulting firm CB Insights, most entrepreneurs fail because they lack sufficient financing. The second reason they fail is because the market for their product is too small. Yet many...

Sanctions against Russia: taking stock four months after the start of the war

By Malte Thie Et Al

On 23 February the eve of Russias invasion of Ukraine the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted the first package of sanctions in response to Moscows recognition of the self-proclaimed autonomous republics of...

Ukraine and Moldova gain EU candidate status but face a long road to full membership

By Stephen Hall3

For four months, Ukraine has been fighting for its very existence. Having successfully forced Russia to shift focus from a four-fronted offensive to concentrating on the Donbas region in the east of the country, Ukraine is...

Social Security benefits play key role in preventing older Americans from lacking enough quality food

By Sophie Mitra Et Al

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Social Security benefits make it easier for older Americans to afford the food they need to live a healthy, active life, according to...

Business schools get a bad rap – but a closer look shows they're often a force for good

By George Siedel

There is no shortage of books critical of business schools. The titles leave little doubt about how much disdain the authors have for the schools meant to prepare future leaders in business. Consider books like Shut...

I watched hundreds of flat-Earth videos to learn how conspiracy theories spread – and what it could mean for fighting disinformation

By Carlos Diaz Ruiz

Around the world, and against all scientific evidence, a segment of the population believes that Earths round shape is either an unproven theory or an elaborate hoax. Polls by YouGov America in 2018 and FDU in 2022 found...

How Rising festival brought us dance in times of plague

By Angela Conquet

Three years in the making, Risings much-anticipated first edition brought to Melbournes festival-deprived audiences a rich program featuring 225 events. With former Chunky Move founder and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek...

LIV Golf: Sportwashing vs. the commercial value of public attention

By Brad Millington Et Al

The LIV Golf Invitational Series held its first event recently at Centurion Club in St. Albans, England. LIV is a challenger to established tours in mens golf most notably the PGA Tour. Golfers have seemingly been...

Our current methods of food production are unsustainable – in his latest book, George Monbiot considers the alternatives

By Petra Marschner

In his new book Regenesis, journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot describes problems associated with agriculture now and into the future. He also gives examples of how agriculture can be improved to produce...

Female finance leaders outperform their male peers, so why so few of them in academia and beyond?

By Jing Xu Et Al

The gender diversity of thought leadership in finance is lower than in most other academic fields, our research shows. Finance ranks 132nd out of 175 fields with a representation of only 10.3% women among its thought...

Why capping food prices won't work – and will actually make things worse

By Phil Lewis

Australian shoppers are facing a crisis in the fresh-food aisles. Iceberg lettuces that cost $2.80 a year ago have doubled, or tripled, in price. Brussel sprouts that cost $4 to $6 a kilogram are now $7 to $14. Beans...

Russia’s Ukraine invasion won’t be over soon – and Putin is counting on the West’s short attention span

By Matthew Sussex

As Russias war in Ukraine becomes a quagmire of attrition, Western leaders are slowly coming to two realisations about Vladimir Putins intentions. First, Russias war against Ukraine wont be over soon, and is likely to...

US Capitol attack: how the public reaction to the January 6 hearings reflects deep divisions in the US

By Eliza Bechtold

After nearly a year of investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021, the Democrat-led House Select committee is holding a series of public hearings to present its findings to the US public. These findings...

At what point is a disease deemed to be a global threat? Here's the answer

By C Raina MacIntyre Et Al

Whenever there is an outbreak of a disease in the world such as monkeypox it is up to the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider what sort of weight to give it, including whether or not it constitutes a public...

How to combat the unethical and costly use of deepfakes

By Audrey de Rancourt-Raymond1 Et Al

Deepfakes are video, audio and image content generated by artificial intelligence. This technology can produce false images, videos or sounds of a person, place or event that appear authentic. In 2018, there were...

Vegan cheese: what you should know

By Richard Hoffman

For many people who go vegan, one of the hardest things to give up is cheese. Fortunately, thanks to the increasing popularity of veganism, food manufacturers have begun producing a greater variety of vegan cheeses with...

Crypto crash: market volatility is testing investor will but crypto-enthusiasts still see a future for the asset class

By Andrew Urquhart Et Al

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, remains a bellweather for the sector. It hit an all-time high of more than US$68,000 (55,600) in November 2021, when the overall value of the cryptocurrency market was close to US$3...

What is a heat dome? An atmospheric scientist explains the weather phenomenon baking large parts of the country

By William Gallus

A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer...

What is curtailment? An electricity market expert explains

By Theodore J. Kury

Curtailment has a special meaning in electric power systems. It describes any action that reduces the amount of electricity generated to maintain the balance between supply and demand which is critical for avoiding...

Pandemic's impacts on how people live and work may change city centers for decades to come

By Eunjee Kwon Et Al

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea If companies allowed more of their employees to permanently work from home, businesses would gravitate toward city centers, while...

Celibacy: its surprising evolutionary advantages – new research

By Ruth Mace Et Al

Why would someone join an institution that removed the option of family life and required them to be celibate? Reproduction, after all, is at the very heart of the evolution that shaped us. Yet many religious institutions...

How digital tech can help people with asthma manage their meds and reduce the risk of attacks

By Amy Chan

Modern medical science has made remarkable progress in the treatment of asthma. Inhalers containing steroids are particularly effective in preventing an asthma attack. But getting people to take these preventive medicines...

Levelling up: why Netflix and TikTok are turning to gaming to secure their future

By James Birt

The streaming wars are heating up. In March, Disney delayed the release date of Obi-Wan Kenobi to May 27 to coincide with the launch of Netflixs top show, Stranger Things. This on the back of Googles announcement YouTube...

The national electricity market is a failed 1990s experiment. It's time the grid returned to public hands

By John Quiggin

A crisis, as the saying has it, combines danger and opportunity. The dangers of the current electricity crisis are obvious. The opportunity it presents is to end to the failed experiment of the national electricity...

Why Russia demonizes Ukrainian diasporas

By Vic Satzewich Et Al

Were now almost into the fifth month of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and one of the consistent features of Russias associated information war is its continuing efforts to defame and demonize Ukrainian diasporas around...

UK work visa for elite graduates is exclusive and based on flawed assumptions

By Orla Quinlan

The UK governments announcement of a new work visa option aimed at attracting top graduates has elicited some backlash because the list of eligible institutions features no universities from Africa, Latin America or South...

Want to run for office in Kenya? Here's how much it'll cost you

By Karuti Kanyinga

Kenyas constitution provides for election of the president and 47 governors to head the executive organs at national and county levels, respectively. Also to be elected are legislators: 47 senators, 290 MPs and 1,450...

Ukraine war: fears that Belarus might invade on Russia's side are growing

By Stefan Wolff

As the war in Ukraine drags on and Russias attempts to gain significant ground in Donbas stall, concerns are being raised once again about the possibility of Belarus opening a second front. This, so the logic goes, would...

How monkeypox epidemic is likely to play out – in four graphs

By Adam Kleczkowski

The first case of monkeypox in a human was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, there have been many monkeypox outbreaks, but they have been self-limiting, with chains of human transmission...

Why including coal in a new ‘capacity mechanism’ will make Australia's energy crisis worse

By Tim Nelson

Australias electricity generators would be paid extra money to be available even if they dont actually generate any energy, under a new mechanism proposed by the federal governments Energy Security Board...

In an energy crisis, every watt counts. So yes, turning off your dishwasher can make a difference

By Anna Malos

Australias east coast energy market has been on a rocky road for the past few weeks. It begs the question: how could the market change to avoid the next crisis? To date, discussion has largely focused on the need to...

BTS take a break: world’s biggest K-pop group is caught between Korea’s soft power ambitions and national security

By Sarah A. Son

The decision by K-pop sensations, BTS, to take a hiatus is breaking hearts globally. But, unlike the Beatles or One Direction, their decision is tied to Korean peninsula politics and the challenge of balancing national...

Online dating fatigue – why some people are turning to face-to-face apps first

By Martin Graff

For the last two-plus years, people hoping to meet their soulmate in person have had a rough time. Lockdowns and uncertainty about social gatherings have led many people to turn to dating apps. People who feel they have...