What if we measured the thing that matters most: "carbon productivity"

Oct 26, 2019 08:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology Economy

Ask any economist a question, and you will usually get the answer: productivity. The winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman, set the standard in 1994: Productivity isnt everything, but, in the...

Predicting research results can mean better science and better advice

Oct 26, 2019 08:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

We ask experts for advice all the time. A company might ask an economist for advice on how to motivate its employees. A government might ask what the effect of a policy reform will be. To give the advice, experts often...

'I'm in another world': writing without rules lets kids find their voice, just like professional authors

Oct 26, 2019 08:13 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Ask a child why they write and you might receive a common response: the teacher told me to. Kids often lack confidence as writers and find it emotionally draining. The problem might be the classroom and its detachment from...

You can't boost Australia's north to 5 million people without a proper plan

Oct 26, 2019 08:13 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Any moves to greatly increase the population of northern Australian by 2060 could have a devastating impact on the local environment without long-term careful planning by all tiers of government. Thats the finding of...

No, Mr Dutton, DNA testing ISIS brides won't tell you who's an Australian citizen

Oct 26, 2019 08:13 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Home affairs minister Peter Dutton suggested earlier this week that DNA testing would be needed to verify Australian citizenship claims of ISIS brides trapped in Syria. There are some people who may claim to be...

Why the government's proposed facial recognition database is causing such alarm

Oct 26, 2019 08:12 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Since before the 2019 election, the Morrison government has been keen to introduce a new scheme that would allow government agencies, telecos and banks to use facial recognition technology to collect and share images of...

What the Canadian election results would have looked like with electoral reform

Oct 26, 2019 08:12 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The 2019 federal election results suggested a majority of Canadians preferred a minority government, but the one they got was different than the one they voted for. The Liberal Party won what can be described as a...