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Author's note
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I started to write for The Conversation back in October 2011. My first article was about economic prospects in Libya in the post-Gaddafi era. Since then, I have written another 90 articles on topics ranging from Australian budget policy to the European economic crisis, income inequality and economic growth. In June 2014 I even wrote a piece about the Soccer World Cup, in which I used some economic analysis to predict the placement of the various teams. I ended up guessing correctly three out of the four semi-finalists.
I write for The Conversation because it is an excellent way to reach out to a broad audience of interested readers. For a long time, academics have been (more or less willingly) secluded in an ivory tower, doing excellent research work that however was read by other academics only. The Conversation has given us the opportunity to come out by facilitating communication between researchers, policymakers, and the public.
As an economist, I often think of The Conversation as a “public good”; that is, something of which we generally need more. For this reason, I sincerely thank those of you who have supported The Conversation in the past and I hope that in the future you continue to support it by signing up for a monthly donation.
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Fabrizio Carmignani
Dean (Academic) Griffith Business School, Griffith University
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Top story
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Graphics: Emil Jeyaratnam/The Conversation; Images: AAP/Shutterstock
Robyn J. Whitaker, University of Divinity
Some Australian Christians claim to be persecuted – this is not only wrong, it is an insult to thousands around the world who are at risk because of their religion.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Joyce sought leave from the Nationals whip, Michelle Landry, and he has been granted a parliamentary pair by Labor – which means the numbers in the House of Representatives will not be affected.
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Adrian Beaumont, University of Melbourne
Labor still holds a narrow two-party preferred lead over the Coalition, while polling takes a skewed turn.
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Science + Technology
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Alice Clement, Flinders University; John Long, Flinders University
A 400 million year old fossilised fish skull gives us very early and previously unknown clues about how boney fishes evolved into the vertebrates we see today on Earth - including us humans.
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Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University
Last week, Elon Musk 'called BS' on nanotechnology. And it threw up an important question: just what is nanotech, and is it more hype than science?
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Robert Merkel, Monash University
A damning report lists a number of questionable design decisions that appear to greatly increase the risks of a crash.
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Cities
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Ferne Edwards, RMIT University; Anna R. Davies, Trinity College Dublin
Research into food sharing in Melbourne shows these networks are highly productive and produce many benefits. But policy and the law have yet to catch up.
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Business + Economy
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Helen Hodgson, Curtin University
Despite recent reforms, the superannuation system is still beset with problems such as high fees and patchy performance. You need to pay attention if you want to make sure your nest egg's in the best hands.
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Environment + Energy
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Andrew King, University of Melbourne; Luke Harrington, University of Oxford
Global warming will be most noticeable where the weather doesn't normally vary much, such as the tropics. But these places are also home to many of the world's poorest and least culpable nations.
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Philippa England, Griffith University
Queensland's new land-clearing laws are a huge missed opportunity.
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Education
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Felicity Cox, Macquarie University
The short answer is that the accent you have depends on the people you grew up with and the history of the place that you live in.
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Sally Baker, UNSW; Jaya A R Dantas, Curtin University
Without developing a better understanding of the challenges refugee students face, we run the risk of further disadvantaging refugee students in Australia.
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Dominic O'Sullivan, Charles Sturt University
Australian higher education policy debates focus primarily on how and by whom universities are funded. This diminishes understanding of universities' democratic purpose and wider social mission.
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Health + Medicine
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Peter C. Doherty, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Nobel laureate Peter Doherty explains immunity.
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Clare Collins, University of Newcastle
A new review of 180 studies found little or no protective effects from taking dietary supplements, and actually found some harm.
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Arts + Culture
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Maggie Ivanova, Flinders University
In Terrestrial, teenager Libby wants aliens to whisk her across the galaxy to escape her abusive father.
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