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Editor's note

This weekend we bring you our usual bag of goodies – a selection of the best articles from across the site – but we also have a new offering. Launching tomorrow, our Thrive newsletter will deliver a weekly dose of evidence-based journalism to help you make decisions about your day-to-day life: the lowdown on food and exercise fads, parenting tips from the experts, the pop culture trends you need to catch up on, plus the latest instalments from Curious Kids and Sustainable Shopping. Sign up to Thrive and our other new newsletters here.

On a side note, some of our top authors will be presenting at IMPACT7, an event on August 9 that gives researchers from across Australia a platform to share how they’re addressing the major challengers our globe faces. For more information, click here.

Fron Jackson-Webb

Senior Health + Medicine Editor/Chief of Staff

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Fron Jackson-Webb, The Conversation; Molly Glassey, The Conversation

Meet Thrive: a weekly dose of evidence-based information to guide you through those never-ending choices about how to look after yourself and those around you.

Education

Explaining Australia's school funding debate: what's at stake

Peter Goss, Grattan Institute

Estimating parents' capacity to contribute to their children's schooling is both vital and politically sensitive. Schools with well-off parents get much less funding from government.
Universities can help recruit more science and maths teachers, but they can't do it alone

Linda Hobbs, Deakin University

Recruiting specialist teachers takes more than just encouraging them to study science and maths at university. Governments and wider society needs to come on board too.

Health + Medicine

Research Check: are phone-obsessed teens at greater risk of ADHD?

Hannah Kirk, Monash University

While the study found a link between high rates of digital media use and inattention and hyperactivity, it didn't find that one caused the other. Nor did it look specifically at clinically diagnosed ADHD.
Science or Snake Oil: is glucosamine good for joints?

Andrew Lavender, Curtin University

There is evidence glucosamine can provide relief in osteoarthritis patients, but not enough to support its use as a preventative.

Arts + Culture

Decoding the music masterpieces: Rossini’s William Tell, and its famous overture

Madeline Roycroft, University of Melbourne

In its original form, Rossini's William Tell went for five hours. Yet soon after its 1829 debut it was being cut for the comfort of its audience. Its Overture - a mere 12 minutes - has become one of the most famous pieces of classical music.
Friday essay: why YA gothic fiction is booming - and girl monsters are on the rise

Michelle Smith, Monash University

Gothic fiction has become the ideal genre for exploring the grotesque, frightening aspects of coming of age. And disruptive girls with supernatural powers have replaced the passive heroines of old.

Science + Technology

Skill vs luck: who really deserves the rewards from success?

Lionel Page, Queensland University of Technology; Romain Gauriot, University of Sydney

Be careful how you reward success. Was it achieved through hard-earned skill or just a lucky break?
My Health Record: the case for opting in

Jim Gillespie, University of Sydney

My Health Record is a step towards empowering patients with greater knowledge about their health – and could help save lives in emergencies.

Environment + Energy

How an alien seaweed invasion spawned an Antarctic mystery

Adele Morrison, Australian National University; Andy Hogg, Australian National University; Ceridwen Fraser, Australian National University; Erik van Sebille, Utrecht University

A chance discovery of some kelp that floated for 20,000km before washing up on an Antarctic beach has opened up a new chapter in our understanding of the currents that swirl around the Southern Ocean.
The case for introducing rhinos to Australia

Bill Laurance, James Cook University

Would you pay to see rhinos in Australia's savannas or forests? It's not as crazy as it sounds – and could help save collapsing rhino populations.

Politics + Society

When whistleblowers are prosecuted, it has a chilling effect on press freedom in Australia

Johan Lidberg, Monash University

Targeting Witness K and his lawyer in the Timor-Leste bugging case shows a government increasingly hostile to the media.
What Australia's convict past reveals about women, men, marriage and work

Pauline Grosjean, UNSW

Australia's convict past and male-dominated sex ratios have long-lasting effects on attitudes, impacting women's working lives.

Business + Economy

Workers' compensation doesn't cover gig workers – here's a way to protect them

David Peetz, Griffith University

Many vulnerable workers aren't covered for work-related injuries and illness. Employment law is largely a federal matter while compensation schemes are state-run, but there's a way to fix the problem.
Tech innovators start to see old-fashioned benefits of collective bargaining

Michael Walker, University of Technology Sydney

Tech companies overseas are signing collective agreements with their employees. Might Australia be next?

Cities

Do 'screaming children' in playgrounds ruin neighbourhood parks?

Lucy Taylor, University of Sydney; Dieter Hochuli, University of Sydney

Parks should service a variety of needs, not just cater to one group of people.
Empty car parks everywhere, but nowhere to park. How cities can do better

Elizabeth Taylor, RMIT University; Rebecca Clements, University of Melbourne

There are thousands of empty parking spots in cities. So what can we do to make better use of this space?