Editor's note
|
Before 1914 flowers were seen as part of women’s culture, but the first world war changed that. As Ann Elias writes, men gathered flowers and turned them into symbols of life among carnage, creating the remembrance tradition that continues today.
|
James Whitmore
Deputy Editor: Arts + Culture
|
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
Poppies at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
katatrix/shuttershock.com
Ann Elias, University of Sydney
The wildflowers that WWI soldiers encountered in Europe become symbols of remembrance and the fragility of life. The red poppy in particular is a powerful motif in Australian war art and photography.
|
Exhibition installation view of Robert Mapplethorpe: the perfect medium at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 27 Oct 2017 – 18 Feb 2018.
All artworks © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission. Photo: AGNSW, Christopher Snee
Annamarie Jagose, University of Sydney
The distinctive visual style of Robert Mapplethorpe’s beautiful, oversized images seems now more classical than shocking. But he can still reveal the subconscious of an era we think we have outgrown.
|
Education
|
Students should be taught to recognise the political, social, and economic factors that influence how a society conducts and participates in memorialisation of the past.
David Crosling/AAP
Kim Wilson, Macquarie University
Teaching students to recognise and understanding the political, social, and economic factors that influence how we celebrate Remembrance Day would make them more active citizens.
|
Babies start their musical development in the womb.
Shutterstock
Chelsea Harry, University of the Sunshine Coast
There a number of ways you can use music to shape your child's brain for success, from 16 weeks gestation right up until they start school.
|
Politics + Society
|
The Australian national football team’s remarkable triumph in Vietnam in 1967 has never been properly and collectively recognised.
Australian Soccer Federation
Roy Hay, Deakin University
At the height of the Vietnam War, the Holt government agreed it would be a good idea if the national football team took part in a tournament in Vietnam to boost morale.
|
Prime Minister Billy Hughes worked hard to quash rebellion over conscription during the first world war.
Australian Prime Ministers
Jeff Kildea, UNSW
A little-known incident 100 years ago reminds us that Australia at the time was riven by class, religious and political divisions.
|
Podcast
|
Dave Hunt/AAP
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The pundits are reluctant to place bets on who will win Queensland's November 25 election.
|
A canine commuter catches up on some sleep on the Paris Metro.
Kevin O'Mara/Flickr
Dallas Rogers, University of Sydney
Why does Australia, a nation of pet lovers, not allow pets on public transport or guarantee tenants the right to keep a pet?
|
Cities
|
Stony Creek drain: untidy and often slightly threatening, informal green space still has value for residents, which appropriate intervention can enhance.
Leila Mahmoudi Farahani, RMIT University; Cecily Maller, RMIT University
Residents often have concerns about informal green space but some still use it. Work to enhance these areas should aim to resolve these concerns without destroying what residents do value.
|
The Thomson Dam, Melbourne’s largest water storage, dropped to only 16% of capacity in the last big drought.
Melbourne Water/flickr
Ian Wright, Western Sydney University
Australian cities have turned to some very costly solutions when water is scarce. But as the world's second-highest users of water per person, more efficient use and recycling are key.
|
Health + Medicine
|
No, having a cold shower won’t make you lose weight.
from www.shutterstock.com
Andrew Carey, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute; Bronwyn Kingwell, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Cold showers have been recommended to activate brown fat, but they are unlikely to yield any health benefit.
|
Scientists aren’t sure exactly why we cry when we are sad.
Thomas Stromberg/Flickr
Michelle Moscova, UNSW
Whether we're happy or sad, it doesn't take much to turn on the waterworks. But how and why do humans cry?
|
Science + Technology
|
The star Betelgeuse varies in brightness.
Flickr/A Tag
Duane W. Hamacher, Monash University
A new look at some of the oral traditions of Aboriginal Australians shows a deep understanding of three red-giant variable stars, long before European observers.
|
A detection station for seismic activity at Bilibion, a remote corner of Russia.
The Official CTBTO Photostream (Copyright CTBTO Preparatory Commission)
Jane Cunneen, Curtin University
Human-induced earthquakes have been reported from every continent except Antarctica. We asked a geologist to investigate whether North Korea's nuclear tests could trigger geological changes.
|
Business + Economy
|
The Australian superannuation system was never meant to be privatised.
Shutterstock
Suzanne Taylor, Queensland University of Technology
The Australian superannuation system was originally meant to be government-run, and so many necessary protections weren't included.
|
The first strategy is to require the public disclosure of country by country reporting of company tax affairs.
Shutterstock
Roman Lanis, University of Technology Sydney; Brett Govendir, University of Technology Sydney
The ideas are already out there to tackle some of the tax avoidance highlighted by the Paradise Papers.
|
Environment + Energy
|
Communities in Cape York are among those with restricted access to mains water.
NomadicPics/Flickr
Cara Beal, Griffith University
Some remote Australian communities have access to drinking water for only nine hours a day but can use ten times the average of urban households.
|
Laiap, to the west of the site of the now-disappeared Nahlapenlohd.
Patrick D. Nunn, University of the Sunshine Coast
In1850, the Micronesian island of Nahlapenlohd was the scene of Pohnpei state's first battle involving cannons and muskets. Less than two centuries later, it has sunk beneath the waves.
|
|
Featured jobs
|
|
La Trobe University — Bundoora, Victoria
|
|
RMIT University — Bundoora, Victoria
|
|
Deakin University — Newtown, Victoria
|
|
Swinburne University of Technology — Melbourne, Victoria
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
G06 (formally known as Theatre A) Elisabeth Murdoch Building, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia — University of Melbourne
|
|
15 Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
|
|
Melbourne Business School, 200 Leicester St, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
|
|
Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2 Collins Square, 727 Collins Street, Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, 3008, Australia — Deakin University
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|