What worries us most about employment

Editor's note

This week, a poll by the Australian National University revealed Australians are more worried about jobs going overseas or being lost through poor management than they are about being replaced by machines.

This fits with new research by Jason Pallant at Swinburne University, showing that intangible forces such as convenience and transparency, not specific technologies, are likely to be key drivers shaping the future of market sectors like retail. That gives organisations and individuals room to adapt.

Josh Nicholas

Deputy Editor: Business + Economy

Top story

What is the future of retail? Shutterstock

What’s really driving the future of retail?

Jason Pallant, Swinburne University of Technology

Specific predictions go obsolete fast, but some common themes are emerging – convenience, fragmentation, intelligence, personalisation and experience.

Automation has replaced workers in mining and industry, including the steelworks at Port Kembla, but most Australians are more worried about jobs going overseas. Dean Lewins/AAP

Australians worry more about losing jobs overseas than to robots

Nicholas Biddle, Australian National University; Jill Sheppard, Australian National University; Matthew Gray, Australian National University

Most Australian workers are fairly relaxed about their own job security, but they do worry about the risks of poor management and outsourcing to cheaper labour.

Arts + Culture

When Trump comes to Australia, let’s hope protesters get more creative than the baby blimp

Felicity Fenner, UNSW

Trump Baby is the latest in a long history of visual protests. But is this 'cheap shot street theatre' truly effective, or should we ask more of protest artists?
Friday essay: the ‘great Australian silence’ 50 years on

Anna Clark, University of Technology Sydney

It is 50 years since anthropologist WEH Stanner gave the Boyer Lectures in which he coined the phrase 'the great Australian silence'. How far have we come since?

Politics + Society

Expunging the criminal records of kids in care does not absolve the state’s injustices against them

Katherine McFarlane, Charles Sturt University

Children in care have been treated as criminals, despite doing nothing wrong - and they need compensation beyond an apology.
The National Sport Plan has ambitious ideas, but not enough specifics

Lisa Gowthorp

The new-look Sport Australia body will put more emphasis on innovation and fighting corruption, but questions remain about funding and measurable targets.

Science + Technology

What is a gem? And why painite from Myanmar can fetch US$60,000 per carat

Andrew Christy, The University of Queensland

What makes a stone a gem? It boils down to a few key qualities: beauty and durability. But opal, the national gemstone of Australia, is an anomaly - it's soft.
My Health Record: Deleting personal information from databases is harder than it sounds

Robert Merkel, Monash University

Permanently and completely deleting information from IT systems is complex. The government should consider pausing the roll-out of My Health Record for longer to properly address this issue.

Health + Medicine

When is it OK to call an ambulance?

Bill Lord, University of the Sunshine Coast

If you're unsure whether you need an ambulance, it's OK to call 000 for advice.
Drink, drank, drunk: what happens when we drink alcohol in four short videos

Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation; Wes Mountain, The Conversation

What is it that makes us feel drunk when we drink? And why do we keep drinking if it can make us feel so terrible?

Education
Parents can promote gender equality and help prevent violence against women. Here’s how Dr. Gemma Hamilton, RMIT University; Anastasia Powell, RMIT University; Dr Naomi Pfitzner, RMIT University Rigid gender roles and stereotypes are key drivers of violence against women. So let's challenge these by starting young.

Cities

How the everyday commute is changing who we are

David Bissell, University of Melbourne

We see the daily commute as a waste of time. But there's another way to see the experience: a whole life in the events and memories we form during these journeys, which change us as human beings.
Reimagining Parramatta: a place to discover Australia’s many stories

Sarah Barns, Western Sydney University; Phillip Mar, Western Sydney University

Sydney's Parramatta is developing fast, building over a rich archaeological history. Finding ways to retain it can help visitors and residents feel a sense of physical connection with those who came before.

Environment + Energy

Why compostable plastics may be no better for the environment

Thomas Neitzert, Auckland University of Technology

New types of biodegradable or compostable plastic products seem to offer an alternative to conventional plastics. But they may be no better for the environment.
New map shows that only 13% of the oceans are still truly wild

Kendall Jones, The University of Queensland; Alan Friedlander, University of Hawaii; Benjamin Halpern, University of California, Santa Barbara; Caitlin Kuempel, The University of Queensland; Carissa Klein, The University of Queensland; Hedley Grantham, The University of Queensland; Hugh Possingham, The University of Queensland; James Watson, The University of Queensland; Nicole Shumway; Oscar Venter, University of Northern British Columbia

The world has some 500 million square kilometres of ocean. But just 55 million square kilometres remain untouched by intensive human activities such as fishing.