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Editor's note
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Hazard-reduction burning (also known as “prescribed burning”) is one way Australia prepares for fire seasons, where a fire-prone area is burnt in a controlled way before an unplanned fire can get to it.
After this summer’s devastating fires, Australia’s bushfire preparedness has come under scrutiny, and you may have seen headlines both touting the benefits of hazard-reduction burning, or rejecting it. Scientists are on both sides of the argument, so what’s going on?
University of Melbourne fire ecologist Kevin Tolhurst looks at two different peer-reviewed studies that came to two different conclusions about hazard-reduction burns, and explains that context is everything.
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Anthea Batsakis
Deputy Editor: Environment + Energy
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Top stories
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Jason Edwards/PR handout image
Kevin Tolhurst, University of Melbourne
This summer's bushfires have sparked a fiery debate about hazard-reduction burning. Scientists are still debating whether it really helps prevent bushfires – here's why.
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Shutterstock
Andrea Waling, La Trobe University; Anthony Lyons, La Trobe University
We interviewed older gay men, lesbian women, and trans women about their perceptions of residential aged care. Our research shows we need to make aged care safer for LGBTI+ people.
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Taylor Wilcox/Unsplash
Larissa Christensen, University of the Sunshine Coast; Nadine McKillop, University of the Sunshine Coast; Susan Rayment-McHugh, University of the Sunshine Coast
When parents suspect grooming, they should direct their concerns to the school, no matter how trivial it may seem.
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Health + Medicine
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Theresa Larkin, University of Wollongong
We can answer this question by looking at the differences between the first, second and third layers of our skin.
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Politics + Society
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Rowan Callick, Griffith University
China's leader is facing one of the greatest challenges of his presidency. But the extent of China’s controls almost rule out monumental change – or Xi taking accountability for his mistakes.
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Cities
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John Stanley, University of Sydney; Roz Hansen, University of Melbourne
Only the inner suburbs of Melbourne and other capital cities pass the 20-minute neighbourhood test. But we could transform the other suburbs for much less than the cost of current transport projects.
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Arts + Culture
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Dr Michael X. Savvas, Flinders University
A creative writing project in South Australian prisons shows those inside can be eloquent, expressive and reflective.
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Trish Luker, University of Technology Sydney
Signatures developed to replace rituals as a form of legal validation. Indigenous people have seen their marks used against them and rallied communities to use signatures in innovative protests.
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Science + Technology
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Wallace Boone Law, University of Adelaide
A scientist whose Kangaroo Island home was threatened by the summer's bushfires says there is a 'knowledge gap' between satellite data and useful maps that can protect communities.
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Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Deakin University; Siân McLean, La Trobe University; Suku Sukunesan, Swinburne University of Technology; Zali Yager, Victoria University
Social media platforms are increasingly offering mental health support tools to users. The jury is still out on whether it will do any good
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Business + Economy
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Roy Green, University of Technology Sydney
The fate of Australia's car industry shows the danger of prioritising what worked in the past over what will work in the future
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Environment + Energy
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Grant Williamson, University of Tasmania; Gabi Mocatta, University of Tasmania; Rebecca Harris, University of Tasmania; Tomas Remenyi, University of Tasmania
The current state of our climate shouldn't be dismissed as a 'new normal'. The hard truth is many of our ecosystems will not recover from the damage.
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