Big data can be used for good too

Editor's note

The use of “big data” has come under fire a lot in recent times for its questionable applications, especially as data privacy becomes an increasing concern. But when it’s used ethically, big data can help solve some of society’s most difficult problems, according to Arezou Soltani Panah and Anthony McCosker. Whether it’s mapping street harassment or identifying hotspots of charitable giving, here are five projects that are using big data to make the world a better place.

And on a different note, at a time when it can seem like the natural and political world is going to hell in a handbasket, a new literary genre is rising to the fore. As Rose Michaels writes, speculative fiction is gaining literary respectability as our world is transformed by climate change.

Shelley Hepworth

Section Editor: Technology

Health + Medicine

Australia has eliminated rubella – but that doesn’t mean it can’t come back

Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney; Aditi Dey, University of Sydney; Heather Gidding, University of Sydney

Thanks to successful vaccination programs, Australia has just been declared free of rubella. Continued vigilance is important to make sure it doesn't come back.
Tick-tock – for healthy mums and kids, dad’s age counts

Sarah Robertson, University of Adelaide

A new study shows that as the father’s age increases, so too the chances of the baby being born prematurely, having a low birth weight, or requiring medical intervention after delivery.

Environment + Energy

Seagrass, protector of shipwrecks and buried treasure

Oscar Serrano, Edith Cowan University; Carlos Duarte, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Dorte Krause-Jensen, Aarhus University

The sediments that accumulate beneath seagrass meadows can act as secure vaults for shipwrecks and other precious artefacts, by stopping water and oxygen from damaging the delicate timbers.
Earth’s wilderness is vanishing, and just a handful of nations can save it

James Allan, The University of Queensland; James Watson, The University of Queensland; Jasmine Lee, The University of Queensland; Kendall Jones, The University of Queensland

More than two-thirds of Earth's remaining wilderness is in the hands of just five countries, according to a new global map. A concerted conservation effort is needed to save our last wild places.

Politics + Society

Explainer: New Caledonia’s independence referendum, and how it could impact the region

Denise Fisher, Australian National University

Thirty years after deadly protests erupted in Australia's close neighbour, New Caledonians head to the polls again to vote on whether to remain a part of France.
States and territories have improved integrity measures, but Commonwealth lags far behind

Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute; Carmela Chivers, Grattan Institute; Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute

Almost all states have improved their accountability in recent years, and are far ahead of the Commonwealth government.
Grattan on Friday: Now Malcolm Turnbull is the sniper at the window

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

For years Turnbull had to endure the sniping of Abbott, the man he brought down. Now Turnbull is the sniper at the window, though Morrison didn't cause his fall (unless you buy the conspiracy theory).
Media Files: What does the future newsroom look like?

Andrea Carson, University of Melbourne; Andrew Dodd, University of Melbourne

We often hear about media companies shedding staff and revenues, but is there hope? We ask the man with a mission to launch 100 media start-ups in three years: what does the future newsroom look like?
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Anne Summers on #MeToo and women in politics

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Anne Summers is concerned about the slow progress in Australia in addressing sexual harassment and assault.

Cities

Making developments green doesn’t help with inequality

Rupert Legg, University of Technology Sydney

Barangaroo is an example of a development with admirable green credentials, but it is also an exclusive precinct that has played a role in displacing the disadvantaged from this part of Sydney.
To tackle inequality, we must start in the labour market

Jim Stanford, University of Sydney

While government payments and programs go some way to reducing inequality, the transformation of the labour market and its institutions has cut workers' share of the pie to historic lows.

Business + Economy

Abolish stamp duty. The ACT shows the rest of us how to tax property

Brendan Coates, Grattan Institute; John Daley, Grattan Institute; Tony Chen, Grattan Institute

The Grattan Institute says swapping stamp duty for land tax would make Australians up to $17 billion a year better off.
Why are unions so unhappy? An economic explanation of the Change the Rules campaign

Shirley Jackson, University of Melbourne; George Rennie, University of Melbourne

As unions have shrunk, conditions for workers have got worse.

Education

One man’s trash: how using everyday items for play benefits kids

Brendon Hyndman, Charles Sturt University

Recycled or scrap parts including tunnels, pipes, crates, foam, rubber and plastic parts make for better play equipment for kids than a fixed swing set.
What are ‘decodable readers’ and do they work?

Misty Adoniou, University of Canberra; Brian Cambourne, University of Wollongong; Robyn Ewing, University of Sydney

The Victorian opposition has pledged funding for "decodable readers" which focus only on sounds. But kids prefer to read rich texts.

Science + Technology
Phubbing (phone snubbing) happens more in the bedroom than when socialising with friends Yeslam Al-Saggaf, Charles Sturt University Looking at your phone while in the presence of others – called phubbing – has become commonplace. But who gets phubbed most? How frequently? And in what situations?