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Editor's note
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In case you missed it this week, all mentions of important female physicists and their contributions have been erased from the NSW HSC syllabus. We know the importance of celebrating women in science as much as their male counterparts, so we’re a little bummed by this. Earlier this year we published this piece on how only 28% of our scitech authors were women, so ever since then we’ve been trying to close this
gender gap. Women in science in schools and in the media normalises the fact this is a profession for anyone with the passion.
So we’re going to take a moment to introduce you to four of the world’s most bad-arse female physicists (obviously there are so many more but let’s stick with four for now). Meet Aussie Ruby Payne-Scott, Dual Nobel laureate, Professor Marie Curie (her notebooks are still radioactive and will likely be for the next 1,500 years), Dr Rosalind Franklin and Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. And hey, why not tell your kids and grandkids about their accomplishments - because by the sounds of it, they might not be learning about them at school.
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Molly Glassey
Newsletter Editor
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Top story
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We need female role models in the NSW physics syllabus to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study.
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Kathryn Ross, University of Sydney; Tom Gordon, University of Sydney
The new physics syllabus for year 11 and 12 students in NSW contains no mention of specific women who have contributed to the field, nor their work.
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Health + Medicine
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Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation
It's clear that socioeconomic position has a strong influence on cancer incidence and mortality in Australia.
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Ian Harris, UNSW; Denise O'Connor, Monash University; Rachelle Buchbinder
Doctors tend to overestimate how good their treatments are and underestimate the harms that come from them. But many studies have shown knee arthroscopy to no more effective than fake surgery.
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Science + Technology
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Tom Lee, University of Technology Sydney; Stefan Lie, University of Technology Sydney
The concept of "affordances" is used by product designers to capture the sense that an object seems to call for certain kinds of use. A handle affords holding, a button pressing and a KitKat breaking.
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Michael Milford, Queensland University of Technology; Peter Stratton, The University of Queensland
Scientists and soldiers deal with alien invaders in the new Predator movie, but how does the science stack up? With brains and brawn you'd think they'd know how to keep an alien tied down to a table.
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Politics + Society
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Andrea Carson, University of Melbourne
New research shows that conservative voters generally fail to see how being female can impede political success, while left-of-centre voters list gender as the main obstacle to success.
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Son Vivienne, RMIT University
Allowing for more gender options in the public sphere isn't political correctness gone awry. It's just a small shift in the evolution of how we understand, categorise and define gender.
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Business + Economy
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Richard Holden, UNSW
It is thought that it doesn't help much to cut official interest rates toward or beyond zero, and maybe it doesn't, but new research suggests the answer has a lot to do with the housing market.
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Roman Lanis, University of Technology Sydney; Chelsea Liu, University of Adelaide; Grant Richardson, Macquarie University; Ross McClure, University of Technology Sydney
The candidates most likely to be chosen as independent directors are those good at avoiding tax.
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Arts + Culture
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Claire Smith, Flinders University; Gary Jackson, Flinders University; Geoffrey Gray, The University of Queensland; Vincent Copley, Flinders University
In the 1940s, the last initiated Ngadjuri man, Barney Waria, gave a series of interviews to anthropologist Ronald Berndt. Almost 80 years later, Waria's grandson wants to share this material with his family.
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Christopher R. Marshall, University of Melbourne
Born into late-16th century Papal Rome, Gentileschi transcended the path of utter obscurity that was the lot of her female peers to become one of the most famous painters of the day.
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Cities
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Patricia Lane, University of Sydney
It's still mostly a case of 'buyer beware' when it comes to finding out about a property. But many buyers feel they should be told if, for example, it was the scene of a violent murder.
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Lucy Gunn, RMIT University; Billie Giles-Corti, RMIT University; Julianna Rozek, RMIT University; Melanie Davern, RMIT University
Every year, our big cities vie for global liveability honours. But as well as differences between the cities, liveability varies widely within them, leaving plenty of work to be done.
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Education
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Kathleen Williams, University of Tasmania; Jocelyn Nettlefold, University of Tasmania
Teaching media literacy to students can curb the impact of false news, but teachers need more support from their schools and community to do this.
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Environment + Energy
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Britta Denise Hardesty, CSIRO; Chris Wilcox, CSIRO; Kathy Ann Townsend, University of the Sunshine Coast; Qamar Schuyler, CSIRO
Autopsies of 1,000 turtles washed up on Australian beaches paint a grim picture of the impact of plastic debris. Even a single piece can be deadly, and on average 14 pieces equals a 50% fatality rate.
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Sangeetha Chandrashekeran, University of Melbourne; Anne Kallies, RMIT University; Lee Godden, University of Melbourne; Svenja Keele, University of Melbourne
Smart meters are being rolled out across Australia, offering the opportunity to share data with third parties who promise to help you find a cheaper deal. But this requires strong consumer protection.
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Featured jobs
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Murdoch Childrens Research Institute — Melbourne, Victoria
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Massey University — Auckland, Auckland
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Massey University — Auckland, Auckland
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Australian Catholic University — North Sydney, New South Wales
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Featured events
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14-28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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Hotel Grand Chancellor, Launceston, Tasmania, 7250, Australia — Australasian Evaluation Society
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RMIT University, Building 16, Level 5, 336 - 348 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — RMIT University
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Level 1, 7 Macquarie Place, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia — The Institute of Managers and Leaders
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