Editor's note
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This week the World Bank’s Paul Romer lost his job as head of research. (He’ll remain as chief economist). His crime: grammar pedantry. As Roslyn Petelin argues, pedants may be a maligned bunch, but should really be seen as upholders of the English language. And whether you are a grammar groover, a grammasseur, or just a grammond, pedants come in many shades.
And we’re part way through our annual reader donation campaign – so if you haven’t already, please make a tax-deductible donation.
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James Whitmore
Editor, Arts + Culture
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Arts + Culture
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It’s really ok to be a grammar pedant.
Shutterstock
Roslyn Petelin, The University of Queensland
Grammar pedantry recently contributed to the downfall of World Bank chief economist Paul Romer. But 'grammonds' are people to be celebrated not vilified.
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For thousands of years, women’s tattoos have been permanent records of female power over adversity.
Shutterstock
Emily Poelina-Hunter, RMIT University
For thousands of years, tattoos have been indicative of the passage from girlhood to womanhood, of female power and female beauty.
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Science + Technology
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A simulation of the latest binary black hole merger detected by LIGO. Blue indicates weak fields and yellow indicates strong fields.
Numerical-relativistic Simulation: S Ossokine, A Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics) and the Simulating eXtreme Spacetime project Scientific Visualization: T Dietrich (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), R Haas (NCSA)
Matthew Bailes, Swinburne University of Technology; Eric Thrane, Monash University; Paul Lasky, Monash University
Scientists have made a third detection of gravitational waves, again caused by the merger of two black holes. But they think there's something different about the black holes in this case.
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It’s in the genes why some people find broccoli unpleasantly bitter, but others barely flinch when eating it.
from www.shutterstock.com
Ingrid Appelqvist, CSIRO
Your genes, your saliva and the bacteria that live in your mouth all shape how food tastes and what you prefer to eat.
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Education
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Labor must explain how its additional funding will benefit students.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Peter Goss, Grattan Institute
Here's why Labor’s figure for school funding is too high.
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Some in the Catholic community previously labeled the Safe Schools program as ‘controversial’.
Mal Fairclough/AAP
Lucy Nicholas, Swinburne University of Technology
The new program for Catholic schools draws on the same research as Safe Schools (so perhaps it wasn't part of a 'Marxist agenda' after all).
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Politics + Society
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Margaret Court’s views on homosexuality do not reflect those of most Christians.
The Conversation/Shutterstock
Robyn J. Whitaker, University of Divinity
There is nothing inherently Christian about the so-called traditional arrangement of the nuclear family.
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Of those who have experienced homelessness, 62% cite family breakdown or conflict as the main reason for becoming homeless for the first time.
shutterstock
Julie Moschion, University of Melbourne
Parental separation substantially raises the risk of homelessness by the age of 30 for girls and boys, but only boys are affected by a break-up after the age of 12.
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Health + Medicine
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Social media allow us to feel closer to tragedies on the other side of the world.
Nigel Roddis/EPA/AAP
Peggy Kern, University of Melbourne
We know negative news has an impact on our mental health, especially if we are constantly being exposed to it. Twitter is trying to help young people cope with the stress, which is a good start.
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Generally, people under 40 have reported a decrease in recent illicit drug usage since 2001, while people 40 or older have reported an increase in recent years.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Nicole Lee, Curtin University
The proportion of population who use legal and illegal drugs has remained stable or trended down. Fewer young people are using, but the proportion of older people using drugs and alcohol has grown.
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Podcasts
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Russian line guard march prior to a military parade in Moscow.
Yuri Kochetkov/EPA
William Isdale, University of Melbourne
William Isdale speaks to Tony Kevin about his experience living in Russia during the Cold War and what he found when he returned almost 50 years later.
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Mick Tsikas/AAP
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Matt Canavan tells The Conversation this mine is only one part of a plan for 'opening up the Galilee Basin' to provide investment opportunities, exports, and employment.
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Cities
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The flat white experience is so ubiquitous that it could be anywhere.
mavo from www.shutterstock.com
Timothy Moore, University of Melbourne
The ubiquitous cafes across Australian cities attract locals and tourists alike, but surely there's more to thriving neighbourhoods than a flat white.
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Most Sydneysiders are concerned about the effects of foreign investment on the local real estate market.
Dave Hunt/AAP
Dallas Rogers, University of Sydney; Alexandra Wong, Western Sydney University; Jacqueline Nelson, University of Technology Sydney
Only 18% of Sydneysiders think foreign investors should be able to buy property. They simply don't accept arguments that this investment improves housing affordability by increasing supply.
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Environment + Energy
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Disruptive technology, Ming Dynasty-style.
Vmenkov/Wikimedia Commons
Dave Frame, Victoria University of Wellington
In pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, Donald Trump has turned his back not just on the world but on the low-carbon economy. He should pay heed to a very apt lesson from China's history.
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A wide range of industrial processes have released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Paulo Resende/Shutterstock.com
Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Cathy Trudinger, CSIRO; David Etheridge, CSIRO; Malte Meinshausen, University of Melbourne; Paul Fraser, CSIRO; Paul Krummel, CSIRO
While the gases most responsible for global warming - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - continue to climb, other industrial greenhouse gases are being brought gradually under control.
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Business + Economy
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Japanese car part manufacturing company Yazaki was fined A$9.5 million for cartel conduct. But now the ACCC wants to increase this.
Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Caron Beaton-Wells, University of Melbourne
The level of corporate fines for anti-competitive conduct in Australia is woefully below international benchmarks.
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People disclosing their emotional responses to brands online, helps connect better with others.
Facebook
Simon Pervan, Swinburne University of Technology
Research shows social media allows people to disclose all sorts of information about their love for these brands and to seek out like minded people.
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Featured jobs
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RMIT University — Melbourne, Victoria
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Featured events
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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