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With all of NSW now in lockdown, more than half of the extra 1 million Pfizer vaccine doses announced over the weekend will flow to the state. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has also announced an increase in available vaccination appointments to assist in the current Melbourne outbreak.
But when all those keen to be vaccinated have got their shots, and we’re left with the hesitant few, how do we incentivise them? So far the conversation has centred on things like beer, doughnuts and money.
But RMIT behavioural economists Meg Elkin and Robert Hoffman question this attention. “Too much of our discussion about vaccine hesitancy imagines the problem in rational terms.” they write. “If you believed a COVID vaccine was an experimental gene therapy that might change your DNA and render you sterile, how much money would you want to agree to take it?”
They suggest the situation may call for a very different approach, turning on four key insights from behavioural economics about the power of effective “nudges”.
And news has broken over night that the Afghan government has collapsed. Twenty years after being ousted, the Taliban have claimed power, seizing the presidential palace in Kabul. We’ll bring you analysis from our global experts on what this means and what now for the people of Afghanistan.
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Tim Wallace
Deputy Editor: Business + Economy
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shutterstock.
Meg Elkins, RMIT University; Robert Hoffmann, RMIT University; Swee-Hoon Chuah, University of Tasmania
Too much of our discussion about vaccine hesitancy imagines the problem in rational terms. Perceptions about COVID-19 and vaccines are driven by emotion, not reason.
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Nawid Tanha/EPA-EFE
Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex
Afghanistan’s strategic location, and the support for the Taliban from neighbouring countries, means the current Taliban advances were unavoidable.
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Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint inside the city of Farah, capital of Farah province in southwest Afghanistan, in August 2021. Several of the country’s 34 capitals have fallen to the Taliban, dire news for women in Afghanistan.
(AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)
Vrinda Narain, McGill University
Emboldened by success in Afghanistan, the Taliban is now ordering religious leaders to provide them with lists of girls over the age of 15 to enter into ‘marriages’ to Taliban fighters.
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Lukas Coch/AAP
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
People aged 20-39, who were identified by the Doherty Institute modelling as super spreaders of COVID will be targeted for the one million Pfizer doses the Morrison government has purchased from Poland.
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Wes Mountain/The Conversation
Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University
Great crises have historically given impetus to right-wing mobilisation, and the COVID pandemic is no exception. However, it’s not always to the right’s benefit.
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Shutterstock
Ksenia Sawczak, University of Sydney
After 11 years of Excellence in Research for Australia, the time and costs for universities and the value it creates for other sectors (none of which made submissions to a recent review) are unknown.
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AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid (centre) has been a regular commentator, lobbyist and advocate during the pandemic.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Lesley Russell, University of Sydney
The AMA has shaped some important decisions in the pandemic, but it’s not always clear how its power is used.
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Science + Technology
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Helen Green, The University of Melbourne; Damien Finch, The University of Melbourne
Indigenous artists have been engraving rock shelters for millennia - long before the Kimberley’s celebrated rock art paintings. Now the rocks’ natural coatings are yielding clues to the engravings’ creation.
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Jarryd Pla, UNSW; Andrew Dzurak, UNSW
So far researchers have only been able to control a handful of qubits — the basic units of information in a quantum computer. A new approach could help them control millions at a time.
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Steven Freeland, Western Sydney University; Danielle Ireland-Piper, Bond University; Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Bond University; Jonathan Crowe, Bond University; Samuli Haataja, Griffith University; Wendy Bonython, Bond University
The growth of online and space activity make traditional ideas of national security increasingly outdated.
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Clinton Foster, Australian National University
When plants started growing on land, they changed the world. Ancient fossil spores hint at how and when they did it.
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Arts + Culture
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Mary Voice, The University of Melbourne
A special gallery in London’s Kew Gardens allows the visitor to travel the world via the 800-plus detailed paintings of Marianne North, Victorian-era adventurer and botanical artist.
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Business + Economy
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Catherine de Fontenay, The University of Melbourne
A major investigation finds the essential supplies most at risk are personal protective equipment and chemicals. Onshore manufacturing mightn’t do much to help.
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Environment + Energy
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Ryan Keith, University of Sydney; Dieter Hochuli, University of Sydney; John Martin, University of Sydney; Lisa M. Given, Swinburne University of Technology
New research found girls particularly liked to see wildflowers, hear nature sounds and touch animals and plants.
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Bethaney Turner, University of Canberra
When community gardens are socially inclusive, everyone benefits. The knowledge, skills and experimentation of migrant and refugee gardeners makes them more resilient and biodiverse.
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Politics + Society
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Stephen Hoadley, University of Auckland
Kennan was one of America’s few true experts on Soviet affairs. He famously urged a “Containment” strategy to prevent Soviet expansionism, advising against military responses and arms build-ups.
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Linda Steele, University of Technology Sydney; Cameron Stewart, University of Sydney
Australia doesn’t have ‘conservatorships’ but rather guardianship and financial management laws for each state and territory.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Michelle Grattan discusses the economic challenges faced by the nation, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics.
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Eddie Synot, Griffith University
The simple truth is that a legislation-first approach to establishing a Voice without constitutional protection is bad policy. And it is not true to the Uluru Statement.
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Health + Medicine
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Stephanie Partridge, University of Sydney; Alice A Gibson; Julie Redfern, University of Sydney; Rajshri Roy, University of Auckland; Rebecca Raeside, University of Sydney; Sisi Jia, University of Sydney
During the pandemic, Australians have been using food delivery apps more than ever. We’ve assessed how healthy the options available to us are — and the news isn’t good.
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Neeraja Sanmuhanathan, University of Notre Dame Australia
We are living through a one-in-one hundred year event. We are all doing the best we can. And that’s not only OK, it’s enough.
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Holly Thorpe, University of Waikato
The death of the former Olympic cyclist reinforces the need for a fundamental cultural shift in the priorities and value systems of high-performance sport.
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Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato
The Drug and Substance Checking Bill currently moving through parliament marks another milestone in New Zealand’s shift away from criminalisation and towards harm reduction.
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