There's little reason for optimism about Closing the Gap, despite changes to education targets
Melitta Hogarth, Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland
Again this year, the Closing the Gap report delivered disappointment.www.shutterstock.comThis week saw the release of the annual Closing the Gap report. Much like the previous decade of reports, we learned progress was lacking, failure was apparent and in 2018, only two of the seven targets were on ...
how queer texts could fight homophobia in Australian schools
Annamarie Jagose, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney
Books are a good starting place to make schools more inviting places for queer students.www.shutterstock.comRecently, the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) — the peak professional body for Australian English teachers — published a special issue of the journal Engl...
The glowing ghost mushroom looks like it comes from a fungal netherworld
Alison Pouliot, Australian National University
The ghost fungus emits an eerie green glow.Author providedSign up to Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants: part gardening column, part dispatches from country, entirely Australian.It’s worth tolerating the mosquitoes and the disconcerting rustle of unseen creatures tha...
Michelle Grattan on reopening Christmas Island and One Nation's shenanigans
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan talk about the week in politics. They discuss including the government’s historic defeat in the House of Representatives on the medevac legislation, plans to reopen the Christmas Island detention facility, One Nation’...
The Catholic Church is headed for another sex abuse scandal as #NunsToo speak up
Kathleen McPhillips, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle
All eyes will turn to Rome between 21-24 February, when senior church clerics across the world meet to discuss how to handle the widening sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Until recently, this has been focused on the abuse of children. But now Pope Francis has admitted – for the firs...
well placed to join the Moon mining race ... or is it?
The Moon could be mined for water.NASA/JPLIt’s 50 years since man first stepped on the Moon. Now the focus is on going back to our nearest orbiting neighbour &ndas…
saints or monsters, pop culture's limited view of nurses
Nurse Ratched in the 1975 film One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Netflix is now producing a TV series built around this character, to star Sarah Paulson.Fantasy FilmsWhen…
who are the Uyghurs and why is the Chinese government detaining them?
Many Muslim minorities in China, particularly the Uyghurs, are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned.from shutterstock.comThe Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking Muslims from the …
Electronic waste is recycled in appalling conditions in India
The vast majority of e-waste in India is processed by hand.Miles Parl, Author providedElectronic waste is recycled in appalling conditions in IndiaThe world produces 50 …
when watchdogs become pets – or the problem of 'regulatory capture'
Australia's two financial watchdogs have been criticised for their cuddly relationship with banks.ShutterstockMarkets require regulators. As Adam Smith, the champion of …
