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Children are exposed to gender differences and expectations from the moment they are born. from www.shutterstock.com

Can a four-year-old be sexist?

At the age of four, children have a basic understanding of gender differences and expectations. But it is unlikely they would knowingly be sexist.
The amount of tax payable from Australian corporations went down in this latest report. www.shutterstock.com

The tax office’s transparency reporting is looking a little opaque

As long as the ATO doesn’t question why companies are reporting zero tax payable on their income, the public won’t know if serious tax avoidance is happening.
How many non-white writers are published in Australia each year? Is their job to remain at the exotic margins of our literary culture? Siryk Denys/shutterstock

Diversity, the Stella Count and the whiteness of Australian publishing

A recent attempt to broaden the Stella Count by measuring the diversity of writers reviewed proved to be a hard ask. Is the bigger problem here the whiteness of our publishing industry?
The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace. Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Friday essay: what is it about Versailles?

Donald Trump has a Versailles-inspired apartment. There’s a popular TV series and now, a new exhibition of treasures from the palace. A glittering symbol of aristocratic frivolity, Versailles was, in fact, a place of awesome royal power.
The 1,200 year old Umayyad Mosque – also known as the Great Mosque of Aleppo – lost its minaret (on left) in 2013 after continued heavy gunfire between rebels and Syrian government forces. Reuters

Friday essay: war crimes and the many threats to cultural heritage

It is important to prosecute militants who destroy antiquities. But ‘everyday’ development - from dams flooding towns to the impact of mining on Indigenous rock art – does vastly more damage to heritage than war.
Sonic weapons usually leave no physical marks but can be devastating psychologically. Vikash Kumar/flickr

Friday essay: the sound of fear

From Long Range Acoustic Devices used to disperse protesters to ear-splitting military drones to songs blasted on rotation to prisoners, ours is an age in which sound has been repositioned as a tool of terror.
The logic is that violence is a choice, so men can be reasonably expected to stop. luxorphoto/Shutterstock

To stop domestic violence, we need to change perpetrators’ behaviour

Thousands of Australian men are sitting on waiting lists every year to get help to end their violent behaviour – even though behaviour change programs can reduce their likelihood of offending again.
Adam Goodes training at the SCG in 2015. David Gray/Reuters

Refusing to play the race game

For Indigenous people, refusal is a powerful act of sovereignty. In Grand Final week, it’s timely to reflect on Adam Goodes’ refusal to accept racism in football or an official send off when he retired - and the repercussions of his stance, a year on.
If businesses meet the needs of their employees they will feel like they are growing and will be more productive, research suggests. www.shutterstock.com

How happiness improves business results

Happy employees, whose basic needs are met, are essential to a productive business.
A price on carbon introduced by the Labor government, dubbed the “carbon tax”, was more effective at motivating big emitters to act, compared to the current Direct Action plan. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Direct Action not as motivating as carbon tax say some of Australia’s biggest emitters

New research has found that carbon intensive companies have lost focus on reducing emissions under Direct Action, when compared with the carbon tax.

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