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Twenty years on, Paul Keating’s Creative Nation remains a vital reference point in the history of Australian cultural policy. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Paul Keating’s Creative Nation: a policy document that changed us

Today marks 20 years since the publication of Creative Nation. An ambitious and expansive project by Paul Keating’s Labor Government, it was the first Commonwealth cultural policy document in Australia’s…
Positive portrayals of people with mental illness exist in the media but these are the exception rather than the norm. Network Ten

Homeland, Carrie Mathison and mental illness on television

When Homeland first aired in 2011 starring a CIA agent with bipolar disorder, Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes), it was commended for its realistic portrayals of people with mental illness. Courtney…
To see off challenges to its dominance, Malaysia’s government exploits Muslim sentiment at every turn. This has been a factor in sodomy charges against opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim. EPA/Azhar Rahim

Malaysia reaches a critical crossroad over state Islamisation

Fuelled by the rise of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, debate about Islam and violence has flared again in Australia. In a predictable cycle of provocation and reaction, governments launch a wide-ranging…
Research shows children in early learning benefit from having a stable relationship with one teacher, but with 180 qualified early learning teachers leaving every week, that can be difficult to maintain. Shutterstock

Will the Productivity Commission deliver for the childcare sector?

Last year in an open letter to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, early childhood employers and peak bodies joined forces to ask for a commitment to early learning. They warned the political…
A galloping horse puts four tonnes of pressure on lower limb joints with each stride. AAP/Hamish Blair

How trainers keep horses in winning form – and injury-free

In elite racehorses, biology is pushed to the limit – about four tonnes is placed on the joint surfaces in a galloping horse’s lower limb with every stride, and these repeated loads have the potential…
Thomas Sutikna holds the skull of LB1, the type specimen of the ‘Hobbit’, Homo floresiensis. Indonesian National Centre for Archaeology (ARKENAS)/University of Wollongong

A decade on and the Hobbit still holds secrets

Ten years ago today in Australia and Indonesia the scientific world was turned on its head. By a very small head, as it happens. We were part of the original joint Australian-Indonesian research team involved…
The amount of sun exposure and associated vitamin D production is believed to underlie the geographical gradient in multiple sclerosis prevalance. Thomas Abbs/Flickr

Explainer: multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease affecting almost 25,000 Australians and more than 2.4 million people worldwide. It’s one of the leading causes of disability in young adults. Typically, the…
Prize winners together – Ingrid Scheffer and Samuel Berkovic. WildBear

The genetics of epilepsy: bringing hope to families

The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science – awarded at Parliament House in Canberra tonight – recognise excellence in science and science teaching. This year, we asked four prizewinners to reflect on their…
Research into gene regulation can treat illness, grow food and understand the brain. WildBear

Epigenetic code cracker: why skin cells are skin cells and not neurons

The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science – awarded at Parliament House in Canberra tonight – recognise excellence in science and science teaching. This year, we asked four prizewinners to reflect on their…
Foster parents often receive inadequate emotional and financial support. prudkov/Shutterstock

Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children

When children are deemed at risk of abuse or neglect and are removed from the family home, they are placed in out-of-home care, either with foster parents, relatives or in residential facilities. The latter…
Johnny Cash’s pertinent social commentary is likely to be lost in Tex Perkins’ translation Far From Folsom. AAP/Dean Lewins

The Parramatta Folsom Prison Blues: what’s wrong with that?

Last week, Sydney Festival launched its 2015 program – under Belgium born director Lieven Bertels – and it was revealed that Australian rocker Tex Perkins will recreate Johnny Cash’s 1968 Folsom Prison…
The challenges facing Indonesia’s new president Joko Widodo are clearly reflected in the choices in his first cabinet. EPA/Mast Irham

Indonesian president makes shaky start with cabinet of compromises

Indonesia’s new president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo faces three major challenges as he begins his five-year term. The compromise cabinet he has announced clearly reflects this. The first challenge is obvious…
News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch has been given plenty of opportunities to air his agenda ahead of the G20 summit. Jason Reed/Reuters Pool/AAP

Murdoch discovers inequality, but he’s not on ‘Team Australia’

Rupert Murdoch’s special address to an exclusive meeting of the world’s most powerful finance ministers got a second airing this week. In a breathless front-page “exclusive” in The Australian, Paul Kelly…
Seeing beautiful otherworldly scenes and coming to a border of no return are commonly reported features of near-death experiences. Louish Pixel

Death isn’t scary – if you’ve had a near-death experience

At some stage, you will die. You may not know the time, date or circumstance of your death, but you do know it’s inevitable. Contemplating this fact can be uncomfortable. It evokes anxiety and fear in…
A Fijian election officer shows a ballot to scrutineers at the 2006 election. Last month’s election resulted in a stronger vote for female MPs. AP Image/Peter Williams

Fiji’s women speak up in growing numbers inside parliament

In a region that has long had the worst representation of women in politics in the world, Fiji’s recent election delivered some good news: one in seven Fijian MPs are women, while the parliament now has…
In the wake of a Senate committee report, Christopher Pyne faces an uphill battle to get his higher education legislation through. AAP

Pass higher education bill with amendments: Senate inquiry

The Senate inquiry into the government’s proposed suite of changes to higher education has now reported. The committee came up with five recommendations, some of which were foreshadowed by Education Minister…
There was an expectation that there would be an increase of negative views on immigration in 2014 – but the reverse has occurred. AAP/Dan Peled

Continuity and change: Australian opinion in a time of stress and fear

The report on the 2014 Scanlon Foundation Mapping Social Cohesion surveys, released on Wednesday, finds both continuity and change. On attitudes to asylum seekers, for example, there is a large measure…
How much of Black Caviar’s racing prowess will be passed to her foal? AAP/Georgina Lomax

How to hit the genetic jackpot and breed a Melbourne Cup winner

The win of Japanese stayer Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup, followed by Irish bred colt Adelaide’s win in the Cox Plate last Saturday, has brought into question the stamina (staying) credentials of Australian…
Despite a fall in our rate of child poverty, there is reason to be concerned about recent changes and future trends in Australia. AAP/Joe Castro

Australia bucks child poverty trend but the future looks a lot bleaker

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has just released its latest report card on child well-being in 41 rich countries. In particular, the report looks at the effects of the economic crisis on children…
Today horses are still whipped in public, but only in the name of sport. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Whips hurt horses – if my leg’s anything to go by

It’s not just the horses that wear blinkers during the Melbourne Cup, the so-called “race that stops a nation”, which takes place next Tuesday. Perhaps it’s the excitement, the champagne or the extraordinary…
The Robert Farquharson case raised questions about male violence that go unanswered. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Garner’s This House of Grief ducks some hard questions

Helen Garner isn’t usually thought of as a crime writer, but some of her best-known prose has been on law-breaking. She won the prestigious Walkley Award for her 1993 Time Magazine article on the murder…
Punters line up every year to bet on the Melbourne Cup, but why do we overstate our odds? Dean Lewins/AAP

For this year’s Melbourne Cup, consider a charity rather than taking on Tom Waterhouse

In the lead-up to next week’s Melbourne Cup, bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is heavily marketing a “$25 million bet that stops a nation”. All you have to do is give him A$10 and if you place the first 10 horses…
The competitiveness agenda might be good for research, but only research that can turn a profit. AAP

Research industry collaborations are only good for some research

The Departments of Education and Industry jointly released a paper, Boosting the Commercial Returns from Research, this morning. While somewhat short on details, the document clarifies that the Commonwealth…