President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East and North Africa yesterday is being considered a landmark event in US foreign policy. Made in the wake of the so-called Arab spring and the killing of…
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A new way for academics to survive the “publish or perish” imperative has emerged. The imperative itself is not new: commentators in the 1950s were already lamenting the growing pressure for academics…
Politically, increasing petrol prices is one of the least popular things a government can do. But is there any point to a carbon tax if it doesn’t cover petrol? Vladimir Putin has just found how quickly…
State and territory governments are currently considering the impact of the National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) proposed by the Productivity Commission. The draft scheme goes a long way toward improving…
Malcolm Turnbull created a stir on Lateline last night by criticising opposition climate policy. The opposition spokesman for communications and former leader of the party implied that Tony Abbott’s “direct…
How does gender affect the way people perceive Julia Gillard’s communication style? Australians’ responses to Julia Gillard seem complex and ambiguous, embodying the contradictions involved in how women…
Julia Gillard’s time as Prime Minister has been dogged by much personal scrutiny – of her dress, her partner, her hair and her speech. Julia’s ability as a negotiator is well known in the halls of power…
Former US presidential speechwriter, the late William Safire, outlined the components of a perfect political speech as follows: “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em – then tell ‘em – then tell ‘em what…
In a recent episode of Channel Seven’s current affairs program Today Tonight, it was claimed that wireless devices in the home – such as cordless phones and routers – can cause a range of negative health…
On Monday evening it seemed that all television viewers were not created equal in the eyes of the Nine Network regional affiliate stations, WIN and NBN which deemed the first episode of British comedy…
Sometimes the most powerful features of ideas are hidden by virtue of their familiarity. While philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein did not have higher education in mind when he made this observation, its relevance…
More than 550 international health professionals and organisations have signed a letter to McDonald’s calling for the Ronald McDonald icon to be shelved. What’s made Ronald McDonald such a successful marketing…
Andrew Wilkie is correct when he says that the government needs to sell things better. Developing good policy is not enough in today’s consumer driven world. The government also needs to clearly communicate…
Politics is a tricky business. Being in government is even trickier. But it should be pretty simple. It’s like any other business, isn’t it? It’s all just marketing. You find out what they want, you tell…
The Gillard Government just can’t sell its message. That was the view of independent MP Andrew Wilkie speaking on ABC Radio National this week. Recent opinion polls confirm the government has communication…
Under the cover of last week’s budget splash, the Federal Government has quietly changed tax laws which currently allow students and potentially jobseekers to claim a deduction for expenses against government…
Despite stunning progress on the sport field in the past 100 years, women’s representation off the field remains a serious challenge. While there was not a singe female athlete at the first modern Olympic…
On May 13 2011, the federal government released its eagerly awaited population strategy, Sustainable Australia – Sustainable Communities. But in avoiding population projections, the strategy is selling…
The marketing of public health messages can bear some disturbing similarities to the way the tobacco, alcohol and food industries go about promoting their products. Recent suggestions by the Cancer Council…
Watching films such as Superman Returns or The Day after Tomorrow, you would have seen dramatic sequences of surging water and crumbling buildings. While doing so, mathematics was probably the last thing…
In our efforts to address climate change by avoiding or sequestering CO₂, we have shown a lot of interest in “engineering” solutions (such as carbon storage through pumping and storing CO2 underground…
The funding woes of the Australian Synchrotron – a landmark scientific research facility located in Melbourne – have made news in recent weeks. How can such a fabulous resource, with such potential to…
There has been a massive revival of interest in Australian history in the last decade. Under Prime Minister John Howard, Australia’s military history, particularly the ANZACs, became little short of a…
In a ceremony at London’s Frontline Club on Tuesday, May 10, before an array of television crews from around the world, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange received the Sydney Peace Foundation’s gold medal…
When we think of dementia, we tend to imagine it as a condition that goes hand in hand with old age. What’s not talked about is the fact the diseases that cause it have a long genesis. Alzheimer’s Australia…