Union Square: contentious political rallies helped progressive social reformers argue for the protection of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington DC, USA
New York’s Union Square is an important site in American labor history. One scholar’s research illustrates the shifting meanings and inherent tensions of public space as an epicenter of civic life.
More than 50 advertisers have so far withdrawn from Alan Jones’ 2GB radio show, buoyed by social media campaigns naming and shaming those who remain.
AAP/Paul Braven
The advertising boycott of Alan Jones’ radio show highlights which companies advertised on it, but ironically, pulling out now could enhance their brand more than if they had never supported the show.
Rather than encouraging people to become better citizens, rewards and fines can actually reduce peoples’ natural tendencies to do the right thing by others.
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The idea that a small payment could motivate more people to vote resurfaces regularly, but this ignores evidence that monetary incentives to induce pro-social behaviour can be counterproductive.
If it were possible to download the neural networks of a human brain, could we preserve a computer simulation of that person?
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The quest for immortality is as old as humanity itself, but the prospect of being able to copy the neural networks of a person’s brain shifts the pursuit of perpetual life into the digital world.
Many workers are exposed to work environments that leave them feeling depressed and burnt out.
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Data from a workplace barometer study show more than a quarter of employees felt depressed often, a half said depression affected their lives and for 8% life was “very or extremely difficult”.
Research shows the cost of damage through climate change will be much greater than the costs of reducing emissions.
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New Zealand is small and generates a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, but investment in cutting emissions is important and could influence other, larger countries.
New Zealand’s 2018 census was the first to be carried out online, but it captured only 83% of people, a response rate 9% lower than the previous census. Māori responses dropped by 20%.
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Maria Bargh, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington e Arama Rata, University of Waikato
The failure of the 2018 census to get a good response rate highlights the need for multiple voting options to increase participation, particularly of Māori.
Since the last ice age, the ice sheet retreated over a thousand kilometres in the Ross Sea region, more than any other region on the continent.
Rich Jones
Dan Lowry, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
New research shows that ocean and air temperatures both contributed to the melting of Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf in the past, but melting from below by a warming ocean became more important over time.
Fast-growing plantation trees store less carbon per surface area than old, undisturbed forests that may show little growth.
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Plants live off carbon dioxide, but a higher level of the greenhouse gas in the air doesn’t necessarily lead to more biomass production.
In a recent survey, New Zealand gun owners reported more trust in other gun owners than people who don’t own guns, but lower levels of trust in the pro-gun lobby.
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Kate C. Prickett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington e Simon Chapple, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand police is running gun collection events throughout the country as part of the government’s amnesty and buyback scheme.
The judge described a grandmother who was sentenced for murder this week as suffering from severe mental health issues and “carer burnout”.
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The case of a grandmother who killed her granddaughter after caring for her and other family members for years raises the question: should New Zealand consider mental distress as a defence argument?
The data show no evidence of local anti-Semitism or Islamophobia – but this does not mean that hate towards minority religious groups does not exist in New Zealand.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Simon Chapple, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A survey of New Zealanders’ attitudes towards religious groups, taken after the Christchurch mosque shootings, shows they trust Buddhists most and Evangelicals least.
Heracles inexpectatus on the forest floor, with three small wrens foraging at its feet.
Brian Choo
The newly discovered Heracles inexpectatus stood nearly a metre tall. And its fossil bones sat undiscovered on a museum shelf for more than a decade before its hefty status was finally appreciated.
A rural advocacy group in New Zealand wants milks made from plants, such as almond or rice milk, called juices.
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New Zealand’s dairy industry is arguing consumers are being misled if the term “milk” is used for plant-based products such as almond or coconut milk, but consumers are savvier than that.
Climate change, together with other ecological pressures, may well undo the gains we have made in health.
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Do you have a question about climate change? This collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre gives you the chance to ask – and we’ll provide expert answers.
Specialist machine learning and narrow AI could help us to start removing the “four Ds” - dirty, dull, difficult, dangerous - from our daily work.
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Artificial intelligence is predicted to contribute some US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. A new report looks at issues specific to New Zealand.
Australia and Russia could soon be the last remaining developed nations without fuel efficiency standards, with New Zealand proposing new rules and financial incentives to get more people driving cleaner cars.
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New Zealand has proposed new fuel standards, along with a consumer rebates for cleaner cars – paid for by higher costs for high-polluting cars – to cut its rising transport emissions.
Several Pasifika rugby league players decided to represent the country of their heritage, such as in this match between New Zealand and Tonga.
Supplied
The Oceania Cup allows rugby league players to represent the country of their heritage. Now we need to introduce training processes that better reflect and support cultural diversity.
The New Zealand government is introducing a scheme for regulating medicinal cannabis.
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There is no doubt a regulated market for access to medicinal cannabis is safer, but if cannabis-based products were allowed to bypass efficacy trials, there’s a potential cost to patient safety.
Jacinda Adern said the issue was having a ‘corrosive’ effect on Australia’s relationship with her country, and that Australia should not take the closeness of the relationship for granted.
Julian Smith/AAP
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University