Southern Cross University is a contemporary and connected regional research university, with remarkable campus locations - Coffs Harbour and Lismore in New South Wales and the uniquely situated Gold Coast Airport campus in southern Queensland. Our regional environs provide living laboratories for learning and research and creative hubs for artistic endeavour. Southern Cross University has a growing research profile, with 24 research areas identified ‘at or above world standard’ in the most recent Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) national evaluation. Our research strengths include disciplines as diverse as plant genetics, zoology, geoscience, oceanography, engineering, nursing, and complementary and alternative medicine.
Attorney General George Brandis believes a recent court decision backing an environmental group is an illegitimate use of the law. Is he right?
AAP/Lukas Coch
The federal government want to stop green groups from using “lawfare”. But proposed changes threaten to seriously curtail public interest litigation in Australia.
Yolngu men at Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land, painted in a Sydney Swans jersey with a number 37 to support embattled AFL star Adam Goodes.
AAP Image/Neda Vanovac
There are no examples of evidence being put forward by race theorists that a race other than the one they belong to is superior. That’s worth bearing in mind when it comes to ‘understanding’ racists.
Adam Goodes continues to demonstrate through dignity and presence of mind, that he is an empowered Aboriginal man.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Adam Goodes’ actions – from his celebratory dance to his decision to temporarily withdraw from the AFL – epitomise the concept of male Indigenous dignity.
Anyone who thought Go Set a Watchman would solve the ‘delicious mystery’ of Harper Lee was dreaming.
Akki annant
Talk of a possible third book to follow this week’s release of Go Set a Watchman suggests the ‘delicious mystery’ of Harper Lee will continue for years to come. So what basis is there for the rumours?
What does the opening chapter of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman tell us about what’s to come?
anyjazz65
Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee, is one of the most anticipated follow-ups in history, to be published next week after a 55-year hiatus. So what does the opening chapter prime us to expect?
There is a link between venues with high incidences of violence and alcohol promotions like ‘happy hour’.
AAP/Adam Marsters
Statistics might lend the impression that going out at night anywhere in inner-city Melbourne is risky. But assaults in licensed premises are highly concentrated in specific venues.
One of four koalas on loan to Singapore Zoo, where they were unveiled to the public on Wednesday May 20.
Qantas Airways
Four female koalas have just made their debut in front of an adoring public at Singapore Zoo – the latest in a long line of animals used for diplomatic purposes, going back to Winston the platypus.
It may be that the seemingly inhumane aim of causing your opponent to lose consciousness by punching them separates boxing from other sports.
Kate Gardiner/Flickr
The death of a 23-year-old boxer has prompted a call by the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association for the sport to be banned in Australia.
Do all authors listed on any published work actually contribute to the research?
Shutterstock/alexskopje
The research excellence of academics is often measured by the quantity and quality of their scholarly publications. But how do we know that all authors listed on a publication have actually been involved…
The potential rezoning of Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area for tourism development begs the question: just what is wilderness, and what is it good for?
The Wilderness Society/AAP
The Tasmanian government this month released a draft of the revised management plan for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which proposes rezoning certain areas from “wilderness zones” to “remote…
Research tells us creativity is a capacity that can be taught.
Chiu Ho-yang/Flickr
Whether or not creativity can be taught is still a contested question, though it really shouldn’t be. The evidence is well and truly in on this question. The idea that creativity cannot be taught is based…
What happens when a Surrealist parlour game turns into a writing exercise that’s pubilshed? Can we truly call it a collaborative process?
Wikimedia Commons
Pema Düddul, Southern Cross University; Jen Webb, University of Canberra, and Nike Sulway, University of Southern Queensland
Recently, The Conversation published what was described as “an experiment in collaborative writing” (featuring, among others, Dallas J Baker and Nike Sulway of this present article). The question behind…
Many hands have helped author The Conversation’s first collaborative writing experiment.
We’re starting 2015 with an experiment in collaborative creative writing. What happens when you ask ten academics to write a story together? Taking our cue from the Exquisite Cadaver game played by Surrealist…
Aerial image of gas fields in the Darling Downs. Can science keep up with coal seam gas expansion?
Google Earth
One of the key questions about the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, which is now being developed at breakneck speed across Australia, is how much methane is released as “fugitive” emissions. Three weeks ago…
Cricketer Phillip Hughes was struck in the head by a ball at the SCG.
Dan Peled/AAP
Life-threatening brain injuries are thankfully rare in cricket and other sports, even those that involve collisions. But Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes’ tragic accident yesterday shows how little…
Writing programs don’t just produce strong writers, they produce critical thinkers with strong skills for the workplace.
mpclemens/Flickr
Whether creative writing can be taught is a question that has been debated on and off for decades. Are writers born, is the question, or can they be made? Neither side of the debate has offered incontrovertible…
Beans have travelled a long way to make your cup of coffee.
Jack Fussell/Flickr
Welcome to the third instalment in our series Chemistry of Coffee, where we unravel the delicious secrets of one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world. As you listen to the whirring grinders…
Environment minister Greg Hunt will now push forward with his Direct Action policy, after successfully negotiating with Clive Palmer.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The federal government’s Direct Action climate policy, a A$2.5 billion scheme aimed at paying polluters to cut their greenhouse emissions, is set to be approved in the Senate after a deal between environment…
Grind, temperature, time and coffee-to-water ratio – nail these for the best coffee.
Andy Ciordia/Flickr
Welcome to the second instalment in our series Chemistry of Coffee, where we unravel the delicious secrets of one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world. Here we look at how tweaking variables…
For some vulnerable gamblers, social casino games can trigger a desire to gamble for real money, while for others the games can act as a useful distraction.
shutterstock
Free-to-play social online games that simulate gambling are a hugely popular, and profitable, new phenomenon, but concerns have been raised about how innocent these games really are. Our recently published…