Established in 1949, UNSW Sydney is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities, renowned for the quality of its graduates and its commitment to academic excellence, innovation and social impact.
It’s the sort of news conservative politicians and commentators latch on to as a sure-fire sign that the end of civilisation is nigh: marriage rates are in continuing decline. But is this really such a…
One of the most hotly debated features of Budget 2011 was the freezing of thresholds for some family payments. This has been described positively as a “war on middle class welfare” and negatively as punishing…
The belated disclosure by Sony last month that hackers had accessed millions of customers’ identity and credit card data worldwide has put the security of personal data once again into the spotlight. Warnings…
I was recently approached by a young journalist, who asked for my comments on the Feminist Porn Awards. In the course of the interview, she asked if I thought feminists should watch porn. I replied that…
Australia has a huge solar energy resource. Solar collectors spread out over a square 50 km could generate all of Australia’s current electricity demand. Of course in practice, we would need a mix of renewable…
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…
Google’s so-called Chromebook will be launched next month in the US and much of Europe, and, not unusually, “some time later” in Australia … The move was announced at the company’s flasghip I/O conference…
As a boxer Tony Abbott had a limited but effective method described by some as “the whirling dervish”. He was full of energy and on the attack with arms swinging. It was a tactic that could work for the…
This week’s budget, with its withdrawal of subsidies for renewable energy, has left many commentators wondering if we’ve turned our back on carbon-neutral power. They should focus on the main game - the…
So, Microsoft has announced it will buy Skype in a US$8.5 billion move that has left the technology and business worlds puzzled. Owners of Microsoft shares might be most puzzled of all, maybe even tearing…
In the extensive debate about the killing of Osama bin Laden there has been very little discussion of the legal (and possibly moral) aspects of the US operation. This is especially true in the United States…
“Why don’t scientists just get together and figure out what’s going on?” It’s a common question we hear about global warming. The answer is simple: “They have.” The largest effort to pull the relevant…
Samoa’s prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has announced plans to shift the International Date Line to the east – a move that will see the Pacific nation divided from its near neighbour, American…
Household electricity bills are rising and about half of a typical bill goes to paying network costs. Are we paying too much for network infrastructure? Electricity networks are undeniably important. They…
Australia possesses an advanced digital economy which remains shackled to a media regulation system that belongs to the past century. Our laws reflect an era when media consumption was dominated by the…
Osama bin Laden is dead. Or is he? The newly-deceased Saudi militant was long a central figure for the world’s conspiracy theorists. He was actually a CIA agent said some. He really died of kidney failure…
The killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces on Pakistani soil has come at a time when relations between the two countries have been rather strained. Analysts point out that al-Qaida today is a diffuse…
The Great Barrier Reef is worth billions to Australia’s economy and is one of the world’s most significant natural features. We have a responsibility to protect it, and our other reefs, from the warming…
US President Barack Obama has released the long form of his birth certificate in order to quash questions of his legitimacy as President. Business and media identity Donald Trump had been key in questioning…
Getting research money, especially the no-strings-attached kind that government agencies give out, is difficult. Researchers spend months on each proposal with only a small chance of getting funded. Winning…