Victoria's Country Fire Authority was founded in the aftermath of a previous bushfire tragedy – the 1939 Black Friday blazes. But its creation was a bigger political saga than many people realise.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday kick off the biggest shopping season of the year. Thanks to online retail and mobile apps, online spending will only increase.
Forest remains after bushfire, Icy Creek Victoria, 1939.
Wikipedia Commons
Psychological ownership is that feeling that someone stole 'your' parking spot or nabbed the last sweater you had your eye on. We have a tendency to get territorial when we fell it's been violated.
Shoppers, start your engines …
Ron Dauphin/Unsplash
Don't despair if, once you've gathered your shopping items, you're met by a single line that looks a mile long. Queuing theory suggests this is likely the fastest way to get you rung up and moving on.
A mascot for Alibaba’s online shopping site Tmall urges customers to buy on Singles Day.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Materialism has an ugly face but it is here to stay. Rather than focusing efforts to diminish it we should utilise materialism to benefit wider society.
On Black Friday, November 24, outdoor retailer REI will close its stores and urge customers to #OptOutside. But a historian calls this popular campaign light green environmentalism at best.
In-person shopping remains popular.
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Holiday retail sales may boom this year – and the lion's share will not be online purchases. Yet brick-and-mortar retail stores are facing heavy internet competition.