Game therapy: serious video games can help children with cerebral palsy
Video games aren't just fun, they can also be potent therapeutic devices. The OrbIT has shown it can help children with cerebral palsy to improve their hand function.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
The Great Wall fails to bring down the barriers in a lacklustre Chinese-US epic
Ultimately the controversy over the casting of Matt Damon as a "white saviour" in The Great Wall is baseless, as the film falls flat in other ways.
Bush democracy wins out but council mergers continue in Sydney
The proposed amalgamation of 40 NSW councils has generated heated opposition. While public resistance has now won out in several regional communities, it's a different story in the city.
Work councils could be the future of Australian industrial democracy in an ABCC world
A major shift to an industrial relations model that benefits all parties will only happen with the utmost co-operation of Australian workers, unions and – most crucially – employers.
Australia emerges as a leader in the global darknet drugs trade
Despite the growth in darknet drug trading in Australia, there are important reasons why it is less harmful than street drug dealing.
Essays on health: reporting medical news is too important to mess up
Health reporting requires asking the right questions and doing quality research. But specialist skills are also handy, especially when it comes to knowing the language and processes of science.
VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the omnibus bill
The government was this week caught off-guard by a decision from the Nick Xenophon Team to reject the omnibus bill.
Australians believe 18C protections should stay
How do we know what we think we know? Accuracy, care and rigorous method gets us somewhere there, especially on issues like racism.
Australia’s electricity market is not agile and innovative enough to keep up
Here's the real problem behind Australia's electricity woes: the rules that govern decisions about what infrastructure to build, and when, are inflexible and outdated.
Friday essay: the female werewolf and her shaggy suffragette sisters
From witch-hunts to the suffragettes, belief in womanly werewolfs has flourished at times when the female gender was under threat. But in contemporary fiction, film and art, werewolf lore is evolving in surprising ways.
Vital Signs: business confidence spikes but uncertainty reigns
Uncertainty about energy prices and political dithering on company tax rates point to businesses waiting before investing heavily.
Grattan on Friday: The ‘omnibus’ puts government in a tangle and Xenophon in a jam
The trenchant stand that Nick Xenophon – who is usually a compromiser – and his team took this week against the omnibus bill saw a disconcerted government resort to a risky tactic.
The Red Detachment of Women marches forward – but to where?
The staging in Melbourne of this classic of the Cultural Revolution has attracted controversy. And amid Bermuda shorts and weapons galore, this political ballet has contemporary resonances.
Politics podcast: Anthony Albanese on Labor’s approach to infrastructure
Labor's edge over the government in the polls has seen the party stay united. But it has not stopped speculation about whether frontbencher Anthony Albanese would be a better leader of the party.
North Korea may not yet have a long-range missile, but its progress is worrying
Although North Korea's recent missile test is unlikely to have been an ICBM, they are likely to have a medium range missile that could hit South Korea in a few years.
Rental insecurity: why fixed long-term leases aren’t the answer
Any attempt to improve security for tenants should not deprive them, or their landlords, of the flexibility that many also want. The key problem is landlords' ability to give notice without a reason.
Roe 8 fails the tests of responsible 21st-century infrastructure planning
Perth's Roe 8 project illustrates all that is wrong with how we are planning and managing infrastructure in our cities.
Global clean energy scorecard puts Australia 15th in the world
Australia is near the back of the pack of rich nations when it comes to policies for clean energy. But there are things we can do about it.
Where art meets industry: protecting the spectacular rock art of the Burrup Peninsula
Murujuga, or the Burrup Peninsula, is home to over a million rock artworks. But as concern grows about the impact of industrial pollution on the art, the WA government continues to play down the area's heritage value.
Research and News
How we do FactChecks at The Conversation
We build in extra checks and balances, including blind peer review by a second academic expert, additional scrutiny and editorial oversight.
The gap of Indigenous disadvantage is being closed too slowly: report
Australia is falling short in its progress towards almost all its targets for overcoming Indigenous disadvantage, the 2017 Closing the Gap report shows.
Podcasts
Politics with Michelle Grattan
Talking politics with politicians and experts, from Capital Hill.
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Business Briefing
Brief analysis of what's making news in Business and Economy.
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Change Agents
A podcast series about change and the people who make it happen
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Speaking with…
Ideas and analysis from the sharpest minds in the academic and research world.
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Energy
Global clean energy scorecard puts Australia 15th in the world
Australia is near the back of the pack of rich nations when it comes to policies for clean energy. But there are things we can do about it.
Want electricity reform? Start by giving power back to the states
Plea to politicians on energy: stop the brawling
Why did energy regulators deliberately turn out the lights in South Australia?
New coal plants wouldn’t be clean, and would cost billions in taxpayer subsidies
South Australian blackout: renewables aren’t a threat to energy security, they’re the future
FactCheck
FactCheck: it’s true – Western Australia has the nation’s highest rate of methamphetamine use
West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan said his state has the "worst rate of methamphetamine usage in the country". We asked the experts to check the evidence.
FactCheck: is Australia on track to have the oldest pension age in the developed world?
FactCheck Q&A: is violent crime getting worse in Victoria and do people feel less safe than ever?
FactCheck: is Australia below the international average when it comes to school funding?
FactCheck: are bulk-billing rates falling, or at record levels?
FactCheck: What are the facts on Australia’s foreign aid spending?
Cities
Rental insecurity: why fixed long-term leases aren’t the answer
Any attempt to improve security for tenants should not deprive them, or their landlords, of the flexibility that many also want. The key problem is landlords' ability to give notice without a reason.
Roe 8 fails the tests of responsible 21st-century infrastructure planning
Perth's Roe 8 project illustrates all that is wrong with how we are planning and managing infrastructure in our cities.
Columnists
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“ McCarthy’s caricature is displacing Spicer’s own image in the public imagination
Robert Phiddian -
“ Netanyahu’s contributions to peacemaking have, for the most part, been half-hearted
Tony Walker -
Matthew Sharpe — “Is ‘political correctness’ a beat-up or a real threat to democratic debate?”
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Naomi Stead — “People really want to see architecture as a semi-mystical, world-making activity”
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David Glance — “Clementine Ford and Lindy West talk Twitter and life on and off the Internet”
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Clive Hamilton — “Are there forces at work in the climate change drama above the everyday ones?”
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Electricity
Australia’s electricity market is not agile and innovative enough to keep up
Here's the real problem behind Australia's electricity woes: the rules that govern decisions about what infrastructure to build, and when, are inflexible and outdated.
Sharia
Explainer: what is ‘sharia law’? And does it fit with Western law?
Islam, like Judaism, is a religion of law. The usual Arabic word for Islamic law is sharia (pronounced shar-ee-ah), originally the track leading to a waterhole in the desert. For Muslims, the morally good…
Drug use
‘Ice Wars’ message is overblown and unhelpful
Without doubt, crystal methamphetamine, like many drugs (including alcohol) is capable of causing immense harm. But when facts are distorted to create fear and stigma it helps no one.
Valentine's Day
Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ll stay forever if you scrub out the loo
Men, if you want a great relationship this Valentine's Day, turn on the vacuum.
Heatwave
How to keep your house cool in a heatwave
Should you open or close your house to keep cool in a heatwave? Many people believe it makes sense to throw open doors and windows to the breeze; others try to shut out the heat. Listen to talk radio during…
Ross River breakout
Explainer: what is Ross River virus?
Ross River virus infection is the most commonly reported mosquito-borne disease in Australia, with more than 4,000 cases of illness are reported every year. Activity has been recorded from every state…
Medicine
Drugs don’t cure everything – doctors can be helped to prescribe other options
In many cases, the most appropriate treatment for a health condition isn't a drug. It could be a recommendation for a dietary change, a specific exercise, or even a phone app.
Cinema
Coming soon to a cinema near you? Ticket prices shaped by demand
Imagine if you could pay less to see films that are less popular. Dynamic ticket pricing already happens in China – and it's about to start here in over 100 Australian cinemas.
Coal power
New coal plants wouldn’t be clean, and would cost billions in taxpayer subsidies
Nobody in business wants to touch new "clean" coal plants, which means taxpayers would be left to foot the billion-dollar bills.
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Events
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Sydney Ideas - Ecological Democracy: Looking back, looking forward — University of Sydney
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From Exhausted to Energised! — University of Technology Sydney
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From Exhausted to Energised! — University of Technology Sydney
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