By Kathleen McGuire, Senior Lecturer in Education (Music), National School of Education, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University
End-of-year school concerts showcase children’s talents and hard work, often filling performers with pride. But for some, the idea of performing live is terrifying.
Performance anxiety, also known as glossophobia or stage fright – can manifest in ways that range from excitement or mild discomfort, such as tummy butterflies, to severe physical reactions such as racing heart, shaking,…
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By Celeste Rodriguez Louro, Associate Professor, Chair of Linguistics and Director of Language Lab, The University of Western Australia
Ben Hutchinson, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Linguistics, The University of Western Australia
Glenys Dale Collard, Honorary Research Fellow and Associate, School of Social Sciences, Linguistics, The University of Western Australia
“I asked it to call one of my sisters, and it then started calling an old boss that I don’t talk to any more.”
—Amy, 25, recalling an awkward experience using a voice-operated device.
Using voice to operate technologies is increasingly convenient in daily life, whether at home or while driving.
More and more phones, televisions, smart speakers, and cars are embedded with automated speech-recognition technologies that transcribe…
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By Mark W. Post, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, University of Sydney
If Danish speakers experience hygge, then they should have a word to talk about it; if English speakers don’t, then we won’t.
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By Brock A. Hedges, Research Affiliate, University of Adelaide
James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong
Perry G. Beasley-Hall, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Adelaide
From water fleas to seed shrimp, Australia’s desert rock holes shelter unique animals found nowhere else. But as the climate warms, their homes are at risk.
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By Kathleen de Boer, Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology
Courtney P. McLean, Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University
Inge Gnatt, Psychologist, Lecturer in Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology
As the festive season approaches, perhaps you’re thinking of hosting friends and family.
You know at least one person who’ll attend who becomes anxious around food and another with an eating disorder.
So, how to host and make sure everyone feels comfortable and supported?
Perhaps you’ve already hosted someone with food anxiety or an eating disorder without even knowing.
First, some definitions
Food anxiety refers to fear or anxiety in response to eating food. This could relate to certain textures and smells, or fear of choking…
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By Kevin John Brophy, Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
The old woman who once sliced our front garden hose with a knife has just walked past our home without pausing. Not long after the hose incident I confronted her with what she had done and she denied ever walking along our street, let alone cutting anyone’s hose, or even carrying a knife.
In fact she emptied her bag for me and there was no knife in it. I had been searching on the web about strange behaviour among the elderly and one source noted that it is not uncommon for aged women to carry a knife in their bag. I am not sure what this means, but each time I see the old woman (and…
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Thursday, December 4, 2025
UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday warned that Sudan risks “another El Fasher” as fierce fighting spreads across the Kordofan region, raising fears of a fresh wave of atrocities.
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Thursday, December 4, 2025
As the world prepares to mark Human Rights Day on 10 December, the UN is warning that war-torn Sudan is in the midst of arguably the gravest human rights crisis of our time.
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By Adriaan van Klinken, Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of Leeds
In African literature, Christianity has usually been shown as a foreign religion brought to the continent by European missionaries and colonisers. But in the past few decades, Nigeria’s writers have dealt with it in a far more complex way as Christianity is rooted in, and transformed by, local realities, ranging from conflict to prosperity.…
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By Narnia Bohler-Muller, Divisional Executive, Developmental, Capable and Ethical State research division, Human Sciences Research Council
The G20’s Women 20 group agreed that action is needed to stop unpaid care work and forced labour, and improve women’s health and climate leadership.
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