By David Lee, Associate Professor of History, UNSW Sydney
In 2005, the Howard government introduced its controversial WorkChoices legislation. It would be a key factor in the government’s defeat in the 2007 election.
(Full Story)
|
By Jo Case, Senior Deputy Books + Ideas Editor, The Conversation
New year’s reading resolutions are a fun way to take your reading seriously. Here are some ideas – from no phones before bed, to deep diving into one author’s work.
(Full Story)
|
By Olayinka Ajala, Associate professor in Politics and International Relations, Leeds Beckett University
A month before the US carried out its Christmas day attack on militants linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in north-western Nigeria, president Donald Trump had declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern”. This was due to the alleged killing of Christians by terrorist groups in the country. Trump threatened military intervention if the attacks against Christians…
(Full Story)
|
By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University
January motivation is high. Injury rates are too. Here’s why doing too much, too soon can put shoulders, knees and backs at risk.
(Full Story)
|
By Annemieke Apergis-Schoute, Lecturer in Psychology, Queen Mary University of London
Why we procrastinate has less to do with willpower than with how flexibly our brains handle stress and discomfort - and the good news is, flexibility is trainable.
(Full Story)
|
By Simon Rodway, Lecturer in Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth University
New insights from archaeology, genetics and early inscriptions are helping to uncover the story of Celtic languages in Britain and Ireland.
(Full Story)
|
By Mary Jane Spiller, Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology, University of East London
I have a form of time–space synaesthesia, so the new year arrives for me in a very physical way. I feel myself move around the year, almost like I’m travelling along a structure. December sits low and to my left; January lifts and slides forward. The transition has a weight to it, as though the calendar itself shifts in space.
Synaesthesia is a perceptual condition where one sense triggers an experience in another sense. For some people,…
(Full Story)
|
By Lianganzi Wang, PhD Candidate, Sound and Music Computing, Queen Mary University of London
I was walking in Alice Holt Forest on England’s Surrey-Hampshire border when I stopped to listen. Despite there being nobody nearby, a slow “breathing” sound filled my ears. This was not a trick. An artwork was turning live forest data into sound, making the air feel like it was gently rising and falling. In that moment, “climate change” stopped being abstract and became something I could hear.
The piece I could hear is called Dendrophone by composer Peter Batchelor. It maps sunlight, humidity and carbon dioxide readings into a multichannel sound field in real time. Wetter air sounds…
(Full Story)
|
By Maureen Amimo, Lecturer, Maasai Mara University
In parts of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, it is not uncommon to hear of individuals who run naked at night. They cause trouble and instil fear in the neighbourhood. They throw stones on rooftops, make animal noises, bang on windows and doors, and chase night travellers.
In Kenya, the practice is called night running, or night dancing in parts of Tanzania and Uganda. It is claimed to be a form of spiritual possession in the communities where it is rampant.
…
(Full Story)
|
By Sandra Tuombouh
Eco-charcoal, a product made using methods and materials that minimize environmental harm, is gradually replacing traditional charcoal in some households in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.
(Full Story)
|