26 January 2016 604 Australians have been recognised with Orders of Australia on Australia Day 2016. As always, members of the tertiary education sector featured strongly in the honours list, with 77 awards (81 in 2015), particularly in the upper categories. People associated with the tertiary sector received 4 out of the 11 Companion awards (36%), 24 out of 45 Officer awards (53%), 36 of 174 Member awards (20.6%), for 27.4% of the higher awards (33% in 2015) . In the most common category, Medal of the order, only 15 of 374 awards were tertiary sector related people (3.7%). Women continue to be under represented with 40% of all awards, mainly in the Medal category; still, that's up … [Read more...]
Christmas carols banned…..?
23/12/2015 by
Bah! Humbug..... The Australian | 23 December 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In those years in which Labor is in office in Victoria, you can be sure News Limited will run a story this time of the year about how Christmas in some respect has been "banned" in government schools. This year it was an op-ed in The Australian by one Simon Breheny who claims that Victorian education minister James Merlino issued a "diktat" in effect banning Christmas carols in government schools. Not so, says Merlino in this response which features prominently in the digital edition of The Oz, but is reduced to a letter to editor in the print edition - and not even the first one on … [Read more...]
Academic gongs – Queen’s Birthday 2015
08/06/2015 by
8 June 2015 Over 700 people from across the broad spectrum of Australian society are recognised on the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the nation or to humanity at large. There were 170 women and 349 men appointed to the Order of Australia while a further 198 Australians were recognised through military and meritorious awards. 635 Australians have been recognised with Orders of Australia on Australia Day 2015, while a further 59 military and 130 meritorious awards were announced. Members of the tertiary education sector received 65 awards, particularly in the upper categories. These include 5 out of the 8 Companion awards (62%), 18 out of 44 Officer awards (31%) and 32 of … [Read more...]
Oliver on evening up the debate
15/05/2015 by
15 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… US talk show host John Oliver moderates a mathematically representative climate change debate, with the help of special guest Bill Nye the Science Guy. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… … [Read more...]
One Hundred Stories
25/04/2015 by
25 April 2015 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Monash University's commemoration of the Great War. ………………………………………………………………………………………………….................................... The One Hundred Stories are a silent presentation. They remember not just the men and women who lost their lives, but also those who returned to Australia, the gassed, the crippled, the insane, all those irreparably damaged by war. The Great War shaped the world as well as the nation. Its memory belongs to us all. … [Read more...]
Street scenes – Melbourne
12/03/2015 by
12 March 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Our streets are alive with sound and music, colour and movement, art and protest, hope and the offer of redemption, happiness and a little sadness. Click an image to go to the gallery. You might want to check out London - then and now. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… See Urban scrawl … [Read more...]
Academic gongs Australia Day 2015
27/01/2015 by
26 January 2015 635 Australians have been recognised with Orders of Australia on Australia Day 2015, while a further 59 military and 130 meritorious awards were announced. Members of the tertiary education sector featured strongly in the honours list, with 81 awards, particularly in the upper categories. People associated with the tertiary sector received 4 out of the 5 Companion awards (80%), 16 out of 38 Officer awards were to people associated with the tertiary sector (42%), 46 of 156 Member awards (29.5%), for a 33% of the higher awards. In the most common category of Medal, only 15 of 434 awards were tertiary sector related people (3.4%). Women continue to be under represented with … [Read more...]
Charity
01/10/2014 by
Good Magazine | 1 October 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Despite an evident mean spiritedness in the public sphere (the poor are unworthy, the unemployed are leaners, the “age of entitlement" is over), Australians are a remarkably generous people. In its third annual study of 160 countries, the Charity Aid Foundation measured giving behaviours across three criteria: volunteering, helping strangers, and donating money. Australians rated most highly. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… … [Read more...]
The Scan | Edition #159 | 22 August 2014
22/08/2014 by
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Deregulate fees to help innovation? 22 August 2014 | The debate over deregulating university fees is now infecting innovation policy with the Australian Technology Network suggesting reform could forge closer collaborations between universities and industry. While key research drivers like the science and engineering sectors have expressed horror at the extent of funding cuts to their disciplines, the ATN argues in its submission to the Senate inquiry on improving innovation that “equitable” fee deregulation could help. ATN … [Read more...]
Turning rubbish into cash
10/08/2014 by
6 August 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In Australia, an estimated 8 billion bottles and cans are landfilled or littered every year - that's 900,000 an hour. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Mega drinks companies, such as Coca Cola Amatil, vehemently oppose conatiner deposit legislation such exists in Southe Australia. In 2023, they won a legal challenge to Northern Territory legislation, which the government said had encouraged people to recycle 35.5 million containers since it commenced in January 2012. The scheme, called Cash For Containers, forced bottlers to pay a 10 cent refund to customers who returned containers to approved depots. … [Read more...]