LATEST ARTICLES

How a very bad cook learned to do better

How a very bad cook learned to do better

Julia Child’s coq au vin recipe was a bridge too far for me. I have never been able to cook (when I was younger my three-tin mix – tuna, beans, lentils, stir, heat, eat – was the target of much scorn), but recently I have tried to learn to put a meal together.

Escape from Hong Kong

Escape from Hong Kong

SOPHIE MAK will probably never go home. She has been too vocal and too critical of both China’s and Hong Kong’s governments over the years, using Twitter to comment on the unfolding tragedy in her homeland, Hong Kong. With long black hair, a short-sleeved, bright red dress and a surprisingly deep and husky voice, Mak, …read more

Machine learning is ‘the electricity of our future’

Machine learning is ‘the electricity of our future’

Machine learning is driving the computing revolution now sweeping through the world’s economies, and an Adelaide-based institute is ranking high among leading research centres dedicated to this sophisticated form of data analysis. A type of artificial intelligence that enables a computer to improve its operations with experience, machine learning has already up-ended global transport, communications, and …read more

A first for our Indigenous culture

A first for our Indigenous culture

A huge Aboriginal cultural centre under construction on Adelaide’s North Terrace will break design rules and set standards for immersive and creative storytelling. With an unusual and distinctive architectural design that evolved and changed with Aboriginal oversight, the centre will be managed by Aboriginal custodians and become a place of welcome and cultural rejuvenation for Aboriginal and …read more

Take two: women busy switching careers in strong job market

Take two: women busy switching careers in strong job market

After 20 years working as a graphic designer, both in Australia and overseas, Kylie McCaffrey started to look around for a different career, a profession with more stability and more face-to-face human interaction.“I started to feel the desire to study something else,” she remembers. “I felt like I was doing the same thing all the …read more

Chart a short course to your new career

Chart a short course to your new career

Whether you are looking to update your qualifications, learn a new skill for the next stage in your career, or move into a new professional field, it’s worth considering doing a short, six-month course that is focused on your needs. Over 250 are now available from Australia’s tertiary institutions in a wide range of fields. …read more

Joys of pre-loved luxury watches and the profits to be made

Joys of pre-loved luxury watches and the profits to be made

Three sleek and gleaming second-hand watches are presented on a simple tray for a customer’s perusal. Luxury, artisanal pieces, their value is astronomical – collectively worth just over $1 million and increasing by the day – elegant symbols of a world awash with Covid recovery cash with prices for prestige real estate, cars, jewels, art and …read more

Shop less and reduce, reuse and recycle this Christmas

Shop less and reduce, reuse and recycle this Christmas

A slightly marked white sofa bed; a pair of cream-coloured patent leather shoes (size 40); boxes of N95 masks; bags of peanuts in the shell (‘no expiry date, consume at your own risk’), tiny rocks for a fish tank or plant pot  – all free items recently listed on Hong Kong’s private Reduce Reuse Recycle …read more

Publishing in elite journals no guarantee of tenure

Publishing in elite journals no guarantee of tenure

Research by a team of US neuroscientists is intended to debunk widely believed myths that prestigious grants or publication in top-flight journals were necessary to obtain a tenure-track position. These myths could drive trainees to pursue large or complex time-intensive research projects, the paper’s authors said, and could unnecessarily prolong time in training.

A new tool to assess researchers for promotion and recruitment

A new tool to assess researchers for promotion and recruitment

Spanish researchers have developed a tool to measure academics’ knowledge, skills and abilities and improve research efficiency. In the past decade, despite steady growth in academic staff and investment, European universities have “not always reached the desired levels of research productivity”, write the authors of a study published in Science and Public Policyin August 2021. This …read more