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Erin Mackenzie, Western Sydney University; Penny Van Bergen, Macquarie University and Roberto H Parada, Western Sydney University Year 12 exams can be stressful at the best of times; this is particularly true for the Class of 2020. Here are five ways parents and carers of Year 12 students preparing for their final exams can support [...]

Kirsty Duncanson, La Trobe University; Natasha Weir, La Trobe University; Pavithra Siriwardhane, RMIT University and Tehmina Khan, RMIT University From the first rumblings of its spread, COVID-19’s impact on women academics was immediate. In a sign of the gendered nature of the pandemic’s impacts, men’s research submissions to academic journals almost instantly increased by 50%, single-author [...]

Kyli Hedrick, and Rohan Borschmann, University of Melbourne Newly published data have revealed the number of self-harm incidents in Australia’s immigration detention centres spiked during the first seven months of this year. While rates of self-harm among detained asylum seekers were already known to be high - in fact, 200 times higher than in the general Australian community [...]

In 2015, domestic and family violence (DFV) was declared a "national emergency" in Australia, with its impact on women and children costing the country an estimated A$22 billion each year. In 2019, the short and long-term consequences of childhood trauma, including DFV, were estimated to cost the Australian economy A$34 billion each year. While children may witness [...]

Phillip Baker, Deakin University; Mark Lawrence, Deakin University, and Priscila Machado, Deakin University Humans (and our ancestors) have been processing food for at least 1.8 million years. Roasting, drying, grinding and other techniques made food more nutritious, durable and tasty. This helped our ancestors to colonise diverse habitats, and then develop settlements and civilisations. Many [...]

Erin Leif, Monash University; Christine Grové, Monash University; Laura Alfrey, Monash University; Stella Laletas, Monash University, and Umesh Sharma, Monash University The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a rapid shift to online learning at all Australian universities. This presents unique opportunities for both educators and students, but also new challenges. Recent media reports suggest online learning [...]

Pasi Sahlberg, UNSW and Sharon Goldfeld, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Many parents are worried the disruptions of COVID lockdowns and school closures may affect their children’s mental health and development. In the Royal Children’s Hospital’s National Child Health Poll in June 2020, more than one-third of parents reported the pandemic has had negative consequences on [...]

Philippa Collin, Western Sydney University; Melissa Kang, University of Technology Sydney, and Rachel Skinner, University of Sydney The World Health Organisation recently warned that people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, who may be unaware they’re infected, are driving the spread of COVID-19. Australian data confirms coronavirus is more common in younger adults. People aged [...]

Lindsay Bottoms, University of Hertfordshire While many of us may remember skipping as something we did as children, the pastime has regained popularity during the pandemic as a way of keeping fit. Not only is jumping rope a fun, affordable and portable form of exercise, it also has many benefits for our health and fitness. [...]

Associate Professor Nathan Grills and Nicole ButcherCOVID-19 has disproportionally affected disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. However, the Victorian Government has released little disaggregated data on categories like ethnicity or socioeconomic status – perhaps trying to avoid discriminating along lines of wealth, race or religion. At one level, not releasing this data minimises [...]