How to be a better leader – according to science
Purposeful leaders are seen by their followers as ethical. Their workers are therefore more satisfied, perform better, are less likely to quit, and are more willing to go the extra mile. Read More
Author: The Conversation
Using the ABS to conduct a same-sex marriage poll is legally shaky and lacks legitimacy
There will be many, many challenges ahead for the ABS in preparing for the marriage poll. Is the well too poisoned to continue? Law academic Paul Kildea lays out the case that the poll should be abandoned. Read More
Australia’s city/country divide is not as wide as you may think
Despite not being as wealthy, economic growth in regional Australia is keeping up with the cities, Grattan Institute research reveals. Both have pockets of disadvantage and prosperity. Read More
A focus on goals rather than behaviour is creating workplace monsters
Our research highlights that destructive leaders lack self-control especially when anxious and the difficulty of tasks is high. Read More
Counter-terrorism measures permanently reduce international trade
Trade has an important role in counter-terrorism, but its benefits can be undermined and reversed by the compound effect of security measures, Australian researchers have found. Read More
Robots can already rig selection criteria in government jobs
Joining the junior ranks of the public service can be a painful exercise in repetitious selection criteria writing ... for humans anyway. Bots, however, can write better applications, faster, and also sound more human. Researcher Joshua Krook explores how some jobseekers have automated their applications. Read More
What Australia can learn from the New Zealand retirement system
A comparison of the Australian and New Zealand retirement systems from Professor Ross Guest and Kirsten MacDonald from Griffith University. Read More
Can you trust an exit poll?
As all eyes turn to the drip-feed of UK election results, one result is clear: best prediction. YouGov’s sophisticated multilevel regression and post-stratification method (“Mister P”) was effective, weeks ahead of polling day, second only to exit polls themselves. Read More
Academic Chongyi Feng: profits, freedom and China’s ‘soft power’ in Australia
In March this year, University of Technology Sydney associate professor Chongyi Feng was detained by Chinese officials, unable to board his flight home to Sydney. He was held and interrogated for ten days before being allowed to return to Australia. Here, the expert in intellectual and political development in China recounts his personal experience and outlines how Chinese 'soft power' is exercised in Australia. Read More
Fancy government financing could still cost the taxpayer
The government is creating a new agency, the Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency, to work on ways so the money spent is rather marvellously 'off balance sheet'. But the idea that financing can be 'innovative' obscures the central point that all capital originates in savings. Read More
Organisational culture lessons from the Lindt Cafe siege inquest
'Hindsight will benefit us all' the New South Wales Police acknowledged this week, bruised as it was from what it called 'unfair' criticism resulting from the Lindt Cafe siege inquest. The lesson it should take is a culture of transparency — not risk aversion — improves an organisation's responses. Read More
‘Our darkest of nights’: how the mayor responded to the Manchester Arena suicide bombing
The effects of the bomb will last for years, whether in concrete reality or in people’s awareness and memories. Regardless of your plans for government, local leaders need to rise to these challenges as Manchester's mayor Andy Burnham is doing now. Read More
Massive global ransomware attack highlights faults and the need to be better prepared
Even before it temporarily crippled the UK's health service, ransomware like WannaCry had become one of the biggest threats to governments trying to protect critical infrastructure. The incident highlights the importance of security updates and backing up your systems. Read More
Cities are complex systems – let’s start looking at them that way
Paul Salmon and Nicholas Stevens from the University of the Sunshine Coast discuss city planning through the use of cognitive work analysis, which was developed to support the design of complex engineered systems. Read More
Five tips to get the most out of your workday
Getting a lot done each day is about more than just having the right productivity tools and setup. It’s about taking care of your body and mind, and this starts even outside of the workplace. Read More