Debt agreements and how to avoid unnecessary debt traps
In many cases there are better ways than debt agreements to wipe out your debtFlickr (creative commons) Debt agreements are the fastest growing form of personal insolvency in Australia. They were designed to offer debtors a low-cost way to make arrangements with their creditors, while avoiding bankr...
Vital Signs: economics can't explain why unemployment and inflation are both low
Image sourced from shutterstock.comVital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualise weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data affecting global economies.This week: an explanation of ...
Teens are sleeping less – but there's a surprisingly easy fix
jesadaphornSomething is stealing teens’ sleep.In a newly released analysis of two large national surveys, my co-authors and I found that the number of U.S. teens who reported sleeping less than seven hours a night jumped 22 percent between 2012 and 2015. Sleep experts agree that teens need at ...
Gift cards often end up in the bin, but extending their life might not help
Some gift cards can't be used onlineShutterstockThe New South Wales Parliament is introducing legislation, creating a three year minimum expiry date on gift cards. This reform will go some ways towards solving the problem of unredeemed gift cards. But there are other issues besides short expiry date...
What businesses can learn from sports about using algorithms
Sport algorithms aren't working for business.ShutterstockYou may have heard that algorithms will take over the world. But how are they operating right now? We take a look in our series on Algorithms at Work.Replacing human decision-making with algorithms seems to make sense. People tend to rely on u...
How China's skewed sex ratio is making President Xi's job a whole lot harder
Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress.AP Photo/Ng Han GuanAs odd as it sounds, China’s economic policy is being held hostage by its heavily skewed sex ratio.China’s excess of young, unmarriageable males poses an acute dilemma for Presi...
Scientist at work: Measuring public health impacts after disasters
Crews clean up debris in a neighborhood flooded by Hurricane Harvey in Beaumont, Texas, Sept. 26, 2017. AP Photo/David GoldmanTwo months after Hurricane Harvey submerged much of metropolitan Houston, recovery is under way across the city. Residents and volunteers are gutting and restoring flooded ho...
Are many hate crimes really examples of domestic terrorism?
Mourners embrace at a vigil for Richard Collins III, who was stabbed to death in College Park, Maryland.AP Photo/Brian WitteA Maryland grand jury has indictedSean Urbanski for allegedly murdering an African-American student in May.Urbanski, a white former University of Maryland student who belonged ...
Why the European Union's hands are tied over Catalonia
A young girl wearing the Spanish flag (right) walks with another young girl wearing an 'estelada,' or independence flag.AP Photo/Emilio MorenattiIn recent weeks, the dispute over Catalonia’s quest for independence from Spain has captivated the attention of many parts of the world.There is con...
Is racial bias driving Trump's neglect of Puerto Rico?
He didn't throw paper towels in Texas. Why Puerto Rico?AP Photo/Evan VucciThe morning after Hurricane Maria blasted through Puerto Rico, I emailed my aunt to ask if she was safe. That was Sept. 21. I heard back from her on Oct. 10. She was fine, she assured me, but “Puerto Rico is destroyed.&r...
US health care system: A patchwork that no one likes
Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, considered a powerful dealmaker, failed to get the necessary votes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. AP Photo/Andrew HarnikAlmost all parties agree that the health care system in the U.S., which is responsible for about 17 percent of our GDP, is ...
A statistical fix for the replication crisis in science
Many scientific studies aren't holding up in further tests.A and N photography/Shutterstock.comIn a trial of a new drug to cure cancer, 44 percent of 50 patients achieved remission after treatment. Without the drug, only 32 percent of previous patients did the same. The new treatment sounds promisin...
The difference between cybersecurity and cybercrime, and why it matters
Confidence scams carried out online are still rampant.R. Stevens/CREST Research, CC BY-NC-SAA Texas woman in her 50s, let’s call her “Amy,” met a man online calling himself “Charlie.” Amy, who lived in Texas, was in a bad marriage. Charlie said he was a businessman and ...
Why is there so little research on guns in the US? 5 questions answered
With no money to research guns, there's no evidence to base policy on.Håkan Dahlström, CC BYWhen Stephen Paddock opened fire Oct. 1 on concertgoers in Las Vegas, killing 59, the city became the unfortunate host of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Investigators are still trying…
How gig economy workers will be left short of super
RTX BAs a brave new generation of Australian workers enter the gig economy (such as Uber drivers, Deliveroo riders, etc), serious questions remain over how these workers will fare financially in the long term.The gig economy creates cohorts of new workers (contractors) who potentially won’t ha…
Why the new banking laws won’t be the slam dunk the government is expecting
APRA chair Wayne Byres says the regulator is unlikely to use its new enforcement powers. AAPThe federal government is set to enact new laws covering Australian banks, senior executives and directors. Called the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR), it imposes new legal obligations on banks…
Banking's new BEAR is a teddy bear not a grizzly
The government’s new Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) legislation is a confused mess that is not going to do what it claims to do, which is make bankers accountable for scandals.Rather than being a terrifying polar or grizzly, it is already an old teddy bear that has had the stuf…
6 Regular Checks to Do on Your Car
You can wait for problems to occur and then start paying to fix them, but why go through that trouble when you can take preventative measures for your vehicle? Whether you have a company car, a car you drive on long road trips every week or a vehicle that is only used on occasion, there are certain …
How media sexism demeans women and fuels abuse by men like Weinstein
Advertising continues to portray women as charming keepers of the home, making it harder to succeed at work.Andrea44/flickr, CC BY-SAThe sexual abuse scandal currently embroiling media mogul Harvey Weinstein has stunned the United States, with Hollywood and the fashion industry declaring that &ldquo…
Solving the political ad problem with transparency
The American people used to get more information in common.sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.comAlmost all the content and advertising on the internet is customized to each viewer. The impact of this kind of content distribution on the 2016 election is still being explored. But, we can certainly say that t…
Why Russia thinks it's exceptional
Destiny calls upon Russia once more to face the West – or so Russians might believe.America is not alone in projecting itself as an exceptional power and indispensable force for good in the world. Russia makes the same claim. That sentiment is built upon centuries of defeating invaders, as I e…
