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Science in a Fluoro Jacket
By Ross Smith
Contrary to common perception, most working scientists are not “researchers” and don’t work for public institutions.
I am a scientist. I am very proud of that fact and worked hard as a student to become one. In the process I spent far longer at university than my parents expected. After 9 years, including a year as a research assistant, I was awarded a PhD, was able call myself “Doctor” and my parents were proud.
Burying CO2 Is Cool
By Olivia Kember
Carbon capture and storage is a necessary component of any realistic effort to control global warming.
Using technologies to capture carbon dioxide produced by power stations and industries and pump it back underground features prominently in scenarios for achieving the global goal of avoiding warming above 2°C – yet it remains deeply contentious.
Shaping Climate Attitudes
By Taciano Milfont
People are more likely to support climate change mitigation when they are first confronted with the local adaptations that will be required.
Mitigation and adaptation are the main strategies to tackle climate change. Mitigation refers to actions to reduce the magnitude of long-term climate change, while adaptation refers to actions to respond and adjust to climate change impacts.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has long emphasised the interrelationship between mitigation and adaptation to counter the effects of human action on the climate, yet discussions around climate change adaptation have been slow compared to discussions on the mitigation of emissions.
Science Diplomacy, Italian Style
By Oscar Moze
Scientists should be working with diplomats in matters of foreign policy to resolve present-day global problems.
It is illusory to think that the resolution of complex global problems such as climate change, food and energy security should be exclusively the responsibility of diplomacy.
Rather, science and diplomacy should be seen as natural allies and instruments for dialogue and change. Scientists should be working in tandem with diplomats in matters of foreign policy where existing scientific knowledge and the outcomes of ongoing research can contribute directly to international understanding and resolution of present-day global problems.
A Burning Solution
By Seán Kerins
A revival of indigenous fire management in the Gulf country is restoring environmental integrity and reducing carbon emissions.
In the early 1980s, Waanyi and Garawa people reclaimed some of their ancestral land in the south-west Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory. But later, due to a lack of government support for basic citizen services – health and education – they were once again forced off, relocating to overcrowded living conditions in nearby townships.
Banking Living Brain Tissue
By Manuel B. Graeber
Australia needs a repository of living brain tissue to explore the next frontier of medical research.
Today’s cultural and technological achievements are the product of the human brain. Understanding how this organ functions is widely considered the ultimate scientific frontier. Two recent “mega” science projects, unprecedented in terms of ambition and scale, reflect this appreciation.
How Significant Is P?
By Geoff Cumming
Questions over the significance of P values requires the adoption of a new and transparent approach to validating research data.
Tests of statistical significance provide the basis for drawing conclusions in numerous disciplines. Obtain the magic p < .05, or even p < .01, and you can declare the result “statistically significant” or even “highly significant”.
Every decent textbook explains that a “significant” result may be tiny and worthless, but the power of everyday language, and every researcher’s ache to find results that matter, delude us into taking “statistically significant” as very, very close to “true” and “important”.
Is Tony Abbott Following Canada’s “War on Science”?
By Ben McNeil
Canada’s Prime Minister could be a role model for Australia’s new leader when it comes to science policy.
One thing scientists can’t do very well is come up with catchy slogans at protest rallies.
“What do we want?” a lab-coated scientist yells to the crowd on the steps of Parliament House in Ottawa, Canada.
“Evidence-based decision-making!” hundreds of scientists answer.
“When do we want it?” the leader shouts again.
“After peer-review!”
Towards a Healthier PNG
By Peter Siba
Medical researchers in Papua New Guinea face unique scientific and public health challenges.
The staff of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research work in an environment that inspires fear and travel warnings for the governments of many of our collaborating partners. Yet we are not daunted by the challenges facing our country as we have even more pressing issues to address.
Every day, children and adults in PNG are dying from treatable and preventable illnesses such as pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoea and filariasis, among others. Yet these medical problems are often preventable in Australia and New Zealand.
A “Better Than Ever” R&D Tax Incentive?
By Kris Gale
Some advice for the government as it sets its sights on revamping support for innovation.
In its first 2 years of life, the R&D tax incentive has struggled for clear air. Delayed for a year by an unfavourable Senate, the program has been subject to constant scrutiny and tinkering since it took effect on 1 July 2011.
September’s victory by the Coalition did not have an immediate impact but the Coalition promised it will be subject to a review with a “better than ever” offering to emerge as a result. Much of the review will occur in the context of the Coalition’s announced taxation White Paper. The new government has undertaken to consider the following:
Australasian Science July/August 2019
