(C) The Conversation This unaltered story was originally published on TheConversation.com/us [1] License: Creative Commons - CC BY-ND 4.0 Attributions/No Derivities[2] ---------------- Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington on The Conversation By: ['Diane Karen Orms', 'Eddie Clark', 'Edward Schofield', 'Harisu Abdullahi Shehu', 'Hedwig Eisenbarth', 'James Renwick', 'Michael Fletcher', 'Nick Golledge', 'Nicola Jane Nelson', 'Rebecca Priestley'] Date: 2021-08-11 20:07:37+00:00 www.shutterstock.com August 11, 2021 Why New Zealand’s proposed law banning conversion practices is so unlikely to criminalise parents Fears that concerned parents might fall foul of a new law banning gay conversion practices are not borne out by the strict definitions in the bill before parliament. Shutterstock/slowmotiongli August 9, 2021 Informe IPCC: La subida del nivel del mar y el deshielo de los glaciares ya son irreversibles, pero podemos frenarlos El último informe del IPCC deja claro que ya no podemos evitar que los niveles del nivel del mar suban, pero sí podemos controlar la cantidad y la rapidez con que cambian. Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images August 9, 2021 The global water cycle has become more intense, and that makes New Zealand’s wet regions wetter, and dry ones drier New Zealand’s climate has been changing in line with global trends over the last century, warming by 1.1℃. But unless we curb emissions fast, we can brace for more extreme downpours and droughts. Shutterstock/slowmotiongli August 9, 2021 Rising seas and melting glaciers: these changes are now irreversible, but we have to act to slow them down The latest IPCC report makes it clear we can no longer stop the seas from rising, but we can still control how much and how fast sea levels change. GettyImages August 8, 2021 Why is New Zealand’s Labour government trying to push through a two-tier benefit system? It’s potentially the biggest change to welfare since ACC and would favour those on higher pay – so why does the public know so little about it? Shutterstock/Sergey Tinyakov August 5, 2021 When faces are partially covered, neither people nor algorithms are good at reading emotions Robots are more likely than people to misclassify emotions when reading faces that are partially covered. This could lead to unexpected behaviours when they interact with people wearing masks. Shutterstock/Rudmer Zwerver August 3, 2021 Tuatara are ancient, slow and endangered. But their super speedy sperm could boost conservation efforts The male anatomy of tuatara, the last representatives of an ancient lineage, is unique among reptiles. They lack a penis, which has made sperm collection a major challenge – until now. www.shutterstock.com August 2, 2021 Gamers know the power of ‘flow’ — what if learners could harness it too? Video gaming is often seen as a distraction for students. So the challenge is to distract students back towards learning – and video games provide the perfect model. (Unsplash/Josefa Ndiaz) July 27, 2021 Kebijakan #MerdekaBelajar terancam seiring siswa hilang fokus di tengah pandemi: bagaimana mengembalikan kemandirian belajar mereka? Jadi, ketika jarak antara guru dan murid senantiasa melebar, bagaimana kita mendorong siswa mengambil alih proses belajar mereka secara mandiri? (Unsplash/Josefa Ndiaz) July 27, 2021 Indonesia’s ‘Freedom to Learn’ movement at risk as students lose attention amid digital learning: how do we reclaim their drive to learn? As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Just because students are given the freedom to learn, it does not mean they will. Shutterstock/elenavolf July 21, 2021 Gender-specific health programs address important issues, but risk creating new biases Gender bias in health research is an ongoing issue, but health interventions that target women or men ignore gender-diverse people and create new areas of discrimination. www.shutterstock.com July 13, 2021 Why ‘inciting violence’ should not be the only threshold for defining hate speech in New Zealand Critics say only links to real or threatened violence should justify the proposed criminalisation of hate speech. But New Zealand law already regulates all kinds of non-violent speech. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images July 12, 2021 A significant number of New Zealanders overestimate sea-level rise — and that could stop them from taking action Survey respondents who overestimated the amount and speed of sea-level rise were more likely to express greater concern. But concern is not always helpful in prompting action. James Gourley/AAP June 21, 2021 Our research shows COVID has made Australians more conservative and care less about others Values in adulthood rarely change. But major events, like wars — and pandemics — can shift our priorities. Valerio Micaroni June 9, 2021 The Irish lough that offers a window into the deep sea In Lough Hyne’s shallows, animals and plants thrive that would otherwise be found in the ocean’s depths. (Boreal River) June 3, 2021 Rights for nature: How granting a river ‘personhood’ could help protect it A recent declaration of a river as a legal person in Canada recognizes Indigenous laws and governance, and champions people as the guardians of nature. GettyImages June 1, 2021 The real challenge to COVID-19 vaccination rates isn’t hesitancy — it’s equal access for Māori and Pacific people Age and education level are the main factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. While this affects Māori and Pacific communities, basic access to health care and information is more important. Shutterstock/Cherdchai charasri May 27, 2021 The idea of ‘green growth’ is flawed. We must find ways of using and wasting less energy There is no doubt we need to stop emitting fossil carbon. But if we fixate on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and don’t also reduce consumption and energy waste, we risk failure. [END] [1] URL: https://theconversation.com/institutions/te-herenga-waka-victoria-university-of-wellington-1200 [2] URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ TheConversation via Magical Fish Gopher New Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/theconversation/