Research stories
Unpopular leaders punished at the polls in 2022 election
Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce were the most unpopular leaders of any party since 1987, new analysis of the 2022 federal election from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The findings come from the joint ANUpoll/Comparative Study of Electoral Systems survey of more than 3…
Ancient DNA unearths cultural “explosion" in the Pacific
DNA analysis of ancient human remains has shed new light on an "explosion" of intermixing cultures and genetics in an island region north of Australia known as Wallacea - an imprint that is still detectable in East Indonesians today. The study was conducted by researchers from The…
Protecting Ukrainian history from the horrors of war
A historian from The Australian National University (ANU) is helping to prevent thousands of Soviet-era Ukrainian documents from becoming casualties of the Russian invasion. Dr Filip Slaveski from the School of History has acquired digitised copies of accounts and resources relating to the…
High cost of living top priority for most voters
Almost two-thirds of Australians say reducing the cost of living should be the next federal government's top priority, according to new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU). The findings come from the latest ANUpoll, undertaken in April 2022, which asked more than 3,500 voters…
New demographic model helps identify superdiversity
Australia is a step closer to identifying super-diverse local communities, with ANU scholars having developed a cross-cutting demographic model that mines Australian Census data and provides a foundation for future studies on social cohesion and program rollout within increasingly complex,…
Come in Spinner: two-up’s unusual language explained
Why is the wooden paddle used to toss the coins in two-up called a kip? Why should you be on the lookout for illegal nobs, jacks, and greys? Why is the person who runs the two-up game called the boxer? What can you expect if you meet a cockatoo or a nit-keeper? These are just of a…
Bushfires disproportionately impact Indigenous Australians
First Nations Australians suffered worse impacts from the Black Summer bushfires due to inappropriate planning and unsuitable interventions by authorities during the crisis, researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) argue. The researchers have published a report…