Rural woman: Drivers of change, innovative thinkers and the leaders making rural communities more productive

Sunday 15 October is International Day of Rural Women. Director of the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Professor Michael Friend says it’s a time to reflect on the important role of women in agriculture and rural communities in Australia and overseas.

What kind of Republic for Australia?

Before we become a Republic shouldn’t we be talking about what kind of Republic Australians actually want? Academic Klass Wolding implores us to consider our governance options before we can answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Truth – easy come, easy go

We tend to believe that we are logical and scientific in our approach to the world around us, but are we really able to control our bias? Alan Stevenson questions whether we are able to overcome a lifetime of conditioning and see the ‘truth’.

SMEs – the label that’s killing our growth

The midsize business sector is not an officially recognised sector and by lumping medium enterprises under the SME label they are totally forgotten. Midsize business owner Mike Rich says it is now time to change this integration.

Barriers to growth – challenges for midsize business

Australian midsize businesses face their own unique barriers to growth. Champ Ventures Chief Executive Officer Su-Ming Wong outlines the 5 greatest challenges effecting the sector.

Impact, performance, purpose – 3 key drivers to attract and retain talent

The ability to successfully recruit and retain the talented individuals needed to drive success is an enduring challenge for medium sized enterprises. Nicky Carp Co-Founder and Executive Director of Unified Healthcare Group (UHG) explains.

Imagining a Smarter Australia

Culturally we need to move towards genuinely celebrating those companies that are part of a smarter future for Australia based on our people and skills. Redbubble co-founder, Martin Hosking, discusses the need for government and cultural shift to encourage more innovation and related economic growth.

Celebrating diversity and promoting social inclusion in our community

Australians need charismatic leaders who have a long term vision for the country. Not leaders driven by personal ambition or motivated by lobbies or donor’s interests. Shepparton based community leader Rashidi Samaili considers Australian leadership.

The true value of fundraising is life experience

Fundraising not only has a transformative impact on disadvantaged members of society, like the young residents of Stepping Stone House, but affects the fundraisers themselves. Ray Sykes shares his inspiring story with Sarah McKenzie.

The Pursuit of Reasons in the Age of Algorithmic Authority

Technology is increasingly making day-to-day decisions on our behalf, its awareness of our behaviours growing with use. Secrecy prevails to some degree in all large institutions, but opacity seems to be at the heart of algorithmic models. Joshua Ngai suggests we take a moment to consider the lack of transparency.

Australian citizenship – who is in and who is out?

Recent activity in the Australian Senate has us questioning who is Australian? Australia shares high level national security information with some of the jurisdictions that Canavan, Ludlam, Waters and perhaps Banks and Roberts hold citizenship with, yet we find their citizens threatening. Dominic O’Sullivan considers.

Does the Bystander Effect exist in workforce cyberbullying?

Would you step in if you knew a colleague was being cyberbullied? Charmein Madden considers whether a well-known phenomenon called the Bystander Effect exists in workplace cyberbullying and whether the relationship we have with the victim makes a difference.