So what does an IT Skills Shortage mean to you?

Principles and process can be taught, but industry wants and expects experienced practitioners, and this is best obtained by working on large and complex projects.

We hear a lot about the ICT "skills crisis", but what does this mean to you? 

The graduating student who is struggling to find their first job, or the 20 year industry veteran who following retrenchment is told they are no longer relevant to the industry, may well ask;  "what skills shortage ? If there’s a shortage why am I having this much difficulty finding a job?"

e-Health & me

I am sick and tired of having to tell my story over and over again – and hoping like anything that I am remembering it properly – and not leaving out some key detail that could make the difference to some treatment.

It’s all about me.  I want an electronic health record that can be shared by my health care providers.

Nothing’s Safe

A confident yet cautious approach to new situations and people generally, whilst not foolproof, gives anybody travelling alone the best chance of a fun safe trip.

Voluntary Voting System

The current compulsory system of voting is a parody of democracy allowing the less-informed, manipulated, apathetic and emotionally motivated people to decide the outcome of elections.

Western Tourists as Reporters

You can blog it, you can flickr it, you can Twitter it. The only difference with being in the middle of a big news story is that more people you don't know will pay attention to it.

Growing Our Own in Melbourne: Self Sufficient Gardens Report

A research project discussing sustainable, self-sufficiency gardening in Melbourne has found an increasing trend toward sustainable, self-sufficient gardening and highlights broader influences impacting on this, and uncovers a variety of community gardens and educational opportunities.

Are you really leaving home when you travel?

Not all travel is good for you.

It is another country, “through the eyes of a poet”

If you love a little place in the world that may have heavy nostalgia for you, rest assured there are places like Italy that care for such corners, and will not let them be lost and swallowed up by acid rain or pollution dumps.

Italy. That is the place, somewhere in an august time setting, Joseph Addison was sent to. As was the custom in those days, for intellectual youth to do, and to make that cushy, he was granted a Pension of 300 pounds. Of course other places of Europe were on his visiting list, but the long poem, "A letter from Italy" is a record in verse of his tour of the place, along its length and breadth. It is said of him, he surveyed Italy "with the eyes of a poet". He has talked about Rome, Naples, the Tiber, Baia and Umbria. Of San Marino, there is a most amusing passage about it.

Travel with kids

When travelling with children, keep it simple and don’t take things too seriously.

The Holiday season is upon us and many will be looking forward to traveling somewhere different to really give them the holiday spirit. I have just finished my travels and this season will be staying put, but I have a few words of wisdom that may be helpful for you if you plan to travel anywhere with kids.

I have two sons aged 6 and 3 and we have just finished a five month stint traveling down the east coast of the USA, the UK, Israel and Italy. My husband worked for most of the trip while the kids and I explored.

A Law for Free Speech and Freedom of the Press in Australia

The reputation of the Star Chamber rightly fetches condemnation in controversy nowadays, but its spirit is alive and well.

The legislatures of Australia, State, Territory and Federal, should all guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of the press by enacting a law which abolishes the crime of sedition.

The concept of sedition can be traced to the law of slander and libel developed to abate and rectify disputes in the ordinary course amongst the common people, in the community at large. It was a development under the writ of trespass, the first great writ of the law set in terms to uphold peace in the realm.

More rational mental health funding will improve access to services for consumers

A recent report on mental health funding, endorsed by the Mental Health Services Conference Inc, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association and PwC, points the way to system reform.

Waves of financial crisis crash on Australian shores

There is no doubt that, economically, Australia is in a better position than most other countries. However, these could possibly be the most challenging times Australians have ever faced.