September 5, 2023

UOW expert commentary (5 September)

UOW academics provide expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing and breaking news stories

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Interest rates

Associate Professor Martin O’Brien can discuss interest rates.  Associate Professor O’Brien is an economist and the Director of the Centre for Human and Social Capital Research. His research interests include segmented labour market theory, econometrics, older worker employment issues and hidden unemployment. 

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Industrial relations reforms

Dr Betty Frino is available for interviews about industrial relations reforms. Dr Frino is an expert in human resources, employment relations and organisational psychology. She is a Lecturer in the School of Business.

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Millennials moving to regional Australia

Dr Nadia Zainuddin can provide commentary on new data from the Regional Australia Institute that reveals growing numbers of millennials are leaving Australia’s capital cities for country communities. Dr Zainuddin is a behaviour and social change researcher in the School of Business.

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Women’s Health Week (4 – 8 September)

Professor Patricia M. Davidson is available for interviews about Women’s Health Week. Professor Davidson is a global leader in nursing, health care, and advocacy. Professor Davidson’s work focuses on person-centred care delivery and the improvement of cardiovascular health outcomes for women and vulnerable populations. She has extensively studied chronic conditions, transitional care, palliative care, and the translation of innovative, acceptable, and sustainable health initiatives across the world.

Professor Davidson serves as counsel general of the International Council on Women’s Health Issues, and was a past board member of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health and secretary general of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery. She also serves on the Board of Health Care Services for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the United States.

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Associate Professor Theresa Larkin can also discuss Women’s Health Week. Associate Professor Larkin can talk about female sex hormones and their effects across the menstrual cycle on physical and mental health, pregnancy related hormones, back pain during pregnancy, and limitations of previous research in women’s health. Associate Professor Larkin is an expert in anatomy and medical science. She is a Senior Lecturer in UOW’s Graduate School of Medicine. Associate Professor Larkin was recently named a Superstar of STEM by Science & Technology Australia.

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Rising sea levels

Associate Professor Kerrylee Rogers is available for interviews about new research published this week in Nature that warns coastal habitats such as mangroves, tidal marshes and reefs are in severe danger from rising sea levels and climbing temperatures. Associate Professor Rogers’ expertise is in blue carbon, decarbonising and coastal climate change impacts. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences and GeoQuest Research Centre. 

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Housing diversity

Dr Matthew Daly can discuss a new guide that has been released by CoHousing Australia that aims to help local resident-led housing groups identify ways to make cohousing and collaborative housing a reality. Dr Daly said medium-density housing is such a focus of current housing policy, and giving residents a greater voice in shaping their these housing outcomes can make it more attractive for both the residents and the neighbouring community. Dr Daly is a Research Fellow with the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre.

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UOW academics exercise academic freedom by providing expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing social issues and current affairs. This expert commentary reflects the views of those individual academics and does not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the University of Wollongong.