July 15, 2024

UOW expert commentary (15 July)

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

Trump assassination attempt

United States constitutional law and politics expert Professor Markus Wagner is available for interview regarding the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The Republican National Convention this week will likely resemble a coronation of a different kind. Even before the events of this past weekend, Donald Trump had remade the Republican Party in his own image: detractors were purged, policies were aligned with Trump’s political and personal preferences.

Should the former President win the elections, there is no one in the Republican party who will provide any resistance against even the most far-reaching policy proposals that are being developed for a Trump 2.0 presidency. This is an increasingly likely and very risky scenario. We can expect an even higher turnout from his base and undecided voters will see him as decisive and defiant, even in the face of almost being assassinated.

Professor Wagner is an internationally recognised expert in international law and governance, international peace and security, as well as US and Australian constitutional law. He is the Director of the Transnational Law and Policy Centre.

World Emoji Day (Wednesday 17 July)

Associate Professor Shoshana Dreyfus can talk about World Emoji Day (Wednesday 17 July). She says emojis are can be meaningful and are a form of communication, but can also be ambiguous and aligned with particular social groups. Associate Professor Dreyfus is a linguist in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry.

ABS data release – Labour Force Statistics (Thursday 18 July)

Associate Professor Martin O’Brien is available for interview about the ABS Labour Force Statistics which will be released on Thursday 18 July. He can discuss employment, unemployment, underemployment, participation and hours worked in June 2024 from the monthly Labour Force Survey. Associate Professor O’Brien is an economist and the Director of the Centre for Human and Social Capital Research.

Australia’s art industry is too white

Dr Stephanie Beaupark is available to discuss the underrepresentation of non-white and diverse voices in Australia’s art industry. In an article Dr Beaupark co-authored in The Conversation she writes:

In 2018, Diversity Arts Australia’s Shifting the Balance Report looked at the cultural diversity of leadership in the arts. It found in the visual arts, craft and design sector, 89% of leadership positions were held by people who identify as Anglo-Celtic. Across Australia’s institutions, positions held by leaders of colour are generally in major art institutions in urban centres. Despite diverse populations across the continent, First Nations and culturally diverse people are especially underrepresented in leadership positions in regional areas.

Dr Beaupark is a Ngugi artist, scientist and curator who specialises in facilitating Indigenous-led knowledge exchange between Indigenous and western sciences through creative practice. She is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Health and Society and a PhD candidate studying the Indigenous science of Australian plant dyes.

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.