Author: The Conversation

We often think of astronomy as a visual science with beautiful images of the universe. However, astronomers use a wide range of analysis tools beyond images to understand nature at a deeper level. Data sonification is the process of converting data into sound. It has powerful applications in research, education and outreach, and also enables blind and visually impaired communities to understand plots, images and other data. Its use as a tool in science is still in its early stages – but astronomy groups are leading the way. In a paper published in Nature Astronomy, my colleagues and I discuss the current…

How are social media platforms managing vaccine misinformation at this stage in the pandemic? Anti-vaccine sentiment has been building since 2020, and hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, it will have intensified following the recent approval of COVID-19 vaccinations for some babies and children under five, and the recommendation for a fourth booster shot for people over 30. And although anti-vaxxers can be found in most online spaces, Facebook has historically been one of their platforms of choice. Swinburne PhD student Damilola Ayeni has been interviewing anti-vaccine activists since 2019, to learn about how they grow their audience on Facebook and how they evade moderation.…

BeReal hit the social networking scene in late 2019 but didn’t take off until downloads started skyrocketing in 2022. So, what is BeReal all about, and is it here to stay? BeReal is based in France and was founded by Alexis Barreyat in December 2019. At this stage, it doesn’t feature any paid advertising and is funded by venture capital. Although the big names such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram still dominate global social networking popularity rankings, BeReal’s rapid growth has grabbed attention this year. BeReal reached number one on the iPhone charts for free apps in July 2022 and currently has more than…

On August 20 1977, 45 years ago, an extraordinary spacecraft left this planet on a journey like no other. Voyager 2 was going to show us, for the first time, what the outer solar system planets looked like close-up. It was like sending a fly to New York City and asking it to report back. Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, on September 5. Attached to the flank of each Voyager was a Golden Record carrying greetings, sounds, images and music from Earth. The spacecraft were more or less twins, but they had different trajectories and scientific instruments. While both flew…

Technological changes in industry have given rise to contending schools of thought about their impact on work and workers. Automation is rapidly deepening and widening, reaching new areas of work. What’s being produced is also changing. In the automotive manufacturing industry, for example, there is a global shift to vehicles that don’t produce emissions. The ongoing industrial revolution is defined by new work methods, ways of organising production, and advances in technology. At the one extreme is the view that this is the end of work. This argues that the technological changes will lead to mass unemployment through retrenchments. At the other…

For most people who finished school or university even a decade ago, the idea of virtual reality in the classroom probably seems like the stuff of science fiction. But immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality – which all aim to marry the physical and digital worlds – are increasingly being used to bolster teaching and learning. Its proponents argue that immersive technology could be especially useful in low-resource settings. No laboratory equipment at school? Can’t afford pricey field trips? No problem: mobile phones and tablets could take entire labs and libraries into schools and universities. Those opposed…

Water is the most essential resource for life, for both humans and the crops we consume. Around the world, agriculture accounts for 70% of all freshwater use. I study computers and information technology in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and direct Purdue’s Environmental Networking Technology (ENT) Laboratory, where we tackle sustainability and environmental challenges with interdisciplinary research into the Agricultural Internet of Things, or Ag-IoT. The Internet of Things is a network of objects equipped with sensors so they can receive and transmit data via the internet. Examples include wearable fitness devices, smart home thermostats and self-driving cars. In agriculture, it involves technologies such as wireless underground communications,…

Social media platforms have had some bad press in recent times, largely prompted by the vast extent of their data collection. Now Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has upped the ante. Not content with following every move you make on its apps, Meta has reportedly devised a way to also know everything you do in external websites accessed through its apps. Why is it going to such lengths? And is there a way to avoid this surveillance? ‘Injecting’ code to follow you Meta has a custom in-app browser that operates on Facebook, Instagram and any website you might click through to…

Proctoring software monitors a student’s computer or phone while they write exams. These programs have been around for some time but became ubiquitous during online learning in the pandemic. Proctoria, Respondus and Proctor U, the most popular programs, have enjoyed a 500% increase in usage since the start of COVID-19 and proctoring software is now a US$19 billion global market. Some proctoring programs work by checking that the student has only the test software and no other programs open; others monitor keystrokes. Some use the computer’s camera or cellphone audio to check that the student is working alone. A number of South African…

Nobel laureate economist Richard Thaler famously quipped: People aren’t dumb, the world is hard. Indeed, we routinely encounter problems in our everyday lives that feel complex – from choosing the best electricity plan, to deciding how to effectively spend our money. Australians pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year to comparison websites and consumer-focused groups such as CHOICE to help them make decisions about products and services. But how can we objectively measure how “complex” our decisions really are? Our recently published research offers one potential way to do this, by drawing on concepts from computer and systems science. Why bother measuring complexity? There…