Doctors must now prescribe drugs using their chemical name, not brand names. That’s good news for patients

by macsalib | Feb 1, 2021 | Article

Shuterstock Matthew Grant, Monash University From today (February 1), when you receive a prescription in Australia, it will list the name of the medication’s active ingredient rather than the brand name. So, for example, instead of receiving a prescription for...

The viral ‘Wellerman’ sea shanty is also a window into the remarkable cross-cultural whaling history of Aotearoa New Zealand

by macsalib | Jan 22, 2021 | Article, Australian history, Culture, Music

GettyImages Kate Stevens, University of Waikato In a year of surprises, one of the more pleasant was the recent runaway viral popularity of 19th century sea shanties on TikTok. A collaborative global response to pandemic isolation, it saw singers and musicians...

Magic, culture and stalactites: how Aboriginal perspectives are transforming archaeological histories

by macsalib | Jan 8, 2021 | Article, Australian history, Culture, Indigenous culture

The main chamber of Cloggs Cave. Monash University archaeologist Joe Crouch is standing in the 1970s excavation pit, digging a new area in the wall of the old excavation. Bruno David, Author provided Bruno David, Monash University; Chris Urwin, Monash University;...

From curried wombat to rendang and doro wat: a brief history of curry in Australia

by macsalib | Jan 3, 2021 | Article, Cuisine, Culture, Food and culture

Andy Hay/Unsplash Frieda Moran, University of Tasmania In a new series, our writers explore how food shaped Australian history – and who we are today. Curry occupies a grey area in Australia: sometimes exotic and other, sometimes ordinary, often a bit of both....

Asian countries do aged care differently. Here’s what we can learn from them

by macsalib | Oct 23, 2020 | Article

Shutterstock Angelique Chan, National University of Singapore This article is part of our series on aged care. You can read the other articles in the series here. Unlike in Western countries like Australia, traditional Asian cultures place a heavy emphasis on filial...

Channel Seven’s Plate of Origin shows how Australian multiculturalism is defined by white people

by macsalib | Sep 22, 2020 | Article

Channel Seven Blair Williams, Australian National University and Kim Huynh The grand final of Plate of Origin will air on on Channel Seven tonight. Like other blockbuster cooking shows (think MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules), Plate of Origin is billed as a celebration of...