Anna K. Stelling-Germani

Are tired working parents harming economy more than parents on paid parental leave?

Working efficiently after a night of interrupted sleep is difficult. In many countries, parental leave is kept very short and the main argument for this is that longer parental leave will result in economic loss due to a smaller workforce. In this article I challenge this argument and propose that tired parents who come to work with insufficient sleep might actually be causing more harm to a nation’s economy than a reduced workforce.

February 14, 2020

Do politicians have enough political education?

There is no prerequisite for education when one aspires to become a politician. Unlike for many other jobs, politicians do not need to follow a specific career path to reach powerful positions, nor do they ever need to prove their political knowledge. The fact that, additionally, political education is not the preliminary election criteria for voters, being overshadowed by charisma, communication skills and representation in social media, might lead to the empowering of people with a lack of political knowledge.

January 3, 2020

Does the unhappiness of scientists influence the quality of research?

Mental health issues are on the rise within academia. The working conditions resulting from publishing pressure are leading to stress and bad work-life balance. Many young academics are unhappy and want to leave science as soon as they finish their PhD. These factors likely result in an overall decrease in the quality of research, which has to be halted in order to maintain a good progression of knowledge.

November 25, 2019

Giving birth: a woman’s choice between nature and medicine

The number of women giving birth without methods of pain-relief are low. Women are experiencing great fears about the pain of giving birth, making them want to exploit all medical pain relieving possibilities. A lack of trust in the body’s natural pain relieving mechanisms and an excessive supply of medical interventions is putting women in the dilemma of having to choose between modern medicine and nature.

September 22, 2019

Finding the right treatment: the many cures for cancer

Many people believe that there will be a single drug or treatment found by scientists that will cure all kinds of cancer. This is, unfortunately, a quite widespread misconception regarding cancer research. Due to the complexity of the disease, the future of cancer treatment lies in a more targeted and personalised approach. Combined knowledge about the biology of cancer and combined effort from physicians and scientists will be needed to find the best way to treat cancer in the future.

June 17, 2019

Indoor smoking: a sad Austrian story

In 2017, the newly elected Austrian government decided to reverse a previously passed law to completely ban indoor smoking in bars and restaurants. The Austrian public reacted with big protests and petitions – all without success. The motives of the Austrian politicians are very questionable and raise serious questions about their sense of responsibility towards citizens.

January 12, 2019