Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
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Federal Government IT seems to be a bit of a ‘target rich zone’ at the moment with all sorts of errors and issues crowding the press. With all the highly paid consultants one might hope for a little noise on a range of issues.
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‘I am still waiting’: some Australians turned away from getting Covid vaccine because of register errors
More reports have emerged of problems with the national vaccine register, causing confusion and frustration
Last modified on Tue 3 Aug 2021 09.25 AEST
Incorrect or missing records on the national immunisation register are causing some people to be turned away from getting a Covid-19 vaccine in locked-down Sydney, while others are being wrongly recorded as receiving the “hepatitis” jab or no vaccination at all.
On Saturday, Guardian Australia reported that Sydney bus driver Ke Hua was wrongly recorded as fully vaccinated on the Australian immunisation register (AIR), despite not having a single dose, causing significant confusion when he showed up at Royal Prince Alfred hospital for his jab.
More reports have now emerged of significant problems with recording Covid-19 vaccinations on the register, which is administered by Services Australia and serves as the main database of a person’s immunisation status.
Many of the reported errors appeared to be linked to the mass NSW vaccination hub at Homebush.
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Australian vaccination certificates easy to forge
A person receives a COVID-19 vaccination dose in Los Angeles, California. Picture AFP
8:46AM August 5, 2021
An online security firm specialising in identity protection has warned that the federal government‘s digital Covid vaccination certificates will be easy to forge without better security.
There is concern that vaccination certificates aka vaccination passports which currently include a person’s name, date of birth and document number can be easily altered and copied.
The government made digital certificates available in June and this week added the ability to store them in Apple Wallet on iPhones and Google Pay on Android devices.
Yesterday South Australian Senator Rex Patrick sought to demonstrate the forging of a vaccination certificate.
There is a report that the federal government’s Expenditure Review Committee has agreed to add QR codes to certificates. This would allow someone to verify the authenticity of a certificate against a government web page that includes the certificate owner’s details.
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https://www.innovationaus.com/govt-urged-to-look-local-for-vaccination-certificates/
Govt urged to look local on vaccination certificates
Denham Sadler
Senior Reporter
4 August 2021
The federal government knocked back a pitch from an Adelaide company to protect digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates from fraud last year, after a senator revealed this week that the certificate could be forged within weeks.
Australians who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine can now access a digital certificate to prove this through the myGov platform. This can then be printed off or stored on a smartphone through the wallet functions on Apple and Google phones.
The certificates are not currently used to access any services, but may in the future be used to attend sporting events or travel internationally, for example.
Soon after accessing his vaccination certificate following receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, independent Senator Rex Patrick had made a forged version of it in 15 minutes.
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NSW patients give positive review of virtual care
By Mary Ward 04 Aug, 2021
NSW public hospital patients who received virtual care last year have given a positive review of the experience, with patients across age groups and the rural-urban divide largely finding it an effective replacement for an in-person appointment.
The 2020 Virtual Care survey, conducted by the NSW Bureau of Health Information, surveyed 2618 patients who received care through a video conference or telephone call when remote appointments increased during lockdown restrictions last year.
Ninety-one per cent of patients rated the care they received as “good” or “very good”, a proportion which increased with the number of virtual appointments a patient had.
Sixty per cent of patients said they saved time with virtual treatment and 30 per cent said they saved money.
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Australian Covid-19 vaccine certificates come to digital wallets
By Justin Hendry on Aug 2, 2021 3:10PM
Can now be added by those fully vaccinated.
Australians fully immunised against Covid-19 can now store their digital vaccination certificates in their Apple and Google digital wallets for ease of access.
But those wishing to do so are being warned to switch off cloud backups to ensure the proof of vaccination is not stored on overseas servers.
An update to the Express Plus Medicare app over the weekend allows those who have received two shots of an approved vaccine to add their digital certificate to the wallets.
Until now, the digital certificate – which is automatically generated after two jabs – could be viewed or downloaded from the app and viewed through the Medicare online account.
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Australian Covid vaccination certificates come to your phone
9:49AM August 3, 2021
There has been much debate on the form Australia’s Covid digital vaccination certificates should take, whether they should be held on blockchain, and whether they can be stored on your phone so you can produce your vaccination certificate on demand.
Covid vaccination certificates are now available for storing on your phone and can be accessed via the myGov site and app, or via the Medicare Express app. You need to have had both doses of the jab for your COVID-19 digital certificate to be available to you as a digital record. And it isn’t tethered to blockchain.
You can add your Covid vaccination certificate to Apple Wallet on an iPhone, which will make it easy to produce should you be required to show it, for example in the future on international flights. You can even display your vaccination certificate on Apple Watch.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently foreshadowed that Android versions will follow.
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How To Add Your COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate To Your Digital Apple Wallet Via MyGov, Medicare App
Raeesa Sayyad 3 August, 2021
Australians presently have a simple method to show they’re completely vaccinated against Covid-19, with the ability to save vaccine certificates in digital wallets for Android and iOS now accessible. The Australian government has presented support for adding COVID-19 vaccination digital certificates to Apple Wallet through the Express Plus Medicare app on iOS.
Coronavirus vaccination certificates are presently accessible for storing on your phone and can be accessed via the myGov site and app, or through the Medicare Express app. You need to have had the two doses of the hit for your COVID-19 digital certificate to be accessible to you as a digital record. Furthermore, it isn’t fastened to the blockchain.
You can add your Covid vaccination certificate to Apple Wallet on an iPhone, which will make it simple to produce should you be needed to show it, for example in the future on international flights. You can even show your vaccination certificate on Apple Watch.
In the wake of getting two doses of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, Australians get a Covid-19 digital certificate, which is accessible by signing into Medicare online or through the Express Plus Medicare app.
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Thursday, 05 August 2021 11:32
Proof of your COVID-19 vaccinations can be added to Apple Wallet and Google Pay in Australia
If you've had your two COVID-19 vaccine jabs in Australia and want a simply way to prove your vaccinated status and inject yourself with a sense of confidence, iPhone and Android owners will be happy to know it's effortlessly easy.
Earlier this week, Services Australia announced that you could add proof of your COVID-19 vaccinations to your iPhone's Apple Wallet and your Android's Google Pay wallet.
Services Australia says that once you’ve had all required doses and your immunisation record’s been updated, you can get your COVID-19 digital certificate, using either the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or your Medicare online account through myGov.
We're told that those who aren't eligible for Medicare can use the Individual Healthcare Identifiers service through myGov to get proof of vaccinations, and we're also advised our vaccination provider records vaccination details on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), and that it can take up to 10 days to update the immunisation record.
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Senior health officials raised concerns about SafeWA data breach long before election
August 6, 2021 — 8.20am
Western Australia’s Chief Health Officer and his department’s acting director general were aware of a SafeWA privacy breach three months before the Health Minister and Premier say they were told about the potentially damaging issue.
Acting director general James Williamson made repeated attempts to raise his concerns, in the lead-up to the March 13 state election, about police accessing sign-in data from more than 2400 people to solve crimes despite a promise by Premier Mark McGowan such access was not allowed.
The revelation police had acquired check-in data from events relating to the public shooting death of former Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin was only made public by the Premier in June.
Health Minister Roger Cook was made aware of the matter through a briefing note on March 31, with Mr McGowan finding out not long after in April.
Previous questioning by the opposition in Parliament uncovered a letter that showed WA Health director general David Russell-Weisz had been aware of the breach at least one day before the election.
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https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/575981/Minister-announces-Health-System-Indicators.htm
Minister announces Health System Indicators
Thursday, 5 August 2021
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
A new set of Health System
Indicators will be published quarterly in an online dashboard, the Minister of
Health has announced.
Andrew Little made the announcement during a speech to the Royal New Zealand
College of General Practitioners Conference 2021 on August 6, saying the new
accountability system replaces the National Health Targets that were retired in
2018.
“The health indicators will bring data and people together to improve safe and
equitable care whilst also getting the best value for money from the health
budget,” he said.
Twelve indicators have been developed by the Ministry of Health and the Health
Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC), and reflect the Government’s most
important priorities.
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https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/phone-consults-will-be-bedrock-telehealth-gps-says-greg-hunt
Phone consults will be the 'bedrock of telehealth' for GPs, says Greg Hunt
The health minister's comments come amid debate about the clinical value of phone-based care
2nd August 2021
Phone consults will be the “bedrock” of Australia’s permanent Medicare funding model for telehealth, which could be in place by January next year, Greg Hunt says.
The federal Minister for Health stressed that, while video was sometimes the clinically preferred option for doctors, he was pushing for MBS items for phone consults to remain in place.
The introduction of the existing items has been seen as a watershed in bringing Medicare funding of general practice into the 21st century; but they remain a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a speech to the AMA national conference on Saturday, Mr Hunt said officials were hoping a permanent fix could be in place by the new year.
He also said the government’s $450 million voluntary patient enrolment package would probably be introduced at the same time, although it was still not clear if telehealth funding will be restricted only to those who enroll with their GP.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nib-to-enable-on-the-spot-claims-at-1300-pharmacies-568207
Nib to enable on-the-spot claims at 1300 pharmacies
By Kate Weber on Aug 4, 2021 12:00PM
Starts with prescription medicines, has expansion plans.
Health insurer nib has introduced a technology system to pharmacies that allows its members to claim for part of the cost of pharmaceuticals on-the-spot.
The fund is using technology from fintech LanternPay and Civica, and expects to expand the type of on-the-spot claims that the system processes in the near future.
LanternPay partnered with Civica in 2019 to develop a cloud-based online solution for health insurers and healthcare providers.
Following a six week pilot, the system is set to be rolled out to over 1300 pharmacies throughout Australia.
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Health insurer nib rolls out digital claiming platform at pharmacies
Adam Ang | 05 Aug 2021
Australian health insurer nib Group has partnered with payment platform LanternPay and Civica, a London-based public service software provider, to deliver its claiming platform at pharmacies.
Based on a press statement, the digital claiming solution has been rolled out in over 1,300 pharmacies in the country following a six-week pilot.
WHY IT MATTERS
Through LanternPay's claiming solution, nib's health insurance members can process their claims "on-the-spot" and "paperless" at local pharmacies, moving away from the previous process of "pay first, claim later".
The browser-based platform, backed by Civica's cloud solution, will not require pharmacies to sign up to a particular bank to access the system, which is a usual requirement of other claiming system providers, according to Mirinda O'Gorman, general manager of Healthcare at LanternPay.
The nibGroup is set to expand the digital claiming offering to pathology, targeting to automate up to 70% of pathology claims, deliver significant cost savings and help keep premium costs lower for nib members. It is also looking to offer the solution for every day claiming, such as for physiotherapy, gym, dentist and chiropractor.
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Aussie GPs caught rorting Medicare’s telehealth
Doctors are being audited for allegedly rorting new Medicare rebates for telephone consults.
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Femtech: technology enhancing women's health
By Jane Allman
Tuesday, 03 August, 2021
Femtech — technologies specifically designed to positively impact women’s health — has the potential to radically improve health outcomes for women globally. Incorporating artificial intelligence, machine learning, software, diagnostics, products and services, femtech is an emerging industry that is already shifting medical practice.
Despite working for 50% of the world’s population, femtech is an underserved industry, attracting only 10% of investment funding.
AI can have a profound impact on women’s health outcomes, in areas including ovarian, breast and cervical cancers, assistive reproduction, endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Adelaide-based company Presagen has demonstrated just what AI has to offer when it comes to women’s health. The company’s software-based scalable AI technology is designed to be delivered globally at low cost, to maximise reach to women across the world.
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DTA kills last of platform pilots as focus shifts to myGov rebuild
By Justin Hendry on Aug 3, 2021 12:41PM
Lights out for Notify.com.au.
The Digital Transformation Agency has quietly killed off the last of four Turnbull era whole-of-government pilot platforms, as work ramps up on the $200 million-plus myGov portal rebuild.
In 2017, the agency was funded to the tune of $33.5 million through the Commonwealth public service modernisation fund to develop a pilot set of reusable government-wide platforms over three years.
The platforms, offering tell us once, notifications and payments functionality, were pitched as a blueprint for departments and agencies at federal, state and local jurisdictions to develop their own services.
The most successful of the platforms was the notifications platform, called Notify.gov.au, which allowed agencies, particularly those without existing channels, to send reminders and messages via SMS and email.
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https://insideageing.com.au/telstra-health-and-hayylo-announce-partnership/
Telstra Health and Hayylo announce partnership
By Sean McKeown
2 August 2021
Aged care tech start-up Hayylo has formed a partnership with Telstra Health to help simplify digital technology adoption through the integration of their platforms.
Hayylo was founded in 2016 by Greg Satur (pictured) and Simon Heaysman, and recently announced board appointments that included Chris Gray who co-founded iCare Health before selling the business to Telstra Health in 2014.
“Our companies share the same drive for a more connected and tech-enabled sector. Hayylo is a well-developed communication platform that complements our solutions as an added value to our client base”, said Michael Donnelly, Head of Aged & Disability at Telstra Health.
The partnership aims to further support Telstra Health’s client base via Hayylo’s smart communication platform and provider-branded mobile apps. Providers using Telstra Health’s solutions can implement Hayylo which will work in the background and automatically integrate data to drive operational efficiency. It then powers easier and transparent ways for care recipients, families and teams to self-service information around schedules, visit details, requests, care notes, statements and budget use.
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https://www.digitalhealth.net/2021/08/new-head-of-telstra-health-uk-wont-just-push-paper-around/
New head of Telstra Health UK won’t ‘just push paper around’
David Sharp comes into the role as UK-based data and analytics Dr Foster is integrated into Australian telecommunication company Telstra Health – the latter acquired Dr Foster back in 2015.
Hanna Crouch – 4 August 2021
Sharp has been brought in as the new lead for Telstra Health’s UK division as the Australian company looks to invest in the UK health sector.
Despite not being in the role for long (he started on 7 July 2021), the new head of Telstra Health UK is looking to hit the ground running and told Digital Health News his first mission is to find the so-called “pain point” or issues in aged care and try to fix them.
“There will be something that is creating a pain point which nobody is attending to, so my first mission is to find the pain points in aged care,” he said.
“I don’t want to be in a position where we held back and didn’t address one of the biggest challenges facing us today.
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Telstra Health and Hayylo partner to simplify digital technology adoption in care services industry
Published on August 5, 2021
Telstra Health, one of the leading providers of aged, disability and community care software in Australia, has selected software platform, Hayylo, as a partner for care recipient and community communication.
The companies aim to simplify digital technology adoption in the care services industry by integrating their platforms and offering capabilities to interact with care recipients and their loved ones.
“Our companies share the same drive for a more connected and tech-enabled sector. Hayylo is a well-developed communication platform that complements our solutions as an added value to our client base,” said Michael Donnelly, Telstra Health’s Head of Aged & Disability.
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https://www.healthcareit.com.au/article/telstra-health-hayylo-team-integrated-communication-platform
Telstra Health, Hayylo team up for integrated communication platform
Adam Ang | 03 Aug 2021
Australian digital health provider Telstra Health has partnered with client communication platform provider Hayylo for care recipient and community communication.
WHY IT MATTERS
The partnership has seen Hayylo's smart communication platform and mobile apps implemented by providers using Telstra Health solutions. In a press statement, Hayylo said its platform works in the background and automatically integrates data to "drive operational efficiency".
The combined solution enables "easier and transparent" ways for care recipients, families and teams to self-service information around schedules, visit details, requests, care notes, statements and budget use.
Additionally, the Hayylo features are said to reduce the time spent by providers on manual communications as they enable multi-channel communications via an app, SMS, email or phone. These have allowed for up to 60% more time for provider's health teams to deliver care instead of taking up calls for simple enquiries, the company claimed.
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University of Southern Queensland, Belmont Private Hospital collaborate to enhance rTMS therapy for treating depression using AI
Adam Ang | 03 Aug 2021
The University of Southern Queensland and Belmont Private Hospital, one of the largest private hospitals in Australia, have partnered to develop an AI model that will enhance repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy for treating depression.
WHY IT MATTERS
rTMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation procedure for treating depression and other mental health disorders. It uses magnetic fields to repeatedly stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve depression symptoms.
Based on USQ's press statement, a standard course of rTMS involves 20 sessions that last 20-40 minutes each. The procedure, according to Raj Gururajan, professor of Information Systems at USQ, is "very time consuming, therefore expensive".
Led by Prof Gururajan, the development of AI algorithms can potentially save patients and the health systems' time and money, while improving outcomes. It does this by informing treatment decisions through recognising patterns of data collected in past treatments.
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https://www.itwire.com/5g/acma-audit-finds-eme-levels-near-5g-mobile-base-stations-are-very-low.html
Friday, 06 August 2021 08:48
ACMA audit finds EME levels near 5G mobile base stations are very low
New measurements from the ACMA, conducted in early 2021, show that levels of electromagnetic energy (EME) at 5G enabled mobile base station sites across Victoria are very low.
The ACMA audit found that for all 129 mobile base stations tested, EME levels were found to be only a small percentage of the EME exposure limits set by ARPANSA for the public.
The results show that, for all sites measured, average EME levels in publicly-accessible areas were less than 1.5% of the ARPANSA limit – the majority of sites were under 1%.
The report is part of the ACMA's 5G and EME compliance program. The program assesses telcos’ compliance with the EME Standard for mobile base station deployments and was one of its compliance priorities for 2020–21.
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https://itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/nbn-satellite-means-business-everywhere.html
Thursday, 05 August 2021 09:37
NBN Satellite means business everywhere
Businesses in every corner of Australia can now access business-grade services on NBN's Business Satellite Service (BSS), with 100% of the mainland, large islands and hard to reach remote locations now open to retail service providers.
The expanded NBN BSS beam coverage now takes the percentage of eligible Australian businesses from 93 to 100%, with access expanded across the east coast of the Australian mainland, the west coast of Tasmania and large surrounding islands such as Christmas Island, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
Along with enhanced coverage, NBN says it has reduced wholesale pricing by approximately 40% for the BSS Access Bandwidth Service (ABS) Layer 3 committed bandwidth product for internet retailers, including where they engage in extended contract terms with NBN to help meet the needs of their customers over longer time periods.
NBN says the ABS Layer 3 service delivers wholesale speeds of up to 50/13 Mbps to provide the core connectivity for critical applications required by many medium and large businesses, enterprises and government organisations.
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NBN Co cancelled almost 58,000 technician appointments in April and May
By Ry Crozier on Aug 5, 2021 7:15AM
But doesn’t link cancellations to problems with Unify.
NBN Co cancelled almost 58,000 technician appointments that had been made over a two-month period earlier this year, coinciding with issues with a new field workforce management system.
The numbers [pdf] were revealed overnight and appeared to shed light on an issue that was given plenty of airtime by Labor Senators during senate estimates hearings back in May.
Curiously, however, NBN Co did not list the Unify issues as a possible cause of the cancellations in its written responses, despite those two things being closely linked by retail service providers (RSPs), and even previously by NBN Co itself.
NBN Co revealed that in April 2021, of the total 195,622 appointments it had booked with customers, the network operator itself “cancelled 30,184” or 15.4 percent of them.
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https://www.itnews.com.au/news/aussie-broadband-makes-late-push-for-nbn-high-speed-upgraders-568143
Aussie Broadband makes late push for NBN high-speed upgraders
By Ry Crozier on Aug 2, 2021 5:31PM
Also explains lockdown CVC concerns.
A late push on NBN Co’s ‘focus on fast’ discounts, combined with its sales strategy, may lead more Aussie Broadband users to stay on the higher-cost plans once the discount period ends, the company's managing director Phillip Britt says.
Speaking to iTnews after Aussie Broadband handed down its fourth quarter results, Britt said the retail service provider (RSP) had ultimately taken a different approach to the six-month discount campaign.
NBN Co’s ‘focus on fast’ campaign kicked off in February, making all tiers 100Mbps and above cost the same at a wholesale level for six months.
Because the larger plans also came with additional connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) bandwidth, some RSPs upgraded temporarily customers en masse to the higher speed tiers as a free speed boost, while potentially benefiting by having to pay less in excess CVC charges.
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https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/nbn-%245-2m-covid-relief-credit.html
Friday, 30 July 2021 17:24
NBN $5.2M COVID relief credit
NBN announced that it will offer a COVID-19 relief credit payment totalling $5.2 million across eligible internet retailers to support the provision of additional data to meet increased customer demand for broadband services during the lockdowns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in July 2021.
NBN said that it has made significant investment over many years to ensure the NBN network has sufficient capacity and additional headroom to accommodate long-term growth in data demand. The network continues to perform well under the incremental increase in data demand of recent weeks.
NBN executive general manager commercial Ken Walliss provided the following points:
- NBN acknowledges that customer data demand has incrementally increased as more states have gone into lockdown. However, the additional capacity required to accommodate these increases have been partly accommodated by NBN Co’s introduction of National Pooling of Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC), the additional capacity inclusions in May 2021 and the Focus on Fast campaign.
- The credit payment, which will be made on a proportional basis to eligible retailers, is designed to reduce retailers’ additional wholesale data overage costs brought on by the incremental increase in usage during the peak evening entertainment hours and to help to ensure they do not fall short of their customers’ data demands during lockdown.
- To assess the size of the support, NBN Co took into account the long-term annual growth rate of data of around 25 per cent and the average spend on data overage costs in FY20. The $5.2m payment across all eligible internet retailers is intended to help bring retailers’ data
- overage spend back in line with both baseline costs.
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UNSW mathematician Daniel Mansfield uncovers ancient Babylonian secrets
12:00AM August 5, 2021
An Australian mathematician has decoded a 3700-year-old cuneiform tablet to discover how ancient Babylonian surveyors used maths to define property boundaries and facilitate real estate transactions.
UNSW researcher Daniel Mansfield said his work had revealed that the clay tablet, now held by the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, recorded how a particular field was measured and subdivided, after a portion of it was sold to a new owner.
He said the diagrams and cuneiform script on the tablet showed how the unknown surveyor used Pythagorean triplets — three numbers that represent the lengths of the sides of a right-angled triangle — to define right angles when marking out the boundaries of the subdivided property.
“We didn’t know until this discovery that they used mathematics to establish boundaries,” Dr Mansfield said.
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Enjoy!
David.
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