Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) ended with no agreed communique and unresolved tensions between the United States and China on open display.

Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands program director, Jonathan Pryke, who observed the forum in Port Moresby, said: “it is distressing for all parties that they weren’t able to find common ground. There is a fear that we’re losing the middle here.”

Pryke told The Conversation “the desire for a convergence of China into the international liberal order seems like a bit of a fantasy now.”

But he says “whilst the summit has left everyone on a pretty sour note” because of the state of the communique “it is still important for all the middle powers to find more ways in which they can communicate and work together to maintain this liberal order.”

On Australia partnering with America to develop a naval base on Manus, he said “the devil will be in the details … but it does send a strong symbolic message to China.”

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Lowy Institute’s Jonathan Pryke on APEC 2018 – http://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-lowy-institutes-jonathan-pryke-on-apec-2018-107189

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandy Stefanakis, Sessional lecturer in music education, Deakin University

Review: Rock Bang, Malthouse, Melbourne.

In this, their 40th year performing, Circus Oz have combined their many talents with German musical duo Astrid and Otto (aka Australian comedians Clare Bartholomew and Daniel Tobias from Die Roten Punkte). Their show, Rock Bang, fuses music, theatre, cabaret, comedy and acrobatics.

In our world of hyper-sensory experience, there is almost an expectation that we are able to juggle such diverse forms. But the most rewarding aspect of this show, under the artistic direction of Rob Tannion, is when a particular artform is given the space to shine.

Pizza dough becomes a juggling act. Mark Turner

It is built around the narrative of Astrid and Otto’s (fictional) lives: their escape from dire childhood circumstances in rural Germany to Berlin, just as the wall is coming down; their absorption into the city’s music and cabaret scene, and the formation of their band Die Roten Punkte (The Red Dots), which features the tiniest of drum kits and other errant sound-making objects. Astrid and Otto eventually “wake up in Wagga Wagga” (as you do)!

One of the standout scenes in the telling of this narrative is the use of the audience as forest, where Astrid and Otto seek reassurance and shelter after fleeing home. It’s a simple, but effective metaphor.

Circus Oz’s acrobatic skills provide many highlights. The juggling of pizza dough balls, in a scene set in a Berlin pizza parlour begins with one ensemble member dressed as a baker. Gradually, all are drawn in. The use of sight gags – such as flying pizza trays and dropped pizza balls being picked up, dusted off and placed back on the tray – and the coordination of it all, is highly skillful and provides great comic theatre.

Mark Turner

Otto has a pivotal moment when David Bowie visits Berlin in 1990. With Bowie’s theatricality and mixed musical genre approach, it is easy to understand the influence he has on Die Roten Punkte. It is, ostensibly, from this point that the duo decide to get into rock and roll, with Bowie as guardian angel. The impact of the experience is explored when a Circus Oz member in golden garb aerially performs beautifully choreographed movements largely within the confines of a large metal hoop. This angel appears as different phases of the moon, shining down on Otto as he sings.

Bowie’s Space Oddity is also referenced when Otto becomes somewhat estranged from reality in a scene that sees him aloft in a spaceship, lost in another world. All hands are on deck for lighting and musical effect. It works incredibly well. The scene echoes the Australian band Jet’s earlier exploration of this theme in the song, Timothy.

Mark Turner

Astrid works effectively with the Circus Oz ensemble in a range of scenes. But two juxtaposed sections in Rock Bang point out the need for the arts community to always think innovatively and beyond clichés when depicting those who are marginalised in society.

They are set in rehab unit where Astrid finds herself in detox. In the first scene, perhaps with a desire for a setting that will enhance the acrobatic spectacle, it is unfortunate that caricatures of those suffering from mental illness are used.

The next scene, however, as Astrid seeks an escape route from this confinement, is wonderfully inventive. All cast members assume Astrid’s persona. We are privy to multiple Astrids and a medley of beautifully choreographed and executed movements as she manoeuvres her getaway.

When Otto and the Circus Oz cast explore the growing techno music scene that developed in Berlin and other parts of Europe in the 1980s and 90s, Otto takes on the persona of a robot. Musically, visually and theatrically, the scene – featuring the song, Robot/Lion, about a robot who wants to be a lion – works very well. It is pure Daft Punk (who themselves have have drawn on Kraftwork), with a touch of Bowie.

Otto and Astrid’s musical exploration of Kraftwerk’s ambivalence towards the positive and negative impact of technology on humanness, is also explored in this song. A toy lion is Otto’s motto of resilience and love throughout the opera. It is used as a substitute when there is no human to fulfil the role. And we remain aware that despite the intrigue of robotics, this one is the very human Otto.

Musicians Tamara Murphy, Casey Bennetto, Dean Matters and Shannon Bourne ably perform across the vast array of rock genres, from techno to punk, as they accompany Otto and Astrid’s songs and experiences. Rock Bang is a highly charged and rewarding multi-sensory experience.

Rock Bang is being staged at the Malthouse until November 25.

– ref. Rock Bang is a highly charged fusion of music, theatre, and circus – http://theconversation.com/rock-bang-is-a-highly-charged-fusion-of-music-theatre-and-circus-107094

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Bisley, Head of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, La Trobe University

United States Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks at the end of this year’s summit season just about blasted the word “cooperation” out of the APEC acronym. Amid ill-concealed US-China tensions, it had already been looking out of place.

Pence unveiled US plans to help Australia and Papua New Guinea – APEC’s host this year – expand a military base on Manus Island, which is in PNG. In September, Australia had already announced funding for an upgrade of the facility.

Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans famously declared in 1993 that APEC was “four adjectives in search of a noun”. As one of APEC’s founding fathers, he could be forgiven for getting the parts of speech slightly wrong.

But 25 years on, “cooperation” is looking doubtful. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum set sail in Canberra in 1989. Two former prime ministers, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, lay some claim to its parentage. APEC has grown to boast 21 member economies (where China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are listed as separate member economies).

Read more: In his first major foreign policy test, Morrison needs to stick to the script

APEC is part of summit season in Asia in November, and the one closest to Australia’s heart, given its origins in Canberra. Three other big set pieces are also held within this week each year and bring all the key players in the region together, ostensibly to talk about advancing cooperation, community building and grappling with common problems. Two others relate to ASEAN, the grouping of 10 South-east Asian nations – its annual summit, and the ASEAN Plus 3 meeting where they bring in South Korea, Japan and China. Then there is the East Asia Summit, which comprises the 10 ASEAN members, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States and Russia. These talk-fests give states and economies, great and small, the chance to gather to try advance a broad-ranging positive agenda.

But the many handshakes, photo ops and positive sounding joint-statements could not mask the reality of hardening US-China geopolitical competition. It is a cruel irony that a group of meetings created to advance cooperation became the platform for what amounted to a very public drawing of lines of great power competition.

Feelings were mixed when it was announced US President Donald Trump would go to Europe for the centenary of world war one’s truce this year, instead of Asia’s summits. The signal sent that the president does not prioritise the region is unmistakable.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison mixes exotic dress with his passion for rugby league team the Cronulla Sharks in his APEC diplomacy.

During his visit, Pence put on a stern face on US policy, and in his speech to the APEC CEO Summit he reinforced the United States’ wish to build a relationship with China, based on “based on fairness, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty”. In earlier comments to the Hudson Institute he accused Beijing of stealing military blueprints, “and using that stolen technology, the Chinese Communist Party is turning plowshares into swords on a massive scale…”.

Washington now sees itself in full spectrum competition with China for regional and global influence. Pence portrayed China as an aggressive and almost imperial power with a malign regional vision. In contrast, he emphasised that the US wanted to protect an open and rules-based system of genuine partnerships. He underscored the long-term nature of this commitment.

The problem, both for Washington and its partners, is that this new muscular approach to China is, as yet, not fully resourced, and does not align the military aspects with trade – notwithstanding the Manus announcement.

Trump’s economic nationalism jibes badly with the interests of its partners and its long term regional strategy. A free and open Indo-Pacific sits uncomfortably with America’s economic nationalism, imposing tariffs on allies and pleas for multilateral approaches being summarily dismissed.

New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden and Canada’s Justin Trudeau share a laugh as Scott Morrison and other APEC leaders look on.

At the same CEO summit, Xi Jinping gave a rare major address outside of China. Like Pence, he sought to lay out a vision for the region that presented China as a force for economic openness, integration and development.

Continuing the themes first articulated at Davos in 2017, the unstated but obvious point of contrast was with America. Xi also rebutted criticism of the Belt and Road Initiative, declaring it was neither a trap nor a geopolitical gambit but an “open platform for cooperation”. But as with his earlier efforts to paint China as a defender of economic openness, the claims remain unconvincing.

Hosting APEC in PNG was fitting, given the south-west Pacific has become a key site of US-China competition. The Manus announcement, along with another that a group of Western allies would collaborate to drive a massive electrification project in the country, gives a concrete sense of what this means for the region. As in the Cold War, when Soviet-American rivalry led to bidding wars in the developing world, today China and the US are competing for influence in the form of infrastructure and development funding.

Read more: Pence visit reassures that the US remains committed to the Asia-Pacific

If the speeches laid down rhetorical battle lines, APEC’s conclusion showed the consequences of this competition. For the first time in the grouping’s history, APEC members were unable to agree on the wording of a final communique. While a new Cold War is not yet here, this is another worrying step toward a serious rift in the global economy and geopolitics.

The biggest loser of the summit season is probably ASEAN. Founded in 1967 to wall off the newly independent states of south-east Asia from Cold War competition as the Vietnam war escalated, the grouping’s principal purpose has been to ensure the region does not become the wrestling mat of great power competition. It had been crucial to ensuring this goal was met in the Cold War and its aftermath. Events of this past week show it is finding that much harder to achieve as the geopolitical temperature rises.

If there were any doubts, Asia’s summit season confirms that the region has entered a new phase. Great power competition is now Asia’s most important dynamic. Even though the set piece theatre is about community building and cooperation, the reality is that China and the US have irreconcilable visions for the region and its future.

The only question is how much they are willing to pay to prevail in the contest for Asia’s future.

– ref. After APEC, US-China tensions leave ‘cooperation’ in the cold – http://theconversation.com/after-apec-us-china-tensions-leave-cooperation-in-the-cold-106448

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jayashri Kulkarni, Professor of Psychiatry, Monash University

Women have been menstruating throughout history. So it’s curious the earliest documented record of what we now know to be premenstrual syndrome (PMS) appeared pretty late in the game. In 1931, psychoanalyst Karen Horney described increased tension, irritability, depression and anxiety in the week preceding menstruation in one of her patients.

Now it’s generally accepted up to 80% of women in their reproductive years experience some PMS. The condition includes symptoms such as fatigue, poor coordination, feeling out of control, feeling worthless and guilty, headache, anxiety, tension, aches, irritability, mood swings, weight gain, food cravings, no interest in usual activities, cramps, feeling sad or depressed, breast tenderness, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating.

Premenstrual syndrome is different to premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is rarer (only 3-5% of women of reproductive age experience it) and is listed in the diagnostic manual of mental disorders. People who experience PMDD have severe depression which is often accompanied by suicidal thoughts. Their onset and offset usually coincide with the premenstrual cycle. Unlike PMS, the severely depressed mood of PMDD usually comes on suddenly.

Reproductive hormones – oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone – are also potent brain hormones. They influence the brain chemicals responsible for our thoughts, behaviours and emotions. Their amounts fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, so the connection between them and mental health is clear. And we are learning more about why some women may be more affected than others.

Read more: Chemical messengers: how hormones affect our mood

Brain chemicals and PMS

There is no single clear theory yet to explain exactly which hormones trigger particular chemicals or why only some women experience PMDD or PMS.

But we know some women are susceptible to mood changes due to small fluctuations in reproductive hormones. In these vulnerable women, small changes in oestrogen and progesterone levels lead to shifts in central brain chemicals (GABA, serotonin and dopamine) that then affects mood and behaviour.

At the same time, many of the physical PMS symptoms such as breast tenderness, bloating, headaches and constipation are a direct effect of reproductive hormones. So both mind and body are affected.

Hormonal changes before menstruation affect both the body and mind. from shutterstock.com

Oestrogen appears to be a “protective” hormone, which can improve psychotic symptoms (such as those common in schizophrenia) as well as depression. Oestrogen directly influences the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine to achieve this positive effect.

So depression and other adverse mental symptoms can appear or worsen during phases when oestrogen is low. This happens during the four to seven days before menstruation, and during the transition into menopause.

Read more: Menopausal mood swings can signal more serious mental illness

Progesterones can have the opposite effect. Many women who take a progesterone-only contraceptive pill (the mini-pill) experience depression. There are certain types of progesterone in the combined oral contraceptive pill that can be very depressive.

What about the more severe symptoms?

Recent work suggests PMDD is the result of brain neurochemicals responding in unusual ways to fluctuations in brain oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone, as well as the hormones released by the pituitary gland that determine the levels and fluctuations of these reproductive hormones.

Other studies about the cause of PMDD reveal that a breakdown product of progesterone – called allopregnanolone (ALLO) – is a critical stimulator of a receptor on a part of the GABA transmitter. When stimulated, the GABA system can alleviate anxiety. Benzodiazepine drugs like diazepam (Valium) stimulate the GABA system and help to calm down agitation.

Read more: Weekly Dose: Valium, the ‘safer choice’ that led to dependence and addiction

In this way, ALLO works as an “anti-anxiety” hormone. Just like oestrogen, progesterone levels (and its metabolite ALLO levels) fall in the premenstrual phase.

Women who have PMDD are often agitated, anxious and depressed during the premenstrual phase. A newer theory is that their brain chemistry isn’t reacting normally to ALLO, so they become anxious. This is important to explore further and already new drugs that impact ALLO are being developed and tested.

PMDD is complex, like many mental health conditions, and there is an interplay between psychological and social issues as well as hormonal and neurochemical factors. Tertiary education, supportive relationships, fewer socioeconomic struggles and good physical health appear to be helpful, but do not mitigate PMDD completely. Overall, PMDD appears to be biologically driven.

How can we treat it?

Understanding the body-mind connections in both PMS and PMDD is critical for developing effective management strategies for the many women who suffer from significant depression and other issues every month.

Management options need to consider all aspects of the woman’s life including her work, relationships, past traumas, current physical health and daily demands. Many women experiencing PMDD require hormone treatment and other strategies such as antidepressant medication to help them improve their quality of life.

Read more: Biology is partly to blame for high rates of mental illness in women – the rest is social

It’s a good idea for women experiencing PMDD or PMS to keep a diary of their cycles and moods. Women can be reassured their observations connecting hormones and moods are valid. It is important women with PMS/PMDD seek help from health professionals who will explore specific targeted treatments with them. Above all, it is important to recognise the links between hormones and mental health.

– ref. Health Check: why women get PMS and why some are more affected – http://theconversation.com/health-check-why-women-get-pms-and-why-some-are-more-affected-106077

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland

This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky! You might also like the podcast Imagine This, a co-production between ABC KIDS listen and The Conversation, based on Curious Kids.

How do remote controls work? – Ethan, 10, Sydney.

Thanks, Ethan. I was younger, I wondered the same. I was completely mesmerised with how a lump of plastic could possibly change channels on a TV without any physical connection.

Very early TV remote controls worked with wires. Then we created battery-powered remotes and we didn’t need the wires any more.

Now remotes are everywhere. In fact, the planet-watching Voyager spacecraft are controlled remotely and they are presently 20 billion kilometres away. It takes 20 hours for instructions to travel from Earth to the spacecraft but we can do it – using a remote.

Read more: Curious Kids: How do x-rays see inside you?

A controller from a console game is a type of remote. seanwhelan/Unsplash, CC BY

A remote control has three things, what engineers would call a “communications channel”, a “procotol”, and an “interface”. I will explain what those words mean.

The communications channel

The communications channel is what connects the remote to the device you want to control (like a TV).

It could be light (such as infra-red light), sound or radio waves (sometimes called electromagnetic waves). The human eye cannot see infra-red light or radio waves.

TVs tend to use infrared light as it is low cost, easy to build, and suitable for a short distance like in a lounge room. However, it does require a direct “line of sight” so that the light beam is not blocked. How many times have you heard “get out of the way!” when someone is trying to change the channel?

Radio waves are usually used for long distance situations, or for outdoors, and can even travel through objects.

Many game consoles like the XBox and PlayStation use low power radio waves (like Bluetooth, which is a type of radio wave system). This is great for games as it does not need line of sight. It will still work even if you bounce around the room, or dive behind the couch with your controller.

Protocol

You can think of the protocol as the “language” the remote uses to communicate with the TV, XBox or whatever the device may be.

TVs, for instance, use a long list of “binary codes” (on and off, or one and zero bit sequences) that tell the TV what to do. Some codes tell the TV volume to go up, others tell it to go down, or change channel.

These patterns have been predetermined so that the TV will understand the remote. It can “speak” the language of the remote. The remote will package the message up in a little packet of data that the TV can understand.

Some remotes are able to send messages and receive them. For instance, a game console control will send commands to the console (eg “move the character forward”) and can receive them (for example, “make the controller rumble and vibrate”).

User interface

“User interface” is just a fancy way of saying how the remote looks and is used.

TV remotes just have a rather boring array of buttons. Some remotes have a screen and look like a mobile phone.

Pump up the volume

Say you want to turn up the volume on your TV. You press a button on the remote. The little microcontroller (which is just a tiny computer) in the remote wakes up, and reads which button you have pressed (“volume turned up, please”). It then creates a packet of data – a message – in a language the TV can understand.

It sends the message via an infrared light to the TV, assuming you aimed the remote correctly.

That message is then picked up by the infrared TV receiver, which decodes it (“ahh, he wants the volume turned up, ok.”). Then the small microcontroller (a tiny computer) in the TV makes the necessary changes to the volume.

All remotes all are designed to:

1. take your request
2. apply the protocol (translate it into a language the device can understand)
3. create a packet of data (a message) and
4. send the message via the communications channel to the device.

You then put these things together and you have a remote control.

Even the remote used to control the Voyager Spacecraft follows the same method. It’s no more complicated than controlling a TV, it just has more steps to it.

Thank you for this question, and I hope I have helped you understand the fascinating world of remote controls.

Read more: Curious Kids: How and why do magnets stick together?

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to us. They can:

* Email your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au
* Tell us on Twitter

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Please tell us your name, age and which city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.

– ref. Curious Kids: How do remote controls work? – http://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-remote-controls-work-103840

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash University

A change of government in the Northern Territory has done little or nothing to address the underlying issues relating to abusive practices inflicted on young offenders in detention – captured in images that sent shockwaves around Australia, and the wider world, more than two years ago.

On July 25, 2016, the ABC Four Corners investigative programme aired Australia’s Shame, a documentary featuring disturbing imagery and footage of children being abused while held in the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in Darwin.

‘Hooded, shackled, strapped to a chair and left alone’

The evidence of abuse included accounts of detained boys who had been exposed to tear gas and the use of spit hoods while being held in isolation. This shone a national spotlight onto the violence perpetrated within juvenile justice institutions against some of society’s most vulnerable.

Read more: Evidence of NT detention centre abuse was there for all to see

After the documentary aired, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced plans for a Royal Commission into the Northern Territory’s juvenile detention system Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. The then NT chief minister, Adam Giles, of the Country Liberal Party whose federal representatives vote with the Nationals, responded to the Don Dale allegations, stating: “I was shocked and disgusted…A community is judged by the way it treats its children.”

Since the Don Dale allegations emerged, there has been a change of NT government, with Michael Gunner now chief minister of a Labor government. A question emerges though: what changes have occurred for children in detention?

Michael Gunner, chief minister of the Northern Territory, with Nunggubuyu woman Selena Uibo, minister for education and workforce training, photographed in June. Gregory Roberts/AAP

One Year on

We have just marked the one-year anniversary of the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.

The royal commission confirmed that over the past decade, children detained in the NT had been mistreated, verbally abused, humiliated, isolated or left alone for long periods, among other human rights breaches. At the sharp end of of rights breaches, the commission stated that many children held in detention had been assaulted by staff, who either wilfully ignored rules or were unaware of the rules. Either way, they clearly acted in breach of Australia’s international human rights obligations and some domestic laws.

Read more: Why are so many Indigenous kids in detention in the NT in the first place?

The royal commission found that senior government members were aware of but chose to ignore these abusive practices. The report made substantial recommendations for reform.

One year on, Don Dale continues to be in operation despite the royal commission recommending it be closed as soon as possible. The ongoing use of the facility continues to arouse significant concerns among legal practitioners, human rights advocates and youth justice stakeholders. It raises a critical question of what has been achieved in the 12 months since the commission reported – and in over two years since the ABC exposed “Australia’s shame”.

What has been achieved?

The NT government asserts that “Territory Families (an NT government department) is undertaking extensive reform of youth detention”, with the development of “an operating model that better considers the needs of young people”. It states that in 2017-2018 enhanced and specialised training has been completed, along with the hiring of 23 new recruits, the introduction of the ‘Australian Childhood Foundation’s Trauma Informed and Strength Based approach’ and Restorative Practice training. These developments represent important progress but recent high-profile incidents at the Don Dale detention centre pose further serious questions about the extent to which the problems at the heart of the Royal Commission remain unaddressed.

The notorious Don Dale youth detention centre near Darwin pictured last week after a distubance. Glenn Campbell/AAP

Earlier this month, Don Dale dominated the media headlines again following reports of riots, fires within the detention centre and staff assaults. Reports stated that tear gas had been deployed. Other allegations reported include young women “showering and using the toilet under the watchful eye of security cameras which are recording and monitoring on site”.

These reports act as an unwelcome reminder of the continued broken state of NT’s juvenile justice system and the ongoing and urgent need for change to ensure better protections for young people held in detention.

The continued failure to protect children’s rights

It is nearly 30 years since Australia ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet we still do not have a national strategy or measures to ensure the implementation of appropriate protection of children’s rights in Australia.

Serious concerns about the state of children’s rights in Australia were highlighted in the latest national coalition NGO report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Children’s Report, published by UNICEF on November 1, draws on 58 consultations with 527 children and young people in 30 locations around Australia. Its findings draw significant attention to Australia’s gross violations of the rights of children held in detention.

Read more: Abuse in youth detention is not restricted to the Northern Territory

The report makes a substantial number of recommendations that build and give national standing to those previously made by the royal commission. They include: that the government immediately review and amend youth justice legislation, policies and practices to ensure that all children are treated consistent with the UNCRC and the Beijing Rules. It also recommended that governments prioritise detention centres where children are placed as requiring immediate action as part of the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Another recommendation was that all governments prohibit the use of solitary confinement other than as a last resort; prohibit the use of restraints against children and routine strip searches, unless all other options have been exhausted. Importantly, the report also recommends that governments ensure the existence of child specific, independent inspectorates and complaint mechanisms.

The Children’s Report explicitly calls for governments to be held accountable to the children and young people affected by state failings in the provision of juvenile justice, and calls out the failure to implement the recommendations of the royal commission.

Mechanisms for accountability

The lack of substantive progress in the year since the commission reported highlights the need for accountability and independent implementation monitoring. Scepticism over the degree to which the commission will represent a moment of change is understandable. It is now more than 25 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. For many, the lack of progress since that 1998 Royal Commission casts doubt over the potential for this royal commission to achieve meaningful change to the lives of young indigenous Australians in the NT.

The Northern Territory government has allocated $70 million for the construction of two new detention centres in Darwin and Alice springs. It is expected that these will be completed in mid-2020.

The royal commission established that the present situation is unacceptable. UNICEF’s report reaffirmed this on the international human rights stage. Change in this area cannot be slow and cannot be incremental. We have the evidence, the commission has laid out the road map and now action is needed.

We call on the NT government to act to better protect the rights of the children within its care.

– ref. One year on from Royal Commission findings on Northern Territory child detention: what has changed? – http://theconversation.com/one-year-on-from-royal-commission-findings-on-northern-territory-child-detention-what-has-changed-106993

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessamy Henricksen, Ph.D. Student and Sexologist, CQUniversity Australia

It’s common practice in the world of gaming for serious video game players to upload videos of their gaming experiences to YouTube, usually for purposes of providing tips to other gamers, walkthroughs and highlights.

Last month, the YouTube channel “Shirrako” uploaded a video capture of a portion of the recently released video game Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2). The video depicted an avatar (the figure representing the player in a video game) physically assaulting a female character until she was unconscious. The video was titled: “Beating Up Annoying Feminist”.

A screen grab from the RDR2 video uploaded to YouTube. Screen Shot on November 16, 2018

Within days, the video had received more than one million views. While some viewers remarked that they planned to replicate the behaviour in the video, others commented:

The only good feminist is a DEAD FEMINIST

Giving women the right to vote was a mistake

Recent research into online gaming in the wake of the #MeToo movement sheds light on this kind of behaviour, raising concerns about the influence of gaming culture on attitudes of sexism and violence against women.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do adults think video games are bad?

Depictions of violence against women

Following much hype and anticipation, RDR2 – the sequel to the videogame Red Dead Redemption – was released in Australia on October 26, 2018. Across the board, reactions have been glowing, with players posting fantastic reviews.

But video games and their developers have often been criticised for portrayals of violence towards women, and RDR2 is no exception.

The game is set in the US Wild West and gives players the ability to take control and act out violence towards other game characters. This includes physically assaulting and killing the female character, a suffragette, who symbolises the early feminist movement advocating for women’s voting rights.

When gamers upload videos of their gaming experiences, the videos regularly depict inappropriate and socially unacceptable behaviours. That might include beating up sex workers, or assaulting other female game characters.

Following media coverage of the Shirrako channel’s video being pulled and reinstated by YouTube, the channel uploaded further videos. Titles included: “Dropping Feminist to Hell & Killing the Devil”, and “Annoying Feminist Fed to Alligator”.

It’s part of the culture

Such open hostility towards women may be surprising to those who aren’t familiar with gaming culture, but such videos and behaviours are quite common. In fact, Rockstar Games has been criticised in the past for the blatant sexism and stereotypical portrayals of female characters in its games.

Women are often depicted as being weak, submissive and vulnerable to violence from male characters. Such portrayals can shape gamers’ views of stereotypical gender norms, and foster negative attitudes towards victims of violence. Recent research has shown an association between playing violent video games and decreased empathy towards female victims of violence.

Read more: Anger, aggression and violence: it matters that we know the difference

As in previous Rockstar games, RDR2 gives players the option to kill female characters that represent women’s suffrage, without repercussions. So, should Rockstar Games be held accountable for fostering negative attitudes? Should game developers consider implementing a gaming block that prevents players from attacking the female game characters?

These are serious questions worthy of reflection considering the extensive history of game developers creating games that allow for violence against female characters. Particularly when the character is a suffragette, a symbol of women’s fight for equality.

Backlash against #MeToo

Women and men around the globe are rallying to bring attention to violence against women and girls. The current #MeToo movement has provided a space for personal stories to be shared and heard. But there seems to be resistance to this form of social activism from a select group of men.

A recent study explored tweets posted by men in response to the #MeToo movement that used the hashtag #HowIWillChange. According to the researchers:

…#HowIWillChange was intended to engage men and boys in the ongoing discussion about sexual violence by asking them to evaluate their role in sustaining rape culture.

Among the tweets, researchers observed the expression of sexist attitudes, a hostile resistance to social change, and a desire to maintain current gender power structures.

Hegemonic masculinity, which is the process by which certain masculine traits are positioned in society, serves to maintain patriarchal power structures and justifies the subordination of women. Toxic masculinity is considered to be a form of hegemonic masculinity. It promotes aggression, competitiveness and domination.

Consequently, behaviours of gamers and their comments towards female characters should be taken seriously. They highlight concerning attitudes and beliefs about gendered violence, which are further amplified when pushed out to an anonymous public forum, such as YouTube or social media.

Read more: There are no age restrictions for gambling in video games, despite potential risks to children

Anonymity perpetuates bad behaviour

Anonymity has been found to be an influential factor when it comes to negative online behaviours. It allows individuals to freely exhibit inappropriate and socially unacceptable attitudes towards women.

And the power to openly encourage such behaviours anonymously via YouTube comments means people can share their hatred towards women and the feminist movements, without offline repercussions.

These behaviours paint a dark picture in the current quest for gender equality.

RDR2 is, therefore, not “just” a game, it’s a reflection on outdated sexist behaviours and attitudes that need to change. Now it is time to start an important dialogue about why there are some individuals who feel the need to depict such violence toward women, and why others accept these acts of violence towards women as normal.

– ref. Violence towards women in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 evokes toxic masculinity – http://theconversation.com/violence-towards-women-in-the-video-game-red-dead-redemption-2-evokes-toxic-masculinity-106920

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University

Victorians will decide who governs the state for the next four years on Saturday. Premier Daniel Andrews and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, along with all other candidates, can see the finish line as the parties make last-minute appeals for support.

The election campaign has been far from scintillating. The leaders’ debate, which will be held in the ultra-marginal seat of Frankston on Wednesday, may be a highlight in a relatively well-managed campaign by both major parties.

This election is unique in that up to 50% of voters are expected to have voted before election day. This means the parties are appealing to a smaller number of voters in the final week of the campaign than in previous elections.

Early exits dogging the Liberals, Greens

While the major parties had avoided embarrassing gaffes in the early days of the campaign, there have been a few missteps of late.

One Liberal candidate quit over a controversial online video that featured the hashtag #MuslimBan, while another withdrew following concerns about her fundraising for an unregistered charity.

The Greens have also been mired in controversy. One candidate withdrew over social media posts that boasted about shoplifting, while another candidate has attracted criticism for rapping about date rape.

Public safety and other key issues

When it comes to the issues, government services – especially healthcare, education and public transport – as well as energy and public safety have been at the core of the policy debates.

Both parties have ostensibly built their campaigns around market research and the messages they believe will influence how citizens vote.

Read more: How Australia’s NRA-inspired gun lobby is trying to chip away at gun control laws, state by state

Labor’s slogan, “Delivering for all Victorians”, seeks to maintain the party’s perceived strengths in delivering services. In contrast, the Liberals’ slogan, “Get Back in Control” is aimed at positioning the party as a more measured and effective manager of public finances and services.

Matthew Guy on the campaign trail with MP Roma Britnell. The Liberals have pledged $1 billion to repair country and regional roads. James Ross/AAP

One of the big issues that has dominated Victorian politics in recent years has been public safety. News coverage of the so-called “African gang problem”, and the tragic terror attack last week in the CBD, have provided the Liberals with what they see as an opportunity to position the party as a stronger manager of law and order in the state.

Read more: FactCheck: does Victoria have Australia’s highest rate of crime?

Guy has campaigned strongly on this issue with the view that it will sway voters in marginal seats concerned about safety.

Public transport has also been a prominent issue in the campaign, with the government touting its removal of railway crossings, as well as a proposed new rail system. The Coalition has also promised to extend rail lines in growing suburbs on Melbourne’s fringe, while also removing railway crossings.

Daniel Andrews has made public transport a central part of Labor’s campaign, including a proposed $50 billion suburban rail loop. Valeriu Campan/AAP

In terms of education, Labor has promised to build new schools and upgrade existing ones. The Liberals have also indicated they would seek to “de-clutter” the state’s curriculum and provide a “back-to-basics” schools policy.

‘Red shirts’ and ‘lobster with a mobster’

Aside from the policy debates, the parties will also be judged on their performances since the last election in 2014.

Both major parties have avoided the instability that has been the hallmark of their federal counterparts over the last decade. Both Andrews and Guy have remained relatively safe in their roles, though they did suffer some setbacks.

Andrews had to go into damage control following the dubious use of taxpayer funds by some Labor MPs, while also being side-tracked by the so-called “red shirts” affair, in which taxpayer funds were used to pay campaign staff (who wore red shirts).

The government also lost ministers over allegations of misconduct made by staff and use of a ministerial car to ferry pet dogs. Cracks also appeared in the government when Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett resigned from Cabinet over the pay and conditions for firefighters.

The Liberal Party has not been without its share of drama. Guy was embroiled in the so-called “lobster with a mobster” affair – a dinner at a lobster restaurant with an alleged mafia boss – and his past dealings as planning minister also attracted scrutiny after being released by the government. This did Labor no favours, however, as the premier was forced to apologise to those whose private details were made public as part of the document release.

Read more: State governments are vital for Australian democracy: here’s why

While Labor has been enjoying the benefits of incumbency, the Liberal Party has, at times, appeared to be distracted by an identity crisis. Like the federal party, the Victorian Liberals have grappled with the question of who they are seeking to represent. Whether it is a pragmatic party, or a more ideologically driven socially conservative party, appears to be at the root of such debates.

Adding further to the frustrations to the Liberal leadership has been the well-publicised dispute with the Cormack Foundation over control of campaign funds, as well as the imprisonment of its former state director for stealing A$1.5 million from the party.

Despite all the political dramas, the election itself could be fairly straightforward. With opinion polls showing the government leading on the all-important two-party preferred measure, it looks highly likely Labor will be returned in Victoria.

– ref. Victoria election: the scandals, sloganeering and key issues to watch – http://theconversation.com/victoria-election-the-scandals-sloganeering-and-key-issues-to-watch-105495

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cathy Watson, Research Fellow in Women’s Health at Monash University and Honorary Researcher, General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne

Many women who experience persistent vaginal itch or discharge assume they have vaginal thrush (vulvolvaginal candidiasis). Treatments for thrush are available without a prescription. Since having a vaginal condition can be embarrassing, it’s sometimes preferable to buy creams or tablets from the chemist and treat yourself.

But this also means some women may be using treatments that aren’t best for their condition, or that could be ineffective. Guidelines on treating vaginal itch, from a campaign to eliminate tests or procedures that could be harmful or ineffective, state:

Do not treat recurrent or persistent symptoms of vulvovaginal candidiasis with topical and oral anti-fungal agents without further clinical and microbiological assessment.

This is because if symptoms of thrush persist despite treatment, you may have an entirely different condition that would not be helped by anti-fungal creams or tablets.

What causes thrush?

Vaginal thrush is caused by a fungal organism from the Candida family, which usually exists in the vaginal environment (along with a huge number of other micro-organisms) without causing issues for women. When symptoms do occur, they may include itchiness, burning and discomfort, often accompanied by a “cottage-cheese” discharge.

A course of antibiotics (which can alter the balance of micro-organisms in the vagina and allow Candida to thrive) may bring about an episode of thrush. For others, it seems to occur after sexual intercourse. However, vaginal thrush is not considered to be sexually transmitted.

Read more: Recurrent thrush: how some women live with constant genital itching

Sometimes thrush occurs during pregnancy. It’s likely hormones play a part in the condition as vaginal thrush is rare in girls before their first period and in women after menopause. Genetics could play a part too, and diet is possibly implicated. But for most women, it’s not clear what causes episodes of thrush.

What is a topical and oral anti-fungal agent?

Health practitioners often recommend anti-fungal treatment for thrush. There are two main types of treatment: oral (tablets taken by mouth) or topical (creams or vaginal pessaries applied directly to the vaginal area). The topical treatment generally works a bit quicker than the oral.

There is no difference in effect between the types of treatments; it comes down to a preference or tolerability. Some women may experience stomach symptoms with the oral tables, for instance. And topical treatments may cause skin irritation for others. But generally both types of treatments are well tolerated.

Many assume if a woman is experiencing vaginal itch, thrush is the guilty party. from shutterstock.com

Because thrush is so common, many assume if a woman is experiencing vaginal itch, thrush is the guilty party. Anti-fungal treatments are highly effective if the symptoms are caused by thrush. The trouble is, Candida albicans isn’t the only cause of these symptoms.

One study showed that of women who treated themselves for vaginal thrush, only one-third actually had thrush, and around 14% had no infection at all. The other women had conditions such as bacterial vaginosis which can cause an offensive vaginal discharge and is caused by a bacteria not a fungus.

Read more: We need a cure for bacterial vaginosis, one of the great enigmas in women’s health

Some women may also be experiencing a vulval dermatitis, or even a more serious but rare condition called lichen sclerosus, which can cause itching and require completely different treatment.

What’s wrong with self-treatment?

If a woman uses the anti-fungal treatment and the condition clears up, usually within a few days, it’s likely that Candida albicans were responsible. But if it doesn’t clear up or keeps coming back, it’s important to have this investigated by a health professional.

This is because:

• The symptoms may not be caused by thrush but something else such as a sexually transmitted infection like bacterial vaginosis

• There are a number of different types (or species) of Candida, and some don’t respond well to certain treatment

• Inappropriate use of anti-fungals may lead to fungal resistance which means higher doses of treatment may be necessary, or that the anti-fungal treatment won’t work at all

• There may be a more appropriate method of managing the condition, such as treating on a regular basis at certain times of the menstrual cycle

• The woman may have an another medical condition, such as diabetes, which makes vaginal thrush more difficult to treat.

What if it’s thrush, but the anti-fungals don’t work?

If you have thrush, anti-fungal treatments are usually effective. But for around 5% of women, thrush keeps coming back or doesn’t completely clear despite treatment. In these case, it may be necessary to see a specialist.

The recommended management for problematic thrush is long-term treatment with regular (weekly or monthly) oral or topical anti-fungals. But tailored therapy may sometimes be needed, such as combinations of antifungal therapy (oral + topical) or different regiments according to response to the therapy.

Many women resort to alternative therapies such as tea-tree oil, garlic and gentian violet and yoghurt. But there is inconsistent evidence supporting these methods and they may cause allergic reactions.

Other treatments like probiotics also have limited supporting evidence and can be expensive. There are some promising treatments in the pipeline (such as vaccines, tetrazole antifungal agent and immunotherapy) but these are still under trial and not commercially available.

So, if you’re suffering from a vaginal itching, burning or abnormal discharge that isn’t relieved by oral or topical anti-fungals, seek professional help. You should have swabs taken to rule out other infections or conditions and to decide on the most appropriate method of management.

– ref. Needless treatments: anti-fungal creams or tablets don’t always work for vaginal itch – http://theconversation.com/needless-treatments-anti-fungal-creams-or-tablets-dont-always-work-for-vaginal-itch-105974

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, ARC DECRA fellow, University of Melbourne

Australians love to complain about weather forecasts, but compared with some other parts of the world ours are impressively accurate. Our large, mostly flat continent surrounded by oceans makes modelling Australia’s weather and climate relatively straightforward.

The same cannot be said about our neighbours to the north.

For Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea – which we collectively refer to as the “Maritime Continent” – things are a lot more complicated. With their mountainous terrain and islands of different shapes and sizes, it’s much harder to model the weather and climate of this region.

Read more: The tropics are getting wetter: the reason could be clumpy storms

The models we use to make the most of our climate projections have to simulate the climate for many decades to provide us with useful information. To run such long simulations we have to compromise on resolution; even state-of-the-art global climate models divide the world into grid boxes more than 100km across. The Maritime Continent doesn’t come out too well at these resolutions.

If you squint you can see it! The world’s surface looks a bit like a 1980s video game to a global climate model. The Maritime Continent region (in the black box) is especially messy. Author provided

It’s unfortunate the Maritime Continent’s weather and climate are so tricky to simulate on long time scales. Due to its location right on the Equator and between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, this region has a defining influence on the global climate, being a major source of heat and water vapour to the atmosphere. If we don’t simulate the climate over the Maritime Continent well, we can get errors appearing on the global scale.

Besides that, the Maritime Continent is also home to hundreds of millions of people, and includes major cities such as Jakarta and Singapore. We need our weather and climate models to simulate the processes behind the severe storms, heatwaves, and droughts that these cities and the broader region experience. Accurate weather forecasts, seasonal outlooks and climate projections require models to simulate the atmosphere over the Maritime Continent well.

In our new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, we show that many state-of-the-art global climate models struggle to simulate the climate of the Maritime Continent. But fortunately, a higher-resolution model captures more of the major processes in this area.

The benefits of high resolution

Like in Australia, much of the Maritime Continent region is wetter during La Niña seasons and drier in El Niño, although for some western coasts and Sumatra it’s the other way round. Many global climate models fail to reflect accurately this rainfall response to El Niño and La Niña.

We found that for climate models to do a good job in capturing the year-to-year variability in rainfall over the Maritime Continent, they need to do a few things well. Specifically, they need to represent accurately the amount of moisture held in the atmosphere, as well as the pattern of winds in the region. This gives the right pattern of rainfall response to El Niño and La Niña.

Our higher-resolution regional climate model does a much better job at simulating the Maritime Continent’s rainfall patterns than many of the global models we looked at. As the region has such a complex landscape, global models simply cannot capture enough detail on all the different processes between the land and the ocean, and the coasts and the mountains. But higher-resolution regional models can.

We can capture the processes behind rainfall in the Maritime Continent more realistically when we use a high-resolution model. In particular we can better represent the thunderstorms and heavy rain that tends to occur in the afternoons and evenings in the tropics.

Read more: Australia moves to El Niño alert and the drought is likely to continue

As the Maritime Continent is so important for the global climate but so difficult to model, there is a concerted effort to improve our models and to get more atmospheric observations across the region.

International projects such as the Years of the Maritime Continent are taking place, with millions of dollars and dozens of researchers working on improving our understanding of the region’s weather and climate.

Ultimately, we hope that through better, higher-resolution model simulations, we can capture the processes behind the Maritime Continent’s weather and climate much more accurately. This should lead to better climate projections and seasonal forecasts not only for the region, but for the world as a whole.

– ref. Why predicting the weather and climate is even harder for Australia’s rainy northern neighbours – http://theconversation.com/why-predicting-the-weather-and-climate-is-even-harder-for-australias-rainy-northern-neighbours-106939

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katina Zammit, Deputy Dean, School of Education, Western Sydney University

It’s that time of year again when you receive your child’s school report. For some parents and carers, understanding what it means can be challenging. Some children will be happy and others may be disappointed.

Parents and carers need to interpret the information in the report so you can determine the strengths of your child, work out how their learning is progressing and what areas they’re having difficulty in. This may involve having a discussion with your child or a follow-up meeting with your child’s teacher.

Read more: Some school reports valuable for parents, others just a mystery

It’s important to remember to be supportive, consider the personality of your child and focus on their progress.

Achievement standards: A-E grades

Primary and secondary schools (not including the senior years) in most Australian states use A-E grades to describe the learning progress of children.

We’re not all strong in the same subjects. www.shutterstock.com

So what do the letters A to E on your child’s report card actually represent?

The A-E grades may also be used to report on a child’s effort in a curriculum area. So a child may have a high grade for effort but a lower grade for achievement. If effort is basic (D) or low (E), this may be of concern.

Talking about the report

It’s important to ask your child: what do you think of the grade (for the subject)? Talking about this helps you open up a conversation about whether the report is close to what your child thinks they’ve achieved. If your child thinks they are not doing very well, focus on their achievements in one subject as well as pointing out their achievements outside of school. Focus on their progress.

If you are not familiar with what your child has been learning, find out what they have been doing in each subject. You can ask: what tasks have you been doing in class? Have you been finishing the tasks? What did you find easy? What was hard for you?

If their grade is based on a single test, it provides little information on what your child’s strengths are or their difficulties. With a range of tasks (completed in class and at home), the grade may be a better representation of your child’s achievement. So ask them: do you know how you got this grade? What assessments have you done in class? If they or you can’t answer these questions, you may both be unhappy because you don’t understand how the grades were calculated.

It’s important to discuss academic strengths and weaknesses with your child. www.shutterstock.com

This might be the time to talk about the grades for effort in the subject, which can tell you how much your child is trying. Ask: I notice you have been putting a lot of effort into (subject). That’s good. You’re trying hard. Or, what is happening in (subject) that’s affecting your effort? What can your do to improve?

This enables you to have insight into what’s going well and in which subject, which may reflect their interests, dislikes and challenges.

It also opens up discussion of what they’re finding difficult and why. Find out if they weren’t interested or the work was too hard for them. Different children have different interests, skills and passions which may not be reflected in their report card. Children also have different personalities that influence their learning, their progress and their report. We’re not all academically inclined.

If your child is disappointed point out the positives. Say: you tried really hard in (subject). I know you are having some difficulties, but look at what you have learnt this year.

A child’s answers can be an opportunity for discussing their progress with the teacher and what adjustments can be made to ensure continued progresses. This may be at the school organised teacher-parent interview, or you can ask for an interview with the teacher. You can then talk to your child about these adjustments and frame them along the lines of: your teacher thinks you’ll start to enjoy reading more if you and I do some more reading at home.

The comments section

Comments also highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your child as a learner.

Read more: Testing times: making the case for new school assessment

What does the comment say about the child? Does the comment hint at an area of concern, either academically, socially or behaviourally? Does the comment reflect what you know about your child? If it doesn’t, you need to make time to speak with their teacher. Again, use the opportunity to ask your child, after reading the comments aloud: what do you think of this comment? Why has the teacher made this comment?

Throughout the conversation with your child about their report, remember to look for the positives: your child’s strengths, the progress they’re making. Talk about what might help them in areas they’re doing well in, as well as those they are finding challenging. Explain the report to them and help them understand what it means.

– ref. How to talk to your child about their school report – http://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-their-school-report-99640

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil Sipe, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, The University of Queensland

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) represents a new way of thinking about about transport. It has the potential to be the most significant innovation in transport since the advent of the automobile.

In a move away from dependence on privately owned cars or multiple transport apps, MaaS combines mobility services from public transport, taxis, car rental and car/bicycle sharing under a single platform that’s accessible from a smart phone. Not only will a MaaS platform plan your journey, it will also allow you to buy tickets from a range of service providers.

While autonomous vehicles have garnered much of the recent media attention on transport, MaaS is gaining ground. A Google search now returns more than 400,000 hits on “mobility as a service”. Many private and public transport providers, along with many state governments, are looking at the impacts of MaaS and how they can capitalise on the idea.

Why the growing interest in MaaS?

In part, the motivation is due to changing demographics. The world continues to urbanise with 55% of the global population living in urban areas today. By 2050, projections suggest that will increase to 68%. This increasing urbanisation will add to existing problems of traffic congestion.

A growing body of evidence suggests that providing more infrastructure won’t solve the problem. It’s too costly and this type of “solution” will provide only temporary relief. MaaS has been promoted as a better way to manage traffic congestion by making more efficient use of existing private and public transport infrastructure.

And MaaS has many other appealing aspects. It could shorten commuting times and make travelling more convenient. It could help shift commuter trips from peak times to low demand times (through demand-responsive pricing of the services).

Finally, MaaS could improve air quality by shifting travellers from cars to more sustainable modes, such as public and active transport, through reward systems. For example, in a trial in Gothenburg, customers were rewarded with points for every ton of CO₂ emissions they avoided by using more sustainable travel modes. The points were redeemable for a range of goods and services.

The other motivating factor is the estimated value of the MaaS market. Projections suggest a market worth $US600 billion in the United States, European Union and China by 2025. Others have projected that the global market for MaaS will exceed $US1 trillion by 2030.

Lessons from early trials

UbiGo first trialled MaaS in Gothenburg, Sweden, for six months between November 2013 and April 2014. This involved 83 subscriptions by 195 people.

Most of the customers (80%) wanted to continue after the trial ended. Based on an evaluation of the Gothenburg trial, the following were important considerations for MaaS:

• competitive cost relative to owning a car
• flexibility and convenience
• sufficient mobility infrastructure to reach most potential users
• ease of use.

The first commercial application of the concept was by MaaS Global in Helsinki, Finland. The Whim app was launched in 2016. It covers public transport, taxis, car rentals, car-share and bike-share modes. Customers can use the service on a pay-as-you-go plan or by monthly subscription.

Governance the key to scaling up MaaS

MaaS Global is looking to expand elsewhere soon. The key question is whether it can work beyond Helsinki. The challenge is not about the technology — it is about governance.

It’s no coincidence that Whim was born in Finland, a small country with well-functioning institutions and well-designed cities. MaaS will continue to be successful here, in part due to support from the national government.

For example, in 2018 Finland was the first country in the world to create an open market for mobility services. As of January 2018, all mobility partners must provide open data and associated computer programs (APIs) to third parties.

The first trial of MaaS was very popular with users in Gothenburg, Sweden, but a lack of supportive government policies has stalled progress. Michael715/Shutterstock

By contrast, the Gothenburg trial, while successful, has not yet resulted in regular services. Based on learnings from the trial, UbiGo has refined their business model to better integrate public and commercial transport services and will be relaunching in Stockholm with a trial followed by a full roll-out by the end of 2018.

MaaS requires a willingness by private and public transport providers to work with the creators of MaaS platforms. Transport providers must agree to allow the MaaS operator to sell their services and collect a “reasonable” and “fair” commission for each ticket sold.

Another challenge is getting private operators to participate despite losing customers in the short term.

Advocates suggest that, if the concept is successful, the pool of customers will grow as cars are abandoned in favour of MaaS. Hence most companies will want to participate in one or more MaaS platforms.

However, for its potential to be realised, MaaS needs governments to ensure a playing field that is fair for existing and new mobility service providers, and one that encourages cooperation rather than competition. It may be the case that the most efficient MaaS platforms will take the form of regulated monopolies, much like existing utility companies.

– ref. For Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to solve our transport woes, some things need to change – http://theconversation.com/for-mobility-as-a-service-maas-to-solve-our-transport-woes-some-things-need-to-change-105119

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Lenten, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics and Finance, La Trobe University

The interim report of the Financial Services Royal Commission pulled no punches, reminding us all of just how aghast the public is over (among other things) the non-provision of paid financial advice, invalid farm repossessions, wrongful evictions of elderly home owners, and falsified “Dollarmite” children’s bank accounts.

As unconnected as all these things seem, they all ultimately derive from the same place: misalignments between employee incentives and best practice.

These issues go right to the top, to the perverse incentives contained in executive salary packages to make short-term profits at the expense of long-term sustainability.

Dud incentives make bankers do dud things

Blame the individual bankers if you will – some bank boards, covering their own hides, already have – but the executives have simply been doing what dud incentives incentivised them to do.

Replacing dud incentives with proper ones will be essential if the the banks are to regain public trust.

And incentives being considered for sportspeople could show the way.

Sport is a testbed for incentives

An idea that I am trialling along with my collaborator Ralph Bayer from the University of Adelaide is a system of “conditional superannuation”.

To make sure that athletes don’t cheat by taking performance-enhancing drugs, competitors would agree to forego a percentage (say, 10%) of their earnings which would be placed into a managed fund, with the termination value handed to them some time in the future (say, eight to ten years after they retire) contingent on having maintained a clean record.

A positive drug test would result in permanent confiscation of all or some of their balance.

We have been testing the idea in a laboratory in which subjects are being asked to take decisions, such as whether or not to dope and how hard to train, in an environment that simulates the real world.

Read more: New anti-doping powers won’t fix culture of drugs in sport

Our first findings, published in the Journal of Sports Management, suggest that conditional superannuation is more effective in combating doping than the traditional threat of bans.

Bank executives are like sports stars

As with sports stars, bank executives are presented with enormous potential rewards that encourage them to take risks.

True, there are sticks as well as these carrots, but they are misfiring.

What might work better is still more carrots, in the form of conditional superannuation, which can be later withdrawn if the bankers are found to have acted badly.

They ought to welcome it. It’s more money, and we know they are keen on bonuses.

Read more: The way banks are organised makes it hard to hold directors and executives criminally responsible

The idea could be extended to other related industries in which the royal commission has uncovered signs of grave transgressions, such as mortgage brokering.

But we would need to test for side-effects

It would be wise not to rush in (as the banks have done in their scramble to suddenly appear responsive). Conditional superannuation might create fresh perverse incentives we haven’t yet considered.

That’s where experiments come in – lots of them, in laboratories.

Read more: Speaking with: Andrew Leigh on why we need more randomised trials in policy and law

To do it, and in the spirit of forging greater links between universities and industry, we are in the process of soliciting funding partnerships to help prepare applications for competitive research funding.

Ultimately, with the right partnerships, we are hopeful the right incentives can be developed to ensure bank executives use their generally considerable talents, for “niceness, instead than evil” (with apologies to Maxwell Smart).

– ref. Confiscate their super. If it works for sports stars, it could work for bankers – http://theconversation.com/confiscate-their-super-if-it-works-for-sports-stars-it-could-work-for-bankers-105833

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pat McConnell, Visiting Fellow, Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre, Macquarie University

It will be worth watching the final round of hearings at the banking royal commission, which begin on Monday. The chief executives of each of the big four will be recalled for reexaminations.

It might be the final time they appear in the same room. It might even be the last time there’s even such a thing as the big four.

Not only are the so-called four pillars under attack from the Commissioner Kenneth Hayne, but there are also enormous economic and technological pressures that are already beginning to undermine their special status.

Together, these pressures have the potential to radically change the banking landscape over the coming decades and bring an end to the Four Pillars policy under which Westpac, the Commonwealth, the ANZ and the National Australia Bank have been effectively protected from takeover and prevented from merging.

Read more: Four pillars or four pillows? Banking’s comfy collective

Although never a formal law, the understanding that none of the big four can merge has been an accepted rule in Australian business since the late 1980s, when the then treasurer Paul Keating made it clear he would block takeovers.

Eggs in one basket

Since then the big four banks have changed in two important, but related, ways.

Over the past few years they have retreated from their overseas banking ventures, largely divesting themselves of their sometimes ill-judged foreign acquisitions.

And they have recently sold off most of their local wealth management (insurance and investment) subsidiaries.

These divestments mean we are left with four enormous retail-oriented banks that dominate both the banking system (with almost 80% of banking assets) and the stock market (four of the top six companies on the S&P/ASX 200).

Their profitability is heavily dependent on lending for housing, which in turn is heavily dependent on the housing market.

That market is already beginning to contract, meaning the big four are going to find it increasingly hard to maintain their stellar profits.

No longer unique

What’s more, the near monopoly they have had on processing payments is under threat.

In Britain around 1,000 bank branches are closing per year in the wake of a technologicial revolution that makes it possible to process payments away from branches and away from banks. The rate of these closures is climbing.

Mobile banking means that many basic transactions that used to require a visit to a branch can be done online. Australia’s New Payments Platform means that payments to people such as tradies can be made anywhere, any time, in real time and at minimal cost. Use of the platform isn’t limited to the big four.

Read more: The New Payments Platform may mean faster transactions, but it won’t be safer

The Reserve Bank reports that after only eight months of operation the number of payments on the platform already exceeds the number of cheques.

Too many branches

Compared with other countries, we have a lot of bank branches.

Australian banks operate more than 5,000 branches, most of them owned by the big four, as well as 30,000 automatic teller machines, and more than 900,000 EFTPOS terminals at supermarkets and Post Offices.

In the United States, just one bank, the Bank of America, has 67 million customers.

Here more than 140 banks (technically, authorised deposit-taking institutions compete to serve a population of just 25 million.

Inevitably at least one of the big four will come under pressure to fold, be taken over, or merge with one of the others.

Vanishing support

The four pillars policy is “aimed at ensuring that whatever other consolidations occur in retail banking, the four major banks will remain separate”.

In 1997, the Wallis Financial Systems Inquiry recommended it be scrapped.

On the other hand, the 2014 Murray Inquiry into financial services recommended that the policy be retained.

Read more: FactCheck: do bank profits ‘belong to everyday Australians’?

But the Murray inquiry, probably due to its narrow terms of reference, found little of the egregious misconduct that has been uncovered by the royal commission. This calls into question the inquiry’s conclusion that there is adequate competition in the banking system.

Indeed, this conclusion was rejected in a recent Productivity Commission report, which stated bluntly that “the Four Pillars policy is a redundant convention”.

An end in sight

The end of the four pillars policy needn’t mean the end of competition. Smaller, cheaper competitors will be doing more of what the big four did.

A shakeout of bank branches is long overdue, however painful that may be in many small towns, where despite the serious problems raised at the royal commission, a bank branch is still an important part of the community.

Undoubtedly, such a major disruption, unless managed carefully, will be harrowing for many customers and staff.

Read more: A tip for bankers ahead of the royal commission: be more like doctors

But for the long-term stability of the economy, it is incumbent on governments to address the inevitability of a smaller, more technologically driven banking system – one that hopefully, after the royal commission, will operate ethically for the benefit of customers.

– ref. The royal commission is about to grill the chiefs of the big four banks. Here’s why soon they mightn’t exist – http://theconversation.com/the-royal-commission-is-about-to-grill-the-chiefs-of-the-big-four-banks-heres-why-soon-they-mightnt-exist-106339

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ted Snell, Professor, Chief Cultural Officer, Cultural Precinct, University of Western Australia

Review: Australiyaniality Holmes à Court Gallery, Perth.

Australiyaniality is an awkward name for an exhibition that has embedded within it a call to action.

An amalgam of ideas exploring Australia, identity, place and “Liyan” – a word borrowed from the Yawuru people of Broome that describes the “internal spiritual core of strength that keeps you strong personally and culturally” – the exhibition attempts to reframe our attitudes to this continent and the life we have built here.

The very awkwardness, almost un-pronounceability of the title, evokes the scale of the challenge curator Matthew McVeigh has posed. His aim is to galvanise the community to rethink what it means to be Australian. And this exhibition – featuring 27 artists – is a raucous, overwhelming, exciting and at times confusing immersion into ideas about national identity.

Matthew McVeigh, ABOriginal, 2018, neon, blood group information and Aboriginal Etymology text. Janet Holmes à Court Collection

One’s first reaction is awe at the sheer audacity of the visually dislocating hang. It occupies an old warehouse in North Perth, one half of which has been renovated to house the Janet Holmes à Court art collection.

McVeigh and ten other artists have transformed the massive northern wall of the complex into a giant pin-up board of artworks and ideas documenting the racist underbelly of our national narratives. Titled The Relativity of Historia Nullius, it includes images of dispossession, colonialization, enslavement, and neglect.

Some are witty, like the appropriated FOODLAND grocery chain sign. In the shape of a boomerang, overpainted with images of bush tucker, it playfully rebukes our consumerist culture.

Equally playful is McVeigh’s ABO, a neon work that flicks from one letter to the other. At first it seems like an ugly, racist jibe. On closer inspection we see it documents the classification of human blood types based on the inherited properties of red blood cells, to reinforce our shared humanity.

Other works, like Harold Thomas’ large Aboriginal flag with a clock at its centre – going in reverse – suggest the possibility of a new beginning.

Sharyn Egan Our Babies, 2018 (detail), sardine tins, rags, pebble gravel, card table. Janet Holmes à Court Collection

Sharyn Egan’s poignant Our Babies recreates the toys she made as a child out of found materials like sardine cans, rags, and pieces of gravel. These treasured objects acted as comforters when she and her friends cried themselves to sleep in a dormitory, separated from their families.

Most of the artworks document the disgraceful treatment of Aboriginal Australians and highlight historian Lorenzo Veracini’s notion of Historia Nullius. McVeigh describes this as the “distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based history of Australia based on race, colour descent, national or ethnic origin.”

This view of history undermines the human rights of all but the colonisers. As McVeigh and his collaborators suggest, it must be overthrown if we are to achieve a collective “Liyan”.

Throughout this large space, additional artworks by Brook Andrew, Gordon Bennett, Ann Zahalka and others explore similar issues. One of the most engaging works is Paul Caporn’s The Australian Anecdotal History Museum, a Combi Van parked in the warehouse gallery surrounded by the accoutrements of a well-established campsite.

In the van, a selection of objects donated by fellow artists and friends is displayed, each with an anecdote detailing its personal significance to the donor. Some wax lyrical, others are bluntly descriptive. Together, they reinforce the idea of the personalisation of history and the human proclivity to assign objects with a special power or meaning.

Paul Caporn The Australian Anecdotal History Museum 2018 (from a distance). Janet Holmes à Court Collection

This project is an attempt to open up a dialogue and to move the debate outside the confines of a gallery and into the mainstream.

For this reason, some of the bold graphic works like FOODLAND and ABO could perhaps be released from the gallery and harnessed for use on billboards, in social media, and through established media channels. The Australian Anecdotal History Museum could, for instance, take to the roads and tour through shopping centres.

As a contributing curator, McVeigh has pulled together a group of works that develop his thesis and expand on his own artistic practice. Not surprisingly, it is a partisan view with a heavy emphasis on the ongoing mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians and a nod toward the problems of integration faced by other groups, such as the Indian community.

By tackling such a vast subject with a limited lens and an emphasis on the problems we face rather than sign posts toward a more positive future, it’s possible viewers will leave the gallery with a sense of despondency at the overwhelming task ahead.

Still, as McVeigh announces in his manifesto pasted up on the entry wall: “The works are not a means to an end, a solution to instantaneously fix injustices and imbalances. They will be, however, about working towards providing a way forward to reach a new collective consciousness.”

In the wake of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, this exhibition reminds us that the responsibility lies with every Australian to nurture their “Liyan” and create a just and equitable country we can all call home.

Australiyaniality is at the Holmes à Court Gallery, 10 Douglas Street, Perth, until November 25.

– ref. Rethinking what it means to be Australian through art – http://theconversation.com/rethinking-what-it-means-to-be-australian-through-art-106535