Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samar Aoun, Perron Institute Research Chair in Palliative Care, The University of Western Australia

Although it is associated with dying, palliative care is an approach focused on improving quality of life – or how people feel about and respond to facing a life-threatening illness.

Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual and existential distress. Palliative care also supports family caregivers during the disease journey and bereavement phase. You might have heard it mentioned for cancer, but it is beneficial for the majority of life-limiting conditions. It has been shown to reduce health-care costs by preventing unnecessary hospital admissions.

Palliative care is not voluntary assisted dying. It does not aim to hasten or prolong death. It is not just for people who are about to die and seeking palliative care does not mean “giving up”. In fact, it can be a profound and positive form of care that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised as a basic human right. But what does it involve?

Read more:
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Not just for someone’s final days

Palliative care is often seen as a “last resort” rather than a service that empowers terminally ill people to live as well as possible for as long as possible.

The full benefit of this holistic approach can only be realised if people are referred early to palliative care – ideally from the time they are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Unfortunately, this rarely happens and palliative care tends to blur with end-of-life care. The latter is for people who are likely to die within 12 months but is often left to the last few weeks.

Read more:
We all hope for a ‘good death’. But many aged-care residents are denied proper end-of-life care

Palliative care can involve difficult conversations

Palliative care provides a time to ask some usually taboo questions. What kind of death do you want to experience? Who is in your personal network? How will they respond to your life ending? What kind of support can they offer?

Palliative care can be provided at home, hospital, hospice or residential aged care facility, depending on the preference and circumstances of patients and their family carers.

In general, patients are referred by their treating specialist, health professional or GP. Patient preferences for care and what matters most to them are discussed with their doctor or other health professionals and with their loved ones with advance care planning. These discussions can include information on their preferred place of care, preferred place of death, personal care needs such as dietary preferences and religious and spiritual practices.

This helps those caring to make decisions about the patient care when the patient cannot anymore. However, advance care planning can start at any time in life and without a diagnosis.

How palliative care delivery has changed

Once upon a time, we were born at home and we died at home. Death was a social event with a medical component. Now it is close to the opposite. But research indicates a solely clinical model of palliative care (mainly symptom management funded through the health system) is inadequate to address the complex aspects of death, dying, loss and grief.

A public health palliative care approach views the community as an equal partner in the long and complex task of providing quality health care at the end of someone’s life. It promotes conversations about patients’ and families’ goals of care, what matters to them, their needs and wishes, minimising barriers to a “good death”, and supporting the family post-bereavement.

These outcomes require the involvement of family carers, friendship networks and not-for-profit organisations, where more detailed conversations about life and death can happen, instead of the “pressure cooker” rushed environment of hospitals and clinics. Investment could develop stronger death literacy and grief literacy in the community and among health professionals, who may be reluctant to raise or discuss these topics. This would likely see the take up of advance care planning increase, from the current low levels of less than 15% of Australians (25% of older Australians accessing health and aged-care facilities).

One such successful approach is the Compassionate Communities Connectors Program in Western Australia, using trained community volunteers to enhance the social networks of terminally ill people.

Our research trial trained 20 community volunteers (“connectors”) and 43 patients participated over 18 months. In sourcing others to help (who we called “caring helpers”), connectors built the capacity of the community and social networks around patients in need. Caring helpers assisted with transport, collecting prescriptions, organising meals and linked clients to community activities (such as choirs, walking groups, men’s shed). And they helped complete advance care planning documentation. About 80% of patients’ needs were social, particularly around reducing feelings of isolation.

Patients in the trial had fewer hospital admissions and shorter hospital stays.

Read more:
Passed away, kicked the bucket, pushing up daisies – the many ways we don’t talk about death

Tailored to need

Palliative care should be tailored to each person, rather than a one-size-fits-all clinical model that doesn’t respect autonomy and choice.

Many people are dying in a way and a place that is not reflective of their values and their end-of-life is interrupted with preventable and costly admissions to hospital where control and even dignity are surrendered. Palliative care hospitalisations have increased in recent years compared to all hospitalisations, with 65% of such admissions ending with the patient dying in hospital.

It is unrealistic and unaffordable to have a palliative care service in every suburb. There needs to be a shift to a more comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable approach, such as Compassionate Communities, that recognises death, dying, grief and loss are everyone’s business and responsibility.

Samar Aoun is voluntary chair of the South West Compassionate Communities Network, chair of the MND Association in WA and national chair of MND Australia.

– ref. What actually is palliative care? And how is it different to end-of-life care? – https://theconversation.com/what-actually-is-palliative-care-and-how-is-it-different-to-end-of-life-care-205488

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University

Asteroids are chunks of rock left over from the formation of our Solar System. Approximately half a billion asteroids with sizes greater than four metres in diameter orbit the Sun, travelling through our Solar System at speeds up to about 30 kilometres per second – about the same speed as Earth.

Asteroids are certainly good at capturing the public imagination. This follows many Hollywood movies imagining the destruction they could cause if a big one hits Earth.

Almost every week we see online headlines describing asteroids the size of a “bus”, “truck”, “vending machine”, “half the size of a giraffe”, or indeed a whole giraffe. We have also had headlines warning of “city killer”, “planet killer” and “God of Chaos” asteroids.

Of course, the threats asteroids pose are real. Famously, about 65 million years ago, life on Earth was brought to its knees by what was likely the impact of a big asteroid, killing off most dinosaurs. Even a four-metre object (half a giraffe, say) travelling at a relative speed of up to 60 kilometres per second is going to pack a punch.

But beyond the media labels, what are the risks, by the numbers? How many asteroids hit Earth and how many can we expect to zip past us?

What is the threat of a direct hit?

In terms of asteroids hitting Earth, and their impact, the graphic below from NASA summarises the general risks.

There are far more small asteroids than large asteroids, and small asteroids cause much less damage than large asteroids.

So, Earth experiences frequent but low-impact collisions with small asteroids, and rare but high-impact collisions with big asteroids. In most cases, the smallest asteroids largely break up when they hit Earth’s atmosphere, and don’t even make it down to the surface.

When a small asteroid (or meteoroid, an object smaller than an asteroid) hits Earth’s atmosphere, it produces a spectacular “fireball” – a very long-lasting and bright version of a shooting star, or meteor. If any surviving bits of the object hit the ground, they are called meteorites. Most of the object burns up in the atmosphere.

How many asteroids fly right past Earth?

A very simplified calculation gives you a sense for how many asteroids you might expect to come close to our planet.

The numbers in the graphic above estimate how many asteroids could hit Earth every year. Now, let’s take the case of four-metre asteroids. Once per year, on average, a four-metre asteroid will intersect the surface of Earth.

If you doubled that surface area, you’d get two per year. Earth’s radius is 6,400km. A sphere with twice the surface area has a radius of 9,000km. So, approximately once per year, a four-metre asteroid will come within 2,600km of the surface of Earth – the difference between 9,000km and 6,400km.

Double the surface area again and you could expect two per year within 6,400km of Earth’s surface, and so on. This tallies pretty well with recent records of close approaches.

Read more:
Asteroid 2023 BU just passed a few thousand kilometres from Earth. Here’s why that’s exciting

A few thousand kilometres is a pretty big distance for objects a handful of metres in size, but most of the asteroids covered in the media are passing at much, much larger distances.

Astronomers consider anything passing closer than the Moon – approximately 300,000km – to be a “close approach”. “Close” for an astronomer is not generally what a member of the public would call “close”.

In 2022 there were 126 close approaches, and in 2023 we’ve had 50 so far.

Now, consider really big asteroids, bigger than one kilometre in diameter. The same highly simplified logic as above can be applied. For every such impact that could threaten civilisation, occurring once every half a million years or so, we could expect thousands of near misses (closer than the Moon) in the same period of time.

Such an event will occur in 2029, when asteroid 153814 (2001 WN5) will pass 248,700km from Earth.

How do we assess threats and what can we do about it?

Approximately 95% of asteroids of size greater than one kilometre are estimated to have already been discovered, and the skies are constantly being searched for the remaining 5%. When a new one is found, astronomers take extensive observations to assess any threat to Earth.
The Torino Scale categorises predicted threats up to 100 years into the future, the scale being from 0 (no hazard) to 10 (certain collision with big object).

Currently, all known objects have a rating of zero. No known object to date has had a rating above 4 (a close encounter, meriting attention by astronomers).

So, rather than hearing about giraffes, vending machines, or trucks, what we really want to know from the media is the rating an asteroid has on the Torino Scale.

Finally, technology has advanced to the point we have a chance to do something if we ever do face a big number on the Torino Scale. Recently, the DART mission collided a spacecraft into an asteroid, changing its trajectory. In the future, it is plausible that such an action, with enough lead time, could help to protect Earth from collision.

Read more:
NASA’s asteroid deflection mission was more successful than expected. An expert explains how

Steven Tingay is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party.

– ref. ‘City killers’ and half-giraffes: how many scary asteroids really go past Earth every year? – https://theconversation.com/city-killers-and-half-giraffes-how-many-scary-asteroids-really-go-past-earth-every-year-208838

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Mary Clancy, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Deakin University

The sending and receiving of intimate images and videos is increasingly becoming a part of people’s sexual relationships – particularly for teenagers and young adults.

Image-based “sexting” has steadily increased over the past few years. Aggregated data from population-representative studies in the United States, which included 110,380 teenage participants, found about one in five teenagers had either sent or received nudes online. Australian studies report similar rates.

The figures are slightly higher among lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. However, minimal data have been collected from the broader queer community, including from trans and gender-diverse people.

Research shows there is little harm associated with sexting when all parties involved have consented, including for teenagers. That said, consent isn’t always properly given and received. In such cases there are increased risks of abuse and sexual violence.

Harm from sexting occurs when there are breaches of consent. At the same time, our work in this space shows navigating consent online is much more complex than it might initially seem.

When sexting can lead to harm

People sext for numerous reasons, such as to flirt, to maintain intimate relationships, or for body image reinforcement. But this act can also be weaponized. Non-consensual forms of sexting include:

• coerced sexting, where someone is forced or manipulated into sexting
• receiving unwanted sexts (also known as “cyberflashing”)
• non-consensual sharing of someone’s sexts with others.

These examples of image-based abuse are highly problematic and harmful to victims. Those who have had their intimate images distributed without their consent (sometimes problematically referred to as “revenge porn”) are more likely to experience stigma, shame, reduced employment prospects, suicidal thoughts or self-harm as a result.

Yet, in two studies published in 2019 and 2021, we found people who share these intimate images are usually either unaware or dismissive of the potential concerns.

These people nominated a range of motivations which could be considered relatively harmless, such as sharing pictures because the person depicted was “hot” (according to 44% of respondents), or seeing it as “not a big deal” (48%), or as a joke (31%).

A case of crossed wires?

Our latest study, published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, found a stark difference between the proportion of people who said they had given consent to have their intimate images shared, and those who said they’d received consent to do this.

Specifically, from our survey of 2,126 young cisgender adults, 8% said they had knowingly given permission for their sexts to be shared. Men (17.7%) were almost six times more likely than women (3.4%) to have consented to this.

In contrast, of those who indicated they had shared another person’s sexts, 20% said they had received prior consent (with no substantial differences between men and women).

When it came to unwanted or unwelcome sexts, women were more likely to non-consensually disseminate these images. This suggests at least some non-consensual forwarding of nudes may relate to not having wanted to receive them in the first place.

We don’t yet have a large enough sample to determine the rates for people outside the gender binary. However, preliminary data from our work suggest their experiences may be similar to those of cisgender women.

Overall, our findings raise important questions about how people conceptualise “consent” when navigating digital spaces. The discrepancy between those who said they received permission to forward someone’s sexts and those who said they gave it suggests something is amiss.

Read more:
It’s time we aligned sexual consent laws across Australia – but this faces formidable challenges

Progress is pending

There is currently little research and minimal legislative clarity regarding how we define and apply digital consent, both in Australia and globally.

Navigating consent online isn’t as straightforward as in face-to-face situations. While the initial exchange of intimate images between two people is often consensual, questions of consent tend to become murkier over time.

For example, what happens if you shared your intimate images happily at the start of a relationship, but it has since gone sour and ended?

Also, since consent can be revoked at any time, should we enforce the deletion of intimate images once the sender revokes their consent? How would this process be managed and monitored?

Further, how would affirmative consent (which has been introduced via legislation in several states) play out online? How do we define “enthusiastic consent” in an online interaction?

This is clearly a topical issue. A federal parliamentary inquiry is under way to address current and proposed consent laws.

Ideally, the concept of online consent would be included within respectful relationship education. Young people should know how to have clear conversations about how their intimate images may be used – both in the present, and in the future when a relationship has ended.

Our ongoing research is focused on finding ways for people to articulate their expectations around consent realistically and effectively. In the meantime, if your intimate images have been uploaded online, or otherwise shared without your permission, there are steps you can take.

If the individual responsible won’t respond or willingly withdraw the images, you can contact the e-Safety Commissioner to have them taken down from online.

There are also legal implications for those who share someone’s intimate images without consent – or threaten to do so. If you’re in this situation, contact your state or territory police as a first step.

Read more:
Mandatory consent education is a huge win for Australia – but consent is just one small part of navigating relationships

Elizabeth Mary Clancy has previously received funding from the Geelong Football Club for the review and evaluation of their CyberCats program, a school-based cyberbullying and sexting prevention program for Yr 7s.

Bianca Klettke has previously received funding from the Geelong Football Club for the review and evaluation of their Cyber Cats program, a school-based cyberbullying and sexting prevention program for Year 7s in the Geelong region.

– ref. 20% of young people who forwarded nudes say they had permission – but only 8% gave it. Why the gap? – https://theconversation.com/20-of-young-people-who-forwarded-nudes-say-they-had-permission-but-only-8-gave-it-why-the-gap-207913

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurel Fox, PhD candidate, The University of Queensland

The Voice is a simple idea. The proposed amendment to Australia’s Constitution is short and sweet.

Yet the referendum debate is at risk of inundation, and too often misses the point. While there are many things the Voice cannot do, there is one thing it can do.

It offers a permanent, public and culturally distinct way forward for Indigenous consensuses to develop and find their rightful place in national politics.

Read more:
Solicitor-general confirms Voice model is legally sound, will not ‘fetter or impede’ parliament

The past as prologue to the present

The Voice is rehearsed rather than radical. National Indigenous representative bodies have been on and off the agenda for 50 years. Australia has had three formalised national Indigenous representative bodies between 1973 and 2005. The history of this is significant.

Colonialism radically disrupted traditional governance. While country and culture remain a bedrock of Indigenous identities, from the 1920s an Indigenous-led movement developed an agenda that favoured commonwealth over state power and lobbied for input at the national level.

This occurred alongside the Commonwealth’s increasing involvement in Indigenous affairs, a dynamic entrenched by the 1967 referendum. By 1967, the Commonwealth could not be seen to countenance the formulation of law and policy without Indigenous input.

National governments needed a way to obtain advice from Indigenous peoples. Liberal Prime Ministers Holt, Gorton and McMahon all acknowledged this.

But it was Gough Whitlam who established the first such representative body: the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (1973–1977). Malcolm Fraser replaced this with the National Aboriginal Conference (1977–1985) and Bob Hawke legislated the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1989–2005).

At their core, these bodies involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders choosing their own representatives to proffer advice to the Commonwealth. While the first two bodies were clipped, each collected Indigenous viewpoints and formulated national agendas.

A smattering of topics covered from the 1970s include land rights, treaty, recognition of colonisation without consent, police brutality, and the forced removal of children from their families.

Yet as much as government needed Indigenous input and advice, without constitutional entrenchment these bodies could be (and were) terminated for political expediency. This insecurity was not just existential; it inhibited the potential of these bodies.

The Voice as constructive

Much debate about the Voice has focused on either party politics, or the desirability of the Voice in improving tangible outcomes. This has come at the expense of considering its potential to construct a “national” Indigenous politics, out of regional and sectoral voices.

Politics is protean. But, at its root, democratic politics is about governing society through representation and compromise. This means a representative Voice is also about constructing a system where mainstream government – executive and parliament – and wider society listens to Indigenous concerns.

John Howard’s recent comments against the Voice unwittingly highlight how it can be positively differentiated from previous representative bodies. He argued the Voice would not “produce anything other than regular stand-offs between what the Voice is asking for and what the government of the day is willing to do”.

Leaving aside disingenuous phrasing (the Voice we are voting on can only offer advice, there is no power to “stand off” against governments), the telling words are “what the government of the day is willing to do”.

Compromise is the essence of politics. If a government or parliament is not willing to accommodate reasonable positions of a representative Voice, then that is a failure of our politics. Not of the Voice.

A core ‘no’ argument is a reason to vote ‘yes’

The official “no” case also unwittingly highlights a key reason to support the referendum, come October. In a classic conservative move, the absence of detail about the internal structure of the Voice is taken to be a reason to be cautious and vote “no”.

But that detail is not important to the principle of a national representative Indigenous body. Excess detail at this point would contradict the principle of parliamentary supremacy, of which conservatives are most protective.

Worse, it would pre-empt the right of Indigenous peoples to hammer out the balance between regional and urban voices or established Indigenous structures and an elective principle.

That is significant, given the 1970s bodies mentioned above were very much constructs of executive governments. Each of the three earlier bodies became, if anything, unduly sensitive to regionalism. Such diversity is important; but a “national” Voice cannot be just a confederation of local concerns.

The Voice proposal does not undercut or establish a body to talk over local voices. These voices were central to its drafting, through consultation processes.

On the contrary, the 2021 Indigenous Voice Co-Design Report (which consulted widely to assay aspirations and models) plumps for two-way interaction between local, state and territory, and the national Voices.

Read more:
Regional communities were central to Uluru Statement, and they must also be for the Voice to Parliament

An enduring idea

The Voice proposal is simple. There are a thousand things it cannot do, and one significant thing that it promises to be.

As an embedded but flexible institution, it would channel an evolving national Indigenous politics, as a representative conduit of many voices speaking up to the behemoth that is the Commonwealth of Australia.

Importantly, it would also put an end to a long political process that has always intended to constitutionally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a way that is meaningful to them – through a constitutionally enshrined Voice.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The Voice is a simple and enduring idea with a past – and a promise – https://theconversation.com/the-voice-is-a-simple-and-enduring-idea-with-a-past-and-a-promise-210640

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anam Bilgrami, Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University

Moving yourself or a loved one to a nursing home can be emotional and difficult. While some have their nursing home accommodation costs fully covered by the government (based on a means test), most will have to pay their own way.

The average lump sum room value is A$334,000. Choosing how to pay can make this time even more challenging, particularly for those with low financial literacy.

This is an important and complex decision. It can affect your income, wealth, means-tested aged care fee, and bequests. Here are some things to consider before you decide.

Read more:
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3 ways to pay

You can pay for a nursing home room in three ways.

You can pay the entire room price as a one-off, refundable lump sum (a “refundable accommodation deposit”, sometimes shortened to RAD). This lump sum is refunded to the resident or their estate when the person leaves the nursing home (if they move or pass away).

The refund is guaranteed by the government, even if a provider goes bankrupt.

People who don’t want to pay a lump sum can instead choose rent-style, “daily accommodation payments” (sometimes shortened to DAP).

These are fixed, daily interest-only payments calculated on the total room price. The rate at which they are calculated is known as the “maximum permissible interest rate” or MPIR.

The maximum permissible interest rate is set by the government and is currently 7.9% per annum. The formula for a daily accommodation payment is (RAD × MPIR) ÷ 365.

Unlike lump sums, daily accommodation payments are not refunded.

The third option is a combination payment. This means paying part of the room price as a lump sum, with daily payments calculated on the remaining room amount. On leaving the home, the part lump sum is refunded to the resident or their estate.

With a combination payment, the consumer can choose to pay whatever amount they like for the lump sum.

The table below shows three different ways someone could pay for a room priced at $400,000.

So which is best? It’s impossible to say. It depends on a person’s circumstances, family situation, finances, preferences and expected length of stay.

Why do some people choose a lump sum?

One downside of a lump sum (or part lump sum) is that choosing this option means this money is not invested elsewhere.

By handing over the lump sum, for example, you forgo returns you could have made by investing this same money into property or stocks over the period of your nursing home stay.

On the other hand, paying lump sum means you get to avoid the daily interest payments (the 7.9% in the table above).

So you could potentially be better off paying a lump sum if you think there’s no way you could make investment returns on that money that are substantially higher than the interest you’d be charged through daily payments.

One advantage of choosing a lump sum is it’s considered an exempt asset for pension purposes; some people may get more pension if they pay the lump sum.

The lump sum, however, does count as an asset in determining the means-tested care fee.

And if you sell your house, remember any money leftover after you pay the lump sum will be counted as assets when you’re means-tested for the pension and means-tested care fee.

Why might some people prefer daily payments?

Not everyone can can afford a lump sum. Some may not want to sell their home to pay one. Some may want to hold onto their house if they think property prices may increase in the future.

Daily payments have recently overtaken lump sums as the most popular payment option, with 43% of people paying this way. However, recent interest rate rises may slow or reverse this trend.

And if a spouse or “protected person” – such as a dependant or relative that meets certain criteria – is still living in the house, it’s also exempt from assets tests for the pension and other aged care fees.

If the home is vacated by a protected person, its value is still excluded from the pension means test for two years (although rental income is still assessed).

If you do not anticipate a lengthy nursing home stay, daily payments may potentially be the easiest option. But it’s best to consult a financial adviser.

What does the research say?

My research with colleagues found many people choose the lump sum option simply because they can afford to.

Those owning residential property are more likely to pay a lump sum, mostly because they can sell a house to get the money.

People who consult financial advisers are also more likely to choose lump sums. This may be due to financial advice suggesting it’s tough to earn investment returns higher than what you’d save by avoiding the interest charged in the daily payment option.

Some aged care providers prefer lump sum payment since they use these to renovate or refurbish their facilities. But providers are not allowed to influence or control your decision on how to pay.

The recent Royal Commission into Aged Care recommended phasing out lump sums as a payment option, leaving only daily payments. While that would reduce the complexity of the payment decision and remove the incentive for providers to sway decisions, it would also reduce consumer choice.

Is there anything else I should know?

Some 60% of people we surveyed found the decision complex, while 54% said it was stressful.

It is best to seek professional financial advice before you decide.

Services Australia also runs a free Financial Information Service that can help you better understand your finances and the payment decision. But it does not give financial advice or prepare plans.

You have 28 days to choose a payment method after admission, and six months to pay if you choose a lump-sum payment.

In the interim, you will be charged daily interest payments on the room price.

Read more:
The private health insurance rebate has cost taxpayers $100 billion and only benefits some. Should we scrap it?

Anam Bilgrami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Lump sum, daily payments or a combination? What to consider when paying for nursing home accommodation – https://theconversation.com/lump-sum-daily-payments-or-a-combination-what-to-consider-when-paying-for-nursing-home-accommodation-207405

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University

Vast arrays of solar panels floating on calm seas near the Equator could provide effectively unlimited solar energy to densely populated countries in Southeast Asia and West Africa.

Our new research shows offshore solar in Indonesia alone could generate about 35,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of solar energy a year, which is similar to current global electricity production (30,000TWh per year).

And while most of the world’s oceans experience storms, some regions at the Equator are relatively still and peaceful. So relatively inexpensive engineering structures could suffice to protect offshore floating solar panels.

Our high-resolution global heat maps show the Indonesian archipelago and equatorial West Africa near Nigeria have the greatest potential for offshore floating solar arrays.

Read more:
Despairing about climate change? These 4 charts on the unstoppable growth of solar may change your mind

Solar power rules by mid-century

On current trends, the global economy will be largely decarbonised and electrified by 2050, supported by vast amounts of solar and wind energy.

About 70 square kilometres of solar panels can provide all the energy requirements of a million affluent people in a zero-carbon economy. The panels can be placed on rooftops, in arid areas, colocated with agriculture, or floated on water bodies.

But countries with high population densities, such as Nigeria and Indonesia, will have limited space for solar energy harvesting.

Their tropical location in the so-called “doldrum” latitudes also means wind resources are poor. Fortunately, these countries – and their neighbours – can harvest effectively unlimited energy from solar panels floating on calm equatorial seas.

Floating solar panels can also be placed on inland lakes and reservoirs. Inland floating solar has large potential and is already growing rapidly.

Our recently released paper surveys the global oceans to find regions that didn’t experience large waves or strong winds over the past 40 years. Floating solar panels in such regions do not require strong and expensive engineering defences.

Regions that don’t experience waves larger than 6 metres nor winds stronger than 15m per second could generate up to one million TWh per year. That’s about five times more annual energy than is needed for a fully decarbonised global economy supporting 10 billion affluent people.

Most of the good sites are close to the Equator, in and around Indonesia and equatorial west Africa. These are regions of high population growth and high environmental values. Marine floating solar panels could help resolve land use conflict.

Indonesia has vast solar energy potential

Indonesia is a densely populated country, particularly on the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra. By mid-century, Indonesia’s population may exceed 315 million people.

Fortunately, Indonesia has vast solar energy potential and also vast pumped hydro energy storage potential to store the solar energy overnight.

About 25,000 square km of solar panels would be required to support an affluent Indonesia after full decarbonisation of the economy using solar power.

Indonesia has the option of floating vast numbers of solar panels on its calm inland seas. The region has about 140,000 square km of seascape that has not experienced waves larger than 4m – nor winds stronger than 10m per second – in the past 40 years.

Indonesia’s maritime area of 6.4 million square km is 200 times larger than required if Indonesia’s entire future energy needs were met from offshore floating solar panels.

The future for offshore floating solar

Most of the global seascape experiences waves larger than 10m and winds stronger than 20m per second. Several companies are working to develop engineering defences so offshore floating panels can tolerate storms. In contrast, benign maritime environments along the equator require much less robust and expensive defences.

We have found the most suitable regions cluster within 5–12 degrees of latitude of the Equator, principally in and around the Indonesian archipelago and in the Gulf of Guinea near Nigeria. These regions have low potential for wind generation, high population density, rapid growth (in both population and energy consumption) and substantial intact ecosystems that should not be cleared for solar farms. Tropical storms rarely impact equatorial regions.

The offshore floating solar industry is in its infancy. Offshore solar panels do have downsides compared with onshore panels, including salt corrosion and marine fouling. Shallow seas are preferred for anchoring the panels to the seabed. And careful attention must be paid to minimising damage to the marine environment and fishing. Global warming may also alter wind and wave patterns.
Despite these challenges, we believe offshore floating panels will provide a large component of the energy mix for countries with access to calm equatorial seas. By mid-century, about a billion people in these countries will rely mostly on solar energy, which is causing the fastest energy change in history.

Read more:
Sunshine by day, water by night: Indonesia could pair its vast solar and hydro storage to decarbonise the country

Andrew Blakers receives funding from ARENA, P4I and similar organisations

David Firnando Silalahi’s ongoing PhD study is funded by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

– ref. ‘Limitless’ energy: how floating solar panels near the equator could power future population hotspots – https://theconversation.com/limitless-energy-how-floating-solar-panels-near-the-equator-could-power-future-population-hotspots-210557

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

The Albanese government is at risk of letting down the Voice’s “yes” case by its tactics of excessive caution and control in the referendum debate.

Inside and outside parliament this week, its performance was, for the most part, woeful, only partly redeemed by a strong counter-attack by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Thursday.

The government’s persuasive power in the fight for the Voice is not nearly as effective as it needs to be. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney struggles constantly. Senator Pat Dodson, dubbed the Father of Reconciliation and a highly respected Indigenous leader for decades, is out of action due to ill health. Albanese has bad days.

The Coalition this week focused its attack on the issue of treaty – the part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart calling for “a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history”.

The government has already provided A$5.8 million for a Makarrata Commission – yet to be set up – of which some $900,000 has been spent. When Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked about the spent money, he provided no details.

In successive question times, the opposition pursued Burney about the commission and what it will do. She refused to engage, just repeating her spiel about the Voice (although she did say “progress on Makarrata will not occur until after the referendum”).

Usually Question Time in the House of Representatives is useless, with the government’s questions a series of “Dorothy Dixers” and the opposition failing to embarrass well-prepared ministers. But when a minister is in trouble, they have nowhere to hide. Burney, unconvincingly trying to stick to the narrowest of scripts, was caught in the headlights the oppositon was shining on the issue of treaty.

Meanwhile Albanese was all over the place when quizzed on treaty during an ABC interview on Wednesday. After he pointed out there was treaty-making under way at state level, he was pressed on whether he was still committed to the Commonwealth negotiating treaties.

“It doesn’t even say that in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. […] It doesn’t speak about the Commonwealth negotiating treaties,” he told Patricia Karvelas. She pushed for clarity, asking, “You don’t think the Commonwealth has a role to negotiate treaties?” “No, I didn’t say that,” the PM replied. “I said, that’s not in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”

Read more:
View from The Hill: It’s just too hard and too late to delay and recalibrate Voice referendum

The expectation is there would be a treaty, or an overarching structure, at the national level, under which state and other treaties would sit.

Albanese in his comments was trying to erect a solid fence around the Voice debate.

The government fears letting the debate widen to any discussion of treaty will frighten voters, setting back the referendum’s chances.

That might be true. But NOT addressing the issue head-on can potentially be equally or more damaging. It can make the government appear paralysed, as it seemed for much of this week, and leave voters wondering what’s being concealed.

There are several arguments for the government being more upfront about where treaty fits.

Albanese has always said Labor supports the Uluru statement in full. Indeed, the just-released Draft Platform for the party’s national conference this month declares Labor supports “all elements” of the Statement, including the Voice, a Makarrata Commission for agreement-making and a truth-telling process. It adds “Labor will take steps to implement all three elements […] in this term of government.”

Trying to dodge the treaty issue will continue to have Labor spokespeople tied in knots. And given what’s happening in at state level, it shouldn’t be impossible to take some of the heat out of it.

Marcus Stewart, a “yes” campaigner, has just finished his term as elected co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. That assembly will soon begin negotiations for a state-wide treaty.

Stewart says the Uluru statement calls for “Voice, treaty, truth. Plain and simple. We’ve seen both the Liberal and National parties support treaty in both Queensland and Victoria, so clearly the opposition leader is out of touch with what the Australian public want and support, including in his own state of Queensland.

“We’ve also seen governments from all sides of politics negotiating treaties around the world including in British Columbia, Canada. They have the evidence and experienced firsthand how all Canadians benefit from treaty-making – including First Nations communities and wider British Columbians.”

Read more:
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ‘yes’ campaigner Thomas Mayo and ‘no’ advocate Derryn Hinch on the Voice

How treaties turn out will obviously depend on their content. Indigenous leaders say they are a long time in the making, even a decade or two. The battles for treaties will be difficult, just as were those over land rights, and in the wake of the Mabo and Wik High Court decisions.

The debate about treaty already goes back decades. In 1979, an Aboriginal Treaty Committee was formed to promote the idea. It was a non-government body chaired by “Nugget” Coombs, one of Australia’s most distinguished public figures who served multiple prime ministers in various capacities and who was a champion of Indigenous rights.

Coombs cast the treaty challenge in upbeat terms. “Whatever the outcome, the coming together of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to work out a constitutional-style basis for their living together in this continent represents, in my view, the most exciting political and social adventure in the history of the continent.”

Treaty is relevant to Voice, despite the government’s efforts to ring-fence them. The government says the Voice would concentrate on health, housing, education and jobs but one would expect, as a nationally representative body, it would also have some views on a treaty process, even though the Makarrata Commission would oversee that process.

The Uluru statement must be looked at as a whole, as Albanese did before he tried to roll the Voice into a small target. The government, and others on the “yes” side, could do best by confronting, rather than running away from, that reality.

Albanese (but not Dutton) is at the Garma Festival this weekend. It will be a celebration of the imminent referendum. But there will be fears too, driven by the polls. No doubt the PM will be getting plenty of advice on how to manage a debate that has become a great deal more complex than he wanted it to be.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Trying to dodge talking about ‘treaty’ could do the Voice campaign more harm than good – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-trying-to-dodge-talking-about-treaty-could-do-the-voice-campaign-more-harm-than-good-210986

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Noel Castree, Professor of Society & Environment, University of Technology Sydney

Last week, United Nations General Secretary António Guterres coined an arresting new term. The era of global warming has ended, he declared dramatically, and the era of “global boiling” has arrived.

You can see why he said it. July was the hottest month on record globally. Searing temperatures and intense wildfires have raged across the Northern Hemisphere. Marine heatwaves are devastating the world’s third-largest coral reef, off Florida. And as greenhouse emissions keep rising, it means many even hotter summers await us.

But critics and climate sceptics have heaped scorn on the phrase. Taken literally, they’re correct – nowhere on Earth is near the boiling point of water.

Is Guterres’ phrase hyperbolic or an accurate warning? Do phrases like this actually help drive us towards faster and more effective climate action? Or do they risk making us prone to climate doomism, and risk prompting a backlash?

Rhetoric and reality

Guterres is rhetorically adept. He uses the moral authority of his position to vividly depict the climate crisis. For instance, he told attendees at last year’s COP27 climate summit in Egypt we are on “a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”. In many ways, it’s one of the only tools he has, given the UN has global influence but limited real power.

“Global boiling” ups the verbal ante. It’s designed to sound the alarm and trigger more radical action to stave off the worst of climate change.

Guterres chooses his words carefully. But does he choose them wisely?

At one level, “global boiling” is clearly an exaggeration, despite the extreme summer heat and fire during the northern summer.

But then again, “global warming” is now far too tame a descriptor. Prominent climate scientists have pushed for the term “global heating” to be used in preference.

Similarly, phrases such as “the climate crisis” haven’t gained traction with either elites or the ordinary public. That’s because many of us still feel we haven’t seen this crisis with our own eyes.

But that is changing. In the past few years, extreme weather and related events have struck many countries – even those who may have thought themselves immune. Australia’s Black Summer brought bushfires that burned an area the size of the United Kingdom. Germany suffered lethal flooding in 2021. The unprecedented 2022 deluge in Pakistan flooded large tracts of the country. China has seen both drought and floods. Savage multi-year droughts have hit the Horn of Africa. India has banned rice exports due to damage from heavy rain.

Once-abstract phrases are now having real-world purchase – in developed and developing nations alike.

Climate scepticism has also dropped away. Fewer doubters are trying to discredit the fundamental science than during the long period of manufactured scepticism in Western nations.

In this context, we can see “global boiling” as an expression of humanitarian concern backed by rigorous science showing the situation continues to worsen.

The hazards of theatrical language

There are risks in warning of catastrophe. People who don’t pay close attention to the news may switch off if the predicted disaster doesn’t eventuate. Or the warnings can add to climate anxiety and make people feel there’s no hope and therefore no point in acting.

There’s another risk, too. Catastrophic language often has moral overtones – and, as we all know, we don’t like being told what to do. When we hear a phrase like “global boiling” in the context of a prominent official exhorting us to do more, faster, it can raise the hackles.

Read more:
‘It can be done. It must be done’: IPCC delivers definitive report on climate change, and where to now

You can see this in the emerging greenlash, whereby populist-right figures scorn solar and wind farms. Even struggling mainstream leaders like UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can pivot this way, as evidenced by his recent positioning as pro-car and pro-oil extraction.

Opponents of climate action – who tend to be on the right of politics – often complain about what they see as the overuse of “crisis talk”. If everything is a crisis, nothing is a crisis. This view has some merit.

But even critics such as Danish controversialist Bjørn Lomborg, author of False Alarm, may have more in common with Guterres than one might think. In admittedly different ways, they pursue similar ends: a world where people can live free from harm, with dignity, and with reasonable prospects of a fulfilling life pursued sustainably. The question, as always, is how to get there.

Hot language can motivate us, just as quieter, process-heavy, technocratic language can. It can be folded into a discourse of hope and aspiration for the future, rather than of fear and trembling.

Rethinking calamity

Climate writer David Wallace-Wells has written that the future will be “contested and combative, combining suffering and flourishing — though not in equal measure for every group”.

As the critics Frederick Buell and Rob Nixon remind us, a hotter Earth will worsen existing human vulnerabilities as well as creating new ones. The poor and marginalised, both authors observe, are already living through crises, year-in and year-out. They suffer what Nixon dubs “slow violence”, punctuated by dramatic environmental events such as landslides and failed harvests.

Are there better phrases to capture this? Possibly. Take the challenge yourself: can you think up a pithy, accurate phrase to cover intensifying local and regional-scale droughts, fires, typhoons and floods; damage to crops and food insecurity; water shortages; existential threats to coral reefs and low-lying communities? You can see how hard it is.

When Guterres uses highly charged phrases, he’s not inviting to us to imagine a Hollywood-style apocalypse. What he’s hoping is to make people listen – and act – now we can see what climate change looks like.

What happens if we write off his comments as overblown rhetoric? The risk is it becomes another form of denial. Climate change, global warming, global heating, the climate crisis, global boiling – whatever the phrase, it is now undeniable that it’s upon us.

Read more:
The climate crisis is real – but overusing terms like ‘crisis’ and ’emergency’ comes with risk

Noel Castree does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Do phrases like ‘global boiling’ help or hinder climate action? – https://theconversation.com/do-phrases-like-global-boiling-help-or-hinder-climate-action-210960

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, The University of Western Australia

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s hopes of avoiding extradition to the United States, where he’s charged with espionage and computer misuse offences, have taken a blow.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, asked on Saturday about the Australian government’s request that the US end the prosecution, said Assange had been “charged with very serious criminal conduct […] [which] risked very serious harm to our national security”.

He also asked that Australians see the US perspective on the case.

These statements will disappoint Assange’s supporters. Previously, the US hadn’t responded directly to the Australian government’s statements. The Albanese government has repeatedly said it believes the process for prosecuting Assange has gone on too long and should be brought to a conclusion.

From a diplomatic perspective, moving from silence or ambiguity to clearer opposition to the Australian government’s position suggests the US may have decided to prosecute Assange despite Australia’s objections.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that position hadn’t changed, and that Secretary Blinken had merely said in public what had been said in private. He regards the diplomatic process as ongoing – though none can doubt it’s now more challenging.

How’d we get here?

The UK home secretary ordered Assange’s extradition to the US in 2022. Assange’s legal challenge to that order was rejected and is currently under appeal. In parallel, Assange has challenged the order before the European Court of Human Rights.

However, his best chance for freedom is for the US to withdraw the prosecution, or to pardon him.

Under former president Barack Obama, the US declined to prosecute Assange because his case could open the door to prosecution of journalists for espionage. The Trump administration issued an indictment against Assange in 2019, and the Biden administration has continued the extradition process.

Australians detained in foreign countries can access support at the nearest Australian embassy and have the right to communicate with Australian consular officials. At times Assange has rejected assistance, but he has had visits from Australian officials in the UK – including, unusually, High Commissioner Stephen Smith – this year.

Some situations are politically sensitive. Governments deal with those cases directly, and discussions aren’t made public.

The question is whether the US making its position on Assange public indicates it won’t shift that position, meaning further Australian discussions would be pointless.

Assange has enjoyed growing support from Australian parliamentarians. A group of MPs met with US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy in May this year.

But the uncompromising American position on pursuing prosecution is no surprise. The US has been resolute about prosecuting foreign nationals even when allies have objected.

In 1999, Germany took the US to the International Court of Justice because of its failure to grant German diplomats access to two German nationals accused of capital murder. Although the court found in Germany’s favour, the US still prosecuted and executed the brothers.

What if the government’s efforts fail?

Australia’s diplomatic efforts in other cases have produced successful outcomes. It has been effective recently in stopping the prosecution or extradition of persons under its protection. In 2022, Australian pressure led to the return of Professor Sean Turnell from Myanmar, where he had been charged with national security offences.

In 2019, direct engagement by then Foreign Minister Marise Payne with Thailand prevented the extradition of Hakeem Al-Araibi, a refugee and Australian permanent resident, to Bahrain.

Australia, working with the UK, secured the release of British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert from Iran in November 2020. This was a more challenging diplomatic situation because of the less friendly relations between Iran and both the UK and Australia.

The US seems to resist Australian pressure more often than smaller states do. Assange’s supporters hoped a direct request by Australia, a close American ally, would lead to his release.

While the US has resisted Australia’s request, it hasn’t yet formally closed the door. Until Assange is extradited, it’s always possible Australia’s persuasion could yet succeed.

If it fails, Australia would have few options. It could apply symbolic diplomatic measures, such as calling in the American ambassador or bringing the Australian ambassador home from the US for consultations.

These acts would demonstrate concern, but they remain in the sphere of diplomacy.

Indeed protecting Australian nationals in foreign countries is less about the law than successful diplomatic practice.

While Albanese has said Australia will continue to make representations concerning Assange, the diplomatic road has become rockier.

Holly Cullen is a volunteer for the Australian Labor Party.

– ref. A rocky diplomatic road: Julian Assange’s hopes of avoiding extradition take a blow as US pushes back – https://theconversation.com/a-rocky-diplomatic-road-julian-assanges-hopes-of-avoiding-extradition-take-a-blow-as-us-pushes-back-210806

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Austin, Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne

Bloom, the new Australian musical produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company, is proudly billed by the company as born and bred right here in Melbourne/Naarm.

Written by Tom Gleisner (of The Castle fame) with music by Katie Weston, the show follows the story of Rose (Evelyn Krape), who reluctantly arrives at Pine Grove Aged Care Home after being told she can no longer live alone. Finn (Slone Sudiro), a university student studying music, arrives on the same day as Rose as part of a scheme offering students board in exchange for domestic duties.

As both Rose and Finn settle into their new accommodation, we meet the eclectic residents of the home and two dedicated care staff. Gloria (Christina O’Neill) has “accidentally” worked at Pine Grove for eight years. Ruby (Vidya Makan) gave up her communications degree at uni for a job that allowed her to do something more meaningful.

Fault lines soon appear. The frugal and punitive manager of Pine Grove, Mrs MacIntyre (Anne Edmonds), puts profit before people. She refuses requests for outings, fresh food and psychosocial programs designed to improve the residents’ (or as Rose puts it, inmates) lives so she can meet a tight fiscal bottom line.

Each character wrestles with the poignant and relatable idea that there is a gap between who they were and who they have become.

This gap occurs across the spectrum of ageing. Ruby asks herself in song if “maybe it’s time”, contemplating leaving Pine Grove and commencing a masters degree in aged care. Resident Sal (Eddie Muliaumaseali’i) silently looks through old photos to connect with his past and the remnants of his past self.

Dismissing the rights of older Australians

This question of aged care homes as for-profit entities was brought into sharp focus during the pandemic. The final report of a Royal Commission into Aged Care and Safety exposed the deep chasms in the sector. It tabled 148 recommendations to parliament in 2021 and has led to significant legislative reform.

The idea suggested at the core of Bloom – that student boarders in aged care homes may lead to significant innovation, intergenerational and reciprocal learning and subsequently improve the quality of life for our elders – is treated glibly and without much substance in the formulaic model of musical theatre.

Read more:
4 key takeaways from the aged care royal commission’s final report

The story references ideas of the human rights of our elders to have agency to voice complaints, to be treated with respect, to have liberty of movement and the right to social participation.

Specifically, Rose tries to lead an insurrection of residents during an inspection of the facility and refuses pills that make her feel groggy.

Instead of being heard and respected, she is treated as a problem. The suggestion by Mrs MacIntyre is that she is “having a little turn” during her complaints: a moment of insight into how easily we have dismissed the rights of older Australians to exercise choice and be heard on matters that impact them.

Here, Bloom provides an insight into the cruelty inherent in some aspects of the system, and the difference quality care and a good carer can make to someone’s life.

Stark realities and missed opportunities

Toward the end of the play, there is a scene where we watch Rose take her last few breaths in her small hospital bed, in a stark and all-too-familiar room. She is surrounded by Gloria, Ruby and Finn, who provide comfort in her final hours.

In the scene, Finn reflects that Ruby seems very comfortable with death. She responds that both her grandparents lived at her home and she was present when they died.

Ruby’s experience of multi-generational living arrangements that allow for care at home for the elderly is more common in Australian families that include first- or second-generation migrants.

Finn reveals that when his mother died, he was considered too young to be at the hospital.

This scene at Rose’s bedside is a good representation of the missed opportunity in Bloom to starkly represent the realities of our aged care system and our dominant cultural approach to end-of-life care in this country.

Due to the intense staffing shortfall so sharply reflected in the royal commission, unless family were present, it is very possible Rose would have died alone.

I can’t help but imagine how seeing that uncomfortable reality on stage may have been a transformative theatrical moment, seared into the memories of the audience as they make choices about end-of-life and aged care for themselves and those they love.

Instead of tackling the systemic issues around aged care and end of life, Bloom wraps things neatly up in a bow, ending the musical by suggesting the death of Rose led to change at Pine Grove. An unqualified student will now work as a musical therapist and a nice manager has been found to lead the home into a new era.

There is a great track record of musical theatre successfully tackling overtly political material and revealing the gaps in our social fabric and problematising history and power (think of shows like Hamilton, Urinetown and Bran Nue Dae).

Unfortunately, Bloom seems too afraid of its own subject material to truly tackle these issues and reflect their realities back to us.

Bloom is at the Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse for the Melbourne Theatre Company until August 26.

Read more:
We all hope for a ‘good death’. But many aged-care residents are denied proper end-of-life care

Sarah Austin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. New Aussie musical Bloom misses an opportunity to interrogate the gaps in aged care – and in our social fabric – https://theconversation.com/new-aussie-musical-bloom-misses-an-opportunity-to-interrogate-the-gaps-in-aged-care-and-in-our-social-fabric-209794

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Osmond, Associate Professor of Sport History, The University of Queensland

One year out from the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, Paris has announced it will reopen the River Seine for swimming competition and then allow public swimming, ending a century-long ban. This ban was in place to stop people immersing themselves in river waters polluted by stormwater, sewage and chemicals.

But after many years of stormwater management work, three Olympic and Paralympic events will be held in the Seine in 2024 – the swimming marathon and the swimming legs of the Olympic triathlon and Para-triathlon. The Seine will also feature in the opening ceremony when, instead of the traditional athletes’ parade in a stadium, a parade of boats will carry the teams along the river.

The clean waters of the swimmable Seine are being promoted as a positive legacy of these games. But it’s not the first time Olympic swimming events have been held in the famous river. And with growing commitments to swimmable cities around the world, it is unlikely to be the last.

Read more:
It’s hot, and your local river looks enticing. But is too germy for swimming?

A brief history of river swimming

At the 1900 Paris Olympics, Australia’s Freddie Lane won two swimming events in the Seine. These were the 200 metres freestyle and a 200m obstacle race. This unusual event required the 12 athletes from four countries to climb over a pole, scramble over a row of boats and then swim under another row of boats.

Historians Reet and Max Howell quoted Lane describing his winning strategy: “[Knowing] a bit about boats [I] went over the sterns […] unlike the majority of competitors who fought their way over the sides.”

Following the tradition of linking to classical history that was common in the Games at the time, this event referenced Sequana, the Gallo-Roman goddess of the Seine. She is typically represented standing on a boat: clambering over and swimming under the river’s vessels was clearly for mere mortals.

That was the first and only time the Olympics included an obstacle race. But swimming competitions at the time were often held in rivers, harbours, lakes and other natural water bodies. The swimming races at the first modern Olympics, in Athens in 1896, were held in the Bay of Zea on the Piraeus peninsula. It wasn’t until 1908 in London that swimming moved to landlocked pools.

Swimming in rivers has a very long history related to pleasure and politics. Competitive river swimming remained common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Freddie Lane won the New South Wales mile championship in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga in January 1899.

“Professor of swimming” Fred Cavill helped pioneer swimming lessons for the masses in Sydney – including girls and women. He gave promotional swims in the Murray River on his arrival from the United Kingdom in 1880. Later that year he had to abandon a much-touted river swim from Parramatta to Sydney due to strong tides. One of Cavill’s sons, Arthur “Tums” Cavill, emigrated from Sydney to the United States where he introduced an annual winter swim in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in 1909.

And while it wasn’t an Olympic feat, in 1918 Alick Wickham made a world record high dive of 205 feet 9 inches (62.7 metres) into the Yarra River in Melbourne.

Read more:
Watered down: what happened to Australia’s river swimming tradition?

Even Chinese leader Mao Zedong used river swimming to promote his health and political image.

More recently, the swim leg of the triathlon for the 2000 Olympic Games was held in Sydney Harbour, where divers were on shark patrol.

However, like the 1900 obstacle race, organised and informal river swimming in cities became uncommon. In rivers such as the Seine in Paris and parts of the Yarra in Melbourne, it was even illegal.

The rise of built pools contributed to this shift, and for good reason. The novelty and modern design of concrete pools might have been part of the reason people abandoned city rivers and natural waterways. However, these new facilities also offered safety from sharks and stormwater, bacteria, chemicals and pollutants. Admittedly, questions of hygiene have also swirled around pools, especially before chlorine was added.

Ocean baths and pools served a similar purpose. As regulated spaces managed by local governments, pools meant swimmers were safer: lifeguards could watch over them and swimmers had access to more discreet changing facilities.

Read more:
A tale of 2 rivers: is it safer to swim in the Yarra in Victoria, or the Nepean in NSW?

The quest for swimmable cities

Pools have remained popular, but river swimming never disappeared. In recent years, a resurgence in interest has been buoyed by the environmental movement’s efforts to rehabilitate waterways and growing research supporting the health benefits of outdoor swimming.

The Seine will reopen for swimming thanks to a €1.4 billion (A$2.3 billion) regeneration project to “reinvent the Seine”. It began in 2017 and includes floating hotels, walkways and other social spaces as well as swimming and diving areas.

The revival of swimming in the Seine is just one example of how outdoor and “wild” swimming is contributing to better caring for rivers. In England, there’s pressure to improve the water of the River Thames in London as well as broader movements to stop sewage outfalls on rivers. In Denmark, Copenhagen harbour has summer swimming sites. In Beijing there is a somewhat subversive outdoor swimming subculture.

Read more:
UK waters are too polluted to swim in – but European countries offer answers

In Australia, too, a number of new swimming sites have opened. In Sydney, sites along the Parramatta River and in the harbour – one spot at Barangaroo opened this year – complement established river and harbour swimming areas, including the famous Dawn Fraser Baths. In Melbourne, there are calls for a chain of city swimming spots along the Birrarung/Yarra.

The growth in awareness of the important role that blue spaces – oceans, rivers, lakes, canals and other waterways – play in human health and wellbeing comes alongside a revival of the popularity of outdoor swimming and immersion. While we know this is good for people, public interest in clean, swimmable waterways for our own health, wellbeing and pleasure can also have great benefits for these environments.

Rebecca Olive receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

Gary Osmond does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Olympic swimming in the Seine highlights efforts to clean up city rivers worldwide – https://theconversation.com/olympic-swimming-in-the-seine-highlights-efforts-to-clean-up-city-rivers-worldwide-210714

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Austin, Chair of Private Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Blockbuster movie brand merchandising is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

That Buzz Lightyear bubble bath, Lightning McQueen bedding or Elemental backpack all contribute to a movie’s overall income stream.

And brand owners are in a constant battle against fake or unlicensed goods. The European Union Intellectual Property Office estimates that counterfeits comprise around 2.5% of all world trade.

But successful brands also inspire well-meaning imitators such as Hobbit-themed pubs, Grinch-themed photoshoots, Harry Potter fan festivals, or, in New Zealand, a cleaning business van painted with “Minion” imagery. Small businesses trying this kind of thing often get “cease and desist” letters from film studios, demanding they stop.

The success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie seems destined to encourage businesses to use elements of the film’s brand – from the distinctive lettering and colours to the doll’s packaging and image.

But businesses in New Zealand and elsewhere need to consider the risk they face by infringing on Mattel’s intellectual property rights.

The rise of Barbie

Barbie was already a juggernaut brand before the release of the film. In 2002, an appellate judge in the United States said “Mattel created not just a toy but a cultural icon”.

Mattel has been vigilant about controlling the Barbie image. It tried to stop conceptual artist Thomas Forsythe from creating artworks depicting Barbie in perilous positions – such as in cocktail blenders and under an oven grill.

And in the late 1990s, Mattel tried to stop Danish pop group Aqua from singing about Barbie.

Recently, Mattel convinced a court in China to stop a local firm called Barbietang from registering “Barbie tang” as a trade mark for veterinarian services – including artificial insemination.

In 2022, Mattel settled a claim against the use of “Barbie-Que” potato chips, apparently driving the product off the market.

Mattel’s legal strategies haven’t always worked. Forsythe won his case, and Mattel’s suit against MCA Records, Aqua’s North American record label, failed.

In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the fame of the Barbie trademark was not enough to stop a restaurant from using the word “Barbie” in its own branding.

But for local businesses, these cases won’t offer much comfort. Often, just the threat of legal proceedings will be enough.

Read more:
The reaction to ‘X,’ Elon Musk’s rebrand of Twitter, reflects how we feel about brands

Investing in brand protection

Serious concerns lie behind these enforcement efforts. Millions of dollars are spent on creating and sustaining brand images. What if Barbie-themed cruises, brunches, home decorating services and nightclub evenings aren’t any good? Will these poor imitations affect how people feel about the brand?

Mattel’s worldview has matured, as the Gerwig movie shows. It now seems open to some pretty sophisticated social commentary targeting its doll.

Yet it still has a strong interest in the Barbie image – boosted by the success of the film. A lacklustre “Barbie Brunch” could dim the brand’s shine. Brands can die by a thousand cuts.

Read more:
In Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Land, the matriarchy can be just as bad as the patriarchy

There’s another reason: money. As Mattel told the Canadian court, it is in the business of building brand equity – the commercial value that comes from consumer perception of a brand, which supports vast networks of licensing deals. It can be a firm’s most valuable asset.

Warding off unlicensed use of a brand protects new market segments. Sitting back while others enter the market with the same brand risks losing money. It’s not just poor imitations that matter. Any unlicensed use of the brand can take away market share.

What is a brand?

For all its importance, a “brand” is not a distinct legal category. Brand equity is protected by an array of intellectual property (IP) rights. Trademarks, copyrights and business goodwill work together to create and protect the valuable asset known as a “brand”.

The Canadian restaurant wanted only to use the word “Barbie”. The court was not convinced this would cause consumer confusion. This decision might have been different if the restaurant’s goods and services had been more similar to Mattel’s.

Read more:
How I learned to stop worrying and love the doll – a feminist philosopher’s journey back to Barbie

And it would have been a totally different case if the restaurant had also copied Barbie artwork, infringing Mattel’s copyrights.

Importantly, copyright rules protect against copying – brand owners don’t need to show that the copying will damage its reputation or jeopardise its market share.

A global network of IP treaties

Some will bridle at foreign firms using their IP muscle against New Zealand firms.

But international protection of IP has been around since at least the end of the 19th century. Owners of strong trademarks have also had entry into some markets blocked by businesses who used the brand first.

Aotearoa New Zealand is now party to a network of international IP treaties that help prevent this from happening.

These treaties are often linked to trade. Protecting IP is part of the quid pro quo for lowering tariffs for our goods in foreign markets. And it works the other way around: local artists and creative brand developers enjoy reciprocal protections for their IP in foreign markets.

For a small business getting a “cease and desist” letter, this can seem like cold comfort. Repainting a van or rebranding a pub is an irritating expense.

But when the IP system works well, it encourages creativity. To avoid problems, local firms need to come up with their own original brands and imagery. As with any branding strategy, that will require investment and creativity. But these efforts enrich our culture and, it’s hoped, the local businesses that do the hard yards.

Graeme Austin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Dolls and dollars: why small businesses should be wary of cashing in on Barbiemania with their branding – https://theconversation.com/dolls-and-dollars-why-small-businesses-should-be-wary-of-cashing-in-on-barbiemania-with-their-branding-210875

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theresa Larkin, Associate professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong

The lymphatic system has long been considered mysterious.

Unlike blood vessels, lymphatic vessels are not very visible to the naked eye, even during surgery. Because of this, the anatomy and functions of the lymphatic system have historically not been well studied. The fluid in the lymphatic system was named “lymph” after the Greek nymph – a mythical creature associated with clear streams – and the Roman Lympha, goddesses of fresh water.

But the lymphatic system – and the lymph nodes within it – plays fascinating and important roles in health and disease, from fighting off infection to maintain the body’s fluid balance.

Read more:
What can go wrong in the blood? A brief overview of bleeding, clotting and cancer

A major part of our immune system

The lymphatic system protects the body against foreign invaders and enables us to mount an immune response.

Lymphocytes are the cells of the lymphatic system. These are a type of white blood cell and include B cells and T cells. B cells produce antibodies to attack invading pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. T cells destroy the body’s own cells if they become cancerous or infected.

Lymphocytes are mostly contained in about 700 peanut-sized lymph glands in the body. Enlarged lymph nodes, such as after a vaccination or with an infection, are due to lymphocytes mounting a protective immune response. Lymphoma is a cancer that happens when lymphocytes multiply uncontrollably and cause swollen lymph glands throughout the body.

We also have lymphatic tissue in parts our airways and digestive system because these areas are exposed to external bugs via the air we breath or the things we eat and drink. In the digestive system, the lymphatic system also has an essential role in absorbing dietary fat from the intestines.

Some lymphocytes travel around the body conducting pathogen surveillance for invading bugs. They circulate between lymph nodes, lymph and the blood.

A fine balance of fluids

Every day, about 20 litres of fluid is pushed out of capillaries – our smallest blood vessels – into tissues and organs. This is driven by blood pressure and is how tissues get oxygen and energy. About 17 litres of this fluid returns to the veins, alongside carbon dioxide and other waste products.

But what happens to the remaining 3 litres of fluid?

If it stayed in our tissues, it would cause swelling called oedema, sometimes referred to as fluid retention.

Luckily, our lymphatic vessels usually pick up this remaining 3 litres of fluid and return it to the blood circulation.

Starting in the tissues just under the skin and around our organs, the lymphatic system is a one-way circulatory system. Lymphatic vessels carry lymph from the tissues via lymph nodes and then into veins that drain directly into the heart.

A slow flow

Unlike the blood circulation, the lymphatic circulation is not driven by the pumping of the heart. Lymph is moved towards the heart by muscular contractions of the lymphatic vessels and one-way valves.

Movement, exercise and deep breathing all help to move lymph through lymphatic vessels.

It is difficult to move lymph against gravity, and lymph can accumulate and cause swelling or oedema in the legs and feet. Many people have experienced this as swollen feet after standing still for too long or sitting during a long-haul flight.

Too much fluid

Oedema can also occur when too much fluid moves out of the capillaries and overloads the capacity of the lymphatic vessels to reabsorb it.

This can be due to heart failure, chronic venous insufficiency, liver failure or kidney disease. In our research, we found 49% of people with chronic venous insufficiency (or poor blood flow in the veins) had leg oedema.

Lymphoedema is when the oedema is caused by a problem with the lymphatic system. This is commonly due to obstruction of lymph drainage or removal of lymph nodes during cancer treatment.

Treatments can help lymph flow more freely

Lymphoedema treatments include lymphatic massage, compression bandages or stockings, and exercise.

Lymphatic massage requires specialised training and an understanding of the lymphatic vessels. It involves stretching and stroking the skin to move fluid from the swollen region to a location where the lymphatic system is functioning properly.

Lymphatic massage can reduce lymphoedema associated with cancer treatment. An Australian study also reported that lymphatic massage reduced pain, depression and fatigue in cancer patients.

Increasing lymph flow back towards the heart is also essential to prevent complications like cellulitis or skin infection. A proper diagnosis should precede any treatment for lymphoedema.

You might have seen social media posts or services promising to boost lymphatic drainage for relaxation, beauty or health reasons. Lymphatic facial massage and traditional Chinese techniques of gua sha and jade rollers can increase blood flow and lymph flow, but need to be used correctly.

These treatments are best performed by someone who is trained in the anatomy of the lymphatic system and lymph flow. If you do try these yourself, light pressure is needed because the lymphatic vessels are only just under the skin. It is uncommon to have lymphoedema in the face, but increased blood flow to the skin and a nice massage are still beneficial.

To keep your lymphatic system working well, it is important to exercise, maintain a healthy weight and eat a diet that is rich in antioxidants and not high in salt.

Read more:
Why does my back get so sore when I’m sick? The connection between immunity and pain

New promise for patients

New research is examining artificial stimulation of new lymphatic vessel growth.

Better imaging techniques have allowed for clearer visualisation of the lymphatic pathways and increased understanding of the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system may not be as mysterious as it once was. However, there is still much more to be learnt about the lymphatic system and its roles in health and disease.

Laurencia Villalba is a vascular surgeon in private and public practice.

Alison Tomlin and Theresa Larkin do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What are lymph nodes? And can a massage really improve lymphatic drainage? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-lymph-nodes-and-can-a-massage-really-improve-lymphatic-drainage-209334

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thea van de Mortel, Professor, Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University

Picking your nose is linked to an increased risk of COVID, according to a study out today.

The study was conducted in health workers. This raises two main questions.

One, were these health workers washing their hands at work? Two, what does this study mean for the rest of us nose pickers?

Read more:
When you pick your nose, you’re jamming germs and contaminants up there too. 3 scientists on how to deal with your boogers

What did the study find?

Some 219 Dutch health workers were monitored for COVID infection. They had regular antibody testing, which tells us if they had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. They also reported the results of their own COVID tests.

Some 12-18 months later, the health workers were asked about their nose picking habits, and exposure to COVID via symptomatic workmates or from contacts outside work.

Just over 17% of health workers who reported picking their nose caught COVID versus about 6% of those who did not report nose picking.

At first glance, it might appear feasible that people who pick their noses would be at increased risk of contracting COVID.

That’s because COVID infection relies on the SARS-CoV-2 virus coming into contact with mucous membranes that line the respiratory system, including those in the nose.

So if someone touches a contaminated object or hand, then sticks their finger up their nose, this so-called fomite transmission can occur.

But the risk is comparatively low. The United States Centers for Disease Control estimates about one in 10,000 contacts with a contaminated surface results in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Read more:
How clean is your hospital room? To reduce the spread of infections, it could probably be cleaner

Hang on a minute

But there are some odd results. For example, people who picked their noses only monthly had a higher chance of infection than daily nose pickers. Logically, you would expect the daily nose pickers to have a higher risk of infection due to more transmission opportunities.

There were also several aspects of how the study was designed that may have influenced the results.

Just over half of the people approached to participate in the study actually did so, which may cause selection bias. This is where people who choose to participate may differ in some key characteristic from those who don’t. These different characteristics can be “confounders” that influence the results.

This was a cohort study, which followed a defined group of people for a set time and asked them questions about their habits and exposure. This study design may also be subject to bias.

That’s because people tend to answer in ways that are socially desirable, even in anonymous surveys. They tend to under-report behaviours seen as socially unacceptable (such as binge drinking); they over-report those that are socially acceptable.

This study did not control for this type of bias. So we cannot say for certain if someone’s report of whether and how often they picked their nose is a true reflection of what actually happened.

People in the study may also have had trouble correctly remembering past behaviour (picking their nose) or exposures (to symptomatic people with COVID). The long time lag between when the infection data was collected and the retrospective survey increases the risk of recall error.

There is also some level of “guestimating” in the study, particularly when it comes to the risk of COVID exposure. Health workers were asked to note their contact with symptomatic people or working with COVID patients. But we can’t say if these were real “exposures”. That’s because people may not have symptoms and still have COVID (this would have under-estimated their exposure risk). Alternatively, COVID patients may not be that infectious if they don’t shed much virus (which may have over-estimated the COVID risk).

Then, it appears the analysis did not control for gender. This is potentially an issue as female health workers tend to be better at following hand hygiene guidelines. The study reported a higher rate of nose picking in males and doctors, and males and doctors are also worse at hand hygiene.

So the nose pickers may also be worse at sanitising their hands. In other words, we don’t know if nose picking is the reason for the reported increased risk of COVID, the lack of hand hygiene, or both.

Another way of saying this is the researchers reported a correlation between nose picking and an increased risk of COVID. We cannot say one causes the other or if additional factors are involved.

Read more:
Does picking your nose really increase your risk of dementia?

So, what now?

Given the above limitations, the study conclusions seem overly confident. Overall, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via nose picking is probably comparatively low, particularly for the general public who are not working in high COVID environments.

But you can definitely decrease your risk through good hand hygiene (and using a tissue that you dispose of afterwards).

Better still, avoid inhaling airborne viral particles, which is the most common mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Wear a good fitting mask or respirator in public, particularly in poorly ventilated or crowded inside spaces.

Thea van de Mortel teaches into the Griffith University Master of Infection Prevention and Control program.

– ref. Does picking your nose really increase your risk of COVID? – https://theconversation.com/does-picking-your-nose-really-increase-your-risk-of-covid-210879

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frederic Gachon, Associate Professor, Physiology of Circadian Rhythms, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland

Early hunter-gatherers faced long periods of fasting. Their access to food relied on successful hunting, fishing, and the availability of wild plants.

Over time, the development of modern agriculture and the transition to industrialised societies changed our regular eating patterns, shifting our dinner time to later in the day to accommodate work schedules.

Today, with access to an abundance of food, we rarely experience prolonged periods of fasting, except for weight loss or religious practices. It’s now common to have four or more meals a day, with the most calories consumed later in the day. Frequent snacking is also common, over a window of around 15 hours.

However, research increasingly shows our health is not only affected by what and how much we eat, but also when we eat. So what does this mean for meal scheduling? And can intermittent fasting help?

Our body clock controls more than our sleep

Our internal biological timekeeper, or circadian clock, regulates many aspects of our physiology and behaviour. It tells us to be awake and active during the day, and rest and sleep during the night. It can also tell us the best time to eat.

Our body is biologically prepared to have food during the day. Food digestion, nutrient uptake and energy metabolism is optimised to occur when we’re supposed to be active and eating.

Working against this default stage, by regularly eating when we’re supposed to sleep and fast, can compromise these processes and impact our health. Erratic eating patterns, including late-night meals, have been linked to weight gain and a greater risk of metabolic disease.

Shift-workers, for example, and people who work evening, night or rotating shifts, have a higher risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

But adopting an eating pattern that aligns with our circadian rhythm can reduce these risks.

Read more:
Why does night shift increase the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease? Here’s what we know so far

So can intermittent fasting help?

Nutritional interventions are increasingly focused not only on “what” we eat but also “when”. Intermittent fasting is one way to restrict the timing, rather than the content, of what we eat.

There are several types of intermittent fasting, one of which is time-restricted eating. This means eating all our calories in a consistent 8-12 hour, or even shorter, interval each day.

But is it backed by evidence?

Most of what we know today about intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating is from mouse studies, which demonstrate remarkable weight loss and overall health benefits associated with these types of dietary interventions.

However, some aspects of mouse physiology can be different to humans. Mice need to eat more frequently than humans and even a short period of fasting has a more significant physiological impact on mice. One day of fasting in mice leads to a 10% loss of body weight, whereas humans would need to fast for 14 days to achieve similar results. This makes a direct translation from mice to humans more complicated.

While health benefits of intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating have also been observed in humans, the findings in respect of weight loss are less clear. Current data suggest only modest, if any, weight loss in human participants who undergo these diet regimens when compared to calorie-restricted diets.

Drawing definitive conclusions in humans may be more difficult because of the small sample sizes and individual differences in metabolism, variations in study design (such as the use of different protocols with varying times and duration of food restriction), and participants not complying with their instructions.

Health benefits could be due to eating fewer calories

Most studies describing the health benefits of time restricted eating or intermittent fasting also found these diets were accompanied by calorie restriction: reducing the time of food access implicitly leads people to eat less.

Studies that controlled calorie intake did not detect any more benefits of intermittent fasting than calorie restriction alone.

Read more:
Restricting calories leads to weight loss, not necessarily the window of time you eat them in

The weight loss and health benefits observed with intermittent fasting is likely attributed due to the resultant reduction in calorie intake. Similar findings have been reported for time-restricted eating.

Benefit of following our body clock

Nevertheless, time-restricted eating offers additional health benefits in humans, such as improved glucose metabolism and blood pressure, even without differences in calorie intake, in particular when restricted to the earlier part of the day (that is, when having a six-hour eating window with dinner before 3pm).

Restricting food intake to the daytime for shift-workers can alleviate metabolic differences caused by shift-work, whereas this effect is not observed when food intake is restricted to nighttime.

One idea is that consuming food early, in alignment with our circadian rhythm, helps to synchronise our circadian clock. This restores the rhythm of our autonomous nervous system, which regulates essential functions such as breathing and heart rate, to keep our physiology “tuned”, as it was shown in mice.

While there’s much still to learn from research in this field, the evidence suggests that to maintain a healthy weight and overall wellbeing, aim for regular, nutritious meals during the day, while avoiding late-night eating and frequent snacking.

Read more:
Yes, intermittent fasting can boost your health, but how and when to restrict food consumption is crucial

Frederic Gachon is currently receiving funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and has received funding from the French Institute for Medical Research and Health (INSERM: 2006-2008), the Swiss National Science Foundation (2010-2012), the European Research Council (2011- 2015) and the Leenaards Foundation (2012-2014). He also worked for Nestlé (2012-2017) where he received industry funding.

Meltem Weger has received funding from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (PhD fellowship; 2010-2012) and from the European Commission (Marie Curie Curie Postdoctoral fellowships; 2014-2016, 2017-2019).

– ref. Does it matter what time of day I eat? And can intermittent fasting improve my health? Here’s what the science says – https://theconversation.com/does-it-matter-what-time-of-day-i-eat-and-can-intermittent-fasting-improve-my-health-heres-what-the-science-says-203762

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Breheny, Associate Professor of Health Psychology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Sleep may seem straightforward – everyone does it, after all. But as many of us know, getting enough sleep is not necessarily a simple task, despite what you might read in the media.

How to sleep “properly” is a favourite topic of self-help articles, with headlines such as “Expert advice to get a good night’s sleep whatever your age” promising the answer to your nocturnal awakenings.

Older people are commonly the audience of these messages. Our analysis of articles published in the New Zealand media between 2018 and 2021 found sleep is presented as inevitably declining with age.

At the same time, sleep is portrayed as a cure for everything: a good night’s sleep is depicted as a way to maintain productivity, ward off illness and dementia, and ultimately live longer.

But most of these articles are aimed at the individual and what they can do to improve their sleep. Often missing is any reference to the external factors that can contribute to poor sleep.

Personal choice and sleep

A key message in many of the articles we examined is that sleep is a simple matter of making the right choices. So, if you’re not getting enough sleep it’s probably your own fault.

People are lectured about poor “sleep hygiene” – staying up too late looking at their phone, having too many cups of coffee, or not getting enough exercise during the day.

And it’s true, drinking too much caffeine or staring at a screen into the small hours might interfere with sleep. It’s also true that good sleep is important for good health.

But things are a bit more complicated than this. As anyone who has struggled to maintain good sleep knows, simple tips don’t always overcome the complex situations that contribute to these struggles.

Read more:
Sleep deprivation benefited our ancestors, yet harms us now — but staying fit may help us cope

Awake to other factors

Good sleep is not just a matter of “making the right choices”. Internationally, there’s a growing body of research showing sleep is affected by much more than individual behaviour: it’s often shaped by a person’s social and economic circumstances.

New Zealand research is adding to this pool of knowledge. One study, based on survey results from just over 4,000 people, found insufficient sleep was more common among Māori than non-Māori, partly due to higher rates of night work.

International research has also found women are more likely to experience insomnia due to their caregiving roles.

Read more:
How do I stop my mind racing and get some sleep?

One US study found unpaid caregivers for children or parents (or both) reported shorter sleep quantity and poorer sleep quality than paid caregivers or people without such roles. A survey of 526 carers in New Zealand showed two-thirds reported mild or severe sleep disturbance.

We also know lack of sleep is linked to serious disease, including diabetes and heart disease. Sleep duration and quality have been identified as predictors of levels of haemoglobin A1c, an important marker of blood sugar control.

And hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease and irregular heartbeats have been found to be more common among those with disordered sleep than those without sleep abnormalities.

Failure to acknowledge the social context of poor sleep means sleep messages in the media ignore the fundamental causes in favour of the illusion of a quick fix.

The commodification of sleep

Sleep is also increasingly characterised as a commodity, with a growing market for products – such as sleep trackers – that claim to help improve sleep quality.

Sleep trackers promise to measure and enhance sleep performance. However, their reliability may be limited – one study found the tested tracker did not accurately detect sleep, particularly in older adults who had greater levels of nighttime movement.

Framing public health problems as matters of personal choice is common. Alcohol and fast-food consumption, for example, are regularly presented as matters of individual responsibility and poor personal choices. The role of marketing and access to healthy food gets a lot less attention.

Read more:
Explainer: how much sleep do we need?

Of course, simple tips for getting good sleep may be useful for some people. But ignoring the underlying social and economic factors that shape the possibilities for good sleep will not address the problem.

Health promotion messages that focus on individual behaviour miss the structural barriers to better health, including poverty, low levels of education, high rates of incarceration, substandard or crowded housing and racism.

We need to move beyond messages of individual behaviour change and start talking about inequities that contribute to the problem of who gets a decent night’s sleep and who doesn’t.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Counting the wrong sheep: why trouble sleeping is about more than just individual lifestyles and habits – https://theconversation.com/counting-the-wrong-sheep-why-trouble-sleeping-is-about-more-than-just-individual-lifestyles-and-habits-210695

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darryl Jones, Deputy Director of Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University

Feeding wild birds in backyards was already known to be extremely popular in many parts of the northern hemisphere and in Australia, despite being strongly discouraged. But the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns led to a dramatic increase in wild bird feeding around the world, our research published today shows. There was a surge in interest beyond traditional bird-feeding countries in North America, Europe and Australia: 115 countries in total, including many where feeding was assumed not to occur.

Those opposed to feeding wild birds cite a plethora of reasons:

• the spread of diseases (well-documented in the US and UK)
• poor nutrition as a result of an unbalanced diet
• advantaging already abundant species
• changing community structure (birds that visit feeders prosper at the cost of those that don’t)
• even altering migration patterns.

These impacts occur everywhere wild birds are fed and are potentially serious.

On the other hand, engaging with wild birds in this way is now recognised as one of the most effective ways people can connect with nature. There is strong evidence that spending time in natural settings is good for people’s wellbeing and mental health. This becomes increasingly important as more and more of the world’s people live in large cities.

These trends mean the simple, common practice of attracting birds to your garden by feeding them is taking on much greater significance for the welfare of both birds and people.

Read more:
Why you may need to encourage social distancing around your bird feeder

What did the study look at?

Previous studies documented a global increase in birdwatching during lockdowns. We wondered whether interest in feeding birds might have increased similarly as well. That usually means buying seed mixes and providing a feeder. To be included in our study, some cost was required; discarded food scraps were not counted as feeding.

It was important to go beyond the countries where we already knew feeding was common. We wanted to compare the interest levels for more than 100 countries during and after lockdowns. We also examined whether the level of interest in bird feeding was related to the diversity of birds in each country, a measure known as “species richness”.

We assessed the weekly frequency of search terms, including “bird feeder”, “bird food” and “bird bath”, using Google Trends for all countries with sufficient search volumes from January 1 2019 to May 31 2020. We wanted to see if these searches increased during each country’s specific lockdown period (generally around February-April 2020). We drew on bird species richness data for each nation from the BirdLife International database.

Comparing the interest volume for 52 weeks leading up to the lockdown with the week immediately before, we found no discernible change. Within only two weeks, however, the frequency of searches showed a surge in bird feeding interest during the general lockdown period across 115 of the countries surveyed. This happened in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Read more:
Biodiversity and our brains: how ecology and mental health go together in our cities

What explains the change?

There are several possible reasons for this change. People throughout the world were forced to remain close to home. The backyard or nearby park became the focus of attention, perhaps for the first time.

Lockdowns were a time of high anxiety and stress. Aspects of life that seemed to be carrying on regardless, such as birds arriving each day to be fed, may have been a course of comfort and reassurance.

Feeding birds has been found to enhance feelings of personal worth and peace. Presumably, it’s because of the relative intimacy associated with being able to attract wild, unrestrained creatures to visit by simply providing some food.

Bird feeding is also cheap, simple and available to virtually everyone. Birds will visit a feeder in a private garden, a public park or even a balcony on a residential tower.

Read more:
Birdbath, food or water? How to attract your favourite birds to your garden

And what difference does bird diversity make?

We found a clear association between the level of interest in feeding and species diversity. Countries that lacked bird-related search interest had an average of 294 bird species. In contrast, those countries with clear interest had an average of 511 species.

This clear difference suggests that having a greater variety of species prompts more bird feeding. It may also mean places with more species have a larger number of bird types living in their cities (where most feeders live). This remains to be be investigated. We do know that feeding birds leads to more birds overall, but not more species.

Because we used Google searches as the proxy measurement for bird-feeding interest, bird-feeding practices in countries with lower income or less internet access may not have been adequately captured. Nonetheless, our method was able to detect a surge of interest in bird feeding in countries such as Pakistan and Kenya.

The COVID-19 lockdowns seemed to encourage people all over the world to seek connection and interaction with their local birds. We hope future studies can further analyse the global extent of bird feeding and capture more data in previously understudied countries.

Feeding birds is obviously very popular. For people. But it can lead to problems for the birds. To minimise the risks, keep in mind some simple rules:

• keep the feeder extremely clean (disease is always a concern)
• don’t put out too much food (they don’t need it)
• provide food that is appropriate for the species (never human food – buy wild bird food from pet food companies).

Read more:
Yes it’s okay to feed wild birds in your garden, as long as it’s the right food

Darryl Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Wild bird feeding surged worldwide during lockdowns. That’s good for people, but not necessarily for the birds – https://theconversation.com/wild-bird-feeding-surged-worldwide-during-lockdowns-thats-good-for-people-but-not-necessarily-for-the-birds-210628

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Moyes, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University

Teachers are not always equipped to deal with the growing health needs of their students, from mental health challenges to complex medical needs.

Federal and state governments are currently looking at “key targets” as part of the next National School Reform Agreement, which starts in 2025.

A consultation paper, which looks at many aspects of teaching and learning, hones in on how to improve student mental health and wellbeing. It specifically asks:

What can be done to establish stronger partnerships between schools, local health networks and primary health networks?

Paying more attention to the role school nurses can play in school communities is a great place to start.

School nurses are real nurses

It’s a common misconception among students and staff that school nurses are not “real nurses”.

I come across this in my work with school nurses – people think nurses are only trained to work in hospitals, even though a large group specialise in working outside them.

School nurses are qualified and registered health professionals. School nursing is also one of the oldest nursing specialities. Australia has had school nurses for more than 100 years.

What do they do?

School nurses are located all over Australia, in urban, regional and remote areas. They can be employed by state or territories’ public health services or employed directly by their schools.

What nurses do varies from school to school. This can be confusing for education staff, parents and even school nurses themselves.

There are no hard-and-fast rules. The hours school nurses work and the work they do (even the job title they have) often depends on their employer.

Some school nurses primarily care for students with acute health issues such as illness or injury. They can also give prescribed medications for seizures, ADHD or diabetes, and help students with chronic or complex health needs such as a tracheostomy or gastrostomy, where students need help with their breathing or nutrition.

Beyond this, nurses can coordinate health care for boarding school students, or attend school camps and sporting events.

Health promotion and screening

Some school nurses focus on health promotion and early interventions.

This can includes screening for speech, vision or hearing problems.

It can also include working with teachers to deliver health education about topics such as vaping and respectful relationships.

Read more:
Vaping and behaviour in schools: what does the research tell us?

Nurses as a bridge between two worlds

School nurses are the bridge between health and education: while well informed about the health system, they also have insight into how complex schools and classrooms can be.

School nurses can help young people be – and stay – at school. They can manage student health directly as well as working with complex student health needs to inform individual education plans and support inclusion.

School nurses can also be advocates for children, and help them beyond the school gates.

They can help young people experiencing family, sexual health, stress, or drug use problems and refer them to other services.

They can engage with and support families, helping them access community resources and navigate the health system.

A 2021 review of Australian and international studies of school nurses found they had significant impact in facilitating access to health care, chronic disease management, coordinating care and reducing absenteeism.

But nurses also facilitated early intervention, access to social care, and reduced emergency department visits and hospitalisations.

We need more information

Despite the many benefits, we don’t know exactly how many school nurses there are, or even how many students they provide care to as this information isn’t publicly available.

Some sources suggest there are approximately 1,500 school nurses in Australia but this is likely to be an underestimate.

The school nurses are also not equitably distributed. Some students have a full-time nurse at their school, some have a part-time nurse while other children don’t have access to a school nurse at all.

A recent workforce survey indicates many nurses working in community settings such as schools are underutilised and not being able to use all their skills on the job.

With the school reform agreement there is a major opportunity to improve health services to students by improving their access to school nurses.

In the meantime, if you’re lucky enough to have a school nurse, take the time to talk with them. You may be surprised what they can do for you. You can usually contact the nurse through the school office.

Read more:
What is the National School Reform Agreement and what does it have to do with school funding?

Anita Moyes is a Research Officer for the WA School Nurses Association.

– ref. Australia has had school nurses for more than 100 years – but we don’t use them enough – https://theconversation.com/australia-has-had-school-nurses-for-more-than-100-years-but-we-dont-use-them-enough-210058

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct professor of architecture, University of Adelaide

Earlier this year the Federal Court found ARM Architecture and its then managing director Tony Allen were guilty of attempting to rig bids for a tender relating to a $250 million building project at Charles Darwin University.

The Court ordered ARM Architecture to pay a penalty of $900,000 and Mr Allen to pay $75,000.

In a public statement, Mr Allen said he had made

a very serious mistake by attempting to induce the other firms to engage in bid-rigging, and this has had serious consequences for me. I have lost my position, my reputation, and my involvement in a profession that I love.

Allen had sent an email to at least eight other architecture firms that were members of the Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Branch Large Practice Forum prior to the close of bids:

Our request to you is simple. Please do not submit a tender as we are relying very heavily on continuing with this project to keep our practice alive throughout the remainder of this strange and difficult COVID time.

He had followed it up with this second email:

We have received very positive responses from Architectus and JWA. We would greatly appreciate a short note from you to let us know of your intentions either way.`

The biggest fine for architects so far

Although colluding in bidding for contracts is rife in the construction industry and materials supply industries, this is the biggest fine so far for an individual professional services firm.

In Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission managed to successfully prosecute Cement Australia Pty Ltd in 2017 for anti-competitive practices resulting in a fine of $20.6 million.

And in the United Kingdom, so many construction firms were involved in massive bid-rigging scandals uncovered in 2008 and 2020, that the UK government had to warn its agencies not to blacklist them because it would “limit choice”.

Fees used to be fixed

In the supposedly more genteel design professions, submitting tenders for fees is relatively new. Until about 40 years ago, architects and engineers normally worked on a fixed-fee basis, and often made deals to divide work between them.

The Royal Institute of British Architects, founded in 1834, was set up primarily as a cartel to maintain a schedule of fees and prescribe educational standards for those who wanted to use the term “architect”.

Although fixed fees are likely to upset economists on principle, they have the advantage of not encouraging architects to shortcut their professional responsibilities in order to compete on price.

This might be why the law allows medical professionals, lawyers and pharmacists to set fees for their services. Few people would be tempted to select their surgeon on the basis of price.

Read more:
Why universities may come to regret the costs of City Deals and private sector ‘solutions’

Until about 1980, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects also attempted to fix fees. When the government gently pointed out that this was illegal under trade practices law, the Institute began a long, slow retreat and eventually stopped publishing a recommended fee scale, much to the chagrin of many members.

Competitive tendering is typically seen as the “gold standard” for getting value in construction, but tendering processes have become so onerous and convoluted that the costs of tendering in relation to the potential gains may now be reducing rather than enhancing competition.

This is especially significant for design consultants such as architects and engineers whose profitability is typically well below average for the industry.

Bidding processes convoluted

The Charles Darwin University project is a case in point. ARM was selected to design what was to be an “iconic” building, but documentation of the design was to be the subject of a second tender, which was the subject of ARM’s emails.

This two-stage process, devised by a project management firm, was self-defeating.

Charles Darwin University wanted a highly-awarded architect to deliver an iconic building, but much of the design ARM contributed has been lost.

The images of the new building, produced by another firm, do not resemble the original ARM design and are not the stuff architectural icons are made of.

ARM and Tony Allen have paid a very high price for their folly in asking other firms not to tender, but the project management firm that devised the expensive and ultimately unproductive double tender process has not been subject to any public scrutiny or criticism.

If we are going to have fee tenders, we need a transparent system with enforceable rules sufficient to stop public clients needlessly adding costs by wasteful convolutions, as happened with the Charles Darwin University double tender.

Maybe there’s a better way

Alternatives should to be considered. It ought to be possible for the client to nominate a reasonable fee, and then select consultants who will accept the nominated fee based purely on their merit.

Another possibility is a two-envelope system, where the fee and the quality of submission are assessed separately, with the fee envelope only opened when an evaluation of the quality of submissions has taken place.

Other than that, we could do worse than revert to a fixed percentage fee and reap a huge saving in the effort, time and money put into selection processes. Free-market economists might like to think about how much competitive tenders actually cost.

Geoff Hanmer’s firm ARINA was involved in the second stage of the bidding for the CDU project with Richard Kirk Architect. ARINA had no role in the selection of ARM for the project nor in the subsequent selection process other than as a participant in the second competition with Richard Kirk.

– ref. Bid-rigging is rife in Australian construction, but the process itself is partly to blame – https://theconversation.com/bid-rigging-is-rife-in-australian-construction-but-the-process-itself-is-partly-to-blame-207319

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mona Mashhadi Rajabi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney

A new study has found that a carbon tax, accompanied by “revenue recycling”, can produce both environmental and economic benefits for Australia.

Revenue recycling means money reaped from a carbon tax would be redirected back into the economy. This means the money accumulated from the tax would be redistributed between different stakeholders in the economy without increasing the government’s revenue.

To be more specific, the tax income should be used to support consumption, invest in new research and development projects, and subsidise energy saving and pollution reducing programs. Using this approach makes the tax more politically appealing to companies and other opponents.

Australia’s experience with a carbon tax

Debate about a carbon tax has always been heated in Australia. The Gillard government introduced a carbon pricing scheme in 2012 which involved an initial rate of $23 per tonne on about 500 big carbon emitters, including the electricity industry.

The scheme contained compensation measures including increases in money to government payment recipients and a program to help emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries reduce carbon emissions, which were themselves a form of recycling.

Despite reducing emissions, the tax only lasted two years before it was terminated by the Abbott government, which argued the tax was costing big companies and causing electricity prices to rise.

I examined how such a scheme could work again, basing the design on the models used in Norway, Ireland and Switzerland. I simulated Australia’s economy from 2020 to 2035 to examine the impact of a carbon tax policy with the associated revenue recycling approach on prices, total emissions and economic growth.

The first step in the design is identifying a tax rate and the reach of the policy. Research shows that a uniform rate covering the whole industry sector generates the greatest environmental benefits.

As well as suggesting a uniform tax rate on all sectors including the electricity sector (which is excluded from the current emissions safeguard mechanism), my study recommends starting the tax rate at $23 (the same rate applied in Gillard’s scheme) in 2023 and increasing it gradually to $70 in 2030.

The rate would stay at this level until 2035.

A carbon tax increases the cost of production and leads to an increase in the inflation rate. The inflation impact of this policy is estimated to be 0.5% in 2023, increasing substantially to 1.52% in 2035.

Rising inflation reduces the spending power of families and reduces consumption and economic growth. Considering consumption has a fundamental role in a growing economy, the accumulated tax revenue would be used to keep consumption unchanged after implementing a carbon tax.

How a new version of the tax would work

My study recommends using the accumulated carbon tax revenue to lower income taxes. This would leave more money for families, thereby reducing the impact of inflation, caused by the tax, on the economy.

As well as strengthening families’ spending power, a share of the tax revenue would be invested in research and development projects. This would create new jobs and provide a baseline for a prosperous economy.

Read more:
China is pumping out carbon emissions as if COVID never happened. That’s bad news for the climate crisis

My study recommends that in the first year, all the tax revenue would be used to support consumption. However, the amount of money allotted to investment would rise from the second year as the carbon tax rate increases. It is estimated that about $57 billion would be available for new technologies over 13 years under this carbon tax.

Imposing a carbon tax would also provide a financial incentive for industry to reduce its fossil fuel use. It would motivate the sector to shift to low-carbon technologies as they would bear a smaller tax bill and reap larger profits.

My study concludes Australia could reduce carbon emissions by 35% while GDP would increase by 0.286% by 2035 and new jobs would be created in research and development. Following the recommended carbon tax design, Australia’s transition to a low-carbon economy would be accelerated, which would benefit both the economy and the environment.

Mona Mashhadi Rajabi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. A carbon tax can have economic, not just environmental benefits for Australia – https://theconversation.com/a-carbon-tax-can-have-economic-not-just-environmental-benefits-for-australia-210380

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia

In Melodrama Revised, an essay from 1998, film theorist Linda Williams suggests melodrama situates the audience in a direct empathetic relationship with a victim, so we emotionally experience the victim’s subjugation and then triumph with their overcoming. Oscillating between pathos and action, this is the dominant mode of popular American cinema (and culture more broadly).

She’s right – but then there’s melodrama and Melodrama, the kind that makes us think of soap operas and damsels tied to train tracks.

The new Australian seven episode TV series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is Melodrama of the Peyton Place variety, though some of the excesses that make something like Peyton Place (or its low rent cousin, Valley of the Dolls) so enjoyable are sorely missing.

We’re left with solid, well shot, naturalistic and thoroughly middlebrow stuff; a show that distracts us in a mildly pleasurable fashion without the fireworks and dynamics we might desire from the campier versions of its ilk. At the same time, it’s not nearly as brilliant as the closest show I can think of for comparison, also based on an Australian novel, Big Little Lies.

All is not as it may seem

Based on the book by Holly Ringland, the narrative follows Alice Hart, a young girl from an abusive household who, orphaned, is forced to live with her grandmother, June (Sigourney Weaver), on Thornfield Farm. June, who has a complex history with abuse herself, has set up the farm – which cultivates flowers – as a refuge for desperate women.

Early on, we get a sense that all is not as it may seem – that Thornfield Farm, as perhaps indicated by its 19th century gothic sounding name, does not exactly function as the blissful redemptive paradise it at times appears.

We also see, early on, that while June appears to be a strong and compassionate woman, she’s also someone who demands things go her way. And, as the series progresses, she is predictably increasingly revealed as a manipulative, unyielding and egotistical matriarch.

For the first three episodes, Alice is a young girl. For the final half, the narrative jumps ahead 14 years. Alice is a young woman.

After discovering some of her grandmother’s depredations, she sets out on her own, away from the flower farm where she came of age. Based on her knowledge of floriculture, she secures a job as a park ranger apparently on the look out for flower poachers (!). She meets a guy, and things seem to be working out well for Alice.

Alas, in TV land patterns conveniently repeat at the right times, and this flower unfolds as we imagine it would in a show about intergenerational patterns of abuse.

Read more:
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Effectively rendered

All of the elements of Lost Flowers are effectively rendered. The performances, from a mostly inexperienced cast, are excellent.

Alyla Brown as Young Alice manages to combine vulnerability, enthusiasm and naivety in a way that perfectly captures the effects of her circumstances on her development. Alycia Debnam-Carey is similarly effective playing the older Alice and, as usual, is a delight to watch.

Veteran Weaver – who is an executive producer of the show – dominates her scenes as the flower-obsessed matriarch, lending her character an unsettling blend of fastidiousness, voraciousness and desperation. (Really the only performance that seems strained is from Asher Keddie playing Sally Morgan, a meddling and concerned librarian who probably isn’t meant to be as annoying as she comes across.)

The cinematography makes the most of the locations – it has “Australian coastal town” stamped all over it, which can’t hurt the export value of the show for Amazon – with sweeping images of women on farm and beach interspersed with close-ups of uncomfortable looks matching pregnant silences in the dialogue.

The music, by Hania Rani, is technically the weakest link – the score is based around simple piano music that generically fits the bush-Gothic mode (yes, we have seen The Piano), but is overused, accompanying, it seems, virtually every scene.

Pop fiction

Overall, there’s nothing wrong with The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. It’s beautifully designed and shot in an entirely conventional fashion; the performances are mostly exacting and detailed; the story is effective in situating us in an empathetic relation with its protagonist; and it convincingly reflects some of the psychological complexities around the interplay of affection and abuse.

It’s a sentimental but sufficiently distracting diversion – and isn’t this what TV is all about? – that probably would be better suited to network TV than streaming. I fear that if it can be easily replaced by something else on the list, it will be.

The idea of sitting back and watching one episode of this a week at the same time – maybe sometimes dozing in one’s armchair – is appealing, but there’s nothing compulsive about the show. The hooks aren’t deep enough, the mystery isn’t compelling enough, to prompt the kind of binge watching that seems so necessary for the success of contemporary TV drama.

There’s nothing “deep” about it – like its source novel, it’s pop fiction – but why should there be? It’s TV, which has its own medium specific pleasures.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is on Prime Video from tomorrow.

Read more:
Melodramatic potboilers, worthy classics and DIY escapism: a brief history of the beach read

Ari Mattes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart brings melodrama and Sigourney Weaver as a flower-obsessed matriarch to streaming – https://theconversation.com/the-lost-flowers-of-alice-hart-brings-melodrama-and-sigourney-weaver-as-a-flower-obsessed-matriarch-to-streaming-209980

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

As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team.

In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss whether there’s much in the PM’s double dissolution threat, and his defensiveness when pressed on Treaty in an ABC interview.

As well, they canvass the Reserve Bank’s reprieve for mortgage holders, which will be only small comfort to those coming off fixed rates. Meanwhile in parliament, Scott Morrison’s rejection of the Robodebt royal commission’s findings against him just sparked fresh attacks on him from the government.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Word from The Hill: Double dissolution hot air, PM dodging Treaty question, Morrison hit with counter punch after Robodebt speech – https://theconversation.com/word-from-the-hill-double-dissolution-hot-air-pm-dodging-treaty-question-morrison-hit-with-counter-punch-after-robodebt-speech-210906

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

The Garma Festival is being held over the next few days in Arnhem Land. There will be a great deal of talk this year about the Voice. Anthony Albanese will speak on Saturday, but he won’t announce the date for the referendum. Peter Dutton isn’t attending.

Meanwhile in parliament this week the opposition has sought to turn the discussion of the Voice to the issue of treaty, also a feature of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. But the government wants to keep the debate strictly to the Voice, dodging questions about treaty where it can.

In this podcast Thomas Mayo, a signatory of the Uluru Statement and one of the leaders of the yes campaign, and Derryn Hinch, former prominent broadcaster and a former crossbench senator, join us to argue for the yes and no sides respectively.

Mayo has been travelling extensively through central Queensland (viewed as one of the toughest states to garner a yes vote) hosting forums about the referendum.

I went from Maroochydore and Caloundra to a whole lot of towns, including Cherbourg, an Aboriginal community and Eidsvold, up to Mackay. The experience was great, really positive – full crowds at each of the forums, some great questions and signing up a whole lot more volunteers.

There were people that were fully supportive and there was also a lot of people that were unsure. So people that were leaning either yes or no, that came along to learn more. We also had some people that were set in a position of saying no, but that was a great opportunity to have the discussion. They were able to listen to our history behind this and the good sense of it and what the actual proposition is and what will be changed in the Constitution. They were able to raise their concerns and reasons and they were respectfully listened to.

But I think the result was that anybody that wasn’t already set in their ways that weren’t entrenched in a position politically, came up to me later and said, we’ve decided to vote yes now.

Mayo’s history organising union campaigns and some past provocative comments have made him a target for no campaigners. But he looks on his past as only a positive, seeing much in common with both causes:

I think there’s there’s actually a lot in common, in that you are trying to unite people. This referendum is about unity. It’s about uniting on a common cause, which is to heal from our colonial past. It’s to empower people that are suffering and to create fairness.

My union background has helped in my ability to advocate. But mostly I think what motivates me is understanding that this is the right thing to do.

In contrast, Derryn Hinch sees the referendum as dangerous, divisive and unnecessary.

Look, let me say from from the get-go, I wish they could split the referendum into two bits. If they could give genuine, fruitful recognition to Indigenous Australians and our history in the Constitution, I would vote yes for that in two seconds time, and I think most of Australians would as well.

It’s the second half of having the Voice to Parliament. That worries me because they say they need the Voice – they already have 11 members of Parliament of Indigenous extraction! And if in fact they are spending all these umpteen [billions on] Aboriginal welfare and medical and other bodies, if they are spending $30 billion, there should not be one Aboriginal kid with glaucoma or drinking dirty water in the whole country.

Hinch says that even if the Voice were to be legislated instead of enshrined in the Constitution, he would still vote against it.

I just don’t like the way they’re doing it. I know they quote the Waitangi Treaty (which they have across the ditch in New Zealand) but as I understand it, in the late 1800s [it] was designed to stop warfare and British troops would defend New Zealand and defend the Maori, if anybody came from abroad. I was in New Zealand only last year and they are changing a lot of names to Maori names. I mean I supported them changing the name of Mount Egmont in my home town to Taranaki. I supported changing Ayers Rock to Uluru and yet I don’t support people being banned from climbing Uluru.

Hinch won’t be campaigning for a “no” vote, but he is making his views “very well known”. He says he feels “uncomfortable” being on the same side as certain politicians (such as Pauline Hanson), but notes he made his decision a long time ago.

I made those decisions long before I even knew what other people would be in the no camp.

I don’t like misrepresentation by either the no people or the yes people.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: ‘yes’ campaigner Thomas Mayo and ‘no’ advocate Derryn Hinch on the Voice – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-yes-campaigner-thomas-mayo-and-no-advocate-derryn-hinch-on-the-voice-210799

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom van Laer, Associate Professor of Narratology, University of Sydney

Political advertising for the Voice campaign is ramping up, particularly on social media. So, who is the target audience for each campaign’s ad, what are their key messages, and how effective will they be?

We research how people and organisations use stories to affect change through political advertising or entertainment. We looked at the different ads that have been released so far – by two groups campaigning for “no” and two groups campaigning for “yes” – to see how effective their communication strategies have been.

Advance Australia: fear

Some of the ads released by Advance Australia, a conservative political lobbying group, focus attention on prominent “yes” campaigners like Teela Reid and Thomas Mayo:

These ads aim to make us link Mayo, Reid and, by extension, the “yes” campaign itself with a sense of fear. Ominous music and fat-lettered words like “Rulebook,” “Force” and “Powerful” try to elicit fear of what the other camp would do if the Voice came to be.

Research on the use of fear in negative political communication shows it to be effective in influencing people. Fear is an intense, powerful emotion that encourages passivity – we tend to prefer the status quo if we are afraid. Such a response is seldom reasoned, which can make it difficult to counter in advertising.

The ad above seems to be directed at undecided voters in an effort to harden attitudes against the Voice and encourage them to vote “no”.

Read more:
The campaign pamphlets for the Voice don’t offer new perspectives. Do they still serve a purpose?

Blak Sovereign Movement: a different argument

The Blak Sovereign Movement, which advocates for sovereignty for First Nations people, relies on arguments as a means of persuading voters.

The group wants to persuade Australian voters to vote against the Voice, underpinned by three key premises:

• First Nations people have not given free, prior, informed consent to hold a referendum on the Voice

• First Nations people have never surrendered sovereignty

• First Nations people do not want constitutional recognition without a treaty.

The argument follows a “bottom-up” structure. This means it starts with a specific statement idea (to hold a Voice referendum, Australia needs consent from First Nations people), and from this, a more general, logical conclusion is derived (that it is better to have a treaty first).

Arguments are effective when voters are well-informed and highly motivated. Whether or not this argument resonates with voters depends in part on
whether they believe the premise – that a treaty can happen before a Voice.

The Uluru Dialogue: anticipated pride

The Uluru Dialogue is a group of First Nations people from across Australia who have the mandate of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The key message at the centre of their ads is anticipated pride if the nation votes “yes” on the referendum.

Pride is an emotion regularly exploited in advertising campaigns. Here, it is used to remind voters they can help create a future, more harmonious Australian nation and that will be something of which they can be proud. Voters are essentially being told they can create history.

This emotion has been used effectively in other campaigns to drum up support during wartime. It was also used in advertising during the pandemic to mobilise people to “do their bit” for their country, first through physical distancing and later by getting vaccinated.

Read more:
In a Voice campaign marked by confusing, competing claims, there’s a better way to educate voters

Yes23: fairness

Yes23, a group advocating for Indigenous constitutional recognition, has turned to fairness in its advertising.

Seen as a value Australians hold dear, fairness can play an important role in influencing voters.

Science suggests the key aspect to fairness is integrity. In this ad, Yes23 touches on this sentiment by asking Australians to adhere to certain ethical principles by joining the cause.

Which ads will be most effective?

The fear aroused by Advance Australia will only work provided people perceive Reid and Mayo as a threat, and feel that voting “no” will stop the First Nations movement for political change.

Thinking deeply is necessary for the arguments of the Blak Sovereign Movement to be persuasive. Yet, the Voice is extraordinary enough that some people find it difficult to form an opinion about it that takes full consideration of all the facts.

The Uluru Dialogue uses anticipated pride in order to attract votes. The success of this approach depends mainly on voters’ desire to make a good impression, or be better than others.

Yes23’s appeal to fairness can have a significant impact on the way people vote on the Voice. Feelings of fairness are instinctive and wide-ranging emotions, and ones that are becoming more important in our increasingly complex society.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Fear vs pride: how do the Voice to Parliament ads try to influence voters? And is it effective? – https://theconversation.com/fear-vs-pride-how-do-the-voice-to-parliament-ads-try-to-influence-voters-and-is-it-effective-209834

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glen Nagle, Outreach Manager, Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, CSIRO

In 1977, five years before ET asked to “phone home”, two robotic spacecraft began their own journey into space.

Almost 46 years later, after exploring the Solar System and beyond, one of those spacecraft – Voyager 2 – has lost contact with Earth.

All communication with Voyager 2 goes through NASA’s Deep Space Station 43, a 70-metre radio dish at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex operated by CSIRO.

Contact was lost more than a week ago. After intense efforts at NASA and here in Canberra, we have detected a faint “heartbeat” signal from the craft – and we’re confident of re-establishing full contact.

Through the Solar System and beyond

NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft – Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 – were designed to complete a “grand tour” of the Solar System, visiting the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Throughout the billions of kilometres of their journeys, the Voyagers stayed in touch with Earth through the three antennas of the Deep Space Network. One is in Madrid, Spain; a second in Goldstone, California; and the third in Canberra.

Having completed their tasks in 1989, both Voyager 1 and 2 have long since left our Solar System behind. They are now exploring interstellar space – the space between the stars.

Voyager 1 is currently 24 billion kilometres from home, with Voyager 2 not far behind at 20 billion kilometres.

Whispers from space

On July 21, a series of planned commands sent to Voyager 2 inadvertently caused the spacecraft’s antenna to point two degrees away from Earth. As a result, the spacecraft is currently unable to receive commands or transmit any data back to Earth.

Mishaps like this are not uncommon in space exploration. The NASA team is expert at problem solving, and has a good track record of keeping spacecraft flying long after their prime mission has ended.

Read more:
From the edge of the Solar System, Voyager probes are still talking to Australia after 40 years

NASA’s science and engineering teams have dealt with communication drop-outs before, with both Voyagers. Their efforts have already quadrupled the planned 12-year life of the craft, so they don’t think we’ve heard the last from Voyager 2.

It’s an enormous achievement that we still have contact with these spacecraft at all, given their enormous distance from Earth and the relative weakness of the signal received through the big antenna dishes in Canberra. Even when Voyager 2 is pointing at Earth, its signal is already a whisper from space, billions of times weaker than the power generated by a tiny watch battery.

A heartbeat 20 billion kilometres from home

The last time Voyager 2 was out of contact was in March 2020, when the dish at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex was shut down for a scheduled 11-month upgrade project. Ahead of the shutdown, commands were sent to Voyager 2 to program the spacecraft to maintain operations without needing to hear from Earth for an extended period.

Canberra’s Deep Space Station 43 is the only antenna in the world that can communicate directly with both Voyagers. Its sister stations in the northern hemisphere are unable to “see” Voyager 2, because Earth is in the way.

Since Voyager 2’s antenna was tweaked off target, we have been using Deep Space Station 43 to listen intently for any signal. Eventually this effort paid off, with the detection of the craft’s carrier tone – a “heartbeat” indicating Voyager 2 is still transmitting.

Now attempts will be made to relay commands to Voyager 2 and tell it to re-orient its antenna towards Earth.

If those attempts fail, Voyager 2 is already programmed to use the Sun and the bright star Canopus to re-orient itself several times each year. The next scheduled reset will occur on October 15, which should automatically enable communications to resume.

Into interstellar space

The Canberra team feels a very close connection to this distant traveller. We have been with it on every step of its journey so far, and plan to continue to provide mission support for however long the mission lasts.

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20 1977 and reached Jupiter in July 1979, a few months after Voyager 1. It proceeded to Saturn for a flyby of the ringed planet in 1981, and then had encounters with Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in August 1989, ending the so-called “grand tour”.

Read more:
After 45 years, the 5-billion-year legacy of the Voyager 2 interstellar probe is just beginning

As both spacecraft were in good health, they were given an extended mission to reach the edge of our Solar System, where the influence of the Sun’s energy ends. The Voyagers are now in the “clear air” of interstellar space and can, for the first time, make direct measurements of this environment.

The data they have returned are changing our understanding of the Universe. The teams at NASA and here in Canberra are confident there is more science and discoveries to come, when Voyager 2 once again phones home.

Glen Nagle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Voyager 2 has lost track of Earth. Only one antenna in the world can help it ‘phone home’ – https://theconversation.com/voyager-2-has-lost-track-of-earth-only-one-antenna-in-the-world-can-help-it-phone-home-210882

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Lecturer in Social and Global Studies, RMIT University

How many different ways are there to say “unprecedented”?

Never before has a sitting or former president of the United States been indicted on federal charges. Former and aspiring President Donald J. Trump has now been indicted not once, but three times: once for alleged crimes committed before he assumed office, once for alleged crimes after he left the White House and, as of this morning, once for crimes allegedly committed during his time in office.

The latest charges relate to Trump’s concerted efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election. They arose from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s role in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

A grand jury found there was enough evidence to bring forward four federal charges, arguing Trump engaged in “three criminal conspiracies” in the pursuit of “unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results”. The charges include: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Trump is scheduled to appear before a federal court in Washington, DC, on Thursday afternoon (Friday morning Australian time).

In a statement delivered shortly after the indictment was revealed, Jack Smith said the Department of Justice would seek a “speedy trial” – much as he did last time the former president was indicted.

But even if this case, along with the others, does go to trial with all possible speed, none of this is likely to be resolved before the nomination process is complete, and may well continue into the 2024 election.

Federal charges on the campaign trail

Even in what we might unsatisfactorily call a “normal” US presidential election cycle, nominees and results are notoriously difficult to predict. Candidates rise and fall quickly – presumed heirs to the nomination riding high early in the cycle can fall into irrelevance before the primaries even begin. The unprecedented nature of Trump’s second campaign for the Republican nomination blows all efforts to predict any outcomes out of the water.

Right now, Trump is following his familiar playbook – claiming this is all part of an extended conspiracy to keep him out of office by a “liberal elite”. Leaning into a narrative of victimhood, Trump expertly pushes the buttons of his base, and high-profile members of the Republican Party race to defend him, again.

Read more:
Yes, federal charges against a former president are unprecedented – but so is Trump’s political power

Their narrative is consistent and practised: the “left”, apparently convinced it cannot beat Trump in an election, is seeking to take him out of the running. Trump acolyte Senator J.D. Vance, for example, claimed President Joe Biden would “rather throw Donald Trump in prison than face him at the ballot box”.

Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School, undoubtedly knows none of that is true. He would also likely know that even if Trump were to be thrown behind bars, there are no legal obstacles to him facing Biden in an election, or even serving as president from a prison cell.

Trump and his supporters insist on his innocence. In a statement released after the indictment, his campaign insisted Trump “has always followed the law and the Constitution”. Never mind that the former president has stated, publicly and clearly, that he would happily “terminate” the Constitution to suit his own ends.

Unsurprisingly, Trump supporters are undeterred. Trump remains, by a long way, the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

Stake are high for the entire US

Unlike the first time around, if he makes it into the White House again, Trump will come prepared. His team’s plans to purge the federal bureaucracy, centralise power and further undermine democratic processes – in concert with similar efforts already occurring at the state level across the country – are all aimed at consolidating and entrenching Trump’s power.

The Trump team is openly planning for a second term that would catastrophically undermine the institutions and processes of American democracy. At the most basic level, that is what is at stake for the United States with these charges and in this election cycle.

As this most recent indictment put it, processes like the peaceful transition of power are “foundational to the United States democratic process”. While American democracy has always been shaky and uneven, as the indictment continues, it “had operated in a peaceful but orderly manner for more than 130 years”.

Taken together, all this means the United States – and the world – faces another unprecedented election cycle. In all likelihood, there will be more indictments and multiple trials, even as the compounding effects of global boiling reveal themselves, and maybe even as we discover that we are not, in fact, alone in the universe.

There is no telling, really, how this polycrisis will play out as the United States faces its most important elections in a century.

Unprecedented, indeed.

Read more:
For Joe Biden, the indictment of Donald Trump carries a heavy responsibility – and a risk

Emma Shortis is a member of the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN).

– ref. With yet another indictment, Donald Trump takes us into ‘unprecedented’ territory once again – https://theconversation.com/with-yet-another-indictment-donald-trump-takes-us-into-unprecedented-territory-once-again-210876

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Soanes, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Dodging dog poo along the local path has become something of an Olympic sport of late. I thought I’d count path-side dog poo on my bike ride the other day and gave up after counting 30 piles in the first kilometre. It really does feel a bit out of control at the moment.

We know leaving dog poo lying around is bad for human health. But have you ever wondered what all this mess means for native wildlife?

It turns out pet poo – including both dog and cat poo – can have a number of negative effects on native plants and animals. And some of these might surprise you.

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1. Unwelcome fertiliser

Just like adding manure to the garden, pet poo left on the ground is a fertiliser. But not all plants thrive on excess.

Australian soils are naturally nutrient-poor and native plants and fungi are incredibly well-adapted to these conditions.

Yes, wildlife go to the toilet in nature too. But the difference is they also eat in nature – they’re part of the system.

Our pets, on the other hand, are fed nutrient-rich meals in our backyards and kitchens and then deliver these outside nutrients into the ecosystem. Pet poo can quickly find its way into waterways, which can drive algal blooms.

Researchers in Berlin estimated that if nobody picked up after their dogs, more than 11kg of nitrogen and 4kg of phosphorous per hectare would be added to urban nature reserves each year – levels that would be illegal for most farms.

2. Lurking disease

Pet cats aren’t off the hook. If you have a roaming kitty, they could be spreading toxoplasmosis – a disease that can cause serious illness and even death in native mammals.

Symptoms include blindness and seizures, and have been observed in kangaroos, wallabies, possums, wombats, bandicoots and bilbies. The disease even increases “risky” behaviours, with infected animals more prone to wandering around the open or being unafraid of predators.

It’s morbidly fascinating. The parasite causing the disease, Toxoplasma gondii, has two phases to its lifecycle. In the first phase, it’s happy hanging out inside pretty much any warm-blooded animal. But to complete the second phase, it has to jump to a cat. The easiest way to do this is to make your current host easy prey, hence the symptoms that debilitate native wildlife or make them prone to dangerous decisions.

Infected cats shed the parasite in their poo. So whenever native animals can come into contact with cat poo, they’re at risk. Researchers from the University of British Columbia found “wildlife living near dense urban areas were more likely to be infected”, citing domestic cats as the most likely culprit.

Worse, the parasite can lay dormant in poo for as long as 18 months, waiting for a host to jump into.

3. Eau de predator

Finally, and probably the most obvious: dog poo might signal to wildlife that predators are about and they should stay away.

Even though dogs are a new predator to Australian wildlife, our native species have had enough experience existing alongside dingoes to consider your pooch a threat.

Recent research shows that in 83% of tests, Australian native mammals recognised dogs as a threat – with dog poo being a common trigger.

This means the signs and smells your dog leaves out and about can affect the behaviour of native wildlife.

For example, bandicoots in Sydney were less likely to visit backyards that had a resident dog, even if it was kept inside at night.

‘What wildlife? What nature? We live in the city!’

It might surprise you to know we share our cities and towns with a huge range of native animals – even rare and endangered ones.

And as people have paid more attention to the nature in their local neighbourhood in recent years, we’re becoming more aware of the wildlife living right beneath our noses.

These species often depend on a seemingly rag-tag collection of urban green patches such as nature strips, utility easements, sports ovals and public gardens.

If these are all littered with smelly signs for wildlife to stay away, places safe for wildlife become even rarer in our cities. Reining in the pet poo problem is an easy way to reduce our impact.

The old adage “take only photographs, leave only footprints” is a good rule of thumb. Pick up after your pet and, importantly, take it with you to the nearest bin – don’t leave plastic bags dangling from fences like ornaments on the world’s worst Christmas tree.

Read more:
The 39 endangered species in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and other Australian cities

Kylie Soanes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Leaving dog and cat poo lying around isn’t just gross. It’s a problem for native plants and animals, too – https://theconversation.com/leaving-dog-and-cat-poo-lying-around-isnt-just-gross-its-a-problem-for-native-plants-and-animals-too-208288

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Hajdu, Director of The Sia Furler Institute, University of Adelaide

The 19th century concept of authorship revolved around the romantic view of the artist as a lone genius. In this model, every stroke of the brush, every note played and every word written was the product of a singular creative mind, bearing the unique imprint of its creator.

However, the landscape of artistic creation began to shift dramatically with the advent of the 20th century, with artists like Marcel Duchamp, John Cage and William S. Burroughs pioneering new creative approaches such as aleatoricism, the cut-up technique and “randomness” which began recast the role of the author.

Now, AI technology looks likely to cause as much disruption as the previous revolutions combined.

Just as the artists of the last revolution grappled with their age’s social and spiritual upheavals, our artists today must rise to the challenge and engage the shock of the new that now confronts us all. AI will force artists (along with the rest of us) to examine what it means to be a “creator” and, ultimately, perhaps what it means to be human.

Read more:
Computer-written scripts and deepfake actors: what’s at the heart of the Hollywood strikes against generative AI

Disrupting the artistic landscape

Conceptual art pioneer Marcel Duchamp radically altered the artistic landscape with his work, Fountain (1917) – a urinal signed “R. Mutt”.

He argued that art wasn’t confined to traditional craftsmanship but could spring from the act of selection and presentation.

Composer John Cage took this artistic revolution a step further. His composition 4’33 (1952), where the performer remains silent for four minutes and 33 seconds, is a powerful example of a work that questions the definition of music itself. Cage’s piece isn’t just any random stretch of silence – it is art because Cage himself, a human, framed it, turning the act of listening into a creative process.

Following suit, William S. Burroughs disrupted traditional narratives with his cut-up technique, emphasising the non-linear progression of storytelling and demonstrating that authorship could extend to the reassembling of pre-existing material.

David Bowie famously used this technique for writing lyrics in some of his songs, especially in his work from the 1970s. Songs from albums like Diamond Dogs and Young Americans used cutups to create distinctive, unexpected, and often cryptic lyrics. Bowie would cut up his writings or other texts, rearrange them, and use the resulting fragments as the starting point for his songwriting. This allowed him to break free from linear thought and traditional songwriting cliches and to explore more abstract and unpredictable forms of expression.

These early disruptions laid the groundwork for today’s art and machine learning intersection. They questioned the traditional concept of authorship. Now, technology is challenging it again.

Moreover, this time around, even the role of the audience is likely to change.

Modern art

Jason M. Allen, a digital artist from Pueblo West, became one of the first creators to win a prize for AI generated art. His role was to input a text prompt into the AI tool, which then transformed it into a hyper-realistic graphic based on its training from millions of previously processed images.

In this process, Allen’s creativity came into play in formulating the correct prompts to instruct the AI, effectively guiding or curating the AI’s output.

In this case, the artist becomes a sort of co-pilot, steering the AI’s capabilities to produce a desired output. This new process raises questions about authorship and authenticity in art. It underscores how technology redefines the traditional artistic process, with artists becoming more like orchestrators of complex AI systems.

Modern artists like Laurie Anderson have begun to harness machine learning to create novel works. Anderson’s work, Scroll (2021), is a fusion of religious text and her distinctive linguistic style generated through AI.

In both of these examples, the artist functions like a curator. The manual toil of writing, drawing or composing is replaced by an iterative process of discovery, filtering and refinement of instructions to the system.

These artists are pioneering a shift in the artist’s role. Instead of being the sole creators, artists now guide, shape and direct the creative output of machine learning systems. This transition certainly presents challenges, but it also uncovers a world of new artistic competencies and opportunities.

The future

Looking to the future, we can expect the interplay of art and technology to deepen. Artists who embrace this ever-evolving landscape will contribute their unique perspectives to the development of machine learning and shape our collective relationship with it.

This time around, the revolution will also extend to the audience’s role. Passive viewers become participants in the making and remaking of the art. The very same AI systems that empower artists can empower the audience.

Read more:
Synthetic futures: my journey into the emotional, poetic world of AI art making

Audience members can utilise AI tools to generate art, even if they do not have traditional artistic skills. AI democratises the art-making process, making it accessible to anyone with access to the technology.

This could significantly expand the art world, as more people can become creators, contributing their own perspectives and ideas. One example is a project called Tamper (2019), developed by John Underkoffler for the AMPAS, Getty and other museums. This project lets museum visitors build collages out of material taken from a museum’s collection.

We must prepare the coming generations for this rapidly changing creative landscape, fostering their ability to co-pilot with AI systems. As we move further into the age of machine learning, artists must reclaim their position at the forefront of creative thought and innovation.

Thomas Hajdu received funding from CSIRO to examine educational opportunities at the intersection of creativity and AI.
Thomas Hajdu has collaborated with William Burroughs, Laurie Anderson and John Underkophler.

– ref. From Duchamp to AI: the transformation of authorship in art – https://theconversation.com/from-duchamp-to-ai-the-transformation-of-authorship-in-art-210059

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Finn Cameron Gillies Parker, PhD candidate, University of Sydney

Humans have trained domestic animals for thousands of years, to help with farming, transport, or hunting.

But can we train wild animals to help us in conservation work? Wild animals can be taught to recognise dangerous predators, avoid toxic food, and stay away from people.

However, there are few examples of using classical learning techniques to train free-living animals to act in a way that benefits their ecosystem. In our newly published study in Biological Conservation, we trained wild Australian native predatory rats to recognise an unfamiliar species of cockroach prey. It worked – in a simulated cockroach invasion, this training increased predation rates by the rats.

Read more:
Pest plants and animals cost Australia around $25 billion a year – and it will get worse

Growing number of aliens

As humans have engaged in global trade, various species have moved across otherwise impossible-to-cross geographical barriers and into new environments. These species are known as alien species, and their number continues to grow.

Some alien species are relatively harmless in their new environment, and can even positively affect the ecosystem. However, many others have costly and devastating impacts on biodiversity and agriculture.

Not all species that arrive in new environments become established or spread. Even fewer of these species become invasive. Yet we don’t really know why some species are successful and others aren’t, and there are many different theories. One reason some species fail to thrive in new environments is when native species resist, either by eating or simply outcompeting the arrivals.

However, native species can only resist against alien species if they can respond appropriately, which they may not do if they’ve never encountered the invaders before (biologists call this being “naive”).

Naivete can occur when two species with no recent evolutionary or ecological history come into contact with one another. Prey naivete is well documented, and the effect of alien predators on native prey that can’t recognise or escape them is significant.

But the role of native predator naivete in biological invasions is less clear. Native predators may not recognise an alien prey species or lack the ability to hunt them effectively. Sometimes predators may simply prefer to hunt their natural prey. When predators are naive, alien prey can establish and spread unchecked.

Read more:
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Speeding up a natural process

Native predators do eventually learn to hunt alien prey, but this process can take a long time when prey aren’t encountered often.

We wanted to know if we could speed up learning by exposing a free-living native predator to the scent of a novel prey species paired with a reward.

We conducted our study on bushland in the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales, using native bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) as our model predator. Our chosen alien prey species, speckled cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), don’t live in Sydney and surrounds, so rats have no experience with them.

We housed cockroaches in small boxes for days at a time with absorbent paper on the floor to collect odour. When using them as prey, we froze and tethered the cockroaches to tent pegs, to avoid accidental introduction of cockroaches in the area.

We confirmed the presence of bush rats at 24 locations, and randomly allocated 12 as training sites and 12 as non-training (control) sites. At the training sites, we placed a metal tea strainer with the cockroach smell, and three dead cockroaches as a reward. The tea strainer and cockroaches were tethered to a tent peg in the ground so rats couldn’t carry them away.

We used cameras to observe the rat behaviour, and checked the training stations every one to two days. We also moved the stations so the rats wouldn’t just learn to associate the reward with the location.

Trained for an invasion

Immediately after training, we conducted a simulated invasion at all sites. The invasion involved ten dead and tethered cockroach “invaders”. The number of “surviving” (that is, uneaten) cockroaches was recorded each day for five days.

We compared prey survival rates in sites with trained and untrained rats, and found cockroach prey in training sites were 46% more likely to be eaten than prey in non-training sites.

We also found the number of cockroaches eaten during training was a significant predictor for how many were eaten on the first night of the “invasion”.

We also wanted to ensure we had not just attracted more rats to training sites during the training process. To do this, immediately after the invasion we used cameras to compare rat visits to all sites using a peanut oil attractant. There was no difference between training and non-training sites.

Our study is the first to train free-living predators to hunt species they’ve never seen before. It shows the potential for training our native species to fight biological invasions. More broadly, we think our study adds to the growing evidence that training animals can help to address a variety of problems, such as birds picking up litter and rats sniffing out landmines.

Read more:
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Peter Banks receives funding from The Australian Research Council, The Herman Slade Foundation, Birdlife Australia, Northern Beaches Council and Manaaki Whenua.

Finn Cameron Gillies Parker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Unique study shows we can train wild predators to hunt alien species they’ve never seen before – https://theconversation.com/unique-study-shows-we-can-train-wild-predators-to-hunt-alien-species-theyve-never-seen-before-210644

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato

Humans typically reserve their practices of mourning for loved ones. But extending these rituals of grief and loss to non-human animals (and our shared habitats) can also help us appreciate being part of the natural world, not separate from it.

So the recent decision to include extinct species in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year – now Bird of the Century – competition offers an opportunity to grieve in another way. In turn, this may help foster an ethic of care for the environment and greater appreciation of what may yet be saved.

The competition began 18 years ago as a modest campaign by environmental group Forest & Bird to draw attention to native birds, many of which are endangered. It has since grown into a national phenomenon.

Various bird species have their own “campaign managers”, celebrities and politicians publicly endorse their favourite feathered creature, and tens of thousands of votes are cast every year.

The hotly contested election has not been without controversy, either. In 2019, for example, the discovery of hundreds of votes being registered from Russia led to claims of election meddling. In 2021, it made headlines for allowing a native bat to enter – to the dismay of many, the bat won.

Last year, the organisers were even threatened with a lawsuit over their refusal to include the extinct huia – a bird last seen in the wild in 1907. A concerned environmentalist wrote to Forest & Bird to say: “We need to be urgently reminded of what we have already lost, if we are to minimise further loss.”

This year’s competition – which opens for voting on October 30 and also marks Forest & Bird’s centenary – answers that call.

Ecological grief

There are five contenders that have died out: the huia, mātuhituhi (bush wren), tutukiwi (South Island snipe), piopio (turnagras) and whēkau (laughing owl). Explaining their rationale, the competition organisers say:

Eighty-two percent of our living native bird species are threatened or at risk of extinction. We cannot let any more end up with the tragic fate of the laughing owl or the huia.

Those five birds represent only a small proportion of the total birdlife lost since first human settlement in Aotearoa around 750 years ago. Fossil record research has concluded that, of the 174 endemic bird species present then, 72 have become extinct.

Adding extinct birds to the Bird of the Year ballot – even if only five – echoes other, similar efforts around the world by people finding new ways to express grief over the loss of nature.

As the global climate crisis rapidly transforms the environment, there have been commemorative practices and rituals more often associated with human loss: funerals and memorial plaques for extinct animal species and vanished glaciers, and monuments to lost landscapes.

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Because ecological grief differs from human-centred grief in important ways, it can have an upside. For one, it not only addresses an absence in the present, but it can also encourage pre-emptive action to stop losses yet to come.

Furthermore, ecological grief is often accompanied by feelings of guilt over the harm humans have done to the environment, which can create a strong sense of responsibility for nature, as survey research has shown.

Entanglement with nature

Beyond helping prevent further loss of birdlife, commemorating extinct species through the Bird of the Year competition encourages an understanding of the connections that bind all lifeforms together.

Of course, such ideas only seem new from a Western perspective. Despite the violent disruptions of colonisation, Māori and other Indigenous peoples around the world have continued to hold worldviews where biological beings are interlinked in a complex web of life.

Read more:
Dead as the moa: oral traditions show that early Māori recognised extinction

Expressions of ecological grieving, such as whakataukī (proverbs) mourning the loss of the moa, play an important role in maintaining these worldviews.

The decision to include extinct species in the Bird of the Year competition will likely cause controversy. But saving the planet means moving away from our usual perspectives and ways of thinking.

Olli Hellmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Call of the huia: how NZ’s bird of the century contest helps us express ‘ecological grief’ – https://theconversation.com/call-of-the-huia-how-nzs-bird-of-the-century-contest-helps-us-express-ecological-grief-210698