Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

The Poll Bludger reported on two Queensland polls on December 12. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted December 1-8 from a sample of 1,000, had a 50-50 tie, unchanged since June. Primary votes were 38% LNP (steady), 34% Labor (steady), 13% Greens (down one), 11% One Nation (up one) and 4% for all Others (steady).

Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had a 41% disapproval rating (up two) and a 40% approval (down five), for a net approval of -1, down seven points. LNP leader David Crisafilli had a 31-27 approval rating (31-23 in June). Palaszczuk’s lead as preferred premier slipped to 39-28 from 41-28 in June.

Analyst Kevin Bonham strongly criticised The Courier Mail for the anti-Labor slant they put on this poll.

The first Resolve Queensland state poll, conducted from August to December from a sample of 924 for The Brisbane Times, gave Labor 37% of the primary vote, the LNP 35%, the Greens 11%, One Nation 6%, independents 7% and others 4%.

Resolve does not give two party estimates until close to elections, but Bonham estimated this poll would be 53-47 to Labor. This Queensland poll was presumably conducted with the five federal Resolve polls from August to December.

Asked whether they held positive, neutral or negative views of the leaders or were unfamiliar with them, Palaszczuk had a 39-31 positive rating and Crisafulli a 23-15 positive rating. Palaszczuk led as preferred premier by 42-30.

The next Queensland election is not until October 2024. Currently Labor appears to be just ahead, and Bonham thinks Labor would be likely to hold onto enough seats to form government with a 50-50 two party tie.

By the 2024 election, Labor will have held power since the January 2015 election, so there’s time for the polling to worsen for Labor. But Victorian Labor just retained government after eight years in power with 56 of the 88 lower house seats, up one since the 2018 election.

Read more:
Final Victorian election results: how would upper house look using the Senate system?

NSW Resolve poll on cashless gaming card

The New South Wales state election is in March 2023. We have been getting NSW voting intentions after every second federal Resolve poll. The last voting intentions was in early November, and there’s only been one federal Resolve poll since. I don’t expect NSW voting intentions until after the next federal Resolve poll.

A NSW Resolve poll for The Sydney Morning Herald, presumably conducted with just the federal December Resolve poll, had voters supporting a mandatory cashless gaming card by 62-16. However, the question wording included arguments in favour of the cashless gaming card, but none against.

If the cashless gaming card were to go ahead, 32% wanted it introduced immediately for all gamblers, 24% to have a voluntary trial of the card statewide and 19% a mandatory trial in specific areas.

By 47-28, voters thought pubs and clubs have been poor instead of good on problem gambling. By 30-26, voters trusted Labor and Chris Minns over the Liberals and Dominic Perrottet to get the right outcome on gambling reforms.

Federal polls: Essential and Morgan

In last week’s federal Essential poll, Labor led by 51-44 on Essential’s two party measure that includes undecided (51-43 in late November). Primary votes were 35% Labor (up two), 30% Coalition (down one), 13% Greens (steady), 17% for all Others (steady) and 5% undecided (down one). Respondent allocated preferences were friendly for the Coalition.

In other findings from this poll of 1,042 respondents conducted in the days before December 13, Anthony Albanese’s ratings were unchanged since November at 60-27 approval (net +33). An Indigenous Voice to parliament was supported by a 63-37 margin (65-35 in August).

Probably due to the change in federal government, 2022 was considered a good year for trade unions over a bad year by a net +13, up from -13 in 2021. Small business was up from -45 to -25 in 2022, after the end of COVID lockdowns. The Australian economy had a net -27 rating in 2022, down one point on 2021.

Thinking about 2023, 40% thought it would be better for Australia than 2022, 25% no difference and 24% worse. On economic indicators, 78-80% expected the cost of living, energy prices and interest rates to be up in the year ahead, while 43% expected unemployment to be up, 30% about the same and 18% down.

A Morgan federal poll, conducted December 5-11, gave Labor a 56.5-53.5 lead, a two-point gain for Labor since the previous week. Morgan’s polls have been better for the Coalition than others since the May election. This is Labor’s highest two party vote in Morgan polls since the election.

US Senator Kyrsten Sinema switches from Democrat to independent

Shortly after United States Democrats won the December 6 Georgia Senate runoff election to seal a 51-49 federal Senate majority, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema defected from the Democrats to become an independent.

I have not seen any polls of Arizona conducted since Sinema defected, but Slate reported on a September poll that showed Sinema was unpopular with all Arizona demographics sampled. Sinema was at net -17 overall, net -20 with Democrats and net -18 with Republicans. She performed better with independent voters, but was still at net -10 with them.

Sinema is up for re-election in November 2024. Democrats are likely to run their own candidate against Sinema and a Republican. I do not know which side she will take most votes from, but it’s very unlikely Sinema will win given her unpopularity across the board.

Republicans’ worse than expected performance at the US midterm elections has resulted in some polls of the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now leading former president Donald Trump, although Trump still leads in others.

Adrian Beaumont 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. Labor just ahead in two Queensland polls and retains large federal poll lead – https://theconversation.com/labor-just-ahead-in-two-queensland-polls-and-retains-large-federal-poll-lead-196478

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Ratuva, Director, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury

When the final election results were announced around 4pm on Sunday, many Fijians, at home and around the world, breathed a collective sigh of relief: the government of coup-maker Frank Bainimarama looked like it had finally been defeated at the ballot box.

Could it be that the militarised political culture, pervasive in Fiji since the 1987 coups, was finally being effectively challenged – peacefully?

Bainimarama’s FijiFirst Party (FFP) collected 42.55% of votes, well short of the majority needed to return to power. The closest rival, the People’s Alliance Party (PAP), led by 1987 coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka, won 35.82%, followed by the National Federation Party (NFP) on 8.89% and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) with 5.14% of the votes.

Total voter turnout was 68.28%, less than the 71.92% at the 2018 election. With the Unity Fiji and Fiji Labour parties not reaching the required 5% threshold to gain seats under Fiji’s proportional representation system, the maths now points to a dead heat – and some anxious coalition horsetrading.

The vote shares mean FFP will have 26 seats in the new 55-seat parliament, the PAP 21, NFP 5 and SODELPA 3. The PAP and NFP have already signed a pre-election agreement to form a coalition, meaning they are tied with the FFP on 26 seats.

Led by Viliame Gavoka, SODELPA has suddenly been thrust into the role of kingmaker. Given its fraught history with both FFP and PAP, the stage is set for some hard bargaining on all sides.

Family ties

The PAP, in fact, is a breakaway faction of SODELPA. The divorce was bitter and littered with bruised souls. A faction within SODELPA wanted nothing to do with Rabuka and the PAP.

On the other hand, SODELPA’s relationship with FijiFirst has been equally strained. The founding leader of SODELPA, the late prime minister Laiseni Qarase, was deposed, arrested and jailed following Bainimarama’s 2006 coup.

Read more:
As Fiji prepares to vote, democracy could already be the loser

But there is a personal link between SODELPA and the FFP, whose secretary (as well as attorney-general and minister for the economy in the previous government) is Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. An Indo-Fijian Muslim, Sayed-Khaiyum is the son-in-law of SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka, an indigenous Fijian (Taukei).

While this multi-racial connection may have its political advantages, the reality is that many in SODELPA vehemently oppose Sayed-Khaiyum for what they view as his imposing and arrogant style.

Return of Rabuka

There are early indications that SODELPA may go with the PAP and NFP partnership to form a grand coalition. Ideologically and politically, SODELPA and PAP share the same basic vision and strategies regarding indigenous Fijian issues – after all, they were once the same party.

Gavoka and Rabuka are similar in various ways. They both have ethno-nationalist tendencies and embrace fundamentalist evangelical Christian doctrines. Gavoka has advocated setting up a Fijian embassy in Jerusalem, and Rabuka has been known as an admirer of Israel since he was commander of Fijian peacekeepers in the Middle East in the 1980s.

Read more:
Fiji’s other crisis: away from the COVID emergency, political dissent can still get you arrested

Furthermore, SODELPA has been under pressure from its international and local branches (which fund the party) not to entertain any FFP coalition proposals. The message coming through from supporters is that their votes for SODELPA were also votes against FFP.

There have also been fears that an alliance between SODELPA and FFP could provoke old grievances and escalate into wider political instability.

Lastly, “non-negotiables” laid down by SODELPA include enacting policies that promote indigenous Fijian interests (including the reinstatement of the Great Council of Chiefs (which Bainimarama abolished), forgiving scholarship debt and setting up a Fiji embassy in Jerusalem. These are similar to the PAP policies in the party manifesto but quite different from the FFP positions.

Culture change

If the election sees FijiFirst finally leave power, there is the potential for democratic progress. One of the major challenges for an incoming new government will be reform of the country’s civil service, judiciary, education and health systems, and the economy in general.

Over the years, Fiji society has been configured in ways that suit the narrow ideological interests and centralised control of the FFP. Security, public order and media laws have been used to undermine democratic debate, free expression and public engagement.

Democratising the institutions of state and making them more relevant will be a huge task. It will require significant financial, political and intellectual resources. It also has ramifications in the wider Pacific region, given Fiji’s role as an economic, communications and political hub.

Read more:
Two past coup leaders face off in Fiji election as Australia sharpens its focus on Pacific

Many Pacific leaders, including in Australia and New Zealand, have been unhappy with Fiji under the Bainimarama-Kaiyum axis. Actions such as the government’s refusal to release more than FJ$80 million in funding for the University of the South Pacific – creating a major crisis at the regional institution – only reinforce such perceptions.

This time, Rabuka and Bainimarama – both former military leaders and coup makers – have used the democratic electoral system rather than guns and force to try to win to power. But behind them sits a culture of command and control that will be difficult to dislodge.

This is subtly woven into various aspects of the 2013 Constitution, such as the role of the military as the nation’s constitutional security watchdog. But there is growing confidence that the chances of another military coup following this election are virtually nil.

Fiji’s civil service and operations of state have incorporated micromanagement, authoritarianism and coercion as part of the institutional culture. The test will be to ensure that a coalition of parties can rule together in a way that expands political participation and enhances democracy.

Steven Ratuva 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. A knife-edge election in Fiji sees power shift – and a chance to bring back real democracy – https://theconversation.com/a-knife-edge-election-in-fiji-sees-power-shift-and-a-chance-to-bring-back-real-democracy-196465

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University

Two summers did for Scott Morrison. The first was that of 2019-20, with its fire, smoke and ash. The second occurred two years later when, having earlier muddled the vaccine program, the federal government failed to secure sufficient access to rapid antigen test (RAT) kits. The removal from the country early in 2022 of an unvaccinated Novak Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament provided some diversionary drama but contributed to the overall impression of pandemic mismanagement already etched on public opinion.

2022 was a year of three elections. The first seems almost forgotten outside South Australia, but the March 19 election there mattered beyond its borders, because it saw the first pandemic-era government ejected from office when Peter Malinauskas defeated the Liberal government of Steven Marshall on a two-party preferred swing of more than 6.5%.

There were also changes of leadership, although not of government, in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. All this looked like a thinning of the ranks of those leaders who had steered it through the crisis, even a changing of the guard.

Would Morrison be next? Not if he could help it, but public reaction to his ukulele performance on 60 Minutes suggested that he would not be able simply to reprise the “daggy dad” routine that worked a treat at the 2019 election. This time the public wasn’t buying.

A stench of decay clung to his government. It had to endure a revolt from members of its own ranks over the issue of the rights of transgender children and teachers in connection with the effort to legislate against religious discrimination. It lacked credibility on climate change policy, adopting a 2050 net zero emissions target too late and without a satisfactory pathway. It flaunted its refusal to legislate a workable anti-corruption commission. Relations with China were in a dreadful state.

As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spread through the community, Australia’s infection rates climbed dramatically, although these now received less intense media publicity than before. Undaunted, thousands of freedom protesters descended on Canberra in February.

The federal election campaign was, for the major parties, an uninspiring affair and for the mainstream media, a nadir that should have prompted more soul-searching than it did. Morrison said he was a bulldozer, assured us he could change, and then bulldozed an eight-year-old boy during a soccer match. Albanese spoke often of his personal story in the campaign as the son of an invalid pensioner who grew up in public housing.

The election of May 21 saw Labor return to office with a narrow majority and a primary vote in the low 30s, the lowest for a winning party since the adoption of the preferential system in 1918.

À lire aussi :
Did Australia just make a move to the left?

But the scenario for the Coalition was far worse. Not only had it lost seats to Labor and the Greens, community independents or “teals” made massive incursions into its old metropolitan heartland. Even Robert Menzies’ old seat of Kooyong went, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg losing to paediatric neurologist Monique Ryan. The successful teal candidates were all professional women, reflecting a wider dissatisfaction among women with the government and Morrison personally.

The story of the campaign seemed to be a two-party system groaning under the strain of the challenges from minor parties and independents who had taken about a third of the primary vote in the House of Representatives. The Greens expanded their numbers, winning three new seats in Brisbane. An independent with strong environmental credentials, former rugby international David Pocock, even managed to wrest a Canberra Senate seat from the Liberals, the first time the major parties had failed to share the representation between them.

Once the dust settled, attention turned away from the banalities of the campaign and the novelties of results to the new Labor government led by Anthony Albanese. He and ministers such as Penny Wong, who took on foreign affairs, sought to improve relations with China and remind Pacific nations that Australia was “family”.

By the end of the year, there was legislation to create an anti-corruption commission, and to strengthen the ability of workers to push for higher wages after years of stagnation. With war raging in Ukraine and energy prices soaring, the new government was dogged by inflation, but it has now legislated to cap gas prices and reached an agreement with the states for controls on the price of coal. Interest rate increases from a Reserve Bank whose 30-year shine was wearing off threatened the well-being of people whose cost of living was rising faster than many, after decades of low inflation, had ever known.

The government came under pressure to abandon its predecessor’s commitment – supported by Labor – to a third round of income tax cuts that would deliver a windfall to high-income earners.

But amid such competing pressures, most commentators thought Labor’s first six months had been among the more successful for a new federal government. Its image of orderliness was helped by the contrast produced by the revelation that Morrison had secretly taken on five ministries during the pandemic. Meanwhile, new Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sought to rebuild a party that now leaned even further to the right as a result of losses by Liberal moderates in metropolitan seats.

It was the year’s third election, held on November 26, that caused the most surprise. It was not so much the result, for most polling indicated that Labor, under Daniel Andrews, would win the Victorian election. It was the scale of Labor’s victory that shocked. Victoria had endured prolonged and frequent lockdowns, fierce protests against them, and much else that supposedly indicated a faltering government and premier falling out of favour.

Yet Labor, while losing votes in some places, increased its tally of lower-house seats by one. It was another epic media fail, with wishful thinking, especially in the Murdoch press, generating hopelessly inaccurate punditry.

À lire aussi :
The Liberal Party is in a dire state across Australia right now. That should worry us all

The Liberals in Victoria are in a deep malaise, contributing to a bleak national picture for the Coalition parties. The question of whether the Australian centre right, after its unwise flirtations with right-wing populism, can now begin to reconnect with mainstream constituencies, policies and ideas remains one of the central questions in Australian politics.

Frank Bongiorno ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. ‘He played his ukulele as the ship went down’: Frank Bongiorno on the political year that was – https://theconversation.com/he-played-his-ukulele-as-the-ship-went-down-frank-bongiorno-on-the-political-year-that-was-194063

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Foerster, Associate Professor, Monash University

Australian company directors have long had legal obligations to identify, disclose and manage material financial risks to the company. Where risks result from climate change, or from measures to mitigate climate change, they have an obligation to address and report these.

But until now there have been no clear rules on how to report.

A new proposal from Treasurer Jim Chalmers on which the government wants comment by February 17 will require a standardised internationally‑aligned form of disclosure of climate‑related risks and opportunities, phased in from 2024-25.

It follows on the heels of the government’s legislated climate targets and proposals to require big emitters to reduce emissions year by year under the previously-leglislated “safeguard mechanism”.

Voluntary best-practice, international standards for climate reporting have been available for some time, developed by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.

Commitments have been hard to compare

Around three-quarters of large Australian companies are already using these standards.

An increasing number have also set long-term net-zero emissions targets.

But much of the reporting focuses on the easier aspects of the TCFD standards, which deal with governance and identifying risks, rather than setting out robust transition strategies with clear and measurable decarbonisation pathways aligned to the international Paris accord.

The companies that have adopted climate targets have been using a variety of definitions. Some refer to absolute emissions, some to reducing emissions intensity, and some only to certain business lines.

Very few submit their targets for external verification by bodies such as the Science-based Target Setting Initiative, an international accreditation platform for Paris-aligned targets.

Greenwashing concerns

There are also valid concerns about greenwashing, particularly in relation to net-zero pledges and claims of Paris alignment.

Corporate regulators are increasingly alert to greenwashing risks and some companies are facing litigation over the veracity of their claims.

An ongoing case in the Federal Court against oil and gas company Santos alleges it has been misleading and deceptive in disclosing a net-zero target, while continuing to pursue new high-emitting projects and relying on contentious offset strategies and immature carbon capture and storage technologies.

Completing the jigsaw

The proposed reforms offer a real chance to address these problems.

They would support companies to set out transition strategies, including decarbonisation targets, and to report on their progress using standardised metrics. They would also require clearer reporting of corporate emissions, including, where relevant, the Scope 3 emissions that companies are associated with.

The consultation paper also proposes options to strengthen and streamline the standard-setting, monitoring, and oversight functions of Australian regulators.

Sitting alongside the government’s legislated climate targets and the strengthened safeguard mechanism, the new reporting standards will help line up the puzzle pieces to drive corporate decarbonisation in Australia.

À lire aussi :
Half of Australia’s biggest companies have net-zero emissions plans, but climate action may come too late

Anita Foerster ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. Clearer rules on reporting companies’ climate risks could soon put us on a path to decarbonising corporate Australia – https://theconversation.com/clearer-rules-on-reporting-companies-climate-risks-could-soon-put-us-on-a-path-to-decarbonising-corporate-australia-196381

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ausma Bernot, PhD Candidate, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

A group of researchers studied 15 months of human mobility movement data taken from 1.5 million people and concluded that just four points in space and time were sufficient to identify 95% of them, even when the data weren’t of excellent quality.

That was back in 2013.

Nearly ten years on, surveillance technologies permeate all aspects of our lives. They collect swathes of data from us in various forms, and often without us knowing.

I’m a surveillance researcher with a focus on technology governance. Here’s my round-up of widespread surveillance systems I think everyone should know about.

CCTV and open-access cameras

Although China has more than 50% of all surveillance cameras installed in the world (about 34 cameras per 1,000 people), Australian cities are catching up. In 2021, Sydney had 4.67 cameras per 1,000 people and Melbourne had 2.13.

While CCTV cameras can be used for legitimate purposes, such as promoting safety in cities and assisting police with criminal investigations, their use also poses serious concerns.

In 2021, New South Wales police were suspected of having used CCTV footage paired with facial recognition to find people attending anti-lockdown protests. When questioned, they didn’t confirm or deny if they had (or if they would in the future).

In August 2022, the United Nations confirmed CCTV is being used to carry out “serious human rights violations” against Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region of Northwest China.

The CCTV cameras in China don’t just record real-time footage. Many are equipped with facial recognition to keep tabs on the movements of minorities. And some have reportedly been trialled to detect emotions.

The US also has a long history of using CCTV cameras to support racist policing practices. In 2021, Amnesty International reported areas with a higher proportion of non-white residents had more CCTV cameras.

Read more:
After Roe v Wade, here’s how women could adopt ‘spycraft’ to avoid tracking and prosecution

Another issue with CCTV is security. Many of these cameras are open-access, which means they don’t have password protection and can often be easily accessed online. So I could spend all day watching a livestream of someone’s porch, as long as there was an open camera nearby.

Surveillance artist Dries Depoorter’s recent project The Follower aptly showcases the vulnerabilities of open cameras. By coupling open camera footage with AI and Instagram photos, Depoorter was able to match people’s photos with the footage of where and when they were taken.

There was pushback, with one of the identified people saying:

It’s a crime to use the image of a person without permission.

Whether or not it is illegal will depend on the specific circumstances and where you live. Either way, the issue here is that Depoorter was able to do this in the first place.

IoT devices

An IoT (“Internet of Things”) device is any device that connects to a wireless network to function – so think smart home devices such as Amazon Echo or Google Dot, a baby monitor, or even smart traffic lights.

It’s estimated global spending on IoT devices will have reached US$1.2 trillion by some point this year. Around 18 billion connected devices form the IoT network. Like unsecured CCTV cameras, IoT devices are easy to hack into if they use default passwords or passwords that have been leaked.

In some examples, hackers have hijacked baby monitor cameras to stalk breastfeeding mums, threaten parents that their baby was being kidnapped, and say creepy things like “I love you” to children.

Beyond hacking, businesses can also use data collected through IoT devices to further target customers with products and services.

Privacy experts raised the alarm in September over Amazon’s merger agreement with robot vacuum company iRobot. A letter to the US Federal Trade Commission signed by 26 civil rights and privacy advocacy groups said:

Linking iRobot devices to the already intrusive Amazon home system incentivizes more data collection from more connected home devices, potentially including private details about our habits and our health that would endanger human rights and safety.

IoT-collected data can also change hands with third parties through data partnerships (which are very common), and this too without customers’ explicit consent.

Read more:
How the shady world of the data industry strips away our freedoms

Big tech and big data

In 2017, the value of big data exceeded that of oil. Private companies have driven the majority of that growth.

For tech platforms, the expansive collection of users’ personal information is business as usual, literally, because more data mean more precise analytics, more effective targeted ads and more revenue.

This logic of profit-making through targeted advertising has been dubbed “surveillance capitalism”. As the old saying goes, if you’re not paying for it, then you’re the product.

Meta (which owns both Facebook and Instagram) generated almost US$23 billion in advertising revenue in the third quarter of this year.

The vast machinery behind this is illustrated well in the 2021 documentary The Social Dilemma, even if in a dramatised way. It showed us how social media platforms rely on our psychological weaknesses to keep us online for as long as possible, measuring our actions down to the seconds we spend hovering over an ad.

Loyalty programs

Although many people don’t realise it, loyalty programs are one of the biggest personal data collection gimmicks out there.

In a particularly intrusive example, in 2012 one US retailer sent a teenage girl a catalogue dotted with pictures of smiling infants and nursery furniture. The girl’s angered father went to confront managers at the local store, and learned that predictive analytics knew more about his daughter than he did.

It’s estimated 88% of Australian consumers over age 16 are members of a loyalty program. These schemes build your consumer profile to sell you more stuff. Some might even charge you sneaky fees and lure you in with future perks to sell you at steep prices.

As technology journalist Ros Page notes:

[T]he data you hand over at the checkout can be shared and sold to businesses you’ve never dealt with.

As a cheeky sidestep, you could find a buddy to swap your loyalty cards with. Predictive analytics is only strong when it can recognise behavioural patterns. When the patterns are disrupted, the data turn into noise.

Read more:
Don’t be phish food! Tips to avoid sharing your personal information online

Ausma Bernot 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. Not Big Brother, but close: a surveillance expert explains some of the ways we’re all being watched, all the time – https://theconversation.com/not-big-brother-but-close-a-surveillance-expert-explains-some-of-the-ways-were-all-being-watched-all-the-time-194917

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Baumann, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology, Bond University

You’ve driven home from work along the same route for the past five years. But lately, you’ve been stopping at the same intersection, struggling to remember if you need to turn left or right.

Many occasions in everyday life can make us question whether lapses in memory are normal, a sign of cognitive decline, or even the beginning of dementia.

Our first instinct might be that it’s due to deterioration in our brains. And it’s true that like the rest of our body, our brain cells shrink when we get older. They also maintain fewer connections with other neurons and store less of the chemicals needed for sending messages to other neurons.

But not all memory lapses are due to age-related changes to our neurons. In many cases, the influencing factors are more trivial, including being tired, anxious, or distracted.

Read more:
It’s not just doorways that make us forget what we came for in the next room

Some forgetfulness is normal

Our memory system is constructed in a way that some degree of forgetting is normal. This is not a flaw, but a feature. Maintaining memories is not only a drain on our metabolism, but too much unnecessary information can slow down or hamper retrieving specific memories.

Unfortunately, it’s not always up to us to decide what’s important and should be remembered. Our brain does that for us. In general, our brain prefers social information (the latest gossip), but easily discards abstract information (such as numbers).

Memory loss becomes a problem when it starts to affect your typical day-to-day living. It’s not a huge issue if you can’t remember to turn right or left. However, forgetting why you are behind the wheel, where you are meant to be going or even how to drive are not normal. These are signs something may not be right and should be investigated further.

Then there’s mild cognitive impairment

The road between ageing-associated memory loss and the more concerning memory loss is coined as mild cognitive impairment. The degree of impairment can remain stable, improve, or worsen.

However, it indicates an increase risk (around three to five times) of future neurogenerative disease such as dementia. Every year, around 10-15% of people with mild cognitive impairment will develop dementia.

Read more:
Are ‘core memories’ real? The science behind 5 common myths

For people with mild cognitive impairment, the ability to undertake usual activities becomes gradually and more significantly impacted over time. Besides memory loss, it can be accompanied by other problems with language, thinking and decision-making skills.

A mild cognitive impairment diagnosis can be a double-edged sword. It affirms older people’s concerns their memory loss is abnormal. It also raises concerns it will develop into dementia. But it can also lead to the exploration of potential treatment and planning for the future.

Losing your way can be an early marker

Impairment in navigation is thought to be an early marker for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown the areas that crucially underpin memories for our spatial environment are the first to be affected by this degenerative disease.

So, a noticeable increase in occasions of getting lost could be a warning sign of more pronounced and widespread difficulties in the future.

Given the predictive link between declines in the ability to find your way and dementia, there is an incentive to develop and use standardised tests to detect deficits as early as possible.

Currently, the scientific literature describes varying approaches, ranging from pen-and-paper tests and virtual reality, to real-life navigation, but there is no gold standard yet.

A specific challenge is to develop a test that is accurate, cost-effective and easy to administer during a busy clinic day.

We have developed a five-minute test that used scene memory as a proxy for way-finding ability. We ask participants to remember pictures of houses and subsequently test their ability to differentiate between the pictures they have learned and a set of new images of houses.

We found the test works well in predicting natural variations in way-finding ability in healthy young people, but are currently still evaluating the effectiveness of the test in older people.

Get help when your memory lapses are consistent

While everyday memory lapses are not something we should unduly worry about, it is prudent to seek professional health care advice, such as from your GP, when those impairments become more marked and consistent.

While there is currently still no cure for Alzheimer’s, early detection will allow you to plan for the future and for more targeted management of the disorder.

Read more:
Is there really a benefit from getting an early dementia diagnosis?

Oliver Baumann is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bond University.

Dr. Cindy Jones (cjones@bond.edu.au) is an Associate Professor of Behavioural Sciences at Bond University, Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine (Medical Program) and an Adjunct Research Fellow at Menzies Health Institute, Queensland.

– ref. How much memory loss is normal with ageing? – https://theconversation.com/how-much-memory-loss-is-normal-with-ageing-193217

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Narelle Lemon, Professor in Education, Swinburne University of Technology

Many year 12 students who are receiving their exam results at the moment will go straight to further study and training next year. But others may be planning or dreaming about a break.

As a professor of education with a focus on positive psychology, I think of a gap year as a dynamic transition time that allows you to be your own person. It is a chance to reconnect to who you are and what you want in life. It is so much more than a break!

It can mean working, volunteering, doing a program with the Australian Defence Force or travelling.

Despite what some assume, it is not a year of doing nothing, or slacking off. Nor is it an indication you won’t return to further study. Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about a gap year.

Read more:
‘They don’t expect a lot of me, they just want me to go to uni’: first-in-family students show how we need a broader definition of ‘success’ in year 12

Gap years in Australia

Although a gap can be taken at any time, the first real opportunity for most is at the end of high school.

Each year, about one in seven Australian year 12 students who then do a bachelors degree take a gap year (although the proportion fell from 16% in 2009 to 11% in 2016).

For some students, this is a practical reality. Students from regional and remote areas are more likely than city students to take a gap year. And students from less advantaged areas are more likely to do paid work during this time.

Every university will have a support team to advise you on how to defer for a year once you are accepted, and can let you know when you need to make a decision. You can also change your course preferences if you want to.

It can be a form of self-care

Taking a gap year can be dedicated time to explore who you are as a person, build new connections and relationships, and be curious. You can gain confidence, perspective, and open-mindedness.

From a self-care perspective, it is important to tune into how you are feeling about yourself and moving ahead with future studies now or not.

Finishing high school and the stress of exams is draining at the best of times. Studying during the pandemic – away from teachers and friends and with so many disruptions and uncertainties – has been exhausting.

Read more:
5 reasons students should consider taking a gap year now

How to set up a gap year

If you take a gap year, this is likely to be a precious and unusual time in your life. The pandemic has also changed priorities for some people. So what is it that you want to change, interrupt or do differently? Ask yourself honestly:

• what do I want?
• what’s working in my life?
• what have I learned from things that haven’t been working?
• what will the year look like?
• what will success look and feel like at the end?

According to US education researcher Joseph O’Shea, you need to pay attention to the organisation, resourcing and quality of your gap year. Think about these questions:

• how much money will I need?
• how will I support myself?
• has someone else done the same type of gap year activity before? What did they learn that can help?
• who can be a mentor for me?

A note for parents

And for parents and carers who may be hesitant to support a gap year, it does not mean your child will turn their back on study forever. Figures show students taking a gap year are just as likely to complete their degree within six years than students who do not.

As a university lecturer I have also taught many students who have taken a gap year. For me, what stands out with every single one of them is that on return they are super focused, ask thought-provoking questions in class and know exactly what their purpose is.

Research also suggests a gap year has a positive impact on academic performance once you return to university, with the greatest impact on those who performed less well at school. It has also shown to increase students’ motivation to study when they come back.

So, tune into what you are curious about and how it will help you become the best person you want to be. Don’t compare yourself with others. There are so many pathways to finding meaning and purpose in life – a gap year might be exactly what you need.

Read more:
Disappointed by your year 12 result? A university expert and a clinical psychologist share advice on what to do next

Narelle Lemon 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. Thinking about a gap year? Here are some questions to ask yourself (and a note for anxious parents) – https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-a-gap-year-here-are-some-questions-to-ask-yourself-and-a-note-for-anxious-parents-196283

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorinda Cramer, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University

Woollen swimwear, popular a century ago, might soon make a splash on Australian beaches again.

In the 19th century, when natural fibres were the only option, beach-goers donned costumes made of wool or cotton. Swimsuits worn at the water’s edge or in the crashing waves transformed across the 20th century from natural fibres to sleek, high-performance synthetics.

But with concern mounting over microplastics and the search for sustainable options, the woollen swimsuits of the past could be the swimwear of the future.

Read more:
Brands are leaning on ‘recycled’ clothes to meet sustainability goals. How are they made? And why is recycling them further so hard?

Shifting (and shrinking) swimsuits

Plenty who enjoyed a day on the sand in the first decades of the 20th century did so fully clothed. It was not uncommon for men to dress for the beach in three-piece suits or for women to wear gowns that fell to their ankles.

But women who ventured into the water donned belted, knee-length bathing gowns that featured bloomers to conceal the legs. Men’s two-piece bathing costumes revealed a little more, with a top extending to the thighs paired with shorts to the knees.

In the space of a couple of decades, however, swimsuits radically changed. Styles altered as attitudes to the exposure of bodies relaxed, shifting ideas around public morality.

The 1930s witnessed a rise in topless bathing for men as they adopted trunks. Some had half skirts at the front, and many sported belts with buckles to keep them firmly on the waist.

Women’s swimwear now revealed the arms, legs and back – then even more when bikinis appeared on Australian beaches in 1950. Shock rippled across the sand.

Swimwear had reached body-baring new dimensions.

Wool on the beach

Knitted wool – rather than woven wool or cotton – fitted swimwear snugly to the body, helping it shrink in size.

For wearers of Foy & Gibson’s evocatively named wool suits in the late 1920s and early 1930s – “Sunnybeach”, “Sunbath”, “Seafit” and “Siren” among them – this knit offered comfort and freedom.

Speedo’s knitted wool trucks in the late 1930s were made to streamline men’s figures, sparking the enticing slogan: “Next to your figure Speedo looks best!”

Those with knitting skills could make their own swimsuits that decade, using instructions like those given in the Australian Women’s Weekly.

With the introduction of “Lastex” – a rubber yarn – to woollen swimsuits in the 1930s, they transitioned to even more body-hugging fits. These exuded a new kind of glamorous appeal that elevated swimwear to a “sea-ductive” (as one newspaper columnist quipped) new height.

Read more:
The erotic theatre of the pool edge: a short history of female swimwear

The synthetic swimsuit revolution

When synthetics burst onto the market, Australians embraced the new “modern” fibres. Wool was also in short supply, prioritised for uniforms and blankets for second world war troops.

Swimwear started to be made in the so-called “miracle” fibres: nylon in the 1940s, then polyester (known as “Terylene” in Australia) in the 1950s. From the 1960s, “Lycra” (also called elastane and spandex) was blended into swimsuits. These made sleeker, slimmer, more satin-like suits.

Neoprene, a foam fabric, first appeared in wetsuits on Australia’s beaches in the late 1950s – increasing the possibilities for winter surfing. Wetsuits improved significantly in decades to follow, keeping their wearer warm by trapping a thin layer of water heated by the body.

In the pool, our Olympic swimmers tested more advanced fabrics. Those at the Sydney Games in 2000 wore the Speedo “fastskin”, with its compression fabric and replication of shark skin scales that streamlined the body in the water.

More recently, swimsuits made from recycled plastic – bottles, bags and other plastic waste – have emerged as an eco-friendly option. Some question, however, just how green these recycled swimmers truly are when reducing all plastic consumption is needed to make a difference.

Read more:
‘Fast suits’ and Olympic swimming: a tale of reduced drag and broken records

Why wool, again?

We might dismiss woollen swimsuits from the 20th century’s first decades as unpleasant or uncomfortable to wear. Or we might see them as unflattering for the way they sagged when wet.

But new processes for working with wool suggest it is ideal to wear in the water. New merino boardshorts have been designed to dry in less than seven minutes. Wool is also thermo-regulating, helping the body maintain an even temperature.

It’s not just that wool options are increasingly available. As we buy and throw away clothing at alarming rates, some have embraced the natural fibre as a sustainable, renewable alternative to synthetics.

Wool is biodegradable, naturally returning to and nourishing the earth, unlike synthetics that can take centuries to break down. Clothes in artificial fibres linger in landfill, with devastating consequences.

Our growing awareness of microplastics – tiny fibres released with washing that pollute marine (and other) environments – is also driving this shift.

So is it time to rethink wearing wool as you head to the beach this summer?

Lorinda Cramer receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and as Redmond Barry Fellow for the State Library of Victoria’s Fellowships Program 2022.

– ref. Wool swimsuits used to be standard beachwear – is it time to bring them back? – https://theconversation.com/wool-swimsuits-used-to-be-standard-beachwear-is-it-time-to-bring-them-back-195103

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University

Climate change is one of the main drivers of species loss globally. We know more plants and animals will die as heatwaves, bushfires, droughts and other natural disasters worsen.

But to date, science has vastly underestimated the true toll climate change and habitat destruction will have on biodiversity. That’s because it has largely neglected to consider the extent of “co-extinctions”: when species go extinct because other species on which they depend die out.

Our new research shows 10% of land animals could disappear from particular geographic areas by 2050, and almost 30% by 2100. This is more than double previous predictions. It means children born today who live to their 70s will witness literally thousands of animals disappear in their lifetime, from lizards and frogs to iconic mammals such as elephants and koalas.

But if we manage to dramatically reduce carbon emissions globally, we could save thousands of species from local extinction this century alone.

Read more:
This is Australia’s most important report on the environment’s deteriorating health. We present its grim findings

An extinction crisis unfolding

Every species depends on others in some way. So when a species dies out, the repercussions can ripple through an ecosystem.

For example, consider what happens when a species goes extinct due to a disturbance such as habitat loss. This is known as a “primary” extinction. It can then mean a predator loses its prey, a parasite loses its host or a flowering plant loses its pollinators.

A real-life example of a co-extinction that could occur soon is the potential loss of the critically endangered mountain pygmy possum (Burramys parvus) in Australia. Drought, habitat loss, and other pressures have caused the rapid decline of its primary prey, the bogong moth (Agrotis infusa).

Research suggests co-extinction was a main driver of past extinctions, including the five previous mass extinction events going back many hundreds of millions of years.

But until now, scientists have not been able to interconnect species at a global scale to estimate how many co-extinctions will occur under projected climate and land-use change. Our research aimed to close that information gap.

Read more:
Our laws fail nature. The government’s plan to overhaul them looks good, but crucial detail is yet to come

The fate of wildlife

Using one of Europe’s fastest supercomputers, we built a massive virtual Earth of interconnected food-web networks. We then applied scenarios of projected climate change and land-use degradation such as deforestation, to predict biodiversity loss across the planet.

Our virtual Earths included more than 15,000 food webs that we used to predict the interconnected fate of species to the end of the 21st Century.

Our models applied three scenarios of projected climate change based on future pathways of global carbon emissions. This includes the high-emissions, business-as-usual scenario that predicts a mean global temperature increase of 2.4℃ by 2050, and 4.4℃ by 2100.

If this scenario becomes reality, ecosystems on land worldwide will lose 10% of current animal diversity by 2050, on average. The figure rises to 27% by 2100.

Read more:
Worried about Earth’s future? Well, the outlook is worse than even scientists can grasp

Adding co-extinctions into the mix causes a 34% higher loss of biodiversity overall than just considering primary extinctions. This is why previous predictions have been too optimistic.

Worse still is the fate of the most vulnerable species in those networks. For species highest in food chains (omnivores and carnivores), the loss of biodiversity due to co-extinctions is a whopping 184% higher than that due to primary extinctions.

We also predict that the greatest relative biodiversity losses will occur in areas with the highest number of species already – a case of the rich losing their riches the fastest.

These are mainly in areas recognised as “biodiversity hotspots” — 36 highly threatened areas of the Earth containing the most unique species, such as Southwest Australia and South Africa’s Cape Floristic region. This is because the erosion of species-rich food webs makes biological communities more susceptible to future shocks.

We also detected that these networks of interacting species themselves will change. We used a measure of “connectance”, which refers to the density of network connections. Higher connectance generally means the species in a food web have more links to others, thereby making the entire network more resilient.

Connectance, we learnt, will decline between 18% and 34% by the end of this century in the worst-case climate scenario.

This reduction in connectance was also driven by the loss of some key species occupying the most important positions in their local networks. These could be top predators such as wolves or lions keeping plant eaters in check, or an abundant insect eaten by many different insectivores.

When such highly connected species go extinct, it makes the network even less resilient to disturbance, thereby driving even more loss of species than would otherwise have occurred under a natural ecological regime. This phenomenon illustrates the unprecedented challenges biodiversity faces today.

Can we minimise the threat?

As the United Nations Biodiversity Conference winds up this week in Montreal, Canada, governments are trying to agree on a new set of global actions to halt and reverse nature loss.

It follows the recent COP27 climate change summit in Egypt, where the resulting agreement was inadequate to deal with the global climate crisis.

We hope our findings will, in future, help governments identify which policies will lead to fewer extinctions.

For example, if we manage to achieve a lower carbon-emissions pathway that limits global warming to less than 3℃ by the end of this century, we could limit biodiversity loss to “only” 13%. This would translate into saving thousands of species from disappearing.

Clearly, humanity has so far underestimated its true impacts on the diversity of life on Earth. Without major changes, we stand to lose much of what sustains our planet.

Read more:
COP27: one big breakthrough but ultimately an inadequate response to the climate crisis

Corey J. A. Bradshaw receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Giovanni Strona 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. Children born today will see literally thousands of animals disappear in their lifetime, as global food webs collapse – https://theconversation.com/children-born-today-will-see-literally-thousands-of-animals-disappear-in-their-lifetime-as-global-food-webs-collapse-196286

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

In this, our last podcast for 2022, we talk with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. We spoke to each of them on the day the parliament was back to pass the energy package.

Albanese, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the recent summit season, reveals he anticipates a further positive development in China’s relationship with Australia within weeks.

Asked whether he expects some relaxation of China’s trade restrictions on Australia any time soon, he says: “I’m hopeful that any of the barriers to normal economic activity are removed and that we have stronger economic relations.

“China is our major economic partner and I think in coming weeks you will see further measures and activities which indicate a much-improved relationship, which is in the interests of both of our countries, but importantly as well is in the interests of peace and security in the region.”

Pressed on whether he’s indicating a likely loosening of restrictions on our exports, Albanese says: “I’m hoping that there’ll be further indications of an improvement in the relationship […] and we’ll see how that plays out over the next coming weeks.”

On the 2023 referendum for the Voice to Parliament, Albanese is “absolutely confident” its passage would make Closing the Gap more attainable.

“That is the objective. […] We know that where Indigenous Australians feel a sense of ownership over decisions, where they’re consulted about programs that have a direct impact on them, then you get better outcomes. And we see that in practical ways through the rangers’ program, through justice reinvestment programs.

“We have tried doing things from Canberra or from state capitals, seeking to make decisions on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The successful programs have been ones that have directly consulted them and had their input.”

Carrying the referendum would also improve “the way that Australia is perceived internationally”.

In the Albanese interview we also canvass:

• Julian Assange
• energy policy
• COVID changes
• the 2023 budget
• Labor’s challenge in “heartland” seats.

Peter Dutton: Coalition won’t be ‘small target’ at next election

Dutton’s main task since the election has been holding together an opposition demoralised by defeat. But as he oversees policy development for the 2025 election will be adopt a “small target” strategy, as Albanese did?

“At the next election we will have a very significant offering of policy, which will distinguish us quite markedly from the Labor Party,” Dutton says.

“I’ve been in the parliament for 21 years. I have a good sense of balance and proportion, and there does need to be a balance of risk-taking. There needs to be an element of the government getting it wrong. There needs to be an opportunity for us to get the policies right.

“And I want to bring that experience to bear in the next election campaign. And I believe that, as a result of that, we won’t be small target, but we’re not going to be silly about policies. I mean, you went from one extreme under Bill Shorten in 2019 to the other under Anthony Albanese in 2022. So we have a balance to strike and I’ll be making those judgment calls as we get closer to the next election.”

The Liberals are always saying they need more women candidates but what are they actually going to do about getting them?

Dutton says (in an unspoken comparison with his predecessor): “I don’t have a problem with women and I’m not perceived to. I have a very significant track record and I’m happy to be compared against the prime minister or anybody else.”

Pushed on quotas, he says: “The Liberal Party doesn’t have a culture of imposing quotas. I want to see more women. I’ve made that very clear to the state presidents, I have made it very clear to preselection bodies. But in the Liberal Party our branch members have the say as to who they want as their local candidate. And generally that is somebody who has worked very hard on campaigns in the local electorate over a long period of time.”

In the Dutton interview we also canvass:

• cost of living
• the Liberal Party’s stance on the Voice
• Josh Frydenberg’s future
• Scott Morrison
• participation in the NSW state election.

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: Albanese flags new progress in China relationship ‘in coming weeks’ – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-albanese-flags-new-progress-in-china-relationship-in-coming-weeks-196728

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Evans, Lecturer in Policing and Emergency Management, University of Tasmania

The killing of two police officers and a good samaritan, as well as the wounding of two other officers in Wieambilla, Queensland, has sent shockwaves through Australia.

While more details about possible motives will emerge over time, evidence already suggests that at least one of the alleged gunmen – Gareth Train – was a firm believer in a host of conspiracy theories.

This is important because the killings are the clearest example of what security, policing researchers, and law enforcement have warned of – conspiracy beliefs can be motivators for actual or attempted violence against specific people, places, and organisations.

So what should police do, if anything, to counter conspiracy theories?

Not always just harmless speculation

The Wieambilla killings are the latest in a string of serious incidents involving conspiracy theorists.

Just one week before the killings, 25 people were arrested in Germany – many associated with the conspiracist Reichsbürger movement – for plotting to overthrow the government.

Read more:
What is the Reichsbürger movement accused of trying to overthrow the German government?

In November, a New Zealander – Graham Philip – became the first person in the country’s history to be convicted of sabotage after trying to bring down the North Island’s power-grid in protest against the government’s COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandate. Like Train, Philip also publicly expressed beliefs in several conspiracy theories.

In 2021, the Australian Federal Police uncovered a plot by some conspiracy theorists in Australia to arrest members of the government by impersonating police officers.

These cases tell us that conspiracy theories aren’t always just harmless speculation. An important reason for this is because people who express belief in one conspiracy theory often endorse others, including completely unrelated or contradictory ones.

To explain this tendency, “conspiracist ideation” or conspiracism is used to describe a predisposition to conspiracy thinking and a worldview of interlinking, widespread conspiracies. Feelings of disempowerment and a lack of trust in authorities can lead to this mindset.

As I have argued elsewhere, this has a range of impacts on police operational environments. Conspiracism may lead believers to try to correct perceived wrongdoing through coercion and violence. Justification for the use of violence often stems from the frequent “othering” of certain groups by conspiracy theories through painting them as dangerous or using them as scapegoats.

Read more:
Conspiracy theories are dangerous even if very few people believe them

There’s also a well-established link between violent extremism and conspiracism due to extremists often incorporating conspiracy theories into their broader worldview.

Emerging evidence also suggests conspiracy theories are a radicalisation risk and are being used as recruitment tools by extremist groups as they often focus on emotive subjects such as child protection, freedom, and health.

What should police do about conspiracism?

But what, if anything, can and should police do about conspiracism?

An obvious starting place is monitoring. This could be done through “fixated persons units” – the specialist capability in some police jurisdictions that undertakes risk assessments of people with obsessions, grievances or ideologies that may lead to serious violence.

Read more:
Friendlyjordies producer arrest: what is the NSW Police Fixated Persons Investigations Unit and when is it used?

Conspiracism and certain individual conspiracies could also be incorporated into frameworks for countering violent extremism.

Yet monitoring may be counterproductive, as it could reinforce ideas of persecution and distrust. Indeed when Australian media began reporting on Train’s preoccupation with conspiracies, online conspiracy groups began to assert the killings were a hoax designed to justify the persecution of conspiracy theorists.

There’s also evidence that links certain mental health conditions to conspiracy theories. Conditions like PTSD, paranoid schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder may also contribute to a willingness to act on conspiratorial beliefs. This is not to suggest these conditions are solely responsible, but that they are a common feature of some cases where individuals have acted on conspiratorial views. For example, one study found around 60% of QAnon conspiracy adherents who committed crimes before and after the January 6 Capitol insurrection had documented mental health conditions. This is an important consideration for any future monitoring, as knowledge of this may worsen mental health conditions or motivate action.

Other strategies include targeting suppliers of conspiracies before conspiracies spread (“pre-emptive strikes”) or afterwards to limit their damage (“counter-strikes”). However, these strategies are of limited use for police, as they rely on either taking down platforms and removing/flagging conspiratorial content. These areas lie beyond policing’s role.

Preventative or responsive strategies targeting conspiracy consumers are more promising for police, able to be employed by general duties officers in their interactions with the public.

For example, people who feel more powerless tend to be more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. By relying on the principles of procedural justice – such as allowing people to have a voice during encounters – police may be able to enhance people’s feelings of control.

Low trust environments also breed conspiracies. A continued focus on police trust-building initiatives may therefore also help immunise against conspiracies.

Finally, general duties officers may be able to engage in “alleviating” strategies when interacting with conspiracists. This could include “rationality based debunking” which emphasises focusing on the internal logic of a conspiracy theory or on key facts integral to the theory.

The Wieambilla killings will likely lead to increased police focus on the threat posed by conspiracy theories. In doing so, police should consider including conspiracism into existing frameworks for countering violent extremism, while being mindful of the risk monitoring poses to the entrenchment of views. Focusing on procedural justice and trust-building will also be vital.

Nicholas Evans is affiliated with the New Zealand Australia Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA).

– ref. Queensland police killings show the threat posed by conspiracy theories – how should police respond? – https://theconversation.com/queensland-police-killings-show-the-threat-posed-by-conspiracy-theories-how-should-police-respond-196642

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Pudney, Associate Professor of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, University of South Australia

Batteries are undoubtedly part of our energy future. Should you put one in your home now to store solar output, manage your energy use and cut costs? It really depends on what you want to achieve.

Studies in 2017 and 2021 identified key motivations for installing home batteries:

• using your own solar energy
• good for environment
• independence from the grid
• saving money.

With these goals in mind, our research suggests it’s hard to justify buying a battery right now on cost savings alone. If other reasons also matter to you, it might be justified.

Using your own solar

More than 30% of Australian homes have solar systems. They typically generate more than is needed during the middle of the day, less than is needed during morning and evening demand peaks, and nothing at night.

If you don’t have a battery, when you need more power than your solar system generates it’s imported from the grid. You can also export surplus energy to the grid and be paid for it.

But, as solar capacity grows, the maximum power new solar system owners are allowed to export is being limited in many locations. And if too many people in your street are exporting, the local voltage will go high and solar inverters will curtail generation.

Read more:
Solar curtailment is emerging as a new challenge to overcome as Australia dashes for rooftop solar

One way you can avoid curtailment is by shifting some of your energy use to the middle of the day. Significant loads that could be shifted include:

• water heating
• pool pumps
• air conditioning
• appliances such as dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers
• electric vehicle charging.

If you still have surplus generation, it can be stored in a battery and used later to reduce the energy you import from the grid to cover loads you can’t shift. The energy you could transfer via a battery each day will be whichever is the minimum of your excess generation and the amount you normally import. For example, if you have 3 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of excess generation in a day but import only 2kWh to meet your overnight loads, the maximimum energy you can transfer via a battery is 2kWh.

The graph below shows an example of the energy that could be transferred each day of a year, averaged over 40 houses at Lochiel Park, a precinct of low-energy housing in Adelaide.

For these households, a battery with an 8kWh capacity could handle the energy transfer most days. However, the average energy transferred each day is only 4kWh because some days have low surplus generation or low overnight demand. Households with large solar systems and large daily energy imports from the grid can transfer more.

The battery itself will limit rates of charging and discharging. If you are generating more power than it can handle, some of the surplus will be exported or the solar output could be curtailed. If your load is more than it can handle, you will need extra power from the grid.

Read more:
When the heat hits: how to make our homes comfortable without cranking up the aircon

Environmental benefits

Storing surplus solar energy and using it instead of fossil-fuel energy from the grid will have environmental benefits.

Most home batteries are lithium-ion batteries. Despite concerns about the environmental impacts of a lithium-ion-led energy revolution, efforts are being made to reduce these impacts.

Other ways to reduce environmental impacts without a battery include:

• use less energy, and shift your load to match your clean energy supply

• choose a green retailer or buy GreenPower.

Independence

A 2017 study found nearly 70% of respondents wanted to eventually disconnect from the grid. Remote households have done it for decades, but need large solar systems and large batteries backed up by diesel generators and gas for heating and cooking.

Being connected to a grid has significant benefits. When not generating enough solar power you can get energy from somewhere else. And when generating more than you need, you can send the surplus somewhere else that needs it. Connecting many loads to many generators increases flexibility and efficiency.

A home battery can let you run your home when the grid fails, but you may need extra equipment to isolate it from the grid at such times. Being off-grid means you may also need to manage your battery differently to keep enough energy in reserve to meet your needs during outages.

Saving money

You could use a battery to reduce costs in two ways:

• store surplus solar energy during periods of a low feed-in tariff (the money you receive for exporting energy to the grid), then use it later instead of importing energy when the price is high

• join a virtual power plant (VPP).

Let us explain further.

The cost of electricity varies throughout each day, depending on demand and on available generation. If you have a meter that records when energy is used, time-of-use and dynamic tariffs will allow you to make the most of price fluctuations.

If the difference between your feed-in tariff and your peak import price is 40c/kWh, each kWh of solar energy you store then use during the peak period saves you 40c. The graph above showed an average daily transfer of 4kWh, saving $1.60 per day. But this household requires an 8kWh battery, costing about $9,600. The payback period is over 16 years – beyond the warrantied life of the battery.

In 2017 we simulated battery use for 38 houses with solar to determine the viability and payback period. Each dot in the graph below indicates the payback period for a particular household with given battery size. The horizontal axis shows the annual surplus energy it generated.

The payback period is better for smaller batteries, which cost less, and for houses with larger annual export.

We assumed a price difference of 40c/kWh between import price and feed-in tariff. We also assumed a future battery price of $600/kWh – we are not there yet (unless you can get a generous subsidy).

The other way of reducing the payback period, and supporting the grid, is to join a virtual power plant (VPP). A VPP is a network of home solar batteries from which the electricity grid can draw energy in times of need.

VPP operators typically offer discounts on the battery cost, its management to take advantage of the retail tariffs on offer, and payments for allowing them to use your battery to trade energy on the electricity markets. Subsidies and payments vary across VPPs.

Read more:
Tesla’s ‘virtual power plant’ might be second-best to real people power

Other options might be a better bet at this stage

Understand why you want a battery before you start looking. There are other options for making better use of your solar generation, getting clean energy and reducing your costs.

If you have a large solar system, high grid imports and can get a good subsidy, or if you just want cutting-edge energy technology, then you might be able to justify a battery.

If you don’t have solar already, the economics of a solar system with a battery can look attractive. But the solar panels will provide most of the savings.

Peter Pudney received funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living.

Adrian Grantham works for APG Insights and CXC – undertaking contract work for AEMO.

Heather Smith chairs the Coalition for Community Energy. She has received funding from the Australian Government’s Remote and Regional Microgrids and Preparing Communities programs and CSIRO. She consults as Changing Weather to community energy groups.

John Boland receives funding from the Regional and Remote Communities reliability Fund, and has in the past received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

– ref. Thinking of buying a battery to help power your home? Here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-buying-a-battery-to-help-power-your-home-heres-what-you-need-to-know-192610

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sender Dovchin, Associate Professor and the Director of Research, Curtin University

All names of participants mentioned are pseudonyms to protect their identity.

In our recent study of 150 non-English speaking background migrants and refugees living in Australia, nearly 80% revealed using their birth names in their CVs led to fewer call-backs or no response at all.

This highlights language-based discrimination, and is an example of “name microaggressions” – negative assumptions based on ethnic-sounding names.

Our participants said experiencing microaggressions against their birth names has taken a heavy psychological toll on them.

What is name microaggression?

Name microaggression refers to a stigma based on negative assumptions associated with migrants and refugees, purely based on their ethnic-sounding birth names. Research has found more ethnic-sounding birth names can cause unfounded negative beliefs about the person, such as being less skilled or less capable than someone with a more Anglo-sounding name.

Name microaggressions can present as names being mispronounced, misspelled, misunderstood, misgendered, or mocked. A common occurrence is for some people choosing to use a more “English-friendly” variation of a migrant’s name instead of the person’s birth name if it’s not easy to say, spell or remember. This microaggression is an act of symbolic violence that is not always intentional, but is still hurtful and disrespectful.

Our participants talked about why name microaggressions are so hurtful, describing how their birth name carries crucial cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and family significance. Many participants suffered and continue to suffer from psychological distress and negative emotions such as embarrassment, self-shaming, fear, anxiety, and nervousness when they hear their names mispronounced.

Read more:
As the 2022 AFLM season comes to a close, the game must ask itself some difficult questions – especially on racism

Name microaggressions are often barriers to employment

Our interview data found newly arrived migrants and refugees who use their birth names seem to be the most vulnerable. Because their birth name sounds different, looks odd or is hard to pronounce, their skills and qualifications are discounted or rejected in institutional contexts such as recruitment and employment.

Name microaggression is primarily found in the initial hiring process of recruitment when a candidate’s CV is examined before they decide whether to go ahead with an interview.

As a result, most migrants in the study claimed to have adopted a “CV whitening” strategy by using an alternative English name.

For example, one research participant, Oksana (pseudonym) from Ukraine, has altered her birth name by removing her heavily “post-Soviet sounding/looking” last name “Пугачева” (Pugacheva) to give a more Western feel. Instead she uses “Pugachev” in order to sound more Western.

Name microaggressions are not limited to job recruitment. We found most of our participants adopted “renaming practices” in every day life. This involves choosing new Anglo-sounding names instead of correcting their teachers, peers, friends, and colleagues when their names are mispronounced.

Some Chinese participants replaced their names with English names during their adolescent years while taking English classes in China.

As a result, many Chinese students offer alternative Australian-sounding names – Andy instead of Wang, Grace instead of Qian.

The wider (whiter) community needs to do better

The first step in maintaining an inclusive multicultural society is to start respecting migrants’ birth names. Names are identities and histories. Names not only specify and individualise their bearers but also serve as means of empowerment and belonging. This sense of belonging connects them to their respective cultures, and the correct usage of birth names can bring a feeling of belonging in society.

When educators, policymakers, or employers practise name microaggressions, they convey a message that people’s racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds don’t matter.

Most employers in Australia explicitly declare their commitment to diversity. But our research shows they still engage in these microaggressions against migrants. Someone’s birth name may not seem like a big deal, but it shows a significant expression of ignorance.

Workplaces, schools, colleges and universities need to improve their efforts to build an inclusive environment that accepts diverse names originating from many different languages.

Social justice, diversity and inclusion all start here.

Sender Dovchin 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. What is a name microaggression and could you be doing it without knowing? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-name-microaggression-and-could-you-be-doing-it-without-knowing-196272

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Cannon, GP and Lecturer at Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney

How are babies made? Giaan, age 8

Thanks for your interesting question, Giaan!

Lots of kids your age wonder about how babies are made. It’s an important question because making babies allows the human species (and other animals) to continue.

Knowing the body parts

The first step in making a baby happens when a sperm from a man’s body joins with an egg from a woman’s body.

To understand how this happens, it is helpful to know the proper names for different body parts. These pictures may help.

When I say man, I’m referring to a person with a penis and testes (sometimes called testicles).

When I say woman, I’m referring to a person with a uterus (where the baby grows), vagina (the passage inside the vulva that leads to the uterus), and ovaries.

But sometimes, people are born with differences in these body parts. And sometimes these body parts don’t match how people think of themselves – as a man or woman or non-binary person.

Where do the sperm and egg come from?

Puberty is the time when your body begins to develop, and changes from child to adult, usually in later primary school and early high school years.

Sperm look a bit like tadpoles but are so small that you need a microscope to see them. They are made in the man’s testes and are released in a liquid called semen.

Once a boy goes through puberty, their testes can produce millions of sperm each day.

Eggs are stored in the woman’s ovaries and after puberty there is usually one egg released per month.

An egg is just big enough to see – it’s about the size of a grain of sand (still pretty small!).

How do the sperm and egg join?

So how do the sperm and egg join to make a baby? This is called conception.

The most common way conception happens is when a woman and a man have sexual intercourse. This means that the man’s penis goes inside the woman’s vagina and semen squirts out.

Sperm come out of the penis and go up into the vagina and if one of the sperm connects with an egg, the two may combine to make a baby (actually, it’s called an embryo at this stage).

The embryo makes its way to the uterus, where it will grow for the next nine months, until the baby is ready to be born.

Babies can be conceived in other ways too

Some families have two mums, and they may ask a man to provide sperm (called a sperm donor). The doctor places the sperm in the uterus of one of the mums.

There is also a process called IVF (in-vitro-fertilisation). For this, doctors take sperm from a man and an egg from a woman and combine them in a dish to form an embryo.

Then the embryo is put inside the woman’s uterus by the doctor and continues to grow there, just like other babies.

OK, then what happens?

After the egg and sperm join to make an embryo, the embryo attaches to the mother’s uterus.

An organ called the placenta forms to supply the growing baby with all the nutrition it needs.

When the baby is ready to be born, the muscles of the mum’s uterus start to contract and push the baby out through the vagina.

Some babies can’t be safely pushed out through the vagina and are delivered by an operation where a doctor removes the baby through a cut below the mum’s belly button (called a caesarean or c-section). During the operation, the doctor gives the mum a special injection in her back to take the pain away.

Have more questions? Kids often do

Often kids have more questions to ask about some of the things discussed in this article. Some kids want to know a lot more and others maybe just a couple of things.

If you have more questions, then have a chat with mum, dad, or another trusted adult, such as a teacher. Here is a good resource for them to look at if they are unsure about how much to explain.

Bianca Cannon 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. Curious Kids: how are babies made? – https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-are-babies-made-190447

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Gilmore, Associate Professor, Griffith University

Christmas comes but once a year – as do Christmas party games. With such little practice it’s hard to get good at any of them.

Let me help. I’m going to share with you some expert tips, tested through mathematical modelling, on how to win one of the most popular games: Bad Santa – also known as Dirty Santa, White Elephant, Grab Bag, Yankee Swap, Thieving Secret Santa, or simply “that present-stealing game”.

This isn’t advice on being a bad sport. It’s about being a good Bad Santa – which is the name of the game. You might even come away with a good gift and bragging rights.

How Bad Santa works

Bad Santa is a variation of the classic Kris Kringle (or Secret Santa) game, in which each guest receives an anonymous gift bought by another guest. Part of the fun (for others) is the unwrapping of silly and useless gifts, which is done one by one.

Bad Santa spices things up. All the gifts are pooled. Guests take turns to choose one to unwrap. Or they can choose to “steal” a gift already opened by someone else. The person losing their gift then gets the same choice: open a wrapped present or steal someone else’s.

It’s a good alternative to buying a gift for everyone, and a great way to ruin friendships.

The order of players is usually determined by drawing numbers from a hat. This is important, because you’ve probably already noted the disadvantage of going first and the benefit of going last. The right rules can mitigate this. There are at least a dozen different versions of this game published online, and some are much less fair than others.

How I tested Bad Santa

The best way to test Bad Santa rule variations and playing strategies would be to observe games in real life – say, by attending 1,000 Christmas parties (funding bodies please call me).

I did the next best thing, deploying the same type of computer modelling (known as agent-based modelling) used to understand everything from bidding in electricity markets to how the human immune system works.

In my model there are 16 virtual guests and 16 gifts. Each has different present preferences, rating opened gifts on a scale of 1 to 10. They will steal a gift they rate better than a 5. To make it interesting, three gifts are rated highly by everyone and there are three no one really wants – probably a novelty mug or something.

After simulating 50,000 games with different rules, I’ve found a set of rules that seems the most fair, no matter what number you draw from the hat.

Choosing the fairest rules

The following graph shows the results for four different game variations.

The higher the line, the greater the overall satisfaction. The flatter the lines, the fairer the result. (If gifts were chosen randomly with no stealing, every player’s average satisfaction score would be 5.)

The most unfair result comes from the “dark blue rules”, which stipulate that any gift can only be stolen once in any round. This mean if you’re the last person, you’ve got the biggest choice and get to keep what you steal. If you go first, you’re bound to lose out.

Fairest and best Bad Santa rules

The most fair outcomes come from the “red rules”:

• A gift can be stolen multiple times each turn. This keeps presents moving between guests, which adds to the fun.

• Once a person holds the same gift three times it becomes “locked”, and can no longer be stolen. This evens the game out a lot. Later players still see more gifts, but earlier players have more chance to lock the gift they want. It also ensures games don’t go on for hours.

• After the last player’s turn, there is one more round of stealing, starting with the very first player. This also gives them a chance to steal at least once – and a slight advantage. But overall, these rules provide the most even outcomes.

Like most games, the rules are’t perfect. But the maths shows they are better than the alternatives. If you want to test other scenarios using my model, you can download my source code here.

Three tips on game strategy

The right rules help level the playing field. They don’t eliminate the need for strategic thinking to maximise your chance to get a gift you want.

As in real life, seemingly fair rules can be manipulated.

One thing you could do is team up with other players to manipulate the “three holds and locked” rule. To do this, you’ll need at least two co-conspirators.

Say your friends Donner and Blitzen have their preferred gifts, and now it’s your turn. You steal Blitzen’s gift. Blitzen in turn steals Donner’s, who steals yours, and so on. Donner and Blitzen end up holding their chosen gifts a second time, then a third. You helped them out, and then can choose another gift.

In competitive markets this type of co-operation is usually know as collusion – and it’s illegal. In sport, it would simply be called cheating. So I’m not saying you should do this; I am merely explaining how the strategy works. If you do this and end up on the naughty list, don’t blame me.

I haven’t yet tested rules variations in my model to see how this collusion can best be eliminated or minimised. Maybe by next Christmas. (Or maybe not – for me, cheating through maths is half the fun of the game.)

So let me leave you with two perfectly legitimate strategies.

First, and most obviously, you must steal gifts!

My modelling quantifies how necessary this is. I simulated a game in which four guests will never steal a gift. Those guests are 75% less satisfied with their final gifts than the players who do steal. They’re also much less fun at parties.

Second, steal even if there’s nothing you want yet.

Steal the present you think someone else will want. If a later player steals your gift, you get another chance to pick again when more gifts have been opened.

And if someone gets Grinchy when you use these techniques to bag the best gift, just be sure to tell them you read about it on The Conversation.

Joel Gilmore ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. How to win the gift-stealing game Bad Santa, according to a mathematician – https://theconversation.com/how-to-win-the-gift-stealing-game-bad-santa-according-to-a-mathematician-196483

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Amery, Clinical Education Coordinator – Speech Pathology, Charles Darwin University

Machado-Joseph-Disease (MJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects muscles in the body, including those required for speech. It is prevalent in some remote First Nations communities in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Yolŋu First Nations people from northeast Arnhem Land are among those disproportionately affected. Yolŋu knowledge is shared through clan songlines, painting of clan designs, ceremonial song, dance, and storytelling. Growing up with a strong clan-based identity is the highest priority for Yolŋu families, and language is paramount.

This is why Julie Gungunbuy, a Yolŋu researcher from Galiwin’ku community, and Balanda (non-First Nations) researcher Rebecca Amery have developed Yolŋu (Djambarrpuyŋu) alternative communication systems. Julie is the principal Yolŋu researcher working on the study exploring communication difficulties for Yolŋu living with MJD, a disease in her extended family.

Read more:
How do we support Indigenous people in Australia living with musculoskeletal conditions?

What is Machado-Joseph disease?

Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Machado-Joseph disease cause cells in the brain to die slowly over time. Cognitive function is not affected in MJD, but speech gradually becomes more difficult to understand, until eventually it is no longer possible.

MJD results in a slow loss of control of muscles and function that also affects mobility, vision, and sleep. A single copy of the disordered gene from one parent is enough to cause MJD. Children have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease from an affected parent and can experience the first symptoms at a young age.

People living with MJD usually require full assistance with daily activities within ten years from the first onset of symptoms. When speech becomes unclear, alternative ways of communicating such as using gestures, pointing to words, pictures, photos, and symbols are helpful. With appropriate medical care, people can live for more than a decade with severe-stage MJD.

Read more:
Rather than focusing on the negative, we need a strength-based way to approach First Nations childrens’ health

Creating Yolŋu communication systems for loss of speech

For First Nations families and communities, practising culture through their primary language is crucial for health and wellbeing. It’s how deeper thoughts and feelings are expressed and understood, and how families and cultures stay strong.

Six years ago, together with other Yolŋu researchers in Julie’s family, the MJD Foundation and Charles Darwin University, we began to collaborate on developing alternative communication systems to support Yolŋu living with MJD when their speech becomes hard to understand.

Julie’s galay (first cousin) Barbara Rarrapul has the disease and is one of our research participants. She will eventually lose the ability to control and coordinate muscles to speak. She knows five languages: Djambarrpuyŋu (the most common Yolŋu clan language), as well as Gumatj, Wangurri, Warramirri and English.

We developed alternative communication systems with Yolŋu words, grammar, and pictures that Yolŋu can use to communicate by pointing to the words and pictures to share their message when their speech is too hard to understand. The creation of these systems was guided by Yolŋu language, culture, and personal preferences of participants, rather than by modifying existing systems in English.

In collaborative family research sessions, we developed cards with the Yolŋu alphabet, syllables, and words, as well as everyday pictures to explore different ways of representing components of Yolŋu speech.

In planning for inevitable loss of speech, we developed four alternative communication system prototypes for Yolŋu with varied confidence with Yolŋu literacy.

The prototypes include Yolŋu and English alphabets and a core vocabulary of almost 250 Yolŋu words, including common words from daily conversation and core concepts from Yolŋu culture. The systems were designed to emphasise identity and relationships and enable Yolŋu people to communicate in ways that are inviting and familiar.

The Yolŋu research team developed a metaphor to represent and share the research from a Yolŋu perspective: gulaka-buma or “harvesting yams”.

You need to go hunting for yams with experienced people who know the right time of year and what leaves to look for. You have to walk carefully through the jungle, so you don’t break the vines. Follow the vine right down to the head of the yam. Dig right down, all the way to the end and pull out the yam with roots on it. Don’t break it halfway. If you run out of daylight, cover it up and leave it. Come back another day when you have more time and keep digging.

It’s Julie’s hope that this research, and these alternative communication systems in Yolŋu languages, become a major step forward to supporting quality of life for Yolŋu people living with MJD.

This research highlights the importance of collaborating with First Nations peoples in their primary languages to enable meaningful participation in finding their own solutions.

The communication systems are a potential game changer for Yolŋu families, and the localised, collaborative, and respectful partnerships seen in this process are a model for enabling us to continue to develop more equitable allied health services in Australia.

Research participant names featured have been published with permission.

Rebecca Amery received research funding from a Research Training Program scholarship with Charles Darwin University and a Top-Up Industry Scholarship from the MJD Foundation.

Julie Gungunbuy works for the MJD Foundation.

– ref. A rare disease in the Top End affects muscles for speech. Here’s how we’re designing alternative ways to communicate in Yolŋu languages – https://theconversation.com/a-rare-disease-in-the-top-end-affects-muscles-for-speech-heres-how-were-designing-alternative-ways-to-communicate-in-yolnu-languages-195923

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim M Caudwell, Lecturer – Psychology | Chair, Researchers in Behavioural Addictions, Alcohol and Drugs (BAAD), Charles Darwin University

You’re catching up with a few friends before you go out. Everyone’s having a drink, listening to some tunes, and the mood is good. A ride share is pulling up in the driveway – everyone quickly finishes their drinks and piles into the car, headed to a gig where more alcohol will be consumed.

This is the typical pre-drinking scenario – drinking alcohol in one place, typically someone’s home, before drinking more somewhere else, such as a pub, club or event.

You might be familiar with pre-drinking (colloquially known as pre-loading) and think nothing much of doing it.

In reality, it’s a complex behaviour that has been of great interest to health psychologists and public health strategists for the past 15 years.

And as popular as it is, pre-drinking isn’t without risk.

Why do people pre-drink?

The considerable public health effort to reduce excessive drinking in licensed venues has meant some drinkers appear to have abandoned the traditional “pub to club” model in favour of a “home to pub to club” version.

You can understand the appeal – compared to a busy venue, someone’s house is likely to be less noisy, less cramped, and probably doesn’t include a cover charge.

In Australia, a common reason people cite for pre-drinking is the relatively cheaper cost of pre-purchased alcohol compared with prices at a licensed venue.

Indeed, behavioural economists have observed we tend to be quite discerning when figuring out the most cost-effective way to drink.

Add our complex taxation system and public health initiatives such as minimum unit pricing to the mix, and it’s no surprise we are looking for ways to get a buzz on the cheap.

More than money?

Outside Australia, evidence shows alcohol price is less of a driver for pre-drinking. Other motivational themes have emerged – mainly from psychological research in North America and Europe.

These include the “enhancement” aspect of pre-drinking itself (as the opening scenario illustrates), controlling alcohol consumption in situ (such as only drinking your preferred brand), or in anticipation of less access to alcohol later on (think long lines for beer at the footy).

Generally, the aim of pre-drinking appears to be getting “sufficiently intoxicated” before going out.

But one motive, commonly mentioned by men, has been labelled as “intimate pursuit”. This is where hanging out during pre-drinks is used to built rapport with someone you might be romantically interested in.

Although these themes are generally endorsed by Australian pre-drinkers, cost is still an important driver of our pre-drinking, especially among young Australians.

Read more:
Trying to cut back on alcohol? Here’s what works

In our research, we asked participants about the cheaper cost of pre-drinking, alongside these other motives. It was the strongest predictor of pre-drinking, and also predicted participants’ experience of alcohol-related harm over the previous 12-month period.

Surprisingly, some people report that pre-drinking doesn’t save them that much money.

From a psychological perspective, this may be because alcohol affects our “inhibitory control”. Although our goal with having pre-drinks is to keep total alcohol expenditure down, the drunker we get, the harder it is to resist buying another round.

The unique harm of pre-drinking

Unfortunately, research consistently shows pre-drinking is uniquely linked to excessive alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related harm.

One reason may be that we drink faster while pre-drinking, relative to sitting on a pint at the pub. This means pre-drinkers may reach higher levels of intoxication, more quickly.

This can be highly dependent on a range of factors – for instance, who we are pre-drinking with, and whether or not people are playing drinking games.

Adding to the risk, people tend to be pretty bad at estimating how much they are drinking.

Sadly, the “sweet spot” of a buzz can quickly give way to increasing levels of alcohol intoxication – and increased risk of alcohol-related harm.

How can pre-drinking risks be minimised?

Research shows pre-drinking serves important practical and social functions – catching up with friends in a more relaxed environment, and warming up for a night out.

As such, it is unlikely we will eliminate pre-drinking entirely, but we can try to make it a bit less risky.

One challenge for pre-drinking is that people may drink out of whatever vessel is around – say, a mug – and will find it difficult to keep track of their consumption.

Licensed premises serve alcohol in standardised containers such as pints and schooners, or use measured pours. So, having schooners or jiggers on hand when pre-drinking would be a good place to start.

Health psychologists often promote “protective behavioural strategies” – things that help keep our alcohol consumption under control. For example, we can set ourselves a drink limit, or set a timer between drinks to slow our intake. Work is ongoing to investigate how these strategies might be better tailored to the pre-drinking context.

Ultimately, if you’re planning a pre-drinking session before an event, it’s a good idea to make sure there are plenty of non-alcoholic or low-alcohol options, and food – as you would with any party.

The most important thing pre-drinkers can do is keep an eye on each other, making sure everyone makes it to the event, has a good time, and gets home safely.

Read more:
Australians are embracing ‘mindful drinking’ — and the alcohol industry is also getting sober curious

Kim M Caudwell 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. Want to pre-drink before going out? It probably won’t save you money, and can be risky to boot – https://theconversation.com/want-to-pre-drink-before-going-out-it-probably-wont-save-you-money-and-can-be-risky-to-boot-195098

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgie Russell, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University

Holidays are a time when lots of us tend to overindulge in food and drink, and many people gain weight. Once gained, weight is difficult to lose, and it is likely that much of the holiday weight gain will stay with us.

Overindulgence might happen for some people around relaxed and positive family gatherings, especially if COVID has limited travel and family occasions in recent years. For others, holiday gatherings hold the potential for conflict and emotional challenges and that can lead to having more to eat and drink. For some people it will be a sad and lonely period, without family or significant others around, and food might seem comforting.

Holiday gatherings are typically social, featuring foods that are delicious, energy-dense and plentiful. It can be challenging to resist the temptations on offer. Yet some people overindulge, but others do not. Why?

Research tells us how different “eating personalities” influence our tendency to overdo it at the festive buffet.

Eating personalities

The various combinations of our eating behaviours (our usual ways of behaving and thinking about food) interact with each other as “eating personalities”.

Technically, eating personalities (or eating phenotypes) refer to habitual patterns of eating behaviours and thoughts that are the result of interactions between our genetic makeup, individual characteristics and the environment.

Eating personalities affect how we eat (such as how fast), what we eat (healthy or unhealthy foods), how much we eat in different situations, and importantly, why we overeat. Eating personalities are apparent even in infants and continue to evolve and change over our lifetime. They also inform how we select specific weight-loss strategies.

Our eating personalities could include:

• how we respond to prompts for overeating, such as the presence of tempting foods or drinks at a buffet lunch, and whether we sometimes lose control

• how desirable or appealing or rewarding we find different foods or drinks. It might be a glossy chocolate cake for one person but crispy roast potatoes for another

• whether we notice and respond to internal signals of fullness

• our tendency to serve large portions and eat until the plate is clean

• whether we are able to wait until we start feeling hungry again to begin eating, rather than being guided by the clock or a tempting snack

• our capacity to stick to longer-term goals in the presence of tempting foods or drinks

• how fast we eat and whether we tend to maintain this pace or slow down during the course of eating

• whether we are “emotional eaters” who eat when we feel down or to celebrate success.

Read more:
Mukbang, #EatWithMe and eating disorders on TikTok: why online food consumption videos could fuel food fixations

5 ideas for eating according to your personality

Research published this year, based on a randomised clinical trial with 217 adults, indicates that knowing your eating personality can help identify strategies to manage food intakes and weight. A second recent study of 165 people supports these findings.

Matching strategies to your particular eating personality traits could help you manage or avoid overindulgence.

1. The overeater

If eating when you’re not actually hungry is a component of your eating personality, improving awareness of hunger versus other triggers for eating when you feel full, and developing skills in responding to these cues before deciding to eat, could help.

2. The food admirer and impulsive eater

If high attraction to food is a factor, and you have difficulty resisting, acknowledging the attractiveness of food cues and practising using avoidance, distraction or resistance strategies may be effective.

3. The emotional eater

People who recognise they eat for emotional reasons might try other strategies such as mindfulness, walking or listening to music to work through their feelings.

4. The plate cleaner

If resisting food is hard once it’s on your plate, choosing smaller portions could help, along with developing awareness of fullness cues, or selecting some food but saving some for later in a separate location. Some young children do this naturally, spreading holiday chocolates or treats over days or weeks.

5. The speed eater

If eating quickly means you tend to eat too much, pay greater attention to your eating speed during the meal and attempt to slow down by interspersing eating with other things like chatting or drinking water.

Read more:
When I work with people with eating disorders, I see many rules around ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods – but eating is never that simple

Acknowledging the challenges

It is a common experience to have tried, and sometimes failed, to temper food intakes during holiday periods and celebrations.

Food is a central part of holiday celebrations – it provides social and cultural connection, and is a source of enjoyment. However, if avoiding overindulgence is a priority for your health and wellbeing, it is worth exploring your eating personality. This is a path to a better understanding of overindulgence, and possibly to strategies for moderating what you eat and how much, during the holiday period and beyond.

Read more:
Step away from the table – why you keep eating when you’re full

Georgie Russell is affiliated with the Nutrition Society of Australia and the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society.

Alan Russell 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. Your tendency to overindulge these holidays could relate to your ‘eating personality’. Which type are you? – https://theconversation.com/your-tendency-to-overindulge-these-holidays-could-relate-to-your-eating-personality-which-type-are-you-196295

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University

To tackle the energy crisis about to send our bills skywards, the Albanese government last week capped gas prices temporarily in the east coast market, proposing a figure of A$12 per gigajoule. A gigajoule of gas has the same energy as about 26 litres of petrol.

But has the government been too generous to the three gas majors? After all, before the Ukraine war and sanctions on Russia jolted prices up, the average price gas producers were asking to supply gas next year was around $9.20 per GJ, with 96% of price offers under $12. Australia, of course, is the world leader in producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), so there’s no issue with supply.

If you look west, you’d immediately think the government’s cap is indeed too generous. Western Australia’s gas prices are roughly $5.50 per GJ. So while capping prices at $12 may stop gouging, it’s still more than we needed to be paying. And a higher cap on prices may actually encourage more greenhouse emissions, as it gives gas producers the incentive to ramp up production. Gas producers and lobby groups argue price caps will push investment away from Australia to other countries.

So who’s right? Let’s find out.

How does a price cap work?

Put simply, the $12 price cap will apply to all new contracts for wholesale gas on Australia’s east coast gas market.

It will only apply to the east coast domestic market because WA has had in place a separate domestic gas reservation policy since 2006, which requires 15% of locally produced LNG to be kept for the local market. As a result, WA has been largely protected from global price hikes this year. Gas prices have averaged between $5.50 and $6 per GJ.

Read more:
Will your energy bills ever come down? Only if Labor gets serious with the gas majors

After 12 months, the price cap will expire. Or will it? Once the year is up, the government will consult with industry and reassess the cap under what it has described as a “reasonable price” plan. This means the government will inspect future gas contract offers to see if the price is “reasonable” based on cost of production plus an agreed profit margin.

This suggests some form of price control will be with us for a while. Government control over energy prices – in countries that produce gas – is now imperative given the global disruptions to the market. Higher energy prices are likely to be with us for the foreseeable future and gas will continue to influence energy pricing until the renewable sector can replace it.

Did the gas majors get too much?

It depends: $12 per GJ is much more than east coast gas producers were being paid before the Ukraine war started in February. Before that, producers were still turning a profit while selling at $5-7 per GJ. This year, prices reached as high as $45 per GJ.

These prices are simply unsustainable, distorting the market and causing major disruption to domestic consumers and industry. This windfall boosted gas producers’ profits but came at significant cost for many heavy energy using industries. The government had to act.

Free market purists would say we should have let the market decide. But that would have plunged many into energy poverty, where people would be unable to afford to heat or cool their homes and many industries would have had to shut. As Rod Sims, former head of the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, has pointed out, failing to act would not have been good for the social fabric of the community.

Even so, intervening in the market was always going to be difficult. It’s no surprise the eastern gas companies squealed, given they have never been subjected to a price cap, a reservation policy or even had the so-called gas trigger pulled to ensure supply volumes were adequate. Producers have variously described the price cap as “reckless”, “rushed” and an “ill-considered” intrusion. If you had been raking it in, you might be miffed too.

Capping gas prices at $12 is certainly not the best pricing option. As others have pointed out, $7 per GJ would still give gas producers a significant profit and could help us cut our greenhouse gas emissions.

But bear in mind this price cap was always intended as a first-base plan, allowing the government to act quickly to keep energy prices from ballooning. It would have been a very difficult year if the government had not done this – especially as voters are fully aware they live in a country with an abundant supply of gas.

Because this is the first time gas contracts on the east coast have been subjected to a price cap, the government had to act cautiously. That’s why it gave gas producers more than $7, to keep them on side.

It’s far better we pay $12 for gas rather than the $26 per GJ gas producers were making on the spot market last quarter. In the longer term, the goal is to fend off the forecast price hike of 56% over the next 18 months.

So, we should see this as a two-part plan. First, stop prices soaring into the stratosphere immediately. And second, tackle distorted energy prices in the medium term by introducing reasonable profit rules after that, ensuring producers can make reasonable profits without subjecting consumers to the wild excesses of the global market.

You might wonder – why are we doubling down on fossil fuels? Certainly, we have to phase out fossil fuels to fend off the worst of climate change. But right now, Australia is not as far along as it needs to be in shifting to clean energy. If we want to accelerate this shift, we could look once again at pricing greenhouse gas pollution rather than hoping price caps will do the work indirectly.

What about the fact that gas is still much cheaper in WA? Why can’t east coast residents match this? Well, the reservation policy in WA has been in place for nearly 17 years, and the gas price reflects this long-term framework.

Over east, this $12 price cap captures what Treasurer Jim Chalmers describes as the need to balance support for the east coast gas sector while preventing a disrupted global market from hollowing out local industries and adding yet more strain to struggling families.

How should we see this cap?

If you’d floated the idea of direct government intervention in the gas market a year ago, you’d have got a sceptical response. Governments messing with markets is usually controversial. That’s why we’ve seen strong pushback. But the government could not have let things keep going as they were. It was politically and socially unacceptable.

The price cap is a reasonable short-term approach. Producers will keep banking significant profits, and consumers will be better protected from huge energy market volatility. This cap gets the ball rolling. But it’s not the end of government directing markets. These are not ordinary times.

Read more:
Why did gas prices go from $10 a gigajoule to $800 a gigajoule? An expert on the energy crisis engulfing Australia

Samantha Hepburn 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. Yes, the government’s price cap is overly generous to gas producers. But it was necessary – https://theconversation.com/yes-the-governments-price-cap-is-overly-generous-to-gas-producers-but-it-was-necessary-196597

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Westaway, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland

Apart from managing the land, Indigenous people have also managed waterways, including the Murray River and the Darling/Baaka River, for thousands of years.

Like many Indigenous peoples of Australia, the Barkandji people of the Baaka manipulated and enhanced the river and floodplain ecosystems of their country.

Now, our research on stone, wood and earthen fish traps and fish weirs on the Baaka and its floodplains reveals how these aquatic resources were managed, grown and stored by the Barkandji.

These structures, and the cultural practices that sustain them, are still significant to the Barkandji people – but they’ve been severely affected by colonisation, and remain at risk from government commitments to irrigation.

Reconstructing the Baaka’s Aboriginal past

To study the structures in the Baaka we relied on archaeological methods, Barkandji knowledge and oral history, and written accounts from early settlers and explorers.

We found most of the wooden or earthen fish traps on the Baaka’s floodplains have not endured and aren’t archaeologically visible. There are, however, some existing and remnant stone traps – which were once common along the 1,200km channel.

These structures were encountered by explorers, ship pilots, graziers and other settlers who travelled along the Baaka between Wentworth and Bourke.

The first threat to the traps were paddle steamers

The first paddle steamer travelled in 1861 up the Baaka from Wentworth at the Murray-Darling junction to Brewarrina on the Barwon River. It was piloted by Captain William Randell, and was unable to pass over the fish traps due to a lack of draught over the rocks.

This voyage initiated the famous paddle steamer trade that continued into the 1940s. Rocks in the river often stopped these vessels from navigating at low water levels, and they occasionally even sank.

This prompted government-resourced teams to force a passage through by blasting the rocks with dynamite. This blasted rock can still be seen at some outcrops, including areas that have the remains of fish traps or are known to have once had them. Indigenous people built new traps in these areas, often using the blasted rock.

During the 20th century, a series of low-level weirs were built at the small towns along the river to secure water supplies. Settlers sought the same river features to build weirs that Indigenous people did when choosing sites for stone fish traps, so many weirs were built on outcropping rock.

These weirs tended to have loose boulders on the downstream side to hold the weir wall in place. At Wilcannia, the Indigenous workers who carted and placed the rocks at the weir later made them into stone fish traps, which are still used today.

They are made in steps going up the weir wall, helping fish climb the wall like a modern fish ladder.

Taking too much water for irrigation

During the last two decades an increasing amount of water has been removed for large-scale irrigation from the Baaka and its northern tributaries. By 2019, excessive water extraction had virtually dried the Baaka and Barwon rivers from Wentworth to Collarenebri – a route more than 2,000km long.

Read more:
Excessive water extractions, not climate change, are most to blame for the Darling River drying

The mass fish kills at Menindee in 2018–2019 showed the devastating effects of removing so many of the small to medium flows that kept the ecosystem functioning.

This extended dry river resulted in the near extinction of many species, including river snails, mussels, catfish and silver bream. Also, without water in the river, the Barkandji could not use their fish traps or pass along knowledge of their history and significance.

The New South Wales government’s response to the crisis now presents a new threat to the fragile fish traps. In 2019 the government passed legislation to fast-track new water infrastructure, despite strong evidence it needs to reduce the amount of water allocated to irrigation.

The legislation enables new dams and new (higher) weirs. The old weir at Wilcannia, which has been used by Indigenous people as a series of fish traps for at least 60 years, will be partly demolished and will no longer function as a fish trap. This is despite the Indigenous community’s strong opposition.

The legislation also allows for the “re-establishment of natural rock weirs on the Darling River between Bourke and its junction with the Murray River”. This suggests all the rock outcrops in the Darling Baaka were originally weirs that stretched like a wall across the river and held water back (before being blasted to allow paddle steamers to pass).

But our field survey coupled with historical material indicates most rock outcrops were originally uneven, with openings and numerous loose rocks. This allowed water to flow through and over the rocks at different river heights, enabling the fish traps to work and helping sustain the ecosystem.

Read more:
Bushfire arson: prevention is the cure

How should the river be managed?

Fish traps set by Aboriginal people along the Baaka offer valuable insight into how this precious body of water could be managed. The first thing is the river needs its “low and medium flows” protected.

Historically, Aboriginal people have held ceremonies (and to some extent still do) to mark mass migrations of fish such as golden perch and silver bream that travel upstream to spawn. These fish have to be able to travel up and down the river unimpeded. As seen at the Wilcannia weir, fish traps assist with this.

There are also several benefits from water flowing over and through fish trap stone walls. The walls increase flow turbulence, reduce silting, improve water quality and are “keyed” to let small fish through. They also provide a rocky habitat that effectively forms “multi-storey apartments” for invertebrates such as yabbies and river snails.

Stone fish traps are also often found in association with shallow aquifer springs, with one recorded trap built around a spring. This is evidence of fish management; the fresh spring water attracts fish and acts as a refuge during drought.

Local Indigenous people also understand the necessity of regularly filling floodplain lakes, swamps and billabongs. They previously enhanced these water bodies by using temporary wooden and earthen weirs – providing fish reserves, fish nurseries and rich and diverse habitats for aquatic life.

These structures kept aquatic plants and animals safe to seed the river with life when floods came down after dry periods. They held water to replenish the shallow aquifers that create springs and soaks in the river.

Water managers have so far largely ignored the potential for Indigenous knowledge to facilitate the sustainable management of the Baaka. Yet Indigenous people living along the Baaka have known about how its water moves long before scientists did.

The NSW government’s proposed infrastructure will not only endanger the remnants of culturally significant fish trap structures, but also impact the river’s ecology. Unless Indigenous people’s experience and knowledge are taken seriously, the Baaka and its precious resources may be depleted beyond the point of saving.

Acknowledgment: we would like to thank our colleague Sarah Martin, who led the research paper this article is based on, and whose contributions were invaluable in gathering these findings.

Michael Westaway receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Sue Jackson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Commonwealth Government’s Murray Darling Basin Water and Environment Program. Sue is a member of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s scientific advisory committee.

Badger Bates 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. Aboriginal people have spent centuries building in the Darling River. Now there are plans to demolish these important structures – https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-have-spent-centuries-building-in-the-darling-river-now-there-are-plans-to-demolish-these-important-structures-195966

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Clarke, Professor of Waste Management, The University of Queensland

Only 24% of local councils in Australia separately collect household food organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste. Another 16% provide garden waste collection only. This limited progress has prompted the federal government to push back the target date, from 2023 to 2030, for all councils to collect food and garden waste separately from landfill waste.

Most food waste currently goes into red bins as mixed waste bound for landfills. Kerbside collection of organic waste will become a standard service for all residents in New South Wales and Victoria by 2030, for metropolitan residents in South Australia and Western Australia by 2025 and for Canberra residents by 2023.

To achieve these targets, effective policies and incentives will need to be put in place for councils or private waste management companies. They will have to build and operate the infrastructure needed to process FOGO waste, and will want to recoup their costs.

Happily, this waste has increasing value as a source of both high-quality compost and biogas, which can be used like natural gas. The markets for these products, with gas prices in particular soaring, should help drive widespread adoption earlier than 2030.

Read more:
Four bins might help, but to solve our waste crisis we need a strong market for recycled products

Why collect this waste separately?

The rationale for diverting organic waste from increasingly limited landfill space is clear. Collecting this waste separately reduces landfill impacts and costs, while delivering other environmental benefits.

Organic waste in a landfill will biodegrade slowly, eventually turning into biogas (methane and carbon dioxide). It can also produce organic acids that dissolve and mobilise heavy metals, creating a toxic hazard.

Modern landfills operate for decades. Waste is covered as it is placed, but only with soil until the landfill is full. Despite the use of multi-layer liners and impermeable final covers, these eventually deteriorate. In addition to harmful local environmental legacies of landfills, emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – cause global harm.

In contrast, returning clean organic material to soils is beneficial. Australia’s arable soils are typically low in organic carbon, which needs to be regularly supplemented.

Read more:
We need more carbon in our soil to help Australian farmers through the drought

But, to produce high-quality compost, FOGO must be collected in a separate bin to avoid contamination. It’s possible to extract organic material from mixed (red bin) waste. This is done by grinding the waste and then using magnets, eddy currents, water flotation and air sorting to remove glass, plastic and metal fragments.

However, red bin waste is not closely monitored. It can contain batteries, electrical goods, paints and other sources of heavy metals in dissolved or fine-particle form.

This is why NSW banned the use on land of compost derived from mixed waste in 2019. A NSW EPA review had identified cadmium, zinc and copper as metals of high concern in this compost. It also found chemicals such as flame retardants and disinfectants were household sources of persistent organic pollutants.

How much waste are we talking about?

The size and composition of the FOGO resource will change if Australia achieves the UN Sustainable Development Goal of halving the food waste generated per person by 2030, compared to 2015. The 2019 National Waste Policy and Action Plan adopted this goal.

Estimates of food waste in Australia vary. The most comprehensive survey was a nation-wide audit in 2020 of 450 kerbside bins by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre. It showed weekly food waste was 0.79kg per person, including 0.34kg of inedible peels, bones and expired or perished food. These households disposed of a similar amount of food waste in the home by composting, feeding to pets or flushing down the sink.

The United Nations Environment Programme’s 2021 estimate is similar at 1.5-1.7kg of weekly food waste per person. The National Waste Database estimate for Australia is higher at 2.37kg.

According to the database, 31% of food waste in NSW was separately collected and composted or digested in 2018-19. The figure was less than 10% in all other states except Western Australia, where it was 13%.

As for garden waste, 2.01kg per person each week goes into kerbside bins. Over 50% of garden waste (85% in South Australia) is separately collected in all mainland states.

Read more:
Why ‘best before’ food labelling is not best for the planet or your budget

How can collection costs be covered?

The demand for organic carbon in Australian soils far exceeds the amount of compost that could be produced from FOGO. But, to tap into this market, the compost quality must be consistent.

A clear definition of acceptable FOGO and carefully controlled operations are needed to produce consistent quality compost. The waste management industry and advice to government have called for FOGO bins to be limited to food waste and garden waste, excluding materials like paper, cardboard and animal waste.

Many councils compost garden waste on open pads, some under cover. Machinery is used to shred and turn over the piles to control temperature and moisture levels.

The control of this process becomes more critical for FOGO. Food waste can be smelly, particularly if the composting process is open to the air but not adequately aerated.

Tighter control, particularly of odour, can be achieved if composting is done in vessels. Typically, these take the form of concrete tunnels.

High-quality compost for farming can fetch A$50 to $80 per cubic metre. That makes separate collection and processing of bio-waste more attractive financially.

In addition, surging gas and electricity prices and the revival in value of renewable energy credits have increased the viability of first anaerobically digesting FOGO to produce biogas, then composting the digested material. FOGO can be digested in sealed tunnels similar to composting tunnels.

Read more:
Capturing the true wealth of Australia’s waste

This biogas will not solve Australia’s gas shortage (FOGO biogas could meet about 2% of the demand). However, I calculate, as a conservative figure, that the income to an anaerobic digestion operator would exceed $40 per fresh tonne of waste. This figure is based on a conservative methane yield of 50m³ per tonne, a wholesale electricity price of $200 per MWhr and a renewable energy credit value of $50 per MWhr.

All of these considerations indicate we should be confident almost all households will have a FOGO service before 2030. The alternative is to waste this resource in landfills, with all their future environmental liabilities.

William Clarke has received funding from the Australian Research Council on projects related to the degradation of organic wastes in landfills and in anaerobic digesters. He has also performed numerous consulting projects assessing the biogas yields from various organic wastes.

– ref. Despite government delays, food waste recycling bins are coming to your kitchen sooner than you think – https://theconversation.com/despite-government-delays-food-waste-recycling-bins-are-coming-to-your-kitchen-sooner-than-you-think-195734

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Patfield, Senior Research Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of Newcastle

This week, year 12 results have been released in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Other states will follow next week.

The Higher School Certificate and its equivalents are seen as the pinnacle of schooling in Australia – the culmination of years of hard work and anticipation. Yet each year, the same narrow narrative about “success” appears in the media.

We hear about the “top-performing” high schools, which are disproportionately private and government selective schools. And we hear about the individual “high achievers” who top a subject or achieve a high university entrance rank. These results are of course impressive, but recent analysis of NSW data showed the proportion of high achievers from disadvantaged schools is shrinking.

There are other ways of thinking about success in year 12. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare often notes he was the first in his family to finish high school and go to university (he pointed this out as recently as Monday in a speech at Western Sydney University).

Our research shows how significant this achievement is for many young Australians and their families, and how we need to broaden our ideas about what success means for year 12 students.

Being first-in-family

In 2022 between 13% and 55% of all new undergraduates in Australia were the first in their families to go to university, depending on where they enrolled.

As the name suggests, “first-in-family” students are those whose parents do not already hold a university-level qualification themselves. Frequently, they also don’t have any siblings or relatives who have gone to university.

Research has also shown first-in-family students are more likely to be Indigenous, and more likely to live in socio-economically disadvantaged communities and/or rural and remote areas. This means their journey through formal schooling and into tertiary education is likely to have been much more complex than for their more advantaged peers.

So, at university, they must navigate a new and unfamiliar pathway. They also enter a system where entry is still very much tied to family background. According to 2012 data (the most recent available), a young person with a university-educated parent is twice as likley to enrol in university than someone who does not.

Our research

Since 2010, my colleagues and I have been conducting one of the largest studies to date on the aspirations of Australian school students.

In 2021, we did a follow-up study with more than 50 NSW students we had previously interviewed. About 80% were first-in-family students.

Read more:
‘I would like to go to university’: flexi school students share their goals in Australia-first survey

What first-in-family students told us

For the first-in-family students in our study, four things stood out.

First, students and their families placed immense value on schooling to foster greater opportunities and get to university. There was a hope they could change their life trajectory through education. As Bella*, a year 9 student, told us about her parents:

Because they didn’t go to university, they want me to go […] They don’t expect a lot of me, but they just want me to go so I can get a better job than what they have.

The second thing we noticed was first-in-family students saw themselves as breaking down barriers. This is not just in terms of getting to university, but giving voice to others in their situation. Frank is currently studying politics and international relations at university. He told us:

My family have always been the workers. They have always been those who have been impacted by government policy […] I think it’s about time that someone from my family was in a position to be able to be on the other side of that and help in a positive way rather than just being impacted by it.

Third, teachers were described as a big influence. As year 12 student Brice told us:

Our careers adviser, Ms Bradshaw […] I don’t know what we’d do without her, really. She’s the biggest help that we have […] she knows what all of us want to be individually so if there’s one thing she goes, ‘Oh, I know that Lachlan really wants to do that’, she goes and talks to him about it.

And finally, students didn’t refer to the HSC or a high tertiary admissions rank (ATAR) as a form of “success”. Instead, they often focused on realising their passions and aspirations. When we spoke to Martha last year, she had just graduated from university and is working as a speech pathologist:

I knew this was the job I wanted straight out of school. I was like, get it done, four years and then no schooling. I feel like so many things have led me to where I am now that I’m happy. I’m really enjoying life […] I said in my original interview many years ago that I’m going to be a speechie. And now, in this interview, I am a speechie!!

A different version of success

So, when you read typical portrayals of year 12 “success”, consider the first-in-family students who have the odds of getting to university stacked against them.

For some of these students, getting to the end of high school is an important “first” in itself that must be recognised. This is encapsulated by year 11 student Ayla, as she reflects on her family’s past and her own future:

My mum dropped out of school when she was in year 8 and my dad went through to year 11 and my sister dropped out in year 11 […] So I don’t really have a lot of experience, a lot of people telling me stories about it [university], and I haven’t gone to any campuses and stuff so I don’t really know a lot about it, but I’ve heard that it’s good.

While first-in-family students are a diverse cohort, what they often share is a belief in the role of education to change the future – for themselves, their families, communities, and society-at-large. There is still much more to do to ensure the education system rises to this challenge.

*student and teacher names have been changed

Read more:
Disappointed by your year 12 result? A university expert and a clinical psychologist share advice on what to do next

The Aspirations Longitudinal Study and related studies (2010-2021) were funded by the Australian Research Council, the NSW Department of Education, and the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Sally Patfield received funding via an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship to support her research.

– ref. ‘They don’t expect a lot of me, they just want me to go to uni’: first-in-family students show how we need a broader definition of ‘success’ in year 12 – https://theconversation.com/they-dont-expect-a-lot-of-me-they-just-want-me-to-go-to-uni-first-in-family-students-show-how-we-need-a-broader-definition-of-success-in-year-12-196284

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wendy Hargreaves, Senior Learning Advisor, University of Southern Queensland

On a December night 50 years ago, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades, Florida. Miraculously, 77 people survived the initial impact but then endured a traumatic wait for rescue in the alligator infested swamp, surrounded by wreckage and jet fuel.

To lift their spirits, they sang Christmas carols.

What drove these survivors to sing in such distressing conditions? What is it about group singing that has the remarkable ability to bring people together, express deep emotions, and feel connected with each other?

United in song

It’s no coincidence that shared moments in life are often accompanied by singing together. As a leisure activity, group singing engages many beneficial biological, psychological, behavioural and social processes.

For example, when we sing, we consciously manage our breathing, unlike when we speak or are at rest. Managing our breathing during singing affects heart rate variability, and research demonstrates group singing can synchronise singers’ heart beats and breathing patterns. To borrow a line from a well-known song, when we sing in a group it is as if “our hearts, they beat as one”.

This physiological synchronisation may partly explain some of the positive subjective effects of group singing such as bonding and social connection. Singing together increases the feel-good hormone oxytocin and improves mood, helping us to bond with our fellow singers as we “perform” healthy relationships.

Group singing also has psychosocial benefits for people living with a range of health conditions. Such benefits include building resilience, enhancing mood, creating a sense of belonging and purpose, improving quality of life, and promoting flourishing and wellbeing. Research shows that group singing can improve individual and social wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, mothers with post-natal depression and people living with cancer, to name just a few examples.

While many of us think of singing as a performance, these studies suggest that singing is a feel-good activity available to anyone willing to try it. Thought of in this way, singing is no longer about “sounding good” but becomes a widely available and easily accessible tool for building wellbeing and belonging.

The origins of carolling

The Christmas tradition of singing together to feel uplifted has existed for centuries. English historian Professor Ronald Hutton traced the origins of carolling to the followers of Saint Francis of Assisi in the 15th century. Prompted by a need to raise spirits during long, bleak winter months, these friars sang the first Christmas carols while holding hands and dancing in a circle.

The spread of carols expanded during The Reformation in the 16th century with the replacement of Latin text in church music with language spoken by everyday people. This helped bring carols into church services, allowing everybody to join in congregational singing.

In the 20th century, community carol singing took yet another form that led to one of Australia’s favourite Christmas traditions. While walking home on Christmas eve in 1937, Melbourne radio announcer Norman Banks saw an elderly woman through a window. She sat alone in candlelight singing with her radio to Away in a Manager.

It inspired him to create the first Carols by Candlelight to help lonely people share in the joy of Christmas time. In 1938, 10 000 people gathered for the inaugural celebration. Since then, community carol singing events have expanded across Australia and involved some of our most notable Australian vocalists, including recently lost legends Olivia Newton-John and Judith Durham.

Read more:
Carols by Candlelight defines the Aussie Christmas on the couch

Singing in person

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, community connection and comfort are needed more than ever. Group singing suffered during the pandemic.

Lockdowns prevented groups world wide from meeting, with many resorting to virtual sessions in place of face-to-face gatherings. Recent research shows that while singing with others over Zoom is better than not singing at all, the psychological benefits may not be quite the same as singing in person.

On the plus side, the uncertainty around in person group singing spawned some wonderful online events like Couch Choir and The Sofa Singers. Others saw the humorous side, with a satirical call to ban plosive consonants like “p” and “b” because they increased the risk of spread of Covid?.

What’s really under the Christmas tree?

While new variants of COVID continue to proliferate, you don’t need to sing with thousands of others in a park at Christmas to reap the many benefits of group singing.

This Christmas – or whatever you celebrate – why not take the opportunity with friends and family to dust off some favourite songs to experience the positive effects of belonging and sharing with others.

When you sing together, what you really get for Christmas isn’t just more socks or the latest techno gadget – it’s the real gift of joyful human connection.

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. ‘Tis the season to be jolly: singing Christmas carols together isn’t just a tradition, it’s also good for you – https://theconversation.com/tis-the-season-to-be-jolly-singing-christmas-carols-together-isnt-just-a-tradition-its-also-good-for-you-193855

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

Scott Morrison will forever be known as “the bulldozer”, and he lived up to his self-description at the Robodebt royal commission this week.

It was vintage Morrison, verbally lumbering about, up and down side streets of varying relevance, as he gave evidence on a scandal that involved appalling treatment of people wrongfully pursued in the name of the “integrity” of the welfare system.

What the inquiry is exposing is the extent of the integrity failure within government and the federal public service.

As the senior minister at the start, Morrison might be characterised (fairly or not) as the father of Robodebt: it was developed by the department of human services together with input from his department while he was in the social services portfolio. Someone who saw himself as a tough “cop” on the welfare block, the plan, worked up in the bureaucracy, naturally appealed to him.

The big issue at Wednesday’s hearing was whether he was advised that legislation was needed for the scheme to be legal. Morrison said he wasn’t.

He maintained that, while an early executive minute referred to legislation, the final departmental submission did not indicate that would be required. A box asking whether the proposal would need legislative change was ticked “no”.

Pressed on why he did not pursue the matter, Morrison said he’d assumed the department had done its work. In the end, of course, the scheme was found illegal and the government had to repay a huge amount.

It was less the content of Wednesday’s evidence that was remarkable than the style of its delivery. Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes reprimanded Morrison multiple times for rambling rather than simply answering what he was being asked.

At one point, rather in the manner of a school teacher, she asked him sharply if he was listening. At another, she said: “I do understand that you come from a background where rhetoric is important but it is necessary to listen to the question.”

Senior counsel assisting the commission, Justin Greggery, repeatedly called Morrison back on track, telling him ten minutes had been wasted in one diversion.

Painful to watch, Morrison’s performance was another reminder of how out of touch with his surroundings he can be, which was a major reason he flopped as PM.

While Morrison was having yet another bad week, his successor was enjoying his latest win, with the government’s energy package passing parliament, which had been recalled on Thursday to deal with it.

Read more:
View from The Hill: Scott Morrison makes parliamentary history – for the worst of reasons

The legislation caps the gas price for 12 months, gives the government long-term authority to impose a “reasonable” pricing on gas, and provides relief to some household and business users (with detail to be worked out over summer). This relief will cost the federal government $1.5 billion, matched by the states.

The legislation was always going to get through. The government is fortunate in having a compliant Senate, and the energy story gave an insight into how it operates.

The government needs the Greens plus one more vote. This majority will almost always be there for the government; equally, there will usually be minor power play along the way.

On the energy bill, the Greens have received a promise of measures in the budget to help households and businesses electrify. Details later.

It was a gesture from the government but the Greens also had nowhere else to go if Labor had wanted to resist. Running into Christmas there was no way they were going to hold this up.

In any event, potential federal compensation for coal producers, if the production cost is above the coal cap the states are set to impose, is not contained in this legislation – and that compensation is the Greens’ main objection.

There’s an interesting dynamic in relation to Senate ACT independent David Pocock on the one hand and Tasmanian crossbencher Jacqui Lambie (who now has a second senator, Tammy Tyrrell, in her Jacqui Lambie Network).

Pocock has been high-profile and receives extensive media attention. The government relied on his vote to get its industrial relations legislation through, and he will be Labor’s natural go-to person.
On IR, the government gave some concessions to clinch a deal with Pocock, including agreeing to a new body that will review social security payments before each budget and provide recommendations.

Lambie, who was often in the news during the Morrison years, has been put somewhat in the shade by the arrival of Pocock and the configuration of the new Senate. It is not a position she’s used to. So it was unsurprising this week that Lambie was out of the blocks early, supporting the energy legislation. That meant Pocock’s vote wasn’t needed.

Jostling among the crossbenchers – perhaps Pauline Hanson will deal One Nation into the play at some point – is something we’re likely to see in the months ahead. Crossbenchers need to be able to say to their voters they have the ability to “deliver”.

Read more:
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva on her book Bulldozed, Scott Morrison and the Liberals’ woes

The energy package is the second major piece of legislation (the other was the IR bill) on which the government has clashed with business interests.

Business groups complained that the widening of multi-employer bargaining in the IR legislation would lead to more strikes. The government responded that its priority (and election commitment) was to get wages moving.

The handling of that legislation told business something it might have anticipated. Despite Albanese insisting he and the business community have a good relationship, when the crunch comes, the government won’t shy away from a fight.

The energy package has drawn protests and threats from some resource companies, with claims the government’s interventionist approach will deter investment.

Time will tell whether this is just hot air. Clearly the government judged it had little choice but to do something, given the massive increases householders and enterprises are facing in their bills.

Whatever the longer-term fallout, the government knows whose side the public will be on – and it won’t be that of the resource companies. And within business, manufacturers are happy at anything that restrains the magnitude of the energy price hikes.

Industry Minister Ed Husic has taken the lead on confronting the gas companies. This week, speaking to the Australian Financial Review, he accused them of “behaving just like big tech in threatening nations when they don’t like a regulatory response that’s done in the national economic interest”.

Labor’s major pieces of legislation go to two of the biggest issues the government faces – real wages that are a long way from increasing, and energy bills that will keep on rising. The government’s actions will to an extent ameliorate, but won’t solve these problems.

Wages and energy will remain dominant issues in 2023, continuing to put a lot of pressure on the Albanese government.

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: Morrison endures the witness box, while Albanese enjoys being in the box seat with the Senate – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-morrison-endures-the-witness-box-while-albanese-enjoys-being-in-the-box-seat-with-the-senate-196662

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Narayan, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, The University of Queensland

Koalas have adapted to Australia’s rugged terrains. But bushfires, land clearing and other extreme threats can mean they suffer prolonged stress – and this has a significant effect on their wellbeing.

Stress can make koalas more vulnerable to disease, suppresses their reproduction and can ultimately lead to their death.

My research team, The Stress Lab, has been monitoring koalas and other wildlife across Australia over the past decade. We’ve noted high stress levels in rescued koalas, which creates additional challenges for clinical recovery. In fact, chronically stressed and diseased koalas in clinical care are often euthanised, rather than released back in the wild.

In our new paper, we gauged the effectiveness of a commercially available stress test kit widely used for more than 100 species worldwide, including humans. We found the test did indeed provided reliable, valuable data on koala stress levels in under two hours.

This is a really positive finding, because it validates an off-the-shelf tool to help save koalas from extinction. We hope our research will help koala rescuers and clinicians better determine whether koalas in care are overly stressed by a particular intervention, and change their care tactic accordingly.

Few rescued koalas survive

Stress isn’t always a bad thing. An animal’s stress physiology helps them survive in the wild, such as by helping them avoid being eaten by predators.

The koala joey’s stress endocrine (hormonal) system is, to a large extent, matured in the womb. While in care, joeys continue to gather vital environmental information, further preparing them for the big outside world.

We can measure stress hormones in their fur and faecal pellets. Stress hormone levels vary between individual koala joeys, signifying that each joey is physiologically and metabolically different.

But too much stress can exacerbate many issues, especially diseases such as chlamydia. This is a huge obstacle for clinicians when koalas enter animal hospitals, and a particularly important challenge to address when so few koalas remain.

Read more:
Friday essay: the koala – when it’s smart to be slow

Koalas were declared endangered earlier this year and a parliamentary inquiry found that without significant intervention, they could become extinct in New South Wales by 2050.

Each year, especially during summer, hundreds of koalas are rescued across Australia, but few survive.

Data from NSW in 2020 showed over 15% of rescued koalas were either euthanised or died in care over a 29 year period. Meanwhile, a 2016 study found over 60% of koalas were euthanised or died in care in southeast Queensland between 2009 and 2014. Only a small proportion are released back to the wild.

Improving koala care

Our new research aimed to improve clinical care for rescued koalas and their joeys. While the challenge isn’t easy and there’s no quick solution, our findings could significantly boost their welfare and reduce this tragic death rate.

We compared the commercially available cortisol kit with our own, laboriously laboratory-validated in-house stress test.

The commercial test works by sending a small faecal pellet to a nearby laboratory, such as within an animal hospital. Once tested, it can provide a result within two hours.

A comparable stress test in humans is a salivary cortisol test for patients with conditions such as fatigue, reduced stress tolerance, depression and sleep disorders.

Corroborating the stress test data with, for instance, prognosis and treatment, offers clinicians critical additional information to understand the stress koalas are experiencing in any given treatment. As a result, clinicians can alter their care.

Stress and cuddling koalas

In any case, a lot of stress in koalas can be reduced by carers understanding wild koala and joey behaviour. For example, it’s important carers do not handle wild koalas unnecessarily.

Wild koalas that don’t interact with humans do not like to be handled. Humans are also a source of stress for even well-adapted, captive, zoo koalas.

Koala social behaviour is nothing like humans’. They live in a complex social nexus, and sense their environment through, for instance, their nose.

Outside breeding, they don’t need to touch each other, and do not want it from another species. So while they may look cuddly, koalas would prefer you kept your hands to yourself.

We are running against time. Without tackling stress in rescued koalas, the workload burden in clinics will continue to rise. But combining research on stress with education on the needs of wild koalas may kick some conservation goals.

Read more:
What does a koala’s nose know? A bit about food, and a lot about making friends

Edward Narayan receives funding from the Australian Koala Foundation. For previous research, he received funding from the
International Fund for Animal Welfare. He and his team conducted the study independently of the kit’s manufacturer.

– ref. Testing the stress levels of rescued koalas allows us to tweak their care so more survive in the wild – https://theconversation.com/testing-the-stress-levels-of-rescued-koalas-allows-us-to-tweak-their-care-so-more-survive-in-the-wild-196224

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vitomir Kovanovic, Senior Lecturer in Learning Analytics, University of South Australia

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot has given us a glimpse into the future of teaching and learning alongside artificial intelligence.

Educators immediately pointed out the chatbot’s ability to generate meaningful responses to questions from assessments and exams. And it’s often not possible to attribute these responses to a particular source – making it difficult to detect plagiarism.

Concerns didn’t go unnoticed. Shortly after ChatGPT’s release, OpenAI announced it was developing a “digital watermark” to embed into the chatbot’s responses. This kind of watermark is embedded as a digital signal that can identify the content as being AI-generated, and which (in theory) should be difficult to remove.

But as experts have pointed it, people will likely find workarounds. And it won’t be long before other AI models just as capable as ChatGPT pop up. What will this mean for our educational spaces?

It’s safe to say we can expect some challenging years ahead.

Read more:
The ChatGPT chatbot is blowing people away with its writing skills. An expert explains why it’s so impressive

But first, what is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is powered by GPT3, a large language model (LLM) trained on an enormous amount of text data — about 500 billion words to be precise. Large language models work by predicting the next most-likely word when given a list of input words (usually phrased as a question).

The model is trained using many billions of parameters that can represent the complexity of the world. By inputting real-world data, the algorithm readjusts its parameters until it can produce human-like responses to a range of questions. For example:

How many eggs can fit into a grain of rice?

It is not possible for eggs to fit into a grain of rice, as a grain of rice is much smaller in size than an egg. A grain of rice is a small, round seed that is typically less than a millimetre in diameter, whereas an egg is a much larger object that typically measures several centimetres in length and width […]

Although it’s not foolproof, ChatGPT’s capabilities both shock and inspire. It can write songs, programming code, and simulate entire job interview sessions. It even passed the Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, which typically takes 2-6 months to prepare for.

Perhaps what’s most alarming is the technology is still in its early stages. The millions of users exploring ChatGPT’s uses are simultaneously providing more data for OpenAI to improve the chatbot.

The next version of the model, GPT4, will have about 100 trillion parameters – about 500 times more than GPT3. This is approaching the number of neural connections in the human brain.

Read more:
Everyone’s having a field day with ChatGPT – but nobody knows how it actually works

How will AI affect education?

The power of AI systems is placing a huge question mark over our education and assessment practices.

Assessment in schools and universities is mostly based on students providing some product of their learning to be marked, often an essay or written assignment. With AI models, these “products” can be produced to a higher standard, in less time and with very little effort from a student.

In other words, the product a student provides may no longer provide genuine evidence of their achievement of the course outcomes.

And it’s not just a problem for written assessments. A study published in February showed OpenAI’s GPT3 language model significantly outperformed most students in introductory programming courses. According to the authors, this raises “an emergent existential threat to the teaching and learning of introductory programming”.

The model can also generate screenplays and theatre scripts, while AI image generators such as DALL-E can produce high-quality art.

Read more:
AI art is everywhere right now. Even experts don’t know what it will mean

How should we respond?

Moving forward, we’ll need to think of ways AI can be used to support teaching and learning, rather than disrupt it. Here are three ways to do this.

1. Integrate AI into classrooms and lecture halls

History has shown time and again that educational institutions can adapt to new technologies. In the 1970s the rise of portable calculators had maths educators concerned about the future of their subject – but it’s safe to say maths survived.

Just as Wikipedia and Google didn’t spell the end of assessments, neither will AI.
In fact, new technologes lead to novel and innovative ways of doing work. The same will apply to learning and teaching with AI.

Rather than being a tool to prohibit, AI models should be meaningfully integrated into teaching and learning.

2. Judge students on critical thought

One thing an AI model can’t emulate is the process of learning, and the mental aerobics this involves.

The design of assessments could shift from assessing just the final product, to assessing the entire process that led a student to it. The focus is then placed squarely on a student’s critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.

Students could freely use AI to complete the task and still be marked on their own merit.

3. Assess things that matter

Instead of switching to in-class examination to prohibit the use of AI (which some may be tempted to do), educators can design assessments that focus on what students need to know to be successful in the future. AI, it seems, will be one of these things.

AI models will increasingly have uses across sectors as the technology is scaled up. If students will use AI in their future workplaces, why not test them on it now?

The dawn of AI

Vladimir Lenin, leader of Russia’s 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, supposedly said:

There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.

This statement has come to roost in the field of artificial intelligence. AI is forcing us to rethink education. But if we embrace it, it could empower students and teachers.

Vitomir Kovanovic 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 dawn of AI has come, and its implications for education couldn’t be more significant – https://theconversation.com/the-dawn-of-ai-has-come-and-its-implications-for-education-couldnt-be-more-significant-196383

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Crowe, Professor of Law, Bond University

Federal Labor Senator Nita Green has recently moved to establish a Senate inquiry into sexual consent laws.

These are the laws that describe how sexual consent is defined for rape and sexual assault offences. In Australia, these definitions differ across the states and territories, which causes inconsistencies and confusion, as well as complexities in sexual consent education.

The varying definitions create a situation where victims are protected differently depending on what jurisdiction they live in. This makes it challenging to send clear and unambiguous messages about what the law requires in sexual encounters.

One focus of the inquiry would be to look at whether there are benefits to aligning, or harmonising, the definitions across Australia.

The Senate inquiry has the backing of Greens Senator Larissa Waters and follows earlier calls by Grace Tame for sexual consent laws to be made uniform across the country.

This area of law has been under the spotlight following recent legal changes in NSW, the ACT and Victoria. Each has taken law reform steps towards an affirmative consent standard, which means consent is understood as ongoing communication.

Each person must say or do something to indicate consent and check that the other is willing to proceed. Tasmania was the first state to move towards affirmative consent in 2004.

The current push to harmonise sexual consent law is important and timely. It would help support educational efforts around sexual consent and reduce confusion about the law. It has the potential to clarify the standard of ongoing communication expected before and during sex – a crucial component of affirmative consent models.

The recent legal reforms in NSW, the ACT and Victoria, along with announcements or enquiries in Queensland and WA, mean the time is right to address this issue on a national level.

Risks and challenges

Nonetheless, the push to harmonise sexual consent laws faces significant risks and challenges.

We recently conducted the first comprehensive academic study of the prospects for success in this area, which is due to be published in mid-2023.

One risk is what we term the “levelling-down” problem. This occurs when jurisdictions that are progressive and reformist adopt legal principles favoured by less reformist ones to achieve common standards. Harmonisation to the lowest common denominator risks slowing needed reforms.

In the case of sexual consent laws, it seems unlikely that Tasmania, NSW, the ACT and Victoria, having endorsed affirmative consent, would roll back those reforms to attain uniformity. This suggests harmonisation should aim at some form of affirmative consent standard.

However, although these jurisdictions have moved towards affirmative consent, their laws differ in their details. For example, they apply different tests for whether a defendant has a reasonable but mistaken belief in consent, which provides an excuse for rape charges.

Deep-seated differences also exist between common law and code-based criminal law jurisdictions. These differences would need to be overcome to produce a common model.

There are other reasons why legal harmonisation may not be easy. Criminal law reform – and sexual offence law in particular – tends to engage strong advocacy coalitions.

These advocacy groups, on all sides of the issue, often have entrenched positions that are difficult to change. Some engage in public advocacy and media work, while others rely on informal networks and lobby behind the scenes.

The difficulty of satisfying all these groups creates a challenging political dynamic. It gives legislators an incentive to preserve the status quo.

It’s particularly difficult for criminal law reforms to succeed without the support of legal professional bodies, but these groups tend to be conservative on such issues.

For example, the strong opposition of the Queensland Law Society and Bar Association to consent law reforms in that state arguably explains the past reluctance of the state government to drive legal changes in this area.

The history of criminal law harmonisation in Australia also sounds a note of caution. For example, the campaign for a Model Criminal Code in the mid 1990s – which aimed to craft a common criminal code for all Australian jurisdictions – fell well short of its aims.

Persistence will be needed

History suggests harmonisation won’t occur unless done in a politically strategic way that aims to build a broad consensus for reform – while also being willing to push past the objections of groups that actively work to preserve the status quo.

The harmonisation effort must be accompanied by prolonged attention, political will and sufficient resources if it’s to overcome jurisdictional differences, historical inertia and entrenched views of advocacy coalitions within the criminal law arena.

Jonathan Crowe is Director of Research at Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy.

Guzyal Hill 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. It’s time we aligned sexual consent laws across Australia – but this faces formidable challenges – https://theconversation.com/its-time-we-aligned-sexual-consent-laws-across-australia-but-this-faces-formidable-challenges-196115

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rona Macniven, Research Fellow, UNSW Sydney

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, being physically active has been a part of culture for many thousands of years, through traditional active lifestyles.

These activities are still relevant today. Having a spiritual connection to Country, or caring for Country, provides opportunities for physical activity. This is essential for health and wellbeing.

Physical activity guidelines recommend children do at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day. This means activity that makes their heart beat faster and might include teams sports like football or netball as well as cycling, swimming, or active play.

First Nations children tend to be more active than non-Indigenous children. Around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children do at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, compared with one-third of non-Indigenous children.

But evidence from international studies and our previous research shows physical activity levels tend to drop during teenage years for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, leading to lower levels in adulthood. So it’s important to provide children with opportunities to be active as they get older.

Read more:
Sport and physical activity play important roles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but there are barriers to participation

Helping kids grow up strong

The longitudinal study of Indigenous children, Footprints in Time, aims to help Indigenous children “grow up strong”. The study collects annual data from around 1,700 Indigenous children, who were 0-5 years at the start of the study in 2008, in urban, rural and remote areas of Australia.

Most of the data are collected through a survey competed by the child’s parent, usually their biological mother. Early on, parents were asked culturally relevant questions about their social and emotional wellbeing, their child’s engagement with culture and community, screen time and family circumstances such as employment and source of income.

Parents’ postcode was also used to calculate the socioeconomic status of where they lived and how remote it was.

In 2016, parents were asked whether their child (who was then aged 8-13 years) did at least 60 minutes each day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Half the children met the physical activity guidelines.

Out latest study

In our most recent study, we looked at what was happening in the children’s lives aged 0-5 and whether this was linked to their physical activity at age 8-13.

In assessing parental wellbeing when the children were aged 0-5, parents were asked about a range of factors, including their level of connection with their family and community, loneliness, having interests, and feelings of anger and worry.

We found that when the parent (who was usually the birth mother) had high levels of wellbeing when the child was aged under five, their child was more likely to do at at least 60 minutes each day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at age 8-13. This was regardless of family employment status, income or the socioeconomic or geographical area they lived in.

So higher parent wellbeing during the early years was linked to higher physical activity of their child eight years later.

Read more:
Kids’ screen time rose by 50% during the pandemic. 3 tips for the whole family to bring it back down

Children were more likely to meet the physical activity guidelines at age 8-13 if they hadn’t played electronic games as a family between age 0-5 years. Again, this was regardless of the family’s employment status, income, or their socioeconomic or geographical area. But the study didn’t ask about the amount of time spent playing electronic games.

Boosting parents’ welling pays dividends for kids

Finding ways to promote parent wellbeing and reduce levels of family screen time during the early years is important for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s future physical activity levels.

There may be stronger benefits from family cultural engagement, particularly in cultural practices that involve physical activity such as hunting and fishing.

A number of programs are already doing this across Australia. But they need careful evaluation, including hearing about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s experiences of them. First Nations families should also be included in the design and implementation of future programs.

While our study didn’t examine the drivers of wellbeing among parents, it’s clear we need to find ways to improve parent wellbeing, which could impact physical activity levels among children in early adolescence.

Read more:
Are sports programs closing the gap in Indigenous communities? The evidence is limited

Rona Macniven receives funding from the Heart Foundation (Post-Doctoral Fellowship 105211)

John Evans has previously received funding from the ARC.

– ref. First Nations kids are more active when their parents are happy and supported – https://theconversation.com/first-nations-kids-are-more-active-when-their-parents-are-happy-and-supported-192167