Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yanyan Hong, PhD in Media and Film Studies, University of Adelaide

Nine years after their first adventure, Zootopia’s “dream team” are back. This time, perky optimistic rabbit cop Judy Hopps and charming fox Nick Wilde must to solve a reptilian mystery.

Zootopia 2 has won the hearts of millions since its release in late November – including in China, one of the world’s most lucrative film markets. The animated comedy has topped the Chinese box office to become its highest-grossing foreign animated film of all time.

This success signals more than entertainment; it reveals how Disney reshapes cultural symbols to appeal to different audiences. Because at the centre of the story is an unexpected hero: a blue-scaled pit viper named Gary De’Snake, who is determined to clear his family’s name and see reptiles living in harmony with other animals.

According to Disney’s chief creative officer and the film’s co-director, Jared Bush, Gary’s inclusion in the film is a deliberate nod to the Chinese zodiac year, in which the snake symbolises wisdom, intuition, elegance and renewal.

A bad rap for reptiles

From the serpent in the Bible tempting Eve, to Medusa’s venomous hair in Greek mythology, the image of the snake has long been tied to deceit, temptation and chaos. These stereotypes are even embedded in language, such as with “snake in the grass” and “snake oil”.

Even in Harry Potter, members of the serpent house of Slytherin pride themselves on their “ambition” and “cunning”.

The films we watch also reflect this. For much of Hollywood’s history, snakes have been typecast as the slithering embodiment of evil. From the hypnotic Kaa in The Jungle Book (1967), to the fanged horrors that lurk in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Western cinema has painted snakes as cold, creepy and irredeemably threatening.

Studies of animal representation onscreen show snakes are among the most consistently villainised creatures in Western narratives. So when Disney announced one of Zootopia 2’s pivotal new character would be a snake (reptiles were deliberately excluded from the first film) audiences may have expected yet another sinister entity.

Instead, Gary De’Snake, voiced by Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, is a soft-spoken, chronically misunderstood creature whose coil-tightening anxiety masks a sharp intuition and surprising tenderness.

Gary is framed as an outsider. (“No snake has set foot in Zootopia in forever.”) He is fighting not only crime, but a kind of prejudice that is easily read as an allegory for real-world discrimination against minorities.

Eastern Zodiac: snakes that charm

The first Zootopia (2016) reportedly earned US$236.1 million (about A$355 million) at the Chinese box office, which made it one of the country’s top-grossing foreign animated films at the time.

The Chinese zodiac, or shēngxiào (生肖), assigns each birth year an animal in a 12-year cycle. Someone born in the lunar year of 2025 is a snake, a symbol associated with wisdom, prosperity and clear-sightedness.

Chinese cultural tradition gives the snake spiritual depth. The serpent-bodied deities Fuxi and Nüwa are central to creation myths. They represent fertility, balance and harmony.

There are also classic tales, such as The Legend of the White Snake, which portrays serpents as capable of love, loyalty and transformation.

Disney makes use of cultural symbolism in many ways. In Zootopia 2, a scene in which Gary and his snake family hug Judy Hopps echoes the folk motif of the “snake coiled with rabbit” (蛇盘兔, shé pán tù), a Northern Chinese traditional symbol of good fortune.

Chinese viewers might view this as gentle nod to culture that is recognisable without feeling contrived.

Even Gary’s wardrobe participates in cultural bridging. His bright red scarf may appear playful to Western audiences, but in China, red is worn during one’s zodiac birth year (本命年，Běn mìng nián) to ward off bad luck and invite protection.

Cross-cultural appeal

“Glocalisation” – thinking globally while adapting locally – isn’t new for Disney. The studio has spent years refining its strategy of tailoring characters and symbols to different markets.

Australian viewers will delight to see a koala voiced by conservationist Robert Irwin (called Robert Furwin), and a scene-stealing quokka therapist.

One television news anchor character comes in the form of different animals for different regions. While North American audiences see a moose anchor (the default option for most releases), Chinese audiences see a panda, and Australians see a koala.

It’s possible Disney’s creative team even prepared for the release slipping into the new Year of the Horse. One character, Mayor Winddancer, is a stallion who enters politics following a career as an action film hero.

Feared stereotype to fan favourite

Zootopia 2 reimagines a creature that has long been feared in Western storytelling. In doing so, it highlights how Hollywood films are no longer a one-way export of Western stories, but an increasingly negotiated space of cross-cultural creativity.

Hollywood now has to speak to audiences who are culturally confident and eager to be represented – while also being wary of tokenism. The question is: can this kind of storytelling foster lasting mutual understanding?

Just as Judy and Nick’s crisis of trust in the film reminds us, “cross-species” dialogue (or in this case cross-cultural dialogue) is always fraught with misunderstanding. And for that very reason, it is full of possibility.

Yanyan Hong 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. From villain to zodiac hero: how Zootopia 2’s snake character has made the film a global hit – https://theconversation.com/from-villain-to-zodiac-hero-how-zootopia-2s-snake-character-has-made-the-film-a-global-hit-271521

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Livia Gerber, Postdoctoral Fellow in Genetics, CSIRO

For more than 40 years, researchers in Shark Bay, Western Australia, have been watching the lives of a very unusual group of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). The male dolphins in this group form one of the most complex social systems known outside of humans, complete with lifelong friendships, supportive alliances, and cooperative partnerships that shape their entire lives, including how many calves they sire.

Now, our new research shows these friendships may do more than influence social and reproductive success. They may actually slow biological ageing.

Using tools borrowed from human medical research, we found that male dolphins with stronger social bonds appear biologically younger than their less social counterparts. This means their bodies show fewer signs of molecular ageing than expected for their chronological age.

This discovery isn’t just important for dolphins – it could matter for other kinds of social mammals, including humans.

What is biological age – and how is it different from just being ‘old’?

You have probably met people who look younger or older than the number on their birthday cake. Scientists now know that chronological age (how many years you have lived) is not the same as biological age, which reflects how quickly your body is ageing at the cellular level.

The tool we used to measure biological age is called an epigenetic clock.

Epigenetic clocks track predictable changes in tiny chemical tags on our body’s DNA molecules that are gained or lost over time. To date, epigenetic clocks are the most accurate way of estimating biological age and have been used to reveal how factors such as pollution, stress or friendships influence biological ageing in humans.

Our team previously developed the first epigenetic age estimator for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. In this new study, we asked whether social relationships influence biological ageing in dolphins, the way they seem to in humans.

Why dolphins? Because their friendships are extraordinary

Male dolphins in Shark Bay form long-term alliances that can last decades. These alliances are essential for reproduction, as males cooperate to find, court and defend females. Some alliances team up with other alliances to form strikingly complex multi-level social networks.

These relationships are not just tactical but vital for survival and reproduction. The strength of a male’s social bonds has already been shown to predict how many offspring he sires.

What we found: strong social bonds slow ageing

We analysed skin samples from 38 male dolphins, some sampled multiple times. The social networks of these dolphins are well known from behavioural data collection where we recorded who spends time with whom, and how often.

After controlling for chronological age, we discovered three main things.

1. Males with stronger social bonds had younger epigenetic ages.

Even when comparing dolphins of the same age, those who were more socially connected appeared biologically younger. This closely mirrors findings in humans, where people with strong social networks tend to age more slowly.

2. Simply being in large groups did not slow ageing, in fact, we found the opposite.

Interestingly, males who spent time in larger groups were biologically older, not younger. This suggests the benefits of social bonds come from deep, meaningful relationships, not just being around others. Spending time in large groups can bring competition, stress or increased disease exposure – all factors that may speed up ageing. Consequently, it is the quality of the relationships, not the quantity, that affects biological ageing.

3. Social bonds and ageing seem to be directly linked.

Our analyses suggest the protective effect of social bonds cannot be explained away by simpler factors like group size. Instead, something about strong bonds may be directly influencing molecular ageing.

Why would friendship slow ageing?

Although we cannot yet pinpoint the exact biological mechanism, studies across animals and humans provide strong clues.

Social connection reduces stress. Isolation increases cortisol and inflammation, which are both known accelerators of ageing.

Cooperation lowers energetic costs. Allies help defend, forage, and navigate complex social landscapes, reducing the physiological burden on any one individual.

Good social bonds improve overall health. In primates, meerkats, humans and other social mammals, strong relationships are consistently linked to better survival and resilience, extending lifespan.

Our findings in dolphins suggest that social bonds do not only increase lifespan and therefore chronological age but decrease the pace of ageing. As such, social bonds add quality of life to years lived.

What this means for understanding ageing

This study is one of the first to link sociality and biological ageing in a wild non-primate species, suggesting that the link between social bonds and ageing may be a deeply rooted pattern across mammals. Our findings suggest three more conclusions.

First, ageing is not just an inevitable decline. It is shaped by environment, stress, and social experience.

Second, epigenetic clocks offer powerful new tools for studying ageing in the wild.

And third, long-term field projects such as the Shark Bay Dolphin Project are essential for uncovering these complex, multi-decade patterns.

Most importantly our research highlights that social relationships matter, perhaps more than we ever realised. Just as in humans, friendship may be one of nature’s most powerful anti-ageing tools.

Livia Gerber received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Katharina J. Peters and Lee A Rollins 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. Friendship is magic: male dolphins with close friends age more slowly – https://theconversation.com/friendship-is-magic-male-dolphins-with-close-friends-age-more-slowly-271411

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Morgenbesser, Associate Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University

The United States, it has long been claimed, is organically disposed towards democracy. When the Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1600s, the first governor, John Winthrop, called the new settlement a “city upon a hill” that inspires the world.

This notion of American manifest destiny, however, has always depended on a blindingly obvious precondition: you cannot claim to be a beacon for democracy abroad without being a democracy at home.

Over the centuries, these democratic credentials have been tested numerous times. And now the US faces its biggest test in decades: the Trump administration’s blatant slide into authoritarianism.

Having studied authoritarian rule and democratic backsliding for two decades, I have watched with dismay how little – or sporadic – the non-violent resistance has been to Trump’s dictatorial ambitions.

Yes, the No Kings protest in October saw an estimated five million people march across the country. This followed a No Kings protest of similar magnitude in June.

Organised mass protests are certainly important, but by one estimate, the Trump administration carried out approximately 963 anti-democratic actions between these two rallies.

Mass protests are laudable, but insufficient. And the absence of Gen Z protesters has been particularly conspicuous.

What more could Americans be doing? Here are seven lessons from those who have resisted authoritarian rule around the world.

1) Hold more organised mass protests

The No Kings rallies have been organised by hundreds of progressive grassroots organisations. Yet the Democratic Party has so far chosen not to employ this strategy, despite its supporters begging for it to take a more aggressive stance against the Trump administration. Its congressional leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, have been roundly criticised for their perceived fecklessness.

In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, by contrast, a vast coalition of opposition parties has been demonstrating for more than a year against the government’s decision to halt talks on joining the European Union. Not only does this movement have less experience and fewer resources than the Democrats, it has stayed on the streets in the face of overt government repression.

The Democratic Party needs to use its national infrastructure to launch sustained mass protests. Otherwise, it risks becoming a mere bystander to Trump’s authoritarianism.

2) Launch spontaneous protests

The Arab Spring uprisings demonstrated that small-scale protests over particular issues can mature into full-blown crises for authoritarian regimes.

To date, there have been neighbourhood-level demonstrations against the roundup of suspected undocumented people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. But this effort requires substantial replication across the country.

An obvious site for such protests is the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly handed Trump expanded powers through its rulings. The next time it sides in favour of the administration – such as the potential weakening of key protections of the Voting Rights Act – it should be met with a spontaneous show of opposition.

3) Spread political consumerism

After the Walt Disney Company suspended the late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel following criticism of his commentary about right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, an estimated 1.7 million people joined a campaign to boycott the company.

It was an isolated example of political consumerism, where people intentionally avoid or purchase products based on political, social or ethical concerns. So far, the companies supporting Trump, including those donating money to his ballroom at the White House, have mostly escaped public boycott campaigns.

This is despite evidence showing that boycotts can be effective against companies linked to authoritarian regimes, such as those in Myanmar and South Africa.

One remedy would be to create a mobile app that provides citizens with real-time information on every company tied to the administration, so people can make more informed consumer choices. The data already exists in different places (including here and here), it just needs to be put to better use.

4) Embrace the power of comedy

Few things aggravate dictators more than being the target of mockery, ridicule, and satire (especially Trump).

Research has shown that comedy can serve as a form of resistance against authoritarian regimes. In Serbia, for instance, the Otpor! movement had success using humour in its public campaigns in the 1990s against dictator Slobodan Milošević.

The city of Portland, Oregon, has led the way in the US. Residents have organised spandex-heavy public workouts and deployed protesters in inflatable animal costumes to highlight the absurdity of Trump’s claim it is a war-torn hellscape.

This technique needs to be adopted en masse.

5) Carry out civil disobedience

Civil disobedience is another proven technique of non-violent resistance.

In Hong Kong, protesters used sticky notes on so-called “Lennon Walls” to criticise the government and exercise democracy. In Russia, flash mobs have defied Vladimir Putin’s repressive regime. In Turkey, citizens have held “standing man” protests to passively resist Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

The resistance to Trump has been slow to embrace this tactic. In California, however, people have engaged in “buy-ins” to protest Home Depot’s alleged involvement with ICE worksite raids. The protesters purchase a 17-cent ice scraper and return it immediately, creating long lines that waste the company’s time.

This kind of innovative civil disobedience ought to represent the tip of the iceberg.

6) Tell stories of courageous individuals

History is filled with ordinary people fighting back against authoritarian rule: Corazon Aquino in the Philippines, Vaclav Havel in the Czech Republic, Lech Walesa in Poland, just to name a few.

The resistance against Trump needs to find better ways to tell the stories of courageous individuals. The US attorney for Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, who resigned from her post in protest in February, for example, has already largely been forgotten.

Unfortunately, the 24–7 media cycle guarantees that small acts of resistance will always be drowned out by larger acts of authoritarianism.

But telling these stories properly might be enough to inspire others to join the fight for democracy.

7) Prepare for flawed elections

Instead of treating the 2026 midterms as just another election, Trump opponents need to prepare for potential manipulation and misconduct.

This means employing similar tactics to those used to oust dictators in places like Ukraine (2004), Kyrgyzstan (2005), Sri Lanka (2015), and The Gambia (2016). In these places, opposition parties formed unified coalitions, ran ambitious campaigns, collaborated with civil society groups, put pressure on electoral commissions to ensure clean elections, and carried out voter registration and voter turnout drives.

Though many Americans are angry about the Trump administration’s attacks on democracy, it remains to be seen whether they will actively defend it. In the words of Gene Sharp, the famed scholar of nonviolent action:

Dictatorships are never as strong as they think they are, and people are never as weak as they think they are.

Lee Morgenbesser 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. Has the Trump resistance been too passive? Here are 7 ways to effectively protest authoritarian rule – https://theconversation.com/has-the-trump-resistance-been-too-passive-here-are-7-ways-to-effectively-protest-authoritarian-rule-268208

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yuting Zhang, Professor of Health Economics, The University of Melbourne

Seeing a private specialist increasingly comes with massive gap payments. On average, out-of-pocket fees to see a specialist amount to about $300 a year. But many spend hundreds on each appointment.

Costs quickly add up, especially if you need surgery or other treatments in hospital. Many patients are left struggling to pay.

Others rely on the public hospital system, where care is free but outpatient clinic wait times to see a specialist can be up to six years.

It’s not just wealthy Australians who see private specialists. And you don’t need private health insurance for an outpatient consultation in a specialist’s private rooms. For some regions and specialties, seeing a private specialist is the default, or only, option.

Health Minister Mark Butler has vowed to make specialist fees more affordable in his second term of government. So what exactly is the problem? And how can it be fixed?

Allowing specialists to set their own fees isn’t working

Unlike in other comparable nations, the government doesn’t regulate how much specialists can charge in Australia. Specialists set their own fees.

But relying on the free market fails because of two fundamental flaws:

1) Market power

Specialists are a scarce resource. For example, there are currently only around 130 doctors currently undergoing specialist training to become a dermatologist.

These high barriers to entry and geographic monopolies – where one specialist practice dominates a region – allow them to charge higher prices without competition.

The annual income of some specialists reflects this market power. The average taxable income of specialist surgeons is about $500,000.

This forces public hospitals to pay high salaries to retain surgeons, whose private-sector earnings are much higher.

2) Information asymmetry

Consumers lack the medical knowledge to assess quality. Patients often assume higher prices indicate better care.

In reality, specialist fees aren’t correlated with quality of care. Experienced, older specialists often charge less than younger, less experienced ones.

When it comes to public hospitals, everyone seems to be waiting – waiting for emergency care, waiting for elective surgery, waiting to get onto a ward. Private hospitals are also struggling. In this five-part series, experts explain what’s going wrong, how patients are impacted, and the potential solutions.

How does the government pay specialists?

The Australian government sets the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for specific medical services, such as initial specialist consultations. This is used to calculate the government rebate.

There are some differences between fees for specialist care in and out of hospital.

Hospital inpatient care:

Most patients charged inpatient fees are privately insured. Medicare pays 75% of the schedule fee for in-hospital medical services. The insurer covers at least the remaining 25% of the schedule fee.

If the specialist charges a fee higher than 75% of the schedule fee and insurer contribution, the patient is liable for the gap.

However, private insurers often negotiate with private hospitals and doctors (for example, surgeons and consulting specialists) about fees, and have a network of preferred providers accepting “no gap” or “known gap” products. No-gap plans often come with higher premiums.

Outpatient appointments in specialists’ private rooms:

Medicare pays 85% of the schedule fee for an outpatient service in specialists’ private rooms, and patients pay the rest.

Private insurers are legally restricted from covering outpatient specialist services that are covered under Medicare.

Set a fair Medicare schedule fee

However, Medicare schedule fees have not kept up with specialist fee increases.

The government needs to pay a fair Medicare rebate for specialist fees, which should be updated annually.

One way to calculate such a fee would be to to use the fee from 1984, when doctors and government agreed the Medicare fee was fair, and increase it using a measure of price increases such as the Producer Price Index. This would make the Medicare schedule fee for an initial consultation with a cardiologists $233, for example, rather than the current fee of $178.80.

But setting a fair Medicare schedule fee alone will not solve high out-of-pocket costs, as specialists can simply raise their fees. It needs to be combined with some form of regulation.

To overcome this, the government could introduce a policy that Medicare rebates only apply to specialists who charge fair prices, or no more than a set percentage above the indexed Medicare schedule fee.

For those who charge more than the agreed amount, Medicare should not subsidise the care.

Make specialists report their fees and quality indicators

The government needs to facilitate comparison of specialist fees, quality, and waiting time by making this information publicly available and easy to access.

The government already has a Medical Costs Finder website, and in future will force specialists to publicly disclose their fees.

But the website doesn’t have waiting times and quality indicators. These are needed for patients and referring doctors to have enough information to decide where to go for their specialist care.

This fee data should be linked to available quality metrics to combat the consumer perception that higher price means better quality. Common quality measures in hospitals include:

• dying within 30 (or 90) days after a high risk, life-saving surgeries
• being readmitted to hospital within 30 (or 90) days
• the rate of complications, such as infections acquired in hospital
• patient-reported measures such as pain management, clear discharge notes and communication.

The measures would need to be adjusted by risk, so if a patient is very ill, doctors or hospitals are not disadvantaged for treating them.

Boost capacity the public hospital system

Governments should also direct more funding to public specialist clinics – especially for high-demand specialties such as cardiology, dermatology and psychiatry.

Failure to address the high cost of specialist fees will intimately result in growing financial barriers and patients not getting the care they need.

Yuting Zhang has received funding from the Australian Research Council, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Victorian Department of Health, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network. In the past, Professor Zhang has received funding from several US institutes including the US National Institutes of Health, Commonwealth fund, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

– ref. No control, no regulation. Why private specialist fees can leave patients with huge medical bills – https://theconversation.com/no-control-no-regulation-why-private-specialist-fees-can-leave-patients-with-huge-medical-bills-270286

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Callula Killingly, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology

Learning to read is a complex process. It requires children to master and integrate multiple skills, from mapping abstract symbols to the right speech sounds to understanding what all the words mean. This is why reading is one of the first and most important things children are taught in the early years of school.

Still, many children have reading difficulties that persist into high school. According to the most recent OECD data, one in five (21%) Australian 15-year-olds had reading scores below the baseline proficiency.

The national curriculum expects children to achieve the necessary reading foundations in their first few years of school. By upper primary, children are required to make the leap from learning to read to reading to learn, and classroom teaching shifts accordingly.

Due to this shift in focus, children who do not master the core components of reading in early primary school may never have another opportunity to learn these skills.

When reading difficulties go unidentified and unaddressed, students experience immense barriers to learning, as well as in life beyond school. So it is crucial we know what works to put these students back on the path to reading easily and well.

Our new research puts this to the test.

A complex situation

Reading difficulties in older students can often go unnoticed. Sometimes they show up as anxious or disruptive behaviour.

Sometimes school staff assume it is too difficult to improve an older student’s reading skills. They may think a student’s difficulties are the result of not being exposed to written and spoken language in the home, having a learning disability, or speaking English as a second language – and assume there is nothing school can usefully do.

Our study

My colleagues and I conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 106 interventions aimed at improving the reading skills of older students. Together they involved more than 156,000 students in Years 4 to 12. Most studies were conducted in the United States.

We wanted to look at all the available relevant research on what approaches were used to boost reading skills with the aim of determining the most effective.

The interventions we examined ranged in hours of duration and targeted skills (for example, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary) either on their own or in combination. Interventions were delivered to a variety of group sizes (whole classroom, small groups, one-on-one), generally by teachers or researchers.

What we found

Overall, we found reading interventions for older students improved students’ skills on a range of reading outcomes. We found gains, regardless of which school year students were in. This shows even for older students, it’s not too late to provide support for reading difficulties.

The more effective interventions focused on reading comprehension skills or vocabulary knowledge, suggesting these skills might be easier to build for older students.

Somewhat surprisingly, shorter interventions, of between 6-15 hours, were more effective than those extending beyond 15 hours. And there were no overall differences in effectiveness between teacher-led or researcher-led interventions, or whether the interventions were delivered to the whole class, small groups, or individually.

What seems most important, then, is not that interventions are lengthy, or who conducts them, or the group size. Our findings indicate what works is targeting the right reading skills.

We also uncovered some important gaps, showing where more research is needed. Most interventions were for students in years 6 to 8. Beyond those years, the number of interventions targeting the upper years of school tapered off dramatically, with only one intervention found for Year 11 students and none for Year 12.

What does this mean for schools?

Schools should screen all students’ reading skills at school entry and then at least once a year, to identify which students need more help and in which skills.

Supports should then be delivered in increasing levels of intensity, so students receive intervention at the appropriate amount. These should target the specific components of reading students have not yet mastered.

Our research shows teacher-delivered interventions are just as effective as those delivered by researchers and led to some of the strongest improvements in vocabulary.

We also found group size may be less important than previously thought, and interventions may not need to be delivered one-to-one. When interventions are evidence-based and aligned to relevant reading skills, small groups can be just as effective.

However, our findings also suggest we need to equip all teachers, including teachers of other subjects (such as science), to support ongoing development of core reading skills. This is especially so in high school, given the significant increase in literacy requirements and specialist vocabulary.

What can parents do?

Parents play a key role in supporting their children’s reading development. From reading street signs and cereal boxes in everyday activities and bedtime stories at night, parents provide valuable support for reading and model the importance of reading for life.

They can also sound the alarm when children might not be progressing as well as might be expected. If children cannot sound out basic unfamiliar words by the end of Year 1, or are demonstrating reluctance to engage in reading activities, it is time to start asking questions.

Raising concerns with their child’s teacher is one place to start. As time goes on, if those difficulties are at risk of becoming entrenched, parents should question what interventions are being employed and ensure they are evidence-based.

They can also seek assessment by a certified speech-pathologist to help determine which component skills need support and provide that report to their child’s school, with a request for additional support.

The most important thing to remember from this research is that it’s never too late to support students’ reading development.

Sandra Matheson, Laura Bentley and Elizabeth Swanson were co-authors of the research explained in this article.

Callula Killingly received funding from the QUT Early Career Researcher Scheme and the university’s Centre for Inclusive Education.

– ref. New research shows it’s never too late to help students learn to read – even in high school – https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-its-never-too-late-to-help-students-learn-to-read-even-in-high-school-271757

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arvid O. I. Hoffmann, Professor of Marketing, University of Adelaide

“Would you like to donate $2 to charity today?”

If you have been Christmas shopping this season, you probably heard this question — and potentially felt pressured to donate money in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

More and more stores now ask customers to donate money at the checkout. This is a practice called “checkout charity”, in which cashiers ask for a small charity donation just as customers are paying for their own purchases.

The strategy seems to work, given the fundraising success of global retailers. For example, in Australia, clothing retailer Cotton On raised about A$20 million in 2024 alone through checkout charity campaigns at its stores.

In the United States, the pizza chain Domino’s raised more than US$126 million (A$190 million) for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital over the past two decades by inviting customers to round up their bills and donate to this charity.

At first glance, checkout charity seems like a win-win-win: charities get funding, companies look caring and customers get a chance to do good.

However, recent studies overseas suggest there could be a potential dark side to these requests, as well. This observation prompted us to dive deeper into this phenomenon and investigate whether it could backfire on retailers (and charities) in Australia.

Christmas cheer, or checkout fear?

Are customers actually feeling happy about being asked to donate at the checkout? Our newly published research suggests many do not.

Instead, they often feel pressured, guilty, anxious and pushed into making a decision they did not plan to make, or feel like the Grinch if they don’t.

But what happens when doing good starts to feel bad? After all, when checkout charity requests induce negative feelings, these need to go somewhere. They might be redirected to the retailer – or the cashier standing right in front of you.

This led us to study whether well-intentioned checkout donation campaigns can backfire, why this happens and how this process unfolds in practice.

What we studied

We conducted a survey this year of 329 consumers in which we confronted them with a checkout donation scenario. Then we asked them how they felt, what they thought, how likely they were to donate to the charity, how they viewed the retailer, and if they planned to go back to this particular store in the future.

The results of our study were clear: well-intended donation requests can and do backfire. Some of the consumer responses included:

The grocery store has a lot more money than I do. Why am I the one expected to make a donation?

I feel like they are using the social construct of societal shame to coerce people into donating.

I generally don’t donate to them because I’m not sure exactly how the stores allocate the funds.

When looking at how these feelings impact behaviour, we found that consumers who experienced negative emotions as a result of being asked to donate at the checkout were:

• less willing to donate
• less satisfied with their shopping experience, and
• more critical of the retailer.

These are outcomes retailers and charities should want the least.

Warm glow or cold scepticism?

With checkout charity requests, customers are required to make a decision quickly, often with a queue of shoppers waiting behind them, and in the presence of a cashier.

This creates both time pressure (feeling rushed) and social pressure (feeling judged), two factors that can make customers feel bad. As a result, they are less likely to experience a positive emotion of doing a good deed — or what researchers call the “warm glow” effect.

Indeed, the discomfort of the checkout charity request makes customers more sceptical, and they start to doubt the real motives behind the request.

Comments from our surveyed consumers indicate many suspect the company may be trying to improve its public image rather than genuinely help those in need. Some (incorrectly) believe companies receive tax benefits from customer donations. Others worry that not all the money will reach the intended cause.

In short, checkout charity campaigns might backfire for retailers and charities alike.

How to make checkout charity work better this Christmas

Checkout charity does not have to fail.

Our findings suggest that stores should introduce information about the donation request early in the shopping journey using posters or flyers, so customers are not surprised at the checkout and feel less time pressure. Woolworths took this approach with its Easter appeal, flagging in advance that shoppers could donate at the checkout.

Retailers can design payment screens that allow customers to choose privately, reducing the feeling of being watched or judged, and the consequent negative feeling of social pressure. Supermarkets have started to put this into practice at self-serve checkouts.

Campaigns can also use emotionally engaging stories to show who is being helped, rather than only presenting cold, hard numbers.

Most importantly, companies should communicate clearly and transparently about how the money is collected, where it goes and what impact it makes, reducing customer scepticism and rebuilding trust.

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. ‘Checkout charity’ requests often backfire, leaving shoppers feeling guilty: new study – https://theconversation.com/checkout-charity-requests-often-backfire-leaving-shoppers-feeling-guilty-new-study-271731

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arvid O. I. Hoffmann, Professor of Marketing, University of Adelaide

“Would you like to donate $2 to charity today?”

If you have been Christmas shopping this season, you probably heard this question — and potentially felt pressured to donate money in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

More and more stores now ask customers to donate money at the checkout. This is a practice called “checkout charity”, in which cashiers ask for a small charity donation just as customers are paying for their own purchases.

The strategy seems to work, given the fundraising success of global retailers. For example, in Australia, clothing retailer Cotton On raised about A$20 million in 2024 alone through checkout charity campaigns at its stores.

In the United States, the pizza chain Domino’s raised more than US$126 million (A$190 million) for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital over the past two decades by inviting customers to round up their bills and donate to this charity.

At first glance, checkout charity seems like a win-win-win: charities get funding, companies look caring and customers get a chance to do good.

However, recent studies overseas suggest there could be a potential dark side to these requests, as well. This observation prompted us to dive deeper into this phenomenon and investigate whether it could backfire on retailers (and charities) in Australia.

Christmas cheer, or checkout fear?

Are customers actually feeling happy about being asked to donate at the checkout? Our newly published research suggests many do not.

Instead, they often feel pressured, guilty, anxious and pushed into making a decision they did not plan to make, or feel like the Grinch if they don’t.

But what happens when doing good starts to feel bad? After all, when checkout charity requests induce negative feelings, these need to go somewhere. They might be redirected to the retailer – or the cashier standing right in front of you.

This led us to study whether well-intentioned checkout donation campaigns can backfire, why this happens and how this process unfolds in practice.

What we studied

We conducted a survey this year of 329 consumers in which we confronted them with a checkout donation scenario. Then we asked them how they felt, what they thought, how likely they were to donate to the charity, how they viewed the retailer, and if they planned to go back to this particular store in the future.

The results of our study were clear: well-intended donation requests can and do backfire. Some of the consumer responses included:

The grocery store has a lot more money than I do. Why am I the one expected to make a donation?

I feel like they are using the social construct of societal shame to coerce people into donating.

I generally don’t donate to them because I’m not sure exactly how the stores allocate the funds.

When looking at how these feelings impact behaviour, we found that consumers who experienced negative emotions as a result of being asked to donate at the checkout were:

• less willing to donate
• less satisfied with their shopping experience, and
• more critical of the retailer.

These are outcomes retailers and charities should want the least.

Warm glow or cold scepticism?

With checkout charity requests, customers are required to make a decision quickly, often with a queue of shoppers waiting behind them, and in the presence of a cashier.

This creates both time pressure (feeling rushed) and social pressure (feeling judged), two factors that can make customers feel bad. As a result, they are less likely to experience a positive emotion of doing a good deed — or what researchers call the “warm glow” effect.

Indeed, the discomfort of the checkout charity request makes customers more sceptical, and they start to doubt the real motives behind the request.

Comments from our surveyed consumers indicate many suspect the company may be trying to improve its public image rather than genuinely help those in need. Some (incorrectly) believe companies receive tax benefits from customer donations. Others worry that not all the money will reach the intended cause.

In short, checkout charity campaigns might backfire for retailers and charities alike.

How to make checkout charity work better this Christmas

Checkout charity does not have to fail.

Our findings suggest that stores should introduce information about the donation request early in the shopping journey using posters or flyers, so customers are not surprised at the checkout and feel less time pressure. Woolworths took this approach with its Easter appeal, flagging in advance that shoppers could donate at the checkout.

Retailers can design payment screens that allow customers to choose privately, reducing the feeling of being watched or judged, and the consequent negative feeling of social pressure. Supermarkets have started to put this into practice at self-serve checkouts.

Campaigns can also use emotionally engaging stories to show who is being helped, rather than only presenting cold, hard numbers.

Most importantly, companies should communicate clearly and transparently about how the money is collected, where it goes and what impact it makes, reducing customer scepticism and rebuilding trust.

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. ‘Checkout charity’ requests often backfire, leaving shoppers feeling guilty: new study – https://theconversation.com/checkout-charity-requests-often-backfire-leaving-shoppers-feeling-guilty-new-study-271731

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide

The crime thriller Heat (1995) is a formidable blend of character, setting and complex storytelling.

Written and directed by Michael Mann, it forensically examines the lives of both law enforcement and criminals, memorably pairing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on screen for the first time.

Thirty years after its release, Heat remains deeply embedded in the DNA of contemporary action cinema, and has influenced fashion, interior design, video games and even tactical police training.

A story of doubles

Neil McCauley (De Niro) is the expert thief who lives by a strict code of detachment: “Do not let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat”.

Vincent Hanna (Pacino) is the driven LAPD detective whose chaotic personal life contrasts with his obsessive professionalism.

The two are mirror images – both consumed by their work, both struggling to connect emotionally, both operating under self-imposed ethical systems that guide their behaviour.

The iconic diner scene between the two men encapsulates this moral complexity.

As the pair share a cup of coffee, it is clear there is mutual respect between them, even admiration, yet each accepts he may soon have to kill the other.

The moral universe of Heat is clear – individuals on either side of the law each act according to their own principles. The hunter and the hunted are closer in spirit than we might admit.

This dynamic plays in many subsequent films, from Entrapment (1999) and Inside Man (2006) to TV adaptations of Sherlock Holmes (2010) and The Day of the Jackal (2024).

Action and crime cinema

Heat also revolutionised the action genre by layering emotional realism on top of technical precision.

Mann eschews the cartoonish excesses of 1980s and early 1990s action cinema in favour of gritty authenticity.

The film’s ongoing influence is strongest in its legendary downtown Los Angeles shootout scene – a masterclass in geography, sound design and tactical movement.

The opening bank heist in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) is a direct homage to Mann (both films feature a professional criminal pursued by a deeply committed lawman).

Nolan, like Mann, explores the blurred line between lawman and outlaw, and the moral compromises both make. The dynamic between Batman and the Joker echoes Hanna and McCauley: opposites defined by mutual recognition.

Other filmmakers have borrowed Mann’s cool precision and formal elegance. The Driver (Ryan Gosling) in Drive (2011) is a minimalist figure like McCauley, operating in silence and with a kind of monastic exactitude.

John Hillcoat’s Triple 9 (2016), Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (2015) and Ben Affleck’s The Town (2010) all lean heavily on Heat’s complex narrative structure and rich tapestry of supporting characters.

Most notably of all, Den of Thieves (2018) is an unabashed attempt to mimic Heat’s formula: cops vs robbers, macho codes and downtown city shootouts.

Similarly set in nocturnal Los Angeles, Den of Thieves is unmistakably derivative in terms of structure and ambitions. One review summed it up by stating it “wants to be Heat but it ends up being Lukewarm”.

The city as ‘non-place’

Mann’s mapping of Los Angeles as a city of vast, impersonal freeways and steel-and-glass facades became the gold standard for LA-set crime films. Nightcrawler (2014), Ambulance (2022) and Training Day (2001) all replicate the near-documentary realism of the urban landscape on show in Heat.

Heat’s release coincided with the English-language translation of French anthropologist Marc Augé’s concepts about “non-places”.

Augé saw “non-places” as architectural spaces that “cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity”. Marked instead by transience and functionality, these are spaces we pass through, use or inhabit temporarily, without forming meaningful social bonds there.

Auge’s examples include airport departure lounges, train stations and shopping malls. In his words, they create “neither singular identity nor relations; only solitude, and similitude”.

Shot entirely on location, Mann weaves “non-places” and Augé’s broader ideas about urban detachment and loneliness into Heat.

Mann steers clear of the sunny streets of Beverly Hills. Instead, his characters whizz past oil refineries, freeways, tunnels and airports, trying to find meaningful connections.

Chic fashion and video games

Heat’s blue and grey aesthetic has also inspired fashion editorials and endless internet tributes.

Military and law enforcement agencies have studied the shootout sequence for its accurate depiction of small-unit tactics under pressure.

Video games such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise also borrow and rework Heat’s visual and story beats. And YouTube is full of hour-long “meditative soundscapes” based on Elliot Goldenthal’s drone-like score.

An enduring legacy

The obsession with Heat has only grown over time.

Online forums and podcasts enthusiastically debate character motivations, deleted scenes and alternate readings. Many directors have expressed their own personal fixations on Heat.

Mann co-wrote the sequel novel Heat 2 in 2022, and recently announced that he will make a film version starring Leonardo DiCaprio next year.

Why else does Heat continue to resonate? I think it has to do with the way it treats genre storytelling with uncommon seriousness. The emotional stakes are real and the violence has consequences.

Mann transformed the crime thriller into a sleek philosophical inquiry, merging formal elegance with psychological depth.

In a cinematic landscape dominated by franchises and formula, Heat offers a sobering vision of focus and ethics. It’s a film about men who cannot adapt, whose rigid codes are both their strength and undoing.

Watch it again not merely for its technical excellence and rich performances but for what it says about the moral and ethical ambiguities of modern life.

Ben McCann 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. 30 years on, Heat still shapes action cinema – and tactical police training – https://theconversation.com/30-years-on-heat-still-shapes-action-cinema-and-tactical-police-training-251356

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide

The crime thriller Heat (1995) is a formidable blend of character, setting and complex storytelling.

Written and directed by Michael Mann, it forensically examines the lives of both law enforcement and criminals, memorably pairing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on screen for the first time.

Thirty years after its release, Heat remains deeply embedded in the DNA of contemporary action cinema, and has influenced fashion, interior design, video games and even tactical police training.

A story of doubles

Neil McCauley (De Niro) is the expert thief who lives by a strict code of detachment: “Do not let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat”.

Vincent Hanna (Pacino) is the driven LAPD detective whose chaotic personal life contrasts with his obsessive professionalism.

The two are mirror images – both consumed by their work, both struggling to connect emotionally, both operating under self-imposed ethical systems that guide their behaviour.

The iconic diner scene between the two men encapsulates this moral complexity.

As the pair share a cup of coffee, it is clear there is mutual respect between them, even admiration, yet each accepts he may soon have to kill the other.

The moral universe of Heat is clear – individuals on either side of the law each act according to their own principles. The hunter and the hunted are closer in spirit than we might admit.

This dynamic plays in many subsequent films, from Entrapment (1999) and Inside Man (2006) to TV adaptations of Sherlock Holmes (2010) and The Day of the Jackal (2024).

Action and crime cinema

Heat also revolutionised the action genre by layering emotional realism on top of technical precision.

Mann eschews the cartoonish excesses of 1980s and early 1990s action cinema in favour of gritty authenticity.

The film’s ongoing influence is strongest in its legendary downtown Los Angeles shootout scene – a masterclass in geography, sound design and tactical movement.

The opening bank heist in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) is a direct homage to Mann (both films feature a professional criminal pursued by a deeply committed lawman).

Nolan, like Mann, explores the blurred line between lawman and outlaw, and the moral compromises both make. The dynamic between Batman and the Joker echoes Hanna and McCauley: opposites defined by mutual recognition.

Other filmmakers have borrowed Mann’s cool precision and formal elegance. The Driver (Ryan Gosling) in Drive (2011) is a minimalist figure like McCauley, operating in silence and with a kind of monastic exactitude.

John Hillcoat’s Triple 9 (2016), Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (2015) and Ben Affleck’s The Town (2010) all lean heavily on Heat’s complex narrative structure and rich tapestry of supporting characters.

Most notably of all, Den of Thieves (2018) is an unabashed attempt to mimic Heat’s formula: cops vs robbers, macho codes and downtown city shootouts.

Similarly set in nocturnal Los Angeles, Den of Thieves is unmistakably derivative in terms of structure and ambitions. One review summed it up by stating it “wants to be Heat but it ends up being Lukewarm”.

The city as ‘non-place’

Mann’s mapping of Los Angeles as a city of vast, impersonal freeways and steel-and-glass facades became the gold standard for LA-set crime films. Nightcrawler (2014), Ambulance (2022) and Training Day (2001) all replicate the near-documentary realism of the urban landscape on show in Heat.

Heat’s release coincided with the English-language translation of French anthropologist Marc Augé’s concepts about “non-places”.

Augé saw “non-places” as architectural spaces that “cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity”. Marked instead by transience and functionality, these are spaces we pass through, use or inhabit temporarily, without forming meaningful social bonds there.

Auge’s examples include airport departure lounges, train stations and shopping malls. In his words, they create “neither singular identity nor relations; only solitude, and similitude”.

Shot entirely on location, Mann weaves “non-places” and Augé’s broader ideas about urban detachment and loneliness into Heat.

Mann steers clear of the sunny streets of Beverly Hills. Instead, his characters whizz past oil refineries, freeways, tunnels and airports, trying to find meaningful connections.

Chic fashion and video games

Heat’s blue and grey aesthetic has also inspired fashion editorials and endless internet tributes.

Military and law enforcement agencies have studied the shootout sequence for its accurate depiction of small-unit tactics under pressure.

Video games such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise also borrow and rework Heat’s visual and story beats. And YouTube is full of hour-long “meditative soundscapes” based on Elliot Goldenthal’s drone-like score.

An enduring legacy

The obsession with Heat has only grown over time.

Online forums and podcasts enthusiastically debate character motivations, deleted scenes and alternate readings. Many directors have expressed their own personal fixations on Heat.

Mann co-wrote the sequel novel Heat 2 in 2022, and recently announced that he will make a film version starring Leonardo DiCaprio next year.

Why else does Heat continue to resonate? I think it has to do with the way it treats genre storytelling with uncommon seriousness. The emotional stakes are real and the violence has consequences.

Mann transformed the crime thriller into a sleek philosophical inquiry, merging formal elegance with psychological depth.

In a cinematic landscape dominated by franchises and formula, Heat offers a sobering vision of focus and ethics. It’s a film about men who cannot adapt, whose rigid codes are both their strength and undoing.

Watch it again not merely for its technical excellence and rich performances but for what it says about the moral and ethical ambiguities of modern life.

Ben McCann 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. 30 years on, Heat still shapes action cinema – and tactical police training – https://theconversation.com/30-years-on-heat-still-shapes-action-cinema-and-tactical-police-training-251356