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1 in 4 adults think smacking is necessary to ‘properly raise’ kids. But attitudes are changing

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/divna-haslam-893417">Divna Haslam</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> “Do you want a smack?!” This has been a common refrain from many parents across history. Right along with “just wait till your father gets home”. Somehow parents thought this threat of violence would magically improve their child’s behaviour. The United Nations <a href="https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/CRC_1989.pdf">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> considers smacking and all types of physical punishment, however mild, a violation of child rights. It’s banned in <a href="https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/">65 countries</a>. Yet it remains <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/resources/resource-sheets/physical-punishment-legislation#:%7E:text=Physical%20punishment%20by%20a%20parent%20towards%20a%20child%20remains%20lawful,'">legal</a> in Australia for parents to use “reasonable force” for discipline. Children are the only group of people it remains legal to hit. Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.301">new research</a> found one in four Australians still think physical punishment is necessary to “properly raise” children. And half of parents (across all age groups) reported smacking their children. But attitudes are slowly changing, with newer generations of parents less likely to smack their kids than previous ones. <h2>What is physical punishment?</h2> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1njkrb">Physical</a> or “corporal” punishment is the use of physical force to cause pain, but not injury, to discipline a child for misbehaviour. It’s distinct from physical abuse which is more extreme and not used to correct behaviour. Physical punishment is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajs4.276#:%7E:text=Corporal%20punishment%20(CP)%20is%20the,and%20Christian%20missionaries%20during%20colonisation.">the most common type</a> of violence against children. It usually involves smacking, but also includes things like pinching, slapping, or using an implement such as wooden spoon, cane or belt. Smacking doesn’t actually work and makes behaviour <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797617729816?casa_token=YHpEf1m4GiwAAAAA%3A8VRH5_z9fufHJiFGpWVYAk0kuTZCCRB-zneATDatqfLomERAhcyyIES30hMPdIIQ-E-IHOTekiC0Zg&journalCode=pssa">worse over time</a>. And it’s <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ffam0000191">associated with</a> children internalising problems, increased child aggression, poor parent-child relationships, poorer metal heath and more. In contrast, there are a lot of non-violent parenting strategies that <a href="https://theconversation.com/research-shows-its-harmful-to-smack-your-child-so-what-should-parents-do-instead-186739">do work</a>. <h2>Assessing the state of smacking in Australia</h2> We conducted the first <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.301">study</a> to comprehensively assess the state of smacking and physical punishment in Australia. We wanted to determine if smacking was still common and how many Australians believed we need to smack our kids. We interviewed more than 8,500 Australians aged 16 to 65 years. Our sample was representative of the national population so we can be confident the findings represent the thoughts and experiences of Australians as a nation. Using such a large age range allowed us to compare people across different age groups to determine if changes are occurring. <h2>What we found</h2> Overall, six in ten (62.5%) Australians between 16–65 years had experienced four or more instances of smacking or physical punishment in childhood. Men were slightly more likely to be physically punished than women (66.3% v 59.1%). Young people, aged 16–24, reported slightly lower rates (58.4%) than older people suggesting a slight decline over time. But these rates remain unacceptably high. Overall, one in two (53.7%) Australian parents reported using some type of physical punishment, mostly about once a month. However, older parents reported on this retrospectively (what they did while raising children) and there were clear age differences: <ul> <li>64.2% of parents aged over 65 years had used physical punishment</li> <li>32.8% of parents 25–34 years had used it</li> <li>14.4% of parents under 24 had used it.</li> </ul> So younger generations of parents are substantially less likely to use physical punishment. <iframe id="3dcJw" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3dcJw/2/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> Concerningly, one-quarter (26.4%) of all Australians still believe physical punishment is necessary to properly raise children. But the vast majority (73.6%) do not. And generational change is occurring. Some 37.9% of Australians older than 65 believe physical punishment is necessary compared to 22.9% of those aged 35–44 years, and only 14.8% of people under age 24. <iframe id="NT51y" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NT51y/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> Socioeconomically disadvantaged people are 2.3 times more likely to believe physical punishment is necessary than those with no disadvantage. Parents who had been physically disciplined when they were children were both more likely to believe it is needed and more likely to use it with their own children. This indicates this form of violence is transmitted across generations. <h2>Time for change</h2> Law reform works best when changes in community attitudes and behaviours are already occurring. So it’s encouraging that younger people are much less likely to believe physical punishment is necessary and are much less likely to use it. This suggests Australians may be open to prohibiting this common form of violence. All states and territories should immediately enact legal reform to prohibit corporal punishment and protect the rights of Australian children. This should be paired with public health and education campaigns about what parents can do instead. If you are a parent looking for effective non-violent parenting strategies the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/406-million-to-support-the-mental-health-and-wellbeing-of-aussie-kids">government</a> has also made the <a href="https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/qld-en/free-parenting-courses/triple-p-online-under-12/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_mmMmbY3khwvp306pGOijqntKzYh6dDI5lQYszLgl6_BOGnuk8HMeEaAn_vEALw_wcB">Triple P Positive Parenting Program</a> available for free. This online program provides practical strategies parents can use to encourage positive behaviour and calm, alternative discipline techniques that can be used to instead of smacking. A number of other evidence-based programs, such as <a href="https://tuningintokids.org.au/">Tuning Into Kids</a>, Parents Under Pressure and <a href="https://www.pcit.org/pcit-in-australia.html">Parent Child Interaction Therapy</a>, are also available. Australia has an opportunity to capitalise on naturally occurring societal changes. We can interrupt this cycle of violence and give more Australians a childhood free of violence. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218837/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/divna-haslam-893417">Divna Haslam</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-4-adults-think-smacking-is-necessary-to-properly-raise-kids-but-attitudes-are-changing-218837">original article</a>.

Caring

1 in 6 older adults fall victim to impersonation scams

More older adults are likely to fall victim to scams than are currently recognised according to new US research. The problems are global. <div class="copy"> A research team from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, US, says older Americans who aren’t cognitively impeded, are also at risk. In their study <a href="https://10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35319" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> today in JAMA Network Open, the group reports on a behavioural experiment where they targeted 644 adults aged 64-104 in Rush’s Memory and Aging Project – a local scheme that draws on participants from metropolitan Chicago to participate in research – with a pitch mimicking a real-world impersonation scam. The study’s fictitious ‘US Retirement Protection Task Force’ pitched itself to participants as a government social security initiative. This USRPTF told participants via either post, email or a telephone call there’d been irregular activity on their Medicare or social security file and the inquiry was a routine account security check. As part of this, the fake agency asked participants to call a telephone hotline or login to a provided website to provide their details. Over two-thirds of the study failed to respond to any attempts to obtain information by the phoney scheme. The remainder were evenly split by either responding to requests for contact, but expressing scepticism at the authenticity of the USRPTF, or by responding and engaging with the request for information. Those who were engaged with the request for information, but expressed doubts, were also those with the highest cognitive performance, and lowest proportion of dementia. They were also the most financially literate participants, while those who provided their details had the lowest literacy. Those who provided details were also found to have the lowest scam awareness of all participants. Among this group, 1 in 10 willingly provided personal information and 1 in 5 provided details of their social security number. “If extrapolated to a population level, these numbers are astounding and suggest that a very large number of older adults are at risk of victimisation,” the authors say. They also note that, given the use of a fictitious US government organisation name, the number of people vulnerable to well-organised scams is likely much higher. Last year, the US National Council on Aging reported 92,371 older Americans were defrauded of a total of US$1.7 billion. Most were victims of government department impersonation, sweepstakes and robocall scams. Often such scams will simply demand payment while ‘spoofing’ the phone number of a government agency to add the veil of legitimacy. It’s a similar story around the world. This year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found Australians lost a record $3.1 billion last year, mostly via phone scams. Australians over 65 years of age accounted for a quarter of losses and reports. The UK’s Action Fraud initiative found Britons lost about ₤2.35 billion in the 2020/21 financial year, with those aged 50-69 most susceptible to falling victim. <div> Image credits: Getty Images <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/1-in-6-older-adults-fall-victim-to-impersonation-scams/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="null">Cosmos</a>. </div> </div>

Legal

1 in 6 women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. But this diagnosis may not benefit them or their babies

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-glasziou-13533">Paul Glasziou</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jenny-doust-12412">Jenny Doust</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> When Sophie was pregnant with her first baby, she had an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279331/#:%7E:text=Oral%20glucose%20tolerance%20tests%20(OGTT,enough%20by%20the%20body's%20cells.)">oral glucose tolerance</a> blood test. A few days later, the hospital phoned telling her she had gestational diabetes. Despite having only a slightly raised glucose (blood sugar) level, Sophie describes being diagnosed as affecting her pregnancy tremendously. She tested her blood glucose levels four times a day, kept food diaries and had extra appointments with doctors and dietitians. She was advised to have an induction because of the risk of having a large baby. At 39 weeks her son was born, weighing a very average 3.5kg. But he was separated from Sophie for four hours so his glucose levels could be monitored. Sophie is not alone. About <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes/contents/how-many-australians-have-diabetes/gestational-diabetes">one in six</a> pregnant women in Australia are now diagnosed with gestational diabetes. That was not always so. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2827530/">New criteria</a> were developed in 2010 which dropped an initial screening test and lowered the diagnostic set-points. Gestational diabetes diagnoses have since <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes/contents/how-many-australians-have-diabetes/gestational-diabetes">more than doubled</a>. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536691/original/file-20230710-23-v8weyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Gestational diabetes rates more than doubled after the threshold changed. AIHW, Author provided</figcaption></figure> But <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2204091">recent</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33704936/">studies</a> cast doubt on the ways we diagnose and manage gestational diabetes, especially for women like Sophie with only mildly elevated glucose. Here’s what’s wrong with gestational diabetes screening. <h2>The glucose test is unreliable</h2> The test used to diagnose gestational diabetes – the oral glucose tolerance test – has poor reproducibility. This means subsequent tests may give a different result. In a <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2214956">recent Australian trial</a> of earlier testing in pregnancy, one-third of the women initially classified as having gestational diabetes (but neither told nor treated) did not have gestational diabetes when retested later in pregnancy. That is a problem. Usually when a test has poor reproducibility – for example, blood pressure or cholesterol – we repeat the test to confirm before making a diagnosis. Much of the increase in the incidence of gestational diabetes after the introduction of new diagnostic criteria was due to the switch from using two tests to only using a single test for diagnosis. <h2>The thresholds are too low</h2> Despite little evidence of benefit for either women or babies, the current Australian criteria diagnose women with only mildly abnormal results as having “gestational diabetes”. Recent studies have shown this doesn’t benefit women and may cause harms. A <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2204091">New Zealand trial</a> of more than 4,000 women randomly assigned women to be assessed based on the current Australian thresholds or to higher threshold levels (similar to the pre-2010 criteria). The trial found no additional benefit from using the current low threshold levels, with overall no difference in the proportion of infants born large for gestational age. However, the trial found several harms, including more neonatal hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar in newborns), induction of labour, use of diabetic medications including insulin injections, and use of health services. The study authors also looked at the subgroup of women who were diagnosed with glucose levels between the higher and lower thresholds. In this subgroup, there was some reduction in large babies, and in shoulder problems at delivery. But there was also an increase in small babies. This is of concern because being small for gestational age can also have consequences for babies, including long-term health consequences. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540643/original/file-20230802-29-1dw2rw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>NEJM, Author provided</figcaption></figure> <h2>Testing too early</h2> Some centres have begun testing women at higher risk of gestational diabetes earlier in the pregnancy (between 12 and 20 weeks). However, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37144983/">recent trial</a> showed no clear benefit compared with testing at the usual 24–28 weeks: possibly fewer large babies, but again matched by more small babies. There was a reduction in transient “respiratory distress” – needing extra oxygen for a few hours – but not in serious clinical events. <h2>Impact on women with gestational diabetes</h2> For women diagnosed using the higher glucose thresholds, dietary advice, glucose monitoring and, where necessary, insulin therapy has been shown to reduce complications during delivery and the post-natal period. However, current models of care can also cause harm. Women with gestational diabetes are often denied their preferred model of care – for example, midwifery continuity of carer. In rural areas, they may have to transfer to a larger hospital, requiring longer travel to antenatal visits and moving to a larger centre for their birth – away from their families and support networks for several weeks. Women say the diagnosis often dominates their antenatal care and their whole <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32028931/">experience of pregnancy</a>, reducing time for other issues or concerns. Women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities <a href="https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-021-03981-5">find it difficult</a> to reconcile the advice given about diet and exercise with their own cultural practices and beliefs about pregnancy. Some women with gestational diabetes <a href="https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-020-2745-1">become</a> extremely anxious about their eating and undertake extensive calorie restrictions or disordered eating habits. <h2>Time to reassess the advice</h2> Recent evidence from both randomised controlled trials and from qualitative studies with women diagnosed with gestational diabetes suggest we need to reassess how we currently diagnose and manage gestational diabetes, particularly for women with only slightly elevated levels. It is time for a review to consider all the problems described above. This review should include the views of all those impacted by these decisions: women in childbearing years, and the GPs, dietitians, diabetes educators, midwives and obstetricians who care for them. This article was co-authored by maternity services consumer advocate Leah Hardiman.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205919/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-glasziou-13533">Paul Glasziou</a>, Professor of Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jenny-doust-12412">Jenny Doust</a>, Clinical Professorial Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-6-women-are-diagnosed-with-gestational-diabetes-but-this-diagnosis-may-not-benefit-them-or-their-babies-205919">original article</a>.

Body

1 in 4 households struggle to pay power bills. Here are 5 ways to tackle hidden energy poverty

<a href="https://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/news/how-increases-in-energy-prices-are-impacting-consumers#:%7E:text=Energy%2520affordability%2520is%2520not%2520just,in%2520the%2520past%252012%2520months.">One in four Australian households</a> are finding it hard to pay their gas and electricity bills. As winter looms, <a href="https://www.aer.gov.au/news-release/default-market-offer-2023%25E2%2580%259324-draft-determination">energy price rises</a> will make it even harder. Cold homes and disconnections resulting from energy poverty threaten people’s health and wellbeing. <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ACOSS-cost-of-living-report2-March-2023_web_FINAL.pdf">Income support for welfare recipients</a> and retrofitting homes to make them more thermally efficient – by adding insulation, for example – can ease the burden. And when homes are not too cold or hot, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fuel-poverty-makes-you-sick-so-why-has-nothing-changed-since-i-was-a-child-living-in-a-cold-home-201787">people’s health benefits</a>. This in turn <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/319556">eases pressure on the public health system</a>. However, many people are missing out on assistance as programs often do not recognise their difficulties. Their energy vulnerability is hidden. <h2>What forms does hidden energy poverty take?</h2> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000737">Our newly published study</a> has revealed six aspects of hidden energy vulnerability. These are: <ol> <li> underconsumption – households limit or turn off cooling, heating and/or lights to avoid disconnections </li> <li> incidental masking – other welfare support, such as rent relief, masks difficulties in paying energy bills </li> <li> some households disguise energy poverty by using public facilities such as showers or pooling money for bills between families </li> <li> some people conceal their hardship due to pride or fear of legal consequences, such as losing custody of children if food cannot be refrigerated because the power has been cut off </li> <li> poor understanding of energy efficiency and the health risks of cold or hot homes adds to the problem </li> <li> eligibility criteria for energy assistance programs may exclude some vulnerable households. For example, people with income just above the welfare threshold are missing out on energy concessions. Energy retailer hardship programs also ignore people who have voluntarily disconnected due to financial hardship. </li> </ol> <h2>5 ways to help these households</h2> Our studies suggest trusted intermediaries such as people working in health, energy and social services can play a vital role in identifying and supporting such households. First, energy efficiency and hardship initiatives may be <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/property-construction-and-project-management/research/research-centres-and-groups/sustainable-building-innovation-laboratory/projects/care-at-home-system-improvements">integrated into the My Aged Care in-home care system</a>. Energy poverty risk identification, response and referral could be built into the national service’s assessment form. This could leverage existing client screening processes. The system’s front-line staff could connect at-risk householders with energy counsellors. These counsellors could help people access better energy contracts, concessions, home retrofits and appliance upgrade programs. A new Commonwealth “energy supplement” could help pay for essential energy-related home modifications. This would help avoid My Aged Care funds being diverted from immediate healthcare needs. Second, general practitioners and other health professionals could help identify energy vulnerability among patients with medical conditions of concern. They could also provide letters of support emphasising renters’ health-based need for air conditioners or heaters. Third, energy providers could use household energy data to identify those that seem to be under-consuming or are often disconnected. They could also identify those that are not on “best offer” deals. They could be proactive in checking struggling householders’ eligibility for ongoing energy concessions and one-off debt relief grants offered by states and territories. Energy providers could also make it easier for social housing providers to ensure concessions for tenants renew automatically. Fourth, local councils could use their data to identify at-risk householders. They might include those with a disability parking permit, discounted council rates or in arrears, on the social housing waiting list, Meals on Wheels clients and social housing tenants. Maternal and child health nurses and home and community care workers making home visits could call attention to cold or hot homes. Councils could employ in-house energy counsellors to provide assistance and energy literacy training. Council home maintenance teams could develop bulk-buying, insulation and neighbourhood retrofit programs. Strategies to reduce vulnerability to energy poverty should be part of municipal public health and wellbeing plans. Under these strategies, net-zero-carbon funds set up by states and local councils to reduce emissions could finance targeted housing retrofits. We also suggest setting up a central helpline to improve access to energy assistance via local referrals. Fifth, residential energy-efficiency programs could become more person-centric. For example, we already have <a href="https://www.homescorecard.gov.au/">Residential Efficiency Scorecard</a> audits to assess the thermal quality of a home. These audits could also explore whether concessions and better energy deals are available to the household. <h2>Building capacity at all levels</h2> <a href="https://cur.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/tackling-hidden-energy-final.pdf">Capacity-building strategies</a> are needed at all levels – individual, community and government – to overcome the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000737">challenges</a> of reducing energy poverty. Current obstacles include the competing priorities of service providers, lack of time and resources, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629622003553">poor co-ordination between siloed</a> programs and services. Access to essential energy services should be part of state and local governments’ strategic health plans. Housing, energy and health departments could work together to include housing retrofits in preventive health programs. A comprehensive approach is needed to overcome hidden energy poverty. It must include public education, integrated services and well-funded energy-efficiency programs. Regulatory reforms and ongoing funding are both needed to improve the availability of energy-efficient, affordable homes for tenants. Our suggested strategies start with improving the skills and knowledge of trusted intermediaries. Doctors, social workers, housing officers, community nurses and volunteers can play a central role. Using these front-line professionals to help identify and act on energy poverty offers a novel, cost-effective and targeted solution. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-4-households-struggle-to-pay-power-bills-here-are-5-ways-to-tackle-hidden-energy-poverty-204672" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Images: Getty

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Schumacher’s family suing German magazine over fake interview

Michael Schumacher’s family is preparing to take legal action against German tabloid magazine Die Aktuelle, for publishing an AI-generated “interview” with the star. The publication has been slammed for using Michael’s face on their April 15 front cover, promoting the piece as “the first interview” since the star’s skiing accident in December 2013. “No meagre, nebulous half-sentences from friends. But answers from him! By Michael Schumacher, 54!” read the text in the magazine. “It sounded deceptively real,” they added in the strapline, which was the only indicator that the piece was fake. The “interview” included quotes that insensitively described Schumacher’s recovery, following the accident where he suffered a serious brain injury. “I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldn’t have dealt with it all,” the quote read. “I’ve had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family,” they added. It was only at the end of the article that the publication revealed that they used Character.ai, an AI chatbot, to create the interview. A spokesperson for Schumachers confirmed their intention to take legal action against Die Aktuelle to Reuters and ESPN. This isn’t the first time Schumacher’s family have taken action against Die Aktuelle. In 2015, Michael’s wife, Corinna Schumacher filed a lawsuit against the magazine after they used Corinna’s picture with the headline: “Corinna Schumacher – a new love makes her happy.” The story was actually about their daughter, Gina, but the lawsuit was dismissed. Image: Getty Images

Legal

Pumping loud music is putting more than 1 billion young people at risk of hearing loss

Music is an integral part of human life. It’s all around us, just like sunshine, lifting our mood. We enjoy it so much that many of us take it with us everywhere on our phones or we spend weekends hitting the club scene, live-music venues or concerts. Meanwhile, many of us may have felt annoyed by loud sound from music venues or remarked on sound emanating from someone else’s headphones. We’re probably aware we should prevent hearing loss from loud industrial noise at work or from using power tools at home. A systematic review released today in <a href="https://globalhealth.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-010501">BMJ Global Health</a> reports unsafe listening practices in adolescents and young adults from using personal listening devices (such as phones or digital music players) and going to loud clubs and gigs are common, and could be a major factor contributing to hearing loss. In fact, the authors estimate the pumping tunes could be placing up to 1.35 billion young people at risk of hearing loss worldwide. <h2>What the study looked at</h2> Systematic analysis involves looking across multiple studies to identify consistent findings. In this study, the authors included 33 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2021, involving over 19,000 people, aged 12–34. In the study, unsafe listening was identified as listening at levels above 80 decibels for over 40 hours per week. For context, this is the level above which most Australian states <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/noise/overview#:%7E:text=Workers%20must%20not%20be%20exposed,on%20decibels%20and%20time%20exposed.">require industry</a> to implement noise protection processes such as use of hearing protectors. The study confirms the rate of unsafe listening practices is high in adolescents and young adults: 23.81% of them were listening to music on personal devices at unsafe levels and 48.2% at loud entertainment venues (though this rate is less certain). Based on global estimates of population, this translates to up to 1.35 billion young people at risk of hearing loss globally. The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/hearing-loss#tab=tab_1">estimates</a> over 430 million people worldwide already have a disabling hearing loss and prevalence could double if hearing loss prevention is not prioritised. The results tally with our previous studies conducted by Australia’s National Acoustic Laboratories and HEARing Cooperative Research Centre. More than a decade ago we <a href="https://acc.hearingservices.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/hso/f1f6299d-96f3-408e-be4b-0775af6d7f41/Lifetime_profile_exposure_sound_what_safe_HLPP2.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">reported</a> a high potential for hearing loss from attendance at nightclubs, pubs and live concerts in young Australians aged between 18–35 years. Back then, we found 13% of young Australians (aged 18–35) were getting a yearly noise dose from nightclubs, concerts and sporting activities that exceeded the maximum acceptable dose in industry. In 2015, the WHO launched the <a href="https://www.who.int/activities/making-listening-safe">Make listening Safe</a>initiative to encourage young people to protect their hearing. <h2>Why it’s bad for your hearing</h2> So what’s the problem with loud music? Like sunshine, overexposure can lead to harm. Loud noise, including music, can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_does_loud_noise_cause_hearing_loss.html">kill off hair cells and membranes</a> in the inner ear (the cochlea). Once hearing is lost, a person mightn’t be able to hear or understand speech or sounds around them. <a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss">Research</a> shows hearing loss results from a combination of sound being too loud (and it doesn’t need to be painful to cause hearing damage), listening to loud sound too long (and the louder the sound, the less time you can listen before your hearing is at risk) and how often you are exposed (and hearing damage is cumulative over time). A good “rule of ear” is that if you hear ringing in your ears at or after listening, you are at risk of damaging your hearing. This type of hearing loss is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_does_loud_noise_cause_hearing_loss.html">permanent</a> and may require use of hearing aids or cochlear implants. <h2>Wait, so no loud music at all?</h2> So what can we do, short of throwing away our headphones and avoiding clubbing and live music? First, just like with the sun and skin, we need to be aware of the risks to our hearing and take the necessary steps to protect ourselves. We need to be aware of how loud sound is around us and how to keep our exposure within safe levels. We can do this by using personal hearing protection in clubs (such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-earplugs-for-concerts/">ear muffs or ear plugs</a> that are fit for purpose), or limiting how often we visit noisy music venues or how long we stay at really loud ones. In Australia, people can access a free <a href="https://knowyournoise.nal.gov.au/">noise risk calculator</a> to calculate their personal risk using an online sound level meter, and to explore how changes in lifestyle could protect their hearing while still allowing them to enjoy music. Most phones now come with software that can <a href="https://www.headphonesty.com/2022/03/iphone-headphone-safety/#:%7E:text=Key%20features%20of%20the%20iPhone%20Headphone%20Safety%20feature&text=According%20to%20the%20WHO%20standard,risk%20of%20sustaining%20hearing%20damage.">monitor safe listening levels</a> and limit exposure. Hearing protection at the venue level is more challenging and may require regulatory and industry-based approaches. Our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/64/4/342/5811673">2020 research</a> identified hazard controls for entertainment venues, such alternating volume between louder and softer levels, rotating staff, providing quiet rooms, and raising speaker locations above head height. We also showed DJs and venues were open to initiatives aimed at reducing the risk of hearing loss for their patrons and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19338244.2020.1828241?journalCode=vaeh20">staff</a>. Compromises are possible and they could enable enjoyment of music at live-music venues, while still protecting hearing. That way everyone will be able keep enjoying music for longer. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/pumping-loud-music-is-putting-more-than-1-billion-young-people-at-risk-of-hearing-loss-194537" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Why Rod Stewart turned down a $1 million gig

Rod Stewart has shared why he turned down a $1 million deal to perform in Qatar. The 77-year-old rockstar said that he was offered the seven-figure deal over a year ago, but refused because of the Gulf state's human rights record. When discussing the controversy surrounding the World Cup host nation, where homosexuality is illegal, the singer told the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dfab9724-5f6f-11ed-8611-a128c33d7159?shareToken=f282a0832e5a291ac08bf40e06ba678c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday Times</a> he thought it would be wrong to play a set there. "I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1m, to play there 15 months ago," he said. "I turned it down. It's not right to go. And the Iranians should be out too for supplying arms," he said in reference to drones supplied by the country to Russia, which was barred from the tournament. He added that he thinks fans attending matches in Qatar, where being gay can lead to imprisonment and even the death sentence for Muslims, "have got to watch out". Stewart has been considered an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, previously saying he was "surrounded by gay men in the 70s". One of the singer's hit songs, The Killing of Georgie, is about the murder of a gay friend and made waves when it came out in 1976, when very few mainstream songs discussed the experiences of gay men. He said it would have been "good" to sing the song as a protest during the opening ceremony of the football tournament. Image credits: Getty Images

Money & Banking

UK woman takes home from dump to dream starting with just £1

A UK woman has shown how she took a derelict property from a dump to a dream address, having paid just £1 ($NZ 1.93). Maxine Sharples was still a university student when she successfully bid for a ramshackle Victorian terrace in Liverpool under the council-run Homes for Pound Scheme. The scheme allowed residents to pay just £1 for a derelict home on the condition that they would renovate it, per <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-transforms-1-house-dream-27496752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Mirror</a>, and was so popular that 2500 people applied for just 106 houses. But, when Ms Sharples was handed the keys to her new home four years later, she admitted she was worried about how she would fund the work, particularly given that new owners had just 12 months to renovate according to <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/homeless-woman-turned-1-house-24498719?_ga=2.75979477.1998441293.1658101018-39617459.1654734058" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Liverpool Echo</a>. Ms Sharples was able to take longer due to Covid restrictions, telling local news she spent £60,000 ($NZ 115,000) to bring the home up to a livable standard and transform it into a sweet first home. She now has about £10,000 ($NZ 19,270) left to spend to enhance the property further. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/uk-woman-house1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Maxine Sharple, a 35-year-old yoga teacher, bought her first home for just £1, but had to put in plenty of work to get it up to scratch. “Although initially I didn’t have the funds, I applied anyway and thought, ‘I’ll cross that bridge’ if I was shortlisted. In 2019, four years later, I got a phone call to ask if I was still interested in a home for a pound,” Ms Sharples told the Echo. Though she has walked away with the deal of a lifetime, it was a difficult journey to get her home to where it is now. Ms Sharples lived in a caravan during the renovations and had to do plenty of work herself. “It has taken me 27 arduous months to get it signed off. It was gruelling, I couldn't have been more naive about the process,” she said. “As a yoga teacher I couldn’t have been less experienced in construction management. “With tradespeople in short supply, I took to a lot of labouring myself.” Going beyond just updating the interior and façade, Ms Sharples changed the layout to make the home lighter and more airy. “I began the rip out by myself. It took me nine months to get the house back to brick with a rotary hammer and borrowed electricity from my neighbours,” she said. “A hole in the roof meant a tree had taken root, water ingress, asbestos, rat infestations, you name it, it had it all.” Images: The Liverpool Echo

Real Estate

Top Gun: Maverick surpasses $1 billion worldwide

Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick has officially surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Over the weekend, the film saw a huge $30.5 million domestically and $44.5 million in overseas markets. This overall totals to $521 million domestic and $484 million international, putting it just past $1 billion globally. According to Paramount, more than 16 percent of the Top Gun: Maverick audience has seen the film more than once in theatres, while four percent have seen it four times or more. This is only the second time since the pandemic began that a Hollywood title jumped over the $1 billion behind Sony and Disney’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.89 billion). The movie officially became the highest-grossing movie of Cruise’s career when it toppled over $800 million. His 2018 film Mission Impossible: Fallout previously held the highest rank with $791.1 million. Analysts don’t think the momentum will last long with Elvis hitting the screens and Top Gun sitting around the $900 million mark. Image: YouTube

Movies

Wild scenes after No.1 seed slaps opponent at the net

A tennis player has been caught on camera slapping his opponent - so, is this Will Smith’s match? Michael Kouame, 15, lost to Raphael Nii Ankrah, 16, 2-6 7-6 6-7 in the first round of an ITF juniors tournament in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The pair met at the net to shake hands before Michael slapped Raphael in the face before a brawl ensued amongst attendees. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://t.co/4B0NjVI5zv">pic.twitter.com/4B0NjVI5zv</a> — SHARP SHOOTER 🔫 (@Kwesi_Gibson) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kwesi_Gibson/status/1511083902382792716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> Footage of the incident was shared to Twitter with many pointing out that Michael should not have slapped Raphael and tried to run away. “I think he forgot his location..how can you slap someone in his own country,” someone pointed out. “Kid was running ? You can’t start sh*t and then run away,” another commented. “The coward ran away? Disgraceful behavior!” another wrote. Image: Twitter

Legal

How far would you go to save $1?

Would you spend the night at this one-star hotel for just $6? If you’ve travelled on a very strict budget, you’ve probably come across some interesting finds. One TikToker user has people divided over where to draw the line – even if it is cheap – after posting a video at a one-star hotel. <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@jesseogn/video/7056825451565550850" data-video-id="7056825451565550850"> <section><a title="@jesseogn" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jesseogn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@jesseogn</a> Would you stay at this hotel?? <a title="japan" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/japan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#japan</a> <a title="tiktokjapan" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tiktokjapan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#tiktokjapan</a> <a title="japantiktok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/japantiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#japantiktok</a> <a title="japantravel" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/japantravel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#japantravel</a> <a title="osaka" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/osaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#osaka</a> <a title="creepy" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/creepy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#creepy</a> <a title="♬ Amityville Horror - Scary Halloween Sound Effects - Halloween Sound Effects" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Amityville-Horror-Scary-Halloween-Sound-Effects-6780285433650612226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ Amityville Horror - Scary Halloween Sound Effects - Halloween Sound Effects</a></section> </blockquote> While travelling through Japan, TikToker Jesse checked in to the 500 yen per-night stay (about $6) in Osaka. Upon entry, Jesse notices the dodgy bedding, rickety TV and overall petite size of the room, before making his way to the questionable window. “The room came with a pillow, blanket, stained mattress and TV,” he says in the tour. “The room had a funky smell but I couldn’t open the window because it was broken,” he explained. Adding to its…appeal, he then demonstrated how small the room is, with just a few inches above his head when standing and lying down. The tour ends on a slightly more sinister note, as he makes his way to a creepy find at the entrance of the hotel – a poster of wanted criminals. The comments section was divided on the hotel, with some claiming it was a steal, while others said they’d rather pay a bit more and stay somewhere else. “I mean, for $90 a month… I’d probably live there,” one person said. “I’d stay there. Too bad they didn’t have mattresses with plastic covers on it. Great deal,” a commenter added. Images: TikTok

Travel Tips

Russia 0, Door 1: Soldier’s shocking defeat blows up online

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine wages on, a battle between a Russian soldier and a door has <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/russia-ukraine-war-hapless-russian-soldier-loses-fight-against-door/I246LNFUTCXAE3Q2OVUSJ34Y7A/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resulted</a> in a crushing defeat. A clip of the incident from Yeshiva World News reported Moshe Schwartz has gone viral online, with the interaction dubbed the Battle of Techno House. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> At the Battle of Techno House, the door secured a decisive victory against Russian forces <a href="https://t.co/QnMowf5T7l">https://t.co/QnMowf5T7l</a> — 🇺🇦 Sid Chambers, PhD 🇺🇦 (@ArtfulTakedown) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtfulTakedown/status/1499180997526663174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote> The soldier, reportedly in Kherson, Ukraine, is seen attempting to gain access into a store. When his first attempts fail, the soldier smashes the glass on the door but that also fails. Seemingly exasperated, the soldier tugs on the door handle before accepting defeat and walking away. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Geolocation confirmed. 46.65046, 32.60758 <a href="https://t.co/bfjntnsPsG">https://t.co/bfjntnsPsG</a> <a href="https://t.co/fYUZxlLZGo">pic.twitter.com/fYUZxlLZGo</a> — GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed/status/1499153094076153860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2022</a></blockquote> The soldier, reportedly in Kherson, Ukraine, is seen attempting to gain access into a store. When his first attempts fail, the soldier smashes the glass on the door but that also fails. Seemingly exasperated, the soldier tugs on the door handle before accepting defeat and walking away. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/FM3zsz5WYA0bOOl.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="1176" /> A Wikipedia page was allegedly created documenting the incident. Image: <a href="https://twitter.com/SwarmDMX/status/1499122912493809670" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> The page said the incident ended with a “decisive” victory for the door, and that casualties and losses included “ammunition, pride and a window”. One video of the incident was viewed more than a million times in one hour and attracted thousands of comments joking about an otherwise grim situation. It comes as Russian forces have captured the strategically significant hub of Kherson, the first to be captured since the invasion began last week. Image: Twitter

Travel Trouble

Nearly 1 in 3 adults over 65 had a new condition post-Covid

<a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/almost-1-in-3-older-adults-develop-new-conditions-after-covid-19-infection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New research</a> from the US has found that almost a third of older adults who caught COVID-19 went on to develop at least one new condition that required medical attention. The study, published in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-068414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The BMJ</a>, discovered that 32 out of every 100 adults over 65 that they studied went on to develop any of a range of conditions that affected the heart, kidney, lungs or their mental health after they were first infected. In comparison, only 21 percent of those in the control groups - who didn’t catch Covid - developed a new condition. To understand the risk of additional illness older adults faced after a COVID-19 diagnosis, the researchers used health insurance records to identify 133,366 people over the age of 65 who were diagnosed with the virus before April 1, 2020. These individuals were matched to three control groups from 2020, 2019, and a group diagnosed with a viral lower respiratory tract illness (RTI), which included the flu, viral bronchitis and non-bacterial pneumonia. The team then recorded any persistent or new conditions 21 days after a diagnosis of Covid, and calculated the excess risk of developing these conditions due to Covid based on age, race, sex and whether patients were treated for the virus in a hospital. When compared to the 2020 and 2019 non-covid groups, patients who had Covid were at more risk of developing conditions including respiratory failure (an extra 7.55 percent), fatigue (5.66 percent higher), high blood pressure (an extra 4.43 percent), and a mental health diagnosis (2.5 percent more) However, the difference between Covid patients and those with a viral lower RTI was much smaller, with risks of respiratory failure, dementia and fatigue being higher. Additionally, the team found the risk of developing several conditions was higher for those who were men, black, or over the age of 75. Though this is only an observational study, the researchers argue it is important to understand the health risks the millions of people who have had Covid face. “These findings further highlight the wide range of important sequelae (new conditions) after acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” they wrote. “Understanding the magnitude of risk for the most important clinical sequelae might enhance their diagnosis and management of individuals. “Also, our research can help providers and other key stakeholders anticipate the scale of future health complications and improve planning for the use of healthcare resources.” Image: Getty Images

Body

Why this 15-bedroom mansion will fetch well under $1 million

As the cost of housing continues to rise, one mansion in the United Kingdom is looking to buck that trend. Located in the north of Wales in a town called Llandudno Junction, this genuine 17-century Georgian manor is heading to auction in a few weeks with a price guide of just $758,000.Of course, for this price estimate, you could assume there must be strings attached to purchasing this spacious property and there is. Until 2021, the grand abode was owned by the Warwickshire County Council and used as a training and school trip facility for students.As such, the Grade II listed piece of real estate, known as Marle Hall, is currently registered for something called ‘Class C2’, which means it can only be used as a residential care home, nursing home, hospital, boarding school, residential college or a training centre.According to the selling agent, there could be the option to apply for planning consent to change the current classification. Once that’s done, Marle Hall could make for a stunning holiday home or even a small boutique hotel given its central location.Boasting over 14,500-square-metres of verdant land, aside from the main home, the estate also hosts a number of other buildings, including a small cottage.Inside the main structure, which can trace its routes all the way back to the mid-1600s, the manor boasts 15 bedrooms, a professional kitchen and pantry, a substantial dining hall and several sitting roomsMarle Hall is expected to be auctioned off on Wednesday the 2nd of March.Image: Domain Australia

Real Estate

"Round 1" goes to Novak as ugly scenes unfold on Melbourne streets

Novak Djokovic has claimed victory in “Round 1” of his legal battle with the Australian government over his cancelled visa. However the tennis champion may still be forced to leave the country, with Australia’s Immigration Minister still considering whether to cancel his visa for a second time. His hearing through the Federal Court of Australia - which he viewed via a live stream while at his lawyers’ offices - ended with the overturning of the government’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa on health grounds, ending his five days in detention. Judge Anthony Kelly said it was “unreasonable” to cancel Djokovic’s visa and ordered that the World No.1 be released from immigration detention within 30 minutes of the verdict. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/australian-open/novak-djokovic-australian-open-2022-court-hearing-live-verdict-updates-latest-deported-covid-vaccination-australia/news-story/229a81a296bfe1e20feefcc5c6cfda15" target="_blank">Djokovic will be allowed to stay</a> in Australia and have his passport returned to him, despite the federal government’s strict requirements on foreign arrivals for the past two years. Australian taxpayers will also foot the cost of Djhokovic’s legal team. The Serbian tennis star posted a photo on social media following the verdict, showing him standing with his entourage on Rod Laver Arena after finishing his first training session. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I’m pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation. Despite all that has happened,I want to stay and try to compete <a href="https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AustralianOpen</a> I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans. 👇 <a href="https://t.co/iJVbMfQ037">pic.twitter.com/iJVbMfQ037</a> — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) <a href="https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/1480529173789696001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2022</a></blockquote> “I’m pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation. Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete (at the) Australian Open,” he wrote. “I remain focused on that. “I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans.” Djokovic’s family also spoke to the media in Serbia after he shared his update, thanking fans for their support and praising the judge for his verdict. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> From Djokovic's brother Djordje <a href="https://t.co/q7T4CvdEYi">https://t.co/q7T4CvdEYi</a> — Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) <a href="https://twitter.com/christophclarey/status/1480458045167521792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2022</a></blockquote> “The whole process was not about tennis or the Australian Open, it was about justice for what was done to him,” his younger brother, Djordje Djokovic, told media. “Novak is only fighting for the liberty of choice.” “We are grateful for [the] justice system for Australia.” Djokovic’s father - who led protests in the Serbian capital of Belgrade after his son was detained - said his son’s human rights had been taken away, while his mother Dijana said he was subjected to “torture”. “This is his biggest win in his career, it is bigger than any grand slam,” she said. “He has done nothing wrong, he hasn’t broken any of their laws. “He has been subject to torture, to harassment.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://t.co/PGzegChaRo">pic.twitter.com/PGzegChaRo</a> — Laura Jayes (@ljayes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ljayes/status/1480456839770750979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2022</a></blockquote> After the verdict, Djokovic’s fans congregated outside his lawyers’ office and chanted “Free Nole”, believing he was being detained once again due to a heavy police presence and false reports of his arrest. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Djokovic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Djokovic</a> supporters have arrived at his location amid reports that he may be imminently re-detained <a href="https://t.co/JCMPdSLETW">pic.twitter.com/JCMPdSLETW</a> — Michael Miller (@MikeMillerDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeMillerDC/status/1480465888994213891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2022</a></blockquote> Chaotic scenes soon broke out, including clashes between fans and police, while fans mobbed a black Audi attempting to make its way through the crowd. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-11/novak-djokovic-breaks-silence-family-attacks-aus-government/100748736" target="_blank">Officers used pepper spray</a> to disperse the crowd as fans began banging on the windows and one man jumped onto it. It was later discovered that Djokovic was not in the vehicle, with police confirming he had already left the building. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Djokovic was treated “the same as everyone else”. The 34-year-old was detained after touching down at Victoria’s Tullamarine Airport last week, where his visa was revoked. According to the court’s finding, read out in the online hearing, Djokovic was interviewed overnight and told he had until 8.30am to reply to the proposed cancellation of his visa. Instead, a border agent cancelled it at 7.42am. In a transcript from the airport interview, Djokovic expressed his confusion about why he wasn’t being allowed to enter the country. “I just really don’t understand what is the reason you don’t allow me to enter the country,” he told the border control agent, according to the transcript. But, lawyer Christopher Tran - representing the federal government - told Judge Kelly that, despite Djokovic’s victory, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke may still decide to use his “personal power of cancellation” to order his removal from the country. By doing so, Djokovic would be banned from coming into Australia for three years. Image: @djokernole (Instagram)

News

The real reason to worry about sharks in Australian waters this summer: 1 in 8 are endangered

If you’re heading to the beach this summer, the thought of sharks might cross your mind. I don’t mean wondering whether a shark will take you for dinner (that’s very, very unlikely) but rather, how these remarkable creatures are faring in the marine ecosystem. I recently led the first complete assessment of all species of sharks, rays and ghost sharks in Australian waters. My team and I found while most species are secure, about 12%, or 39 species, are threatened with extinction. No country has a higher diversity of sharks than Australia. That means we have a special responsibility to protect them from threats such as fishing and damage to their marine habitat. To prevent shark extinctions on our watch, Australia must invest far more heavily to close vast knowledge gaps and ensure threatened species are protected and recovered. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425737/original/file-20211011-25-16shqs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="a stingray" /> The research examined all species of sharks, rays and ghost sharks found in Australian waters, including the bluespotted fantail ray, pictured. Simon Pierce <h2>Ancient ocean dwellers</h2> Sharks are an ancient lineage of fishes that have roamed the oceans for around <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/shark-evolution-a-450-million-year-timeline.html">450 million years</a>. They occupy tropical, temperate and polar marine waters, while a small number have adapted to live in freshwater. Sharks and their relatives, rays and ghost sharks, are known as cartilaginous fishes. Some 328 of the world’s cartilaginous fishes – comprising one-quarter of the world’s total – occur in Australian waters, including the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters. Of these, 138 are found nowhere else on Earth. Globally, sharks face a dire conservation crisis. About <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">32% of species</a> are threatened with extinction and less than half are assessed as “Least Concern” (not at risk of extinction). The main threats around the world are overfishing combined with <a href="https://www.cms.int/en/publication/sharks-ahead-realizing-potential-convention-migratory-species-conserve-elasmobranchs-0">inadequate management</a> such as a lack of fishing regulations, weak protections for threatened species and poor implementation of international agreements. Australia’s relatively better position is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx113">result</a> of a long history of ocean policy and fisheries management. Australia also has extensive areas with only <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/abares/research-topics/fisheries/fishery-status-reports#full-report">limited or no fishing pressure</a> as well as a representative network of <a href="https://parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/">marine parks</a>. But some regions, particularly waters off Australia’s southeast, have experienced <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/abares/research-topics/fisheries/fishery-status-reports#full-report">high</a> levels of fishing pressure which threaten some species. <a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/system/files/Shark_Action_Plan_FINAL_Sept7_2021_WEB_RGB.pdf">Other threats</a> to sharks in Australian waters include shark control measures in some states, habitat degradation, aquaculture and climate change. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425734/original/file-20211011-23-1cp10rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Sharks rays and ghost sharks are known as cartilaginous fishes. Pictured: the threatened Melbourne Skate. Ian Shaw <h2>What the research found</h2> The <a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/news/threatened-shark-species-%E2%80%98out-sight-out-mind%E2%80%99-first-complete-national-assessment-australia%E2%80%99s#overlay-context=theme/theme-threatened-and-migratory-species">research</a> I led examined the national status of Australian sharks. The news is a lot brighter than the global situation. Of all sharks occurring in Australian waters, 70% were assessed as “Least Concern”. But we identified 39 Australian shark species threatened with extinction. And worryingly, most lack the protection or conservation plans needed for their populations to recover. For example, only nine of the species are listed as threatened under Australia’s federal environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. We identified five species where the data is robust enough to pass the threatened species nomination process, and recommend federal authorities consider these species for immediate listing. They consist of: <ul> <li>greeneye spurdog</li> <li>eastern angelshark</li> <li>whitefin swellshark</li> <li>narrow sawfish</li> <li>Australian longnose skate.</li> </ul> However, this still leaves a group of under-studied threatened species at risk of slipping through the cracks, because not enough data exists to support official listing nominations. We identified 12 species facing this predicament. For example, we assessed three species of small rays from southeast Australia, known as <a href="https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/family/334">stingarees</a>, as vulnerable to extinction due to commercial fishing. The species’ decline has been recorded since the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF99174">late 1990s</a>. However, nominations to be listed as threatened under federal law will require more data, particularly contemporary catch levels and trends. As with many other species we identified, there is currently no mechanism – or dedicated funding – in place to ensure such data is collected. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436576/original/file-20211209-27-1bianty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A small shark" /> Colclough’s Shark, a rare threatened shark at risk of falling through the cracks. Nigel Marsh <h2>How to save Australian sharks</h2> Major investment is needed to recover Australia’s threatened sharks. Using the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12682?af=R">mean estimated cost</a> of recovering a threatened fish species and accounting for <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/">inflation</a>, I calculate the cost at about A$114 million each year. The figure represents about 0.3% of the national defence budget – a benchmark against which the costs of environmental action are often <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-could-green-its-degraded-landscapes-for-just-6-of-what-we-spend-on-defence-168807">compared</a>. More broadly, financial investment in threatened species in Australia has been shown to be <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12682?af=R">inadequate</a>. Recent federal funding announcements include <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/australia-announces-100-million-initiative-protect-our-oceans">A$100 million</a> to protect oceans and $57 million linked to the national <a href="https://minister.awe.gov.au/ley/media-releases/national-strategy-protect-threatened-species">threatened species strategy</a>. This comes nowhere near the level of investment required. Australia urgently needs a dedicated, adequately resourced fund with the aim of recovering and delisting threatened species. Such a fund should support the recovery planning process – in contrast to current federal government moves to scrap recovery plans for nearly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/18/coalition-plans-to-scrap-recovery-plans-for-200-endangered-species-and-habitats">200 threatened species</a>. Our research is a call to action to secure all Australia’s sharks. It provides a benchmark from which changes can be measured, and hopefully will help guide management to prevent extinctions.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161352/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-kyne-118871">Peter Kyne</a>, Senior Research Fellow in conservation biology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-reason-to-worry-about-sharks-in-australian-waters-this-summer-1-in-8-are-endangered-161352">original article</a>. Image: Andrew Fox

Domestic Travel

1 millipede, 1,306 legs: we just discovered the world’s leggiest animal hiding in Western Australia

Millipedes were the first land animals, and today we know of more than 13,000 species. There are likely thousands more species of the many-legged invertebrates awaiting discovery and formal scientific description. The name “millipede” comes from the Latin for “thousand feet”, but until now no known species had more than 750 legs. However, my colleagues and I recently found <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02447-0">a new champion</a>. The eyeless, subterranean Eumillipes persephone, discovered 60 metres underground near the south coast of Western Australia, has up to 1,306 legs, making it the first “true millipede” and the leggiest animal on Earth. <h2>Finding life underground</h2> In Australia, most species in some groups of invertebrates are still undescribed. Many could even become extinct before we know about them. Part of the reason is that life is everywhere, even where we least expect it. You could be excused for thinking remote areas of Western Australia such as the Pilbara and the Goldfields, where the land is arid and harsh, are not home to too many species. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437949/original/file-20211216-15-11fkzif.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> The arid landscapes of Western Australia harbour a surprising diversity of life. Shutterstock But the reality is very different. An enormously diverse array of poorly known animals live underground, inhabiting cavities and fractures in the rock several metres below the surface. One way to find out about these creatures is to place “troglofauna traps” far below the surface. E. persephone was found in one of these traps, which had spent two months 60m underground in a mining exploration bore in the Goldfields. <h2>A lucky discovery</h2> At the time I was working for a company called Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, which had been hired by the mining company to survey the animals in the area. I was lucky enough to be in the laboratory on the day the leggiest animal on Earth was first seen. Our senior taxonomist, Jane McRae, showed me these incredibly elongated millipedes, less than a millimetre wide and almost 10 centimetres long. She pointed out how their triangular faces placed them in the family Siphonotidae, comprised of sucking millipedes from the order Polyzoniida. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437938/original/file-20211216-21-3yvudt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> A female Eumillipes persephone with 330 segments and 1,306 legs. Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports, Author provided Their long, thin and pale bodies, with hundreds of legs, reminded me of a paper I had read years earlier, which redescribed the leggiest millipede in the world, the Californian Illacme plenipes, bearing 750 legs. Back in 2007, while teaching zoology at Campinas State University in Brazil, I used that paper to explain to students how no millipede species in the world really had 1,000 legs. Often, popular names are scientifically inaccurate, but in front of me I had an animal that stood a chance of finally making the name millipede biologically correct. <h2>A true millipede at last</h2> I suggested to Jane that our new specimens might be more consistent with I. plenipes, which belongs to another order of millipedes, the Siphonophorida. We consulted Mark Harvey from the WA Museum, and together were surprised to realise Siphonophorida are very rare in Australia: there are only three known species, all found on the east coast. Next, I contacted Paul Marek at Virginia Tech in the United States, a millipede expert and lead author of that paper about the 750-legged I. plenipes. He was excited to receive the specimens a few weeks later. This new species turned out to have up to 1,306 legs, making it the first true millipede. Paul named it Eumillipes persephone, in reference to its “true 1,000 legs” nature, and to Persephone, the goddess of the underworld in Greek mythology who was taken from the surface by Hades. <h2>Why so many legs?</h2> E. persephone was most likely driven to its underground life as the landscape above became hotter and drier over millions of years. We eventually discovered Jane was right about the nature of E. persephone: it is in fact a member of the Siphonotidae family, only distantly related to I. plenipes, and is therefore the only species in the whole order Polyzoniida with no eyes. We classify any millipede with more than 180 body segments as “super-elongated”. E. persephone has 330. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437943/original/file-20211216-15-zklige.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Just a few of the legs of a male Eumillipes persephone. Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports, Author provided With a genetic analysis, we found that super-elongation has evolved repeatedly in millipedes, and it might be an adaptation to living underground. The large number of legs likely provides enhanced traction and power to push their bodies through small gaps and fractures in the soil. But this is just a hypothesis at this stage, and we have no direct evidence that having more legs is an adaptation to subterranean life. <h2>Finding the unknown</h2> Finding this incredible species, which represents a unique branch of the millipede tree of life, is a small first step towards the conservation of subterranean biodiversity in arid landscapes. This starts with documenting new species, assessing their vulnerability, and ultimately devising conservation priorities and management plans. A large proportion of the species of arid Australia are undescribed. For subterranean fauna, this may be more than 90%. Not knowing these animals exist makes it impossible to assess their conservation status. Biodiversity surveys, and especially the taxonomy that supports them, are incredibly important. Taxonomists such as Jane, Paul and Mark are the unsung heroes of conservation.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173753/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bruno-alves-buzatto-185830">Bruno Alves Buzatto</a>, Principal Biologist at Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-millipede-1-306-legs-we-just-discovered-the-worlds-leggiest-animal-hiding-in-western-australia-173753">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

$1 million Cleo Smith reward status

Image: Facebook Western Australia Police have said they do not anticipate the state’s landmark $1 million reward for information about Cleo Smith to be paid out. WA Premier Mark McGowan offered the hefty reward for information leading to Cleo’s location, or to the arrest and conviction of those involved in her disappearance. The reward was announced just six days after Cleo was abducted from her family tent at the remote Blowholes campsite on October 16th. While police remain tight-lipped about what prompted them to search the locked Carnarvon home where Cleo was found, they did credit the hard work of a 140-strong police taskforce. WA Police Minister Paul Papalia told ABC on Thursday morning: “It wasn’t a random tip off or clairvoyant or any of those sorts of things you might hear. “It was just a hard police grind,” he said. WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch previously said he doesn’t expect the $1 million reward to be claimed, but he told Channel Seven’s Sunrise on Thursday he’s not completely ruling out the possibility. “Look, the police collected so much information from day one for those 18 days that they were able to trawl through and put that jigsaw puzzle together,” Comm Blanch said. “Now part of that jigsaw puzzle was information from the community, but it all contributed to the outcome. “Look, we’re not going to discount that it’s not going to be paid out, but certainly the information that I have from the police is that really it was good, hard detective and analyst work." Criteria for police paying reward Associate Professor of Criminology and forensic anthropologist Dr Xanthé Mallet from the University of Newcastle told Yahoo News Australia there are specific rules around rewards regarding what they will be paid out for. Cleo’s reward was offered for location information, or details that could lead to an arrest and conviction. “Each reward has its own structure for what it will be paid out for,” she said. “If there was a genuine call on this reward I’m sure they’d be very happy to pay it,” she added. Speaking with the ABC, Dr Mallet said the Carnarvon community and the whole of Australia just really “wanted to see Cleo found alive and unharmed”. “…at the end of the day Cleo is home, and for most people the reward is seeing her in her parents’ arms in the hospital safe and unharmed.”

Money & Banking

Barty fumes as match suspended

Barty was well on her way to victory against Vera Zvonareva with some sizzling tennis in the first set which she won 6-1. But in the second set, the match was briefly suspended after the controversial electronic line-calling system crashed on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the centre court at the Flushing Meadows venue in New York. The 25-year-old spoke to the umpire after the annoying delay was announced and was heard on court microphones asking if human line judges could be brought onto court to replace the electronic system. Her request was denied as a result of the tournament not using any line judges this year. Barty was left shaking her head as she sat down waiting for a resumption of play. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Play has been suspended on Arthur Ashe due to an issue with the electronic line-calling system. Ash Barty is shaking her head & asking if they can bring out, you know, the humans that used to do it? The answer, unsurprisingly, is no. <a href="https://t.co/RvCBxMMlXA">pic.twitter.com/RvCBxMMlXA</a> — The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/TennisPodcast/status/1432782740886331397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2021</a></blockquote> In the end she was only forced to wait a few minutes and quickly broke her opponent’s serve minutes later. However, the match took several more dramatic turns from there with Barty failing to serve the match out before it headed to a tiebreak. Barty prevailed 9-7 in the breaker, but had to defend set points in a very nervous few minutes at the end. More relaxed after the match Later, when Barty was interviewed on the court after her match, she seemed much more relaxed and talked about her recent winning streak. “It has certainly been really enjoyable right from the start,” she said. Barty will now play 18-year-old Clara Tauson in the second round. The world No. 1 is chasing back-to-back grand slam titles after her historic win at Wimbledon. She is in fine form after also winning a WTA title two weeks ago at Cincinnati. Image: Getty Images

News

New ‘smart’ insulin could revolutionise Type 1 diabetes treatment

For the 15 in every 100,000 people with Type 1 diabetes, living with the condition often involves balancing diet, exercise, and insulin therapy to keep blood sugar levels in a normal range. Though there are a plethora of solutions being developed to help those with diabetes live more easily, a new approach has focused on insulin itself. Dr Michael Weiss, a biochemist from the School of Medicine at Indiana University, has worked with colleagues to tweak the structure of insulin so it responds to the presence of a simple sugar molecule. <img style="width: 500px; height:231px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843122/image-for-release_weiss_pnas.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/411d3753b46448bb978e1922daac8560" /> Image: IU School of Medicine The researchers have utilised a feature already built into insulin’s structure - a “hinge” that enables the molecule to function when open and keeps it stable while closed. What the study found The experiments performed by Dr Weiss and his team used the carbohydrate fructose to manipulate insulin, so that it would only be ‘switched on’ by the presence of a certain amount of sugar, causing it to activate a sample of cells derived from the liver. Though the experiments were more confirmation that the concept would be viable than an actual treatment, it would theoretically work for an insulin shaped to activate in the presence of glucose. Why it matters Weiss envisions a future where people don’t have to worry about their blood sugar falling too low (hypoglycemia) or too high (hyperglycemia), which can result in symptoms such as delirium, convulsions, blindness, or strokes. “The promise of this kind of ‘smart’ insulin is that it would transform diabetes care, so people wouldn’t have to worry anymore,” Weiss <a rel="noopener" href="https://medicine.iu.edu/news/2021/07/Synthetic-hinge-could-hold-key-to-revolutionary-smart-insulin-therapy" target="_blank">said</a>. “With our invention, we envision that when the blood sugar goes too low, the hinge would close,” he explained. Though a lot needs to happen before this invention is incorporated into treatments, it could help affected individuals be able to manage their sugar levels and improve their quality of life. This research was published in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/30/e2103518118" target="_blank">PNAS</a>. Image: IU School of Medicine, Getty

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