Search

Thinking of using an activity tracker to achieve your exercise goals? Here’s where it can help – and where it probably won’t

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/corneel-vandelanotte-209636">Corneel Vandelanotte</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> It’s that time of year when many people are getting started on their resolutions for the year ahead. Doing more physical activity is a popular and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13668-016-0175-5">worthwhile</a> goal. If you’re hoping to be more active in 2024, perhaps you’ve invested in an activity tracker, or you’re considering buying one. But what are the benefits of activity trackers? And will a basic tracker do the trick, or do you need a fancy one with lots of features? Let’s take a look. <h2>Why use an activity tracker?</h2> One of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-01001-x">most powerful predictors</a> for being active is whether or not <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673621026301">you are monitoring</a> how active you are. Most people have a vague idea of how active they are, but this is inaccurate a lot of the time. Once people consciously start to keep track of how much activity they do, they often realise it’s less than what they thought, and this motivates them to be more active. You can self-monitor without an activity tracker (just by writing down what you do), but this method is hard to keep up in the long run and it’s also a lot less accurate compared to devices that track your every move 24/7. By tracking steps or “activity minutes” you can ascertain whether or not you are meeting the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/physical-activity-and-exercise/physical-activity-and-exercise-guidelines-for-all-australians/for-adults-18-to-64-years">physical activity guidelines</a> (150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week). It also allows you to track how you’re progressing with any personal activity goals, and view your progress over time. All this would be difficult without an activity tracker. Research has shown the most popular brands of activity trackers are generally reliable when it comes to tracking basic measures such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/18694">steps</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jmpb.2019-0072">activity minutes</a>. <h2>But wait, there’s more</h2> Many activity trackers on the market nowadays track a range of other measures which their manufacturers promote as important in monitoring health and fitness. But is this really the case? Let’s look at some of these. Resting heart rate This is your heart rate at rest, which is normally somewhere <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/resting-heart-rate">between 60 and 100 beats per minute</a>. Your resting heart rate will gradually go down as you become fitter, especially if you’re doing a lot of high-intensity exercise. Your risk of dying of any cause (all-cause mortality) is much lower when you have a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28552551/">low resting heart rate</a>. So, it is useful to keep an eye on your resting heart rate. Activity trackers are pretty good at tracking it, but you can also easily measure your heart rate by monitoring your pulse and using a stopwatch. Heart rate during exercise Activity trackers will also measure your heart rate when you’re active. To improve fitness efficiently, professional athletes focus on having their heart rate in certain “<a href="https://chhs.source.colostate.edu/how-to-target-heart-rate-training-zones-effectively/">zones</a>” when they’re exercising – so knowing their heart rate during exercise is important. But if you just want to be more active and healthier, without a specific training goal in mind, you can exercise at a level that feels good to you and not worry about your heart rate during activity. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/HCO.0000000000000437">most important thing</a> is that you’re being active. Also, a dedicated heart rate monitor with a strap around your chest will do a much better job at measuring your actual heart rate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0226-6">compared</a> to an activity tracker worn around your wrist. Maximal heart rate This is the hardest your heart could beat when you’re active, not something you could sustain very long. Your maximal heart rate is not influenced by how much exercise you do, or your fitness level. Most activity trackers <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2566167">don’t measure it accurately</a> anyway, so you might as well forget about this one. VO₂max Your muscles need oxygen to work. The more oxygen your body can process, the harder you can work, and therefore the fitter you are. VO₂max is the volume (V) of oxygen (O₂) we could breathe maximally (max) over a one minute interval, expressed as millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). Inactive women and men would have a VO₂max lower than 30 and 40 ml/kg/min, respectively. A reasonably good VO₂max would be mid thirties and higher for women and mid forties and higher for men. VO₂max is another measure of fitness that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3605">correlates well</a> with all-cause mortality: the higher it is, the lower your risk of dying. For athletes, VO₂max is usually measured in a lab on a treadmill while wearing a mask that measures oxygen consumption. Activity trackers instead look at your running speed (using a GPS chip) and your heart rate and compare these measures to values from other people. If you can run fast with a low heart rate your tracker will assume you are relatively fit, resulting in a higher VO₂max. These estimates are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01639-y">not very accurate</a> as they are based on lots of assumptions. However, the error of the measurement is reasonably consistent. This means if your VO₂max is gradually increasing, you are likely to be getting fitter. So what’s the take-home message? Focus on how many steps you take every day or the number of activity minutes you achieve. Even a basic activity tracker will measure these factors relatively accurately. There is no real need to track other measures and pay more for an activity tracker that records them, unless you are getting really serious about exercise.<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/219235/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/corneel-vandelanotte-209636">Corneel Vandelanotte</a>, Professorial Research Fellow: Physical Activity and Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</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/thinking-of-using-an-activity-tracker-to-achieve-your-exercise-goals-heres-where-it-can-help-and-where-it-probably-wont-219235">original article</a>.

Body

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hanna-wilberg-1466649">Hanna Wilberg</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a> The National Party’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/more-sanctions-for-unemployed-beneficiaries-under-national/">pledge to apply sanctions</a> to unemployed people receiving a welfare payment, if they are “persistently” failing to meet the criteria for receiving the benefit, has attracted plenty of comment and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/nationals-benefit-sanctions-plan-cruel-dehumanising-greens/">criticism</a>. Less talked about has been the party’s promise to index benefits to inflation to keep pace with the cost of living. This might at least provide some relief to those struggling to make ends meet on welfare, though is not clear how much difference it would make to the current system of indexing benefits to wages. In any case, this alone it is unlikely to break the cycle of poverty many find themselves in. One of the major drivers of this is the way the welfare system pushes some of the most vulnerable people into debt with loans for things such as school uniforms, power bills and car repairs. The government provides one-off grants to cover benefit shortfalls. But most of these grants are essentially loans. People receiving benefits are required to repay the government through weekly deductions from their normal benefits – which leaves them with even less money to survive on each week. With <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132980318/auckland-mother-serves-up-cereal-for-dinner-due-to-rising-food-costs">rising costs</a>, the situation is only getting worse for many of the 351,756 New Zealanders <a href="https://figure.nz/chart/TtiUrpceJruy058e-ITw010dHsM6bvA2a">accessing one of the main benefits</a>. <h2>Our whittled down welfare state</h2> Broadly, there are three levels of government benefits in our current system. The main benefits (such as jobseeker, sole parent and supported living payment) <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/benefit-rates/benefit-rates-april-2023.html">pay a fixed weekly amount</a>. The jobseeker benefit rate is set at NZ$337.74 and sole parents receive $472.79 a week. Those on benefits have access to a second level of benefits – weekly supplementary benefits such as an <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/accommodation-supplement.html">accommodation supplement</a> and other allowances or tax credits. The third level of support is one-off discretionary payments for specific essential needs. Those on benefits cannot realistically make ends meet without repeated use of these one-off payments, unless they use assistance from elsewhere – such as family, charity or borrowing from loan sharks. This problem has been building for decades. <h2>Benefits have been too low for too long</h2> In the 1970s, the <a href="https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/12967">Royal Commission on Social Security</a> declared the system should provide “a standard of living consistent with human dignity and approaching that enjoyed by the majority”. But Ruth Richardson’s “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/124978983/1991-the-mother-of-all-budgets">mother of all budgets</a>” in 1991 slashed benefits. Rates never recovered and today’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/29/benefit-increases-will-still-leave-families-locked-in-poverty/">benefits are not enough to live on</a>. In 2018, the <a href="https://www.weag.govt.nz/">Welfare Expert Advisory Group</a> looked at how much money households need in two lifestyle scenarios: bare essentials and a minimum level of participation in the community, such as playing a sport and taking public transport. The main benefits plus supplementary allowances did not meet the cost of the bare essentials, let alone minimal participation. The Labour government has since <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-delivers-income-increases-over-14-million-new-zealanders">increased benefit rates</a>, meaning they are now slightly above those recommended by the advisory group. But those recommendations were made in 2019 and don’t take into account the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-6-0-percent">sharp rise in inflation</a> since then. Advocacy group <a href="https://fairerfuture.org.nz/">Fairer Future</a> published an updated assessment in 2022 – nine out of 13 types of households still can’t meet their core costs with the current benefit rates. <h2>How ‘advances’ create debt traps</h2> When they don’t have money for an essential need, people on benefits can receive a “special needs grant”, which doesn’t have to be repaid. But in practice, Work and Income virtually never makes this type of grant for anything except food and some other specific items, such as some health travel costs or emergency dental treatment. For <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/27/very-stressful-beneficiary-says-he-cant-afford-msd-debt/">all other essential needs</a> – such as school uniforms, car repairs, replacing essential appliances, overdue rent, power bills and tenancy bonds – a one-off payment called an “advance” is used. Advances are loans and have to be paid back. There are several issues with these types of loans. First, people on benefits are racking up thousands of dollars worth of debts to cover their essential needs. It serves to trap them in financial difficulties for the foreseeable future. As long as they remain on benefits or low incomes, it’s difficult to repay these debts. And the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2018/0032/latest/whole.html">Social Security Act 2018</a> doesn’t allow the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to waive debts. <h2>Contradictory policies</h2> Another problem is that people on benefits have to start repaying their debt straight away, with weekly deductions coming out of their already limited benefit. Each new advance results in a further weekly deduction. Often these add up to $50 a week or more. MSD policy says repayments should not add up to more than $40 a week, but that is often ignored. This happens because the law stipulates that each individual debt should be repaid in no more than two years, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Paying this debt off in two years often requires total deductions to be much higher than $40. The third issue is that one-off payments can be refused regardless of the need. That is because there are two provisions pulling in opposite directions. On the one hand the law says a payment should be made if not making it would cause serious hardship. But on the other hand, the law also says payments should not be made if the person already has too much debt. People receiving benefits and their case managers face the choice between more debt and higher repayments, or failing to meet an essential need. <h2>Ways to start easing the burden</h2> So what is the fix? A great deal could be achieved by just changing the policies and practices followed by Work and Income. Case managers have the discretion to make non-recoverable grants for non-food essential needs. These could and should be used when someone has an essential need, particularly when they already have significant debt. Weekly deductions for debts could also be automatically made very low. When it comes to changing the law, the best solution would be to make weekly benefit rates adequate to live on. The government could also make these benefit debts similar to student loans, with no repayments required until the person is off the benefit and their income is above a certain threshold. However we do it, surely it must be time to do something to fix this poverty trap.<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/212528/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hanna-wilberg-1466649">Hanna Wilberg</a>, Associate professor - Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</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/forcing-people-to-repay-welfare-loans-traps-them-in-a-poverty-cycle-where-is-the-policy-debate-about-that-212528">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

"Where did the time go": Jessica Alba's bittersweet update

Jessica Alba has shared a bittersweet post of her two daughters Honor Marie, 15, and Haven Garner, 12, on their first day back-to-school. The doting mum took to Instagram to share the photos of her two girls with the sweet caption: “10th and 7th -where did the time go… (sigh 💔) my baby girls first day of school!" She also added the hashtags #momlifeisthebestlife #summerisofficiallyover #firstdayofschool. In the first photo, her daughters had their arms wrapped around each other as they posed for their mum in front of their house. In the second photo, the pair were cheesing hard, with their arms still wrapped around each other. Honor rocked a pair of baggy mum jeans, a white tank top and matching sneakers, while Haven had a similar aesthetic with pair black cargo pants, a light blue tank top and black and white sneakers. A few of the star's celebrity friends took to the comments to share their sentiment. "Wherever they went; they went beautifully 😍" Basic Instinct actress Sharon Stone wrote. How to Get Away with Murder actress Viola Davies commented a few crying and red heart emojis. American actor and TV host Mario Lopez also commented red heart emojis. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwgvQrgLIn2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwgvQrgLIn2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jessica Alba (@jessicaalba)</a> </div> </blockquote> Fans also took to the comments to express their shock at how quickly time flies. "WHAT THE HECK!! Haven was just a baby!! 😩😩😩" wrote one person. "They are so cute!!!! And so grown up. Time flies!" wrote another. "Awww ❤️ can’t believe how fast time goes!!" commented a third. Alba shares her two daughters and 5-year-old son Hayes with her husband Cash Warren. The couple first met on the set of Fantastic Four in 2004 and tied the knot three years later. Images: Instagram

Family & Pets

“Where’s Andy Murray?” Famous family fires up over Wimbledon faux pas

The family of Andy Murray are up in arms after the tennis champion was left out of a promotional artwork ahead of the annual Wimbledon competition. On Tuesday, the All England Club unveiled the promotional image to their social media accounts, which shows 15 past tennis champions, past and present, walking down the stairs of the main building at Wimbledon. At the forefront of the image are members of the “next generation of headline acts” Spaniard world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and Italian Jannik Sinner, surrounded by sporting legends such as Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and the Williams sisters Serena and Venus. Despite the image being filled with famous tennis faces, there is no image of Andy Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, whose famous victory in July 2013 ended 77 years of waiting for a homegrown British male singles winner. Andy's family and fans reacted with outrage that Murray, who was officially knighted in May 2019, was left out of the composition. Murray’s uncle Niall Erskine tweeted, “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history-maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.” Elder brother Jamie – who has won two Wimbledon mixed doubles titles – asked, “Where’s Andy Murray?” LA-based freelance illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded to the criticism by saying, “Worry not Jamie, there are more paintings on the way.” He added, “Back with Wimbledon on another fun series celebrating historic moments and players!" “This one featuring the greatest rivalries of the past and present as they make the historic walk through the clubhouse and onto Centre Court." “A lot of nuance in this one. Definitely one of the more challenging scenes I’ve had to tackle.” Image credits: All England Club / Getty Images

Family & Pets

Where to find free wifi when you’re travelling

Data usage overseas can be eye-wateringly expensive so if you want to stay connected with your smartphone, tablet or laptop you’ll need to hunt down a wifi hotspot. And it’s even better when it’s free. These are the most likely places where you’ll be able to log on for no charge. The food chain Most travellers do their best to steer clear of chains like Starbucks and McDonalds while travelling (and with good reason), but they almost always offer free wifi with a purchase. Grab a cup of coffee or some chicken nuggets and settle in. In smaller cafes or restaurants, look out for a sign in the window offering free wifi – many establishments in popular tourist areas will offer it in the hope of attracting more customers. In the bedroom Plenty of hotels are stubbornly sticking to their guns and charging exorbitant fees for wifi and, strangely enough, it tends to be the more expensive hotels that will hit your hip pocket. Check out the Hotel Chatter wifi Report for a list of the wifi winners, and choose brands like Ibis, Mercure, Holiday Inn, Radisson blu or Best Western for free coverage. You also want to make sure that it extends to your room and is not just available in the foyer or restaurant. Public property Libraries, shopping centres, museums and even public parks often have their own free wifi hotspots and generally just require you to accept their terms or register your email address. Some cities have gone the whole way and established municipal networks that cover the whole city. So if you’re going to Seoul, Boston, Osaka, Perth or Barcelona you’ll find hundreds of hotspots blanketing the city. Appy trails Download the wifi Finder app before you travel and you’ll never be stuck for a connection. It has a database of over 650,000 hotspots worldwide that you can download and then access without an internet connection. Your phone’s GPS will point you in the right direction. Image credit: Shutterstock

Travel Tips

Chris Dawson’s daughter claims to know where Lynette was buried

Chris Dawson’s estranged daughter has spoken publicly for the first time since her father was found guilty of killing her mother Lynette and has claimed she knows where her mother is buried. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Shanelle Dawson said that she uncovered memories of her father burying her mother under the family pool while under hypnosis. Ms Dawson was four years old when her mother disappeared from their family home in Bayview. Her father told officers during his single police interview that he had dropped Lynette off at a bus stop in Mona Vale and that she had failed to meet up with him at the Northbridge Baths. For 40 years, Ms Dawson said her father told her that Lynette had run away. But, Ms Dawson said she has different memories about what happened, which were uncovered during a 2013 hypnosis session led by Detective Damian Loone, who was the officer in charge of the case. “It was like I could feel myself as a four-and-a-half-year-old child again,” she said. “I could feel the feelings that she felt at the time. It was really pretty profound. “I believe I saw my sister and I in the back of a car, of our station wagon, and my mother slumped in the front. “I believe I saw him shining headlights on a spot near the pool and digging. I believe that he buried her in that spot for that night, and then the next day when he didn’t have us kids, moved her somewhere else.” While she accepted that some would question how much of her recollection was real, when asked whether she believed they were real memories, Ms Dawson said: “I think they are, yes.” Ms Dawson also spoke of the “toxic” and “manipulative” environment she grew up in after her mother vanished. “I could see that he was manipulative and gaslighting us all the time,” she said in an interview broadcast on Sunday night. “My father definitely embodies the survival of the fittest, f*** everyone else. Just do what you need to do to get what you want. “And I feel a lot of anger and rage towards him for being that way, but I simultaneously feel compassion and sadness that he is that way.” Lynette’s death created a schism in the family, with Ms Dawson explaining that she had been cut off by her father’s side of the family and her sister, who supports him. In the last text message she sent to her father, three months before his 2018 arrest, Ms Dawson confronted him about what happened to her mother and asked him to take responsibility. “I won’t live a life based on lies, nor will I keep subjecting myself to emotional manipulation and control,” she said in the message. “You have dishonoured our mother so terribly, and also my sister and I, through all of this. No more. One day I will forgive you for removing her so selfishly from our lives.” Ms Dawson told 60 Minutes that her father replied and blamed her instead. “You are clearly very lonely and depressed in the life you have chosen,” he said. “You know very little about what was going on in my life, or your sister’s. It is your adult life, now 41, with a child and without a partner. That has clearly caused this terrible depression. “We all, unfortunately, have to live with the choices we make. I OWN my poor choices, and you never need to remind me of them.” In the days after Lynette was last seen, Dawson moved JC, the family’s 17-year-old babysitter, into the family’s home. During her testimony, JC told the Supreme Court that she was groomed by Dawson, who was a teacher at her high school, from a young age. While Ms Dawson said she didn’t blame JC for what happened, she felt like the babysitter could have acted differently. “I feel very sad for her. I feel sad that I don’t know why she made the choices she did,” Ms Dawson said. “I know for myself having babysat and nannies in multiple, multiple homes ... And thankfully none of those dads ever hit on me. “But I know as a 17-year-old, I still would’ve had the capacity, even with my background, to say, ‘no, that’s not okay. You’re a married man’.” Victims of grooming are manipulated and coerced by their abusers, who are usually members of the victim’s circle of trust, such as family members and teachers. The interview comes after Dawson was found guilty of murdering Lynette by Justice Ian Harrison in August. “I heard them say, ‘Chris Dawson, I find you guilty’ and I was just in shock,” Ms Dawson said. “I just couldn’t fathom it really. It just felt so surreal.” Images: 60 Minutes

Legal

Don’t say cheese! Travel destinations where photos are illegal

While many happy travellers love to immortalise their holiday with a collection of photos, there are some places that don’t allow for pics to be taken. In several destinations across the globe, tourists are actually banned from taking selfies and can even get fined for breaking the rules. So before you pull out your camera and strike a pose, you might want to check if what you’re snapping a photo of is legal. Here are just a few places where taking photos isn’t allowed. The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City The use of professional cameras and phones is strictly prohibited in the Sistine Chapel so don't even think about it. According to <a href="https://www.vaticancitytours.it/blog/are-cameras-allowed-in-the-vatican-city/#:~:text=Sistine%20Chapel&text=The%20real%20reason%20for%20the,companies%20to%20fund%20the%20project.">VaticanCityTours,</a> the reason you can't take pictures dates back to 1980 when the chapel was restored due to damage caused by flash photography. Mecca Pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, it is against the law to take photos of worshippers during Hajj, otherwise known as their pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. This is due to it being disrespectful to snap people while they are on their religious journey. The Blue Mosque, Turkey Taking a photo of the outside of the iconic Blue Mosque is totally okay, but snapping any photos of the interior is a big no. Visitors also must follow strict dress codes as well as other rules and regulations. Anne Frank's House, Amsterdam Taking photos or selfies in the House of Anne Frank is not allowed inside the museum due to its serious nature. There is a very sombre mood within the historical house, making it a time for reflection, not for flash photography. Palace of Versailles, France Photos of both the Palace and the surrounding gardens are strictly prohibited for all travellers. This is due to concerns about the preservation of artwork and the safety of visitors. Garoupe Beach, France The famous Garoupe beach in southern France banned holidaymakers from taking selfies during the busy season in the middle of summer. The law was first introduced to stop people from bragging about their holiday and just enjoy the stay rather than show off on social media. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

"Where's mum?" Sea World helicopter crash survivor's heart-breaking question

The husband of a mother who tragically died in the Sea World helicopter crash has shared the heart-breaking question his son Nicholas asked him when he awoke from his coma. Vanessa Tadros and her 10-year-old son were on the aircraft when it collided with another on January 2nd, as the crash claimed the life of Vanessa and three others. Nicholas miraculously survived the accident, and has spent the last seven weeks in intensive care recovering from life-altering injuries. After being in an induced coma, Nicholas awoke and asked his father Simon a question he had been dreading. “He said, ‘Where’s mum?’” Simon told Ally Langdon during an emotional interview on <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/ally-langdon-speaks-about-her-emotional-interview-with-father-simon-tadros-about-sea-world-chopper-crash/af847866-bb2f-42be-8a15-d20d06a0c685">A Current Affair</a>. “I said she was in the crash with you.” “He said, ‘Yeah, I know, but where’s mum?’ I said, ‘Baby boy, mum had to go to Jesus.’” “And he just turned his head and closed his eyes,” bringing Ally Langdon to tears. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HelpingNicky?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HelpingNicky</a>: A heartbroken father recalls the final moments before his wife was killed and son was critically injured in the Gold Coast helicopter crash. See the full story, TONIGHT on A Current Affair.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9ACA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9ACA</a> | Watch LIVE 7pm <a href="https://t.co/cH1TElSUnM">pic.twitter.com/cH1TElSUnM</a> — A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACurrentAffair9/status/1627570052957605889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2023</a></blockquote> Nicholas suffered extensive injuries in the crash breaking multiple bones, his kidneys are still not functioning unaided and his lungs collapsed from inhaling jet fuel. Doctors expect he will need to remain in hospital for at least another five months after deciding he will need to have his right foot amputated. “He said I’m not going to give up, Dad. I’m not going to leave you alone,” Simon recalled. “He’s a strong-willed boy. He’s a good kid.” Simon also recalled the final conversation he had with his wife before she boarded the helicopter with Nicholas. “I remember saying to my wife, I was thinking it’s amazing how quick they turn over these helicopters,” he said. “My wife just turned around to me and said, “Babe, I’m sure they know what they’re doing””. Simon shared that he hasn’t been able to properly grieve the loss of his wife as he spends every minute at Nicholas’ bedside. “It’s been hard, it’s a daily struggle … I don’t leave his bedside until 12, 1 in the morning,” he said. “Even leaving to go lay my wife to rest … it was just hard to keep my mind focused on the one thing, I didn’t want to leave him… but we gotta do what we gotta do.” Image credits: Nine News / Instagram

Caring

Aussie tourist makes disturbing claim about Fiji resort where young boy was killed

An Aussie tourist has spoken out about an injury he sustained while holidaying at Club Wyndham Denarau Island resort in Fiji, where an 8-year-old boy died last week. Cairo Winitana passed away while on holiday with his family, after he was chasing frogs in the five-star resort’s flower garden when he allegedly touched a light that delivered him a fatal electric shock. Now, an Aussie tourist who visited the resort last year says he too received an electric shock on the grounds of the luxury villa. The unnamed holiday-goer says he was shocked by an exposed light fitting, where wires were draped between two lampposts where they got wet from the rain. The damaged light delivered a hefty shock to the tourist, but he walked away relatively unharmed. After Cairo was found unresponsive in the gardens of the resort, desperate guests tried to revive him, as they shared the distress for the young boy. Thomas Meier told <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a_NEW&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fsydney-boy-cairo-waitana-dies-at-fiji-resort%2Fnews-story%2F0da28333a98b983059b5e07871498679&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-low-control-score&V21spcbehaviour=append" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Telegraph</a> that he found the youngster unconscious in a garden bed. He told the publication he believed the child had been fatally injured after innocently playing with frogs near a bolt which was screwed into the ground where a live current was coming from. “As we were walking through the gardens we just saw this boy face down in the garden,” Mr Meier, 24, said. “My uncle went up to him and we were trying to tap him on the shoulder to see if he was responsive and he wasn’t moving.” He explained that his uncle received an electric shock as he assisted Cairo, before bystanders rushed to help. The child’s mother, Amber de Thierry, was soon found by resort guests, with Mr Meier describing her intense distress. “Eventually the mum turned up and she was screaming, crying, calling out to her son Cairo. She had one of her relatives hugging her,” he said. “We were all just sitting around hoping this little boy is going to wake up after a couple of shots of this defibrillator.” A post-mortem examination on Tuesday day confirmed Cairo’s cause of death was electrocution, as previously suspected. A devastated Ms de Thierry has also shared an <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/my-heart-aches-mum-of-young-boy-who-died-in-fiji-speaks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emotional tribute</a> to her beloved boy on social media. “I loved you my son, from the moment I found out I was carrying you and will love you forever more my beautiful blue eyes,” she wrote. Loved ones have since set up at <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/qte4ja-help-bring-our-boy-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> page to help Ms de Thierry and her partner Clarke Winitana bring Cairo’s body home. Image credits: Facebook / GoFundMe

News

Where is your seafood really from?

Fake foods are invading our supermarkets, as foods we love are substituted or adulterated with lower value or unethical <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFC-09-2020-0179/full/html">goods</a>. Food fraud threatens human health but is also bad news for industry and sustainable food <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/I8791EN/">production</a>. Seafood is one of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14003246">most traded food products</a> in the world and reliant on convoluted supply chains that leave the the door wide open for seafood <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-018-0826-z">fraud</a>. Our new <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12703">study</a>, published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12703">Fish and Fisheries</a>, showcases a new approach for determining the provenance or “origin” of many seafood species. By identifying provenance, we can detect fraud and empower authorities and businesses to stop it. This makes it more likely that the food you buy is, in fact, the food you truly want to eat. <h2>Illegal fishing and seafood fraud</h2> Wild-caught seafood is vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing can have a devastating impact on the marine environment because: <ul> <li> it is a major cause of overfishing, constituting an estimated one-fifth of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12462">seafood</a> </li> <li> it can destroy marine habitats, such coral reefs, through destructive fishing methods such as blast bombing and cyanide fishing </li> <li> it can significantly harm wildlife, such as albatross and turtles, which are caught as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714003140">by-catch</a>. </li> </ul> So how is illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing connected to seafood fraud? Seafood fraud allows this kind of fishing to flourish as illegal products are laundered through legitimate supply <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/I8791EN/">chains</a>. A recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2003741117">study</a> in the United States found when seafood is mislabelled, it is more likely to be substituted for a product from less healthy fisheries with management policies that are less likely to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing. One <a href="https://usa.oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/fraud_gap_report_final_6_6_16.pdf">review</a> of mislabelled seafood in the US found that out of 180 substituted species, 25 were considered threatened, endangered, or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Illegal fishing and seafood fraud also has a human cost. It can: <ul> <li> adversely affect the livelihoods of law-abiding fishers and seafood <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128015926000048">businesses</a> </li> <li> threaten food security </li> <li> facilitate human rights abuses such as forced labour and <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-32811-5_127-1.pdf">piracy</a> </li> <li> increase risk of exposure to pathogens, drugs, and other banned substances in <a href="https://usa.oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/fraud_gap_report_final_6_6_16.pdf">seafood</a>. </li> </ul> <h2>The chemical fingerprints in shells and bones</h2> A vast range of marine animals are harvested for food every year, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9229en/">echinoderms</a>. However, traditional food provenance methods are typically designed to identify one species at a time. That might benefit the species and industry in question, but it is expensive and time consuming. As such, current methods are restricted to a relatively small number of species. In our study, we described a broader, universal method to identify provenance and detect fraud. How? We harnessed natural chemical markers imprinted in the shells and bones of marine animals. These markers reflect an animal’s environment and can identify where they are from. We focused on a chemical marker that is similar across many different marine animals. This specific chemical marker, known as “oxygen isotopes”, is determined by ocean composition and temperature rather than an animal’s biology. Exploiting this commonality and how it relates to the local environment, we constructed a global ocean map of oxygen isotopes that helps researchers understand where a marine animal may be from (by matching the oxygen isotope value in shells and bones to the oxygen isotope value in the map). After rigorous testing, we demonstrated this global map (or “isoscape”) can be used to correctly identify the origins of a wide range of marine animals living in different latitudes. For example, we saw up to 90% success in classifying fish, cephalopods, and shellfish between the tropical waters of Southeast Asia and the cooler waters of southern Australia. <h2 class="align-center zoomable" style="text-align: left;">What next?</h2> Oxygen isotopes, as a universal marker, worked well on a range of animals collected from different latitudes and across broad geographic areas. Our next step is to integrate oxygen isotopes with other universal chemical markers to gives clues on longitude and refine our approach. Working out the provenance of seafood is a large and complex challenge. No single approach is a silver bullet for all species, fisheries or industries. But our approach represents a step towards a more inclusive, global system for validating seafood provenance and fighting seafood fraud. Hopefully, this will mean ensure fewer marine species are left behind and more consumer confidence in the products we buy. Dr Jasmin Martino, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, contributed to this research and article.<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/189471/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zoe-doubleday-393169">Zoe Doubleday</a>, Marine Ecologist and ARC Future Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-is-your-seafood-really-from-were-using-chemical-fingerprinting-to-fight-seafood-fraud-and-illegal-fishing-189471">original article.</a> Image: Getty

Food & Wine

Savings accounts or term deposits: where should you put your cash?

Whether you’re saving money for the short or the long term, choosing between a <a href="http://mozo.com.au/savings-accounts-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">savings account</a> or a <a href="http://mozo.com.au/term-deposits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">term deposit</a> should be a considered decision. The key differences between the two need to be balanced against your financial goals to help you decide which way to go. Access to your money –Term deposits lock your money away for a period of time starting at a minimum of one month and up to as long as several years. So make sure you won’t need to get your hands on your cash for a while. Savings accounts give you more direct access to your money but generally offer a lower interest rate than their term deposit counterparts. They let you take your money out when you need or want it. Interest rates –Savings accounts have variable interest rates, so they can change. Some rates are introductory so they’re only held for a certain amount of time, then they drop to a lower variable rate. Read the fine print to see if and when the rate changes, and to what amount. Some savings accounts give you bonus interest if you don’t make a withdrawal or you make a minimum monthly deposit. Be aware too that some accounts might reduce your interest if you withdraw too much or too often. Term deposits offer fixed interest for the length of your term. So once you’ve opened a term deposit, if rates go down, your money isn’t affected because the rates are locked in. Usually the longer the term you choose, the higher the interest rate on offer (although it’s not always the case). It’s worth keeping an eye out for special interest rate offers, too. Starting amounts –Term deposits generally have a minimum amount that you need to start with – often it’s at least $1,000. You can start a savings account from zero. Image: Getty Images Flexibility –Savings accounts let you add more money whenever you like. Term deposits generally don’t. Which suits –You need to ask yourself what your savings objectives are. Accessible cash for immediate requirements through a savings account is attractive but for longer-term objectives such as that trip or new car you’ve been eyeing off, the term deposit attracting higher interest and forcing you to refrain from dipping into your account will have you winning in the long run. If you open a term deposit, it’s good to maintain a savings account as well. That way you can keep adding to your savings and when you reach a certain amount, you’ve got the option of possibly starting another term deposit. If you’ve got enough for a term deposit now, shop around for the best deal. There are savings account and term deposit comparison websites which can help make this easier, but it’s also worth checking out different banks and other providers too.

Money & Banking

Not just ramps and doorways – disability housing is about choosing where, how and who you live with

Home ownership among young people is falling sharply, while renters face worrying insecurity. Nowhere is this more pronounced than for the 4.4 million Australians living with a disability and, in particular, the 660,000 plus Australians with an intellectual disability. For the majority of these people, owning a home is impossible without financial support from their families. With the loss of this support, they can find themselves in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-660-000-locked-out-of-home-ownership-74926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">precarious or even abusive situations</a>. Stuck in a cycle of temporary accommodation or forced into group homes (or even nursing homes) <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/202203/Overview%20of%20responses%20to%20the%20Group%20homes%20Issues%20paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with little control</a> over where and who they live with. If the entire premise of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is to give people more choice and autonomy over their lives, then that must extend to people’s fundamental needs for appropriate housing. To uphold the <a href="https://accessandinclusionindex.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">access and inclusion</a> rights of people with a disability, their housing needs must be a priority. One alternative gaining traction in Australia is the <a href="https://buildinglifeskills.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">co-design, co-living model</a> which could offer a range of benefits for people living with a disability. Living at the end of the road People in Australia living with a disability have <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-just-leave-it-to-the-ndis-to-create-cities-that-work-to-include-people-with-disability-93419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less access</a> to services, social activities, and green spaces compared to people without a disability. Over the last decade, market-driven approaches to disability housing in Australia have favoured cost effectiveness and replication, leading to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10901-016-9499-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limited design diversity, innovation and choice</a>. At a planning level, this has produced <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272366148_Movement_on_Shifting_Sands_Deinstitutionalisation_and_People_with_Intellectual_Disability_in_Australia_1974-2014%20&%20https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/disability-accessibility-and-sustainable-urban-development.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">socially isolated dwellings</a> with inadequate consideration of mobility, access to nature, and access to community spaces and services. We know the built environment around us can have <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/built-environment-and-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">positive and negative effects on our health</a> – from determining activity levels, to food access, to our contact with nature and social spaces. It also affects the air we breathe, water we drink and shelter from the elements. Residents of highly green neighbourhoods, for instance, have <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5420708_Associations_of_neighbourhood_greenness_with_physical_and_mental_health_Do_walking_social_coherence_and_local_social_interaction_explain_the_relationships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.37 and 1.6 times greater odds</a> of better physical and mental health than those who perceive their neighbourhood as less green. Profit-driven design In general, commercial housing developments are not accessible. Designs are driven by costs and wide scale trends. When required, housing may meet the minimum accessibility requirements but almost never considers the end-user needs. This can create inappropriate environments, which then <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275226130_The_Provision_of_Visitable_Housing_in_Australia_Down_to_the_Detail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">require modification</a> for individuals – a wasteful and costly approach. Even housing with the express design purpose of being accessible can fail. A recent survey found <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275226130_The_Provision_of_Visitable_Housing_in_Australia_Down_to_the_Detail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only 44% of accessible housing</a> complied with the <a href="https://livablehousingaustralia.org.au/design-guidelines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liveable Housing Design Guidelines</a>. Conversely, when we focus on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2022.2060343" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successful housing projects</a> for people living with a disability, we see common architectural features: inviting communal spaces; private individual dwellings; commercial opportunities for residents; and on-site support. Well-designed buildings “speak” to their environments too – be it the footpath or the grove – and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/arq-architectural-research-quarterly/article/abs/sustainable-community-and-environment-in-tropical-singapore-highrise-housing-the-case-of-bedok-court-condominium/E65ABF71130F6881C1904F651C1DDA4F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foster community</a> connection. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> We look forward to working with <a href="https://twitter.com/billshortenmp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@billshortenmp</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AustralianLabor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AustralianLabor</a> to get <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NDIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NDIS</a> participants the housing they need, when they need it. That means faster, accurate decisions on housing and support. Australians with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/disability?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#disability</a> deserve the security of living in their own home. <a href="https://t.co/47TULoiptM">pic.twitter.com/47TULoiptM</a> — Summer Foundation (@SummerFoundtn) <a href="https://twitter.com/SummerFoundtn/status/1537601252116381699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2022</a></blockquote> Could co-housing be the answer? Many recipients of the NDIS would <a href="https://theconversation.com/ndis-needs-the-market-to-help-make-up-at-least-60-shortfall-in-specialist-disability-housing-93479" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like to live independently</a> in their own home but with easy access to onsite support. A connected model could be the answer. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10901-016-9499-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Co-housing</a> is the idea of semi-communal living that includes shared facilities and public space, self-governance, and design input from potential residents. Studies show how health and well-being is improved by living in deliberate and dedicated co-housing. This may be explained by <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Exploring-the-relationship-between-social-and-Wardle/b4b89ebee41b03434bf2df234930d9e705679b1c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater social inclusion and less loneliness</a>. People in co-housing also have reduced care needs compared to those living in conventional circumstances – <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.17269/s41997-018-0163-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13% of residents compared to 22%</a>, a gap which widens significantly with age. More research is needed, but there also seems to be a link between less <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263247830_Community_and_Civil_Society_Returns_of_Multi-generation_Cohousing_in_Germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chronic disease and lower impairment</a> and co-housing. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> One in four Americans has a serious cognitive or physical disability. Could co-housing change their lives forever? <a href="https://t.co/S0og5JTALe">https://t.co/S0og5JTALe</a> <a href="https://t.co/dMVCCjEUm4">pic.twitter.com/dMVCCjEUm4</a> — Reasons to be Cheerful (@RTB_Cheerful) <a href="https://twitter.com/RTB_Cheerful/status/1304801963645730818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2020</a></blockquote> These ideas in practice We were involved as designers of a proposed co-housing project in Perth’s south-east in Western Australia. The idea was instigated by the clients and families of <a href="https://buildingfriendships.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building Friendships</a>, a disability service provider that facilitates social outings and short trips to assist with developing life skills through community interactions. The project uses co-site selection and co-design sessions with end-users to create better design outcomes and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262690855_Transformational_Practices_in_Cohousing_Enhancing_Residents'_Connection_to_Community_and_Nature" target="_blank" rel="noopener">build social capital</a> from the beginning. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?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/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465305/original/file-20220525-13-lxxvsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="artist's image of proposed housing development with trees around" /></a><figcaption>The Perth project is based on a co-housing model. Author provided</figcaption></figure> The design includes 20 private pod houses with a central hub where residents gather, cook, socialise, and learn new skills including gardening in an existing and successful veggie growing enterprise. There are also on-site support services. The project draws inspiration from domestic projects such as <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/625274/walumba-elders-centre-iredale-pedersen-hook-architects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walumba Elders Centre</a> in Warman, WA, and international examples such as the <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/981031/group-home-on-hilltop-sogo-aud?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Group Home on Hilltop</a> in Hachioji, Japan. At the heart of these examples lies good locations, good buildings, and opportunities to live alongside others: community, amenity and quality of space. This shouldn’t really be unusual or remarkable. Fundamental to this approach is simply raising the bar for people living with a disability to that of everyone else.<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/183523/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-cameron-1328562" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Cameron</a>, Associate Lecturer/Researcher, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The University of Western Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/daniel-jan-martin-1349031" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Jan Martin</a>, , <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The University of Western Australia</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-van-eyk-1349999">Emily Van Eyk</a>, Lecturer & Architect, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The University of Western Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-just-ramps-and-doorways-disability-housing-is-about-choosing-where-how-and-who-you-live-with-183523" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Real Estate

How your status, where you live and your family background affect your risk of dementia

By the year 2050, the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health">World Health Organization</a> estimates one in five people will be aged 60 years and above. In Australia, our rapidly ageing population means that without a substantial medical breakthrough, the number of people living with dementia is expected to <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/statistics">double</a> from 487,600 in 2022 to 1.1 million by 2058. Significant effort has gone into understanding what increases the risk of dementia. Here, we consider research into three factors – your socioeconomic status, where you live, and your background – and how they may influence dementia risk. <h2>How your socioeconomic status affects your dementia risk</h2> When assessing socioeconomic status, researchers typically look at a combination of your income, years of education and occupation. Socioeconomic status refers to your ability to access resources such as health, information and services. Socioeconomic status has been closely linked to a range of health disorders, and dementia is no exception. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34388948/">Studies</a> across <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35561537/">multiple countries</a> have shown people with higher socioeconomic status are less likely to develop dementia. This is unsurprising. People with high socioeconomic status are more likely to have the financial resources to access better healthcare, better education and better nutrition. They are also more likely to live in areas with more services that enable a healthy lifestyle. <h2>Where you live</h2> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35333361/">My research team</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32067489/">others</a> have shown neighbourhood socioeconomic status – an index that integrates a neighbourhood’s average household income, unemployment rates, occupational skills and housing arrangements, among others, is associated with poorer memory and higher dementia risk. Understanding this is complex. A wide range of economic, social and environmental factors can influence the way we behave, which can influence our health. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/gps.5626">Studies</a> suggest communities can support dementia risk reduction in three main ways. The first is through encouraging social participation and inclusion. This can be achieved through programs that increase digital and technological literacy, social housing (which offers greater opportunity for socialisation) and neighbourhood assistance. The second is through increasing proximity and access, particularly to health care, and social and cultural events. The third is through improving recreational and well-being facilities, including emphasising traffic safety and increasing walkability and access to urban green spaces to encourage outdoor physical activity. <h2>Your background</h2> <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891988708328220">Several studies</a> suggest parental education is related to an individual’s dementia risk. Specifically, low maternal education is associated with poorer memory performance, and higher dementia risk. However, these effects <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/175/8/750/203299?login=true%20g">are small</a>, and adult education and socioeconomic status may overcome these disadvantages. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/migration-and-dementia-a-metaanalysis-of-epidemiological-studies-in-europe/E665862E6FED368AAB72E5B323E29D05">Current evidence</a> also suggests migrants from Africa and Asia (into Europe) have higher dementia risk compared with native Europeans. However, the prevalence of dementia in African and Asian countries is not higher than in European countries. Rather, we do see similarly elevated risk of dementia in culturally and linguistically diverse groups of people who are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748118305712">non-migrants</a>. Part of this is due to the reduced access to high-quality education, healthcare, and health information in these groups. For migrants, there is the additional challenge of navigating health systems in their non-native language. Another important part to consider is the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748118305712">potential bias</a> in the tools we have to assess memory and thinking abilities. These tests have been developed primarily in English, for use in European countries. Being tested in a second language may lead to poorer performance that is not a reflection of true cognitive ability, but rather a reflection of a reduced mastery of English. This is why it is so important we conduct more research to understand dementia and its risk factors in culturally and linguistically diverse populations, using tools that are appropriate and validated for these groups. <h2>Addressing dementia needs a life-long approach</h2> Undoubtedly, your pay, postcode and parents are highly interrelated. Your future income is highly related to your parents’ level of income. Your postcode can be determined by your pay. The cyclical nature of wealth – or rather, inequality – is part of the reason why addressing health disparities is so challenging. Studies on <a href="https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/76/Supplement_1/S51/6295120?login=true">social mobility</a> – the ability of individuals to move from one socioeconomic class to another – have shown that upward mobility may only partially compensate for disadvantage earlier in life. This really brings home the message that addressing dementia risk requires a lifelong approach. And that intervention is needed at an individual and a broader societal level. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-status-where-you-live-and-your-family-background-affect-your-risk-of-dementia-183922" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

Where the Crawdads Sing author wanted for questioning over murder

Legal

Where do all the mosquitoes go in the winter?

Summer evenings by the pool, lake or BBQ mean mosquitoes. But what about during winter when we’re mostly indoors? As the weather cools, these bloodsucking pests are rarely seen. But where do they go? Warm, wet conditions suit mosquitoes Mosquitoes have complex life cycles that rely on water brought to <a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-housemates-the-mosquitoes-that-battle-for-our-backyards-59072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wetlands, flood plains, and water-holding containers</a> by seasonal rainfall. Depending on whether we’re experiencing a summer under the influence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-arrival-of-el-nino-mean-fewer-mosquitoes-this-summer-102496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">El Niño</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/la-nina-will-give-us-a-wet-summer-thats-great-weather-for-mozzies-147180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">La Niña</a>, mosquito populations will change in different ways. During warmer months, their life cycle lasts about a month. Eggs laid around water hatch and the immature mosquitoes go through four developmental stages. Larvae then change to pupae, from which an adult mosquito emerges, sits briefly on the water surface, and then flies off to buzz and bite and continue the cycle. Water is crucial but temperature is really important too. Unlike warm-blooded animals, mosquitoes can’t control their own body temperatures. The warmer it is, the more active mosquitoes will be. There’s usually more of them about too. But once cold weather arrives, their activity slows. They fly less, they don’t bite as often, they reproduce less, and their life cycle takes longer to complete. Temperature also plays a role in determining the ability of mosquitoes to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.584846/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spread viruses</a>. Cold weather isn’t great for mosquitoes but <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ento-011613-162023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of years of evolution</a> have given them a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-017-2235-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">few tricks to survive</a>. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C43%2C4883%2C3211&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/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468677/original/file-20220614-21-qmcj4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Ponds and puddles may be frozen but that doesn’t mean all mosquitoes have disappeared. <a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/7UYnlgDyf0o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Keldenich/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY</a></figcaption></figure> Mosquitoes don’t disappear completely On a sunny afternoon in winter, you may notice the occasional mosquito buzzing about in your backyard. Not as many as in summer but they’re still around. Some mosquitoes do disappear. For example, the activity of the pest mosquito Culex annulirostris, thought to play an important role in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/japanese-encephalitis-virus-has-been-detected-in-australian-pigs-can-mozzies-now-spread-it-to-humans-178017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spread of Japanese encephalitis virus</a> in Australia, dramatically declines when temperatures start dropping <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1980.tb01260.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">below 17.5℃</a>. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aen.12021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies in Sydney</a> have shown some mosquitoes, such as Culex annulirostris, disappear. Others, such as Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex molestus, remain active throughout the winter. You just may not notice them (unless they enter your home to buzz about your ears). <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?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/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469917/original/file-20220621-17-k6jyri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Some mosquitoes, such as the common Aedes notoscriptus, may occasionally be seen buzzing about in winter. Cameron Webb/NSW Health Pathology</figcaption></figure> Mosquitoes can disappear into diapause We’re familiar with the idea of mammals hibernating through winter but mosquitoes, like many other insects, can enter a phase of inactivity called <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eea.12753" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diapause</a>. Once cold weather arrives, adult mosquitoes find hiding places such as tree hollows and animal burrows, within the cracks and crevices of bushland environments, or in garages, basements or other structures around our homes, suburbs and cities. These mosquitoes may only live a few weeks during summer but going into diapause allows them to survive many months through winter. Mosquitoes can also be found in frozen bodies of water, whether it is a bucket of water in your backyard or a near freezing wetland. For example, there is a group of mosquitoes that belong to the genus Coquillettidia whose <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvec.12338" target="_blank" rel="noopener">larvae attach</a> to the submerged parts of aquatic plants and can survive the cold winter temperatures. Their development dramatically slows and they’ll stay in the water until spring arrives. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?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/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469888/original/file-20220621-11-eny4r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>By going into ‘diapause’ adults can survive in places like tree hollows for the cold months. <a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1625635756778-218152037ccc?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1770&q=80" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unsplash/Pat Whelan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY</a></figcaption></figure> All their eggs in one winter basket Some mosquitoes make it through the winter thanks to their eggs. Mosquito eggs can be incredibly resilient. They survive being dried out in hot and salty coastal wetlands during summer but also frozen in snow-covered creeks in winter. In coastal regions of Australia, eggs of the saltmarsh mosquito (Aedes vigilax), sit perfectly safely on soil. Once the weather warms and tides bring in water to the wetlands, these eggs will be ready to hatch. There is also a special mosquito in Australia known as the “snow melt mosquito” (Aedes nivalis) whose <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-6055.1996.tb01371.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eggs survive under snow</a> and hatch once that snow melts and fills ponds, creeks and wetlands throughout alpine regions. Does it matter where mosquitoes go in the winter? It also isn’t just the mosquitoes that survive the cold months. Viruses, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/japanese-encephalitis-virus-can-cause-deadly-brain-swelling-but-in-less-than-1-of-cases-178985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japanese encephalitis virus</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-ross-river-virus-24630" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ross River virus</a>, can survive from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2631767/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summer to summer</a> in mosquito eggs, immature stages, or diapausing adults. Knowing the seasonal spread of mosquitoes helps health authorities design surveillance and control programs. It may help understand how <a href="https://entomologytoday.org/2022/05/24/snow-covered-tires-help-invasive-mosquitoes-survive-cold-winters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invasive mosquitoes survive</a> conditions in Australia outside their native ranges by <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211167" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiding out from the cold</a>, such as in rainwater tanks. Even mosquitoes typically found in tropical locations can even <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adapt to cooler climates</a>. This knowledge may even expose the chilly chink in mosquito’s armour that we can use to better control mosquito populations and reduce the risks of disease outbreaks.<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/185021/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cameron-webb-6736" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cameron Webb</a>, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-do-all-the-mosquitoes-go-in-the-winter-185021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Domestic Travel

Inside the house where you can swing from room to room

Dubbed ‘Disney World for adults’ by the selling agent, the owners of this interesting resort style home have dropped the price by AUD $946,400 (USD$700,000) in hopes someone will finally buy the property after a long 18 months on the market. Real estate agent Colleen Henninger of City Center Realty recently re-listed the unusual family home on real estate site Zillow, where it gained huge interest thanks to its design. It’s a fusion between African safari, American wild west, Tarzan's lair and a ride at a Disney resort. For AUD $1.6 million (USD $1.2 million ), the home could be all yours. The outside of this two-storey home features timber and rock walls, while inside you will find massive exposed timber beams, corrugated iron walls and wrought iron walkways connecting the rooms, which are separated by a massive internal void. A life-sized carved timber elephant is on display in the downstairs living room, while a statue of a pirate guards the upstairs area. There is also an elevated stage complete with drum kit and ropes to swing from end to end if you’re feeling like something different. The three-bedroom, three bathroom home in the Los Angeles suburb of Lakewood, California, first hit the market in October 2020, with an asking price of USD $1.9 million (AUD $2.57 million). However, after failing to sell and a brief stint as a rental on Airbnb where it was leasing for USD $730 per night, the owners have decided to drop the asking price. Henninger, who is a friend of the owners, says there had been a great deal of interest in the home, but the majority of those who inspected the property just wanted to look and had no intention of buying. "It's a great house. It's like Disney World," she said. "It was built with fun in mind. It's a unique home and it's going to need a unique buyer. You go in and you either love it or hate it. It needs someone who wants to entertain guests and have fun." Of course if you do get bored, the home is within driving distance to Disneyland Resort, Anaheim which is a short 20 kilometres away. Images: Domain

Real Estate

Readers respond: If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be and why?

We asked our readers where they would jet off to if money wasn't an obstacle, and our well-travelled readers suggested some of the most beautiful spots in the world. From each corner of the globe, to at home in Australia, here is where our readers would travel to if it was free. Valerie Boorer - The Antarctic because I’ve never been and I’d love to go. Violet Surley - The Philippines absolutely loved it when we went there in 2016. Maybe one day will go again. Lovely people. Heidi Gomez - Tasmania. I’ve always wanted to visit. Lynn Newton - The pyramids in Egypt. Rhonda Jones - India, the country has a Magic all of its own, just love the country. Debby Gers - Australia... to see my children and grand children who I haven't seen in almost 3 years. Anita Thornton - London, such an amazing city, full of interesting things! Lorraine Castner - I’ve always said I would love to go back to Norway. Pam Callander - Back to England and Paris. Didn’t finish our holiday as I broke my ankle 3 weeks into a 6 week holiday. Khadeja Zakar - Ireland. Love to see where my forefathers lived. Adrienne Chau - Back to the Greek Islands. Had our first cruise there and we loved it. Margaret Ferguson - Scotland because my family is there. Sandra Whistance - I would go to England to see my late husband's family. Paula E Kilby - Malolo island in Fiji. It’s small, quiet and very beautiful…. Been once and loved it! Linda Smith - Italy. I've been there three times and love the people, the scenery, the food, and the history. Julie Margaret White - Japan during cherry blossom season. Pat Finnerty - Turkey. Want to do a hot air balloon ride over Capidocia. Sofia Willsie - Petra. Would love to see the history alive. Christyna Dobbins - Austria - I was born there, and I'd love to see it with adult eyes instead of remembering snippets through a child's eyes. Image credits: Getty Images

International Travel

Readers respond: What did you like or dislike about where you grew up?

We asked our readers what their favourite and least favourite things were about growing up where they did, and the responses were overwhelming. From affluent suburbs and knowing your neighbours, to beachside homes and lasting memories, here's your favourite childhood memories from where you grew up. Denise Peck - That as kids we could walk the streets knowing virtually everyone in our immediate neighbourhood. Simpler times when kids were relatively safe to roam. Lynne Fairbrother - I lived across the road from the beach, loved the beach and was there most every day with my friends. Wasn't anything I didn't like about where I grew up. Denise Shearer - Growing up in a rich suburb where the kids went to private schools & I had to run the gauntlet to get to my bus stop. They waited for me & chucked rotten tomatoes & fruit at me until I changed the way I went to school. Judy Wiese - We lived in a poor area in a Housing Trust house, however, life was good. We didn’t know any better. I loved school, had good friends, Mum was a good sewer and made our clothes, we had plenty to eat and were happy playing outdoors. Vicky Johnson - I grew up with many friends in the same street. Christine Dyson - Loved growing up in Eltham in the 50’s and 60’s so country then creeks, mines, cubby huts built out of sticks in the bush, scooters, two wheelers, neighbourhood friends and the ultimate 6pm curfew. Lyn Bradford - Best day of childhood was when I finally got to leave & put it all behind me. Christine Whyte - Loved where I grew up, nice quiet streets back then, had great fun playing with all the kids in the street of whom I have remained friends with for over 60 years and the safeness of walking to school rain, hail or shine. Peter Spicer - Loved where I grew up. Real rough neighbourhood but full of diamonds. Margaret Frances Magurean - Loved the community of our little block of tract houses back in the 1950's. Lots of kids and everybody's mum and dad watched out for us all. Great way to grow up. Elaine Stewart - It was like a big family where we all knew one another and life was so wonderful and uncomplicated. There was a war going on and our dads were away for years but it didn't really affect our way of life as children. Ruth Hunter - Loved living next to school oval in secondary school, could leave home when first bell rang. Alison Angel - My two years in Gibraltar were my best childhood years. Weekends spent on endless, deserted Spanish beaches before tourism began in earnest. And Spanish food. Julie McGregor - I grew up in a small town in the wheat belt area of northern Victoria. I had a delightful childhood, swimming in the river going to the lakes with family and friends. Playing sports and local town celebrations. Going to school with friends I’d known all my life. So blessed I knew everyone in the town. Free and simple. Michael Lawrence - I grew up where l grew up. I had no reason to like or dislike it. Denise McGoldrick - Nothing. Life was a lot simpler back then. We only watched about an hour of TV after we did our chores and were in bed by 7.30pm. Was allowed to stay up later on weekends when I turned 14 to watch the Johnny Cash Show. Great Thrill. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

Want a job where you get paid to watch TV?

Could you imagine if you ever got paid just to sit there and watch TV? Well stop imagining because it could soon be a reality! MagellanTV launched its “Third Annual True Crime Watch Dream Job'' to watch 24 hours worth of documentaries and report the experience. "Our ideal candidate lives for true crime -- they can handle the most menacing serial killer, the goriest details, and don't flinch at the chilling paranormal,” MagellanTV said on its website. “Along with watching, they’ll be documenting their True Crime all-nighter on social media so everyone will see if they can hack it… or not. Some of the documentaries to show include: Murder Maps, Lady Killers, 10 Steps to Murder, Nurses Who Kill, Murder on the Internet. The lucky winner will receive a sum of $2,400 (US) but if you watch documentaries for another 24 hours (total 48) you will receive a year’s free subscription. Image: Shutterstock

‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among seniors

The severe lack of <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/providers/housing/affordable/about/chapters/what-is-affordable-housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affordable housing</a> is hurting Australians right across the community – from young renters, to families seeking to buy and older people needing a stable home. The number of Australians over 55 who are homeless jumped by 28% between the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness/latest-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2011 and 2016 censuses</a>. An increasing lack of affordable housing is forcing some older people to take <a href="https://theconversation.com/generation-share-why-more-older-australians-are-living-in-share-houses-107183" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unconventional approaches</a> to finding a home. One of these is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-31/house-sitting-on-the-rise-for-older-people-in-financial-stress/11461726" target="_blank" rel="noopener">house-sitting</a>. My new research published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2021.1999612?journalCode=cage20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Geographer</a>, looks at how this works – and how it doesn’t – for this often-vulnerable group. <h2>What is house-sitting?</h2> In exchange for free accommodation, house-sitters take care of the house (and garden and pets), while the owner is away. House-sitting episodes can be as short as one day to more than three years. House-sitters use different methods to find a potential house-sitting property. Most rely on house-sitting websites and specific Facebook groups. Some people also find house-sitting opportunities through referrals and repeat bookings. <h2>Our study</h2> In the first <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2021.1999612?journalCode=cage20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> of its kind, a colleague and I interviewed 20 Australians between 53 and 78, who had been house-sitting for more than a year. Half our interviewees had permanent housing (either rental or owned) and were mainly casual house-sitters. The remaining were house-sitting full-time and had no permanent address. We asked people about their experiences as older house-sitters and the impact of this type of housing on their well-being. <h2>A temporary relief from rental stress</h2> Almost half of the house-sitters we interviewed reported financial issues, such as unemployment, unstable or low-paid jobs and unaffordable housing as the main reason for starting house-sitting. Relationship breakdown that left people without a secure housing was the second most common reason. They told us house-sitting provided temporary relief from the high and unrelenting costs of paying rent. As one interviewee noted: It [house-sitting] is pretty essential, where would we live otherwise? So, we did rent for a little while, but money is an issue, because I am not earning enough yet to be paying rent […] [It] just happens to be a really good solution to the situation that we happen to be in. In turn, this freed up funds to spend on other things, such as their health and social life. My husband gets his pension this year. So, [if we house-sit] it means that we will actually have an income, which means in theory we might actually save some money. Less common reasons for starting house-sitting included free accommodation for travelling and spending time with animals. <h2>‘Gorgeous pets’</h2> Apart from saving money, interviewees described multiple benefits of house-sitting. The majority referred to the opportunity to travel and experience different places. Participants also appreciated the opportunity to live in pleasant houses and meet new people. They liked the freedom, variety and “getting rid of unnecessary stuff”. As one interviewee noted: we were able to live in some beautiful homes and with gorgeous pets. <h2>But not feeling secure</h2> However, house-sitting, was not seen as a long-term option. Interviewees were concerned about the lack of security and increasing health needs as they aged. Well, for short stays and holidays this [house-sitting] is viable, but for long-term you need to have plan B and C. As you see when COVID struck, it affected many people and some are staying in their cars even. Most sitters also found the temporary, short-term nature of house-sitting made it difficult to engage in the local community and develop a sense of belonging. You might make temporary friends, but then you move on and leave the community. Constant moving around also makes it hard to acquire local knowledge, which is particularly important in unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters. As one interviewee explained: It was quite scary in the bushfire […] when suddenly you need to know […] where to go, where’s the evacuation centre […] If I was at home in my own place, I might be talking to friends or neighbours and making decisions together but […] the loneliness becomes obvious when something like that happens. <h2>Lack of transparency</h2> A further issue is the power imbalance. House-sitters have few, if any rights - home owners have ultimate control over their properties. House-sitters referred to a range of challenges because of the lack of clear agreement between parties. These included disputes over the cost of housing repairs and disagreement on the property status when departing, such as how clean the house and how tidy garden should be. Unexpected changes or cancellation of the house-sitting schedules by owners also contributed to feelings of insecurity and distress among older house-sitters. <h2>Making house-sitting more stable</h2> House-sitting may not yet be a widespread practice, but it is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-31/house-sitting-on-the-rise-for-older-people-in-financial-stress/11461726" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing</a>. As it gains more prominence, we need transparent policies to specify the rights and entitlements of owners and sitters and address the inherent power imbalance. We also need to investigate ways of making house-sitting a more secure proposition for people in the longer-term. And to prioritise informed discussions about secure housing options for people as they age. This article originally appeared on The Conversation. Image: Shutterstock

Retirement Life

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Thinking of using an activity tracker to achieve your exercise goals? Here’s where it can help – and where it probably won’t

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

"Where did the time go": Jessica Alba's bittersweet update

“Where’s Andy Murray?” Famous family fires up over Wimbledon faux pas

Where to find free wifi when you’re travelling

Chris Dawson’s daughter claims to know where Lynette was buried

Don’t say cheese! Travel destinations where photos are illegal

"Where's mum?" Sea World helicopter crash survivor's heart-breaking question

Aussie tourist makes disturbing claim about Fiji resort where young boy was killed

Where is your seafood really from?

Savings accounts or term deposits: where should you put your cash?

Not just ramps and doorways – disability housing is about choosing where, how and who you live with

How your status, where you live and your family background affect your risk of dementia

Where the Crawdads Sing author wanted for questioning over murder

Where do all the mosquitoes go in the winter?

Inside the house where you can swing from room to room

Readers respond: If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be and why?

Readers respond: What did you like or dislike about where you grew up?

Want a job where you get paid to watch TV?

‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among seniors

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Thinking of using an activity tracker to achieve your exercise goals? Here’s where it can help – and where it probably won’t

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

"Where did the time go": Jessica Alba's bittersweet update

“Where’s Andy Murray?” Famous family fires up over Wimbledon faux pas

Where to find free wifi when you’re travelling

Chris Dawson’s daughter claims to know where Lynette was buried

Don’t say cheese! Travel destinations where photos are illegal

"Where's mum?" Sea World helicopter crash survivor's heart-breaking question

Aussie tourist makes disturbing claim about Fiji resort where young boy was killed

Where is your seafood really from?

Savings accounts or term deposits: where should you put your cash?

Not just ramps and doorways – disability housing is about choosing where, how and who you live with

How your status, where you live and your family background affect your risk of dementia

Where the Crawdads Sing ﻿author wanted for questioning over murder

Where do all the mosquitoes go in the winter?

Inside the house where you can swing from room to room

Readers respond: If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be and why?

Readers respond: What did you like or dislike about where you grew up?

Want a job where you get paid to watch TV?

‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among seniors

Join Over60

Where the Crawdads Sing author wanted for questioning over murder