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Category: Academic Analysis

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Metro Detroit is growing – but its suburbs are telling a more complicated story

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Grigoris Argeros, Professor of Sociology, Eastern Michigan University

    Detroit is still a majority Black city, but the share of white, Asian and Hispanic residents is growing. DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    Following decades of population loss, Detroit may finally be turning a corner.

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent estimates, the city saw an increase in population for both 2023 and 2024.

    An additional 11,000 people moved into the city in the years 2023 and 2024, a small gain in a city with a population of 645,705 – but one which marked a symbolic shift.

    The census data shows just over 1% growth in the past year alone and 0.7% the year before compared with a nearly 25% loss between 2000 and 2010.

    As an urban sociologist studying issues related to race and ethnicity, I am interested in how Detroit’s population is changing, and where different groups live in both the city and its suburbs.

    Analyzing population trends in the metro Detroit area using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, I wanted to understand how racial, ethnic and socioeconomic trends are unfolding, and what those changes can tell us about the evolution and vitality of Detroit.

    Black Detroiters relocate, city diversifies

    From 2010 to 2023, Detroit’s racial and ethnic makeup continued to gradually diversify even as the city was declining in population.

    While Black residents are still the majority, their proportion of the total number fell from around 84% to 79%.

    Other groups, in contrast, increased their share of the city’s population. Between 2010 and 2023, the percentage of Hispanic residents grew from 6.6% to 8.3%, the percentage of white residents grew from 8.2% to 10.7%, and the percentage of Asian residents grew from 1.3% to 1.7%.

    These shifts reflect a steady and ongoing diversification of Detroit’s population, indicative of new migration trends and shifting neighborhood dynamics.

    Suburbs in flux

    In addition to Detroit’s recent population growth, a broader story is unfolding in the city’s suburbs.

    The population of the suburban area as a whole increased 0.73% from 2023 to 2024, but growth was not evenly spread. Collectively, the outer-ring suburbs gained almost 20,000 people, increasing by 1%. Communities such as the city of Troy and Macomb Township accounted for a significant share of that growth.

    A map of Detroit and the surrounding suburbs, with shading to indicate which areas are considered to be the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ suburbs.
    Grigoris Argeros, CC BY

    Inner-ring suburbs, such as Southfield, Warren and others, grew less vigorously – gaining just 4,000 people, or 0.31%.

    These differences highlight the necessity of complicating the conventional city-versus-suburb narrative to acknowledge the many economic and racial divisions across the metropolitan region.

    The socioeconomic statuses of residents of the inner- and outer-ring suburbs diverged between 2000 and 2020.

    My analysis of census data shows that although both subregions witnessed increases in median household incomes, the rates of change were significantly higher in the outer-ring suburbs, with a 37.7% increase versus a 16.8% increase in the inner rings.

    The data shows a similar trend in higher education attainment. Outer ring suburbs gained 7.1% more residents with college degrees or higher during this period, while the inner suburbs lost 7.5%.

    Homeownership patterns in the two suburban regions also diverged over those two decades, increasing 18% in the outer rings and decreasing 10% in the inner rings.

    The data on poverty and immigration also reveal contrasting results.

    According to my calculations of census data, inner-ring suburbs experienced a 77% increase in poverty, while the outer ring experienced a lesser, though considerable, 50.8% bump in poverty during the 2000-2020 period.

    Meanwhile, during the same time period, the foreign-born populations in the outer suburbs expanded by 24.9%, with increases of at least 10,000 in places such as Sterling Heights, Novi and Canton. In contrast, the inner suburbs saw more modest gains — around 5,000 in cities such as Dearborn Heights and Warren — while their overall foreign-born share declined by nearly 20%.

    Together, the above trends highlight the necessity of not viewing the suburban area as a monolith. These patterns reflect national trends, in which many older, inner-ring suburbs are experiencing socioeconomic stagnation or decline while newer, outer-ring suburbs continue to attract more people who have higher incomes.

    Mixed neighborhoods grow

    Residential segregation also differentiates inner and outer suburban rings.

    Segregation levels remain high in the inner suburbs, especially between white and Black residents. While outer suburbs tend to be more integrated today, the rate of change there has been more modest over the past two decades.

    Social scientists measure segregation using a tool called the “dissimilarity index.” The index represents the proportion of one group that would need to move to establish an equal distribution of the population based on their relative numbers. It ranges from 0 to 100. A score of 0 means equal distribution across neighborhoods, while a score of 100 means the two groups live in completely separate areas.

    From 2000 to 2020, white-Black segregation across the region decreased from 84.4% to 68.3% on the index, while white-Hispanic segregation decreased from 47.6% to 39.9%. Together, these numbers indicate a broader trend toward more integrated living patterns.

    In the inner-ring suburbs, segregation fell across the board. White-Black segregation went down by 15.6%; white-Asian and white-Hispanic segregation dropped even more, by 43.2% and 30.7%, respectively.

    These trends suggest that while the outer suburbs currently have lower levels of segregation, the inner suburbs are integrating more rapidly, reflecting shifting patterns of neighborhood change and increasing racial and ethnic diversity.

    Detroit has come a long way since exiting bankruptcy in 2014. Its recent population growth and increasing diversity show important signs of renewal.

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

    – ref. Metro Detroit is growing – but its suburbs are telling a more complicated story – https://theconversation.com/metro-detroit-is-growing-but-its-suburbs-are-telling-a-more-complicated-story-257875

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: US bombs Iran’s nuclear sites: What led to Trump pulling the trigger – and what happens next?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy, University of Michigan

    US President Donald Trump addresses the nation on Iran strikes on June 21, 2025 Carlos Barria/AFP via Getty Images

    In the early hours of June 22, 2025, local time, the United States attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran with “bunker buster” bombs and Tomahawk missiles.

    Following more than a week of Israeli strikes on various targets in Iran – which had prompted retaliatory strikes from Tehran – the U.S. move marks a possible inflection point in the conflict. In initial comments on the strikes at the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz facilities, President Donald Trump said that Iran’s nuclear program had been “completely and fully obliterated.” In response, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S. had “crossed a very big red line.”

    The Conversation U.S. turned to Javed Ali, an expert on Middle East affairs at the University of Michigan and a former senior official at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, to talk through why Trump chose now to act and what the potential repercussions could be.

    What do we know about the nature and timing of US involvement?

    President Trump has been forcefully hinting for days days that such a strike could happen, while at the same time opening up a window of negotiation by suggesting as late as June 20 that he would make a decision “within the next two weeks.” We know Trump can be very unpredictable, but he must have assessed that the current conditions presented an opportunity for U.S. action.

    Trump met with the National Security Council twice in the days leading up to the strike. Typically at such meetings the president is presented with a menu of military options, which usually boil down to three: a narrow option, a middle ground and a “if you really want to go big” strike.

    The one he picked, I would argue, is somewhere between the narrow option and the middle ground one.

    The “go big” options would have been an attack on nuclear sites and Iranian leadership – be that senior members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, or possibly the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The more narrow approach would have been just one facility, likely to have been Fordo – a deeply fortified uranium enrichment site buried within a mountain.

    What did occur was a strike there, but also at two other sites – Isfahan and Natanz.

    U.S. military chiefs confirmed that that 12 GBU-57s – the so-called 30,000-pound bunker busters – were dropped by B-2 bombers on Fordo, and two on Isfahan.

    That suggests to me that the military goal of the operation was to destroy Iran’s ability to produce and or store highly enriched uranium in a one-time strike rather than drag the U.S. into a more prolonged conflict.

    Has the strike achieved Trump’s objectives?

    It will take some time to properly assess the extent to which Iran’s ability to produce or store highly enriched uranium has been damaged.

    Certainly we know that the bombs hit their targets, and they have been damaged – but to what extent is not immediately clear. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that all three target sites had suffered “extremely severe damage and destruction” – possibly rolling back from Trump’s “fully obliterated” assessment. Perhaps most tellingly, Iran has not commented yet on the extent of the damage.

    But to Trump, the objective was not just military but political, too. Trump has long said “no” to a nuclear Iran while at the same time has expressed that he has no desire to drag the U.S. into another war.

    And this strike may allow Trump to achieve those seemingly contradictory goals. If U.S. initial assessments are correct, Iran’s nuclear program will have been severely compromised. But the strikes won’t necessarily pull U.S. into the conflict fully – unless Iran retaliates in such a way that necessitates further U.S. action.

    And that is what Iran’s supreme leader and his military generals will need to work out: Should Iran retaliate and, if so, is it prepared to deal with a heavier U.S. military response – especially when there is no end in sight to its current conflict with Israel.

    An operational timeline of a strike on Iran is displayed during a news conference with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on June 22, 2025.
    Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    What options does Iran have to retaliate against US?

    Iran has in the past tried to respond proportionately to any attack. But here is the problem for Iran’s leaders: There is no feasible proportionate response to the United States. Iran has no capability to hit nuclear plants in the U.S. – either conventionally or through unconventional warfare.

    But there are tens of thousands of U.S. troops in the region, stationed in Iraq, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Jordan. All are in range of Iran’s ballistic, drones or cruise missiles.

    But that military inventory has been depleted – both by using ballistic missiles in waves of attacks against Israel and by Israel hitting missile launch and storage sites in Iran.

    Similarly, Tehran’s capacity to respond through one of its proxy or aligned groups in the region has been degraded. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Gaza’s Hamas – both of whom have ties to Iran – are in survival mode following damaging attacks from Israel over the past 18 months.

    The Houthis in Yemen are in many ways the “last man standing” in Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance.” But the Houthis have limited capability and know that if they do attack U.S. assets, they will likely get hit hard. During Operation Rough Rider from March to May this year, the Trump administration launched over 1,000 strikes against the Houthis.

    Meanwhile Shia militias in Iraq and Syria that could be encouraged to attack U.S. bases haven’t been active in months.

    Of course, Iran could look outside the region. In the past the country has been involved in assassinations, kidnappings and terror attacks abroad that were organized through its Quds Force or via operatives of MOIS, its intelligence service.

    But for Iran’s leaders, it is increasingly looking like a lose-lose proposition. If they don’t respond in a meaningful way, they look weak and more vulnerable. But if they do hit U.S. targets in any meaningful way, they will invite a stronger U.S. involvement in the conflict, as Trump has warned.

    The parallel I see here is with the killing of Iranian general and commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, in January 2020 by a U.S. drone strike.

    On that occasion, Iran promised a strong retaliation. Its retaliatory attack against the U.S. Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq involved 27 ballistic missiles and caused the physical destruction of some of the facilities on base as well as traumatic brain injury-type symptoms to dozens of troops and personnel, but no deaths. Nevertheless, after this both the U.S. and Iran then backed off from deepening the conflict.

    The circumstances now are very different. Iran is already at war with Israel. Moreover, the U.S. went after Iran’s crown jewels – its nuclear program – and it was on Iranian territory. Nonetheless, Khameini knows that if he retaliates, he risks provoking a larger response.

    Trump suggested ‘further attacks’ could occur. What could that entail?

    The U.S. has suggested that it has the intelligence and ability to hit senior leadership in Iran. And any “go big option” would have likely involved strikes on key personnel. Similarly there could be plans to hit the Iranian economy by attacking oil and gas targets.

    A satellite image of the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran prior to the U.S. strike on June 22, 2025.
    Maxar/Getty

    But such actions risk either damaging the global economy or drawing the U.S. deeper into the conflict – it would evolve from a “one and done” strike to a cycle of attacks and responses. And that could widen political cracks between hawks in the administration and parts of Trump’s MAGA faithful who are against the U.S. being involved in overseas wars.

    Is there any opportunity of a return to diplomacy?

    Trump has not closed his “two weeks” window for talks – theoretically it is still open.

    But will Iran come to table? Leaders there had already said they were not willing to entertain any deal while under attack from Israel. Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said after the U.S. strikes that the time for diplomacy had now passed.

    In any event, you have to ask, what can Iran come to the table with? Do they have much of a nuclear program anymore? And if not, what would they try to negotiate? It would seem, using one of Trump’s phrases, they “don’t have the cards” to make much of a deal.

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

    – ref. US bombs Iran’s nuclear sites: What led to Trump pulling the trigger – and what happens next? – https://theconversation.com/us-bombs-irans-nuclear-sites-what-led-to-trump-pulling-the-trigger-and-what-happens-next-259519

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: The sleeper Supreme Court decision that could have profound impacts on the Trump administration agenda – and restore faith in the high court

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ray Brescia, Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life, Albany Law School

    The Trump administration has tried to punish or suppress speech and opposition to administration policies. Baac3nes/Getty Images

    The American public’s trust in the Supreme Court has fallen precipitously over the past decade. Many across the political spectrum see the court as too political.

    This view is only strengthened when Americans see most of the justices of the court dividing along ideological lines on decisions related to some of the most hot-button issues the court handles. Those include reproductive rights, voting rights, corporate power, environmental protection, student loan policy, worker rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

    But there is one recent decision where the court was unanimous in its ruling, perhaps because its holding should not be controversial: National Rifle Association v. Vullo. In that 2024 case, the court said that it’s a clear violation of the First Amendment’s free speech provisions for government to force people to speak and act in ways that are aligned with its policies.

    The second Trump administration has tried to wield executive branch power in ways that appear to punish or suppress speech and opposition to administration policy priorities. Many of those attempts have been legally challenged and will likely make their way to the Supreme Court.

    The somewhat under-the-radar – yet incredibly important – decision in National Rifle Association v. Vullo is likely to figure prominently in Supreme Court rulings in a slew of those cases in the coming months and years, including those involving law firms, universities and the Public Broadcasting Service.

    That’s because, in my view as a legal scholar, they are all First Amendment cases.

    Will the Supreme Court continue to protect free speech rights, as it did unanimously in 2024?
    Geoff Livingston/Getty Images

    Why the NRA sued a New York state official

    In May 2024, in an opinion written by reliably liberal Sonia Sotomayor, a unanimous court ruled that the efforts of New York state government officials to punish companies doing business with the NRA constituted clear violations of the First Amendment.

    Following its own precedent from the 1960s, Bantam Books v. Sullivan, the court found that government officials “cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors.”

    Many of the current targets of the Trump administration’s actions have claimed similar suppression of their First Amendment rights by the government. They have fought back, filing lawsuits that often cite the National Rifle Association v. Vullo decision in their efforts.

    To date, the most egregious examples of actions that violate the principles announced by the court – the executive orders against law firms – have largely been halted in the lower courts, with those decisions often citing what’s now known as the Vullo decision.

    While these cases may still be working their way through the lower courts, it is likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately consider legal challenges to the Trump administration’s efforts in a range of areas.

    These would include the executive orders against law firms, attempts to cut government grants and research funding from universities, potential moves to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status, and regulatory actions punishing media companies for what the White House believes to be unfavorable coverage.

    The court could also hear disputes over the government terminating contracts with a family of companies that provides satellite and communications support to the U.S. government generally and the military in particular.

    Despite the variety of organizations and government actions involved in these lawsuits, they all can be seen as struggles over free speech and expression, like Vullo.

    Whether it is private law firms, multinational corporations, universities or members of the media, all have one thing in common: They have all been targeted by the Trump administration for the same reason – they are engaged in actions or speech that is disfavored by President Donald Trump.

    Protecting speech, regardless of politics

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, front, took leave to help prosecute war criminals at the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II.
    Bettman/Getty Images

    The NRA, an often-controversial gun-rights advocacy organization, was the plaintiff in the Vullo decision.

    But just because the groups that have been targeted by the Trump administration are across the political divide from the NRA does not mean the outcome in decisions relying on the court’s opinion will be different. In fact, these groups can rely on the same arguments advanced by the NRA, and are, I believe, likely to win.

    Vullo isn’t the only decision on which the court can rely when considering challenges to the Trump administration’s efforts targeting these groups.

    In 1943, Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote the majority opinion in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, where the court found that students who refused to salute the American flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance at school could not be expelled.

    Jackson’s opinion is a forceful rejection of government attempts to control what people say: “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”

    In the wake of World War II, Jackson took a leave from the court and served as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders. Prosecuting them for their atrocities, Jackson saw how the Nuremberg defendants wielded government authority to punish enemies who resisted their rise and later opposed their rule.

    If some of the cases testing the state’s power to force fidelity to the executive branch reach the Supreme Court, the cases could offer the justices the opportunity to, once again, speak with one voice as they did in NRA v. Vullo, to demonstrate it can be evenhanded and will not play politics with the First Amendment.

    This story has been updated with the correct year for the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.

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

    – ref. The sleeper Supreme Court decision that could have profound impacts on the Trump administration agenda – and restore faith in the high court – https://theconversation.com/the-sleeper-supreme-court-decision-that-could-have-profound-impacts-on-the-trump-administration-agenda-and-restore-faith-in-the-high-court-258216

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Presidents of both parties have launched military action without Congress declaring war − Trump’s bombing of Iran is just the latest

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

    President Donald Trump is seen on a monitor in the White House press briefing room on June 21, 2025, after the U.S. military strike on three sites in Iran. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

    In the wake of the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, 2025, many congressional Democrats and a few Republicans have objected to President Donald Trump’s failure to seek congressional approval before conducting military operations.

    They note that Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and say that section required Trump to seek prior authorization for military action.

    The Trump administration disagrees. “This is not a war against Iran,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, implying that the action did not require approval by Congress. That’s the same view held by most modern presidents and their lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel: Article 2 of the Constitution allows the president to use the military in certain situations without prior approval from Congress.

    By this reading of the text, presidents, as commander in chief, claim the power to unilaterally order the military to initiate small-scale operations for a short duration. Members of Congress may object to that claim, but they have done little to limit presidents’ unilateralism. What little they have done has not been effective.

    As I’ve demonstrated in my research, even though the 1973 War Powers Resolution attempted to constrain presidential power after the disasters of the Vietnam War, it contains many loopholes that presidents have exploited to act unilaterally. For example, it allows presidents to engage in military operations without congressional approval for up to 90 days. And more recent congressional resolutions have broadened executive control even further.

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the U.S. declaration of war against Japan on Dec. 8, 1941.
    U.S. National Archives

    A long tradition of executive authority

    Presidents can even overcome the loopholes in the War Powers Resolution if the operation lasts longer than 90 days. In 2011, a State Department lawyer argued that airstrikes in Libya could continue beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 90-day time limit because there were no ground troops involved. By that logic, any future president could carry out an indefinite bombing campaign with no congressional oversight.

    While every president has bristled at congressional restraints on their actions, presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt have successfully circumvented them by citing vague concerns like “national security,” “regional security” or the need to “prevent a humanitarian disaster” when launching military operations. While members of Congress always take issue with these actions, they never hold presidents accountable by passing legislation restraining him.

    President Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites without consulting Congress falls in line with precedent from both Democratic and Republican leaders for decades.

    Much like his predecessors, Trump did not, and likely will not, provide Congress with more concrete information about the legality of his actions. Nor are congressional lawmakers effectively holding him accountable.

    The push-and-pull between Congress and the president over military operations dates back to the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, which led Congress to declare war on Japan. Before then, Congress had prevented the U.S. from joining World War II by enforcing an arms embargo and refusing to help the Allies prior to the attack on Hawaii. But afterward, Congress began allowing the president to take more control over the military.

    During the Cold War, rather than returning to a balanced debate between the branches, Congress continued to relinquish those powers.

    Congress never authorized the war in Korea; Harry Truman used a U.N. Security Council resolution as legal justification. Congress’ vote explicitly opposing the invasion of Cambodia didn’t stop Richard Nixon from doing it anyway. Even after the Cold War, Bill Clinton regularly acted unilaterally to address humanitarian crises or the continued threat from leaders like Saddam Hussein. He sent the military to Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, among other places.

    After 9/11, Congress quickly gave up more of its power. A week after those attacks, Congress passed a sweeping Authorization for Use of Military Force, giving the president permission to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.”

    In a follow-up 2002 authorization, Congress went even further, allowing the president to “use the Armed Forces … as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend national security … against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.” This approach provides few, if any, congressional checks on the control of military affairs exercised by the president.

    In the two decades since those authorizations, four presidents have used them to justify all manner of military action, from targeted killings of terrorists to the years long fight against the Islamic State group.

    Congress regularly discusses terminating those authorizations, but has yet to do so. If Congress did, the loopholes in the original War Powers Resolution would still exist.

    While President Biden claimed he supported the repeal of the authorizations, and supported more congressional oversight of military actions, Trump has made no such claims. Instead, he has claimed even more sweeping authority to act without any permission from Congress.

    As recently as 2024, Biden used the 2002 authorization as a legal rationale for the targeted killing of Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq, a strike condemned by Iraqi leaders.

    Those actions may have ruffled congressional feathers, but they were in keeping with a long U.S. tradition of targeting members of terrorist groups and protecting members of the military serving in a conflict zone.

    Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol in January 2020 call on Congress to limit the president’s powers to use the military.
    AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

    Threats of war

    During his first presidential term in 2020, Trump ordered a lethal drone strike against a respected member of the Iranian government, Major General Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s equivalent of the CIA, without consulting Congress or publicly providing proof of why the attack was necessary, even to this day.

    Tensions – and fears of war – spiked but then slowly faded when Iran responded with missile attacks on two U.S. bases in Iraq.

    Now, the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites have revived both fears of war and renewed questions about the president’s authority to unilaterally engage in military action. Presidents since the 1970s, however, have effectively managed to dodge definitive answers to those questions – demonstrating both the power inherent in their position and the unwillingness among members of the legislative branch to reclaim their coequal status.

    This article is an updated version of a story published on Jan. 24, 2024.

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

    – ref. Presidents of both parties have launched military action without Congress declaring war − Trump’s bombing of Iran is just the latest – https://theconversation.com/presidents-of-both-parties-have-launched-military-action-without-congress-declaring-war-trumps-bombing-of-iran-is-just-the-latest-259636

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Rethinking engineering education: Why focusing on learning preferences matters for diversity

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Sharon Tettegah, Professor of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

    Retention and recruitment efforts designed to boost diversity in engineering programs often fall short of their goals. gorodenkoff/Getty Images

    For decades, colleges, government agencies and foundations have experimented with recruitment and retention efforts designed to increase diversity in engineering programs.

    However, the efforts have not significantly boosted the number of women, students of color, individuals with disabilities and other underrepresented groups studying and earning degrees in STEM and engineering fields.

    Latino, Black, Native American and Alaska Native students are underrepresented among science and engineering degree recipients at the bachelor’s degree level and above. The groups are also underrepresented among STEM workers with at least a bachelor’s degree.

    Women are also underrepresented in the STEM workforce and among degree recipients in engineering and computer and information sciences.

    I study equity and social justice in STEM learning. In my recent study, I found that more students from diverse backgrounds could excel in engineering programs if course content were tailored to a wider variety of learning preferences.

    Why it matters

    Focusing on learning preferences could boost diversity in engineering courses and careers.
    Morsa Images/Getty Images

    During my time as a program officer at the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering, I reviewed plenty of research focused on broadening participation and diversifying student enrollment in STEM fields.

    Progress can stall on efforts to boost diversity because college instructors do not consider the synergistic relationship between the content and the learner.

    Teachers are the mediators, and it is students’ experiences with the curriculum that matter.

    It was long a common belief that students have different learning styles. These included kinesthetic, learning through hands-on experiences and physical activity; auditory, learning by listening to information; and visual, learning by seeing information.

    More recent research does not support the idea that teaching students according to their learning style leads to improved learning.

    That’s why I prefer the term “learning preferences” rather than learning styles. We all have preferences – whether for ice cream flavors, home decor or how we receive information, including how we learn.

    Learning preferences are broader and more flexible, allowing multiple ways of engaging with content.

    For example, let’s say a teacher always presented equations in a classroom and the student just could not get it. However, it was the only way the information was presented. To the individual learner, they have failed. Some people would say, “These kids can’t learn,” and subsequently counsel the student out of the class.

    Then, years are spent repeating the same cycle.

    Students should have opportunities to connect with engineering content in multiple ways.
    10’000 hours/Getty Images

    However, educators can broaden their viewpoints if they look at the students as customers. If a customer is shopping for a shirt, they look for one that catches their eye. Ultimately, they find one they like.

    Instructors need to take the same approach when trying to help students understand what is happening in class. For instance, if I have trouble with equations, I should be provided with options to engage with the lesson in ways that align with my learning preferences.

    What’s next?

    Learning styles have been heavily researched. However, content preferences have not been well explored.

    In a truly democratic education system, curriculum design should reflect the voices of all stakeholders and not just those in positions of power, namely instructors.

    Using data mining and artificial intelligence, educators have a variety of options for creating content for the various preferences a learner may want or need. For example, if a student prefers other representational content, such as word problems, graphics or simulations, AI can create diverse representations so that the learner is exposed to a variety of representations.

    I argue that future studies need to consider the use of technologies such as adaptive learning applications to understand students’ learning preferences.

    Prioritizing diverse learning perspectives in STEM could help create a more inclusive and responsive learning environment.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Sharon Tettegah received funding from the National Science Foundation for this work. Award Abstract # 1826632
    Coordinating Curricula and User Preferences to Increase the Participation of Women and Students of Color in Engineering

    – ref. Rethinking engineering education: Why focusing on learning preferences matters for diversity – https://theconversation.com/rethinking-engineering-education-why-focusing-on-learning-preferences-matters-for-diversity-251095

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Harvard fights to keep enrolling international students – 4 essential reads about their broader impact

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Corey Mitchell, Education Editor

    Graduates of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government celebrate during commencement exercises in Cambridge, Mass. AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

    A federal judge in Boston on May 23, 2025, temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have revoked Harvard University’s authorization to enroll international students.

    The directive from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and resulting lawsuit from Harvard have escalated the ongoing conflict between the Trump administration and the Ivy League institution.

    It’s also the latest step in a White House campaign to ramp up vetting and screening of foreign nationals, including students.

    Homeland Security officials accused Harvard of creating a hostile campus climate by accommodating “anti-American” and “pro-terrorist agitators.” The accusation stems from the university’s alleged support for certain political groups and their activities on campus.

    In early April, the Trump administration terminated the immigration statuses of thousands of international students listed in a government database, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. The database includes country of citizenship, which U.S. school they attend and what they study.

    Barring Harvard from enrolling international students could have significant implications for the campus’s climate and the local economy. International students account for 27% of the university’s enrollment.

    Here are four stories from The Conversation’s archive about the Trump administration’s battle with Harvard and the economic impact of international students.

    1. A target on Harvard

    This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has targeted the university.

    The White House has threatened to end the university’s tax-exempt status, and some media outlets have reported that the Internal Revenue Service is taking steps in that direction.

    But it is illegal to revoke an entity’s tax-emempt status “on a whim,” according to Philip Hackney, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, and Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University.

    “Before the IRS can do that, tax law requires that it first audit that charity,” they wrote. “And it’s illegal for U.S. presidents or other officials to force the IRS to conduct an audit or stop one that’s already begun.”

    Several U.S. senators, all Democrats, have urged the IRS inspector general to see whether the IRS has begun auditing Harvard or any nonprofits in response to the administration’s requests or whether Trump has violated any laws with his pressure campaign.

    Hackney and Mittendorf wrote that the Trump administration’s moves are part of a larger push to exert control over Harvard, including its efforts to increase its diversity and its response to claims of discrimination on campus.



    Read more:
    Can Trump strip Harvard of its charitable status? Scholars of nonprofit law and accounting describe the obstacles in his way

    University of Michigan students on campus on April 3, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich.
    Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

    2. International students help keep ‘America First’

    The U.S. has long been the global leader in attracting international students. But competition for these students is increasing as other countries vie to attract the scholars.

    In a recent story for The Conversation, David L. Di Maria, vice provost for global engagement at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote that stepped-up screening and vetting of students could make the U.S. a less attractive study destination.

    Di Maria wrote that such efforts could hamper the Trump administration’s ability to achieve its “America First” priorities related to the economy, science and technology, and national security.

    Trump administration officials have emphasized the importance of recruiting top global talent. And Trump has said that international students who graduate from U.S. colleges should be awarded a green card with their degree.

    Research shows that international students launch successful startups at a rate that is eight to nine times higher than their U.S.-born peers. Roughly 25% of billion-dollar companies in the U.S. were founded by former international students, Di Maria noted.



    Read more:
    Deporting international students risks making the US a less attractive destination, putting its economic engine at risk

    3. A boost to local economies

    Indeed, international students have a tremendous economic impact on local communities.

    If these global scholars stay home or go elsewhere, that’s bad economic news for cities and towns across the United States, wrote Barnet Sherman, a professor of multinational finance and trade at Boston University.

    With the money they spend on tuition, food, housing and other other items, international students pump money into the local economy, but there are additional benefits.

    On average, a new job is created for every three international students enrolled in a U.S. college or university. In the 2023-24 academic year, about 378,175 jobs were created, Sherman wrote.

    In Greater Boston, where Harvard is located, there are about 63,000 international students who contribute to the economy. The gains are huge – about US$3 billion.



    Read more:
    International students infuse tens of millions of dollars into local economies across the US. What happens if they stay home?

    4. Rising number of international students

    The rising number of foreign students studying in the U.S. has long led to concerns about U.S. students being displaced by international peers.

    The unease is often fueled by the assumption that financial interests are driving the trend, Cynthia Miller-Idriss of American University and Bernhard Streitwieser of George Washington University wrote in a 2015 story for The Conversation.

    A common claim, they wrote, is the flawed assumption that “cash-strapped public universities” aggressively recruit more affluent students from abroad who can afford to pay rising tuition costs. The pair wrote that, historically, shifting demographics on college campuses result from social and economic changes.

    In today’s context, Miller-Idriss and Streitwieser maintain that the argument that colleges prioritize international students fails to account for the global role of U.S. universities, which help support national security, foster international development projects and accelerate the pace of globalization.



    Read more:
    Foreign students not a threat, but an advantage

    This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.

    – ref. Harvard fights to keep enrolling international students – 4 essential reads about their broader impact – https://theconversation.com/harvard-fights-to-keep-enrolling-international-students-4-essential-reads-about-their-broader-impact-257506

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Air traffic controller shortages in Newark and other airports partly reflect long, intense training − but university-based training programs are becoming part of the solution

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Melanie Dickman, Lecturer in Aviation Studies, The Ohio State University

    Air traffic controllers observe a plane taking off from San Francisco International Airport in 2017. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

    Air traffic controllers have been in the news a lot lately.

    A spate of airplane crashes and near misses have highlighted the ongoing shortage of air traffic workers, leading more Americans to question the safety of air travel.

    The shortage, as well as aging computer systems, have also led to massive flight disruptions at airports across the country, particularly at Newark Liberty International Airport. The staffing shortage is also likely at the center of an investigation of a deadly crash between a commercial plane and an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., in January 2025.

    One reason for the air traffic controller shortage relates to the demands of the job: The training to become a controller is extremely intense, and the Federal Aviation Administration wants only highly qualified personnel to fill those seats, which has made it difficult for what has been the sole training center in the U.S., located in Oklahoma City, to churn out enough qualified graduates each year.

    As scholars who study and teach tomorrow’s aviation professionals, we are working to be part of the solution. Our program at Ohio State University is applying to join over two dozen other schools in an effort to train air traffic controllers and help alleviate the shortage.

    Air traffic controller school

    Air traffic control training today – overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration – remains as intense as it’s ever been.

    In fact, about 30% of students fail to make it from their first day of training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City to the status of a certified professional air traffic controller. The academy currently trains the majority of the air traffic controllers in the U.S.

    Before someone is accepted into the training program, they must meet several qualifications. That includes being a U.S. citizen under the age of 31 and speaking English clearly enough to be understood over the radio. The low recruitment age is because controllers currently have a mandatory retirement age of 56 – with some exceptions – and the FAA wants them to work for at least 25 years in the job.

    They must also pass a medical exam and security investigation. And they must pass the air traffic controller specialists skills assessment battery, which measures an applicant’s spatial awareness and decision-making abilities.

    Candidates, additionally, must have three years of general work experience, or a combination of postsecondary education and work experience totaling at least three years.

    This alone is no easy feat. Fewer than 10% of applicants meet those initial requirements and are accepted into training.

    An air traffic controller monitors a runway in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
    AP Photo/Seth Wenig

    Intense training

    Once applicants meet the initial qualifications, they begin a strenuous training process.

    This begins with several weeks of classroom instruction and several months of simulator training. There are several types of simulators, and a student is assigned to a simulator based on the type of facility for which they will be hired – which depends on a trainee’s preference and where controllers are needed.

    There are two main types of air traffic facilities: control towers and radar. Anyone who has flown on a plane has likely seen a control tower near the runways, with 360 degrees of tall glass windows to monitor the skies nearby. Controllers there mainly look outside to direct aircraft but also use radar to monitor the airspace and assist aircraft in taking off and landing safely.

    Radar facilities, on the other hand, monitor aircraft solely through the use of information depicted on a screen. This includes aircraft flying just outside the vicinity of a major airport or when they’re at higher altitudes and crisscrossing the skies above the U.S. The controllers ensure they don’t fly too close to one another as they follow their flight paths between airports.

    If the candidates make it through the first stage, which takes about six months and extensive testing to meet standards, they will be sent to their respective facilities.

    Once there, they again go to the classroom, learning the details of the airspace they will be working in. There are more assessments and chances to “wash out” and have to leave the program.

    Finally, the candidates are paired with an experienced controller who conducts on-the-job training to control real aircraft. This process may take an additional year or more. It depends on the complexity of the airspace and the amount of aircraft traffic at the site.

    Two control towers watch over Newark Liberty International Airport, where a shortage of air traffic controllers has led to blackouts and other problems lately.
    AP Photo/Seth Wenig

    Increasing the employment pipeline

    But no matter how good the training is, if there aren’t enough graduates, that’s a problem for managing the increasingly crowded skies.

    The FAA is currently facing a deficit of about 3,000 controllers and has unveiled a plan in May 2025 to increase hiring and boost retention. In addition, Congress is mulling spending billions of dollars to update the FAA’s aging systems and hire more air traffic controllers.

    Other plans include paying retention bonuses and allowing more controllers to work beyond the age of 56. That retirement age was put in place in the 1970s on the assumption that cognition for most people begins to decline around then, although research shows that age alone is not necessarily a predictor of cognitive abilities.

    But we believe that aviation programs and universities can play an important role fixing the shortage by providing FAA Academy-level training.

    Currently, 32 universities including the Florida Institute of Technology and Arizona State University partner with the FAA in its collegiate training initiative to provide basic air traffic control training, which gives graduates automatic entry into the FAA Academy and allows them to skip five weeks of coursework.

    The institution where we work, Ohio State University, is currently working on becoming the 33rd this summer and plans to offer an undergraduate major in aviation with specialization in air traffic control.

    This helps, but an enhanced version of this program, announced in October 2024, allows graduates of a select few of those universities to skip the FAA Academy altogether and go straight to a control tower or radar facility once they’ve passed all the extensive tests. These schools must match or exceed the level of rigor in their training with the FAA Academy itself.

    At the end of the program, students are required to pass an evaluation by an FAA-approved evaluator to ensure that the student graduating from the program meets the same standards as all FAA Academy graduates and is prepared to go to their assigned facility for further training. So far, five schools, such as the University of North Dakota, have joined this program and are currently training air traffic controllers. We intend to join this group in the near future.

    Allowing colleges and universities to start the training process while students are still in school should accelerate the pace at which new controllers enter the workforce, alleviate the shortage and make the skies over the U.S. as safe as they can be.

    Melanie Dickman is a member at large of the Air Traffic Controllers Association

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

    – ref. Air traffic controller shortages in Newark and other airports partly reflect long, intense training − but university-based training programs are becoming part of the solution – https://theconversation.com/air-traffic-controller-shortages-in-newark-and-other-airports-partly-reflect-long-intense-training-but-university-based-training-programs-are-becoming-part-of-the-solution-249715

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are improving

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jeanne Sinclair, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland

    Millions of Americans take high-stakes exams every year. Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/iStock via Getty Images

    Texas children’s performance on an annual reading test was basically flat from 2012 to 2021, even as the state spent billions of additional dollars on K-12 education.

    I recently did a peer-reviewed deep dive into the test design documentation to figure out why the reported results weren’t showing improvement. I found the flat scores were at least in part by design. According to policies buried in the documentation, the agency administering the tests adjusted their difficulty level every year. As a result, roughly the same share of students failed the test over that decade regardless of how objectively better they performed relative to previous years.

    From 2008 to 2014, I was a bilingual teacher in Texas. Most of my students’ families hailed from Mexico and Central America and were learning English as a new language. I loved seeing my students’ progress.

    Yet, no matter how much they learned, many failed the end-of-year tests in reading, writing and math. My hunch was that these tests were unfair, but I could not explain why. This, among other things, prompted me to pursue a Ph.D. in education to better understand large-scale educational assessment.

    Ten years later, in 2024, I completed a detailed exploration of Texas’s exam, currently known as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. I found an unexpected trend: The share of students who correctly answered each test question was extraordinarily steady across years. Where we would expect to see fluctuation from year to year, performance instead appears artificially flat.

    The STAAR’s technical documents suggest that the test is designed much like a norm-referenced test – that is, assessing students relative to their peers, rather than if they meet a fixed standard. In other words, a norm-referenced test cannot tell us if students meet key, fixed criteria or grade-level standards set by the state.

    In addition, norm-referenced tests are designed so that a certain share of students always fail, because success is gauged by one’s position on the “bell curve” in relation to other students. Following this logic, STAAR developers use practices like omitting easier questions and adjusting scores to cancel out gains due to better teaching.

    Ultimately, the STAAR tests over this time frame – taken by students every year from grade 3 to grade 8 in language arts and math, and less frequently in science and social studies – were not designed to show improvement. Since the test seems designed to keep scores flat, it’s impossible to know for sure if a lack of expected learning gains following big increases in per-student spending was because the extra funds failed to improve teaching and learning, or simply because the test hid the improvements.

    Why it matters

    Ever since the federal education policy known as No Child Left Behind went into effect in 2002 and tied students’ test performance to rewards and sanctions for schools, achievement testing has been a primary driver of public education in the United States.

    Texas’ educational accountability system has been in place since 1980, and it is well known in the state that the stakes and difficulty of Texas’ academic readiness tests increase with each new version, which typically come out every five to 10 years. What the Texas public may not know is that the tests have been adjusted each and every year – at the expense of really knowing who should “pass” or “fail.”

    The test’s design affects not just students but also schools and communities. High-stakes test scores determine school resources, the state’s takeover of school districts and accreditation of teacher education programs. Home values are even driven by local schools’ performance on high-stakes tests.

    Students who are marginalized by racism, poverty or language have historically tended to underperform on standardized tests. I believe STAAR’s design makes this problem worse.

    On May 28, 2025, the Texas Senate passed a bill that would eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with a different, shorter test or a norm-referenced test. As best as I can tell, this wouldn’t address the problems I uncovered in my research.

    What still isn’t known

    I plan to investigate if other states or the federal government use similarly designed tests to evaluate students.

    My deep dive into Texas’ test focused on STAAR before its 2022 redevelopment. The latest iteration has changed the test format and question types, but there appears to be little change to the way the test is scored. Without substantive revisions to the scoring calculations “under the hood” of the STAAR test, it is likely Texas will continue to see flat performance.

    This article was updated on May 31, 2025, to clarify some language and the type of data used in the chart, replace a link and add a comment from the Texas Education Agency.

    The Texas Education Agency responded to a pre-publication request for comment after the piece was published. A spokesman refuted several of the scholar’s research conclusions, including that it behaved like a norm-referenced test. However, the scholar stands by them.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Jeanne Sinclair receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

    – ref. Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are improving – https://theconversation.com/texas-annual-reading-test-adjusted-its-difficulty-every-year-masking-whether-students-are-improving-244159

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Our trans health study was terminated by the government – the effects of abrupt NIH grant cuts ripple across science and society

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jae A. Puckett, Associate Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University

    Funding cuts to trans health research are part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to medically and legally restrict trans rights. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

    Given the Trump administration’s systematic attempts to medically and legally disenfranchise trans people, and its abrupt termination of grants focused on LGBTQ+ health, we can’t say that the notice of termination we received regarding our federally funded research on transgender and nonbinary people’s health was unexpected.

    As researchers who study the experiences of trans and nonbinary people, we have collectively dedicated nearly 50 years of our scientific careers to developing ways to address the health disparities negatively affecting these communities. The National Institutes of Health had placed a call for projects on this topic, and we had successfully applied for their support for our four-year study on resilience in trans communities.

    However, our project on trans health became one of the hundreds of grants that have been terminated on ideological grounds. The termination notice stated that the grant no longer fit agency priorities and claimed that this work was not based on scientific research.

    Termination notice sent to the authors from the National Institutes of Health.
    Jae A. Puckett and Paz Galupo, CC BY-ND

    These grant terminations undermine decades of science on gender diversity by dismissing research findings and purging data. During Trump’s current term, the NIH’s Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office was dismantled, references to LGBTQ+ people were removed from health-related websites, and datasets were removed from public access.

    The effects of ending research on trans health ripple throughout the scientific community, the communities served by this work and the U.S. economy.

    Studying resilience

    Research focused on the mental health of trans and nonbinary people has grown substantially in recent years. Over time, this work has expanded beyond understanding the hardships these communities face to also study their resilience and positive life experiences.

    Resilience is often understood as an ability to bounce back from challenges. For trans and nonbinary people experiencing gender-based stigma and discrimination, resilience can take several forms. This might look like simply continuing to survive in a transphobic climate, or it might take the form of being a role model for other trans and nonbinary people.

    As a result of gender-based stigma and discrimination, trans and nonbinary people experience a range of health disparities, from elevated rates of psychological distress to heightened risk for chronic health conditions and poor physical health. In the face of these challenges and growing anti-trans legislation in the U.S., we believe that studying resilience in these communities can provide insights into how to offset the harms of these stresses.

    Studies show anti-trans legislation is harming the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth.

    With the support of the NIH, we began our work in earnest in 2022. The project was built on many years of research from our teams preceding the grant. From the beginning, we collaborated with trans and nonbinary community members to ensure our research would be attuned to the needs of the community.

    At the time our grant was terminated, we were nearing completion of Year 3 of our four-year project. We had collected data from over 600 trans and nonbinary participants across the U.S. and started to follow their progress over time. We had developed a new way to measure resilience among trans and nonbinary people and were about to publish a second measure specifically tailored to people of color.

    The termination of our grant and others like it harms our immediate research team, the communities we worked with and the field more broadly.

    Loss of scientific workforce

    For many researchers in trans health, the losses from these cuts go beyond employment.

    Our project had served as a training opportunity for the students and early career professionals involved in the study, providing them with the research experience and mentorship necessary to advance their careers. But with the termination of our funding, two full-time researchers and at least three students will lose their positions. The three lead scientists have lost parts of their salaries and dedicated research time.

    These NIH cuts will likely result in the loss of much of the next generation of trans researchers and the contributions they would have made to science and society. Our team and other labs in similar situations will be less likely to work with graduate students due to a lack of available funding to pay and support them. This changes the landscape for future scientists, as it means there will be fewer opportunities for individuals interested in these areas of research to enter graduate training programs.

    The Trump administration has directly penalized universities across the country for ‘ideological overreach.’
    Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images

    As universities struggle to address federal funding cuts, junior academics will be less likely to gain tenure, and faculty in grant-funded positions may lose their jobs. Universities may also become hesitant to hire people who work in these areas because their research has essentially been banned from federal funding options.

    Loss of community trust

    Trans and nonbinary people have often been studied under opportunistic and demeaning circumstances. This includes when researchers collect data for their own gains but return little to the communities they work with, or when they do research that perpetuates theories that pathologize those communities. As a result, many are often reluctant to participate in research.

    To overcome this reluctance, we grounded our study on community input. We involved an advisory board composed of local trans and nonbinary community members who helped to inform how we conducted our study and measured our findings.

    Our work on resilience has been inspired by feedback we received from previous research participants who said that “[trans people] matter even when not in pain.”

    Abruptly terminating projects like these can break down trust between researchers and the populations they study.

    Loss of scientific knowledge

    Research that focuses on the strengths of trans and nonbinary communities is in its infancy. The termination of our grant has led to the loss of the insights our study would have provided on ways to improve health among trans and nonbinary people and future work that would have built off our findings. Resilience is a process that takes time to unfold, and we had not finished the longitudinal data collection in our study – nor will we have the protected time to publish and share other findings from this work.

    Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services released a May 2025 report stating that there is not enough evidence to support gender-affirming care for young people, contradicting decades of scientific research. Scientists, researchers and medical professional organizations have widely criticized the report as misrepresenting study findings, dismissing research showing benefits to gender-affirming care, and promoting misinformation rejected by major medical associations. Instead, the report recommends “exploratory therapy,” which experts have likened to discredited conversion therapy.

    Transgender and nonbinary people continue to exist, regardless of legislation.
    Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

    Despite claims that there is insufficient research on gender-affirming care and more data is needed on the health of trans and nonbinary people, the government has chosen to divest from actual scientific research about trans and nonbinary people’s lives.

    Loss of taxpayer dollars

    The termination of our grant means we are no longer able to achieve the aims of the project, which depended on the collection and analysis of data over time. This wastes the three years of NIH funding already spent on the project.

    Scientists and experts who participated in the review of our NIH grant proposal rated our project more highly than 96% of the projects we competed against. Even so, the government made the unscientific choice to override these decisions and terminate our work.

    Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been invested in these grants to improve the health of not only trans and nonbinary people, but also American society as a whole. With the termination of these grants, few will get to see the benefits of this investment.

    Jae A. Puckett has received funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    Paz Galupo has received funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Our trans health study was terminated by the government – the effects of abrupt NIH grant cuts ripple across science and society – https://theconversation.com/our-trans-health-study-was-terminated-by-the-government-the-effects-of-abrupt-nih-grant-cuts-ripple-across-science-and-society-254021

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Teens say they can access firearms at home, even when parents lock them up, new research shows

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Katherine G. Hastings, PhD Candidate in Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

    Most households that own firearms have more than one − and owners often don’t secure all of them. StockPlanets/E+ via Getty Images

    More than half of U.S. teens living in households with firearms believe they can access and load a firearm at home. Even when their parents report storing all firearms locked and unloaded, more than one-third of teens still believe they could access and load one. These are the main findings of our new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

    We are behavioral scientists investigating youth injury prevention and youth safety. In this study, we analyzed national survey data from nearly 500 parents who owned firearms and their teens. One survey asked the parents to report how many firearms they had in the home and how they stored each one. Another asked their teens to estimate how quickly they could access and load a firearm at home.

    While the presence of unlocked and loaded firearms in the home was weakly linked to perceived access among teens, we found that parents’ storage practices alone were a poor predictor of whether teens believed they could access a firearm. What’s more, in households with more than one firearm, locking up more firearms was not at all linked to perceived access among teens if at least one remained unsecured.

    In short, just one unlocked firearm can undo the protective benefit of securing all other firearms in the home, our results showed.

    Why it matters

    In the U.S., firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and teens. In most of these cases, the firearm used belonged to a parent, relative or friend.

    Our study focused on teens’ beliefs about firearm access, not their actual access. However, these perceptions may provide important clues around firearm access and use. Prior research shows that teens who believe they can access a firearm are more likely to access and carry one. This is particularly concerning for teens who already have a higher risk for dying by suicide.

    One of the most widely supported ways to reduce teen injuries and deaths by firearms is to encourage owners to keep firearms locked and unloaded. However, most firearm-owning households in the U.S. have multiple firearms, and owners often store some firearms securely but not all.

    Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens.
    Kypros/Stock Photos Gun Safe via Getty Images

    Despite evidence that securely storing firearms saves lives, efforts to promote that messaging may be less effective when it is not universally applied to all firearms in the home or when teens still know how to access them.

    Our study also points to the need for messaging and safety strategies that consider teen behavior amid household firearm dynamics. For example, teens may observe where firearms are stored or know where keys or combinations are kept and unlock firearms in moments of impulsivity or emotional distress. Beyond securely storing firearms, encouraging parents to treat every firearm in the household as a potential source of risk and talking with teens about how to address conflicts and promote mental and emotional well-being may also be protective.

    Additionally, our study adds support for universal laws that require securely storing all firearms in homes in which children live and mandating routine assessments of teen firearm access by pediatricians.

    What still isn’t known

    It is still unclear how teens’ beliefs about their access to firearms affects whether they actually seek them out – or how the variability of parents’ practices on storing firearms affects teen access.

    Another important question is how teens’ perceptions of their access to firearms at home may vary depending on cultural backgrounds, geography and different households’ attitudes and beliefs around firearm use.

    Additionally, our study looked only at teens ages 14 to 18. Further research is needed to explore these associations among younger children in firearm-owning households.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Rebeccah Sokol receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

    – ref. Teens say they can access firearms at home, even when parents lock them up, new research shows – https://theconversation.com/teens-say-they-can-access-firearms-at-home-even-when-parents-lock-them-up-new-research-shows-256550

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Adolescents who smoke or vape may believe tobacco’s perceived coping benefits outweigh accepted health risks

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adriana Espinosa, Associate Professor of Psychology, City College of New York

    Many parents are unaware of their adolescents’ tobacco use. Naveen Asaithambi/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Tobacco use in a variety of forms is common in adolescent life today, with over 2.25 million youth using.

    Huge progress has been made over the past few decades in reducing cigarette use among young people. But tobacco use – primarily through e-cigarettes, also known as vapes – remains a complex problem for public health and policy.

    In 2024, just over 8% of U.S. middle and high school students reported having used a tobacco product. Among tobacco users, nearly 6% used e-cigarettes, more than a quarter of whom used an e-cigarette product daily.

    We are behavioral health researchers. Our team’s ongoing research examines the factors associated with adolescent tobacco product use in the U.S.

    According to our research, many adolescents who smoke and use vapes are aware of the health risks associated with tobacco use, which demonstrates the effectiveness of public health education campaigns.

    But our research has also found that some adolescents also view tobacco use as helpful in relieving emotional distress. These perceived benefits increase the likelihood of initiating and continuing tobacco use.

    When combined with factors such as easy access to tobacco products or living with someone who uses them, the risk of adolescent use more than doubles, which sets the stage for harmful physical and mental health effects.

    Parental awareness and adolescents’ motivations to use tobacco

    As a mother of a teenager, one of us, Adriana, has experienced this firsthand. For months, my 14-year-old son was vaping in his room, and I had no idea. When he finally told me that he turned to vaping whenever he felt upset, it was like coming face-to-face with the very issues we study.

    This scenario illustrates both the compelling reasons why adolescents may use tobacco and nicotine products and the reality that many parents don’t realize their kids are smoking or vaping.

    Since 2022, our team has been examining the factors associated with tobacco use among more than 8,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health, or PATH, study – the largest multiyear, nationally representative study of tobacco use in the U.S. We looked at the use of cigarettes, electronic products, traditional or filtered cigars, cigarillos, pipes, hookahs, smokeless or dissolvable tobacco and more.

    We found that emotional distress, along with the belief that tobacco products help manage negative emotions, are significant factors driving adolescent tobacco use.

    This highlights the complexity of the issue – that even when teens recognize the health risks of tobacco use, vaping and other forms of tobacco use may function as a coping strategy, albeit an unhealthy one, for the wide range of emotional challenges that come with adolescence.

    Teachers and school administrators are struggling to control vaping among students because many devices are small, odorless and easy to conceal.
    Peter Dazeley/Photodisc via Getty Images

    Harmful effects of adolescent tobacco use

    Research has shown that adolescents may perceive e-cigarettes as a more appealing and less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes.

    The availability of flavored options further increases the appeal of these products and can contribute to the progression from occasional to regular use and ultimately the development of nicotine dependence.

    A growing body of research continues to reveal the harmful effects of tobacco use, including vaping, on developing brains and lungs. Exposure to nicotine during adolescence can interfere with brain development, impair attention and learning, and increase the risk of use and dependence on other substances later in life.

    What makes vaping especially difficult to manage is its stealth. Unlike combustible products, many vaping devices are small, odorless and very easy to conceal. As a result, parents, teachers and school administrators are struggling to detect and curb vaping among teens.

    Strategies for addressing why teens use tobacco

    In our view, policy efforts that focus primarily on raising awareness about health risks, restricting access to tobacco products or reducing the appeal of e-cigarettes or vapes will reach only a subset of youth who use them, and not those who may use for emotional reasons.

    And while such bans may limit access to tobacco products in formal settings, the availability of these products from friends and social networks, online platforms or unregulated markets will not likely be reduced solely through that type of health messaging.

    As our findings show, these efforts may miss a stronger, even more enduring driver of youth tobacco use: the pervasive belief that tobacco use helps manage stress, anger and other difficult emotions. Our research highlights that emotional distress and the perception that tobacco use can help them cope with stress are central to why many adolescents begin and continue using these products, even when they are aware of the health risks.

    In this context, simply limiting access to tobacco products or repeating well-known health warnings will do little to address the underlying emotional motivations to use.

    We believe that to make meaningful progress, policy and prevention interventions will need to address the underlying motives for use, and not just focus on the harmful health effects of nicotine or means of access.

    This includes integrating emotional and behavioral health support into tobacco prevention strategies and expanding school-based and community mental health services. And while public health education campaigns such as The Real Cost have been successful in reducing the number of adolescents who begin using e-cigarettes, our findings suggest more emphasis on the emotional drivers of tobacco use is warranted.

    Adriana Espinosa receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NCI and NIMHD).

    Lesia M. Ruglass receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS, NIDA, NCI, and NIMHD).

    – ref. Adolescents who smoke or vape may believe tobacco’s perceived coping benefits outweigh accepted health risks – https://theconversation.com/adolescents-who-smoke-or-vape-may-believe-tobaccos-perceived-coping-benefits-outweigh-accepted-health-risks-254294

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Older adults with dementia misjudge their financial skills – which may make them more vulnerable to fraud, new research finds

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ian McDonough, Associate Professor of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    Older adults generally have a good sense of their own financial abilities – unless they have dementia. shapecharge/E+ via Getty Images

    Older adults diagnosed with dementia lose their ability to assess how well they manage their finances, according to a recent study I co-authored in The Gerontologist. In comparison, people of the same age who don’t have dementia are aware of their financial abilities – and this awareness improves over time.

    For our study, we used data from over 2,000 adults in the U.S. age 65 and older, collected during a long-term study on aging.
    We focused on how participants’ financial skills changed over time. The study began in 1998 and is still running, but we probed data collected between 1998 and 2009.

    Participants were assessed at one year, two years, five years and 10 years for their ability to carry out everyday tasks, including ones that required handling money. For example, they had to calculate the cost of a gym membership and a store discount rate, fill out part of a tax return and assess the cost of medical services. They also rated how well they thought they could do everyday financial tasks. Initially, none of the participants were diagnosed with dementia, but over the course of the decade, 87 participants, or 3.1%, received a dementia diagnosis.

    We found that even though participants’ performance on financial tasks declined as they aged, older adults who did not have dementia and older adults who had mild cognitive impairment were appropriately aware of their financial abilities. What’s more, that awareness increased over time. However, participants who were diagnosed with dementia during the study and experienced severe cognitive decline often misjudged how well they performed financial tasks.

    Financial scams targeting older adults are on the rise.

    The lack of insight into one’s cognitive abilities is called anosognosia. This study reveals a new type called financial anosognosia.

    Why it matters

    As people get older, their financial management skills start to deteriorate. The combination of a lifelong accumulation of wealth, declining financial abilities and a lack of awareness of those declines puts older adults at serious risk for financial scams.

    Few tools are available that can support families in helping cognitively impaired adults manage their finances. Our research suggests that there is a critical window of time after people begin to experience cognitive decline during which they are still aware of their financial abilities. We believe that this is when people can take action to secure their finances and develop systems to protect themselves from fraud.

    What still isn’t known

    Close friends or family members are often tempted to take away the financial autonomy of an older adult who is mismanaging their finances. However, that may not be the best solution, particularly for people who feel that handling their finances is a core part of their identity. More research is needed to identify how best to balance personal autonomy and the need to protect a person’s finances.

    What’s next

    This study used paper-and-pencil tasks to assess financial performance. But increasingly, many older adults are using online banking.

    E-banking simplifies many calculations, which may be helpful for older adults with declining cognition. However, e-banking can also make finances more of a black box, which may decrease a person’s awareness of their financial abilities. Furthermore, e-banking is constantly advancing, putting older adults at a disadvantage because they are more likely to be less cognitively flexible and to learn more slowly.

    We hope to explore whether older adults with and without cognitive decline have similar awareness of their ability to appropriately manage their finances online and identify potential financial scams.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Ian McDonough receives funding from The National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Older adults with dementia misjudge their financial skills – which may make them more vulnerable to fraud, new research finds – https://theconversation.com/older-adults-with-dementia-misjudge-their-financial-skills-which-may-make-them-more-vulnerable-to-fraud-new-research-finds-256973

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: RFK Jr’s shakeup of vaccine advisory committee raises worries about scientific integrity of health recommendations

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Santosh Kumar Gautam, Associate Professor of Development and Global Health Economics, University of Notre Dame

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices played a key role in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images

    On June 11, 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slate of eight new members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on national vaccine policy.

    The announcement, made on the social media platform X, comes two days after Kennedy removed all 17 of the serving committee members. Kennedy called their replacements “a bold step in restoring public trust” rooted in “radical transparency and gold standard science.”

    However, public health experts decried the removals, pointing to Kennedy’s promise not to change the committee and warning that the move politicizes its work and undermines its scientific integrity. Health experts have also noted that multiple new committee members appointed on June 11 have voiced anti-vaccine views that are not evidence-based.

    The Conversation U.S. asked Santosh Kumar Gautam, an expert in global health policy at the University of Notre Dame, to explain how the vaccine committee’s guidance has shaped vaccine recommendations for the public, and what the changes might mean for peoples’ ability to access vaccines in the future.

    What is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices?

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is a panel of experts appointed to advise the CDC on how to use vaccines to protect the health of people in the U.S. The committee’s job is to review multiple strands of scientific evidence to recommend which vaccines should be used, who should get them and when they should be given. Its guidance affects vaccine schedules for both children and adults, insurance coverage and public health policy across the country.

    The committee was formed in 1964 to establish national vaccine policy as federal immunization programs began to expand. It can have up to 19 voting members, who are appointed by the secretary of Health and Human Services. Members are experts in areas such as medicine, public health and immunology. Member usually serve overlapping four-year terms to ensure continuity. All 17 previous members were appointed at different times during the Biden administration. Removing all members of the committee at once is unprecedented.

    The group also includes nonvoting members from government health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. There are also representatives from more than 30 medical and public health organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians.

    These nonvoting members share useful information and real-world experience such as practical issues in administering vaccines in hospitals, management of vaccine side effects and insights into adverse events. Their input helps the committee make recommendations that reflect both science and practical needs.

    The committee meets three times a year to review new data on vaccine safety and effectiveness. Its next meeting is scheduled for June 25-27 and is expected to include discussions on COVID-19 and HPV vaccines, with recommendation votes planned for COVID-19 boosters, human papilloma virus and influenza vaccines. The meeting is open to the public and will be telecast live online.

    What is the committee’s role in vaccine policy?

    The committee makes its recommendations to the CDC by reviewing scientific evidence about a vaccine’s safety and efficacy, as well as practical issues, such as how easy a vaccine is to use, how it affects different groups, its side-effects and how it fits into the health system. The recommendations don’t just consider whether a vaccine works, but how it can be most effectively deployed to protect the American public from disease outbreaks.

    The new lineup of the vaccine advisory committee may lead to changes in children’s vaccine schedules.
    SementsovaLesia/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    The committee looks at data from clinical trials and other research to examine the most recent data on a vaccine’s safety, efficacy and use in everyday settings. When new vaccines come out or a change occurs in the way a disease spreads or behaves, the committee often revises its advice. It also responds to public health emergencies such as recent measles outbreaks in the U.S.

    The committee has made many updates over time. It changed flu shot guidance when new strains appeared. It lowered the recommended age for the HPV vaccine based on new research. And it adjusted vaccine plans for meningitis to better protect people at higher risk.

    What was the committee’s role during the COVID-19 pandemic?

    The committee played a vital role in evaluating vaccine safety and effectiveness and authorizing the use of vaccines for different age groups by reviewing clinical trial data, from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other vaccine manufacturers.

    The committee also developed step-by-step guidelines for who should get vaccinated first, based on how likely people were to catch the virus, their risk of serious disease, the type of work they did and whether they came from a population that was historically underserved or at higher risk. It also issued tailored guidance for pregnant and breastfeeding women, immunocompromised people and children and adolescents as more trial data became available.

    These recommendations shaped vaccine rollout strategies at both national and state levels, guided insurance coverage and influenced COVID-19 vaccination policies in other countries around the world.

    Public health experts have expressed concern that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to replace all 17 members of the vaccine advisory committee will erode its ability to provide evidence-based guidance.

    Who are the new members that Kennedy appointed?

    Although Kennedy promised more transparency, he handpicked the advisory committee’s new members without revealing how they were selected. Historically, the body’s members are selected after an extensive vetting process that can take two years.

    The newly appointed members have expertise in psychiatry, neuroscience, epidemiology, biostatistics and operations management. However, several have been linked to vaccine-related misinformation, particularly relating to COVID-19 vaccines, raising concerns about the scientific neutrality of the committee moving forward.

    For example, Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at MIT Sloan School of Management, has publicly called for suspension of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, claiming they cause serious harm and death in young people – a statement not supported by evidence.

    Another member, physician and biochemist Robert Malone, made scientifically inaccurate statements about the dangers of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

    A third member, epidemiologist and biostatistician Martin Kulldorff helped write the Great Barrington Declaration, which opposed lockdowns and argued that people at low risk of severe illness or death should be allowed to contract COVID-19 to build natural immunity – a stance that was heavily debated among health experts.

    What happens now?

    The committee’s new makeup and Kennedy’s decades-long anti-vaccine stance threaten to erode the integrity of scientific decision-making and commitment to ethical standards in vaccine recommendations.

    Kennedy’s overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will likely affect how insurers, doctors and the public make decisions about vaccines – and vaccine policy generally. For example, the advisory committee’s decisions directly affect which vaccines are covered by health insurance. If a vaccine is not recommended by the committee, many insurance plans, including those under the Affordable Care Act, are not required to cover it. This means families could face out-of-pocket costs, making it harder for children to access routine immunizations.

    The advisory committee also plays a key role in shaping the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule. Given Kennedy’s long-held skepticism about childhood vaccines — including those for measles and polio — some public health experts worry that the newly appointed members could push to revisit or revise vaccine recommendations, especially for newer and more debated vaccines like those for COVID-19 or HPV.

    States usually base their school entry vaccine requirements on the committee’s guidelines, and insurers often use them to determine which vaccines are covered. As a result, shifts in policy to childhood vaccinations could influence both school vaccination mandates and access to vaccines for millions of children.

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

    – ref. RFK Jr’s shakeup of vaccine advisory committee raises worries about scientific integrity of health recommendations – https://theconversation.com/rfk-jrs-shakeup-of-vaccine-advisory-committee-raises-worries-about-scientific-integrity-of-health-recommendations-258674

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  • MIL-Evening Report: Warmer seas are fuelling the dangerous ‘weather bomb’ about to hit NSW

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia

    Heavy surf and intense rains hit Sydney beaches during a 2020 East Coast Low. Lee Hulsman/Getty

    Right now, a severe storm likely to be the first significant east coast low in three years is developing off the coast of New South Wales. It’s expected to intensify today before approaching the coastline on Tuesday. Huge waves, sustained heavy rains and very strong winds are likely.

    At this stage, it’s expected to linger offshore south of Coffs Harbour – the same area hit hard by unprecedented floods on the Mid-North Coast last month. Residents on the coast or in low-lying areas have been asked to prepare.

    There’s nothing new about east coast lows, intense winter storms which can hit coastlines anywhere from southern Queensland to Tasmania. But what is new are the historically warm seas. Just like a tropical cyclone, east coast lows feed on ocean heat. And just like a tropical cyclone, they can intensify rapidly if the conditions are right.

    The storm looming this week has been intensifying very fast, to the point it could be classified as a “weather bomb” – a storm undergoing explosive cyclogenesis.

    If the storm shapes up as predicted, we can expect to see damage to houses and trees as well as significant beach erosion – especially in heavily populated areas exposed to the storm’s southern flank.

    The Bureau of Meteorology is issuing warnings about the looming east coast low.

    What to expect from this storm

    It’s too early to say just how bad this storm will be. Much depends on how intense it becomes and how close it tracks to the coast.

    Earlier storms have caused flooding of businesses and properties and significant disruptions to transport networks and electricity supplies.

    The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting strong to damaging winds and moderate to heavy rain for this deepening weather system from Tuesday onwards, and hazardous surf conditions for much of the week.

    Sea surface temperatures are 1 to 2.5°C above average off most of the NSW coast. This ocean heat will act as fuel for the storm, boosting the chance of even stronger winds and heavy rain if the centre moves closer to the coast and slows down.

    The NSW winter storm is intensifying and is expected to hit the Mid-North Coast on Tuesday 1 July.
    Bureau of Meteorology

    East coast lows are distinct

    Why do winter storms need their own title? East coast lows are quite distinct. They’re most common in autumn and winter, but they can occur any time.

    These weather systems usually form after an upper atmosphere low or deep trough gets stronger over eastern Australia.

    This triggers the development of a low pressure system at sea level near the coast to the east of the upper level system. These often intensify rapidly.

    During summer, these weather systems can occasionally form in the aftermath of a Coral Sea tropical cyclone as it moves towards the central east coast. By the time the decaying cyclone reaches the cooler waters of the Tasman Sea, it has lost its characteristic warm core. It can now rapidly transition into an east coast low.

    Two of Australia’s most populated areas, Sydney/Central Coast and Brisbane/Gold Coast are in the zone most likely to be affected by these intense storms.

    What role is climate change playing?

    About 90% of all extra heat trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the oceans. The world’s oceans are now at their warmest point on record.

    Marine heatwaves are causing many unwelcome changes. Warmer waters made South Australia’s ongoing devastating algal bloom more likely. A huge marine heatwave hit Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef before heading south. In southeast Australia, the warm East Australian Current is pushing further south, taking warm-water species into Tasmanian waters.

    The steady warming of oceans off southeast Australia not only fuels more extreme weather but damages marine ecosystems and commercial fisheries.

    As climate change intensifies, researchers have found intense east coast lows will actually become less common in the future – but the storms which do form could be more dangerous. A similar trend is likely for tropical cyclones around Australia.

    As the world gets hotter still, the intensity of rainfall extremes associated with these weather systems is expected to rise – especially short-duration rainfall.

    That means a higher risk of river and flash flooding, more damage from high energy wind and waves along exposed coasts and significant erosion of beaches and cliffs. Damage to the coasts will be worsened by rising sea levels.

    Bracing for more extremes

    It’s been a terrible six months for extreme weather. The year started with severe flooding in northern Queensland in February, followed soon after by Tropical Cyclone Alfred which hit heavily populated parts of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales.

    A couple of weeks later, intense rains devastated western Queensland, causing huge livestock losses. But even as floods hit the east coast, farmers across the continent’s southern reaches are struggling with extreme drought.

    As the Mid-North Coast braces for yet more extreme weather, residents should heed warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology, visit the NSW emergencies and natural disasters website and listen to information provided by the national broadcaster.

    Steve Turton has received funding from the Australian government.

    – ref. Warmer seas are fuelling the dangerous ‘weather bomb’ about to hit NSW – https://theconversation.com/warmer-seas-are-fuelling-the-dangerous-weather-bomb-about-to-hit-nsw-260070

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Here’s how First Nations landholders can share the benefits of the NSW energy transition

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heidi Norman, Professor of Australian and Aboriginal history, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Convenor: Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW Sydney

    Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council staff and members with researchers and actuaries from Finity Consulting. UNSW Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group

    The shift to clean, renewable sources of energy presents a rare opportunity for First Nations people, not only as energy users but as landholders.

    We wanted to explore the potential for First Nations land in the energy transition across New South Wales. The transition is well underway, but the pace must accelerate to meet state targets for 2030 and beyond.

    Our new report found the state’s 121 Aboriginal Land Councils have an opportunity to partner with renewable developers and build solar, wind or transmission lines on their own land.

    Such projects can offer jobs during construction and a smaller number of ongoing positions, as well as annual payments. This is why farmers and other landholders often look to renewable projects as a reliable source of income.

    To date, the 447 square kilometres of the state owned by Aboriginal Land Councils has not been actively used in the energy transition. As a result, First Nations involvement in the transition has been limited and the renewables boom has not flowed to these communities.

    Making this opportunity a reality will require collaboration with governments, electricity networks and industry, as well as policy support.

    The role of land councils

    In NSW, land councils have been operating since 1983, the year the state government passed laws recognising Aboriginal land rights. About a third of Australia’s First Nations people live in NSW.

    Each land council is governed by Aboriginal members, and they are located in most country towns and across Sydney.

    Land councils have a statutory responsibility “to improve, protect and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal persons within the Council’s area and other persons who are members of the Council”. These councils manage their land to protect culture and heritage.

    Generating wealth through the development of Aboriginal land is a key objective of Aboriginal land rights in NSW.

    Aboriginal goals in the energy transition

    Following analysis of the land potentially available to renewable energy projects, our research moved on to exploring what Aboriginal land councils want from the energy transition.

    We ran workshops with three land councils: Tibooburra in the far northwest, Hay in the southwest and Brewarrina in the northwest of the state. Each had expressed interest in renewable developments and concern around exposure to extreme weather events.

    In these workshops, land council members told us about their priorities for energy.

    Reliable energy was a major concern for Tibooburra, far from the main electricity grid.

    For Brewarrina on the Barwon River, energy security in the face of heatwaves and floods was front of mind. High energy bills in housing ill-equipped for extreme weather was another big issue.

    Members of Hay land council told us they wanted ownership and equity share in renewable energy projects. Their goal was to create opportunities to live, work and care for Country.

    The Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council (brown) is found in the South-West Renewable Energy Zone, while Tibooburra (green) and Brewarrina (orange) land councils are more remote.
    Norman, H., et al. (2025) APPI Policy Insights Paper, CC BY-NC-SA

    Renewable energy, First Nations land

    Aboriginal land councils own and manage about 450 square km of land in NSW. Resolving outstanding land claims would further expand the estate.

    Our analysis reveals current land holdings could host up to 11 gigawatts of solar or 1.6 gigawatts of onshore wind energy projects.

    But several barriers stand in the way. There are long delays in the processing of Aboriginal land claims and the return of vacant Crown Land. This limits options for land councils to contribute to renewable energy development.

    Realising opportunities in the energy transition

    Our case studies demonstrate the potential for Aboriginal land to support the state government’s renewable energy efforts. This can also bring economic and social benefits to Aboriginal communities. But the opportunities will vary from place to place.

    In areas at the edge of the grid, such as Tibooburra and Brewarrina, Aboriginal land could help meet regional energy demand through small to mid-scale wind and solar projects, microgrids and batteries.

    Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council, on the other hand, is in the South-West Renewable Energy Zone. This is an area where new renewable energy projects, storage facilities and high-voltage transmission lines are already being constructed. Land under claim here holds huge economic potential for both mid-scale renewable energy (solar installations feeding into the local electricity network) and large-scale renewable energy projects.

    Unlocking the power of renewable energy zones (NSW EnergyCo)

    How can authorities support land councils?

    At present, local Aboriginal Land Councils need expertise and resources to turn this opportunity into reality.

    Our report identified four broad areas for policy reform:

    1. Build capacity for land councils to manage clean energy opportunities and risks on their landholdings. This could include establishing a dedicated government team to support interested land councils, and funding land councils to engage expertise and develop renewable energy projects.

    2. Enable collaboration between electricity network distributors and land councils to set up microgrids. One case study, Tibooburra Local Aboriginal Land Council had land suitable for a microgrid and battery to support the energy provider. But early-stage support is needed to develop such projects.

    3. Pilot programs to develop mid- and large-scale renewable energy projects on land council holdings. A partnership between lands councils and planning authorities could demonstrate a model for arranging approval processes. Programs by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency have proven successful in the past. We recommend funding these organisations to run a program for land council-developer partnerships in large-scale renewables.

    4. Strengthen recognition of Aboriginal rights to unlock the renewable energy potential of Aboriginal land. This could include expediting land claims and land transfers and providing incentives for cooperation between land councils and Traditional Owners.

    The next five years will be crucial for NSW’s renewable energy transition. Getting the foundations right now could empower Aboriginal landholders and their regional communities to get the most out of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

    Heidi Norman receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Australian Public Policy Institute, Boundless and the NSW Government.

    Saori Miyake receives funding from Australian Public Policy Institute and Boundless for this project.

    Sarah Niklas receives funding from the Australian Public Policy Institute and Boundless for this project.

    Therese Apolonio receives funding from Australian Public Policy Institute, Boundless and the NSW Government.

    – ref. Here’s how First Nations landholders can share the benefits of the NSW energy transition – https://theconversation.com/heres-how-first-nations-landholders-can-share-the-benefits-of-the-nsw-energy-transition-259702

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: My shins hurt after running. Could it be shin splints?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Krissy Kendall, Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan University

    lzf/Getty

    If you’ve started running for the first time, started again after a break, or your workout is more intense, you might have felt it. A dull, nagging ache down your shins after you exercise.

    Should you push through? Or could it be the sign of something more serious?

    Shin splints are one of the most common and preventable injuries among runners, whether new or seasoned.

    The good news is they can usually be treated effectively in a few weeks. But it’s important to recognise when to take a break. Knowing the simple ways to treat and prevent shin splints can prevent a more serious injury, and get you back on track faster.

    What are shin splints?

    Shin splints, medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, are a common overuse injury.

    They cause pain along the inner border of the tibia (shinbone), usually triggered by repetitive stress on the lower leg. Your leg may also feel tender or swell.

    Shin splints are a type of periostitis, which means inflammation of the tissue lining the bone. The pain often fades with rest but quickly returns once activity resumes.

    This kind of injury is especially common in sports such as football, rugby, and track and field, affecting between 4% and 35% of athletes, and up to 20% of runners. It can also affect dancers and military recruits.

    What puts you at risk?

    Shin splints can appear soon after sudden changes to your physical activity or exercise routine.

    For example, you may have started exercising more often or for longer, or more intensely (such as running uphill or for longer distances).

    A variety of factors can add fuel to the fire. They generally fall into two types:

    • activity-related (what you do with your body)

    • biomechanical (how your body moves or is built).

    Aside from sudden spikes in training, activity-related risks include playing sport or running on hard surfaces or exercising in poorly designed shoes. For example, studies of soldiers have shown exercising in unsuitable or worn-out boots increases their risk of overuse injuries in the lower legs, including shin splints.

    Diet may make a difference, too. There is evidence not eating enough calcium can make you more susceptible to shin splints. A vitamin D deficiency may also contribute, since it’s vital for calcium absorption.

    Biomechanical risks can include a higher body mass index (BMI), having one leg longer than the other, tight calf muscles or flat feet (low or unusually inflexible arches).

    If your feet roll in too much when you walk or run – often called flat feet or fallen arches – you’re also more susceptible.

    While some studies suggest female athletes may experience shin splints more often than males, we need more research to fully understand why.

    In short, shin splints aren’t just a bone issue. They reflect a complex mismatch between how much or hard you train and how your body tries (and sometimes fails) to adapt.

    How can I tell if it’s something worse?

    Shin splints are typically less severe than a stress fracture. This is a small crack in the bone caused by repeated impact or overuse, and usually requires a longer recovery period.

    A stress fracture often causes sharp, localised pain that worsens with activity and may even hurt at rest or when touched.

    A simple test can help you decide whether to seek additional advice: if you are unable to hop on one leg about ten times without sharp pain, it’s time to talk to a physio, sports doctor or podiatrist.

    They can assess your symptoms and suggest treatment options. Imaging such as an x-ray or MRI may be used to rule out more serious conditions.

    Treatment: rest, rehab, and return

    The first and most important treatment is rest. Usually, shin splints resolve over three to four weeks. Continuing to train during the healing process will only prolong recovery and increase the risk of more serious injury.

    Other effective strategies include:

    You’ll want to be pain-free for at least three weeks before gradually resuming your exercise routine.

    When returning, go slow and build up the amount and intensity of exercise gradually.

    Prevention is the best treatment

    Preventing shin splints is all about balance and preparation. Here are some evidence-based tips:

    Strengthening your lower leg muscles can prevent further injury.

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

    – ref. My shins hurt after running. Could it be shin splints? – https://theconversation.com/my-shins-hurt-after-running-could-it-be-shin-splints-259370

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘I’m just exhausted’: sexual harassment at work is still rife. These new laws would help

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Ailwood, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Wollongong

    FG Trade/Getty

    Last week, the Australian Human Rights Commission launched a new report on sexual harassment, called Speaking From Experience. It includes the voices of more than 300 victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment from vulnerable communities.

    In it, the commission calls for a new wave of robust law reform measures to protect and support victim-survivors and hold employers accountable.

    This report comes five years after the 2020 Respect@Work report, which made 55 recommendations to address workplace sexual harassment. Yet, in 2022, a survey by the commission found one in three workers had experienced sexual harassment.

    This new report is a watershed one, building on the work already done since 2020. So how far have we come in dealing with workplace sexual harassment? And how would new laws help?

    What’s in the new report?

    The Australian Human Rights Commission’s new report, Speaking From Experience, emerges from the Respect@Work recommendations.

    Recommendation 27 of the Respect@Work report suggested the commission establish a way to hear historical disclosures of workplace sexual harassment. The commission then turned this recommendation into its latest release.

    This report was a listening process that put victim-survivors front and centre. First Nations, migrant, LGBTQIA+, disabled and young workers were the main contributors to the report.

    An example of the experiences of the contributors is a fast food worker, who said:

    I know personally for me, as a queer person, I’m just exhausted […] it’s
    just a lot of mental energy and for nothing to happen, or for it to cause
    more problems, it’s just like really a deterrent…

    The commission was particularly concerned with identifying what does – and what does not – help victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment. The contributors shed light on what needs to change in the workplace and in the law.

    One major theme was about non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which are commonly used to settle workplace sexual harassment claims.

    NDAs restrict who victim-survivors can speak to about their experience of workplace sexual harassment, including colleagues, friends, family and in public. Sometimes these agreements can hamper attempts to get support for the harassment.

    The commission found victim-survivors are often pressured to sign NDAs in circumstances where the employer has far more power.

    The commission recommended new legislation to restrict using agreements in this way.

    This recommendation extends well beyond Respect@Work, which only produced best-practice guidelines. Extending the regulation is an important step forward, as subsequent research has revealed how ineffective these guidelines have been in practice.

    Australia is now out of step with the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, which have all regulated the use of NDAs after the #MeToo movement.

    Working Women’s Centres are currently leading a sector-wide campaign for change, and the regulation of NDAs is underway in Victoria.

    Improving the positive duty

    Respect@Work introduced a positive duty on people running a business or undertaking to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace.

    In Speaking From Experience, the commission is asking for enhanced regulatory powers to enforce the positive duty to make it more effective.



    Read more:
    Explainer: what is a ‘positive duty’ to prevent workplace sexual harassment and why is it so important?

    The commission is currently prevented from speaking publicly, or to other regulatory agencies, about its enforcement activities unless it has entered an “enforceable undertaking” with an organisation or applied for a Federal Court order.

    This means that, 18 months after being empowered to enforce the positive duty, the commission can’t speak publicly about how it is doing so.

    To be an effective regulator, it must be able to publicise its enforcement actions and share information with other agencies.

    The current law actually contributes to the culture of silencing and secrecy that continues to shroud workplace sexual harassment.

    Further, there are currently no civil penalties for breaching the positive duty. In Speaking From Experience, the commission found this limits the extent to which some workplace leaders will take the positive duty seriously. It found this risks turning the prevention of workplace sexual harassment into a box-ticking compliance process.

    The recommendations about penalties and transparency represent an acknowledgement that the commission’s powers to create systemic and structural change to target workplace sexual harassment are too limited.

    In the absence of penalties, risk to reputation – the fear that public exposure of inaction or permissive workplace cultures concerning sexual harassment – remains the greatest incentive for employers to comply with the positive duty.

    But workplace sexual harassment has been unlawful for more than 30 years. The current law does little more than continue to ask employers to do the right thing.

    If the commission is not given the powers it needs to effectively enforce the law, too much reliance is placed on individual complainants to take action. As the Speaking From Experience report reveals, that means victim-survivors would need to overcome massive social, economic, cultural and legal barriers.

    Over to the government

    Speaking From Experience is a significant moment for workplace sexual harassment law reform and policy in Australia. It continues the work that Respect@Work started and takes it in a new direction, focusing on protecting and supporting victim-survivors and accountability for employers.

    The Albanese government says it’s serious about addressing workplace gender equality and the prevention of violence against women. If that’s true, it should implement the commission’s recommendations in full, and quickly.

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

    – ref. ‘I’m just exhausted’: sexual harassment at work is still rife. These new laws would help – https://theconversation.com/im-just-exhausted-sexual-harassment-at-work-is-still-rife-these-new-laws-would-help-259884

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘I’m just exhausted’: sexual harassment at work is still rife. These new laws would help

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Ailwood, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Wollongong

    FG Trade/Getty

    Last week, the Australian Human Rights Commission launched a new report on sexual harassment, called Speaking From Experience. It includes the voices of more than 300 victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment from vulnerable communities.

    In it, the commission calls for a new wave of robust law reform measures to protect and support victim-survivors and hold employers accountable.

    This report comes five years after the 2020 Respect@Work report, which made 55 recommendations to address workplace sexual harassment. Yet, in 2022, a survey by the commission found one in three workers had experienced sexual harassment.

    This new report is a watershed one, building on the work already done since 2020. So how far have we come in dealing with workplace sexual harassment? And how would new laws help?

    What’s in the new report?

    The Australian Human Rights Commission’s new report, Speaking From Experience, emerges from the Respect@Work recommendations.

    Recommendation 27 of the Respect@Work report suggested the commission establish a way to hear historical disclosures of workplace sexual harassment. The commission then turned this recommendation into its latest release.

    This report was a listening process that put victim-survivors front and centre. First Nations, migrant, LGBTQIA+, disabled and young workers were the main contributors to the report.

    An example of the experiences of the contributors is a fast food worker, who said:

    I know personally for me, as a queer person, I’m just exhausted […] it’s
    just a lot of mental energy and for nothing to happen, or for it to cause
    more problems, it’s just like really a deterrent…

    The commission was particularly concerned with identifying what does – and what does not – help victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment. The contributors shed light on what needs to change in the workplace and in the law.

    One major theme was about non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which are commonly used to settle workplace sexual harassment claims.

    NDAs restrict who victim-survivors can speak to about their experience of workplace sexual harassment, including colleagues, friends, family and in public. Sometimes these agreements can hamper attempts to get support for the harassment.

    The commission found victim-survivors are often pressured to sign NDAs in circumstances where the employer has far more power.

    The commission recommended new legislation to restrict using agreements in this way.

    This recommendation extends well beyond Respect@Work, which only produced best-practice guidelines. Extending the regulation is an important step forward, as subsequent research has revealed how ineffective these guidelines have been in practice.

    Australia is now out of step with the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, which have all regulated the use of NDAs after the #MeToo movement.

    Working Women’s Centres are currently leading a sector-wide campaign for change, and the regulation of NDAs is underway in Victoria.

    Improving the positive duty

    Respect@Work introduced a positive duty on people running a business or undertaking to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace.

    In Speaking From Experience, the commission is asking for enhanced regulatory powers to enforce the positive duty to make it more effective.



    Read more:
    Explainer: what is a ‘positive duty’ to prevent workplace sexual harassment and why is it so important?

    The commission is currently prevented from speaking publicly, or to other regulatory agencies, about its enforcement activities unless it has entered an “enforceable undertaking” with an organisation or applied for a Federal Court order.

    This means that, 18 months after being empowered to enforce the positive duty, the commission can’t speak publicly about how it is doing so.

    To be an effective regulator, it must be able to publicise its enforcement actions and share information with other agencies.

    The current law actually contributes to the culture of silencing and secrecy that continues to shroud workplace sexual harassment.

    Further, there are currently no civil penalties for breaching the positive duty. In Speaking From Experience, the commission found this limits the extent to which some workplace leaders will take the positive duty seriously. It found this risks turning the prevention of workplace sexual harassment into a box-ticking compliance process.

    The recommendations about penalties and transparency represent an acknowledgement that the commission’s powers to create systemic and structural change to target workplace sexual harassment are too limited.

    In the absence of penalties, risk to reputation – the fear that public exposure of inaction or permissive workplace cultures concerning sexual harassment – remains the greatest incentive for employers to comply with the positive duty.

    But workplace sexual harassment has been unlawful for more than 30 years. The current law does little more than continue to ask employers to do the right thing.

    If the commission is not given the powers it needs to effectively enforce the law, too much reliance is placed on individual complainants to take action. As the Speaking From Experience report reveals, that means victim-survivors would need to overcome massive social, economic, cultural and legal barriers.

    Over to the government

    Speaking From Experience is a significant moment for workplace sexual harassment law reform and policy in Australia. It continues the work that Respect@Work started and takes it in a new direction, focusing on protecting and supporting victim-survivors and accountability for employers.

    The Albanese government says it’s serious about addressing workplace gender equality and the prevention of violence against women. If that’s true, it should implement the commission’s recommendations in full, and quickly.

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

    – ref. ‘I’m just exhausted’: sexual harassment at work is still rife. These new laws would help – https://theconversation.com/im-just-exhausted-sexual-harassment-at-work-is-still-rife-these-new-laws-would-help-259884

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Do you have Bitcoin? Be aware of the tax consequences of selling your investment

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Allen, Senior lecturer, Curtin University

    Bitcoin is ubiquitous. It is impossible to open a social media stream or news source without encountering yet another mention of the topic. Many Australians have invested, hoping for a good return.

    But they may not have considered the tax consequences of their investments. So some might be in for an unexpected surprise.

    The tax implications of Bitcoin ownership and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum largely turns on how seriously an investor pursues and manages their purchase.

    Given the enormous computing power and electric power needed to create Bitcoin from scratch, few Australians are actively mining Bitcoins.

    Mining involves creating digital information that yields the unique data “tokens” known as Bitcoins. It involves using specialised software to add new groups of transactions (known as blocks) to the shared transaction record (known as the blockchain.

    Trading in Bitcoins

    People who create Bitcoins are considered to be running a business and face the same tax consequences as any other active business, paying ordinary income tax on their profits.

    However, most Australian Bitcoin investors are using online exchanges to buy and sell already created Bitcoins.

    For them, the tax consequences will depend in the first instance on the frequency with which they buy or sell their Bitcoins and the level of study and ongoing monitoring and management they assign to the investment.

    A passive Bitcoin investor who simply buys some coins and largely ignores it until an opportune time to sell comes up will be treated purely as an investor by the Australian Taxation Office.

    For these people, the coins are characterised as passive investment assets similar to ownership of shares, gold or land. These Bitcoin investors will be subject to the capital gains rules in the income tax law.

    If they realise a gain on the sale of Bitcoin and the sale takes place within a year of the purchase, the gain will be fully included in the investor’s taxable income for the year the sale took place.

    If the sale takes place more than a year after purchase, the investor will qualify for a capital gains tax discount that makes half the gain exempt from tax, with only half included in their assessable income subject to taxation.

    But if the investor has a loss on the sale of Bitcoin, it can be recognised for tax purposes. But it will be quarantined against capital gains realised by the investor.

    In other words, it can only be used to reduce the amount of capital gains realised by the investor on the sale of other assets.

    Assumptions challenged

    While it is generally thought the capital gains treatment of Bitcoin sales has been settled for some time, a recent criminal case challenges some commonly accepted assumptions.

    The case was brought against a police officer charged with stealing Bitcoin recorded on a hardware wallet seized in a drug raid.

    The magistrate suggested Bitcoin was an asset (a view consistent with that of the tax office) but went on to suggest it was property similar to money.

    This led at least one tax lawyer to suggest there would be no tax consequences from selling Bitcoin for cash, as this would be akin to exchanging money for other money.

    It is, however, very unlikely a tax court would use a comment from the criminal case to unwind what has been settled tax law.

    Active investors

    If investors plays a more active role by frequently buying and selling Bitcoin or by actively researching and monitoring factors affecting its price, the tax office may consider they have shifted from being a passive investor to an active trader.

    A number of tax consequences follow.

    At one time, designation as a Bitcoin trader might have triggered a GST liability. If an investment trader has sales exceeding A$75,000 per year, they are considered an enterprise that must register as a GST business and pay GST on sales of goods or services.

    This included sales of Bitcoins, which were regarded as intangible goods by the tax office similar to music, films or other types of personal consumption.

    The tax office’s view

    However, following a very intense and ultimately successful lobbying campaign by digital commerce groups, the tax office revised its view and now considers Bitcoin to be a form of money for GST purposes.

    That means a sale of Bitcoin is treated as an exchange of money similar to changing Australian dollars for UK pounds or a $10 bill for five $2 coins.

    The office now recognises no sale of goods or services when there is a transfer of Bitcoin, leaving the transaction outside the goods and services tax system.

    The tax office’s view is the characterisation of Bitcoin as equivalent to money for goods and services tax purposes has no bearing on its character for income tax purposes. Instead, it is treated the same as any other trading stock or business asset if the seller is considered a trader.

    This has two implications. First, if the seller realises a gain on the sale of Bitcoin, the full amount of the gain is included in the person’s taxable income, regardless of whether it is sold more or less than one year after acquisition.

    Secondly, and very importantly for some, if an investor has a loss on the sale of Bitcoin – for every winner there is a loser in the investment world – and can convince the tax office they are an active trader, they can recognise the full loss. This means they can use the loss to offset other taxable income including wage and salary or business or professional income.

    Those who have taken the plunge into a Bitcoin investment or those considering the possibility should first consider carefully the tax consequences.

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

    – ref. Do you have Bitcoin? Be aware of the tax consequences of selling your investment – https://theconversation.com/do-you-have-bitcoin-be-aware-of-the-tax-consequences-of-selling-your-investment-259671

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Occupational therapists tackle obstacles in the home, from support to cook a meal, to navigating public transport

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Hitch, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Deakin University

    Occupational therapists (OTs) have been in the spotlight this month after the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) froze NDIS payments for these services at $193.99 per hour for the sixth year.

    The NDIA also cut travel payments for OTs who visit people in their home and community by 50%.

    Health Minister Mark Bulter says it’s important people on the NDIS aren’t paying more for therapy and support than they would pay in the health or aged care system.

    But OTs are concerned this could affect therapists’ viability, including their ability to support people with disability in their homes and communities.

    But what can OTs actually do? And why is it often better to do this in a person’s home and community?

    Who might see an OT?

    Imagine trying to get back to your daily life after a major health setback, such as a car accident or stroke, or an episode of a long-term condition or disability, such as depression or arthritis. The things you used to do with ease can become difficult and exhausting.

    After such a setback, your home or community can also feel like an obstacle course. Maybe you can’t carry the laundry basket out to the line anymore, or you’re struggling to keep up with your children.

    This is where occupational therapy can make a real difference. OTs are health professionals that enable people to do the things they need, want and love to do in daily life, from getting dressed to cooking dinner, gardening to driving.

    Occupational therapists work with people of all ages. They overcome barriers by changing the environments and objects we use, teaching new skills, rehabilitating old ones and tweaking the way we tackle tasks.

    What can OTs do in the home and community?

    Seeing people in their own homes and communities allows the therapist to get a more accurate picture of a person’s strengths and abilities, which can be difficult to understand in a clinic.

    OTs use their skills and creativity to provide personalised care, tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

    An older person with dementia might, for example, cause alarm by putting a plastic kettle on the stove of a hospital kitchen. But they could make their cup of tea perfectly safely at home with their stove top kettle.

    OTs can support home and community mobility, such as checking a wheelchair passes smoothly through doorways and can manoeuvre in tight spaces such as bathrooms.

    But they can also advise on kitchen aids and seating to save energy for people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, to support them continuing to cook family meals.

    In their work with neurodivergent people of different ages, an OT might help an autistic teen develop sensory strategies to deal with their busy and noisy school day.

    For other people, OT support might help them navigate their local public transport system. Learning and practising skills where they’re used makes it easier to carry them over into everyday life.

    What does the research say?

    Research shows home and community OT can lead to better activity and participation than clinic-based therapy. It’s also cost-effective.

    For stroke survivors, OT makes everyday tasks like showering or getting dressed easier.

    OT at home eases burden and stress for the parents of children with cerebral palsy and carers of people with dementia.

    OT at home helps older people with ongoing health issues to be more actively involved in their communities.

    Community OT is also effective in supporting recovery for people with mental health problems, enabling them to enjoy community and leisure activities, seek and maintain employment and enhance physical activity.

    OT focuses on helping you do the things that keep you well and independent, which means fewer trips back to the hospital. OTs can spot and solve trip hazards within homes, for example, before a frail person has a fall.

    People who get OT at home soon after leaving hospital are less likely to be readmitted. Emerging research also suggests OT can work jointly with paramedics when someone falls at home by visiting and offering immediate treatment that prevent avoidable hospital stays.

    There are some downsides, such as limited access in disadvantaged communities. While telehealth can address some barriers, it is not suitable in every case.

    How do Australians access OTs?

    There are many pathways to access OT services, but the complexity of the health-care system means the process is challenging to navigate.

    OT services can also be costly, due to severely limited funding, equipment and transport costs.

    OT is available as part of Home Care Packages and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme for older people.

    OT has also played a key role in supporting NDIS participants since the scheme’s inception. However, waiting lists often stretch for many months and not everyone knows about what OT can offer.

    You can also access community OT through Medicare Chronic Disease Management plans, local community health centres and councils and through private health insurance rebates.

    Thanks to Lana O’Neil (Occupational Therapist at Western Health in Victoria) and Sarah McCann (Senior Occupational Therapist at Western Health) for sharing their clinical expertise for this article.

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

    – ref. Occupational therapists tackle obstacles in the home, from support to cook a meal, to navigating public transport – https://theconversation.com/occupational-therapists-tackle-obstacles-in-the-home-from-support-to-cook-a-meal-to-navigating-public-transport-259807

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s cutest mammal is now Australia’s cutest three mammals

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Dodd, PhD Student in Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy, The University of Western Australia

    The long-eared kultarr (_A. auritus_) is the middle child in terms of body size, but it has by far the biggest ears. Ken Johnson

    Australia is home to more than 60 species of carnivorous marsupials in the family Dasyuridae. Almost a quarter of those have only been scientifically recognised in the past 25 years.

    Other than the iconic Tasmanian devil, chances are most of these small, fascinating species have slipped under your radar. One of the rarest and most elusive is the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), a feisty insect-eater found in very low numbers across much of the outback.

    To the untrained eye, the kultarr looks very much like a hopping mouse, with long legs, a long tail and a tendency to rest on its hind legs. However, it runs much like a greyhound – but its tiny size and high speed makes it look like it’s hopping.

    Kultarr or kultarrs?

    Until now, the kultarr was thought to be a single widespread species, ranging from central New South Wales to the Carnarvon Basin on Australia’s west coast. However, a genetic study in 2023 suggested there could be more than one species.

    With backing from the Australian Biological Resources Study, our team of researchers from the University of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology set out to investigate.

    We travelled to museums in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth to look at every kultarr that had been collected by scientists over the past century. By combining detailed genetic data with body and skull measurements, we discovered the kultarr isn’t one widespread species, but three distinct species.

    Three species of kultarrs

    The eastern kultarr (A. laniger) is the smallest of the three, with an average body length of about 7.5cm. It’s darker in colour than its relatives, and while its ears are still big, they are nowhere near as big as those of the other two species.

    The eastern kultarr is now found on hard clay soils around Cobar in central NSW and north to around Charleville in southern Queensland.

    The eastern kultarr (A. laniger) is the smallest of the three species.
    Pat Woolley

    The gibber kultarr (A. spenceri) is the largest and stockiest, with an average body length of around 9cm. They are noticeably chunkier than the other two more dainty species, with big heads, thick legs and much longer hindfeet.

    As its name suggests, the gibber kultarr is restricted to the extensive stony deserts or “gibber plains” in southwest Queensland and northeast South Australia.

    The gibber kultarr (A. spenceri) is largest and stockiest.
    Ken Johnson

    The long-eared kultarr (A. auritus) is the middle child in terms of body size, but its ears set it apart. They’re nearly as long as its head.

    It’s found in patchy populations in the central and western sandy deserts, living on isolated stony plains.

    The long-eared kultarr (A. auritus) is the middle child in terms of body size, but it has by far the biggest ears.
    Ken Johnson

    Are they threatened?

    All three species of kultarr are hard to find, making it difficult to confidently estimate population sizes and evaluate extinction risk. The long-eared and gibber kultarrs don’t appear to be in immediate danger, but land clearing and invasive predators such as cats and foxes have likely affected their numbers.

    The three species of kultarr seem to now inhabit smaller areas than in the past.
    Cameron Dodd

    The eastern kultarr, however, is more of a concern. By looking at museum specimens going back all the way to the 1890s, we found it was once much more widespread.

    Historic records suggest the eastern kultarr used to occur across the entirety of arid NSW and even spread north through central Queensland and into the Northern Territory. We now think this species may be extinct in the NT and parts of northwest Queensland.

    What’s next?

    To protect kultarrs into the future, we need targeted surveys to confirm where each species still survives, especially the eastern kultarr, whose current range may be just a shadow of its former extent. With better knowledge, we can prioritise conservation actions where they’re most needed, and ensure these remarkable, long-legged hunters don’t disappear before we truly get to know them.

    Australia still has many small mammal species that haven’t been formally described. Unless we identify and name them, they remain invisible in conservation policy.

    Taxonomic research like this is essential – we can’t protect what we don’t yet know exists. And without action, some species may disappear before they’re ever officially recognised.

    The authors wish to acknowledge the important contributions of Adjunct Professor Mike Westerman at La Trobe University to the research discussed in this article.

    Cameron Dodd receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study and Society of Australian Systematic Biologists.

    Andrew M. Baker receives funding from the Federal Government, State Governments, Australian Biological Resources Study and various Industry sources.

    Kenny Travouillon receives funding from Australian Biological Resources Study.

    Linette Umbrello receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) National Taxonomy Research Grant Program (NTRGP)

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

    – ref. Australia’s cutest mammal is now Australia’s cutest three mammals – https://theconversation.com/australias-cutest-mammal-is-now-australias-cutest-three-mammals-260006

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Australia’s cutest mammal is now Australia’s cutest three mammals

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Cameron Dodd, PhD Student in Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy, The University of Western Australia

    The long-eared kultarr (_A. auritus_) is the middle child in terms of body size, but it has by far the biggest ears. Ken Johnson

    Australia is home to more than 60 species of carnivorous marsupials in the family Dasyuridae. Almost a quarter of those have only been scientifically recognised in the past 25 years.

    Other than the iconic Tasmanian devil, chances are most of these small, fascinating species have slipped under your radar. One of the rarest and most elusive is the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), a feisty insect-eater found in very low numbers across much of the outback.

    To the untrained eye, the kultarr looks very much like a hopping mouse, with long legs, a long tail and a tendency to rest on its hind legs. However, it runs much like a greyhound – but its tiny size and high speed makes it look like it’s hopping.

    Kultarr or kultarrs?

    Until now, the kultarr was thought to be a single widespread species, ranging from central New South Wales to the Carnarvon Basin on Australia’s west coast. However, a genetic study in 2023 suggested there could be more than one species.

    With backing from the Australian Biological Resources Study, our team of researchers from the University of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology set out to investigate.

    We travelled to museums in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth to look at every kultarr that had been collected by scientists over the past century. By combining detailed genetic data with body and skull measurements, we discovered the kultarr isn’t one widespread species, but three distinct species.

    Three species of kultarrs

    The eastern kultarr (A. laniger) is the smallest of the three, with an average body length of about 7.5cm. It’s darker in colour than its relatives, and while its ears are still big, they are nowhere near as big as those of the other two species.

    The eastern kultarr is now found on hard clay soils around Cobar in central NSW and north to around Charleville in southern Queensland.

    The eastern kultarr (A. laniger) is the smallest of the three species.
    Pat Woolley

    The gibber kultarr (A. spenceri) is the largest and stockiest, with an average body length of around 9cm. They are noticeably chunkier than the other two more dainty species, with big heads, thick legs and much longer hindfeet.

    As its name suggests, the gibber kultarr is restricted to the extensive stony deserts or “gibber plains” in southwest Queensland and northeast South Australia.

    The gibber kultarr (A. spenceri) is largest and stockiest.
    Ken Johnson

    The long-eared kultarr (A. auritus) is the middle child in terms of body size, but its ears set it apart. They’re nearly as long as its head.

    It’s found in patchy populations in the central and western sandy deserts, living on isolated stony plains.

    The long-eared kultarr (A. auritus) is the middle child in terms of body size, but it has by far the biggest ears.
    Ken Johnson

    Are they threatened?

    All three species of kultarr are hard to find, making it difficult to confidently estimate population sizes and evaluate extinction risk. The long-eared and gibber kultarrs don’t appear to be in immediate danger, but land clearing and invasive predators such as cats and foxes have likely affected their numbers.

    The three species of kultarr seem to now inhabit smaller areas than in the past.
    Cameron Dodd

    The eastern kultarr, however, is more of a concern. By looking at museum specimens going back all the way to the 1890s, we found it was once much more widespread.

    Historic records suggest the eastern kultarr used to occur across the entirety of arid NSW and even spread north through central Queensland and into the Northern Territory. We now think this species may be extinct in the NT and parts of northwest Queensland.

    What’s next?

    To protect kultarrs into the future, we need targeted surveys to confirm where each species still survives, especially the eastern kultarr, whose current range may be just a shadow of its former extent. With better knowledge, we can prioritise conservation actions where they’re most needed, and ensure these remarkable, long-legged hunters don’t disappear before we truly get to know them.

    Australia still has many small mammal species that haven’t been formally described. Unless we identify and name them, they remain invisible in conservation policy.

    Taxonomic research like this is essential – we can’t protect what we don’t yet know exists. And without action, some species may disappear before they’re ever officially recognised.

    The authors wish to acknowledge the important contributions of Adjunct Professor Mike Westerman at La Trobe University to the research discussed in this article.

    Cameron Dodd receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study and Society of Australian Systematic Biologists.

    Andrew M. Baker receives funding from the Federal Government, State Governments, Australian Biological Resources Study and various Industry sources.

    Kenny Travouillon receives funding from Australian Biological Resources Study.

    Linette Umbrello receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) National Taxonomy Research Grant Program (NTRGP)

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

    – ref. Australia’s cutest mammal is now Australia’s cutest three mammals – https://theconversation.com/australias-cutest-mammal-is-now-australias-cutest-three-mammals-260006

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: On her new album, Lorde creates pop at its purest – performative, playful and alive to paradox

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Rosemary Overell, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies, University of Otago

    “✏️Describe the vibe” goes the demand to commenters underneath the YouTube video for Lorde’s latest single, “Hammer”. Fans form a flow; a “vibe check” in Zillenial parlance:

    The pure rawness … (@lynmariegm)

    A more raw true-to-self form … (@m3lodr4matic)

    This is pure art … (@anishm-g1r)

    Lorde’s 2013 debut album was titled Pure Heroine. But, she tells us – and fans and critics agree – Virgin is the first album which “does not lie”. Pure pop. Not lying is not necessarily synonymous with truth, however. Rather, not lying in the present cultural moment is more akin to the careful articulation of a whole vibe.

    For women in particular, truth, authenticity – dare I say realness – mean modulating their feelings, but also a particular calibration and presentation of their bodies in media.

    Such a balancing act is captured in that YouTube imperative which moves between the pencil (“✏️”) – the demand to describe – and the “vibe”, the very thing we often find too hard to write down or put into words.

    Pop music is often at the nexus of these two seemingly opposite moves. Think about going to a gig and afterwards being asked “how was it?”, and all you can say is “you had to be there”.

    Of course it is not so simple. We are always putting our feeling into words – describing all manner of bodily responses. Lorde herself sings in “Broken Glass” about how her eating disordered body was marked by language: the “arithmetic” of calorie counting. Elsewhere, she lists other social signifiers in which she is enmeshed: daughter (“Favourite Daughter”), siren, saint (“Shapeshifter”).

    Words and the body

    Nonetheless, the repeated theme in press interviews is that Virgin moves beyond language, towards a pure woman’s body, free of the mark of sexuality. At the same time, the album is also “ravenously horny” according to one review. She is both as pure as a newborn (a “Virgin”), but marked by her sexuality.

    The song “Current Affairs” most clearly demonstrates proximity between the sexed body and its description in lyrics. Lorde collapses into her lover’s body (“He spit in my mouth”). But when he breaks her heart, she cannot put into language the hurt. Rather she blames her anguish on the news: “current affairs”.

    Pop music and pop culture thrives off the market exchange and saleability of sex, particularly young women’s sex. When I first wrote about Lorde 11 years ago, I pitted her against Miley Cyrus, noting the outrage at Miley’s “growing up” (from Hannah Montana to adulthood), which mapped onto her perceived new working class, tasteless identity.

    Against the crass vulgarity of Miley, I argued then, we had the middle-class intellectualism of Lorde. The argument stands. Virgin certainly adds a heightened sexiness to Lorde, but it is far from crude. She is branded, not just by the market (the cost of tour tickets and merchandise), but also by her identity as a tasteful and hip woman.

    More fleshy (“wide hips/soft lips” she sings in “GRWM”) than the teen “Royal” of 2012, but still on Universal Music Group’s repertoire and still circulated as an “alt” option for pop fans.

    We can also think of Lorde’s collaboration with her current working class alter, and last year’s popstar commodity, Charli XCX. In Lorde’s verse in “Girl, so confusing” she notes Charli is, essentially, a “Chav” – “still a young girl from Essex”. But in the same verse, Lorde shows her awareness of both women’s function on the market:

    People say we’re alike

    They say we’ve got the same hair

    It’s you and me on the coin

    The industry loves to spend

    This knowing wink to how women move within the pop-culture marketplace produces a different kind of purity, one based on an intimacy between the popstar and her listeners. We all know Lorde’s difference from Charli is about image: the “poet” versus the party girl.

    Intimacy as purity is part of what cultural theorist Anna Kornbluh recently dubbed the pressure of “immediacy”, characterised by an apparently ceaseless flow and demand to constantly share images and video of our bodies, afforded by the scroll of social media.

    While the depiction of our bodies and selves on screens is fundamental to this moment, according to Kornbluh, we contradictorily lose sight of this screening. Feeling as though we are #NoFilter – present and real. Key to this is the exhibition of our feelings and emotions.

    For all women, but particularly those in the public eye, the sharing of these feelings materialise into “coin”. Vulnerability, pleasure, all-the-feels-all-the-time – especially for women – make “bank”.

    Intimacy and knowingness

    Vulnerability has been a catch-cry in media characterisations of Virgin. Critics and fans equate Lorde’s lyrical confessions and press tour patter with a market-valuable “purity”, equated with immediate access (to quote the YouTube fan above) to a “true-to-self” Lorde.

    One of her more amusing (but fitting) press engagements was on Bella Freud’s Fashion Neurosis podcast. On the couch, we hear Lorde, wearing a Yohji Yamamoto blazer, musing about vulnerability, gender and her mother – with the great granddaughter of Sigmund Freud.

    Fashion Neurosis: Lorde on the psychiatrist’s couch.

    While the Charli XCX track shows Lorde’s intimacy through her knowingness about her role as “coin” for the music industry, the music videos from Virgin offer a more embodied intimacy. The clip for the album’s first single, “What Was That?”, features an extreme closeup inside her mouth. The album cover itself is an X-ray showing her hips and her IUD.

    Kornbluh suggests this emphasis on often literal bodily interiors – people’s “insides” – produces an ersatz sense of closeness and sociality, as our relationships become more and more beholden to the alienating circuits of “social” media.

    Virgin does not lie. It traces a truth of our times – a paradoxical truth – that we are at our most intimate, our most pure, when we are unmediated, all the while bearing out the imperative to “✏️Describe the vibe” – to mediate and expose ourselves onscreen.

    My own vibe check? I love the album. It is pop at its purest – performative, playful and certainly worth paying attention to.

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

    – ref. On her new album, Lorde creates pop at its purest – performative, playful and alive to paradox – https://theconversation.com/on-her-new-album-lorde-creates-pop-at-its-purest-performative-playful-and-alive-to-paradox-259994

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Men traded wares – but women traded knowledge: what a new archeological study tells us about PNG sea trade

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Skelly, Archaeologist, Monash University

    Women loading pots on a Motu lakatoi trading vessel, in this photograph published in 1887.
     J. W. Lindt

    Australia’s closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is a place of remarkable cultural diversity. Home to cultures speaking more than 800 languages, this region has been interconnected by seafaring trade networks for thousands of years.

    Because seafaring was most often undertaken by men, it has long been assumed by anthropologists and archaeologists that information sharing between different cultures came via men.

    Our new archaeological research sheds light on the often overlooked role of women in developing past trade relationships. We found knowledge being shared that couldn’t have been shared among men – pointing the direction towards complicated relationships between women in cultures based hundreds of kilometres apart.

    Trade networks across Papua New Guinea’s south coast in the 19th century.
    Robert Skelly and Bruno David (2017)., CC BY-NC-ND

    The adventurous deeds of male seafarers

    In 1883, Papua New Guinea was colonised and annexed by Britain. Foreign anthropologists such as Darwin’s collaborator Thomas Huxley, Charles Seligman and Bronislaw Malinowski arrived shortly after.

    These male anthropologists became enamoured of the region’s seagoing trade networks, featuring huge sailing canoes, dangerous voyages and complex trade relationships.

    Their accounts often focused on the seafaring heroics of the men of Papua New Guinea. This is partly because they spoke to men almost exclusively, and partly because they admired fellow seagoing, risk-taking adventurers.

    The best example of this is Malinowski’s famous book Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922), where he likens the voyagers of the Trobriands to Jason’s band of male adventurers in Greek mythology.

    Women seldom took centre stage in these histories.

    Yet crucially, women maintained the knowledge of how to make the earthenware pottery used for trade.

    Tracing trade through pottery

    These early anthropologists left us with detailed but male-focused accounts of trade networks. It is left to today’s archaeologists to trace histories of trade back in time, using material culture and carbon dates to see when it began.

    Most of the archaeology over the past six decades has taken place around Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s capital.

    This is the homeland of the Motu people (among others), famous for their long-distance trade.

    In the late 19th century, Motu men sailed west each year in fleets of up to 20 ships carrying some 20,000 pots. These were then traded for food with people in the Gulf of Papua.

    Archaeologists who began researching seafaring and trade on Papua New Guinea’s south coast in the 1960s were enthralled by early anthropological accounts. When they started to uncover similar-looking pieces of pottery across 400km of coastline, they thought it was probably made in one location and carried by seafarers.

    The most famous archaeological site near Port Moresby is Motupore Island. Excavations in the 1970s and 1980s recovered a staggering four tons of pottery fragments.

    In 2022, we began new excavations at Hood Bay, 100km to the east of Motupore Island, in partnership with the local Keapara communities. We found pieces of pottery with the same decorations as those found at Motupore Island. Yet there was no evidence of pottery ever being made in Hood Bay.

    Reflecting on what anthropologists had earlier written, it seemed reasonable to think that pottery was brought to Hood Bay by seafaring traders. But a crucial puzzle piece was missing: where was the pottery made?

    Shedding light on women’s roles

    We used an advanced type of scanning electron microscopy to compare the minerals and clay in pottery from Hood Bay and Motupore.

    Earthenware pottery is mostly made from clay and sand. By finding out what types of sand minerals are in the pottery we can see where it might have been made.

    To our surprise, we found the pottery was indeed locally made and was not traded by sea from Port Moresby. This is the first evidence of pottery being made in Hood Bay, a practice that was lost sometime in the past 300 years.

    So why did the pottery from two distant locations look so similar? If the pottery was not being traded, people must have been exchanging ideas about how to make it.

    Like the pottery, women’s tattoo designs at the two locations were also the same. This suggests community relationships were maintained through women sharing knowledge.

    Tattooing was an important women’s cultural practice in these regions, and tattoos signified major life stages such as marriage.

    Interestingly, the marriage tattoos used in Port Moresby and Hood Bay were identical in the 19th century, but no one that anthropologists spoke to remembered why. The tattoo designs suggest that Motu and Keapara women were once in very close contact.

    Successful pottery production requires precise skills. Becoming a proficient pottery maker was a long learning process for Motu women who acquired the skills needed from their aunts and mothers.

    The identical decoration on pots made by Motu and Keapara women can only be explained if ideas about pottery decoration were shared by women among each other and passed down through generations. Men were not involved in making pottery, so this knowledge was not shared by seafaring men.

    This means it was not the trading ventures of men that connected coastal villages, but women’s know-how.

    Women moved between villages and carried with them the knowledge of how to make and decorate pottery and shared ideas about tattoo designs.

    Hundreds of years ago it was women who caused cultural traditions to spread – possibly through intermarriage – linking communities along Papua New Guinea’s south coast.

    Robert Skelly receives funding from Australian Research Council DE200100544.

    Barbara Etschmann, Chris Urwin, Joël Brugger, and Teppsy Beni do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Men traded wares – but women traded knowledge: what a new archeological study tells us about PNG sea trade – https://theconversation.com/men-traded-wares-but-women-traded-knowledge-what-a-new-archeological-study-tells-us-about-png-sea-trade-258184

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: On her new album, Lorde creates pop at its purest – performative, playful and alive to paradox

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Overell, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies, University of Otago

    “✏️Describe the vibe” goes the demand to commenters underneath the YouTube video for Lorde’s latest single, “Hammer”. Fans form a flow; a “vibe check” in Zillenial parlance:

    The pure rawness … (@lynmariegm)

    A more raw true-to-self form … (@m3lodr4matic)

    This is pure art … (@anishm-g1r)

    Lorde’s 2013 debut album was titled Pure Heroine. But, she tells us – and fans and critics agree – Virgin is the first album which “does not lie”. Pure pop. Not lying is not necessarily synonymous with truth, however. Rather, not lying in the present cultural moment is more akin to the careful articulation of a whole vibe.

    For women in particular, truth, authenticity – dare I say realness – mean modulating their feelings, but also a particular calibration and presentation of their bodies in media.

    Such a balancing act is captured in that YouTube imperative which moves between the pencil (“✏️”) – the demand to describe – and the “vibe”, the very thing we often find too hard to write down or put into words.

    Pop music is often at the nexus of these two seemingly opposite moves. Think about going to a gig and afterwards being asked “how was it?”, and all you can say is “you had to be there”.

    Of course it is not so simple. We are always putting our feeling into words – describing all manner of bodily responses. Lorde herself sings in “Broken Glass” about how her eating disordered body was marked by language: the “arithmetic” of calorie counting. Elsewhere, she lists other social signifiers in which she is enmeshed: daughter (“Favourite Daughter”), siren, saint (“Shapeshifter”).

    Words and the body

    Nonetheless, the repeated theme in press interviews is that Virgin moves beyond language, towards a pure woman’s body, free of the mark of sexuality. At the same time, the album is also “ravenously horny” according to one review. She is both as pure as a newborn (a “Virgin”), but marked by her sexuality.

    The song “Current Affairs” most clearly demonstrates proximity between the sexed body and its description in lyrics. Lorde collapses into her lover’s body (“He spit in my mouth”). But when he breaks her heart, she cannot put into language the hurt. Rather she blames her anguish on the news: “current affairs”.

    Pop music and pop culture thrives off the market exchange and saleability of sex, particularly young women’s sex. When I first wrote about Lorde 11 years ago, I pitted her against Miley Cyrus, noting the outrage at Miley’s “growing up” (from Hannah Montana to adulthood), which mapped onto her perceived new working class, tasteless identity.

    Against the crass vulgarity of Miley, I argued then, we had the middle-class intellectualism of Lorde. The argument stands. Virgin certainly adds a heightened sexiness to Lorde, but it is far from crude. She is branded, not just by the market (the cost of tour tickets and merchandise), but also by her identity as a tasteful and hip woman.

    More fleshy (“wide hips/soft lips” she sings in “GRWM”) than the teen “Royal” of 2012, but still on Universal Music Group’s repertoire and still circulated as an “alt” option for pop fans.

    We can also think of Lorde’s collaboration with her current working class alter, and last year’s popstar commodity, Charli XCX. In Lorde’s verse in “Girl, so confusing” she notes Charli is, essentially, a “Chav” – “still a young girl from Essex”. But in the same verse, Lorde shows her awareness of both women’s function on the market:

    People say we’re alike

    They say we’ve got the same hair

    It’s you and me on the coin

    The industry loves to spend

    This knowing wink to how women move within the pop-culture marketplace produces a different kind of purity, one based on an intimacy between the popstar and her listeners. We all know Lorde’s difference from Charli is about image: the “poet” versus the party girl.

    Intimacy as purity is part of what cultural theorist Anna Kornbluh recently dubbed the pressure of “immediacy”, characterised by an apparently ceaseless flow and demand to constantly share images and video of our bodies, afforded by the scroll of social media.

    While the depiction of our bodies and selves on screens is fundamental to this moment, according to Kornbluh, we contradictorily lose sight of this screening. Feeling as though we are #NoFilter – present and real. Key to this is the exhibition of our feelings and emotions.

    For all women, but particularly those in the public eye, the sharing of these feelings materialise into “coin”. Vulnerability, pleasure, all-the-feels-all-the-time – especially for women – make “bank”.

    Intimacy and knowingness

    Vulnerability has been a catch-cry in media characterisations of Virgin. Critics and fans equate Lorde’s lyrical confessions and press tour patter with a market-valuable “purity”, equated with immediate access (to quote the YouTube fan above) to a “true-to-self” Lorde.

    One of her more amusing (but fitting) press engagements was on Bella Freud’s Fashion Neurosis podcast. On the couch, we hear Lorde, wearing a Yohji Yamamoto blazer, musing about vulnerability, gender and her mother – with the great granddaughter of Sigmund Freud.

    Fashion Neurosis: Lorde on the psychiatrist’s couch.

    While the Charli XCX track shows Lorde’s intimacy through her knowingness about her role as “coin” for the music industry, the music videos from Virgin offer a more embodied intimacy. The clip for the album’s first single, “What Was That?”, features an extreme closeup inside her mouth. The album cover itself is an X-ray showing her hips and her IUD.

    Kornbluh suggests this emphasis on often literal bodily interiors – people’s “insides” – produces an ersatz sense of closeness and sociality, as our relationships become more and more beholden to the alienating circuits of “social” media.

    Virgin does not lie. It traces a truth of our times – a paradoxical truth – that we are at our most intimate, our most pure, when we are unmediated, all the while bearing out the imperative to “✏️Describe the vibe” – to mediate and expose ourselves onscreen.

    My own vibe check? I love the album. It is pop at its purest – performative, playful and certainly worth paying attention to.

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

    – ref. On her new album, Lorde creates pop at its purest – performative, playful and alive to paradox – https://theconversation.com/on-her-new-album-lorde-creates-pop-at-its-purest-performative-playful-and-alive-to-paradox-259994

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Unsafe and unethical: bed shortages mean dementia patients with psychiatric symptoms are admitted to medical wards

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cindy Towns, Senior Lecturer in General Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Otago

    Getty Images

    New Zealand’s mental health crisis is well documented in the government’s 2018 inquiry, He Ara Oranga, which shows one in five people experience mental illness or significant mental distress.

    However, an almost singular focus on care of young people obscures the psychiatric needs of older adults.

    Failure to account for these needs has resulted in physicians facing pressure to admit psychiatric patients to medical wards that are not designed or resourced to care for them. This compromises patient safety and rights as well as fundamental standards of care.

    Our new research highlights the clinical, ethical and legal consequences of this practice and calls for urgent action.

    Dementia includes psychiatric features

    The memory deficits of dementia are well known but the condition also includes psychiatric presentations. These are known collectively as the “behavioural and psychiatric symptoms of dementia” (BPSD). When severe, they can include intrusive behaviour, violence and inappropriate sexual conduct. Such patients require admission and specialist treatment.

    However, New Zealand has a severe shortage of psychiatric beds for older adults. Even more concerning is that despite well recognised demographic trends and clinical concerns, bed numbers have decreased over time rather than increased.

    Reports that Dunedin plans to slash the number of psycho-geriatric beds by 50% reflect a lack of government insight into the risks this large and growing patient cohort poses.

    Hospitals routinely expect medical wards to admit dementia patients presenting with BPSD when no psycho-geriatric bed is available. Yet it is impossible for staff on medical wards to adhere to even basic standards of care.

    Poor design

    A lack of single rooms means medical teams cannot provide the security and minimisation of light and noise people with dementia require. Single rooms need to be prioritised for transmissible infections, delirium and terminal care.

    Medical wards are also not designed for aggressive patients. People can enter and exit freely, potential weapons (scissors, for example) are accessible, there are no seclusion rooms or low-stimulus areas, and nursing stations are not secure.

    Medical staff are not trained in de-escalation or restraint and ward pharmacists are not specialised in the medications required to treat BPSD.

    Those presenting with physical or sexual violence also need dedicated security, well beyond what healthcare assistants on “patient watches” can provide. Most healthcare assistants are women, which creates a grossly inadequate level of safety when managing violent male patients.

    The experience of Wellington general medicine staff documents numerous assaults on nurses and intrusive and frightening behaviour. Staff have been punched, hit, bitten and threatened. One nurse was stabbed while attending to another patient in a multi-bed room.

    Admissions have included physically robust patients who have seriously assaulted family or carers. This includes one man who committed a fatal assault and another who was sexually aggressive and stabbed a family member.

    High rates of mixed-gender bedding in hospital wards raise the risk of harm. The United Kingdom banned hospitals from placing men and women in the same room in 2010. Yet despite concerns for patient safety, New Zealand has no prohibition on this practice.

    Poor policy

    By comparison, Australia proposed a risk stratification approach more than 20 years ago whereby severe dementia patients would be managed in secure units with dedicated security staff and specialist psycho-geriatric care.

    This model is used throughout Australia in policy and planning. In New Zealand, severe dementia is defaulted to medical wards even in cases where patients are presenting solely due to extreme violence.

    According to the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, patients are entitled to an appropriate standard of care. Admitting someone with dementia to medical wards that cannot meet basic standards of care clearly breaches this right.

    BPSD admissions also significantly compromise the rights of other patients. The risks are again demonstrable rather than potential. International media reports have documented male dementia patients assaulting female patients in medical wards without the necessary security measures.

    Medical staff in New Zealand hospitals have also witnessed numerous incidents of intrusion and harassment as well as assaults of other patients by dementia patients inappropriately admitted to medical wards with BPSD.

    We should also recognise indirect impacts of people with severe dementia being admitted on medical wards. Many patients wait overnight for admission, increasing their risk for complications, and breaching rights to privacy and dignity.

    When psychiatric patients occupy medical beds, they contribute to admission delays, complications and rights breaches for medical patients awaiting beds.

    Urgent need for more psycho-geriatric beds

    Wellington general medicine teams have raised serious concerns about dementia admissions for many years. Yet there are no secure areas and no additional psycho-geriatric beds.

    We need to ask why the practice continues when harm is so obvious. The answer appears to be about cost. When physicians relent and admit psychiatric patients, the risks are high but the financial cost is low. The consequences are born by elderly and frail patients seldom able to advocate for themselves.

    Change relies on health leaders and funders caring about safety, rights and basic standards of care. Unfortunately, the Wellington experience and the decision to cut beds in Dunedin suggest change will not happen unless physicians consistently refuse the admission of psychiatric patients. But this is a morally distressing position to be put in.

    New Zealand must urgently address the shortage of psycho-geriatric beds. Until these are in place, temporary secure accommodation must be made available under the care of mental health specialists.

    Medical teams can no longer be expected to manage the mental health crisis as well as their own medical workloads. It is unsafe, unethical and untenable for all involved.

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

    – ref. Unsafe and unethical: bed shortages mean dementia patients with psychiatric symptoms are admitted to medical wards – https://theconversation.com/unsafe-and-unethical-bed-shortages-mean-dementia-patients-with-psychiatric-symptoms-are-admitted-to-medical-wards-257634

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Earth is trapping much more heat than climate models forecast – and the rate has doubled in 20 years

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney

    NASA, CC BY-NC-ND

    How do you measure climate change? One way is by recording temperatures in different places over a long period of time. While this works well, natural variation can make it harder to see longer-term trends.

    But another approach can give us a very clear sense of what’s going on: track how much heat enters Earth’s atmosphere and how much heat leaves. This is Earth’s energy budget, and it’s now well and truly out of balance.

    Our recent research found this imbalance has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Other researchers have come to the same conclusions. This imbalance is now substantially more than climate models have suggested.

    In the mid-2000s, the energy imbalance was about 0.6 watts per square metre (W/m2) on average. In recent years, the average was about 1.3 W/m2. This means the rate at which energy is accumulating near the planet’s surface has doubled.

    These findings suggest climate change might well accelerate in the coming years. Worse still, this worrying imbalance is emerging even as funding uncertainty in the United States threatens our ability to track the flows of heat.

    Energy in, energy out

    Earth’s energy budget functions a bit like your bank account, where money comes in and money goes out. If you reduce your spending, you’ll build up cash in your account. Here, energy is the currency.

    Life on Earth depends on a balance between heat coming in from the Sun and heat leaving. This balance is tipping to one side.

    Solar energy hits Earth and warms it. The atmosphere’s heat-trapping greenhouse gases keep some of this energy.

    But the burning of coal, oil and gas has now added more than two trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. These trap more and more heat, preventing it from leaving.

    Some of this extra heat is warming the land or melting sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. But this is a tiny fraction. Fully 90% has gone into the oceans due to their huge heat capacity.

    Earth naturally sheds heat in several ways. One way is by reflecting incoming heat off of clouds, snow and ice and back out to space. Infrared radiation is also emitted back to space.

    From the beginning of human civilisation up until just a century ago, the average surface temperature was about 14°C. The accumulating energy imbalance has now pushed average temperatures 1.3-1.5°C higher.

    Ice and reflective clouds reflect heat back to space. As the Earth heats up, most trapped heat goes into the oceans but some melts ice and heats the land and air. Pictured: Icebergs from the Jacobshavn glacier in Greenland, the largest outside Antarctica.
    Ashley Cooper/Getty

    Tracking faster than the models

    Scientists keep track of the energy budget in two ways.

    First, we can directly measure the heat coming from the Sun and going back out to space, using the sensitive radiometers on monitoring satellites. This dataset and its predecessors date back to the late 1980s.

    Second, we can accurately track the build-up of heat in the oceans and atmosphere by taking temperature readings. Thousands of robotic floats have monitored temperatures in the world’s oceans since the 1990s.

    Both methods show the energy imbalance has grown rapidly.

    The doubling of the energy imbalance has come as a shock, because the sophisticated climate models we use largely didn’t predict such a large and rapid change.

    Typically, the models forecast less than half of the change we’re seeing in the real world.

    Why has it changed so fast?

    We don’t yet have a full explanation. But new research suggests changes in clouds is a big factor.

    Clouds have a cooling effect overall. But the area covered by highly reflective white clouds has shrunk, while the area of jumbled, less reflective clouds has grown.

    It isn’t clear why the clouds are changing. One possible factor could be the consequences of successful efforts to reduce sulfur in shipping fuel from 2020, as burning the dirtier fuel may have had a brightening effect on clouds. However, the accelerating energy budget imbalance began before this change.

    Natural fluctuations in the climate system such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation might also be playing a role. Finally – and most worryingly – the cloud changes might be part of a trend caused by global warming itself, that is, a positive feedback on climate change.

    Dense blankets of white clouds reflect the most heat. But the area covered by these clouds is shrinking.
    Adhivaswut/Shutterstock

    What does this mean?

    These findings suggest recent extremely hot years are not one-offs but may reflect a strengthening of warming over the coming decade or longer.

    This will mean a higher chance of more intense climate impacts from searing heatwaves, droughts and extreme rains on land, and more intense and long lasting marine heatwaves.

    This imbalance may lead to worse longer-term consequences. New research shows the only climate models coming close to simulating real world measurements are those with a higher “climate sensitivity”. That means these models predict more severe warming beyond the next few decades in scenarios where emissions are not rapidly reduced.

    We don’t know yet whether other factors are at play, however. It’s still too early to definitively say we are on a high-sensitivity trajectory.

    Our eyes in the sky

    We’ve known the solution for a long time: stop the routine burning of fossil fuels and phase out human activities causing emissions such as deforestation.

    Keeping accurate records over long periods of time is essential if we are to spot unexpected changes.

    Satellites, in particular, are our advance warning system, telling us about heat storage changes roughly a decade before other methods.

    But funding cuts and drastic priority shifts in the United States may threaten essential satellite climate monitoring.

    Steven Sherwood receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Mindaroo Foundation.

    Benoit Meyssignac receives funding from the European Commission, the European Space Agency and the French National Space Agency.

    Thorsten Mauritsen receives funding from the European Research Council, the European Space Agency, the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish National Space Agency and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research.

    – ref. Earth is trapping much more heat than climate models forecast – and the rate has doubled in 20 years – https://theconversation.com/earth-is-trapping-much-more-heat-than-climate-models-forecast-and-the-rate-has-doubled-in-20-years-258822

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mr Smith or Gary? Why some teachers ask students to call them by their first name

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Nicole Brownlie, Lecturer in Education, University of Southern Queensland

    Johnny Greig/ Getty Images

    When you went to school, did you call your teacher Mrs, Ms or Mr, followed by their surname? Perhaps you even called them Sir or Miss.

    The tradition of addressing teachers in a formal manner goes back centuries. For many of us, calling a teacher by their first name would have been unthinkable.

    But that’s not automatically the case anymore. Some teachers in mainstream schools now ask students to call them by their first name.

    Why is this? And what impact can teachers’ names have in the classroom?

    There’s no rule

    There’s no official rule in Australia on what students should call teachers.
    Naming is usually decided by schools or individual teachers. This is no official training on this topic before teachers start in classrooms.

    Some primary school teachers now use first names or a less formal name such as “Mr D”. Teachers say this helps break down barriers, especially for young students or those who are learning English as an additional language.

    High schools are more likely to stick with tradition, partly to maintain structure and boundaries, especially with teenagers. Using formal titles can also support early-career teachers or those from minority
    backgrounds     assert their authority in a classroom.

    But even so, some high school teachers are using their first names to foster a sense of trust and encourage students to see them as a partner in learning, rather than simply an authority figure.

    What does the research say?

    Research – which is mainly from the United States – suggests names have an impact on how students perceive their teachers and feel about school.

    In one study of US high school students, teenagers described teachers they addressed with formal titles as more distant and harder to connect with. Teachers who invited students to use their first name were seen as more supportive, approachable and trustworthy.

    A secondary school principal in the state of Maryland reported students felt more included and respected when they could use teachers’ first names. It made classrooms feel less hierarchical and more collaborative.

    A 2020 US study on teaching students doing practical placements found those who used their first name observed greater student engagement than those who did not. This came as a surprise to the student teachers who expected students would not respect them if they used their first names.

    These findings don’t necessarily mean titles are bad. Rather, they show first names can support stronger teacher-student relationships.

    It’s important to note society in general has become less formal in recent decades in terms of how we address and refer to each other.

    So, what should students call their teachers?

    What works in one school, or even one classroom, may not work in another.

    For example, for Indigenous students or students from non-English speaking households, name practices that show cultural respect and mutual choice can be vital. They help create a sense of safety and inclusion.

    But for other teachers, being called by their title may be a key part of their professional persona.

    That’s why it’s important for naming decisions to be thoughtful and based on the needs of the teacher, students and broader school community.

    The key is to treat naming as part of the broader relationship, not just a habit or automatic tradition. Whether students say “Mrs Lee” or “Jess” matters less than whether they feel safe, respected and included. It’s about the tone and relationship behind the name, not simply what someone is called.

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

    – ref. Mr Smith or Gary? Why some teachers ask students to call them by their first name – https://theconversation.com/mr-smith-or-gary-why-some-teachers-ask-students-to-call-them-by-their-first-name-259790

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: RFK Junior is stoking fears about vaccine safety. Here’s why he’s wrong – and the impact it could have

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Julie Leask, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney

    The United States used to be a leader in vaccine research, development and policymaking. Now US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr is undermining the country’s vaccine program at the highest level and supercharging vaccine skepticism.

    Two weeks ago, RFK Jr sacked the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices responsible for reviewing the latest scientific evidence on vaccines. RFK Jr alleged conflicts of interest and hand-picked a replacement panel.

    On Wednesday, RFK Jr announced the US would stop funding the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, because he claimed that “when the science was inconvenient today, Gavi ignored the science”. RFK Jr questioned the safety of COVID vaccines for pregnant women, as well as the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine.

    On Thursday, when the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met, the person who first drew RFK Jr into vaccine scepticism, Lyn Redwood, shared disproved claims about a chemical called thimerosal in flu vaccines being harmful.

    The undermining of regulation, advisory processes and funding changes will have global impacts, as debunked claims are given new levels of apparent legitimacy. Some of these impacts will be slow and insidious.

    So what should we make of these latest claims and funding cuts?

    Thiomersal is a distraction

    Thiomersal (thimerosal in the the US) is a safe and effective preservative that prevents bacterial and fungal contamination of the vaccine contained in a multi-dose vial. It’s a salt that contains a tiny amount of mercury in a safe form.

    Thiomersal is no longer used as a preservative in any vaccines routinely given in Australia. But it’s still used in the Q fever vaccine.

    Other countries use multi-dose vials with thiomersal when single-dose vials are too expensive.

    In the US, just 4% of adult influenza vaccines contain thiomersal. So focusing on removing vaccines containing thimerosal is a distraction for the committee.

    COVID vaccines in pregnancy prevent severe illness

    On Wednesday, RFK criticised Gavi’s encouragement of pregnant women to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

    A COVID-19 infection before and during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage two- to four-fold, even if it’s only a mild infection.

    Conversely, there is good evidence vaccination during pregnancy is safe and can reduce the chance of hospitalisation of pregnant people and of infants by passing antibodies through the placenta.

    In Australia, pregnant people who have never received a primary COVID-19 vaccine are recommended to have one. However, they are not generally recommended to have booster unless they have underlying risk conditions or prefer to have one. This is due to population immunity.

    COVID-19 vaccine advice should adapt to changes in disease risk and vaccine benefit. It doesn’t mean previous decisions were wrong, nor that vaccine boosters are unsafe.

    RFK’s criticism of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy may influence choices individuals make in other countries, even when unvaccinated pregnant women are encouraged to consider vaccination.

    The diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine is safe

    RFK Jr also questioned the safety of the combined diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine as he announced the withdrawal of US funding support for Gavi.

    In the early 2000s, three community-based observational studies reported a possible association between increased chance of death in infants and use of the DTP vaccine.

    A few subsequent studies also reported associations, with higher risk in girls, prompting a World Health Organization (WHO) review of safety.

    Real world studies are complicated and the data can be difficult to interpret correctly. Often, the very factors that influence whether someone gets vaccinated can also be associated with other health risks.

    When the WHO committee reviewed all the studies on DTP safety in 2014, it did not indicate serious adverse events. It concluded there was substantial evidence against these claims.

    What will de-funding Gavi mean for vaccination rates?

    Gavi, the vaccine alliance, supports vaccine purchasing in low-income countries.

    The US has historically accounted for 13% of all donor funds.

    However, RFK Jr said Gavi needed to re-earn the public trust and “consider the best science available” before the US would contribute funding again.

    Gavi predicted in March that the impact of US funding cuts could result in one million deaths through missed vaccines.

    Could something like this happen in Australia?

    Australia is fortunate to be buffered from these impacts.

    Our vaccine advisory body, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, has people with deep expertise in vaccination. We have robust decision processes that weigh evidence critically and make careful recommendations to government.

    Our governments remain committed to vaccination. The federal government released the National Immunisation Strategy in mid-June with a comprehensive plan to continue to strengthen our program.

    The federal government also announced A$386 million to support the work of Gavi from 2026 to 2030.

    All of this keeps our vaccine policies strong, preventing disease and increasing life expectancy here and overseas.

    But to mitigate the possible influence of the US in Australia, our governments, health professionals and the public need to be ready to rapidly tackle the misinformation, distortions and half-truths RFK Jr cleverly packages – with quality information.

    Julie Leask receives research funding from NHMRC, WHO, US CDC, NSW Ministry of Health. She received funding from Sanofi for travel to an overseas meeting in 2024. She has consulting fees from RTI International and the Task Force for Global Health.

    Catherine Bennett has received honoraria for contributing to independent advisory panels for Moderna and AstraZeneca, and has received NHMRC, VicHealth and MRFF funding for unrelated projects. She was the health lead on the Independent Inquiry into the Australian Government COVID-19 Response .

    – ref. RFK Junior is stoking fears about vaccine safety. Here’s why he’s wrong – and the impact it could have – https://theconversation.com/rfk-junior-is-stoking-fears-about-vaccine-safety-heres-why-hes-wrong-and-the-impact-it-could-have-259986

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: RFK Junior is stoking fears about vaccine safety. Here’s why he’s wrong – and the impact it could have

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Julie Leask, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney

    The United States used to be a leader in vaccine research, development and policymaking. Now US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr is undermining the country’s vaccine program at the highest level and supercharging vaccine skepticism.

    Two weeks ago, RFK Jr sacked the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices responsible for reviewing the latest scientific evidence on vaccines. RFK Jr alleged conflicts of interest and hand-picked a replacement panel.

    On Wednesday, RFK Jr announced the US would stop funding the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, because he claimed that “when the science was inconvenient today, Gavi ignored the science”. RFK Jr questioned the safety of COVID vaccines for pregnant women, as well as the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine.

    On Thursday, when the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met, the person who first drew RFK Jr into vaccine scepticism, Lyn Redwood, shared disproved claims about a chemical called thimerosal in flu vaccines being harmful.

    The undermining of regulation, advisory processes and funding changes will have global impacts, as debunked claims are given new levels of apparent legitimacy. Some of these impacts will be slow and insidious.

    So what should we make of these latest claims and funding cuts?

    Thiomersal is a distraction

    Thiomersal (thimerosal in the the US) is a safe and effective preservative that prevents bacterial and fungal contamination of the vaccine contained in a multi-dose vial. It’s a salt that contains a tiny amount of mercury in a safe form.

    Thiomersal is no longer used as a preservative in any vaccines routinely given in Australia. But it’s still used in the Q fever vaccine.

    Other countries use multi-dose vials with thiomersal when single-dose vials are too expensive.

    In the US, just 4% of adult influenza vaccines contain thiomersal. So focusing on removing vaccines containing thimerosal is a distraction for the committee.

    COVID vaccines in pregnancy prevent severe illness

    On Wednesday, RFK criticised Gavi’s encouragement of pregnant women to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

    A COVID-19 infection before and during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage two- to four-fold, even if it’s only a mild infection.

    Conversely, there is good evidence vaccination during pregnancy is safe and can reduce the chance of hospitalisation of pregnant people and of infants by passing antibodies through the placenta.

    In Australia, pregnant people who have never received a primary COVID-19 vaccine are recommended to have one. However, they are not generally recommended to have booster unless they have underlying risk conditions or prefer to have one. This is due to population immunity.

    COVID-19 vaccine advice should adapt to changes in disease risk and vaccine benefit. It doesn’t mean previous decisions were wrong, nor that vaccine boosters are unsafe.

    RFK’s criticism of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy may influence choices individuals make in other countries, even when unvaccinated pregnant women are encouraged to consider vaccination.

    The diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine is safe

    RFK Jr also questioned the safety of the combined diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine as he announced the withdrawal of US funding support for Gavi.

    In the early 2000s, three community-based observational studies reported a possible association between increased chance of death in infants and use of the DTP vaccine.

    A few subsequent studies also reported associations, with higher risk in girls, prompting a World Health Organization (WHO) review of safety.

    Real world studies are complicated and the data can be difficult to interpret correctly. Often, the very factors that influence whether someone gets vaccinated can also be associated with other health risks.

    When the WHO committee reviewed all the studies on DTP safety in 2014, it did not indicate serious adverse events. It concluded there was substantial evidence against these claims.

    What will de-funding Gavi mean for vaccination rates?

    Gavi, the vaccine alliance, supports vaccine purchasing in low-income countries.

    The US has historically accounted for 13% of all donor funds.

    However, RFK Jr said Gavi needed to re-earn the public trust and “consider the best science available” before the US would contribute funding again.

    Gavi predicted in March that the impact of US funding cuts could result in one million deaths through missed vaccines.

    Could something like this happen in Australia?

    Australia is fortunate to be buffered from these impacts.

    Our vaccine advisory body, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, has people with deep expertise in vaccination. We have robust decision processes that weigh evidence critically and make careful recommendations to government.

    Our governments remain committed to vaccination. The federal government released the National Immunisation Strategy in mid-June with a comprehensive plan to continue to strengthen our program.

    The federal government also announced A$386 million to support the work of Gavi from 2026 to 2030.

    All of this keeps our vaccine policies strong, preventing disease and increasing life expectancy here and overseas.

    But to mitigate the possible influence of the US in Australia, our governments, health professionals and the public need to be ready to rapidly tackle the misinformation, distortions and half-truths RFK Jr cleverly packages – with quality information.

    Julie Leask receives research funding from NHMRC, WHO, US CDC, NSW Ministry of Health. She received funding from Sanofi for travel to an overseas meeting in 2024. She has consulting fees from RTI International and the Task Force for Global Health.

    Catherine Bennett has received honoraria for contributing to independent advisory panels for Moderna and AstraZeneca, and has received NHMRC, VicHealth and MRFF funding for unrelated projects. She was the health lead on the Independent Inquiry into the Australian Government COVID-19 Response .

    – ref. RFK Junior is stoking fears about vaccine safety. Here’s why he’s wrong – and the impact it could have – https://theconversation.com/rfk-junior-is-stoking-fears-about-vaccine-safety-heres-why-hes-wrong-and-the-impact-it-could-have-259986

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –