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Category: Analysis

  • MIL-Evening Report: Compression tights and tops: do they actually benefit you during (or after) exercise?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Singh, Research Fellow, Allied Health & Human Performance, University of South Australia

    Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock

    You’ve seen them in every gym: tight black leggings, neon sleeves and even knee-length socks.

    Compression gear is everywhere, worn by weekend joggers, elite athletes and influencers striking poses mid-squat.

    But do compression garments actually improve your performance, or is the benefit mostly in your head?

    Let’s dive into the history, the science and whether they are worth your money.

    From hospitals to hashtags

    Compression garments didn’t start in sport. They were originally used in medical settings to improve blood flow in patients recovering from surgery or with circulation issues such as varicose veins.

    Doctors found tight garments that applied gentle pressure to limbs could help move blood and reduce swelling.

    But in the late 1990s and early 2000s, athletes, scientists and sports brands began experimenting with compression wear in training and competition.

    Companies such as SKINS, 2XU, and Under Armour entered the scene with bold promises: improved performance, reduced fatigue and faster recovery.

    Then, by the 2010s, compression wear wasn’t just for athletes – it had become a fashion statement.

    Social media helped drive the trend: influencers wore these items in gym selfies, TikTokers praised the sleek, sculpted look. And with the rise of athleisure, compression garments became everyday apparel, blending fitness with fashion.

    What are these garments supposed to do?

    Compression gear is designed to fit tightly against the skin and apply gentle, consistent pressure to muscles. The big claims made by manufacturers include:

    You’ll hear gym-goers say they feel “more supported” or “less sore” after using compression gear.

    Some even report improved posture or a mental boost – like stepping into a superhero suit.

    What the science says

    Research into compression garments has been growing steadily and the results are mixed – but interesting.

    A 2013 major meta-analysis reported moderate benefits across several recovery markers, including lower levels of creatine kinase (a sign of muscle damage) and less delayed-onset muscle soreness up to 72 hours after exercise.

    A 2016 review found compression garments reduced muscle soreness and swelling and boosted muscle power and strength. These improvements were up to 1.5 times greater (compared to people who didn’t wear compression garments) in some cases.

    Building on this, a 2017 review found people who wore compression gear recovered strength more quickly, with noticeable improvements within eight to 24 hours after a workout. Strength recovery scores were around 60% higher in those wearing compression gear compared to those who didn’t.

    But the findings are not consistent. A 2022 review of 19 trials found little effect on strength during the first few days post-exercise.

    And when it comes to actual performance, a comprehensive 2025 review of 51 studies concluded compression garments do not enhance race time or endurance performance in runners. And while they may reduce soft tissue vibration (which might feel more comfortable), they offered no meaningful edge in speed, stamina or oxygen use.

    Overall, in simpler terms: compression gear may help you recover faster but don’t expect it to turn you into an Olympic sprinter.

    When compression gear might help (and when it won’t)

    Here are some situations when compression garments can be genuinely useful:

    But don’t count on them to:

    • improve your times: there’s no strong evidence they boost speed or endurance

    • make you stronger: while some research has noted improvements in strength and power, this won’t necessarily have a noticeable effect on your athletic performance

    • replace training or good sleep: recovery still depends on the basics – rest, hydration and nutrition.

    So, should you wear them?

    Compression outfits won’t magically transform your body or training results. But they aren’t a waste of money either.

    If they make you feel more comfortable, confident or supported, that’s a valid reason to wear them. The psychological boost alone can be enough to enhance motivation or focus.

    And when it comes to post-exercise recovery, the evidence is solid enough to justify keeping a pair in your gym bag.

    Think of them like a good pair of shoes. They won’t run the race for you, but they might make the journey a little smoother.

    And if you’re just wearing them for the outfit photo on Instagram? That’s fine, too. Sometimes, confidence is the best workout gear of all.

    Ben Singh 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. Compression tights and tops: do they actually benefit you during (or after) exercise? – https://theconversation.com/compression-tights-and-tops-do-they-actually-benefit-you-during-or-after-exercise-255719

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Perfect bodies and perfect lives’: how selfie-editing tools are distorting how young people see themselves

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Coffey, Associate Professor in Sociology, University of Newcastle

    Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock

    Like many of her peers, Abigail (21) takes a lot of selfies, tweaks them with purpose-made apps, and posts them on social media. But, she says, the selfie-editing apps do more than they were designed for:

    You look at that idealised version of yourself and you just want it – you just want it to be real […] the more you do it, the better you get at it and the more subtle your editing is the easier it is to actually see yourself as that version.

    Abigail was one of nearly 80 young people my colleagues and I interviewed as part of research into selfie-editing technologies. The findings, recently published in New Media & Society, are cause for alarm. They show selfie-editing technologies have significant impacts for young people’s body image and wellbeing.

    Carefully curating an online image

    Many young people carefully curate how they appear online. One reason for this is to negotiate the intense pressures of visibility in a digitally-networked world.

    Selfie-editing technologies enable this careful curation.

    The most popular selfie-editing apps include Facetune, Faceapp, and Meitu. They offer in-phone editing tools from lighting, colour and photo adjustments to “touch ups” such as removing blemishes.

    These apps also offer “structural” edits. These mimic cosmetic surgery procedures such as rhinoplasty (more commonly known as nose jobs) and facelifts. They also offer filters including an “ageing” filter, “gender swap” tool, and “make up” and hairstyle try-ons.

    The range of editing options and incredible attention to details and correction of so-called “flaws” these apps offer encourage the user to forensically analyse their face and body, making a series of micro changes with the tap of a finger.

    Facetune is one of the most popular selfie-editing apps among young people.
    Facetune

    A wide range of editing practices

    The research team I led included Amy Dobson (Curtin University), Akane Kanai (Monash University), Rosalind Gill (University of London) and Niamh White (Monash University). We wanted to understand how image-altering technologies were experienced by young people, and whether these tools impacted how they viewed themselves.

    We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 33 young people aged between 18-24. We also ran 13 “selfie-editing” group workshops with 56 young people aged 18–24 who take selfies, and who use editing apps in Melbourne and Newcastle, Australia.

    Most participants identified as either “female” or “cis woman” (56). There were 12 who identified as either “non-binary”, “genderfluid” or “questioning”, and 11 who identified as “male” or “cis man”. They identified as from a range of ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds.

    Facetune was the most widely-used facial-editing app. Participants also used Snapseed, Meitu, VSCO, Lightroom and the built-in beauty filters which are now standard in newer Apple or Samsung smartphones.

    Editing practices varied from those who irregularly made only minor edits such as lighting and cropping, to those who regularly used beauty apps and altered their faces and bodies in forensic detail, mimicking cosmetic surgical interventions.

    Approximately one third of participants described currently or previously making dramatic or “structural” edits through changing the dimensions of facial features. These edits included reshaping noses, cheeks, head size, shoulders or waist “cinching”.

    Showcasing your ‘best self’

    Young people told us that selfie taking and editing was an important way of showing “who they are” to the world.

    As one participant told us, it’s a way of saying “I’m here, I exist”. But they also said the price of being online, and posting photos of themselves, meant they were aware of being seen alongside a set of images showing “perfect bodies and perfect lives”.

    Participants told us they assume “everyone’s photos have been edited”. To keep up with this high standard, they needed to also be adept at editing photos to display their “best self” – aligning with gendered and racialised beauty ideals.

    Photo-editing apps and filters were seen as a normal and expected way to achieve this. However, using these apps was described as a “slippery slope”, or a “Pandora’s box”, where “once you start editing it’s hard to stop”.

    Young women in particular described feeling that the “baseline standard to just feel normal” feels higher than ever, and that appearance pressures are intensifying.

    Many felt image-altering technologies such as beauty filters and editing apps are encouraging them to want to change their appearance “in real life” through cosmetic non-surgical procedures such as fillers and Botox.

    As one participant, Amber (19), told us:

    I feel like a lot of plastic surgeries are now one step further than a filter.

    Another participant, Freya (20), described a direct link between editing photos and cosmetic enhancement procedures.

    Ever since I started [editing my body in photos], I wanted to change it in real life […] That’s why I decided to start getting lip and cheek filler.

    Editing apps are encouraging some young people to want to change their appearance by using Botox.
    Thiti Sukapan/Shutterstock

    Altering the relationship between technology and the human experience

    These findings suggest image-editing technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) filters and selfie-editing apps, have significant impacts for young people’s body image and wellbeing.

    The rapid expansion of generative AI in “beauty cam” technologies in the cosmetic and beauty retail industries makes it imperative to study these impacts, as well as how young people experience these new technologies.

    These cameras are able to visualise “before and after” on a user’s face with minute forensic detail.

    These technologies, through their potential to alter relationship between technology and the human experience at the deepest level, may have devastating impacts on key youth mental health concerns such as body image.

    Julia Coffey receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. ‘Perfect bodies and perfect lives’: how selfie-editing tools are distorting how young people see themselves – https://theconversation.com/perfect-bodies-and-perfect-lives-how-selfie-editing-tools-are-distorting-how-young-people-see-themselves-257134

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NZ Budget 2025: tax cuts and reduced revenues mean the government is banking on business growth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Sawyer, Professor of Taxation, University of Canterbury

    Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

    Not a lot is known about the government’s plans for taxes in the 2025 budget. Few tax policies have been announced so far, and what has been revealed involves targeted tax cuts for business interests.

    This is a big change from last year’s tax announcements, which were largely focused on individuals.

    So far this year, the government has announced tax policies to encourage overseas investment and to make employee share schemes for start-ups and unlisted companies more attractive.

    This week, the government also announced the demise of the Digital Services Tax – which Treasury estimated would be worth more than NZ$100 million a year – after threats of retaliation from US President Donald Trump.

    But each of these policies would result in a drop in tax revenue. That raises a key question: where will the money to run the government come from when two successive budgets have included tax revenue cuts?

    Overseas money for investment

    This month, the government announced a commitment of $75 million over the next four years to encourage foreign investment in infrastructure and make it easier for startups to attract and retain high quality staff.

    Broken down, this would be $65 million for a change to the rules around “thin capitalisation”, pending the outcome of consultation on the details. At a basic level, this policy is targeting how much debt companies with overseas subsidiaries can have when investing in New Zealand infrastructure.

    The other $10 million is earmarked as a deferral of tax liability for some employee share schemes to help startups and unlisted companies.

    The goal of both policies seems to be to encourage international investment in New Zealand to boost growth in our otherwise sluggish economy.

    The government’s ‘Growth Budget’ is set to include policy changes that will see drops in tax revenue.
    Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

    No digital services tax

    The demise of the digital services tax is the other big tax policy to be announced ahead of today’s budget.

    Left over from the previous Labour government, the policy would have applied a 3% tax on digital services revenue earned from New Zealand customers by global tech giants such as Meta, X and Google (many of which are based in the US).

    But Donald Trump has been highly critical of these sorts of levies, describing them as overseas extortion. Revenue Minister Simon Watts has admitted Trump’s objections were part of the decision to scrap the tax.

    While the government will save the money set aside in last year’s budget for administrative costs, the potential tax revenue will be a big loss. Treasury had previously forecast New Zealand would gain $479m in tax revenue from the levy between 2027 and 2029.

    But Watts said, “the forecast revenues from the introduction of a Digital Services Tax no longer meet the criteria for inclusion in the Crown accounts”.

    A hole in revenue

    When it comes to tax, the pre-budget announcements will all involve costs to the government or drops in revenue.

    There are rumours the budget will include changes to the companies tax. But, if anything, this will be a drop in the amount of tax companies pay. So again, a drop in tax revenue.

    The challenge facing the government is where the money to operate comes from. And the choices it has are limited.

    Firstly, it could increase tax elsewhere. But that would require either a reversal of last year’s income tax cuts, or the long-standing policy not to target wealth – such as with a capital gains tax.

    Or, the government could make drastic cuts to spending. And, considering the announcement that this year’s budget would be tight, with over a $1 billion cut from the government’s discretionary operating spending (known as an operating allowance), this seems to be the path they have taken, at least partially.

    The final option would be to borrow now to boost infrastructure and business investment in the hope that resulting economic growth will generate greater revenue later.

    We won’t know the answers to these questions until Budget 2025 is released, and there have been a lot of mixed messages. Considering Finance Minister Nicola Willis has dubbed this a “Growth Budget”, however, it seems likely the focus will be on encouraging investment and growth through business activity, rather than any tax increases.

    Adrian Sawyer 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. NZ Budget 2025: tax cuts and reduced revenues mean the government is banking on business growth – https://theconversation.com/nz-budget-2025-tax-cuts-and-reduced-revenues-mean-the-government-is-banking-on-business-growth-257229

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Libby Richards, Professor of Nursing, Purdue University

    Older adults will continue to receive yearly COVID-19 shots, but lower-risk groups will not, says the FDA. dusanpetkovic via iStock / Getty Images Plus

    On May 20, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new stance on who should receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

    The agency said it would approve new versions of the vaccine only for adults 65 years of age and older as well as for people with one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. These risk factors include medical conditions such as asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes.

    However, healthy younger adults and children who fall outside of these groups may not be eligible to receive the COVID-19 shot this fall. Vaccine manufacturers will have to conduct clinical trials to demonstrate that the vaccine benefits low-risk groups.

    FDA Commissioner Martin Makary and the agency’s head of vaccines, Vinay Prasad, described the new framework in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine and in a public webcast.

    The Conversation U.S. asked Libby Richards, a nursing professor involved in public health promotion, to explain why the changes were made and what they mean for the general public.

    Why did the FDA diverge from past practice?

    Until the May 20 announcement, getting a yearly COVID-19 vaccine was recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, regardless of their health risk.

    According to Makary and Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration is moving away from these universal recommendations and instead taking a risk-based approach based on its interpretation of public health trends – specifically, the declining COVID-19 booster uptake, a lack of strong evidence that repeated boosters improve health outcomes for healthy people and the fact that natural immunity from past COVID-19 infections is widespread.

    The FDA states it wants to ensure the vaccine is backed by solid clinical trial data, especially for low-risk groups.

    Was this a controversial decision or a clear consensus?

    The FDA’s decision to adopt a risk-based framework for the COVID-19 vaccine aligns with the expected recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an advisory group of vaccine experts offering expert guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, which is scheduled to meet in June 2025. But while this advisory committee was also expected to recommend allowing low-risk people to get annual COVID-19 vaccines if they want to, the FDA’s policy will likely make that difficult.

    Although the FDA states that its new policy aims to promote greater transparency and evidenced-based decision-making, the change is controversial – in part because it circumvents the usual process for evaluating vaccine recommendations. The FDA is enacting this policy change by limiting its approval of the vaccine to high-risk groups, and it is doing so without any new data supporting its decision. Usually, however, the FDA broadly approves a vaccine based on whether it is safe and effective, and decisions on who should be eligible to receive it are left to the CDC, which receives research-based guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

    Change is coming to COVID-19 vaccine policy.
    Rock Obst, CC BY-SA

    Additionally, FDA officials point to Canada, Australia and some European countries that limit vaccine recommendations to older adults and other high-risk people as a model for its revised framework. But vaccine strategies vary widely, and this more conservative approach has not necessarily proven superior. Also, those countries have universal health care systems and have a track record of more equitable access to COVID-19 care and better COVID-19 outcomes.

    Another question is how health officials’ positions on COVID-19 vaccines affect public perception. Makary and Prasad noted that COVID-19 vaccination campaigns may have actually eroded public trust in vaccination. But some vaccine experts have expressed concerns that limiting COVID-19 vaccine access might further fuel vaccine hesitancy because any barrier to vaccine access can reduce uptake and hinder efforts to achieve widespread immunity.

    What conditions count as risk factors?

    The New England Journal of Medicine article includes a lengthy list of conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 and notes that about 100 million to 200 million people will fall into this category and will thus be eligible to get the vaccine.

    Pregnancy is included. Some items on the list, however, are unclear. For example, the list includes asthma, but the data that asthma is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 is scant.

    Also on the list is physical inactivity, which likely applies to a vast swath of Americans and is difficult to define. Studies have found links between regular physical activity and reduced risk of severe COVID-19 infection, but it’s unclear how health care providers will define and measure physical inactivity when assessing a patient’s eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines.

    Most importantly, the list leaves out an important group – caregivers and household members of people at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection. This omission leaves high-risk people more vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19 from healthy people they regularly interact with. Multiple countries the new framework refers to do include this group.

    Why is the FDA requiring new clinical trials?

    According to the FDA, the benefits of multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines for healthy adults are currently unproven. It’s true that studies beyond the fourth vaccine dose are scarce. However, multiple studies have demonstrated that the vaccine is effective at preventing the risk of severe COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death in low-risk adults and children. Receiving multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines has also been shown to reduce the risk of long COVID.

    The FDA is moving to risk-based access for COVID-19 vaccines.

    The FDA is requiring vaccine manufactures to conduct additional large randomized clinical trials to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 boosters for healthy adults and children. These trials will primarily test whether the vaccines prevent symptomatic infections, and secondarily whether they prevent hospitalization and death. Such trials are more complex, costly and time-consuming than the more common approach of testing for immunological response.

    This requirement will likely delay both the timeliness and the availability of COVID-19 vaccine boosters and slow public health decision-making.

    Will low-risk people be able to get a COVID-19 shot?

    Not automatically. Under the new FDA framework, healthy adults who wish to receive the fall COVID-19 vaccine will face obstacles. Health care providers can administer vaccines “off-label”, but insurance coverage is widely based on FDA recommendations. The new, narrower FDA approval will likely reduce both access to COVID-19 vaccines for the general public and insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines.

    The FDA’s focus on individual risks and benefits may overlook broader public health benefits. Communities with higher vaccination rates have fewer opportunities to spread the virus.

    What about vaccines for children?

    High-risk children age 6 months and older who have conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 are still eligible for the vaccine under the new framework. As of now, healthy children age 6 months and older without underlying medical conditions will not have routine access to COVID-19 vaccines until further clinical trial data is available.

    Existing vaccines already on the market will remain available, but it is unclear how long they will stay authorized and how the change will affect childhood vaccination overall.

    Libby Richards has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Nurses Foundation, and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

    – ref. FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules – https://theconversation.com/fda-limits-access-to-covid-19-vaccine-to-older-adults-and-other-high-risk-groups-a-public-health-expert-explains-the-new-rules-257226

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Drivers of SUVs and pick-ups should pay more to be on our roads. Here’s how to make the system fairer

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne

    In the year 2000, almost 70% of all new cars sold in Australia were small passenger vehicles – mainly sedans and hatchbacks. But over 25 years, their share has dropped dramatically to just 17%, as a car “size race” took hold.

    Now, SUVs and light commercial vehicles comprise almost 80% of the market. Four in five new vehicles sold in Australia today are an SUV, ute, van or light truck.

    As larger vehicles become the new norm, they bring more road wear, urban congestion and demands on infrastructure such as parking.

    It’s time to ask: should drivers of larger vehicles pay for the damage and disruption they cause, through higher registration charges? Generally, yes. Bigger cars mean bigger costs for everyone else. It’s only fair those costs are reflected in how we price their use of public roads.

    Reasons for going big

    There are several reasons for the shift to larger passenger vehicles in Australia. They include perceptions that bigger cars are safer and more prestigious, as well as lifestyle preferences.

    A loophole in the luxury car tax also encourages car buyers to go big. The tax was introduced on imports in 2000 and this financial year applies to vehicles worth more than A$80,576.

    Many utes and SUVs are exempt because they’re classified as light commercial vehicles. The exemption applies regardless of whether the car is used privately or for business.

    Counting the costs on our roads

    Larger vehicles – no matter how they are powered – generally impose bigger costs on society than smaller cars.

    Large SUVs and utes (if powered by fossil fuels) have a far greater climate impact. On average, a small car emits 2,040 kilograms less carbon dioxide (CO₂) a year than a pickup truck.

    But even big electric vehicles can cause climate harm. The substantial resources required to manufacture a large EV creates emissions, which may undermine the climate benefits electrification promises.

    Large passenger vehicles also create health system costs. In road crashes, for example, they may better protect their occupants, but pose greater risks to others – especially pedestrians and those in smaller vehicles.

    Research suggests for each fatal crash that occupants of large vehicles avoid, at least 4.3 fatal crashes involving others occur.

    Bigger vehicles also need more space. Standards Australia has proposed making car-parking spaces larger to accommodate the trend to larger cars. Cities such as Paris have introduced higher parking fees for SUVs on these grounds.

    Larger vehicles also slow overall traffic flow. For example, they have longer braking distances and other motorists tend to drive further behind them than smaller cars.

    And at signalised intersections, a large SUV’s impact on traffic flows is equal to 1.41 passenger cars.

    In real-world terms, these differences add up. In the United States in 2011, the annual cost of light-duty trucks on congestion and lost productivity was estimated at more than US$2 billion.

    Then there’s the cost of road wear. You might think heavier vehicles just wear roads a bit faster than smaller ones. But in reality, the relationship is far more dramatic.

    Let’s compare a vehicle with an axle weight of 500 kg and a vehicle with an axle weight of 1,000 kg. The second vehicle doesn’t produce double the road damage – it produces 16 times the damage. This phenomenon is known as the “fourth power rule”.

    It means heavier vehicles cost far more in road maintenance. Curious to test it? The Road Damage Calculator lets you compare the relative impact of vehicles of different weights.

    What does car rego pay for?

    Vehicle registration offers a way to recoup the societal costs caused by large vehicles.

    Part of car registration fees go toward administration, but they also help governments pay for the broader cost of vehicles on public infrastructure and shared spaces.

    In Australia, car registration systems vary widely between states. Not all reflect the impact of the vehicles on the road.

    In Victoria, fees are based mostly on location – whether the car is registered in a metropolitan, outer-metro or rural area. In the Australian Capital Territory, fees are calculated on a vehicle’s emissions.

    Queensland and Tasmania use the number of engine cylinders to set fees – a rough proxy for vehicle size, but not a precise one.

    In New South Wales and Western Australia, heavier vehicles pay more.

    South Australia and the Northern Territory apply different models again, using a combination of settings not directly based on weight.

    A fairer system

    Larger vehicles take up more road space, contribute more to congestion, and cause exponentially more damage to road surfaces. These are exactly the kinds of impacts a vehicle registration system should help account for.

    So, what would a truly equitable registration fee model look like? Based on the evidence, it would not only account for vehicle size and weight, but also how often the vehicle is driven. After all, a heavy car parked in a garage all year causes less impact than one on the road every day.

    Several countries, including New Zealand, have adopted distance-based or road-use charging schemes for certain types of vehicles, which uses a combination of vehicle weight and distance travelled.

    As our vehicle fleet continues to evolve, Australia should follow suit, with a smarter and more equitable registration fee system.

    Milad Haghani 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. Drivers of SUVs and pick-ups should pay more to be on our roads. Here’s how to make the system fairer – https://theconversation.com/drivers-of-suvs-and-pick-ups-should-pay-more-to-be-on-our-roads-heres-how-to-make-the-system-fairer-252381

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: E-bikes for everyone: 3 NZ trials show people will make the switch – with the right support

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Shaw, Associate Professor in Public Health, University of Otago

    Getty Images

    Anyone who uses city roads will know e-bikes have become increasingly popular in Aotearoa New Zealand. But we also know rising e-bike sales have been predominantly driven by financially well-off households.

    The question now is, can e-biking be accepted and embraced by people and communities where it is currently not happening? Three pilot programmes from around the country have now given us cause for optimism.

    Understanding more about the barriers to e-bike access – especially in communities with low cycling levels or where income levels mean bikes are prohibitively expensive – has been one of the main gaps in our knowledge.

    But over the past few years, we have been involved in projects designed to examine how e-bikes might work in such places. The three pilots were based in Mangere (South Auckland), Wainuiomata (Lower Hutt) and Sydenham (Christchurch).

    These are all areas or communities with lower relative incomes and lower levels of cycling. The majority of individuals involved did not routinely cycle, and some hadn’t been on a bike for decades.

    In all three pilots, the results were positive. In some cases, participants reported long-term, life-changing benefits.

    What the pilot schemes showed

    Each pilot was different. The Mangere programme loaned e-bikes to people for two to three months between 2022 and 2023 through a community bikehub. The Wainuiomata programme involved a longer loan period of one year over 2023, and was run through a health provider at a local marae.

    The Christchurch programme, which ran between 2021 and 2024, was a free e-bike share scheme for tenants in a specific social housing complex, organised through a partnership with a shared e-bike provider.

    Where needed, participants in all pilots were supported as they gained riding confidence and knowledge of safe cycling routes.

    Participants in all the pilot programmes found e-biking acceptable, and they used and enjoyed the bikes. While these pilots were not set up to measure distance travelled, we know from other research that participants in e-bike access schemes ride on average 5km per day, half of which replaces car trips.

    Individuals reported practical benefits such as being able to travel to their jobs, mental and physical health improvements, and not having to pay for petrol each week.

    In the Wainuiomata pilot there were wider ripple effects, with participants reporting whānau members also started cycling as a result of the loan scheme. In one case, ten members of the wider whānau got involved.

    Good cycling infrastructure will encourage e-bike uptake.
    Getty Images

    3 policy actions needed now

    These results mirror what we know already about how e-bikes can improve physical and mental health, reduce transport greenhouse gas emissions, and make cities nicer places by reducing car use.

    Compared to conventional bikes, e-bikes also allow people to bike further and in hillier places. They are also great for groups with traditionally lower levels of cycling, such as people with health conditions, disabilities, older people and women.

    It also seems concerns about increased rates of injury may be less significant than initially thought. Overall, the broad benefits of e-bikes have seen hundreds of access schemes developed globally, including many in New Zealand.

    Combining international evidence and experience with the information from the three local pilot programmes, we see three main policy areas that will increase e-bike uptake and use in New Zealand.

    1. Physical infrastructure: this is needed to support cycling in all our cities and larger towns, and would involve a combination of cycle lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods, alongside expanded bike parking and storage.

    The Climate Change Commission has recommended these networks be constructed, and experience from Wellington shows rapid construction is possible.

    2. Targeted access schemes: these help people who can’t afford e-bikes. Without targeting, such schemes tend to be mainly used by the well-off. It’s likely we will need a range of options, such as short-term and long-term low-cost (or free) loans, rent-to-buy schemes or subsidies.

    People should be able to access these schemes through a variety of organisations so as to target different motivations: saving money, improving health, commuting for work, ferrying children, environmental concern.

    3. Local organisation networks: these support individuals and communities to access bikes, maintain them, provide rider training, run bike libraries, route finding and community events to support and encourage people to ride.

    This wider support was a key factor to the success of the all pilots. Local organisations, champions and leaders are essential to help overcome some of the practical and cultural barriers that exist because we have such low levels of cycling.

    Change is achievable

    What we have outlined constitutes a different way of doing business for the transport sector. But there are already organisations doing a lot of this work, including bike hubs and cycling community organisations.

    Others have infrastructure in place that could expand to encompass e-bike programmes, such as marae and community health centres. What is needed is a commitment to support these activities as part of core transport business policy.

    We don’t need to wait for more research. The three things required – building infrastructure, increasing access and providing support programmes – are all understood and achievable.

    E-bikes can and should play an important role in expanding New Zealand’s transport options and improving the wellbeing of its people.

    Caroline Shaw receives funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, University of Otago and Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency.

    Karen Witten receives funding from the Health Research Council of NZ, Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment,
    Waka Kotahi/NZTA and Auckland Council.

    Simon Kingham receives funding from Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment.

    – ref. E-bikes for everyone: 3 NZ trials show people will make the switch – with the right support – https://theconversation.com/e-bikes-for-everyone-3-nz-trials-show-people-will-make-the-switch-with-the-right-support-255956

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Please don’t tape your mouth at night, whatever TikTok says. A new study shows why this viral trend can be risky

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Moira Junge, Adjunct Clincal Associate Professor (Psychologist), Monash University

    K.IvanS/Shutterstock

    You might have heard of people using tape to literally keep their mouths shut while they sleep. Mouth taping has become a popular trend on social media, with many fans claiming it helps improve sleep and overall health.

    The purported benefits of mouth taping during sleep are largely anecdotal, and include claims of better airflow, less snoring, improved asthma symptoms, less of a dry mouth, being less likely to have bad breath, and better sleep quality.

    As the trend has gained momentum in recent years the claims have also come to include improved skin, mood and digestion – and even a sharper jawline.

    The rationale for mouth taping during sleep is to encourage breathing through the nose rather than through the mouth. When a person’s nasal passages are blocked, breathing switches from the nose to the mouth. Mouth breathing has been linked to conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

    But is mouth taping an effective way to address these issues, and is it safe? A new review suggests taping your mouth shut while you sleep offers limited benefits – and could pose risks.

    What did the review find?

    In a new paper, Canadian researchers reviewed the scientific literature on mouth taping, searching for studies that mentioned terms such as “mouth breathing”, “mouth taping” and “sleep”.

    They searched specifically for studies looking at people with known mouth breathing and breathing-related sleeping problems such as obstructive sleep apnoea to understand the potential benefits and harms of mouth taping for this group.

    Obstructive sleep apnoea is a condition where your airway is partly or completely blocked at times while you’re asleep. This can cause you to stop breathing for short periods, called “apnoeas”. Apnoeas can happen many times a night, resulting in lowered oxygen levels in the blood as well as sleep disruption.

    The researchers found ten eligible studies published between 1999 and 2024, with a total of 213 participants. Eight studies looked at mouth taping, and two studies involved using a chin strap to keep the mouth shut.

    Only two studies identified any benefits of mouth taping for mild obstructive sleep apnoea. The observed improvements – to measures such as oxygen levels in the blood and number of apnoeas per hour – were modest.

    And although they were statistically significant, they were probably not clinically significant. This means these changes likely wouldn’t make much difference to symptoms or treatment decisions.

    The remainder of studies found no evidence mouth taping helps to treat mouth breathing or related conditions.

    Mouth taping has become a popular social media trend.
    K.IvanS/Shutterstock

    What’s more, four studies warned about potential serious harms. In particular, covering the mouth could pose a risk of asphyxiation (lack of oxygen that can lead to unconsciousness or death) for people whose mouth breathing is caused by significant blockage of the nasal airways. This kind of nasal obstruction could be a result of conditions such as hay fever, deviated septum, or enlarged tonsils.

    In other words, mouth taping is definitely not a good idea if you have a blocked nose, as it’s unsafe to have both the nose and the mouth obstructed at the same time during sleep.

    What’s the take-home message?

    The authors concluded there are very few benefits and some potential serious risks associated with mouth taping in people who are mouth breathers or have obstructive sleep apnoea.

    They did however note we need further high-quality evidence to better understand if mouth taping is safe and works.

    This review didn’t focus on any research relating to mouth taping for proposed improvements to mood, skin, digestion, sharper jaw lines and other things, so the researchers could not draw conclusions about the efficacy and safety of mouth taping for those purposes.

    Snoring is one of the problems mouth taping has been suggested to help with.
    Kleber Cordeiro/Shutterstock

    Internationally, qualified sleep health professionals do not recommend mouth taping.

    If you have concerns about your sleep, the best thing to do is to consult trusted scientific sources or a health-care professional who will be able to guide you to address the underlying causes of your sleep challenges.

    Trying social media trends such as mouth taping before you seek expert advice could lead to delays in diagnosing serious conditions for which there are evidence-based treatments available.

    Mouth taping should definitely not be attempted in children.

    It’s possible that in some healthy adults, without respiratory conditions, without significant sleep disorders, and who don’t have tape allergies, that mouth taping could pose little harm and produce some modest benefits. But we don’t have enough evidence yet to know one way or the other.

    Moira Junge is CEO of The Sleep Health Foundation. She is also affiliated with the Healthylife Health Advisory Board and is a psychologist and clinic director at Yarraville Health Group.

    – ref. Please don’t tape your mouth at night, whatever TikTok says. A new study shows why this viral trend can be risky – https://theconversation.com/please-dont-tape-your-mouth-at-night-whatever-tiktok-says-a-new-study-shows-why-this-viral-trend-can-be-risky-256901

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor now has the political clout to reset Australia’s refugee policy. Here’s where to start

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University

    Australia’s policy towards refugees and asylum seekers stands at a critical juncture.

    Global displacement is at record highs and many countries are retreating from their responsibilities. At this moment, Australia can lead by example.

    As Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on election night:

    We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not need to seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values – and in our people.

    Those values should guide a principled and evidence-based response to the global refugee crisis. This response should be grounded in fairness, humanity and respect for Australia’s international human rights obligations.

    A principled reset

    Australia is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines a refugee as a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution based on:

    • race
    • religion
    • nationality
    • membership of a particular social group
    • political opinion.

    However, aspects of Australia’s current approach to refugees have drawn criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

    The new Labor government could use its strength in parliament to initiate a principled and evidence-based reset. This could include:

    • creating a new emergency visa for humanitarian crises to assist people fleeing conflict

    • improving the efficiency and fairness of the asylum seeker process

    • ending offshore processing of refugees

    • streamlining the family reunification process

    • making immigration detention an option that could be used at the discretion of the Department of Home Affairs, instead of being mandatory

    • giving people access to independent review of their detention

    • improving systems for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers (many of whom face heightened risks, are not always believed about their sexuality, and lack culturally sensitive support).

    There are four key areas in particular need of reform.

    1. Ending the legal limbo

    A crucial priority is resolving the status of some 7,000 people who are part of what’s known as the “legacy caseload”.

    These people were refused refugee status under a problematic and now-defunct process known as the “fast track assessment”. They are now on bridging visas and in legal limbo.

    A solution is also needed for the roughly 1,000 people who were detained in offshore processing centres in Manus Island and Nauru but are now living in Australia. They are also on bridging visas, also in a state of legal uncertainty.

    People in both these groups have endured 13 years in legal and policy limbo. Reform is long overdue.

    One option is to allow people in both groups who were previously refused protection to apply for a permanent visa without requiring yet another drawn-out assessment of their protection claims.

    Community organisations, legal experts and mental health professionals could help the government develop clear, trauma-informed and evidence-based processes for reviewing their cases.

    2. Expanding the numbers

    Australia’s main way of accepting refugees is via what’s known as the humanitarian program. But the number of refugees accepted under this program doesn’t currently reflect the scale of global displacement.

    Labor has proposed expanding the number of refugees Australia takes.

    It has suggested Australia take 27,000 through the core Refugee and Humanitarian Program and an additional 10,000 through two pathways:

    At the UN’s 2023 Global Refugee Forum, the Australian government committed to gradually implementing this increase, beginning in 2023–24.

    A dedicated advisory and coordination body could help with planning and implementation.

    It’s also worth noting current policy prohibits asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Indonesia after June 2014 from being resettled to Australia.

    The new government could also consider lifting this arbitrary restriction to give these vulnerable refugees access to durable solutions.

    3. Strengthening the rights of children and young people

    Immigration systems are largely designed around adults. Children and young people are too often overlooked.

    As a result, children have been:

    Children (including those born in Australia) can’t sponsor their parents via family sponsorship processes. They’re denied a say in decisions that deeply affect their lives.

    The Migration Act should be amended to require that all decisions affecting children give primary consideration to the best interests and views of the child. This would be in line with Australia’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    Similar principles are already embedded in Australian family law and child protection policy, providing a clear model for reform.

    4. Reviewing Australia’s boat turnback policy

    Since 2013, Australia has intercepted boats under Operation Sovereign Borders, using turnbacks and takebacks with little independent oversight.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has raised concerns about this policy.

    Sometimes during these interactions Australian officials detain and interview people on boats about their reason for trying to enter Australia, but details about what happens during such encounters are kept largely secret. Most of these encounters end with the boat and people on it being returned to the country from which they came.

    A recent document published by the Commonwealth Ombudsman reported on conditions aboard vessels used for maritime detention.

    It found serious problems, including no private spaces for sensitive interviews and no interpreters on board.

    The Department of Home Affairs responded by saying formal interviews use accredited interpreters. However, the report highlights many crucial interactions do not.

    There is also no time limit on detention at sea, and no independent monitoring of how protection claims are assessed.

    A more comprehensive review is urgently needed.

    Mary Anne Kenny is a member of the Migration Institute of Australia and the Law Council of Australia and an affiliate of the UNSW Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. She was on the Ministerial Council on Asylum Seekers and Detention (an independent advisory body) between 2012 and 2018.

    – ref. Labor now has the political clout to reset Australia’s refugee policy. Here’s where to start – https://theconversation.com/labor-now-has-the-political-clout-to-reset-australias-refugee-policy-heres-where-to-start-255971

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Playing the crime card: do law and order campaigns win votes in Australia?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chloe Keel, Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

    Crime and public safety are usually the domain of state politics. But the Coalition tried to elevate them as key issues for voters in the recent federal election.

    Claiming crime had been “allowed to fester” under Labor, the opposition promised a A$750 million Operation Safer Communities plan, which included police strike teams targeting drugs, a national child sex offender register, and more money for Neighbourhood Watch.

    A Coalition government would also have given grants to community groups to install public lighting, bollards and CCTV cameras.

    But in the end, crime did not appear to be a deciding factor in the election, which was easily won by Labor.

    What does that tell us about leveraging public fear – either existing crime fears and general anxieties, or latent concerns that can be triggered – for political gain in Australia? Can it be a successful strategy?

    Stoking anxiety

    In culturally diverse countries, such as Australia and the United States, law and order rhetoric sometimes calls for supporting aggressive crime policies at the expense of racial and ethnic minorities, many of whom are immigrants.

    These policies can be effective in stoking public fear to win votes. US President Donald Trump’s exhortations on immigration and crime were a significant part of his election campaigns in 2016 and 2024.

    However, what experts call “protective factors”, such as strong communities and social cohesion, are important. They can reduce the influence of political narratives that try to define crime in narrowly punitive or racialised terms.

    Australia is not America

    Our peer-reviewed research, which will be published in the Journal of Criminology, investigated how public concerns about crime and safety in Australia and the US were associated with demographic factors that evolved over time. The study drew on data from the World Values Survey and indicated key differences in what makes Australians and Americans feel unsafe.

    We have found that in Australia in 2018, supporters of left-leaning parties (Labor/Green) reported feeling significantly safer than other voters. However, this gap disappeared when researchers took into account attitudes that blame crime problems on immigrants. This suggests immigrant-blaming in Australia can drive feelings of community fear and insecurity.

    The World Values Survey uncovered a different pattern in the US.

    Between 2011 and 2017, Republican voters reported feeling safer than other Americans – the opposite of Australia’s trend. The political divide in the US couldn’t be explained by immigrant-blaming attitudes. Rather, it was attributed to the “self-isolation” of American conservatives in more culturally homogeneous communities.

    Our study indicated that while immigration continued to influence safety perceptions in the US, it appeared to operate through different mechanisms than in Australia. Racial and ethnic minorities reported greater fear as the 2010s unfolded.

    Social connectedness also plays differently in each country. In Australia, trust in others and confidence in public institutions consistently influences safety perceptions. In the US, these factors have little impact.

    Social scientists have observed that in modern societies, responsibility for personal safety has increasingly shifted from the government to individuals. This trend is strong in the US, where market-focused, neoliberal economic and social policies dominate policies.

    By contrast, European research suggests stronger social welfare systems can reduce safety concerns by addressing underlying economic anxieties. Australia’s more robust social support appears to foster greater feelings of safety.

    Our research indicates social cohesion further helps reduce fear.

    Crime fears are not a vote winner

    Electoral strategies that seek to leverage public insecurities need to be understood in the context of these fear-mitigating factors. Media diversity can also counter fear-based messaging.

    In the 2018 Victorian election, crime became a prominent political issue through racialised commentary targeting “African gangs”. However, it failed to gain decisive political traction.

    Research found fear of crime was relatively rare in Victoria. Media reports of crime and comments by political leaders were distant from their own experiences

    With more diverse news sources and online platforms, political actors can no longer promote narratives unopposed. Fear-based messaging can backfire, especially when it overreaches.

    Outdated strategy

    Perceptions of crime are often shaped by a combination of actual crime rates and broader anxieties about social change, cultural difference, and uncertainty. This is frequently expressed as unease about the increasing presence of culturally diverse groups.

    While the coalition’s pivot to law-and-order rhetoric represented a familiar strategy, Labor positioned itself as the party of unity. This was underscored by Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s declaration after Labor won the election, in which she acknowledged

    […] the power in our 26 million people from more than 300 ancestries […] from the oldest continuing civilisation on the planet and I acknowledge the traditional owners. Friends, we love this country.

    Foreign Minister Penny Wong on election night.

    While harnessing fears of crime and cultural diversity was not effective in this election cycle, this is not the end of law and order politics. But the unique characteristics of this election appear to have rendered the formula less potent.

    Trump’s threat to democracy and the constitutional rule of law in the US may have fostered a sense of solidarity and social cohesion among Australian voters. Our research suggests this helped to mitigate fears about crime.

    The temptation to capitalise on law and order may continue to appeal to politicians. But in Australia, at least, there is no guarantee it will work.

    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. Playing the crime card: do law and order campaigns win votes in Australia? – https://theconversation.com/playing-the-crime-card-do-law-and-order-campaigns-win-votes-in-australia-256780

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Evidence shows AI systems are already too much like humans. Will that be a problem?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, University of Sydney

    Studiostoks / Shutterstock

    What if we could design a machine that could read your emotions and intentions, write thoughtful, empathetic, perfectly timed responses — and seemingly know exactly what you need to hear? A machine so seductive, you wouldn’t even realise it’s artificial. What if we already have?

    In a comprehensive meta-analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we show that the latest generation of large language model-powered chatbots match and exceed most humans in their ability to communicate. A growing body of research shows these systems now reliably pass the Turing test, fooling humans into thinking they are interacting with another human.

    None of us was expecting the arrival of super communicators. Science fiction taught us that artificial intelligence (AI) would be highly rational and all-knowing, but lack humanity.

    Yet here we are. Recent experiments have shown that models such as GPT-4 outperform humans in writing persuasively and also empathetically. Another study found that large language models (LLMs) excel at assessing nuanced sentiment in human-written messages.

    LLMs are also masters at roleplay, assuming a wide range of personas and mimicking nuanced linguistic character styles. This is amplified by their ability to infer human beliefs and intentions from text. Of course, LLMs do not possess true empathy or social understanding – but they are highly effective mimicking machines.

    We call these systems “anthropomorphic agents”. Traditionally, anthropomorphism refers to ascribing human traits to non-human entities. However, LLMs genuinely display highly human-like qualities, so calls to avoid anthropomorphising LLMs will fall flat.

    This is a landmark moment: when you cannot tell the difference between talking to a human or an AI chatbot online.

    On the internet, nobody knows you’re an AI

    What does this mean? On the one hand, LLMs promise to make complex information more widely accessible via chat interfaces, tailoring messages to individual comprehension levels. This has applications across many domains, such as legal services or public health. In education, the roleplay abilities can be used to create Socratic tutors that ask personalised questions and help students learn.

    At the same time, these systems are seductive. Millions of users already interact with AI companion apps daily. Much has been said about the negative effects of companion apps, but anthropomorphic seduction comes with far wider implications.

    Users are ready to trust AI chatbots so much that they disclose highly personal information. Pair this with the bots’ highly persuasive qualities, and genuine concerns emerge.

    Recent research by AI company Anthropic further shows that its Claude 3 chatbot was at its most persuasive when allowed to fabricate information and engage in deception. Given AI chatbots have no moral inhibitions, they are poised to be much better at deception than humans.

    This opens the door to manipulation at scale, to spread disinformation, or create highly effective sales tactics. What could be more effective than a trusted companion casually recommending a product in conversation? ChatGPT has already begun to provide product recommendations in response to user questions. It’s only a short step to subtly weaving product recommendations into conversations – without you ever asking.

    What can be done?

    It is easy to call for regulation, but harder to work out the details.

    The first step is to raise awareness of these abilities. Regulation should prescribe disclosure – users need to always know that they interact with an AI, like the EU AI Act mandates. But this will not be enough, given the AI systems’ seductive qualities.

    The second step must be to better understand anthropomorphic qualities. So far, LLM tests measure “intelligence” and knowledge recall, but none so far measures the degree of “human likeness”. With a test like this, AI companies could be required to disclose anthropomorphic abilities with a rating system, and legislators could determine acceptable risk levels for certain contexts and age groups.

    The cautionary tale of social media, which was largely unregulated until much harm had been done, suggests there is some urgency. If governments take a hands-off approach, AI is likely to amplify existing problems with spreading of mis- and disinformation, or the loneliness epidemic. In fact, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has already signalled that he would like to fill the void of real human contact with “AI friends”.

    Relying on AI companies to refrain from further humanising their systems seems ill-advised. All developments point in the opposite direction. OpenAI is working on making their systems more engaging and personable, with the ability to give your version of ChatGPT a specific “personality”. ChatGPT has generally become more chatty, often asking followup questions to keep the conversation going, and its voice mode adds even more seductive appeal.

    Much good can be done with anthropomorphic agents. Their persuasive abilities can be used for ill causes and for good ones, from fighting conspiracy theories to enticing users into donating and other prosocial behaviours.

    Yet we need a comprehensive agenda across the spectrum of design and development, deployment and use, and policy and regulation of conversational agents. When AI can inherently push our buttons, we shouldn’t let it change our systems.

    Jevin West receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and others. The full list of funders and affiliated organizations can be found here: https://jevinwest.org/cv.html

    Kai Riemer and Sandra Peter 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. Evidence shows AI systems are already too much like humans. Will that be a problem? – https://theconversation.com/evidence-shows-ai-systems-are-already-too-much-like-humans-will-that-be-a-problem-256980

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How outdoor sports can support youth as they navigate climate change

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Brett Tomlinson, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Educaiton, Nipissing University

    As climate change continues to impact the way we interact with our planet, it’s critical to consider ways we can encourage youth to participate in climate action initiatives.

    Young people across Canada are feeling frightened about the future of the planet. A Canadian study published in 2023 surveyed 1,000 young participants on their feelings about climate change. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they felt anxiousness or hopelessness about climate change, while 78 per cent said it impacts their overall mental health.

    There are a number of ways to approach this overwhelming emotion, considering it could result not only in poor quality of life for youth but also continued inaction for the planet.

    My research in outdoor physical education leads me to consider more positive behaviour for youth in association to climate change that could likely benefit youth and the planet. The challenge is finding opportunities to develop pro-environmental behaviours and environmental stewardship with Canadian youth.



    Read more:
    6 ways to build resilience and hope into young people’s learning about climate change

    It’s about more than time outdoors

    When looking to develop pro-environmental behaviours, one way could be to simply encourage more time outdoors. But research from Germany suggests that just interacting with nature is not enough; rather, young people need to find ways to engage with nature and use the natural landscape to develop an emotional connection with the environment.

    According to the German study, certain sports can lead to more environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviours from participants. Some sports in particular — like cross-country skiing, mountain biking or triathlon — increase those positive behaviours more than others. This isn’t simply because participants are alone within a natural setting; it’s because the focus of the sport is on the natural landscape.

    To explain a bit further, soccer, for example, is typically played outside but often on a manicured, sometimes artificial, field that is in many ways devoid of any natural influence.

    Alternatively, mountain biking requires participants to ride on trails that take them directly through forested areas or spaces that are selected based on their unique natural landscape. As athletes participate in sports more frequently and spend more time within nature, they then develop a stronger emotional connection to the space they’re in. This leads to pro-environmental behaviours and attitudes, which can then generate environmental stewardship.



    Read more:
    Earth Day 2024: ‘Green muscle memory’ and climate education promote behaviour change

    Rock climbing

    Within rock climbing groups and organizations, there is evidence suggesting members frequently participate in beneficial environmental stewardship projects. Outdoor rock-climbing groups typically manage spaces — sometimes privately owned, but frequently under government jurisdiction in provincial or national parks — to ensure safe and responsible climbing practices. Climbers rely on ropes, equipment and bolts to ensure safety as they’re climbing.

    But another obvious factor is the rock face they climb. The connection to rock and the climbing routes over those rock faces help foster a sense of environmental stewardship within climbers. Similar to mountain biking, the process starts with an introduction to the sport, but slowly develops into more care and attention paid to the natural spaces where climbers practise their activity.

    One American study indicates that rock climbing organizations often find opportunities to clean up the areas where they climb, and also look to maintain the natural features of that space.

    The research finds that for climbers, the challenge is to maintain natural spaces and keep the rock as pristine as possible. This also extends to conservation efforts to ensure that space maintains its use for climbing as opposed to turning it into a more urban or commercialized area.

    The joy that participants received from the sport of climbing initiated this environmental stewardship and maintained progressive action in local environmental initiatives.

    Element of physical risk

    One thing to note is that climbing and mountain biking do involve an element of physical risk.

    Doing some research on these sports can help youth assess risks alongside what can be gained from participating. But it’s also important to acknowledge that encouraging young people to foster deeper connections to nature as opposed to having simple interactions with outdoor spaces doesn’t mean they have to cycle down a mountain or climb a massive rock wall.

    Risk cannot be completely eliminated from outdoor sports and recreation, but there can be great social and personal benefit from participating in these types of activities.

    Instead of a high-risk sport, educators and outdoor leaders can influence participants with simpler actions. I am aware of outings involving outdoor hikes, or taking time at night to gaze at the stars and listen to the sounds of nature, that have sparked in young people an interest in outdoor spaces — and caring for them.

    Such experiences can then lead young people to continue to explore outdoor adventure and sport, that can , significantly, foster an appreciation of natural settings through direct interaction as well as a positive sense of community. This can be a starting point to help alleviate feelings of hopelessness to climate change.



    Read more:
    Teachers need bolder action from our school boards to educate in and for a climate emergency

    Addressing potential harms, amplifying benefits

    Despite the benefits of participating in outdoor sports, there is a need to acknowledge that participation can have some negative impact on the environment.

    For example, interaction with nature through sport can impact natural habitats and has the potential to alter behavioural patterns of animals. Furthermore, there is a risk of erosion of natural spaces, as well as the slim potential for the movement of invasive species.

    This being said, it’s critical to consider what we can gain from supporting youth to participate in outdoor sport and education when such activities are planned with attentiveness and care.

    Brett Tomlinson 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. How outdoor sports can support youth as they navigate climate change – https://theconversation.com/how-outdoor-sports-can-support-youth-as-they-navigate-climate-change-256643

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Worker-led programs are tackling gender-based violence in supply chains, but they’re at risk

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Genevieve LeBaron, Distinguished SFU Professor of Global Supply Chain Governance, Simon Fraser University

    Gender-based violence and harassment is a widespread issue in supply chains. Women workers in garment manufacturing, food production and hospitality are routinely subjected to unwanted touching and sexual advances and inappropriate comments, while promotion and advancement are often conditional on sex. In the most severe cases, this abuse escalates to sexual assault and rape.

    Despite decades of awareness and an International Labour Organization convention passed in 2019 and ratified by 49 countries, research indicates little progress has been made.

    A 2024 report from Statistics Canada, for instance, has found that 47 per cent of women have experienced some form of harassment or sexual assault in the workplace.

    Rates of gender-based violence and harassment are thought to be even higher in some countries and industries. In Bangladesh, a 2018 study found at least 60 per cent of garment workers had experienced it in the previous year. Another found 85 per cent of garment workers in Indonesia were concerned about sexual harassment at work.

    In the face of such a persistent global issue, women working in garment supply chains have pioneered a highly effective solution for tackling gender-based violence and harassment.

    Worker-led binding agreements

    Supported by labour unions and organizations like the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, Worker Rights Consortium and Global Labor justice, women workers have led the development of legally binding agreements with brands and suppliers to eliminate gender-based violence and harassment.

    The latest of these is called the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice. Signed in July 2024, it covers 6,250 workers producing clothing for brands like Nike and Fanatics, Inc. under licenses with universities affiliated with the Worker Rights Consortium.

    Worker Rights Consortium persuaded Fanatics, which is also licensed to produce apparel bearing the Nike logo, to enter into the agreement in response to complaints of gender-based violence and harassment at two garment factories in central Java, Indonesia, owned by the Korean-based firm Ontide.

    This agreement creates a union-led program to address the problem at two Indonesian factories; if factory management does not comply, it risks losing business with Nike and Fanatics.

    Building on success from India to Indonesia

    The 2024 Central Java Agreement builds on and incorporates key features of previous worker-led agreements to address the issue.

    In particular, it builds on the 2022 Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in India and the 2019 Agreements to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Lesotho.

    The Dindigul agreement was led by an independent, majority-Dalit trade union run by women. It established a set of legally binding agreements with major garment companies including H&M Group, Gap Inc., PVH and Eastman Exports Global Clothing Ltd.

    The Lesotho agreements involved brands such as Levi Strauss & Co., Nien Hsing Textile Co., unions, women’s rights advocates and labour organizations.

    While each agreement is unique, they all adhere to the principles of worker-driven social responsibility.

    Under this governance model, “worker organizations and unions, suppliers, and brand companies enter into enforceable and legally binding agreements” and “transnational corporations use their leverage and supply chain relationships to effect change amongst supplier worksites.”

    A new model of accountability

    These agreements include worker-led detection and remediation systems to address gender-based violence and harassment. For example, under the Lesotho agreement, workers can access a 24-hour hotline operated by a local women’s organization to lodge complaints or bring them directly to the unions involved in the agreement.

    The Dindigul agreement also provides multiple channels for workers to raise complaints of gender-based violence and harassment, including shop floor monitors selected by the local union (one for every 25 workers). It also offers multiple avenues for raising complaints, including to the union or to sexual harassment committees required under Indian law.

    Under the Central Java Agreement, workers can bring complaints to committees aimed at eliminating the problem, to shop floor monitors or their unions. Not only do each of the agreements permit workers to request independent investigations, they all provide a wide array of remedies in the case of any incidents and violations of freedom of association.

    What sets these agreements apart from most other initiatives to combat gender-based violence and harassment in supply chains is that they actually work. One study of the two-year impact of the Dindigul Agreement by Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute found that 76 per cent of grievances were resolved in two weeks.

    The report said the program “constituted a powerful monitoring mechanism, ensuring effective remediation and deterring violations” of both gender-based violence and harassment and freedom of association — briefly put, the right to voluntarily join or leave groups (like unions), and for those groups to pursue collective action.

    Now, a key question is whether and to what extent these successful programs will continue to thrive and grow under the current “America First” agenda of the U.S. government.

    Progress under threat

    Despite their success, these worker-led initiatives face mounting challenges.

    Labour organizations that support these agreements are under strain, with some potentially at high risk of collapsing. The U.S. Bureau of International Labor Affairs is cutting US$500 million in funding that supports labour enforcement efforts across 40 countries.

    At the same time, company rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion programs are constraining, if not eliminating, the political space in which labour groups negotiate such agreements.

    Tariffs and upheaval in global trade — especially efforts to redraw supply chains to evade costly tariffs — gives brands cover to withdraw commitments to worker-led initiatives and change sourcing patterns to circumvent them.

    Within the United States, cuts and funding freezes — including to sexual assault prevention groups — are a worrying sign that support for preventing gender-based violence and harassment and helping its survivors are being undercut and failing.

    If labour stakeholders lose the resources to support such initiatives, the impacts on women and workplaces within supply chains across the world will be devastating. These programs show that when workers lead, real change is possible, but they need continued investment and political support to survive.

    Genevieve LeBaron receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Humanity United Foundation, and Ford Foundation.

    Judy Fudge 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. Worker-led programs are tackling gender-based violence in supply chains, but they’re at risk – https://theconversation.com/worker-led-programs-are-tackling-gender-based-violence-in-supply-chains-but-theyre-at-risk-255756

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The distant dream of owning a home: Canada sees growing inequality in home ownership

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Yushu Zhu, Assistant Professor, Urban Studies and Public Policy, Simon Fraser University

    Home ownership is often seen as a symbol of success and is linked to various life opportunities, like starting a family or growing your wealth. It’s also often seen as the ultimate housing goal, while renting is seen as transitional. Eventually, everyone is expected to climb up the housing ladder from renting to owning.

    Promoting home ownership is therefore at the centre of housing policy in many countries, including Canada. As of 2021, 67 per cent of Canadian households owned their home.

    However, deteriorating affordability in recent years has placed home ownership out of reach for many and called into question the ideal of home ownership.

    In a recent study, colleagues and I examined access to home ownership for different groups using census data from 1986 to 2021 in five metropolitan areas: Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

    Our findings suggest that, for many, owning a home has become a distant dream.

    Stagnant homeownership growth

    Based on statistical models that accounted for individual and household characteristics, we found that the probability of an average Canadian household owning a home (with or without a mortgage) improved steadily from 1991 to 2011, then dropped in 2016 and 2021, while the likelihood of owning with a mortgage substantially increased. This means growth in home ownership was primarily driven by mortgage debt.

    This trend was happening at the same time as a shift started in the 1990s towards financialization that treated housing more as an investment than a social good.



    Read more:
    Financial firms are driving up rent in Toronto — and targeting the most vulnerable tenants

    The federal government stopped funding social housing programs, commercialized the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and expanded its mortgage securitization programs.

    In other words, mortgage liberation successfully promoted home ownership for some time until 2011.

    All five metropolitan areas saw a decline in the number of renter households until 2011 (2016 for Montréal), when the number began increasing. In addition, outright ownership has become less prevalent over time.

    These findings defy the expected sustained growth of home ownership that commodification and financialization were supposed to bring.

    The percentage of homes owned outright, with a mortgage or being rented in different Canadian cities.
    (Author provided)

    Filtering mechanism and access to credit

    Another tenet of the home ownership narrative is that a free market provides equal opportunities for owning a home through two processes: the filtering process and mortgage liberalization.

    The filtering model suggests that homes built for higher-income families slowly deteriorate and depreciate, and can become affordable for lower-income people. This process, coupled with the increased access to mortgages, is expected to eventually grant home ownership opportunities to all.

    However, this mechanism is less likely to work for home ownership than for rentals. Owner-occupied homes often take a long time, sometimes decades, to depreciate. By the time they become available and affordable, the unit may require major and costly renovations.

    In practice, many owner-occupied units often “filter up” rather than downward, through gentrification or acquisition by financial investors.

    The increased access to mortgages does not benefit everyone either. Many low-income people or those without stable jobs do not qualify for mortgages, and racialized people are more likely to be denied access to credit due to discrimination.

    Growing inequalities

    Substantiating these counter-arguments are growing inter-generational and income inequalities in home ownership. All age cohorts saw improved access to home ownership up until 2021. However, the three age groups under 45 — 15-24, 25-34 and 35-44 — saw steady declines in home ownership rates.

    These were mostly millennials and Gen Zers who face disproportionate affordability pressure compared to older generations.

    Homeowners over 55 are also reckoning with affordability. We found the share of older homeowners holding a mortgage rose between 1986 and 2021 from 24 to 40 per cent for those 55 to 64, and from 10 to 26 per cent for the 65-74 age group.

    In other words, more people are having to rely on larger loans and longer amortization periods to buy and maintain their homes, making it harder to pay back their mortgage before retirement.

    The disparities in home ownership opportunities among different incomes have also increased. While the top 20th percentile income group witnessed increased probability of owning a home between 2011 and 2016, other income groups experienced stagnant or decreased chances.

    Among owner households, Canadians across all incomes saw increased mortgaged ownership from 1996 to 2016. The lowest income group saw the fastest growth in mortgaged home ownership but were still the least likely to own with a mortgage due to low income or discrimination. Rising house prices coupled with loosening mortgage lending regulations may have pushed them into mortgaged ownership.

    Higher social status?

    A final compelling narrative is that home ownership affords better well-being and financial security due to higher perceived social status and a stronger sense of autonomy and stability.

    The financial security associated with home ownership is supported by the idea of “housing asset-based welfare.” This model conceptualizes home ownership as a means for young people to build assets for financial security in times of need and old age.

    However, this approach encourages early-life debt, and may only work if mortgage loans remain affordable until they are paid off. Paradoxically, this asset-building mindset drives speculative investment and house prices, making outright home ownership more difficult and mortgaged ownership less affordable.

    The well-being associated with home ownership is debatable as well. My colleagues and I have shown elsewhere that perceived benefits to a person’s well-being are not intrinsic to home ownership. Rather, they are created and normalized by a system that makes home ownership more secure and appealing than alternatives like renting.

    In reality, the financial security associated with home ownership has been undermined by rising housing costs, especially for low- and moderate-income homeowners with mortgages.

    Mortgaged homeowners with below-median incomes have seen their housing costs increase 25 per cent faster than their income over the study period, compared to five per cent for higher income families at the top 60th percentile.

    Broken promises

    Manual Aalbers, a human geography professor at Belgium’s University of Leuven, has argued that home ownership today has slowly changed “from a policy goal into pure rhetoric … a means to an end. Mortgaged home ownership increasingly is there to keep mortgage and financial markets going.”

    To say the least, the broken promises of home ownership point to the failures of our current housing system that creates a hierarchy of tenures and two tiers of social class — homeowners and renters.

    Policies aimed at creating a fairer housing market are essential. These include improving home ownership affordability by providing more diverse types of housing for ownership and discouraging speculative investment.

    Such policies should also include enhancing housing security and asset-building opportunities for renters, and supporting the role of non-profits and social enterprises in meeting the needs of a broad range of income groups.

    This research project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) through its Insight Development Grant and Partnership Grant. The project was part of the Community Housing Canada project, co-funded by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and SSHRC.

    – ref. The distant dream of owning a home: Canada sees growing inequality in home ownership – https://theconversation.com/the-distant-dream-of-owning-a-home-canada-sees-growing-inequality-in-home-ownership-254873

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jason P. Joseph, Assistant Professor of Urology, University of Florida

    Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative was started in honor of his son, Beau Biden, who died from brain cancer. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

    Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. But what does it mean for this type of cancer to be called aggressive?

    As a urologic surgeon who specializes in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer, I often explain to my patients that aggressiveness isn’t based on a single factor. Instead, it comes from understanding how abnormal the cancer cells look, known as the tumor’s grade; how far they’ve spread, known as the tumor’s stage; and their genetic fingerprint.

    Grade: Decoding cancer cell appearance

    One key piece of the puzzle is the cancer’s grade, which indicates the tumor’s potential to grow. After a prostate biopsy, a doctor specializing in examining tissues – a pathologist – grades the tumor by comparing the appearance of its cancer cells with that of normal prostate cells.

    Imagine healthy prostate cells as organized workers in a factory, each performing specific tasks. In contrast, high-grade cancer cells appear chaotic, growing and dividing rapidly.

    As prostate cancer grade increases, individual glands becomes less well formed and the cells more disordered.
    Salvi et al/Cancers, CC BY-SA

    For prostate cancer, doctors use what are called grade groups that range from 1 (least aggressive) to 5 (most aggressive). These groups are a simplification based on an older classification called a Gleason score. Biden’s Gleason 9 cancer falls into grade group 5, indicating the cells appear extremely abnormal with a strong potential for rapid growth and spread.

    While the cancer’s grade helps indicate how tumor cells might behave, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Some high-grade cancers can remain confined to the prostate for months or even years.

    To understand where the cancer is and how far it has advanced, doctors determine its stage.

    Stage: Mapping cancer location and spread

    A tumor’s stage describes if, and how far, cancer has spread beyond where it first formed. Doctors use physical exams, imaging scans and lab tests to stage prostate cancer.

    Medical professionals usually use a detailed system called TNM – short for tumor, nodes, metastasis – to classify a tumor’s stage. But prostate cancer stage can be broadly understood as:

    • Localized (stages 1-2): The cancer is only within the prostate. Think of a weed confined to a small garden bed. Many localized cancers, particularly if low-grade, may not be deemed aggressive and can often be safely monitored.

    • Locally advanced (Stage 3): The cancer has spread out from the prostate and is growing in very nearby tissues, like a weed sending roots into the surrounding lawn.

    • Metastatic (Stage 4): The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. For prostate cancer, this often means lymph nodes, bones – as in Biden’s case – liver or lungs. This is like the weeds spreading seeds down the street and across town.

    A Stage 4 prostate cancer is considered advanced and aggressive because it has shown that it can travel and form new tumors.

    Doctors determine a cancer’s stage with careful testing.

    A tumor’s stage heavily influences treatment options and goals. For localized or some locally advanced cancers (Stage 1 to Stage 3), treatments such as surgery or radiation may aim for a cure. For metastatic cancer, a cure is usually not possible. Treatment focuses on controlling growth, managing symptoms and maintaining quality of life.

    Many prostate cancers rely on hormones called androgens as fuel for their growth. Therapies that block these hormones can be effective for some time – in most cases, years – especially for hormone-sensitive cancers like Biden’s.

    Fortunately, thanks to improved screening options and increased awareness, about 69% of prostate cancers are found when they are still confined to the prostate (Stage 1 to Stage 2). About 8% of new cases are metastatic at diagnosis.

    Genetics: Uncovering cancer’s DNA blueprint

    In addition to grade and stage, doctors are increasingly using a cancer’s genomic profile – its specific genetic makeup – both for deeper insights into its aggressiveness and potential treatment pathways.

    DNA acts like a detailed instruction manual for cells, dictating how they should grow and function as well as when they should stop dividing or die. In cancer, mutations act like typos in this genetic instruction manual, causing cells to ignore these normal controls, grow and spread.

    Genomic testing can identify these specific genetic alterations. This can be performed on the tumor tissue itself to identify changes called somatic mutations that occurred after you were born. Or it can be carried out through blood or saliva samples to detect changes you inherited called germline mutations.

    For men with early-stage prostate cancer, certain genomic tests on the tumor can help clarify the risk of the cancer progressing. This information is valuable in deciding whether active surveillance – closely monitoring the cancer without immediate treatment – is a safe approach, or whether more immediate treatment is warranted.

    In advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, identifying specific mutations is particularly critical. For instance, mutations in genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 – more commonly associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk – can also occur in prostate cancer. These mutations can make the cancer more aggressive but also potentially susceptible to a specific type of drug called a PARP inhibitor, especially if the cancer becomes resistant to hormone therapy.

    National guidelines now recommend genomic testing for all men with metastatic prostate cancer to look for these “actionable” mutations. This move toward personalized medicine means treatments can be increasingly tailored to the unique fingerprint of a patient’s cancer.

    Understanding cancer ‘aggressiveness’

    It’s essential to understand that “aggressive” isn’t just a simple label for cancer, but rather a multilayered evaluation. An aggressive-looking cancer caught early and confined to the prostate (Stage 1 and Stage 2) can have a nearly 100% five-year relative survival rate. However, if the same high-grade cancer has already spread widely (Stage 4), five-year relative survival drops significantly, to around 38%.

    This stark difference in survival rates highlights a critical point. To obtain the clearest picture of a cancer’s potential threat, a comprehensive assessment combines insights from multiple qualities of a tumor to help patients and their health care teams make informed decisions.

    Thankfully, advances in genomics, imaging and targeted therapies continue to improve how aggressiveness is defined, how its behavior is predicted and how treatment is personalized. This progress offers growing hope for better outcomes, even for patients with the most aggressive prostate cancers.

    Jason P. Joseph 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. What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-for-bidens-prostate-cancer-to-be-aggressive-a-urologic-surgeon-explains-257100

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Clownfish shrink during marine heatwaves – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Theresa Rueger, Senior Lecturer in Tropical Marine Biology, Newcastle University

    Clownfish that shrank during heatwaves were more likely to survive them. Morgan Bennett-Smith

    As the world contemplates dealing with more extreme temperatures, one coral reef fish has found a novel way to beat the heat: shrinking.

    Wanting to know how clownfish cope with changes to their environment, we repeatedly measured 134 wild fish in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, during a marine heatwave that started in March 2023 and is part of an ongoing global mass coral bleaching event. Clownfish have unique markings, which make it easy to identify and measure them underwater.

    To our complete surprise, we found that 100 of the fish we measured shrank during our study from February to August 2023. Those that shrank had a better chance of surviving the heatwave.

    The clownfish, Amphiprion percula, lives in small social groups within anemones on coral reefs. As the movie Finding Nemo indicated, clownfish rarely, if ever, leave their host anemone because the anemone offers them protection from predators.

    Sadly, this also means that clownfish cannot move to cooler areas as marine heatwaves become more common on coral reefs due to rising global temperatures. Clownfish need other strategies to survive the heat.

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    This is the first time that coral reef fish have been shown to shrink in response to heat stress. And by shrink, we don’t mean getting skinnier – we mean getting shorter.

    This is surprising because growth in vertebrates (animals with backbones, like us) is generally considered to be a one-way street. You get larger over time and you might stop growing if stressed or as you reach your maximum length, but it is rare to find vertebrates shrinking, especially over periods as short as a month, and in response to environmental conditions.

    It may also seem counter-intuitive to shrink. After all, smaller individuals are more prone to being eaten and they breed less. Here, however, being smaller increased the chances of survival for clownfish, possibly because smaller fish need less food and are typically more efficient at foraging and using oxygen, which is scarcer in hot water.

    Orange clownfish in a bleached anemone during the 2023 heatwave in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.
    Morgan Bennett-Smith

    If you shrink, I shrink

    We found that there is a social component to shrinking and surviving a heatwave.

    A remarkable feature of clownfish social groups is that they maintain strict hierarchies based on size. This means growth – and shrinking – don’t just affect the individual in question, but also risks conflict within the group that could force a fish to be evicted, which usually leads to death. So, shrinking is a risky proposition.

    On each anemone the biggest clownfish is female, the second biggest is male, and together they form a breeding pair. To avoid fights in the pair, males control their growth to keep a fixed size ratio between the two.

    In our study, breeding pairs in which both fish shrank were more likely to survive the heatwave than if only one, or neither, fish shrank.

    We also found that those fish who shrank by a lot could catch up and grow rapidly when conditions improved. That means that it’s not just the shrinking that helps, but being able to shrink and grow flexibly to meet your needs.

    A breeding pair of clownfish. The large female is on the right and the smaller male on the left.
    Theresa Rueger

    While not all fish beat the heat and survived, none of the fish that shrank multiple times in our study died, and even shrinking once increased a clownfish’s survival probability during the heatwave by 78%.

    Our research didn’t investigate how clownfish do this, but studies on other vertebrates might give us clues. Marine iguanas on the Galápagos Islands for example shrink during El Niño years, when water temperatures in the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean warm. This reduces the amount of food and prompts the reptiles to shrink by absorbing part of their bones.

    The average size of many marine fish species around the globe is getting smaller according to long-term surveys. This could partly be a result of fishing removing larger fish from populations, as well as the warming climate altering the growth or maximum sizes of fish.

    If our finding of adult fish shrinking in response to environmental stress is more widespread, it could be another reason why fish in the world’s ocean are getting smaller.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Theresa Rueger receives funding from The Leverhulme Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council UK.

    Chancey MacDonald receives funding from the Natural Envirnoment Research Council of UKRI.

    Melissa Versteeg receives funding from Murray Foundation UK, the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, the International Coral Reef Society and the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University, UK.

    – ref. Clownfish shrink during marine heatwaves – new study – https://theconversation.com/clownfish-shrink-during-marine-heatwaves-new-study-257036

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How male anatomy became the default in medicine – and why that’s a problem

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol

    Imagine waking up from surgery to discover that the implants designed to save your life were too large, too rigid, and never meant for someone like you. Imagine arriving at the emergency department with chest pain, only to be sent home because your symptoms don’t match the “classic” heart attack signs taught to doctors.

    Picture taking a routine dose of medication and experiencing severe side-effects, only to learn that the drug was never tested on women during its clinical trials. Or recovering from a fracture, only to find that the rehabilitation plan you’re following doesn’t align with how your bones heal.

    This isn’t the story of a medical mishap. It’s the consequence of centuries of anatomical science using one model for every body: the male.

    From textbooks to medical devices, the female form has often been an afterthought, leading to treatments that don’t fit, symptoms that go unnoticed, and lives put at risk. How did anatomical science come to overlook half the population? And what are the consequences of this oversight today?

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    To understand how this situation came about, we must go back to the roots of modern anatomy.

    Early anatomical texts, such as those by Andreas Vesalius in the 16th century, were based almost exclusively on male bodies. Female anatomy was included only when it differed in obvious reproductive ways, often cloaked in language that presented the female form as a deviation or inversion of the male norm.

    By the 19th century, with the institutionalisation of medical schools and dissection, anatomical teaching still relied predominantly on male cadavers. This wasn’t simply due to availability. It was also cultural.

    The male body was perceived as universal, rational, and worthy of study, while the female body was seen as variable, emotional, and biologically preoccupied with reproduction. The “ideal body”, in anatomical terms, was male.

    Even when women were studied, it was often through a lens of pathology or deviation: hysteria, wandering wombs, and fragile constitutions – the femme fragile.

    This historical lens cast a long shadow: well into the 20th century, and in many respects still today, anatomical models, surgical techniques, and medical training continue to prioritise the male form.

    When ‘normal’ doesn’t fit

    The implications of this anatomical bias are not just theoretical. They affect everyday clinical practice and outcomes. For example, women experiencing heart attacks often report symptoms like fatigue, nausea, or jaw pain – symptoms not listed in the “typical” presentation historically taught to doctors. As a result, they are more likely to be misdiagnosed or dismissed, leading to higher mortality rates.



    Read more:
    Are heart attack symptoms sexist?

    Orthopaedic implants, such as hip and knee replacements, have also been shown to potentially underperform in women, in part because they were designed around male bone dimensions and joint angles.

    Even crash test dummies – the silent arbiters of car safety design – were based on male physiology until disturbingly recently. When a “female” dummy was finally introduced, it was essentially a scaled-down man, not a biologically accurate model. Women’s bodies are still not standard or required in car safety tests.

    Then there’s the world of pharmaceuticals. Until the early 1990s, women were routinely excluded from clinical trials due to concerns about hormonal fluctuations and potential pregnancy risks. As a result, the dosage, metabolism, and side-effect profiles of countless medications were understood only in male bodies – sometimes with dangerous consequences.

    In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration halved the recommended dose of the sleep aid zolpidem (Ambien) for women after discovering that they were far more affected by it than men. Something that could have been predicted had women been included in the initial studies.

    Artificial joints underperform in women – because they’re based on male anatomy.
    Sylvie Pabion Martin/Shutterstock.com

    Anatomy and inclusion

    Bones, muscles, blood vessels, fat distribution, and even immune responses vary between sexes. Female skeletons are generally lighter, with different angles in the pelvis and knees. Tendons and ligaments respond differently to stress and hormones, affecting injury risk and recovery.

    Pain perception and response to analgesics differ, too. Not just because of socialisation, but because of real, measurable differences in anatomy and neurobiology.

    Anatomical diagrams in textbooks still depict male figures as standard, with female anatomy relegated to the reproductive chapter.

    Simulation models for surgical training rarely reflect the full range of female body types or internal variation. If the first step of medicine is to know the body, we must ask: whose body are we really teaching?

    Change is coming. More researchers are calling for sex-disaggregated data in studies, and journals increasingly require it

    New generations of anatomists, doctors, and designers are beginning to challenge the one-body-fits-all paradigm. We’re finally starting to build a model of medicine that sees all bodies clearly, from the inside out.

    Michelle Spear 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. How male anatomy became the default in medicine – and why that’s a problem – https://theconversation.com/how-male-anatomy-became-the-default-in-medicine-and-why-thats-a-problem-255648

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Universal vaccines could reshape how we fight future outbreaks – but a broad approach is needed

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Antony Black, Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Westminster

    raker/Shutterstock.com

    Every year, the race begins anew. Scientists scramble to track mutating viruses, pharmaceutical companies reformulate vaccines and public health systems brace for another season of jabs and logistics.

    This relentless cycle is our frontline defence against threats like flu and COVID – but it comes at a steep price. Globally, billions are poured into strain and variant surveillance, vaccine development and distribution, leaving already-stretched health systems — particularly in lower-income countries – struggling to keep pace.

    That’s why scientists have long aimed to develop universal vaccines – ones that protect against all major forms of a virus, including both seasonal and pandemic types. But designing these vaccines has proved to be tricky.

    The difficulty lies in the way viruses mutate. Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) change rapidly, allowing them to escape the immune system’s memory responses triggered by past infections or vaccinations. To make a universal vaccine, researchers must identify parts of the virus that stay the same across different strains and variants – known as “conserved regions”.

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    These conserved regions are harder for the immune system to recognise, so scientists are developing strategies to enhance the body’s response to them. One approach removes the rapidly mutating parts of the virus from the vaccine entirely, helping the immune system focus on the parts that don’t change.

    Another strategy involves “mosaic” vaccines, which combine elements from many virus strains to trigger a broad, protective immune response.

    Several technologies used to deliver these vaccines are at various stages of development. For example, mRNA vaccines use lab-made strands of messenger RNA (a type of genetic material) to instruct cells to produce viral proteins to trigger an immune response.

    Another type relies on “viral vectors” – harmless viruses that deliver genetic material into human cells to stimulate immunity. Both types of vaccines were gamechangers during the COVID pandemic.

    Other technologies include nanoparticles, which use synthetic biological particles to improve delivery and immune response. And “virus-like particles”, which trigger immune responses by imitating the structure of viruses, but don’t contain any genetic material.

    Researchers are also using powerful computational tools to design vaccines that could work across multiple strains.

    These platforms aren’t just being explored for flu and COVID – similar efforts are underway for other fast-evolving viruses, such as HIV.

    Cash injection

    Earlier this month, the US government announced a US$500 million (£377 million) investment to accelerate research into universal vaccines. After years of underfunding, experts say this backing is long overdue – especially following the COVID pandemic, which temporarily shifted focus to emergency vaccine production.

    The rapid development of COVID vaccines showed how targeted funding and global collaboration can lead to scientific breakthroughs. A similar approach could now help bring universal vaccines closer to reality by supporting early research, funding clinical trials and improving manufacturing and distribution systems.

    However, the investment has not been without controversy. Some scientists have raised concerns that the funding may be overly directed toward a narrow set of researchers or outdated methods, rather than being open to the most promising technologies.

    Critics argue that a broad, flexible portfolio of vaccine strategies – rather than a single approach – is the key to success.

    Ultimately, the goal of a universal vaccine is not just scientific. It’s also practical and global: reducing the burden on health systems, lowering costs and transforming how the world responds to future outbreaks.

    Antony Black 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. Universal vaccines could reshape how we fight future outbreaks – but a broad approach is needed – https://theconversation.com/universal-vaccines-could-reshape-how-we-fight-future-outbreaks-but-a-broad-approach-is-needed-256656

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Teachers knew what children needed to recover from the pandemic – but their insights were ignored

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alice Bradbury, Professor of Sociology of Education, UCL

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    Five years have passed since schools and nurseries closed in England as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns. This unprecedented disruption to children’s normal routines created considerable concern – both at the time and in the years since.

    But based on our research into the impact of school closures on children, we believe that many of the long-term effects have been misdiagnosed or ignored. Funding has been channelled in the wrong direction, hampering real recovery.

    We researched what was happening in primary schools during the pandemic. We used surveys, interviews and school-based case studies to collect insights from school staff and parents.

    Our survey data and case studies showed that teachers recognised straight away how the pandemic was affecting the children they taught and their families.

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    Schools knew that not receiving free school meals and being confined to inadequate housing during lockdown would affect children’s health and nutrition. They saw that some children would be exposed to greater risk from being at home, and that they needed to take action. They also recognised that children living in poverty would be affected the most.

    We also conducted two systematic literature reviews which assessed the findings of a large range of scholarly research. In one, we reviewed the evidence for how schools recover from sudden closures due to natural disasters or epidemics. In the other, we assessed studies published towards the end of the pandemic on the harm done to pupils.

    Priorities for recovery

    We wanted to know the key areas to focus on to help children recover from the disruption of lockdown. Our own research in schools arrived at similar answers to the review of research on school closures associated with natural disasters.

    First, it is important to recognise the value of local knowledge. Recovery strategies that are decided without insight into the local context may be poorly designed and unable to address the actual issues facing particular schools.

    Second, schools need to have the freedom to reset the pace at which the curriculum is taught, as both pupils and staff needed time to process what had happened during the pandemic. Rushing to catch up would prove counter-productive. And third, government responses need to make staff and pupil welfare a priority, and help repair wellbeing.

    Our review of the evidence of harm to pupils, published as the pandemic ended, found negative effects on physical health and nutrition, mixed effects on mental health and uncertainty about effects on learning.

    We saw how far the impact of COVID-19 on employment, and the prevalence of household bereavements, varied from place to place. We advised the Department for Education that insights from local communities were needed to help recovery, and that without them, centrally designed schemes might be unsuccessful.

    But instead, the government focused its immediate efforts on a time-limited national tutoring programme, intended to counter “learning loss” – to help pupils recover the knowledge they missed out on learning during school closures and to close the attainment gap.

    But the programme was poorly reviewed. Funding for tutors with no knowledge of the school or its pupils led to disappointing uptake and an early switch to a school-led funding route.

    The government’s appointed “catch-up tsar”, Kevan Collins, resigned early on. He commented that the “support announced by government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge”. This has proved true.

    Lasting consequences

    Five years on, it is not in the areas of learning loss that the long-term effects are being most felt. Evidence of learning loss is mixed, with exam results showing near recovery to pre-pandemic standards.

    Rather, it is the complex interactions between pupil absence and exclusions, the ongoing impacts on children with special educational needs and disabilities (as the strongest predictor of persistent absence) and the impacts on wellbeing that are most clearly indicative of an ongoing problem.

    Children’s wellbeing should be a key focus of continuing pandemic recovery.
    New Africa/Shutterstock

    A recent report from the charities The Institute For Public Policy Research and The Difference has found that absence and suspensions are two-thirds higher in England than before the pandemic. The findings suggest that this is the “lost learning” we should be concerned about.

    This has been compounded by a cost-of-living crisis that is deepening child poverty.

    Schools need support to help get past the consequences of the pandemic. This means a better funding formula that resources them properly for what they do – including the role they play in addressing child poverty. Teachers’ expertise needs to be recognised, and they need to feel valued.

    What’s more, the social value of primary school matters. It should not be seen only as preparation for an academic secondary school curriculum. Room for play, for physical activity, for arts and self-expression would greatly enrich this phase and set good foundations for the later years.

    While it may be many years until we really understand what the pandemic meant for children, we can at least use what we know now to inform the long process of recovery.

    Alice Bradbury receives funding from the Helen Hamlyn Trust which funds the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy at UCL. She has also received research funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and Department of Education/SAGE for the research discussed here. She is a member of the Labour Party and the Universities and College Union.

    Gemma Moss receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for the research discussed here.

    Sinead Harmey receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for the research discussed here.

    – ref. Teachers knew what children needed to recover from the pandemic – but their insights were ignored – https://theconversation.com/teachers-knew-what-children-needed-to-recover-from-the-pandemic-but-their-insights-were-ignored-253181

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel allows a ‘limited’ amount of aid back into Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is desperate

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Schiffling, Deputy Director of the HUMLOG (Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research) Institute, Hanken School of Economics

    After 11 weeks of blockading the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Israeli government asked the UN to resume “limited” aid deliveries on May 18. The move came amid growing international outrage over what the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has called a “policy of siege and starvation” in Gaza that “makes a mockery of international law”.

    Israel cleared nine aid trucks on Monday, May 19, only five of which entered Gaza. The Israeli military says closer to 100 trucks were inspected the following day. But, according to the UN, none of this aid has been distributed yet.

    It also goes without saying that even 100 aid trucks per day will not satisfy the desperate needs of Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants. The British, French and Canadian leaders have criticised Israel’s decision to allow a “basic amount of food” to enter the territory as “wholly inadequate”.

    The blockade has caused the already desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza to deteriorate further. Food security experts from the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform say the entire territory is now facing crisis levels of food insecurity, with 22% of the population at risk of starvation.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    The World Food Programme ran out of supplies in Gaza in late April. Other organisations have had the same problem. This has caused 60% of community kitchens, which many Gazans rely on for a daily meal, to close down. Many food items are now unavailable and diets are extremely limited, largely consisting of bread and pulses.

    Prices of what little food is available have also skyrocketed. The price of wheat flour, for example, has risen by more than 4,000% since the start of the 11-week long blockade. And with 90% of households in Gaza experiencing financial hardship, it is impossible for many people to buy essentials.

    Cooking oil is no longer available and firewood has become scarce. The majority of people now burn waste, making cooking unsafe and unhealthy. On top of this, the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and access to clean drinking water is very limited.

    At the same time, the efforts of humanitarian organisations to combat malnutrition have nearly come to a standstill because they lack necessary supplies. Malnutrition makes people more susceptible to disease.

    Militarising aid delivery

    The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it was necessary to resume aid to Gaza because Israel’s allies would not tolerate “images of mass starvation”. The move has still been criticised by some Israeli politicians, with hardline defence minister Israel Katz calling it a “grave mistake”.

    For now, aid will enter Gaza through established mechanisms. But the US and Israel are backing a proposal for a new aid delivery system involving private companies. The system will be managed by a newly formed independent American aid organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which expects to become operational by the end of May.

    The GHF plans to set up what it is calling “secure distribution sites” in southern and central Gaza. From these sites, it will distribute food, hygiene kits and medical supplies initially to 1.2 million people – eventually scaling-up operations to cover the whole population. The GHF says it will coordinate with the IDF but that its sites will be protected by private military contractors.

    While the GHF claims to have secured funding and be in the process of procuring large amounts of goods, no details are currently available to the public on this massive undertaking. The plan has received widespread criticism and has been rejected by the UN.

    The main criticism of the plan is that it violates so-called humanitarian principles. It is generally accepted that humanitarian action is based upon four main principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

    The principle of humanity states that suffering must be addressed wherever it is found, with a special focus on the most vulnerable people. Neutrality means that, in an armed conflict, humanitarian aid should not favour any side.

    Impartiality requires that humanitarian aid is provided based solely on need without any discrimination. And independence means that humanitarian objectives should be autonomous of political, economic, military or other objectives.

    Humanitarian bodies argue that the GHF’s plan does not stand up to these principles. It would force people to travel long distances to acquire heavy aid goods, so excludes those who are less mobile and more vulnerable.

    Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations have rejected the plan as a “humanitarian cover for a military strategy of control and dispossession”. They have raised concerns that the limited number of food distribution sites, as well as their location, could encourage the forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza.

    Satellite images showing the construction of sites in Gaza that are expected to be used as aid distribution centres also suggest they will be close to Israeli military bases. While private security contractors will secure the distribution sites, the mere presence of military forces so close by may make people hesitant to approach for fear of being targeted.

    UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have refused to participate in the proposed plan. Any involvement with a plan that is allegedly aligned with Israel’s military strategy could undermine the ability of the UN to play a meaningful humanitarian role in Gaza in the future. And it would also be seen as an endorsement of the militarisation of aid delivery around the world.

    As humanitarian experts point out, there is already an established system for providing aid to Gaza. Humanitarian organisations have the people, distribution networks and the necessary goods – 160,000 pallets full of them – in place. Almost 9,000 aid trucks are ready to be dispatched across the border as soon as Israel allows it.

    During the ceasefire earlier in 2025, UN agencies and humanitarian organisations demonstrated how quickly they could scale-up a predictable and accountable delivery of aid to those in need all across Gaza. This can be done again.

    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. Israel allows a ‘limited’ amount of aid back into Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is desperate – https://theconversation.com/israel-allows-a-limited-amount-of-aid-back-into-gaza-where-the-humanitarian-situation-is-desperate-257137

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lilo & Stitch: can Disney’s latest live-action animation remake reignite interest in the genre after Snow White box-office disaster?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura O’Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University

    Lilo & Stitch (2025) is another release in a long line of “reimaginings” of Disney animated features. Described as “live-action” they rework animations with humans and real-life settings (and the occasional animated character). These, for the most part, have been lucrative and successful for the studio. However, Disney’s mining of their own back catalogue has also yielded controversy and backlash.

    Following the troubled release of Snow White earlier this year – a film that failed to recoup its $270m (£201m) budget – it was announced that the production of a live action version of Tangled had been put on hold. Could Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in the commercial viability of Disney’s recent live-action trend?

    The animated Lilo & Stitch (2002) was a hit when it was released, earning US$273m (£204m) at the box office on its $80m budget. Stitch has become a symbol of the Disney corporation in the decades since the film was released, rivalling Mickey Mouse himself as the Disney mascot most merchandised around the world.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    The film seems like an obvious candidate for a live-action rendition. The trailers show Stitch unchanged. He is roguish, naughty, lovable, hilarious and full of personality. This begs the question: what is the point, then? The cynical response to this is lucrative merchandise. But cynicism has no place in Disney films, so let’s dive in.

    The live-action Lilo & Stitch recreates a lot of the charm of the original animated film from 2002. Stitch (the original creator and voice, Chris Sanders) is a chaotic monster, who, when exiled from his home planet, escapes to Earth where he joins Lilo’s family in Hawaii.

    Recently orphaned, six-year old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Adugong) struggle to maintain family life, and face the prospect of being separated by a social worker (Tia Carrere). Stitch’s arrival creates new upheaval as Nani attempts to keep the family together.

    The film’s strengths lie in the ways in which it echoes the original film. Hawaii’s beaches and surf are stunning onscreen, and an animated Stitch blends flawlessly with his real-life surroundings as he creates a whirlwind of mayhem everywhere he goes.

    Newcomer Maia Kealoha shines as Lilo, and there is magic onscreen when she shares scenes with Stitch. Their adventures together possess an undeniable charm, representing the film’s most compelling and memorable moments. Children will be delighted by Stitch’s hilarious naughtiness, and his journey to understanding and acceptance is heartwarming and well-paced.

    The threat of familial separation is portrayed as nuanced, complicated and less apocalyptic than in the original animated film. The social worker played by Tia Carrere (who voiced Nani in the animation) is a warm and empathetic presence, and her interactions with Nani have gravity and credibility.

    Although this is a welcome change, these scenes lack the energy of the Lilo and Stitch hijinks. They do add a degree of depth, but ultimately slow the story down, making the emotional moments feel unearned and somewhat lacking.

    The other central adults in the film, two alien hunters posing as humans played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson, feel out of place. The filmmakers’ decision to transform them from animated form into human form just doesn’t work in the world of the film. Their oafish and exaggerated physical performances are too jarring in a real-world setting, and would have been better remaining as vocal performances accompanying animation onscreen.

    Their home planet, Planet Turo is spectacularly animated. Hannah Waddingham gives a wonderful vocal performance as the grand councilwoman and new a comedic character resembling a pink axolotl (an amphibious salamander), makes this film feel very of the moment, given the recent media interest in this strange little creature.

    The film ultimately falls down in the final act as the strands of story come together in an overly complicated way. Changes to the ending create a sluggish finale which lacks the emotional payoff of the original.

    Overall, though, the new Lilo and Stitch is a joyful summer adventure that offers plenty of fun for children. Every scene where Stitch is onscreen is delightful. A modern cinematic icon, he is largely unchanged from the original 2002 film. The film updates the original through masterful depiction of Stitch’s interactions with humans onscreen.

    Stitch’s successes as a character in the original film are replicated here – his narrative arc, his design, his voice and his behaviour. The essence of what made Stitch an icon remains.

    Where the film is lacking is in over-complication of plot. There’s nothing wrong with refreshing the plot, as long as the heart, pacing and charm of the original remain intact. Perhaps Disney should turn their focus to what audiences loved about the original films, and what made the stories and characters so memorable.

    So, could the live-action Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in this burgeoning genre? If Disney recognises that returning to source material with a modern touch means upholding the central elements key to these films’ enduring legacy, then maybe it can. Just don’t mention Snow White. And the merchandising opportunities can’t hurt them either.

    Laura O’Flanagan 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. Lilo & Stitch: can Disney’s latest live-action animation remake reignite interest in the genre after Snow White box-office disaster? – https://theconversation.com/lilo-and-stitch-can-disneys-latest-live-action-animation-remake-reignite-interest-in-the-genre-after-snow-white-box-office-disaster-257281

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lilo & Stitch: can Disney’s latest live-action animation remake reignite interest in the genre after Snow White box-office disaster?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura O’Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University

    Lilo & Stitch (2025) is another release in a long line of “reimaginings” of Disney animated features. Described as “live-action” they rework animations with humans and real-life settings (and the occasional animated character). These, for the most part, have been lucrative and successful for the studio. However, Disney’s mining of their own back catalogue has also yielded controversy and backlash.

    Following the troubled release of Snow White earlier this year – a film that failed to recoup its $270m (£201m) budget – it was announced that the production of a live action version of Tangled had been put on hold. Could Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in the commercial viability of Disney’s recent live-action trend?

    The animated Lilo & Stitch (2002) was a hit when it was released, earning US$273m (£204m) at the box office on its $80m budget. Stitch has become a symbol of the Disney corporation in the decades since the film was released, rivalling Mickey Mouse himself as the Disney mascot most merchandised around the world.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    The film seems like an obvious candidate for a live-action rendition. The trailers show Stitch unchanged. He is roguish, naughty, lovable, hilarious and full of personality. This begs the question: what is the point, then? The cynical response to this is lucrative merchandise. But cynicism has no place in Disney films, so let’s dive in.

    The live-action Lilo & Stitch recreates a lot of the charm of the original animated film from 2002. Stitch (the original creator and voice, Chris Sanders) is a chaotic monster, who, when exiled from his home planet, escapes to Earth where he joins Lilo’s family in Hawaii.

    Recently orphaned, six-year old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Adugong) struggle to maintain family life, and face the prospect of being separated by a social worker (Tia Carrere). Stitch’s arrival creates new upheaval as Nani attempts to keep the family together.

    The film’s strengths lie in the ways in which it echoes the original film. Hawaii’s beaches and surf are stunning onscreen, and an animated Stitch blends flawlessly with his real-life surroundings as he creates a whirlwind of mayhem everywhere he goes.

    Newcomer Maia Kealoha shines as Lilo, and there is magic onscreen when she shares scenes with Stitch. Their adventures together possess an undeniable charm, representing the film’s most compelling and memorable moments. Children will be delighted by Stitch’s hilarious naughtiness, and his journey to understanding and acceptance is heartwarming and well-paced.

    The threat of familial separation is portrayed as nuanced, complicated and less apocalyptic than in the original animated film. The social worker played by Tia Carrere (who voiced Nani in the animation) is a warm and empathetic presence, and her interactions with Nani have gravity and credibility.

    Although this is a welcome change, these scenes lack the energy of the Lilo and Stitch hijinks. They do add a degree of depth, but ultimately slow the story down, making the emotional moments feel unearned and somewhat lacking.

    The other central adults in the film, two alien hunters posing as humans played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson, feel out of place. The filmmakers’ decision to transform them from animated form into human form just doesn’t work in the world of the film. Their oafish and exaggerated physical performances are too jarring in a real-world setting, and would have been better remaining as vocal performances accompanying animation onscreen.

    Their home planet, Planet Turo is spectacularly animated. Hannah Waddingham gives a wonderful vocal performance as the grand councilwoman and new a comedic character resembling a pink axolotl (an amphibious salamander), makes this film feel very of the moment, given the recent media interest in this strange little creature.

    The film ultimately falls down in the final act as the strands of story come together in an overly complicated way. Changes to the ending create a sluggish finale which lacks the emotional payoff of the original.

    Overall, though, the new Lilo and Stitch is a joyful summer adventure that offers plenty of fun for children. Every scene where Stitch is onscreen is delightful. A modern cinematic icon, he is largely unchanged from the original 2002 film. The film updates the original through masterful depiction of Stitch’s interactions with humans onscreen.

    Stitch’s successes as a character in the original film are replicated here – his narrative arc, his design, his voice and his behaviour. The essence of what made Stitch an icon remains.

    Where the film is lacking is in over-complication of plot. There’s nothing wrong with refreshing the plot, as long as the heart, pacing and charm of the original remain intact. Perhaps Disney should turn their focus to what audiences loved about the original films, and what made the stories and characters so memorable.

    So, could the live-action Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in this burgeoning genre? If Disney recognises that returning to source material with a modern touch means upholding the central elements key to these films’ enduring legacy, then maybe it can. Just don’t mention Snow White. And the merchandising opportunities can’t hurt them either.

    Laura O’Flanagan 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. Lilo & Stitch: can Disney’s latest live-action animation remake reignite interest in the genre after Snow White box-office disaster? – https://theconversation.com/lilo-and-stitch-can-disneys-latest-live-action-animation-remake-reignite-interest-in-the-genre-after-snow-white-box-office-disaster-257281

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Did humans evolve to prefer religion? Research shows many atheists intuitively favour faith

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Will Gervais, Reader in Psychology, Brunel University of London

    Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

    Many atheists consider themselves to be highly rational people who rate evidence and analytical thinking above religion, superstition and intuition. They might even argue that atheism is the most rational worldview.

    But that doesn’t make them immune to having intuitive beliefs themselves. Science suggests the link between rationality and atheism is far weaker than is often assumed.

    A study my colleagues and I conducted, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that even avowed atheists in some of the most secular countries on Earth might intuitively prefer religion to atheism. We argue this new evidence challenges simplistic notions of global religious decline and the beginning of an “atheist age”.

    In his 2007 book, Breaking the Spell, the philosopher Daniel Dennett speculated that, although atheists lack belief in god(s), many of them may retain what he dubbed “belief in belief”. This is the impression that religious belief is a good thing, and the world would be better off with more of it.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    But is this true? Our research investigated belief in belief among around 3,800 people in eight of the world’s least religious countries: Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. To test for belief in belief, we turned to the “Knobe effect”, a task honed by experimental philosophers for evaluating judgements of morality and intent.

    The classic Knobe effect demonstration goes something like this. Imagine a CEO mulling a new policy for their company that will increase revenue, but will also harm the environment. The CEO declares that they don’t care one way or another about the environment, they care only for the bottom line. They adopt the policy, money is made, environmental harm occurs. Here’s the crucial question: did the CEO intentionally harm the environment?

    Most people (upwards of 80% in Knobe’s first demonstration) report that the CEO did, in fact, intentionally harm the environment. However, if people receive an identical vignette in which the environment is incidentally helped rather than harmed, people’s intuitions entirely reverse, with only around 20% of people thinking the CEO intended to help.

    This reveals a stark asymmetry, whereby people intuitively feel that harmful side effects are intentionally caused, whereas helpful ones are not.

    We presented participants with a modified Knobe effect vignette in which a journalist publishes a story that sells a lot of papers. The story either leads to more atheism in the world, or to more religious faith. Crucially, we asked our participants to rate whether the ensuing religious shifts were intentionally caused by the journalist.

    Vignettes used in experiment.
    Author, CC BY-SA

    So, would our participants view increasing societal atheism as more intentionally caused (like harming the environment) or incidental (like helping the environment)?

    Overall, our participants’ odds of rating the religious outcome as intentionally caused were about 40% higher when the news story created more atheists, as opposed to more believers. This effect persisted across most countries in our sample, and was even evident among participants who were themselves atheists.

    People are more likely to judge that a news story intentionally created atheists (purple) than believers (turquoise)
    Author, CC BY-SA

    Participants in the original Knobe effect studies viewed environmental pollution as an intentionally caused insult. Our participants intuitively viewed creating more atheists as similarly intentionally caused – a spiritual rather than environmental pollution, perhaps.

    This sounds a lot like belief in belief. Dennett illustrated this as suggesting “belief in God is a good state of affairs, something to be strongly encouraged and fostered wherever possible: If only belief in God were more widespread!”

    Why might intuitions favouring religion persist among atheists in some of the world’s least religious societies?

    10,000+ years of religion

    Over the past few decades, markers of religious commitment – self-reported religious attendance, belief in god(s), private prayer – have steadily declined in some parts of the world. This rapid secularisation stands against a backdrop of more than 10,000 years of potent religious influence.

    My recent book Disbelief: The Origins of Atheism in a Religious Species asks how a species as historically religious as Homo sapiens could nonetheless have rising numbers of atheists. It ultimately provides important context for our new study’s results.

    A consideration of religion’s deep history gives us hints as to why belief in belief might exist among atheists in secular countries today. One prominent theory holds that religions may have helped unlock our species’ cooperative potential, allowing us to expand from our humble origins to become our planet’s dominant species.

    As religions reshaped our lives to boost cooperation, people increasingly came to view religion and morality as largely synonymous. Over cultural evolutionary time, the association between religious belief and moral goodness has become deeply culturally ingrained. This has left its trace on individual intuitions – as illustrated in the recent study by me and my co-authors and those by other researchers.

    Because religions have exerted tremendous influence on our societies for millennia, it would be genuinely surprising if some latent religious trace didn’t culturally linger as overt expressions of faith decline. Our newest results are consistent with this possibility.

    Belief may be wavering in many countries, but belief in belief persists, complicating any conclusion that we’ve truly entered an “atheist age”.

    Will Gervais has received funding from various organizations over the years, including The Leverhulme Trust and the John Templeton Foundation

    – ref. Did humans evolve to prefer religion? Research shows many atheists intuitively favour faith – https://theconversation.com/did-humans-evolve-to-prefer-religion-research-shows-many-atheists-intuitively-favour-faith-256391

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why the UK government is opposing universities on immigration

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chris Millward, Professor of Practice in Education Policy, University of Birmingham

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    The UK government has announced its plans for controlling immigration, and these include new rules for international students.

    The recent white paper on immigration proposes that most graduates will be allowed to stay in the UK for 18 months after their course finishes. This is six months less than currently permitted.

    There will be a higher bar for universities to sponsor visas, excluding those universities at which higher numbers of students fail to complete their courses. The white paper also proposes a 6% levy on universities’ income from international students.

    Universities think these changes will worsen their financial problems. However, this appears less important to the government than controlling immigration.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Universities are one of the UK’s strongest global assets, generating influence alongside export income. After the general election last year, science minister Peter Kyle vowed Labour would end what he termed the “war on universities” conducted by the previous Conservative government. That included a more welcoming approach to international students.

    One reason for the change in tone and policy signalled by the white paper is common to other popular destinations for international students: the rise of nationalist parties opposed to immigration. But there is another reason specific to the UK, which is the government’s aim to reform higher education.

    Politics and immigration

    Two weeks before the release of the immigration white paper, the Reform party secured control of ten local authorities across England, winning 677 seats. The party’s rising popularity will be of increasing concern to the Labour government.

    Reform is concerned about the effects of immigration on communities and wages. This affects international students because they figure within immigration statistics and increasingly stay for work.

    Like nationalist and anti-immigration parties in other countries, Reform also gains more support from voters without a university degree.

    In the US and Netherlands, similar movements have taken steps to reduce university funding and international students once in power. But these policies are not confined to nationalist parties.

    Canada and Australia’s Liberal and Labour governments also signalled caps on international student recruitment before their re-election earlier this year.

    This appears to be the strategy adopted by the UK’s Labour party – that it wants to assure voters who are more concerned about immigration than university finances.

    Higher education policy

    Alongside this, the government thinks employers are too reliant on migrant labour, and universities on international students. It wants them to focus more on developing the UK workforce. That requires employers to invest in skills development, and universities to provide courses that build crucial capabilities for the future.

    The white paper states that “at a time when skills matter more than ever to the economy and people’s employment prospects, there has been a long-term lack of coordination or investment to deliver the skills and capabilities our economy needs”.

    In England, coordinated higher education investment is difficult because most government funding is routed through loans to students. This encourages universities to meet demand from young people, which does not necessarily align with economic and public service priorities.

    After years of anaemic economic and productivity growth but repeated increases to the minimum wage, one-tenth of graduates now earn little more than that threshold.

    Higher education policy is increasingly focused on key skills.
    goodluz/Shutterstock

    In response, the last government encouraged young people to take apprenticeships rather than university degrees. It also allowed student maintenance loans and fees to decline in value in real terms.

    Universities filled the gap in their income with international students – particularly one-year taught postgraduates from Nigeria and India who often bring family members then stay for work. This made universities reliant on short-term income, while increasing immigration statistics.

    Changes to family visa rules, combined with a global economic downturn and geopolitical tensions, have led universities to forecast a 21% reduction in new international student entrants this year. And 44% of universities are expecting to be in financial deficit.

    Unlike its predecessor, the government accepts that UK student fees should increase with inflation, so has allowed this for the first time since 2017. But it wants a change from universities in return. Rather than relying on international students, they should make efficiencies and focus on courses that align with government priorities.

    In a system mostly financed by student fees, there are few levers for influencing this. The Office for Students, which regulates higher education, has been asked to focus on managing quality and financial risks rather than policy.

    Its funding for strategic priorities has been reduced. There are, though, three measures highlighted within the white paper that could become influential.

    First, the government is reforming the apprenticeships levy, so it can be used more flexibly for workforce development priorities. Second, the tightening of sponsorship rules aims to drive international recruitment towards courses supplying the highest levels of skills and knowledge. Third, the proposed levy on international student income equips the government to invest in priority courses, rather than relying on student choice.

    The first measure is already being implemented. A new organisation, Skills England, has been established to determine priorities for investment.

    This may include funds from the proposed levy on international student income, though the precedent of Australia suggests that may be difficult. Regardless, there is a mood in government for higher education reform.

    Chris Millward is a member of staff at the University of Birmingham. He is also a board member of MEDR, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales, and a Trustee of the Academy of Social Sciences. All of these organisations are affected by the issues addressed in this article.

    – ref. Why the UK government is opposing universities on immigration – https://theconversation.com/why-the-uk-government-is-opposing-universities-on-immigration-256526

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre explores what its like being human in relation to other human beings

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Leigh Wilson, Professor of English Literature, University of Westminster

    The French writer Anne Serre has been very clear in interviews that she has no truck with a type of fiction that is fashionable in the UK at the moment. Readers drawn to fiction that blurs the line with autobiography – what Serre calls “the story of someone’s life, or of an episode in that life, passing itself off as a novel” – are, in her view, being “sold a lemon”.

    She is clear, too, about her reason: “The whole point of a novel should be that we don’t know who is speaking.” This seemingly simple claim undoes so much new fiction in English – fiction as memoir, fiction in the first person, autofiction in which you always know who is speaking.

    This feeling of Serre’s also underpins and invigorates A Leopard-Skin Hat, her fourth work, which has been translated by Mark Hutchinson and was nominated for the International Booker prize.

    Published in France in 2008 as Un chapeau léopard, A Leopard-Skin Hat is a novel about a friendship between its protagonists, a woman called Fanny and a man known throughout only as “the Narrator”. However, while he is a writer, he is not the narrator of this novel.

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    The narrator of A Leopard-Skin Hat is not named, although they do sometimes refer to themselves as “I”. Other than this, they are a mystery. What they tell us, though, is the story of Fanny and the Narrator’s friendship over 20 years, years during which the Narrator sees Fanny gradually lose the fight against madness (the novel’s word) and, in the end, death.

    We know early on that Fanny will die at the age of 43, that isn’t a mystery, but what the novel centres on is how mysterious others are to us, and how we narrate to try to understand people who are not us, but whom we love.

    What is most extraordinary about Serre’s novel is the way it shows us two friends doing very ordinary things – going out for dinner, going on holiday, walking in the countryside and swimming in lakes – but shows us through this the strangeness and complexity of friendship, love and of life.

    It’s not just the mysterious narrator, though, that distinguishes Serre’s novel from so many of the orthodoxies of contemporary fiction in English. Against the advice of every creative writing course, A Leopord-Skin Hat tells rather than shows.

    It is largely written in the tense that in English is known as the past habitual, which uses the conditional or a description of what used to happen. What the narrator tells us is hardly ever rooted in “scenes”, where we enter into the present of the world of the novel and listen to characters talking to each other. Describing Fanny’s pilfering of the titular leopard-skin hat, for example, we are told: “She would tell you about the theft with the amused and somewhat shamefaced air of a little girl and, were she to put on the hat, would resemble the woman she might have been”.

    There is no dialogue in the novel until the last two pages. Its use of the past habitual and the almost absence of dialogue could make for a coolness or a lack of emotional engagement, but its effect is the opposite.

    The narrative position is not tricksy. Actually, the best writing that experiments with narrative position – from Virginia Woolf, through W.G. Sebald to Lucy Ellman’s Ducks, Newburyport – does so in order to represent as faithfully as possible what it is like to be a human being in relation to other human beings. At the centre of such experiments is the question, how can we know other people?

    While Fanny’s death is the melancholy heart of the novel, in its final, amazing chapter – which switches from the past habitual to the present tense – the narrator recounts Fanny’s experiences after death, as the narrator character cannot, and as only the unknown narrators of novels can. As she ascends into the sky, Fanny becomes Fanny:

    Here she is, then, continuing her ascent, her hand still on her head, her blue eyes wide open and inhabited at last. Inhabited by someone who nobody ever saw on earth, I can assure you. Someone not unlike the woman in the leopard-skin hat, only better; less mysterious, fully present from head to toe. For the first time in I don’t know how long, Fanny is once again the woman she used to be.

    The unknown narrators of novels can tell us who other people really are; we can never know that ourselves. All we can do is read novels and love those other people anyway.

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

    – ref. A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre explores what its like being human in relation to other human beings – https://theconversation.com/a-leopard-skin-hat-by-anne-serre-explores-what-its-like-being-human-in-relation-to-other-human-beings-257167

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the UK-EU deal turns the page on Brexit – and what happens next

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Magdalena Frennhoff Larsén, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster

    At their first bilateral summit since Brexit, UK and EU leaders set out a range of areas they will seek to forge closer ties. European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the agreement as a historic landmark deal that opens a new chapter in the EU-UK relationship.

    But it is only the beginning of – potentially long – negotiations to thrash out the details of closer cooperation in areas like trade, youth mobility and energy.

    As the two parties sit down at the negotiating table, they will, for the first time since Brexit, agree on how to make trade and cooperation easier. For example, one anticipated agreement will align UK food safety and animal health standards with those of the EU, thereby removing the need for most border checks and ease the flow of agriculture and food products between the two parties. And the expected youth mobility scheme will allow young people to travel, work and study in the EU and the UK for a limited period of time.

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    The looming negotiations will be relatively narrow in scope. The Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement still provide the basis for the EU-UK relationship. The UK is not compromising on its red lines of not joining the single market, the customs union or allowing free movement of people.

    The negotiations will consequently not fundamentally alter the current relationship. While the impact of the agreements may be significant for specific sectors, the overall economic impact is expected to be relatively modest.

    This is not to say that the upcoming negotiations will be easy or void of controversies. Over the next months, negotiators will have to agree on quotas, time limits, exceptions and financial contributions. Compromises and trade-offs will have to be found.

    There will be domestic resistance on both sides. Concerns have already emerged that France might oppose the participation of British defence companies in EU defence procurement programmes.

    And in the UK, critics argue that the decision to dynamically align UK rules and standards with those of the EU in certain sectors will make the country a rule-taker once again.

    But the answer to the question on many people’s minds: “Will this bring us back to all those years of difficult and protracted Brexit negotiations?” is no – this time around, things are different.

    In comparison with the Brexit negotiations, these negotiations should be far easier and swifter. They are less consequential and backed by strong political will from both sides.

    Recent polling indicates that both Britons and EU citizens favour a closer relationship between the UK and the EU.

    The agreement reached at the summit is seen as the first concrete manifestation of Starmer’s long sought-after reset of the relationship.

    Moving on

    The Brexit negotiations focused on establishing less cooperation compared with when the UK was a member of the EU. It was a question of addressing increasing barriers to trade and cooperation – something many perceived as a lose-lose situation. The upcoming negotiations, on the other hand, are seen to lead towards a win-win reset of relations. The parties enter the negotiations with a mindset of finding solutions that increase trade and facilitate cooperation.

    The UK is now negotiating as an independent, sovereign country. During the Brexit negotiations the UK was an EU member (or a closely aligned former member in the case of the negotiations of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement).

    It was thus important for the EU to make the benefits of membership clear and to discourage other members from leaving. As a result, it drove a hard bargain and the UK had limited influence on the negotiations.

    However, unlike the UK – where Brexit has never fully disappeared from the political debate – the EU moved on quickly after Brexit. In Brussels, many now consider the UK an independent but like-minded strategic partner.

    This is seen not least in the area of security, where the two parties agreed on a security and defence partnership. They set out a framework for closer cooperation in areas of joint interest, such as sanctions, information sharing and cybersecurity, and allowing them to better respond to shared global challenges and uncertainties.

    Zooming out, the geopolitical picture has changed dramatically since the Brexit negotiations. With the war in Ukraine and the resulting instability in Europe, combined with the shifting priorities of US foreign policy, there is now an even greater need for EU-UK cooperation.

    Magdalena Frennhoff Larsén 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. How the UK-EU deal turns the page on Brexit – and what happens next – https://theconversation.com/how-the-uk-eu-deal-turns-the-page-on-brexit-and-what-happens-next-257158

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Continuing to seek Chinese investment in the UK comes at a heavy political price

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jeffrey Henderson, Professor Emeritus of International Development, University of Bristol

    Steel blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, UK. Baxter Media/Shutterstock

    One major consequence of the UK government’s resistance to rejoining the European single market is that it is forced to go around the world seeking trade deals and investment.

    Recently, the government has boasted of successful arrangements with India, the US, and some new agreements with the EU. But it has also found itself courting one highly dubious suitor.

    Since the chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, went to Beijing in January 2025, the government has been focusing much of its attention on China. And while investment from the world’s second-largest economy is fairly unproblematic in a few sectors (some services and domestic real estate, for example), other areas are a cause for concern.

    Relying on Chinese money to support key sectors such as steel, telecommunications, advanced electronics, power and transport – all vital for Britain’s economic and geopolitical security – is potentially dangerous.

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    Yet it has been going on for years. Efforts to secure funding by a previous Conservative government even allowed state-owned Chinese companies to invest in the UK’s nuclear future, despite considerable criticism from the likes of MI5 and the British military.

    Then there was the 2017 acquisition by a Chinese state-backed private equity firm of cutting-edge semi-conductor company, Imagination Technologies. Subsequent concerns over the leaking of its intellectual property prompted a parliamentary enquiry into foreign corporate asset-stripping.

    British Steel was also a target. Sold in 2019, it is now owned by a private company, Jingye, which in April 2025 moved to shut down operations at its Scunthorpe site by not supplying the raw materials required for its blast furnaces.

    In response, the UK government took emergency control of production in a scramble to stop the furnaces from going cold.

    That incident should have served as an urgent reminder to the government that it needs to be wary of the effect Chinese companies can have on the UK.

    Early signs, however, are not reassuring. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds commented that Jingye was not acting in the “rational way” he would expect of a company in a market economy.

    But the government should know that when it comes to strategic decision-making, Chinese companies do not operate in ways that others consider rational. Put simply, they are not comparable to their equivalents in Britain or other liberal-market economies – because they are effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    According to the CCP’s data, by 2017 it had established a formal presence inside 92% of larger private companies and 73% of all private companies in China. Those figures will certainly be higher now. And, as with the digital-technology firm Huawei, senior CCP members are often on a company’s boards of directors.

    So, while Jingye almost eliminated British Steel as a viable company, it can be reasonably assumed that a decision of such strategic and geopolitical importance would not have been taken by Jingye’s executives alone. They would have been “guided” by the CCP.

    Influence and infrastructure

    And of course, it’s not just steel production the UK should be concerned about. Chinese ownership now extends across many vital sectors.

    There’s the Chinese state-owned company, Beijing Construction Engineering helping to build a new science and innovation park next to Manchester airport. And the private Hong Kong company, CK Infrastructure which owns water companies serving north-east England, Essex and Suffolk.

    China Investment Corporation (state-owned) owns part of Heathrow, while China Huaneng (state-owned) operates Europe’s largest battery storage facility in Wiltshire. Meanwhile, wind turbine producer Mingyang (privately owned and reputedly linked to the Chinese military) is the preferred bidder for a new Scottish wind farm, despite being barred from a similar Norwegian development.

    All of these companies, irrespective of formal ownership, are likely to be subject to varying degrees of CCP influence and control (comment on the issue from Chinese companies is rare). And successive UK governments have either failed to appreciate the implications of this, or have accepted it as the price of gaining greater access to the Chinese market – especially for London’s financial sector.

    This was almost certainly a factor behind China’s involvement in the building of Hinkley Point’s new nuclear power station, and was at the forefront in Rachel Reeves’s discussions with the Chinese government earlier this year.

    Separately, Chinese investment in non-strategic sectors is much less controversial. One private conglomerate (Fosun) owns the Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers and formerly owned Thomas Cook.

    But the lesson from the British Steel fiasco is clear. We are now in a world where the political interests of major states trump the economic interests of their business corporations. Geopolitics takes precedence over geoeconomics.

    Consequently, Chinese firms – regardless of ownership status – should be barred from industries vital to the UK’s economic and political security. Anything less risks subordinating British interests to those of the Chinese Communist Party.

    Funding from European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), for the China in Europe Research Network, contributed to the research on which this article is based.

    – ref. Continuing to seek Chinese investment in the UK comes at a heavy political price – https://theconversation.com/continuing-to-seek-chinese-investment-in-the-uk-comes-at-a-heavy-political-price-255340

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Eldest daughters often carry the heaviest burdens – insights from Madagascar

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Claire Ricard, Research Fellow at CERDI, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)

    In recent years, the term “eldest daughter syndrome” has gained traction on social media, as many firstborn daughters share how they had to grow up faster. They often took on caregiving and supportive roles in their families.

    In high-income countries, research shows that these responsibilities often bring long-term benefits. Firstborn daughters – and sons – tend to have higher educational attainment and stronger cognitive skills. They also enjoy better job prospects and salaries.

    Some studies in low- and middle-income countries have found similar positive effects of being the eldest. But others have found the opposite.

    In low-income contexts, economic constraints, cultural practices – such as the involvement of extended families in child-rearing – and inheritance norms may produce very different effects.

    Our research brings new insights by examining these dynamics in Madagascar. It is one of the world’s poorest countries. Birth order there strongly shapes the transition to adulthood, especially for firstborn children.

    Progress in understanding birth order effects in low-income countries is held back by the lack of detailed, sibling-level data. Our study used a dataset that followed individuals from the ages of 10 to 22, capturing their transition from adolescence to adulthood. It collected detailed information on education, work, health, marriage, and migration. The dataset also captured key demographic and educational details for all living full siblings of each respondent.

    We found that firstborns in Madagascar transition into adulthood earlier than their younger siblings. They are more likely to leave school early. They enter the workforce sooner and marry at younger ages. For example, fourth-born children are 1.5 percentage points less likely than firstborns to have never attended school, and 1.1 percentage points more likely to complete post-secondary education.
    Or, third-borns are 23% less likely to marry at age 19 than firstborns.

    Our findings suggest that later-born children benefit from greater parental investment in education. This leads to better schooling outcomes and delayed entry into the labour market.

    Birth order and the transition to adulthood

    In Madagascar, early marriage can be a way for families to ease financial pressure. This is especially true since daughters typically join their husband’s household.

    When it comes to marriage, we find that later-born children are less likely to marry early than their firstborn siblings – especially after age 17. This trend holds for both boys and girls. The difference appears earlier for girls, which aligns with their younger average age at marriage.

    Interestingly, second-born girls are not significantly less likely to marry than their older sisters. This suggests that the eldest daughter does not always bear the full brunt of early marriage risk.
    Firstborn daughters often take on caregiving and household roles. These responsibilities may delay their marriage slightly, as families rely on them for day-to-day support.

    What explains these birth order effects?

    We did not observe significant differences in cognitive skills (like reasoning) or non-cognitive traits (like personality) between firstborns and their younger siblings. Cognitive abilities were assessed through oral and written math and French tests administered at home. These findings contrast with evidence from wealthier countries, where firstborns often outperform their siblings in both cognitive and non-cognitive domains. This may result from greater early parental investment.

    In Madagascar, child development may rely less on direct parental input and more on interactions within the extended family. This is consistent with the concept of fihavanana, a cultural principle that emphasises solidarity and mutual support within the extended family.
    Rather than benefiting mostly from parental quality time, children – especially later-borns – may develop their cognitive and non-cognitive skills through broader social networks. These include relatives and older siblings.

    We also explored whether gender preferences might help explain the differences in outcomes. For instance, if later-born children were disproportionately boys, it could suggest that parents continued having children in hopes of having a son. This could lead to more resources being allocated to that later-born boy. However, our data show an even distribution of boys and girls among later-born children. This suggests that gender-based stopping rules are unlikely to explain the patterns we observe.

    Instead, our findings point to economic constraints as the main driver for firstborns transitioning into adulthood earlier than their younger siblings.

    In poorer households, particularly in rural areas, firstborn children are often asked to help out financially. This often comes at the cost of their own education. Later-born children, by contrast, receive more investment in their schooling. This may compensate for their limited access to other resources, such as land.

    We find no birth order advantage in wealthier households or among families where parents have some education. This again highlights poverty as a key factor shaping these patterns.

    The double burden of being firstborn

    To sum up, our research shows that, in Madagascar, both male and female firstborns face an earlier transition into adulthood. They leave school and enter the labour market sooner. They marry earlier, although firstborn girls may be at slightly lower risk of early marriage than their younger sisters.

    This suggests that, in poor countries, the eldest daughter syndrome is not just about emotional and care-giving responsibilities. It may also come with fewer educational opportunities, greater economic pressure, and an earlier end to childhood. A true double burden for disadvantaged girls. Economic constraints within households largely explain this pattern.

    But the story is not only one of constraint. The absence of differences in cognitive and non-cognitive skills suggests that broader community ties, rooted in fihavanana and extended kinship networks, help cushion the impact of early responsibility. These collective structures may not erase inequality, but they offer a vital source of resilience.

    As policymakers and practitioners look for ways to promote educational equity, it’s worth remembering that some of the most overlooked trade-offs happen within households. Reducing the weight of those trade-offs – through financial support, community-based programmes, or school retention efforts – could help ensure that the future of one child doesn’t come at the expense of another.

    Claire Ricard receives funding from the program “Investissements d’avenir” (ANR-10-LABX-14-01). She’s affiliated to Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, CERDI, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand and works as an Economist at IDinsight, Rabat, Morocco.

    Francesca Marchetta receives funding from the program “Investissements d’avenir” (ANR-10-LABX-14-01).
    She’s affiliated to Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, CERDI, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand and with PEP (Partnership for Economic Policy).

    – ref. Eldest daughters often carry the heaviest burdens – insights from Madagascar – https://theconversation.com/eldest-daughters-often-carry-the-heaviest-burdens-insights-from-madagascar-255785

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why was St-Pierre-Miquelon targeted by both Donald Trump and a French politician?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Paco Milhiet, Visiting fellow au sein de la Rajaratnam School of International Studies ( NTU-Singapour), chercheur associé à l’Institut catholique de Paris, Institut catholique de Paris (ICP)

    St-Pierre-Miquelon is a small French archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

    A map of St-Pierre-Miquelon and its exclusive economic zone.
    (Eric Gaba)

    The territory is just 244 square kilometres with a population of only 5,800. Nonetheless, it’s recently been in the global spotlight due to its inclusion in a wave of tariffs imposed by the United States — and because of a controversial remark from a French presidential hopeful suggesting undocumented migrants should be deported there.

    These recent events provide an opportunity to examine the complex historical and geopolitical entanglements surrounding St-Pierre-Miquelon and involving France, Canada and the United States.

    Last French territory in the region

    Visited by Indigenous Peoples for nearly 5,000 years, St-Pierre-Miquelon became known to European sailors in the late 15th century and was officially claimed for France by Jacques Cartier in 1536.

    The archipelago soon emerged as a strategic base for French fishermen engaged in cod fishing and whaling. Over the ensuing centuries, the islands were fiercely contested by France and Great Britain, changing hands multiple times before being definitively restored to French control in 1816.

    In the 20th century, the archipelago was at the heart of recurring fishing disputes between Canada and France.

    These peaked in 1988 with events that included the seizure of fishing vessels, the recall of ambassadors and violations of existing agreements. Despite historic treaty-based rights, France’s access to fishing grounds declined after Canada’s 1992 cod moratorium and an arbitration ruling that gave St-Pierre-Miquelon an exclusive economic zone of just 38 kilometres around the archipelago, except for a 16-kilometre swath extending 320 kilometres south.

    Both these events had major economic repercussions for St-Pierre-Miquelon.

    Hefty tariff

    Today, the territory’s economy is small — less than 0.001 per cent of France’s GDP — and it depends heavily on public funds and external provisions, particularly from neighbouring Canada.

    Nevertheless, the territory was initially included among the targets of the so-called Liberation Day tariffs announced U.S. President Donald Trump in April. It was singled out with a hefty 50 per cent import duty, temporarily making it one of the most heavily taxed territories in the world, matched only by the landlocked African country of Lesotho.

    Although Trump reversed course and reduced the tariff to 10 per cent a few days later, the original decision was perplexing given the archipelago’s minimal economic weight and its peripheral geopolitical position. Why was this St-Pierre-Michelon targeted so brutally by the Trump administration?

    Halibut geopolitics

    St-Pierre-Miquelon and the U.S. had a balanced trade relationship from 2010 to 2025, until a sharp discrepancy appeared in July 2024. The U.S. imported US$3.4 million worth of goods from the islands, exporting only $100,000 over the entire year.

    This resulted in a reported trade imbalance of 3,300 per cent for the year 2024, which the U.S. government appears to have interpreted as evidence of a 99 per cent tariff imposed by the territory, applying the same flawed algorithm on other countries.

    Why was there such a discrepancy in July 2024?

    According to several reports, this statistical anomaly is actually the result of a long-standing dispute between France and Canada over fishing quotas in the waters surrounding St-Pierre-Miquelon.

    Traditionally, the territory mainly exports seafood products to France and Canada, and almost none to the U.S.

    But in June 2024, a French vessel offloaded several tons of halibut — an expensive fish in high culinary demand — in Saint-Pierre.

    While the catch was made in international waters and was technically legal, it occurred amid ongoing tensions between France and Canada over halibut stocks and the sustainability of the species in the area.

    Because of these tensions, the catch was redirected to the U.S. market and sold for the aforementioned US$3.4 million, an outcome that ultimately triggered the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

    France and Canada reached an agreement on halibut later in 2024. But their “halibut war” was just the latest example of recurring disputes between the two countries over fishing quotas in the waters off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, one of the world’s richest fishing grounds.

    The heavy tariffs imposed by the U.S. on St-Pierre-Miquelon, even though they were swiftly reversed, wer therefore an indirect consequence of the long-standing tensions between France and Canada.

    A new Alcatraz?

    Within days of St-Pierre-Miquelon recovering from the tariff shock, it was once again thrust into the spotlight.

    This time, Laurent Wauquiez, a moderate right-wing presidential contender in France, suggested migrants under deportation orders known as obligations de quitter le territoire français — or OQTF — should be given two options: either be detained in St-Pierre-Miquelon or return to their countries of origin.

    It’s not the first time politicians have proposed deporting prisoners to French overseas territories.

    The suggestion is aligned with France’s historical use of these territories as sites for penal colonies, most notably in Cayenne in French Guyana and New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

    Wauquiez’s remarks were widely condemned as contemptuous and colonial in tone, including by members of the government.

    In response, local authorities in St-Pierre-Miquelon tried to capitalize on the controversy by launching a humorous media campaign that reappropriated the OQTF acronym.

    Social media ads from St-Pierre-Miquelon officials on the deportation proposal by Laurent Wauquiez.
    (Compiled by Paco Milhiet)

    Their goal was to shift the narrative and highlight the archipelago’s appeal: low unemployment, strong public safety, outstanding natural landscapes and a peaceful, family-friendly quality of life — and, hopefully, free from hefty American tariffs.

    Paco Milhiet 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. Why was St-Pierre-Miquelon targeted by both Donald Trump and a French politician? – https://theconversation.com/why-was-st-pierre-miquelon-targeted-by-both-donald-trump-and-a-french-politician-256662

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Morabo Morojele: Lesotho’s swinging jazz drummer who became a literary star

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Gwen Ansell, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria

    We use the term “Renaissance man” very loosely these days, for anybody even slightly multi-talented. But Lesotho-born jazz drummer, novelist and development scholar Morabo Morojele was the genuine article.

    He not only worked across multiple fields, but achieved impressively in all. Morojele died on 20 May, aged 64.

    As a researcher into South African jazz, I encountered him initially through his impressive live performances. I was surprised to hear about his first novel and then – as a teacher of writing – bowled over by its literary power.

    Celebrating a life such as Morojele’s matters, because a pan-African polymath like him cut against the grain of a world of narrow professional boxes, where borders are increasingly closing to “foreigners”.

    This was a man who not only played the jazz changes, but wrote – and lived – the social and political ones.

    The economist who loved jazz

    Born on 16 September 1960 in Maseru, Lesotho, Morojele schooled at the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Swaziland (now Eswatini) before being accepted to study at the London School of Economics.

    In London in the early 1980s the young economics student converted his longstanding jazz drumming hobby into a professional side gig. There was a vibrant African diasporic music community, respected by and often sharing stages with their British peers. Morojele worked, among others, in the bands of South African drummer Julian Bahula and Ghanaian saxophonist George Lee. With Lee’s outfit, Dadadi, he recorded Boogie Highlife Volume 1 in 1985.

    Studies completed and back in Lesotho, Morojele founded the small Afro-jazz group Black Market and later the trio Afro-Blue. He worked intermittently with other Basotho music groups including Sankomota, Drizzle and Thabure while building links with visiting South African artists. For them neighbouring Lesotho provided less repressive stages than apartheid South Africa.

    Morojele relocated to Johannesburg in 1995 and picked up his old playing relationship with Lee, by then also settled there. His drum prowess caught the eye of rising star saxophonist Zim Ngqawana. With bassist Herbie Tsoaeli and pianist Andile Yenana, he became part of the reedman’s regular rhythm section.



    Read more:
    Zakes Mda on his latest novel, set in Lesotho’s musical gang wars

    The three rhythm players developed a close bond and a distinctive shared vision, which led to their creating a trio and an independent repertoire. Later they were joined by saxophonist Sydney Mnisi and trumpeter Marcus Wyatt to form the quintet Voice.

    Voice was often the resident band at one of Johannesburg’s most important post-liberation jazz clubs: the Bassline. Although the 1994-founded venue was just a cramped little storefront in a bohemian suburb, it provided a stage for an entire new generation of indigenous jazz and pan-African music in its nine years. Voice was an important part of that identity, audible on their second recording.

    Morojele on drums for Andile Yenana.

    Morojele also recorded with South African jazz stars like Bheki Mseleku and McCoy Mrubata. He appeared on stage with everyone from Abdullah Ibrahim to Feya Faku.

    His drum sound had a tight, disciplined, almost classical swing, punctuated visually by kinetic energy, and sonically by hoarse, breathy vocalisations. Voice playing partner Marcus Wyatt recalls:

    The first time I played with you, I remember being really freaked out by those vocal sound effects coming from the drum kit behind me, but the heaviness of your swing far outweighed the heaviness of the grunting. That heavy swing was in everything you did – the way you spoke, the way you loved, the way you drank, the way you wrote, the way you lived your life.

    Wyatt also recalls a gentle, humble approach to making music together, but spiced with sharp, unmuted honesty – “You always spoke your mind” – and intense, intellectual after-show conversations about much more than music.

    Because Morojele had never abandoned his other life as a development scholar and consultant. He was travelling extensively and engaging with (and acutely feeling the hurt of) the injustices and inequalities of the world. Between those two vocations, a third was insinuating itself into the light: that of writer.

    The accidental writer

    He said in an interview:

    I came to writing almost by accident … I’ve always enjoyed writing (but) I never grew up thinking I was going to be a writer.

    In 2006, after what he described in interviews as a series of false starts, he produced a manuscript that simply “wrote itself”, How We Buried Puso.

    Starting with the preparations for a brother’s funeral, the novel – set in Lesotho – reflects on the diverse personal and societal meanings of liberation in the “country neighbouring” (South Africa) and at home. How new meanings for old practices are forged, and how the personal and the political intertwine and diverge. All set to Lesotho’s lifela music. The book was shortlisted for the 2007 M-Net Literary Award.

    There was an 18-year hiatus before Morojele’s second novel, 2023’s The Three Egg Dilemma. Now that he was settled again in Lesotho, music was less and less a viable source of income, and development work filled his time. “I suppose,” he said, “I forgot I was a writer.” But, in the end, that book “also wrote itself, because I didn’t have an outline … it just became what it is almost by accident.”

    In 2022, a serious health emergency hit; he was transported to South Africa for urgent surgery.

    The Three Egg Dilemma, unfolding against an unnamed near-future landscape that could also be Lesotho, broadens his canvas considerably.

    The setting could as easily be any nation overtaken by the enforced isolation of a pandemic or the dislocation of civil war and military dictatorship, forcing individuals to rethink and re-make themselves. And complicated by the intervention of a malign ghost: a motif that Morojele said had been in his mind for a decade.

    For this powerful second novel, Morojele was joint winner of the University of Johannesburg prize for South African writing in English.

    He was working on his third fiction outing – a collection of short stories – at the time of his death.

    The beauty of his work lives on

    Morojele’s creative career was remarkable. What wove his three identities – musician, development worker and writer – together were his conscious, committed pan-Africanism and his master craftsman’s skill with sound: the sound of his drums and the sound of his words as they rose off the page.

    Through the books, and the (far too few) recordings, that beauty lives with us still. Robala ka khotso (Sleep in peace).

    Gwen Ansell 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. Morabo Morojele: Lesotho’s swinging jazz drummer who became a literary star – https://theconversation.com/morabo-morojele-lesothos-swinging-jazz-drummer-who-became-a-literary-star-257256

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel has promised ‘basic amount’ of food into Gaza − but its policies have already created catastrophic starvation risk for millions

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Yara M. Asi, Assistant Professor of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida

    Palestinians wait in line to receive meals in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City, Gaza, on May 17, 2025. Mahmoud ssa/Anadolu via Getty Images

    After 18 months of punishing airstrikes, raids and an increasingly restrictive siege in Gaza, the United Nations on May 20, 2025, issued one of its most urgent warnings yet about the ongoing humanitarian crisis: an estimated 14,000 babies were at risk of death within the next 48 hours without an immediate influx of substantial aid, especially food.

    The assessment came a day after Israel allowed the first trickle of aid back into Gaza following its nearly three-month total blockade imposed on March 2. But on the first day of that resumption, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that only nine trucks were allowed into Gaza, when around 500 are required every day. The U.N. called it “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”

    As an expert in Palestinian public health, I and others have long warned about the potentially devastating humanitarian consequences of Israel’s military response to the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, given the preexisting fragility of the Gaza Strip and Israel’s history of controlling humanitarian aid into the territory. Many of those worst-case humanitarian predictions have now become reality.

    Israel’s control of food and aid into Gaza has been a consistent theme throughout the past 18 months. Indeed, just two weeks after Israel’s massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip began in late 2023, Oxfam International reported that only around 2% of the usual amount of food was being delivered to residents in the territory and warned against “using starvation as a weapon of war.”

    Yet aid delivery continues to be inconsistent and well below what was necessary for the population, culminating in a dire warning by U.N. experts in early May that “the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza” was possible without an immediate end to the violence.

    Putting Palestinians ‘on a diet’

    Already, an estimated near 53,000 Palestinians have died and some 120,000 have been injured in the conflict. Starvation could claim many more.

    Amid the broader destruction to lives and infrastructure, there is now barely a food system to speak of in Gaza.

    Since October 2023, Israeli bombs have destroyed homes, bakeries, food production factories and grocery stores, making it harder for people in Gaza to offset the impact of the reduced imports of food.

    A handful of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are seen at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on May 20, 2025.
    AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo

    But as much as things have worsened in the past 18 months, food insecurity in Gaza and the mechanisms that enable it did not start with Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

    A U.N. report from 2022 found that 65% of people in Gaza were food insecure, defined as lacking regular access to enough safe and nutritious food.

    Multiple factors contributed to this preexisting food insecurity, not least the blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel and enabled by Egypt since 2007. All items entering the Gaza Strip, including food, became subject to Israeli inspection, delay or denial.

    Basic foodstuff was allowed, but because of delays at the border, it could spoil before it entered Gaza.

    A 2009 investigation by Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz found that foods as varied as cherries, kiwi, almonds, pomegranates and chocolate were prohibited entirely.

    At certain points, the blockade, which Israel claimed was an unavoidable security measure, has been loosened to allow import of more foods. In 2010, for example, Israel started to permit potato chips, fruit juices, Coca-Cola and cookies.

    By placing restrictions on food imports, Israel has claimed to be trying to put pressure on Hamas by making life difficult for the people in Gaza. “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger,” said one Israeli government adviser in 2006.

    To enable this, the Israeli government commissioned a 2008 study to work out exactly how many calories Palestinians would need to avoid malnutrition. The report was released to the public only following a 2012 legal battle. Echoes of this sentiment can be seen in the Israeli decision in May 2025 to allow only “the basic amount of food” to reach Gaza to purportedly ensure “no starvation crisis develops.”

    The long-running blockade also increased food insecurity by preventing meaningful development of an economy in Gaza.

    Displaced Palestinians fleeing amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia in northern Gaza on May 18, 2025.
    AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi

    The U.N. cites the “excessive production and transaction costs and barriers to trade with the rest of the world” imposed by Israel as the primary cause of severe underdevelopment in the occupied territories, including Gaza. As a result, in late 2022 the unemployment rate in Gaza stood at around 50%. This, coupled with a steady increase in the cost of food, made affording food difficult for many Gazan households, rendering them dependent on aid, which fluctuates frequently.

    Hampering self-sufficency

    More generally, the blockade and the multiple rounds of destruction of parts of the Gaza Strip have made food sovereignty in the territory nearly impossible.

    Even prior to the latest war, Gaza’s fishermen were regularly shot at by Israeli gunboats if they ventured farther in the Mediterranean Sea than Israel permits. Because the fish closer to the shore are smaller and less plentiful, the average income of a fisherman in Gaza has more than halved since 2017.

    Much of Gaza’s farmland has been rendered inaccessible to Palestinians as a result of post-October 2023 actions by Israel.

    And the infrastructure needed for adequate food production – greenhouses, arable lands, orchards, livestock and food production facilities – has been destroyed or heavily damaged. International donors hesitate to rebuild facilities, knowing they cannot guarantee their investment will last more than a few years before being bombed again.

    The latest ongoing siege has only further crippled the ability of Gaza to be food self-sufficient. By May 2025, nearly 75% of croplands had been destroyed, along with significant amounts of livestock. Less than one-third of agricultural wells used for irrigation remain functional.

    Starvation as weapon of war

    The use of starvation as a weapon is strictly forbidden under the Geneva Conventions, a set of statutes that govern the laws of warfare. Starvation has been condemned by U.N. Resolution 2417, which decried the use of deprivation of food and basic needs of the civilian population and compelled parties in conflict to ensure full humanitarian access.

    Human Rights Watch has already accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, and Amnesty International called the most recent siege evidence of genocidal intent.

    The Israeli government in turn continues to blame Hamas for any loss of life in Gaza and has increasingly made clear its aim for Palestinians to leave Gaza entirely.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly that Israel was permitting aid now only because allies were pressuring him over “images of mass famine.” This stance suggests that Israel will not soon increase aid beyond what his government deems politically acceptable.

    While there is more evidence than ever before that Israel is using food as a weapon of war, there is also, I believe, ample evidence that this was the reality long before Oct. 7, 2023.

    In the meantime, the implications for Palestinians in Gaza have never been more dire.

    Already, the World Health Organization estimates that 57 children have died from malnutrition just since the beginning of the March 2, 2025, blockade.

    More death is certain to follow. On May 12, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global system created to track food insecurity, released an alarming report on projections of food insecurity in Gaza.

    It warned that by September 2025, half a million people in Gaza – 1 in 5 of the population – will be facing starvation and that the entire population will experience acute food insecurity at crisis level, or worse.

    Editor’s note: Parts of this story were originally contained in an article published by The Conversation U.S. on Feb. 15, 2024.

    Yara M. Asi 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. Israel has promised ‘basic amount’ of food into Gaza − but its policies have already created catastrophic starvation risk for millions – https://theconversation.com/israel-has-promised-basic-amount-of-food-into-gaza-but-its-policies-have-already-created-catastrophic-starvation-risk-for-millions-257181

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –