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Category: Analysis

  • MIL-Evening Report: For 100 years, we have marvelled at planetariums. Here’s a brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Bush, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne

    Ulverstone Planetarium, Hive Tasmania

    Picture this: a small audience is quietly ushered into a darkened room. They gasp in awe, as a brilliant night sky shines above. They wonder – as many after them will do – what trickery has made the roof above their heads disappear?

    But this is a performance; the stars above an ingenious projection. For the first time a public audience has experienced the spectacle of the opto-mechanical planetarium. The location is the newly opened Deutsches Museum in Munich, built to celebrate science and technology. The date is May 7 1925.

    Visualising the heavens

    Throughout time, cultures around the world have used the stars to help make sense of the world, to understand where we come from and determine our place in the cosmos.

    People have tried to recreate the movements of the stars and planets since antiquity. In the 1700s, the orrery, a clockwork model of the Solar System, was developed. The word “planetarium” was invented to describe orreries that featured the planets.

    One room-sized orrery example was built by the self-taught Frisian astronomer Eise Eisinga. It’s still operational today in Franeker, Netherlands.

    No human has ever been to the edge of the Solar System to see this view. Orreries, and other mechanical models of the universe like celestial globes, present views from impossible, external perspectives.

    Eise Eisinga’s orrery was constructed on a scale of 1mm:1 million km with the pendulum clock that drives the mechanism located in the ceiling above.
    Erik Zachte, CC BY-SA

    The first planetariums

    The desire for a realistic view of the stars and planets, created from a perspective we actually see, gathered pace in the early 20th century as light pollution from growing cities diminished the view of the night sky.

    People like Oskar von Miller, first director of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, wanted to return this vision of the stars and planets to everyone. (Ironically, von Miller’s earlier career was as an electrical engineer, rolling out the city lighting that contributed to light pollution.)

    One early attempt to create this view of the night sky was the Atwood Sphere, installed in Chicago in 1913.

    Approximately five metres across, it was made of sheet metal perforated with a star map. When viewed from the inside, the light shining through 692 pinholes replicated the Chicago night sky. The whole structure could even be rotated to simulate the motion of the stars.

    A realistic display of the stars is one thing. Representing the planets, whose positions in the sky change from night to night, is a different one. Von Miller and others at the Deutsches Museum knew that fixed holes could not represent the complexity of a moving planet.

    What if the planets were displayed by projection? If so, couldn’t the stars be projected, as well? With this realisation, a new kind of planetarium was born, borrowing the name from earlier orreries but working in a completely different way.

    The task of building such a device was given to the German optical company Carl Zeiss AG. After many setbacks, their first planetarium projector was completed in 1923, with the first performance at the Deutsches Museum a century ago today.

    Planetariums were a hit with the public. Within decades, they had spread around the world – the first planetarium in the United States opened in Chicago in 1930, while the first one in Asia opened in Osaka, Japan in 1937. The popularity of planetariums particularly accelerated in the US during the space race of the 1960s.

    Australia’s oldest operating planetarium is the Melbourne Planetarium, managed by Museums Victoria since 1965. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland’s Stardome Observatory has been in operation since 1997. The current longest-running planetarium in the southern hemisphere is in Montevideo, Uruguay, operational since 1955.

    Changing pace of technology

    The opto-mechanical planetarium projector remains a technological wonder of the modern world. Individual plates, perforated with pinholes, are illuminated by a bright central light. Separate lenses focus each projection from one of these star maps to fill the entire dome with about 5,000 stars.

    The Sun, Moon and planets have separate projectors driven by gears and rods that mechanically calculate the object’s position in the sky for any time or place.

    The Zeiss ZKP-1 star projector was installed at Adelaide Planetarium in 1972.
    Adelaide Planetarium

    By the 1990s, a digital revolution had begun. With the advent of computers, the positions of the planets could now be calculated digitally. The Melbourne Planetarium became the first digital planetarium in the southern hemisphere when it installed the Digistar II in 1999.

    This system, developed by computer graphics company Evans and Sutherland, replaced the multiple lenses of earlier projectors with a fisheye lens. A single beam of light swept across the whole dome so rapidly that it seemed to create a single image – albeit in a bizarre green colour, rendering a starfield of fuzzy green blobs.

    The first accurate fly-through of a star field was created by Evans and Sutherland and used as the opening credits of Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982).

    The trade-off for a less crisp starfield was a 3D database with more than 9,000 stars. For the first time, planetarium audiences could fly through space, far beyond the edge of the Solar System.

    Planetarium technology continues to develop. Today, most planetariums operate through video projection. Known as fulldome, the output from multiple projectors is blended together to create a seamless video, transforming the planetarium into a sophisticated 360-degree theatre.

    A still fulldome frame from Melbourne Planetarium’s production Moonbase One, released in 2018.
    Museums Victoria

    A gateway to the stars

    Astronomy has also changed over the last century. Just as Zeiss was completing its first projector, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that other galaxies exist beyond our Milky Way galaxy.

    The stars shown on the dome in Munich in 1925 turned out to be just a tiny part of the universe that we know today.

    Planetariums’ digital systems now incorporate data from telescopes and space agencies around the world. Audiences can fly off Earth, orbit the planets and moons of the Solar System, and explore the billions of known galaxies.

    In the planetarium, data from the GAIA spacecraft shows the little Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy dropping stars like breadcrumbs as it orbits the Milky Way.
    Museums Victoria, CC BY-SA

    Yet some things have not changed. From orreries and lantern slides to opto-mechanical and digital planetariums, the communication of astronomy has always been about more than just the latest results of science.

    The power of the planetarium over the last 100 years has been its ability to evoke wonder and awe. It taps into our enduring fascination with the vast mystery of the night sky.

    Tanya Hill works at the Melbourne Planetarium operated by Museums Victoria.

    Martin Bush 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. For 100 years, we have marvelled at planetariums. Here’s a brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors – https://theconversation.com/for-100-years-we-have-marvelled-at-planetariums-heres-a-brief-history-of-how-humans-brought-the-stars-indoors-255228

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Greens leader Adam Bandt and Teal Zoe Daniel likely to lose their seats

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    With 80% of enrolled voters counted, the ABC is giving Labor 87 of the 150 House of Representatives seats, the Coalition 40, the Greens zero and all Others ten, with 13 seats remaining undecided.

    Based on votes realigned to a Greens vs Labor two candidate count in Melbourne, the ABC has Greens leader Adam Bandt trailing Labor by almost 4,400 votes (52.9–47.1). This would be a 9.4% swing to Labor from the Greens since the 2022 election. Analyst Kevin Bonham agrees with the ABC’s estimate. Primary votes are 40.3% Bandt (down 4.4%), 31.5% Labor (up 5.8%) and 19.1% Liberals (down 0.5%).

    Bandt had won Melbourne by 60.2–39.8 against Labor at the 2022 election, but his margin was reduced to 56.5–43.5 by an unfavourable redistribution. Bandt has become hated by the right, so it’s natural that their preferences would go to Labor ahead of Bandt.

    If this result is confirmed, the Greens will have lost three of their four House seats. In the fourth seat (Ryan), The Poll Bludger’s projections have the Greens just ahead of Labor when one of these parties is excluded, so they will probably beat the Liberal National Party on Labor preferences.

    Despite these losses, the Greens overall vote has held up, down 0.5% to 11.8%. It’s likely the Greens will improve when absent votes start being counted; these votes were cast outside a voter’s home electorate.

    The problem for the Greens is that their vote has become too dispersed and not concentrated enough to win single-member seats. In the proportional Senate, the Greens have performed far better, holding all their six seats that were last elected in 2019 (one from each state).

    Liberal Tim Wilson gains Goldstein

    The ABC has called a Liberal gain in Goldstein, with Teal independent incumbent Zoe Daniel defeated by a current margin of 684 votes. Daniel won on ordinary votes, which include election day and pre-poll votes cast within Goldstein, by 51.8–48.2. But the nearly 14,000 postals counted so far have favoured Wilson by a huge 64–36, and there’s still at least 6,000 postals to be counted.

    In other close Teal vs Liberal contests, an amendment to a pre-poll booth hurt the Teal in Liberal-held Bradfield, and she now trails by 178 votes. Postals that have heavily favoured the Liberal are almost finished, and the Teal may be able to regain the lead on other vote types.

    In Kooyong, incumbent Teal Monique Ryan leads the Liberals by 622 votes. Ryan won ordinary votes by 52.3–47.7, but she’s losing the 14,000 postals counted so far by 62–38, and there’s still at least 6,500 postals to be counted.

    Other close seats

    The electoral commission is still realigning the two candidate count in Bendigo, Bean and Fremantle. he ABC estimates Labor has an 1,183 vote lead over the Nationals in Bendigo, a 355 vote lead over a Teal independent in Fremantle, but Labor trails a Teal independent in Bean by 943 votes.

    In Liberal-held Menzies, Labor leads by almost 1,400 votes and should win, as the Liberal-favouring postals are nearly finished. In Labor-held Bullwinkel, Labor leads the Liberals by 50 votes and should extend their lead once vote types other than postals start being counted. In LNP-held Longman, the LNP leads Labor by 439 votes, but postals are nearly finished and Labor may regain the lead on other vote types.

    Adrian Beaumont 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. Greens leader Adam Bandt and Teal Zoe Daniel likely to lose their seats – https://theconversation.com/greens-leader-adam-bandt-and-teal-zoe-daniel-likely-to-lose-their-seats-256067

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How having no pants in public went from a nightmare to the Met Gala’s hottest fashion trend

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology

    While the official theme of the 2025 Met Gala was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, another trend emerged among those on the red carpet: no pants.

    While many might shudder at the thought of wearing their underwear in public, the no-pants trend has picked up steam in recent years, with celebrities such as Kristen Stewart, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Sydney Sweeney and many more rocking the look.

    Lisa’s outfit confuses the internet

    Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter and K-pop star Lisa in particular rocked the internet with their pantless outfits at the Met Gala – although the latter has stirred up some controversy.

    Social media users were offended by Lisa’s underwear – part of a lacy bodysuit designed by Louis Vuitton – which seems to have an image of civil rights activist Rosa Parks embroidered onto it (although this hasn’t been confirmed), along with a number of other figures.

    It’s possible the look wouldn’t seem quite as offensive if the rest of the bodysuit wasn’t concealed by the blazer. Nonetheless, it’s a less successful attempt at marrying the gala’s theme of Black dandyism with one of the hottest trends in fashion right now.

    But where exactly does the no-pants trend come from? Is it as “new” as it seems? And do we have Bridget Jones herself to thank?

    The modern revival of no pants

    The revival of no pants, or mini shorts, marks a shift towards individualism in fashion, and is possibly also leveraging shock value. We’ve seen the trend slowly reemerge since 2022, with celebrity outfits and a series of runway adoptions.

    The latest runways have continued to deliver collections with hot pants, mini shorts and simply no pants, including Miu Miu Spring 2024 RTW, Alexander Wang Spring 2025 RTW and Louis Vuitton Spring 2025.

    The body positive movement may also be a factor in the way celebrities are expressing themselves. The no-pants trend is a moment to celebrate the legs. It’s also particularly useful for people who are shorter, as it creates the illusion of longer legs by pulling the focus to the torso.

    Sabrina Carpenter told Vogue she was specifically advised by Pharrell Williams – Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director – to not wear pants at the Met Gala due to her short stature.

    Back to the origins

    While fashion is often seen as frivolous, the way we dress is actually closely linked with cultural, economic and political movements.

    Pants for women have a long and complex history. Before the mid-19th century, it was considered unacceptable for women in Western societies to wear bloomers (pants), as this was seen as a threat to male power.

    This 1896 satirical cartoon by William H. Walker (1871-1938) shows a navy ship crewed by women.
    untitled; William H. Walker Cartoon Collection, MC068, Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

    The taboo continued up until the early 19th century, with one 1903 men’s magazine presenting a special issue of “bifurcated girls” – that is, women posing in trousers.

    And it was only in 2013 that France officially overturned a 200-year-old (unenforced) ban that said women could only wear trousers with permission from the police.

    If the no-pants trend seems overtly or subtly transgressive, it is because of the centuries women have spent trying to negotiate how much they can show of their bodies.

    Exoticism also has a big role to play in the way women adopted trends to expose their body. In the past, each time women revealed parts of their body they weren’t “supposed to”, they’ve been met with public shock.

    As for the no-pants trend, we can probably trace the first contemporary examples of this back to the rise of ballet clothing and dancewear, particularly the leotard, from the 1950s onward.

    The workout videos of the 1980s (hello, Jane Fonda) also boosted the popularity of the look.

    The fashion life cycle

    For women, pants provided practicality and freedom of movement, which was especially important as they took on men’s roles during the first and second world wars. So it’s no surprise womens’ pants became a fashion mainstay.

    Other trends, such as going pantless, will usually come into mainstream fashion in one of two ways. Either they trickle down from runways and celebrities, or bubble up from street style or social media.

    Trend cycles begin with “innovators” and “early adopters” – the bold among us who are ready to take the risk before others. Research into fashion trends suggests about 1% to 2.5% of the population are innovators who will adopt a style before it gains traction among the public.

    Trends will generally die when they hit a point of saturation and people become tired of them. While a trend that’s closer to classic fashion may last ten years, fashion “fads” tend to fizzle out after about one to two years.

    Given the Met Gala appearances, I think the no-pants look will be sticking around for at least another year. We can also expect it to dilute as it trickles down into mainstream fashion, which means we might see more mini shorts in stores instead.

    Jye Marshall is a member of the Australian Fashion Council and Ethical Clothing Australia Accreditation.

    – ref. How having no pants in public went from a nightmare to the Met Gala’s hottest fashion trend – https://theconversation.com/how-having-no-pants-in-public-went-from-a-nightmare-to-the-met-galas-hottest-fashion-trend-255952

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor has promised fast action to cut student debt, but arts students will have to wait for lower fees

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor of Higher Education Policy, Monash University

    Labor’s federal election win means university fees and costs are set to change. But some of these changes will not be immediate.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said planned cuts to student debt will be a top priority for the the new parliament. A new student debt repayment system will follow soon after.

    But humanities students paying nearly A$17,000 a year for their studies – thanks to the Job-ready Graduates scheme introduced by the Morrison government – will probably have to wait until 2027 for lower fees.

    Reduction in student debt

    People with student debt will benefit from a 20% cut to how much they owe. As the Greens support wiping student debt entirely, Labor is likely to only need one or two other senators to pass the cut.

    With more Labor senators elected, Labor will be less reliant on crossbenchers to get legislation through parliament.

    Labor says the debt reduction will apply before 3.2% indexation is applied to HELP loan balances on June 1 this year. Given this deadline is mere weeks away, the necessary legislation will probably need to be retrospective.

    On average, the 20% reduction will save Australia’s 3 million student debtors about $5,500 each.

    A new student debt repayment system

    Another promised Labor change will deliver quick cash benefits to the about 1.2 million people making compulsory student debt repayments.

    If the Senate agrees, for the 2025-26 financial year, the income threshold to start repaying student loans will increase from $56,156 to $67,000. Anyone earning less than $67,000 in 2025-26 will repay nothing that financial year, compared to between $561 and $1,340 under current settings.

    Once the $67,000 income threshold is reached, student debtors will repay 15% of their income above this amount up to an income of $125,000, when the rate moves up to 17%. For example, a person earning $68,000 will be $1,000 above the new threshold – 15% of $1,000 equals a repayment of $150. Under the current system, somebody earning $68,000 would repay $1,360.

    Employers will deduct lower HELP repayments from their payroll, delivering extra cash to student debtor employees. Given the limited time before the thresholds are scheduled to change on July 1, employers may start with the old repayment system and transition to the new one after the necessary legislation passes.

    Understand the fine print

    During the election campaign, the Parliamentary Budget Office released work it did on HELP repayment scenarios for independent ACT Senator David Pocock, who was reelected on Saturday.

    This showed how under Labor’s proposed system, people with student debt will take longer to repay and incur higher indexation costs. If student debtors are concerned about this they can make voluntary repayments.

    What happens to the Job-ready Graduates scheme?

    A key to reducing repayment times is students accruing less debt in the first place. The Morrison government’s Job-ready Graduates policy increased student contributions for business, law and most arts subjects. Currently they pay $16,992 a year for their studies.

    The Coalition introduced this change in 2022 in a bid to encourage more university students to study “job-ready” teaching, nursing and STEM subjects.

    A new Australian Tertiary Education Commission, which Labor plans to legislate in the second half of 2025, will review student contribution levels as part of its broader role in managing the domestic student funding system.

    Last year, the Australian Universities Accord final report recommended student contributions should no longer be designed to steer course choices. Instead they should be based on expected future earnings.

    Using this principle, humanities students would pay the cheapest student contribution level. But this will not happen quickly.

    The new commission has a lot of work to do, with new student contributions forming part of a broader funding overhaul. The government then needs to accept any recommendations and legislate the new rates.

    Unfortunately for current students, this process means that student contributions are unlikely to change before 2027 at the earliest.

    International students

    While many domestic students are set to eventually pay less for their education, international students face early increases in costs. During the election campaign, Labor announced student visa application fees will increase from $1,600 to $2,000. As recently as June 2024 the visa application fee was only $710.

    This latest visa increase adds another item to an already long list of policies designed to discourage or block potential international students. It probably isn’t the last.

    Although student visa applications have trended down, the number of student visa holders in Australia at the end of March 2025 was higher than at the same time in 2023 or 2024.

    The government might try again to legislate formal caps on international student numbers. The Greens combined with the Liberals to block this in 2024.

    Commonwealth Prac Payments

    With Labor returned, eligible teaching, nursing and social work students will receive $331.65 a week when on mandatory work placements.

    While the “Commonwealth Prac Payments” policy is scheduled to start on July 1, the necessary legal instrument is not yet in place.

    Late in the election campaign the Coalition announced that, if elected, it would proceed with Prac Payments as a loan, rather than a grant.

    With the election result, Prac Payments can go ahead as originally planned. The minister can authorise the necessary delegated legislation before parliament sits. While the Senate could later “disallow” Prac Payments, the new Senate numbers make this very unlikely.

    Needs-based funding

    Labor’s election win should see another so far unlegislated program – needs-based funding for equity students – proceed as promised from January 1 2026.

    This will be a per student payment made to universities for each low socioeconomic status and First Nations student, along with each student enrolled at a regional campus. The idea is similar to needs-based funding for schools.

    Whether or not current education minister Jason Clare remains in the portfolio, Labor has a large higher education agenda to implement. In some areas the detail is already clear. But significant work remains to develop the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission and a new domestic student funding system.

    With several policy start dates due in the next eight weeks, the government will need to move quickly.

    Andrew Norton provided higher education policy advice to previous Liberal governments and served on the Universities Accord reference group during the first Albanese government.

    His current employer, Monash University, is significantly affected by policies on international students.

    – ref. Labor has promised fast action to cut student debt, but arts students will have to wait for lower fees – https://theconversation.com/labor-has-promised-fast-action-to-cut-student-debt-but-arts-students-will-have-to-wait-for-lower-fees-255872

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: In an election that played out on social media as much as TV, do leaders’ debates still matter?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney

    With the election campaign now fading into the rear-view mirror, the parties, particularly the Liberals, will be reviewing their campaign strategies. A part of this will likely be the use of televised debates.

    Leaders’ debates have been part of Australian election campaigns since 1984, but the 2025 campaign set a record of four televised exchanges between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

    The increased frequency, ever-evolving formats and fragmenting audiences of these televised campaign rituals do not guarantee improved voter information.

    Debates are idealised in international academic research as a “public service event”.

    But the evolution of Australian debates over four decades suggests voter education tends to be compromised by considerations of electoral strategy and network marketing.

    Risk versus reward

    Back in the 1980s, debates were a more stately affair – one-off events hosted by the National Press Club and carried by the national broadcaster.

    1984 Great Debate: Bob Hawke and Andrew Peacock.
    National Library of Australia29.9 MB (download)

    This year, all four of the Albanese–Dutton exchanges were conducted in-house by the rival television networks.

    In total, the four debates reached nearly six million viewers – though “reach” only measures “the total amount of people who dipped in for at least 60 seconds on linear TV, and 15 seconds on streaming”, according to media publication Mumbrella.

    Even allowing for party officials, election nerds and political scientists who watched more than one debate, these are still significant numbers, if lower than in decades past. The Australian electorate, it seems, is not yet entirely jaded about politics and politicians.

    Notably, squeezing four debates into a five-week campaign meant the last two took place with pre-polling under way.

    For the networks, hosting a debate presents an opportunity to showcase their stars, generate “exclusives” and maximise audiences. Their interest lies in mistakes or conflict, not policy rundowns.

    By contrast, for the Labor and Liberal campaign professionals, debates are primarily about risk minimisation. Debates are high-risk verbal combat: any gaffe, “gotcha” moment, forgotten statistic or ill-disciplined response in front of a live television audience carries a potentially high cost.

    So leaders spend valuable campaign hours preparing for debates, rehearsing their talking points, workshopping zingers, probing ways of exploiting the other’s weaknesses and responding to their taunts and challenges.

    They are structured such that they are not debates at all. There is no exchange, no rebuttal, no counterargument. For the most part, they resemble press conferences or studio interviews: formats in which the leaders are well practised and journalists are elevated to equal prominence with the political leaders.

    What’s the appeal?

    The principal motivation for both incumbent and challenger is that debates offer direct and protracted opportunities to articulate their key messages.

    In an era of fragmented audiences and shortened attention spans, each network promoted and gathered the viewers for them.

    Opening and closing statements in which the leaders outline their contrasting visions and policy themes operate like paid advertisements – but without the payment.

    The parties can then repackage the highlights into snackable short videos for social media, giving it a long tail. Both parties did this in this election.

    Indeed, debates are all about whose voice is heard in an election campaign. Leaders’ debates reinforce the dominance of the major parties. Labor and Liberal strategists alike resist any suggestion that they should share the debate platform with minor parties.

    But while it remains true that only the major party leaders have a chance of forming a new government, the new reality of Australian elections is that the majors rely heavily on preference flows from minor parties and independents, who thus have a legitimate claim to be heard on a debate stage.

    Perhaps those in the live TV audiences who judged neither Albanese nor Dutton as winners of the debates were not “undecideds”, but minor party supporters.

    Do debates shift votes?

    Previous research suggests debates tend to assist challengers more than incumbents. Opposition leaders have the additional advantage of standing on an equal footing with the prime minister.

    The exceptions generally occur when incumbents look likely to lose the election and want to gain ground against their challenger. Think Paul Keating in 1996, Kevin Rudd in 2013 and Scott Morrison in 2019, who all agreed to multiple debates.

    In 2025, Albanese joins that list, given his poor poll standings before the campaign began.

    It is not possible to measure what, if any, effect the four debates had on Albanese’s turnaround during the campaign. Voter effects are notoriously difficult to measure.

    The Australian Electoral Study has identified only modest effects in previous campaigns. Perhaps thanks to confirmation bias, debates are more likely to reinforce than change opinions.

    But the 2025 campaign may suggest something more. The campaign certainly saw significant shifts in opinion, including in perceptions of the two leaders. In Newspoll, Albanese surged as preferred prime minister, and as more likely to make Australians better off over the next three years.

    With hindsight, it seems clear that voters warmed to Albanese’s confidence, consistency and plans for the future, and cooled on Dutton’s policy-light focus on grievance.

    My hunch is the extended exposure of the leaders over four debates, right through the campaign and into the early voting period, provided some fuel for that change in perception.

    Stephen Mills was a staff member (1986-91) for Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke and since 2015 has volunteered for local Labor election campaigns.

    – ref. In an election that played out on social media as much as TV, do leaders’ debates still matter? – https://theconversation.com/in-an-election-that-played-out-on-social-media-as-much-as-tv-do-leaders-debates-still-matter-255771

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 7, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 7, 2025.

    In an election that played out on social media as much as TV, do leaders’ debates still matter?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney With the election campaign now fading into the rear-view mirror, the parties, particularly the Liberals, will be reviewing their campaign strategies. A part of this will likely be the use of televised debates.

    Labor has promised fast action to cut student debt, but arts students will have to wait for lower fees
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor of Higher Education Policy, Monash University Labor’s federal election win means university fees and costs are set to change. But some of these changes will not be immediate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said planned cuts to student debt will be a top

    How having no pants in public went from a nightmare to the Met Gala’s hottest fashion trend
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology While the official theme of the 2025 Met Gala was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, another trend emerged among those on the red carpet: no pants. While many might shudder at the thought of

    Greens leader Adam Bandt and Teal Zoe Daniel likely to lose their seats
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With 80% of enrolled voters counted, the ABC is giving Labor 87 of the 150 House of Representatives seats, the Coalition 40, the Greens zero and all

    For 100 years, we have marvelled at planetariums. Here’s a brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Bush, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne Ulverstone Planetarium, Hive Tasmania Picture this: a small audience is quietly ushered into a darkened room. They gasp in awe, as a brilliant night sky shines above. They wonder – as many after

    More than 50 years after trying to reach Venus, a failed Soviet spacecraft is about to return to Earth
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University A postage stamp from the Soviet Union celebrating its Venus space program from the 1960s and 1970s. Soviet Union/Wikipedia During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s, the USSR launched 29 spacecraft

    The Premier League champions have already been crowned but there’s still a lot on the line – mainly money
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the most prestigious and widely consumed soccer competitions in the world. Yet it is also manifestly lopsided when it comes to competitive balance. Only a handful of

    Cheap overseas, ruinous in Australia: here’s how to make double-glazed windows the norm
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trivess Moore, Associate Professor in Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University New Africa/Shutterstock In Europe, double-glazed windows are standard. But in Australia, these energy-saving windows are remarkably uncommon. Correctly installed, the effect of double-glazing is remarkable. Instead of a house losing or gaining huge amounts of

    More Australians are overdosing on GHB. But there are ways to reduce your risk
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Freestone, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs, UNSW Sydney Hendo Wang/Unsplash Gamma hydroxybutyrate – better known as GHB – is an increasingly popular illegal drug being used recreationally in Australia. While it can create feelings of euphoria, disinhibition and increased libido,

    The election of a new pope is announced with smoke: what do the colours mean, and how are they made?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Johnson, Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology and Director of the ACU Centre for Liturgy, Australian Catholic University For nearly 800 years the Catholic Church has utilised the process of the conclave to elect a new pope. “Conclave” means “with a key”, indicating the cardinal-electors

    Avoiding AI is hard – but our freedom to opt out must be protected
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Jin Kang, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, RMIT University Vietnam Wachiwit Imagine applying for a job, only to find out that an algorithm powered by artificial intelligence (AI) rejected your resume before a human even saw it. Or imagine visiting a doctor where treatment options are

    Popes have been European for hundreds of years. Is it time for one from Africa or Asia?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Catholicism did not begin as a “white” faith. Born on the eastern rim of the Mediterranean, it spread through the trading routes and legions of the Roman Empire into Africa, Asia and, only later, what we now call Europe.

    Moving towns: 4 stories of communities facing relocation show the complex realities of managed retreat
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stacy Vallis, Lecturer in Architecture and Emerging Technologies, Auckland University of Technology Shutterstock/Emagnetic With large parts of New Zealand having recently been pummelled by ex-tropical Cyclone Tam and ongoing bouts of heavy rain, it is important to remember that natural hazards have long shaped our cities. Two

    Indonesian postcard image ‘dangerous’ but Fiji a rising star in RSF press freedom index
    Pacific Media Watch To mark the release of the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) partnered with the agency The Good Company to launch a new awareness campaign that puts an ironic twist on the glossy advertising of the tourism industry. Three out of six countries featured in the exposé are from

    Gender quotas are the only way for the Liberals to go: Simon Birmingham
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Liberals’ former Senate Leader Simon Birmingham has urged the party to adopt quotas for its women in parliament, in an excoriating post-election critique. Birmingham, a leading moderate who retired from parliament in January, says given the Liberals’ parliamentary representation

    Why do some people get a curved back as they age and what can I do to avoid it?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jakub Mesinovic, Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University fran_kie/Shutterstock As we age, it’s common to notice posture changes: shoulders rounding, head leaning forward, back starting to curve. You might associate this with older adults and wonder: will this happen to me?

    As Warren Buffett prepares to retire, does his investing philosophy have a future?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old investing legend and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced plans to step down at the end of this year. His departure will mark the end of an era for value investing, an investment approach built

    Labor settled the ‘funding wars’ just before the election. Here are 4 big issues schools still face
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stewart Riddle, Professor, School of Education, University of Southern Queensland Days before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the federal election, the Labor government settled a long-running argument with the states over school funding. This locked in a new 25%–75% split on federal and state funding for schools.

    What’s the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E. Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Douglas Olivares/Shutterstock. Arthritis – an umbrella term for around 100 conditions that damage the joints – affects 4.1 million Australians. This is expected to rise by 31% to 5.4 million by 2040

    Office design isn’t keeping up with post-COVID work styles – here’s what workers really want
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ozgur Gocer, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney Flexible work has become the new norm, despite the best efforts of companies calling workers back to the office. Some employers assume that a return to the old ways of working is both possible and desirable. But for many workers,

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: COVID is still around and a risk to vulnerable people. What are the symptoms in 2025? And how long does it last?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies (IDIE) Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney

    Five years ago, COVID was all we could think about. Today, we’d rather forget about lockdowns, testing queues and social distancing. But the virus that sparked the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, is still circulating.

    Most people who get COVID today will experience only a mild illness. But some people are still at risk of severe illness and are more likely to be hospitalised with COVID. This includes older people, those who are immunocompromised by conditions such as cancer, and people with other health conditions such as diabetes.

    Outcomes also tend to be more severe in those who experience social inequities such as homelessness. In the United Kingdom, people living in the 20% most deprived areas have double chance of being hospitalised from infectious diseases than those in the least deprived areas.

    How many cases and hospitalisations?

    In Australia, 58,000 COVID cases have been reported so far in 2025. However, testing rates have declined and not all positive cases are reported to the government, so case numbers in the community are likely much higher.

    Latest data from FluCan, a network of 14 hospitals, found 781 people were hospitalised for COVID complications in the first three months of the year. This “sentinel surveillance” data gives a snapshot from a handful of hospitals, so the actual number of hospitalisations across Australia is expected to be much higher.

    While deaths are lower than previous years, 289 people died from COVID-related respiratory infections in the first two months of the year.

    What can we expect as we head into winter?

    We often see an increase in respiratory infections in winter.

    However, COVID peaks aren’t just necessarily seasonal. Over the past few years, peaks have tended to appear around every six months.

    What are the most common COVID symptoms?

    Typical early symptoms of COVID included fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose and shortness of breath. These have remained the most common COVID symptoms across the multiple variant waves.

    Early in the pandemic, we realised COVID caused a unique symptom called anosmia – the changed sense of taste or smell. Anosmia lasts about a week and in some cases can last longer.
    Anosmia was more frequently reported from infections due to the ancestral, Gamma, and Delta variants but not for the Omicron variant, which emerged in 2021.

    However, loss of smell still seems to be associated with some newer variants. A recent French study found anosmia was more frequently reported in people with JN.1.

    But the researchers didn’t find any differences for other COVID symptoms between older and newer variants.

    Should you bother doing a test?

    Yes. Testing is particularly important if you experience COVID-like symptoms or were recently exposed to someone with COVID and are at high-risk of severe COVID. You might require timely treatment.

    If you are at risk of severe COVID, you can see a doctor or visit a clinic with point-of-care testing services to access confirmatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing.

    Rapid antigen tests (RATs) approved by Australia’s regulator are also still available for personal use.

    But a negative RAT doesn’t mean that you don’t have COVID – especially if you are symptomatic.



    Read more:
    COVID-19 rapid tests still work against new variants – researchers keep ‘testing the tests,’ and they pass

    If you do test positive, while you don’t have to isolate, it’s best to stay at home.

    If you do leave the house while experiencing COVID symptoms, minimise the spread to others by wearing a well-fitted mask, avoiding public places such as hospitals and avoiding contact with those at higher risk of severe COVID.

    How long does COVID last these days?

    In most people with mild to moderate COVID, it can last 7–10 days.

    Symptomatic people can spread the infection to others from about 48 hours before you develop symptoms to about ten days after developing symptoms. Few people are infectious beyond that.

    But symptoms can persist in more severe cases for longer.

    A UK study which tracked the persistence of symptoms in 5,000 health-care workers found symptoms were less likely to last for more than 12 weeks in subsequent infections.

    General fatigue, for example, was reported in 17.3% of people after the first infection compared with 12.8% after the second infection and 10.8% following the third infection.

    Unvaccinated people also had more persistent symptoms.



    Read more:
    How long are you infectious when you have coronavirus?

    Vaccinated people who catch COVID tend to present with milder disease and recover faster. This may be because vaccination prevents over-activation of the innate immune response.

    Vaccination remains the best way to prevent COVID

    Vaccination against COVID continues to be one of the most effective ways to prevent COVID and protect against it. Data from Europe’s most recent winter, which is yet to be peer reviewed, reports COVID vaccines were 66% effective at preventing symptomatic, confirmed COVID cases.

    Most people in Australia have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. But if you haven’t, people over 18 years of age are recommended to have a COVID vaccine.

    Boosters are available for adults over 18 years of age. If you don’t have any underlying immune issues, you’re eligible to receive a funded dose every 12 months.

    Boosters are recommended for adults 65–74 years every 12 months and for those over 75 years every six months.

    Adults over 18 years who are at higher risk because of weaker immune systems are recommended to get a COVID vaccine every 12 months and are eligible every six months.

    Check your status and eligibility using this booster eligibility tool and you can access your vaccine history here.

    A new review of more than 4,300 studies found full vaccination before a SARS-CoV-2 infection could reduce the risk of long COVID by 27% relative to no vaccination for the general adult population.

    With ongoing circulation of COVID, hybrid immunity from natural infection supplemented with booster vaccination can help prevent large-scale COVID waves.

    Meru Sheel receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She serves on WHO’s Immunization and Vaccines Related Implementation Research Advisory Committee (IVIR-AC)

    – ref. COVID is still around and a risk to vulnerable people. What are the symptoms in 2025? And how long does it last? – https://theconversation.com/covid-is-still-around-and-a-risk-to-vulnerable-people-what-are-the-symptoms-in-2025-and-how-long-does-it-last-253840

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 10 reasons why banning social media for New Zealanders under 16 is a bad idea – and will affect adults too

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Beattie, Lecturer, Media and Communication, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    metamorworks/Getty Images

    Government coalition partners National and Act are at odds over proposed restrictions on social media use by New Zealanders aged 16 and under.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently announced a National Party private member’s bill that would require social media companies to verify someone is aged 16 or older. Luxon said social media was not “always a safe place for young people”.

    But ACT Party leader David Seymour has dismissed National’s proposal, saying it was “simple, neat and wrong”.

    Even if the member’s bill is not chosen out of the parliament biscuit tin, global interest in getting young people off social media is increasing.

    In late 2024, Australia passed a law banning children aged under 16 from social media platforms. Advocates, police and politicians in the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere have all proposed similar laws.

    While there is merit in young people spending more time offline, and there are real concerns about the impact of social media on wider society, it’s not clear that outright prohibition will achieve what is hoped for. Here are ten reasons a blanket ban is not the answer.

    1. The addiction fallacy

    Lobby group Before 16 has compared social media to tobacco, saying the platforms should be treated as a public health harm. The implication is that young people could get addicted to social media.

    But the standard for diagnosing addiction is high. Most young people are not addicted to social media; they have a habitual relationship with it that is hard to change.

    Likewise, comparing digital experiences to food may not capture the full range of interactions and impacts. This often implies value judgements, suggesting online experiences are all about “dopamine hits” (similar to sweet treats) and inherently less valuable or “unhealthy” compared to offline experiences.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has introduced a members bill banning social media for people under 16 years old.
    Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

    2. People are not ‘exposed to’ social media

    The language of the ban seems to suggest the relationship between social media and users goes in one direction – that people are simply exposed to the good and bad of platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and X. But using social media is not like going outside and getting burnt by the sun.

    While social media affects people, it’s also a tool we use to actively shape and create meaning for ourselves. It provides social scaffolding for day-to-day lives, identity formation, communication with family overseas, community support, and even a place to complain about parents.

    3. Murky science

    One of most influential books behind the ban is Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation. Haidt claims a causal link between social media use and increased anxiety and depression in Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2012).

    But this claim is highly contentious and has been criticised for failing to consider other causes for the rise in anxiety in young people.

    At best, there may be a correlation between social media and poor mental health – they are happening at the same time. Young people are also grappling with the climate crisis, increasing inequality and global instability. These variables are difficult to isolate in a study, meaning social media becomes an easy target.

    4. A range of experiences

    Critics of social media also assume everyone has a negative experience online. And yes, if you tend to compare yourself to others on social media then you might end up feeling bad about your life.

    But not everyone thinks this way or uses social media to compare what they have (and don’t have) with others.

    5. The moral panic factor

    Moral panics can occur when emerging technologies challenge established social norms.

    Phenomena such as “phubbing” (using a phone to snub someone) challenge what is considered “socially acceptable” behaviour, triggering a deluge of think pieces about how they hurt society.

    While some skills may decline (such as reading and writing) with new technology, others like visual or oral storytelling practiced on social media are on the rise.

    Banning social media could mean young people miss out on valuable digital skills.

    ACT Party leader David Seymour has called the social media ban bill ‘simple, neat and wrong’.
    Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

    6. Marginalised groups lose out

    Getting young people off social media might not be a big deal for kids who fit within their community. But if you are young, gay and live in a small town, for example, social media may provide the only space where you can feel safe or celebrated for who you are.

    Social media is also a key means for immigrants to stay in touch with their families and culture.

    7. Enforcement challenges

    There are also problems with how the ban is supposed to work – something Australia is still grappling with despite already passing a ban into law (which comes into effect at the end of this year).

    Policymakers have yet to explain how age verification technologies would work without giving away more personal data to media platforms. And everyone would have to verify their age, regardless of whether they are under 16 years old or not.

    8. Losing innovation

    Young people are savvier with technology than older generations. They lead with innovations such as FINSTA (fake Instagram) accounts – fake profiles that allow people to post more privately on Instagram without the pressure of conforming to expectations or judgement of people who know you.

    Blanket bans could hurt this technological adeptness and creativity and stop young people from teaching us how to navigate our online and offline lives.

    9. Learning how to disconnect

    Media literacy is also a crucial skill in today’s media saturated age. The skill of unplugging could become part of that curriculum.

    Temporarily going offline is an excellent way to make students aware of their relationship with social media. Schools could have media-free classes or courses to build awareness, encourage new habits and support students to develop new routines.

    10. Better options than a ban

    No one is arguing that social media hasn’t had a negative effect on individuals and society as a whole. But instead of a ban, why not work to improve the platforms?

    We could focus regulatory efforts on creating safer spaces, like we do with physical buildings.

    Overseas advocacy work on children’s digital rights shows how we can protect children from algorithms, gamification and other predatory tactics used by social media platforms, rather than introducing an outright ban.

    Alex Beattie receives funding from The Royal Society of New Zealand. He has previously won a Marsden Fast Start Grant.

    – ref. 10 reasons why banning social media for New Zealanders under 16 is a bad idea – and will affect adults too – https://theconversation.com/10-reasons-why-banning-social-media-for-new-zealanders-under-16-is-a-bad-idea-and-will-affect-adults-too-256065

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: India and Pakistan have fought many wars in the past. Are we on the precipice of a new one?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Hall, Professor of International Relations, Griffith University

    India conducted military strikes against Pakistan overnight, hitting numerous sites in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and deeper into Pakistan itself. Security officials say precision strike weapon systems, including drones, were used to carry out the strikes.

    Pakistan says at least eight civilians have been killed and many more injured.

    While there’s still much uncertainty around what’s happened, it is clear both sides are closer to a major conflict than they have been in years – perhaps decades.

    We’ve seen these kinds of crises before. India and Pakistan have fought full-scale wars many times over the years, in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

    There were also cross-border strikes between the two sides in 2016 and 2019 that did not lead to a larger war.

    These conflicts were limited because there was an understanding, given both sides possess nuclear weapons, that escalating to a full-scale war would be very dangerous. That imposed some control on both sides, or at least some caution.

    There was also external pressure from the United States and others on both occasions not to allow those conflicts to spiral out of control.

    While it’s possible both sides will exercise similar restraint now, there may be less pressure from other countries to compel them to do so.

    In this context, tensions can escalate quickly. And when they do, it’s difficult to get both sides to back down and return to where they were before.

    Why did India strike now?

    India says it was retaliating for a terror attack last month on mostly Indian tourists in heavily militarised Kashmir, which both sides claim. The attack left 26 dead.

    There was a claim of responsibility after the attack from a group called the Resistance Front, but it was subsequently withdrawn, so there’s some uncertainty about that.

    Indian sources suggest this group, which is relatively new, is an extension of a pre-existing militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been based in Pakistan for many years.

    Pakistan has denied any involvement in the tourist attack. However, there’s been good evidence in the past suggesting that even if the Pakistani government hasn’t officially sanctioned these groups operating on its territory, there are parts of the Pakistani establishment or military that do support them. This could be ideologically, financially, or through other types of assistance.

    In previous terror attacks in India, weapons and other equipment have been sourced from Pakistan. In the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, for instance, the Indian government produced evidence it claimed showed the gunmen were being directed by handlers in Pakistan by phone.

    But as yet, we have no such evidence demonstrating Pakistan is connected to the tourist attack in Kashmir.

    India has also repeatedly asked Pakistan to shut down these groups. While the leaders have occasionally been put in jail, they’ve later been released, including the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack.

    And madrassas (religious schools) that have long been accused of supplying recruits for militant groups are still permitted to operate in Pakistan, with little state control.

    Pakistan, meanwhile, claims that attacks in Kashmir are committed by local Kashmiris protesting against Indian “occupation” or Pakistanis spontaneously moved to take action.

    These two positions obviously don’t match up in any way, shape or form.

    A political cost to pay for not acting

    It remains to be seen what cost either side is willing to pay to escalate tensions further.

    From an economic standpoint, there’s very little cost to either side if a larger conflict breaks out. There’s practically no trade between India and Pakistan.

    New Delhi has likely calculated that its fast-growing economy will not be harmed by its strikes and others will continue to trade and invest in India. The conclusion of a trade deal with the United Kingdom, after three years of negotiations, will reinforce that impression. The deal was signed on May 6, just before the Pakistan strikes.

    And from the standpoint of international reputation, neither side has much to lose.

    In past crises, Western countries were quick to condemn and criticise military actions committed by either side. But these days, most take the view that the long-simmering conflict is a bilateral issue, which India and Pakistan need to settle themselves.

    The main concern for both sides, then, is the political cost they would suffer from not taking military action.

    Before the terrorist attack on April 22, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed the security situation in Kashmir was improving, and ordinary Indians could safely travel in the region. Those claims were undermined by what occurred that day, making it crucial for the government to respond.

    And now, if Pakistan doesn’t react to the Indian strikes, its government and especially its military would have a cost to pay, too.

    Despite a patchy record of success, Pakistan’s army has long justified its outsize role in national politics by claiming that it alone stands between the Pakistani people and Indian aggression. If it fails to act now, that claim might look hollow.

    Little external mediation to bank on

    So, how does this play out? The hope would be there’s limited military action, lasting a few days, and then things calm down rapidly, as they have in the past. But there are no guarantees.

    And there are few others willing to step in and help deescalate the dispute. US President Donald Trump is mired in other conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and his administration’s diplomacy has so far been inept and ineffective.

    When asked about the Indian strike today, Trump replied it was a “shame” and he “hopes” it ends quickly.

    That’s very different from the strong rhetoric we’ve seen from US presidents in the past when India and Pakistan have come to blows.

    New Delhi and Islamabad will likely have to settle this round themselves. And for whoever decides to blink or back down first, there may be a substantial political cost to pay.

    Ian Hall receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also an honorary academic fellow of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne.

    – ref. India and Pakistan have fought many wars in the past. Are we on the precipice of a new one? – https://theconversation.com/india-and-pakistan-have-fought-many-wars-in-the-past-are-we-on-the-precipice-of-a-new-one-256080

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Meta’s new AI chatbot is yet another tool for harvesting data to potentially sell you stuff

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney

    Tony Lam Hoang/Unsplash

    Last week, Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp – unveiled a new “personal artificial intelligence (AI)”.

    Powered by the Llama 4 language model, Meta AI is designed to assist, chat and engage in natural conversation. With its polished interface and fluid interactions, Meta AI might seem like just another entrant in the race to build smarter digital assistants.

    But beneath its inviting exterior lies a crucial distinction that transforms the chatbot into a sophisticated data harvesting tool.

    ‘Built to get to know you’

    “Meta AI is built to get to know you”, the company declared in its news announcement. Contrary to the friendly promise implied by the slogan, the reality is less reassuring.

    The Washington Post columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler found that by default, Meta AI “kept a copy of everything”, and it took some effort to delete the app’s memory. Meta responded that the app provides “transparency and control” throughout and is no different to their other apps.

    However, while competitors like Anthropic’s Claude operate on a subscription model that reflects a more careful approach to user privacy, Meta’s business model is firmly rooted in what it has always done best: collecting and monetising your personal data.

    This distinction creates a troubling paradox. Chatbots are rapidly becoming digital confidants with whom we share professional challenges, health concerns and emotional struggles.

    Recent research shows we are as likely to share intimate information with a chatbot as we are with fellow humans. The personal nature of these interactions makes them a gold mine for a company whose revenue depends on knowing everything about you.

    Consider this potential scenario: a recent university graduate confides in Meta AI about their struggle with anxiety during job interviews. Within days, their Instagram feed fills with advertisements for anxiety medications and self-help books – despite them having never publicly posted about these concerns.

    The cross-platform integration of Meta’s ecosystem of apps means your private conversations can seamlessly flow into their advertising machine to create user profiles with unprecedented detail and accuracy.

    This is not science fiction. Meta’s extensive history of data privacy scandals – from Cambridge Analytica to the revelation that Facebook tracks users across the internet without their knowledge – demonstrates the company’s consistent prioritisation of data collection over user privacy.

    What makes Meta AI particularly concerning is the depth and nature of what users might reveal in conversation compared to what they post publicly.

    Open to manipulation

    Rather than just a passive collector of information, a chatbot like Meta AI has the capability to become an active participant in manipulation. The implications extend beyond just seeing more relevant ads.

    Imagine mentioning to the chatbot that you are feeling tired today, only to have it respond with: “Have you tried Brand X energy drinks? I’ve heard they’re particularly effective for afternoon fatigue.” This seemingly helpful suggestion could actually be a product placement, delivered without any indication that it’s sponsored content.

    Such subtle nudges represent a new frontier in advertising that blurs the line between a helpful AI assistant and a corporate salesperson.

    Unlike overt ads, recommendations mentioned in conversation carry the weight of trusted advice. And that advice would come from what many users will increasingly view as a digital “friend”.

    A history of not prioritising safety

    Meta has demonstrated a willingness to prioritise growth over safety when releasing new technology features. Recent reports reveal internal concerns at Meta, where staff members warned that the company’s rush to popularise its chatbot had “crossed ethical lines” by allowing Meta AI to engage in explicit romantic role-play, even with test users who claimed to be underage.

    Such decisions reveal a reckless corporate culture, seemingly still driven by the original motto of moving fast and breaking things.

    Now, imagine those same values applied to an AI that knows your deepest insecurities, health concerns and personal challenges – all while having the ability to subtly influence your decisions through conversational manipulation.

    The potential for harm extends beyond individual consumers. While there’s no evidence that Meta AI is being used for manipulation, it has such capacity.

    For example, the chatbot could become a tool for pushing political content or shaping public discourse through the algorithmic amplification of certain viewpoints. Meta has played role in propagating misinformation in the past, and recently made the decision to discontinue fact-checking across its platforms.

    The risk of chatbot-driven manipulation is also increased now that AI safety regulations are being scaled back in the United States.

    Lack of privacy is a choice

    AI assistants are not inherently harmful. Other companies protect user privacy by choosing to generate revenue primarily through subscriptions rather than data harvesting. Responsible AI can and does exist without compromising user welfare for corporate profit.

    As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, the choices companies make about business models and data practices will have profound implications.

    Meta’s decision to offer a free AI chatbot while reportedly lowering safety guardrails sets a low ethical standard. By embracing its advertising-based business model for something as intimate as an AI companion, Meta has created not just a product, but a surveillance system that can extract unprecedented levels of personal information.

    Before inviting Meta AI to become your digital confidant, consider the true cost of this “free” service. In an era where data has become the most valuable commodity, the price you pay might be far higher than you realise.

    As the old adage goes, if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product – and Meta’s new chatbot might be the most sophisticated product harvester yet created.

    When Meta AI says it is “built to get to know you”, we should take it at its word and proceed with appropriate caution.

    Uri Gal 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. Meta’s new AI chatbot is yet another tool for harvesting data to potentially sell you stuff – https://theconversation.com/metas-new-ai-chatbot-is-yet-another-tool-for-harvesting-data-to-potentially-sell-you-stuff-255966

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor of Innovation, University of Technology Sydney

    Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock

    In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted social policy as a major factor in Labor’s electoral success, particularly Medicare, housing and cost of living relief. He was justified in doing so.

    But looking forward, Treasurer Jim Chalmers named stalled productivity growth as a top priority for the next three years:

    The best way to think about the difference between our first term and the second term …[is] the first term was primarily inflation without forgetting productivity, the second term will be primarily productivity without forgetting inflation.

    The government asked the Productivity Commission in December to develop five pillars of its productivity agenda and come up with actionable reforms. And for the first time, the commission went out and sought “productivity pitches” from anyone in the community.

    Ahead of further reports due out later this year, those community “pitches” offer some clues about where the Albanese government might start to tackle productivity over the next three years and beyond.

    Why does productivity matter?

    Essentially, productivity is about working smarter, not harder. It’s about efficiency and innovation driving more output for an economy or company. Growth in productivity has been the driver of real wage growth and improved living standards since the Industrial Revolution.

    However, productivity performance has slumped across most advanced economies. In Australia, growth is the slowest in 60 years. This is despite the transformative impact of the internet and digital technologies.

    Explanations of the productivity slowdown are many and varied. Some have suggested the growth of the care economy and the services sector more broadly means productivity is reduced. Others wonder whether it can be measured at all in this context.

    The explanation that has gained most acceptance is that productivity has increased dramatically in “frontier firms” at the cutting edge of technological change and business innovation. The problem in Australia is that we have too few frontier firms and too many “laggard” companies. The rate of new technology adoption is too slow.

    This problem is made more acute by Australia’s trade and industrial structure, which is heavily weighted to resources exports rather than the knowledge-based industries of the future.

    What is the Productivity Commission looking at?

    This is the rationale for the Treasurer’s request in December for the Productivity Commission to identify priority reforms in five key areas. He asked for “actionable recommendations to assist governments to make meaningful and measurable productivity-enhancing reforms”.

    The five pillars are:

    • creating a more dynamic and resilient economy
    • building a skilled and adaptable workforce
    • harnessing data and digital technology
    • delivering quality care more efficiently
    • investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation.

    These are ambitious objectives, and the Productivity Commission is pursuing the review task in a different way from the past by seeking ideas directly from the community through crowd sourcing.

    This is a sensible move, especially given the commission’s role in presiding over Australia’s productivity decline. Perhaps they are finally learning from failed experiments in deregulation, privatisation and contracting out.

    The commission has published a selection of the 500 suggestions it received. These include research and development initatives; improving university collaboration with industry; improving management capabilities and building inclusive workplaces; and reforming skilled migration.

    In the technology area, suggestions included developing internal capability and processes in the public service; making more use of artificial intelligence; and improving digital infrastructure in regional areas.

    In the care economy, pharmacists could play an increased role, such as consulting on minor illnesses, while more could be invested in preventative health.

    The fifth area of focus, the energy transition, produced ideas on streamlining state and federal approval processes for net zero projects; increasing fossil fuel taxes; supporting electric vehicle uptake and vehicle-to-grid technology.

    The commission has said it plans to continue the consultation process and release interim reports mid-year.

    Will it be enough to shift the dial?

    The question remains, will these individual measures on their own, however meritorious, be sufficient to shift the dial on Australia’s productivity performance without a more comprehensive approach to innovation and industrial policy?

    The government set up a “strategic examination” of research and development (R&D) in February. An interim discussion paper found links between the decline of productivity growth, the decline of business spending on R&D, and the decline of manufacturing.

    In other words, reversing the productivity slowdown may not simply be a matter of boosting R&D. It will also require the revival and reinvention of manufacturing. It implies a complex sovereign capability and means for diversifying Australia’s export mix in global markets and value chains.

    This is the purpose of the government’s Future Made in Australia strategy, with its twin objectives of economic resilience and net zero transition. That success in turn depends on the development of a more effective and joined up research and innovation system.

    The chance was missed in the commodity boom to design and deliver overdue structural changes in the Australian economy. Instead, the productivity decline was masked by a terms-of-trade boost to our national income, thanks to higher commodity prices.

    The Albanese government’s second and possibly third term in office provides another opportunity to undertake the major structural changes required to secure Australia’s future as an inclusive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. Surely this one will not be missed.

    Roy Green 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. Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial – https://theconversation.com/labor-says-its-second-term-will-be-about-productivity-reform-these-ideas-could-help-shift-the-dial-255880

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How do you put a tariff on movies? Here’s what Trump’s plan could mean for Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark David Ryan, Professor, Film, Screen, Animation, Queensland University of Technology

    Kirk Wester/Shutterstock

    US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a plan to impose a 100% tariff on movies “produced in foreign lands” could have a massive impact on the global entertainment industry.

    Film and television production is increasingly part of an interconnected global system. Hollywood’s major studios and global streaming giants use a diverse range of locations around the world, sometimes working across multiple countries for a single project.

    Doing so allows them to leverage production incentives and tax shelters offered by different countries, take advantage of exchange rates to lower their production costs, and more.

    They also film offshore, for example in China, as strategic co-productions and feature iconic locations and local actors to appeal to audiences in that specific national market.

    Many countries have become important hubs in this global system of production. Australia is a significant player. So, how exactly might Trump’s tariffs work? And why is so much Hollywood film made internationally in the first place?

    ‘Movies made in America’

    Trump made the announcement in a post on the social media network Truth Social. But his original statement is vague and lacks crucial detail.

    Based on his post, this proposal could include any foreign movie imported into the United States. More likely, though, it refers to US movies filmed (in part or wholly) overseas.

    Trump’s statement only singles out movies. He doesn’t mention television series for broadcasters, or specifically film and television programs made for streaming platforms.

    This suggests a focus on movies made by Hollywood studios. It may or may not include content made by streamers such as Netflix.

    Tariffs on tickets?

    Movies are a kind of intellectual property. They’re intangible products or services, not physical goods. If a tariff was applied to movies, they’d become the first service in the current trade war to receive one.

    So what tariffs or regulations could be applied?

    One option would be a levy on distributors releasing US movies made overseas. Another option would be to adapt the French TSA model, which levies a tax on all cinema tickets. In France, this money is reinvested into the local industry. The US could impose such a tax on tickets for films with production components overseas.

    Both options would pass the costs on to consumers. A drop in already fragile cinema attendance or revenues could simply cause studios to reduce the number of movies made for theatrical release.

    Studios might instead concentrate on making movies and television series for their own streaming platforms, such as Disney+ and Paramount+.

    One option could be to impose a tax directly on tickets for US cinemagoers.
    bbernard/Shutterstock

    Taxing production

    Could the tax be imposed in other ways? Many US studio movies, and television programs, are at least partly, if not wholly, filmed internationally. But they are still US-controlled movies and still dominate the box office in many countries worldwide.

    Could the revenue of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), filmed on the Gold Coast in Australia, specifically be targeted and taxed for being made overseas, in contrast to a Hollywood movie made completely at home?

    Would there be a sliding scale based on how much of a film is shot overseas? Would the tax apply to post-production or only production? The process of reviewing and enforcing this would be complex.

    Another option may be taxing the portion of a movie’s production budget obtained from foreign tax incentives.

    Major blockbusters filming in Australia are eligible for tax rebates and incentives, which can equate to almost half, or more, of the money they spend in Australia. But exactly how the US would review and regulate such a tax is again unclear.

    Many of the major film studios now have their own dedicated streaming platforms.
    Tada Images/Shutterstock

    Australia’s film industry

    International film and television production expenditure in Australia now averages A$880 million each year. International movies alone account for about half of that figure.

    And the number of movies and television series being filmed in Australia has increased dramatically since the outbreak of COVID.

    Production expenditure here on both local and international productions jumped from just over $1 billion in 2019–20 to about $2.4 billion in 2022–23.

    There are numerous reasons for this. Australia became a more popular international production hub after serving as a “production bubble” during the pandemic, as restrictions forced filming to shut down in many other countries. Relationships were forged between local producers, crews, film agencies and studios.

    The reputation of places like the Gold Coast, known for talented crews and stunning filming locations, has also played an important role in continually luring studios back.

    The biggest draw card

    But the major reason is the strong pull of Australia’s tax incentives for filming content here.

    In Australia, international film and television programs are eligible for a 30% “location offset” on eligible production expenditures. If a project qualifies, producers will receive a provisional certificate, and they can claim a fixed 30% rebate for expenses in an income tax return for the relevant year.

    There’s also a 30% offset on eligible post-production and visual effects work. And these incentives can be “stacked” on top of an extra 10–15% in incentives from state screen agencies (such as Screen QLD).

    Some combined federal and state-based production offsets amount to rebates of 50%, or more, of a project’s production spend in Australia.

    Why Australia is worried

    International productions, which are quite different to local film and television programs, generate employment for many local actors and technical professionals. The loss of this film production would dramatically reduce employment for local professionals.

    If these levies are imposed only on movies that screen theatrically, then television series and streaming films and series could continue to film in Australia unaffected. That would lessen the impact on local industries. If the definition includes both, the impact could be dramatic.

    Mark David Ryan has received funding from the Gold Coast Film Commission. He is affiliated with the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

    – ref. How do you put a tariff on movies? Here’s what Trump’s plan could mean for Australia – https://theconversation.com/how-do-you-put-a-tariff-on-movies-heres-what-trumps-plan-could-mean-for-australia-255948

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can what you eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding affect whether your child develops food allergies?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Koplin, Evidence and Translation Lead, National Allergy Centre of Excellence; Chief Investigator, Centre of Food Allergy Research; Associate Professor and Group Leader, Childhood Allergy & Epidemiology Group, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland

    Maria Evseyeva/Shutterstock

    Many questions pop up when you’re growing or raising a new baby.

    Among them, women often wonder if what they eat during pregnancy or breastfeeding will affect whether or not their child will have a food allergy.

    Researchers have also been trying to answer this question for many years.

    A baby’s exposure to food allergens during pregnancy and via breast milk is thought to be important. Experts believe it could allow the child to start developing helpful immune responses so they tolerate food allergens in their diet in future.

    But to what degree this theory plays out, and whether a mother’s diet influences their child’s likelihood of developing food allergies, isn’t yet clear. Here’s what we know so far.

    The science of food allergies

    A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system responds to a particular food as if it was harmful to the body.

    In Australia, foods which commonly cause allergies include egg, cow’s milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, soy, wheat, fish and other seafood (this can vary a little in different countries). Although almost any food can cause an allergic reaction.

    For people with food allergies, symptoms can appear within minutes of eating the food. These symptoms can include a swollen face, lips or eyes, hives or welts on the skin, vomiting, trouble breathing, and persistent dizziness or collapse.

    In pregnancy, food allergens can cross the placenta and can be detected in amniotic fluid, from which they reach the baby’s gastrointestinal tract when the baby swallows.

    After birth this process continues when food allergens pass from breast milk to the baby’s gastrointestinal tract. Both of these pathways lead to early life exposure to different foods.

    This is thought to help the baby’s developing immune system to accept food allergens when they’re introduced once the child starts eating solids. In other words, the immune system may be more likely to see the food as harmless and not mount an allergic response against the food.

    Babies can be exposed to allergens in breast milk before they start eating solid foods.
    Nastyaofly/Shutterstock

    Along with food allergens, babies also receive beneficial antibodies in breast milk. Levels of food allergen-specific antibodies, which could offer protection against allergies, have been found to be higher in babies whose mothers ate more of foods including egg, peanut, cow’s milk and wheat during early breastfeeding.

    Lower levels of these beneficial antibodies in the blood have been linked with higher chances of babies developing food allergies.

    Research is trying to answer the question

    While there are scientific explanations for how a woman’s diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding could influence her child’s likelihood of developing a food allergy, we don’t have conclusive evidence to tell us exactly what the best diet is to prevent allergies.

    Some studies have tried to look at this, but results have been inconsistent because they have been done in different populations, diet has been assessed in different ways, and they have not always been able to account for other factors that might influence both diet and food allergy risk.

    Current research is trying to understand this further. A large Australian study, the PrEggNut Study, is testing whether the amount of egg and peanut mothers eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding affects their child’s risk of having an egg or peanut allergy.

    More than 2,100 mothers were randomly assigned to eat either higher or lower amounts of egg and peanut from mid-pregnancy until their baby was four months old. Results are expected next year.

    Another Australian study, the Nuts For Babies Study, is testing whether the amount of peanuts and cashew nuts mothers eat during breastfeeding can reduce the chances of their child developing a peanut or cashew nut allergy.

    This study has recently commenced and is looking for 4,000 pregnant women living in Western Australia or Victoria and who are planning to breastfeed their baby to participate.

    Ongoing research is trying to tell us how a mother’s diet during pregnancy or breastfeeding could affect her child’s risk of food allergies.
    Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

    So what’s the advice for now?

    There are many other things, such as genetic and environmental factors, that may also play a role in the development of a baby’s immune system, including how their immune cells respond to food allergens. And we still have a lot to learn about what causes allergies more broadly.

    While we wait for the results of the above studies, the current advice is for mothers not to avoid any common allergy-causing foods during pregnancy and breastfeeding (unless of course they’re allergic themselves).

    The science so far suggests that if anything, exposing the baby to allergens could reduce their risk of developing allergies, rather than increase it.

    Once the baby is ready to eat solid foods, we know introducing peanuts and eggs from around six months of age makes it less likely the child will develop an allergy to these foods.

    Introducing other common allergy-causing foods in the first year of life may also be helpful, although the evidence for this is not as strong compared with peanuts and eggs.

    Once these foods have been introduced, continuing to include them in your baby’s meals regularly, at least once a week, might also make it less likely they develop an allergy to these foods.

    Jennifer Koplin receives research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the National Allergy Centre of Excellence, which is supported by funding from the Australian government. She has received a research award from the Stallergenes Greer Foundation, paid to her institution, for unrelated research. She is a co-investigator on the PrEggNut study mentioned in this article.

    Debbie Palmer receives research project funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and is supported by a Stan Perron Charitable Foundation Fellowship. Debbie is the lead chief investigator of both the PrEggNut Study and Nuts For Babies Study. She is the food allergy stream co-chair of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence, which is supported by funding from the Australian government.

    Desalegn Markos Shifti is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council-funded Centre for Food and Allergy Research postdoctoral funding.

    – ref. Can what you eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding affect whether your child develops food allergies? – https://theconversation.com/can-what-you-eat-during-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding-affect-whether-your-child-develops-food-allergies-255114

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How maximum security prison inmates and officers worked together to create a farm behind bars

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Tietz, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW Sydney

    Macquarie Correctional Centre Media Unit

    At Macquarie Correctional Centre in western New South Wales, a story of collaboration and persistence is unfolding. Inmates and prison officers are farming commercial quantities of fresh food in a purpose-built indoor facility.

    One of the 400 male offenders in maximum security at Macquarie contacted me with the idea about five years ago, proposing it would form the basis of a PhD. I agreed to supervise the project.

    Inmates at Macquarie Correctional Centre are encouraged to further their education and follow their interests. The approach is modelled on the Scandinavian prison system, which has the world’s lowest re-offending rates.

    The project shows food gardening provides a meaningful activity for inmates, some of whom never had the opportunity to learn how to plant and grow produce.

    The M Farm produces fresh produce for the on site café.
    Macquarie Correctional Centre Media Unit

    Why farm indoors?

    The project involved farming indoors because the environment can be more carefully controlled. Being isolated from the weather means there’s no need to worry about extremes such as frosts or heatwaves.

    This type of “controlled environment agriculture” is also more efficient. It requires less resources than traditional agriculture, mainly because there are fewer losses due to pests and diseases.

    By controlling the amount of light, water and nutrients each plant receives, it’s possible to optimise the growing system – making it more like a plant factory than a standard greenhouse.

    Inside M Farm, in the early days.
    PhD student

    From vision to reality

    Inmates studying in prison don’t have internet access. Emails are printed out or relayed. If information needs to be viewed online it is under supervision of an authorised officer.

    Despite the challenges, the student published his first conference paper in 2021 and his first academic journal article in 2023. A second article followed in 2024. The student also submitted his PhD 2024.

    The project began with a research plan. Then the PhD student ran focus groups with officers and inmates in mixed groups. A series of one-on-one interviews followed.

    Officers and inmates co-designed and developed the indoor farming facility. One group of inmates, trained in the in-house design office, used 3D computer aided design (CAD) software to produce technical drawings for the farm. Another group took these drawings and turned them into small-scale indoor farming prototypes.

    After extensive testing, the team selected the best prototype and developed the full-scale project, known as M Farm.

    The student won a competitive grant of A$50,000 from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice Innovation Fund. This funded construction of the farm.

    Another grant from the University of NSW supported a solar-powered food waste composting machine. The machine converts daily food waste from the entire prison into organic fertiliser. This means less food waste is sent to landfill, saving costs and reducing emissions.

    Produce from the farm is used in the prison café. Since November 2023, the farm has supplied about $3,500 worth of produce to the café.

    Last year, about 30 items were entered in the local agricultural show. M Farm won first place in the district for best fresh produce.

    M Farm has grown award-winning fresh produce.
    Macquarie Correctional Centre Media Unit

    Cooperation is key to success

    Inmates ran the project and enjoyed tangible benefits such as access to fresh produce and a sense of accomplishment and pride.

    The project proved inmates can be productive without constant oversight. Similar results were achieved in a community-based vegetable gardening initiative in Girona, Spain, where residents formed an intensive farming cooperative without local council administration.

    The prison officers also benefited from being part of the process and took pride in the results. They also shared the benefits in the on-site café, which is open to both inmates and prison staff.

    This experiment provides further evidence that engagement and collaboration through co-design can lead to social learning, or “informal mutual learning”.

    Empowering co-designers enables the development of solutions beyond initial expectations. The best approach is arming people with the skills they need to actively engage and co-lead in the decision-making processes.

    Tasty and nutritious leafy greens grow in the front garden at M Farm.
    Christian Tietz

    Make it grow

    The PhD thesis includes a co-design tool kit that other prisons worldwide can follow. Given the global prison population exceeds 11 million people, this presents an opportunity to develop a broad-scale sustainability initiative.

    Farming fresh produce in prisons has the potential to improve nutrition and wellbeing. It also offers environmental benefits such as producing compost, reducing waste and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

    Such projects also have the potential to give inmates confidence and hope, and provides them with skills and knowledge that can benefit the community after their release.

    Christian Tietz 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 maximum security prison inmates and officers worked together to create a farm behind bars – https://theconversation.com/how-maximum-security-prison-inmates-and-officers-worked-together-to-create-a-farm-behind-bars-244962

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Samoa down in RSF media freedom world ranking due to ‘authoritarian pressure’

    Talamua Online News

    Samoa has dropped in its media and information freedom world ranking from 22 in 2024 to 44 in 2025 in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled annually by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

    For the Pacific region, New Zealand is ranked highest at 16, Australia at 29, Fiji at 40, Samoa ranked 44 and Tonga at 46.

    And for some comfort, the United States is ranked 57 in media freedom.

    The 2025 World Press Freedom Index released in conjunction with the annual Media Freedom Day on May 3, says despite the vitality of some of its media groups, Samoa’s reputation as a regional model of press freedom has suffered in recent years due to “authoritarian pressure” from the previous prime minister and a political party that held power for four decades until 2021.

    Media landscape
    The report lists independent media outlets such as the Samoa Observer, “an independent daily founded in 1978, that has symbolised the fight for press freedom.”

    It also lists state-owned Savali newspaper “that focuses on providing positive coverage of the government’s activities.”

    TV1, is the product of the privatisation of the state-owned Samoa Broadcasting Corporation. The Talamua group operates Samoa FM and other media outlets, while the national radio station 2AP calls itself “the Voice of the Nation.”

    Political context
    Although Samoa is a parliamentary democracy with free elections, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) held power for four decades until it was narrowly defeated in the April 2021 general election by Samoa United in Faith (Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi, or FAST).

    An Oceania quick check list on the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom rankings. While RSF surveys 180 countries each year, only Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga are included so far. Image: PMW from RSF

    The report says part of the reason for the HRPP’s defeat was its plan to overhaul Samoa’s constitutional and customary law framework, which would have threatened freedom of the press.

    Championing media freedom
    The Journalists Association of (Western) Samoa (JAWS) is the national media association and is press freedom’s leading champion. JAWS spearheaded a media journalism studies programme based at the National University of Samoa in the effort to train journalists and promote media freedom but the course is not producing the quality journalism students needed as its focus, time and resources have been given the course.

    Meanwhile, the media standards continue to slide and there is fear that the standards will drop further in the face of rapid technological changes and misinformation via social media.

    A new deal for journalism
     The 2025 World Press Freedom Index by RSF revealed the dire state of the news economy and how it severely threatens newsrooms’ editorial independence and media pluralism.

    In light of this alarming situation, RSF has called on public authorities, private actors and regional institutions to commit to a “New Deal for Journalism” by following 11 key recommendations.

    Strengthen media literacy and journalism training
    Part of this deal is “supporting reliable information means that everyone should be trained from an early age to recognise trustworthy information and be involved in media education initiatives. University and higher education programmes in journalism must also be supported, on the condition that they are independent.”

    Finland (5th) is recognised worldwide for its media education, with media literacy programmes starting in primary school, contributing to greater resilience against disinformation.

    Republished from Talamua Online News.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia doesn’t have a federal Human Rights Act – but the election clears the way for overdue reform

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle

    Master1305/Shutterstock

    The Albanese government has achieved an historic re-election, substantially building its majority in the House of Representatives. Much has already been written about the potential for a more ambitious legislative program on the back of this result.

    That agenda should include substantive human rights reform. The government has the opportunity in its second term to enhance the protections we all deserve by legislating a national Human Rights Act.

    Australia’s human rights framework

    Australia presents itself – and is largely ranked – as a global leader in protecting civil and political rights.

    It has a strong history of commitment to the UN’s human rights agenda, including as a party to seven core human rights treaties. Australia is also an enthusiastic participant in international human rights monitoring processes, including the Universal Periodic Review.

    Yet Australia also receives persistent international criticism, notably in relation to the rights of Indigenous peoples, refugees and asylum seekers.

    Australia has a dualist legal system. The Australian government can consent to treaty obligations that are binding on state parties, but those obligations are not absorbed into domestic law. This limits Australia’s capacity to meet its human rights obligations, because many are unenforceable under domestic law.

    Instead, Australia has built a patchwork human rights system. The Constitution affords only minimal rights protections, including the right to vote and the right to a trial by jury for certain offences.

    Only Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have passed human rights legislation. But state laws do not include comprehensive protection for all the human rights protected by the treaties Australia has signed.

    Recently in Queensland, the LNP government rejected the recommendations of a review into the state’s Human Rights Act that would have enhanced the right to adequate housing and the right to be free from gender-based violence.

    At the federal level, parliament has a process for human rights scrutiny of legislation, but has not passed a comprehensive national human rights law.

    The path forward

    Between 2019 and 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission conducted a national inquiry, Free & Equal. Its final report recommended major reforms including the passage of a Human Rights Act.

    A separate inquiry by the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights also proposed national human rights laws. These inquiries provided model legislation for parliament’s consideration.

    A Human Rights Act would remedy gaps in Australia’s compliance with its international obligations. Importantly for Australians, an act would provide comprehensive and enforceable protection for the rights we are all entitled to.

    Where does the government stand?

    Labor’s national platform notes Australia is an outlier due to its lack of comprehensive human rights legislation. It commits a federal Labor government to:

    consider whether our commitment to the implementation of human rights standards could be enhanced through a statutory Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, or similar instrument.

    In its first term, the Albanese government acted quickly to ensure that the Australian Human Rights Commission retained global A-status accreditation. It also conducted the promised parliamentary review into Australia’s human rights framework. However, it is yet to respond to the recommendations of that review.

    The prospects of human rights law reform seemed slim in the immediate aftermath of the Voice referendum. The government appeared hesitant to make policy commitments in Indigenous affairs.

    Yet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss argued the referendum outcome highlighted the urgency of reform that would realise “even the most basic human rights” of Indigenous people.

    The time is right

    An argument can be made that the values expressed as central to the government’s second term agenda are tightly aligned with the values of the international human rights framework.

    In his speech on election night, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

    Today, the Australian people have voted for Australian values. For fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all. For the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need.

    He went on to highlight areas of need to ensure that every Australian has “the opportunity to be their best”, which included:

    • fair pay for workers and a right to disconnect
    • secure housing
    • equal pay and social equity for women
    • access to quality education for all students
    • the National Disability Insurance Scheme
    • protection for a healthy environment
    • equal rights for First Nations people
    • Medicare.

    These are all matters of central concern to the electorate. We may not talk about them all the time in human rights language, but they are also human rights issues.

    Australia is a party to human rights treaties that protect fair working conditions, an adequate standard of living and a right to health, women’s rights, the right to education, the rights of people with disabilities and Indigenous peoples, and the right to a healthy environment.

    The ground has been laid for comprehensive human rights reform in Australia. This project could unite “Australian values” of fairness and equity with protection of human rights in Australian law.

    We all stand to gain from opening our national conversation to human rights principles.

    Amy Maguire holds an Australian Research Council fellowship. Her industry partner is the Australian Human Rights Commission.

    – ref. Australia doesn’t have a federal Human Rights Act – but the election clears the way for overdue reform – https://theconversation.com/australia-doesnt-have-a-federal-human-rights-act-but-the-election-clears-the-way-for-overdue-reform-255863

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Choosing singlehood? Here are 5 tips for thriving while being single

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Yuthika Girme, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University

    Many people spend their 20s and 30s figuring out who they are and building a life as an independent adult. At the same time, society often tells them they should be looking for love, settling down and starting a family. These milestones are still widely seen as markers of adulthood and success.

    But what does this mean for the growing number of singles in their 20s and 30s?

    In Canada, singlehood among young adults has been steadily increasing. Despite these changing trends, cultural narratives continue to centre romantic relationships as the ideal. Being single is still often seen as a temporary stage, rather than a legitimate or fulfilling way of life.

    As an associate professor, I lead the Singlehood Experiences and Complexities Underlying Relationships lab at Simon Fraser University. My research focuses on understanding when single and coupled people can thrive and be happy.

    Here is what I’ve learned over the years about the experiences of single adults in their 20s and 30s.

    Ready to make a change? The Quarter Life Glow-up is a new, six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions. Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    Singlehood is increasingly common

    In Canada, 59.8 per cent of 25- to 29-year-olds and 37.6 per cent of 30 to 34-year-olds report not being in a married or common-law relationship.

    The proportion of 20- to 34-year-olds who are not in such relationships increased to 60.3 per cent in 2021 from 50.5 per cent in 1996.

    Even among those who eventually want a committed relationship, many are delaying these decisions. The average age of marriage in Canada has increased by almost eight years since the 1970s, to 31.2 years old in 2020 from 23.3 years old in 1971.

    These trends may reflect a variety of factors: a greater focus on career development, wanting to prioritize travel, having difficulties with dating or simply a preference for singlehood during early adulthood.

    They may also reflect an increasing number of people who identify as “single at heart” and consciously choose to remain single because they value their freedom and solitude.

    The pressure to partner persists

    Despite the growing number of people in their 20s and 30s who are single, whether by choice or circumstance, the societal pressure to partner up and settle down persists. This is largely because our society focuses heavily on coupling, marriage and having children.

    Certainly, wanting romantic partnership and a family are common and valid life choices. But placing romantic relationships on a pedestal can come at the expense of singlehood.

    Single people are often viewed as incomplete simply because they do not have a partner. A research study I conducted with colleagues shows that single people often feel excluded, left out and pitied for being single, which can undermine their well-being. They may also face negative stereotypes, such as being seen as selfish, heartless, loners or antisocial.



    Read more:
    Would you be happy as a long-term single? The answer may depend on your attachment style

    These cultural narratives don’t just come from society — single people can internalize them, too, which can have negative consequences.

    In another research study, we examined what we call “relationship pedestal beliefs” — the extent to which people believe they need to be in a romantic relationship to be truly happy. We found that singles who endorse these beliefs are more likely to fear being single, and in turn, report lower life satisfaction.

    How to be a thriving single?

    How can singles lead happy, secure and satisfying lives, despite facing societal messages about the importance of romantic relationships?

    To explore this question, my colleagues and I reviewed the existing literature on singlehood to better understand when singles are coping versus thriving. We found that, while some single people struggle with solo living and the desire to partner, many are happy and thriving.

    Here are some factors associated with happy singlehood:

    1. Feeling secure with yourself. Single people who are secure and feel comfortable trusting and depending on close relationships are some of the happiest singles. They report the highest levels of life satisfaction and emotion regulation skills. Secure singles are open to the idea of romantic partnership, but are also happy and comfortable being single.

    2. Having supportive friendships. Single people tend to invest in their friendships more than partnered people. Single people who invest in their friendships feel like they belong, report higher self-esteem and are happier with their single status.

    Single people tend to invest in their friendships more than partnered people.
    (Shutterstock)

    1. Being able to meet your needs for intimacy. Single people still have sexual and intimacy needs. Research show that when single adults are able to meet these needs, they are happier being single and desire romantic relationships less. At the same time, sexually satisfied singles are more likely to enter romantic relationships over time.

    2. Being older. As people approach their 40s, they are happier with being single. This is likely because singles in midlife learn to invest in their single lives and are less likely to feel the pressure to conform to societal expectations.

    3. Holding values that prioritize freedom, fun and creativity. Research shows single people who personally value freedom, fun and creativity report greater happiness.

    Being single in one’s 20s and 30s can be a prominent time for people to focus on their self-development, careers, aspirations and relationships with family, friends and community. These are important building blocks to a happy live — regardless of whether people lead their lives single or choose to partner.

    Yuthika Girme receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

    – ref. Choosing singlehood? Here are 5 tips for thriving while being single – https://theconversation.com/choosing-singlehood-here-are-5-tips-for-thriving-while-being-single-254669

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Friedrich Merz confirmed as Germany’s chancellor – but betrayal by MPs in a secret ballot means he starts from a position of weakness

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ed Turner, Reader in Politics, Co-Director, Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University

    Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as Germany’s new chancellor after a close shave left his future in doubt.

    Merz lost a first round of voting among MPs gathered to confirm his role, and may never know who among his own coalition betrayed him. After the shock of the morning vote, a second vote was called and whoever was blocking his path appears to have stood down.

    Merz’s CDU/CSU had struck a coalition deal with the social democratic SPD. Ministers were nominated and ready to take office and Merz’ election as chancellor was scheduled for the morning of May 6. But for much of the morning, this looked uncertain.

    Candidates for chancellor regularly fall short of the number of votes they’d expect to receive (from MPs in their own party and from their coalition partner), and there have been some close-run races, such as Helmut Kohl in 1994, who made it through by just one vote. But this was the first time a candidate has lost the vote.

    Merz fell dramatically short in the first round, receiving only 310 votes. That’s six below the overall majority he needed, and 18 below the number of MPs in his own CDU/CSU/SPD coalition. Germany’s constitution requires this ballot to be secret so we don’t know and may never find out who voted against Merz.

    In the second round of votes, hastily organised after Merz’s failure in the first, 325 votes, more than 316 required. There were 289 votes against, one abstention and three invalid votes.

    Merz will now hope the first vote can be dismissed as “false start” and that life will quickly move on.

    Why did this happen?

    There are four groups of MPs who might have, in secret, voted against Merz in the first round. It’s possible that all four were represented in the group – and we will never know for sure.

    The first is those CDU/CSU parliamentarians who were unhappy with Merz. In particular, just days after his election when he argued for balanced budgets, he pushed through a reform of Germany’s constitutional restrictions on government debt to allow extra defence and infrastructure spending. This irked fiscal hawks, some of whom may have decided to send him a message during the vote.

    The second is those CDU/CSU MPs who had hoped for ministerial office and missed out. The was inevitable, especially since Merz secured fewer cabinet positions than had been expected for his own party. The third group would be made up for SPD MPs who missed out on a ministerial post or were unhappy at choices of ministers.

    Fourth, suspicion will fall on some of the leftwing MPs who have policy disagreements with Merz. His decision to vote with the far-right AfD on immigration policy before the election caused great anger. There are internal SPD critics who feel the coalition agreement makes too many concessions to Merz, particularly on immigration.

    One message about the new government is clear: it had hoped to be more united than its predecessor, the three-party coalition which was frequently consumed by public quarrelling and in the end collapsed over budget policy. Those ambitions have fallen at the first hurdle.

    We should not overstate the risks to government stability. Most votes happen in public, not secret, so MPs are much more likely to tow the government line from here on. And chancellors have often governed with smaller majorities for an extended period.

    However, this debacle is a bad omen. If Merz turns things around quickly, this episode can be forgotten. But if he doesn’t this early blow to his authority will embolden the AfD, which will point to the apparent dysfunction of mainstream parties and capitalise on public dissatisfaction. Nor will this blow to Merz’s authority help him realise his ambition to show leadership in Europe.

    Merz’s poll standing was already weak, and these events risk causing further damage. His first days in the job will now be even more difficult than he expected.

    Ed Turner receives funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

    – ref. Friedrich Merz confirmed as Germany’s chancellor – but betrayal by MPs in a secret ballot means he starts from a position of weakness – https://theconversation.com/friedrich-merz-confirmed-as-germanys-chancellor-but-betrayal-by-mps-in-a-secret-ballot-means-he-starts-from-a-position-of-weakness-255992

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ben Bond, PhD Candidate in Digital Psychiatry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

    Pavlova Yuliia/Shutterstock

    Mental health services around the world are stretched thinner than ever. Long wait times, barriers to accessing care and rising rates of depression and anxiety have made it harder for people to get timely help.

    As a result, governments and healthcare providers are looking for new ways to address this problem. One emerging solution is the use of AI chatbots for mental health care.

    A recent study explored whether a new type of AI chatbot, named Therabot, could treat people with mental illness effectively. The findings were promising: not only did participants with clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety benefit, those at high-risk for eating disorders also showed improvement. While early, this study may represent a pivotal moment in the integration of AI into mental health care.

    AI mental health chatbots are not new – tools like Woebot and Wysa have already been released to the public and studied for years. These platforms follow rules based on a user’s input to produce a predefined approved response.

    What makes Therabot different is that it uses generative AI – a technique where a program learns from existing data to create new content in response to a prompt. Consequently, Therabot can produce novel responses based on a user’s input like other popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, allowing for a more dynamic and personalised interaction.

    This isn’t the first time generative AI has been examined in a mental health setting. In 2024, researchers in Portugal conducted a study where ChatGPT was offered as an additional component of treatment for psychiatric inpatients.

    The research findings showed that just three to six sessions with ChatGPT led to a significantly greater improvement in quality of life than standard therapy, medication and other supportive treatments alone.

    Together, these studies suggest that both general and specialised generative AI chatbots hold real potential for use in psychiatric care. But there are some serious limitations to keep in mind. For example, the ChatGPT study involved only 12 participants – far too few to draw firm conclusions.

    In the Therabot study, participants were recruited through a Meta Ads campaign, likely skewing the sample toward tech-savvy people who may already be open to using AI. This could have inflated the chatbot’s effectiveness and engagement levels.

    Ethics and Exclusion

    Beyond methodological concerns, there are critical safety and ethical issues to address. One of the most pressing is whether generative AI could worsen symptoms in people with severe mental illnesses, particularly psychosis.

    A 2023 article warned that generative AI’s lifelike responses, combined with the most people’s limited understanding of how these systems work, might feed into delusional thinking. Perhaps for this reason, both the Therabot and ChatGPT studies excluded participants with psychotic symptoms.

    But excluding these people also raises questions of equity. People with severe mental illness often face cognitive challenges – such as disorganised thinking or poor attention – that might make it difficult to engage with digital tools.

    Ironically, these are the people who may benefit the most from accessible, innovative interventions. If generative AI tools are only suitable for people with strong communication skills and high digital literacy, then their usefulness in clinical populations may be limited.

    There’s also the possibility of AI “hallucinations” – a known flaw that occurs when a chatbot confidently makes things up – like inventing a source, quoting a nonexistent study, or giving an incorrect explanation. In the context of mental health, AI hallucinations aren’t just inconvenient, they can be dangerous.

    Imagine a chatbot misinterpreting a prompt and validating someone’s plan to self-harm, or offering advice that unintentionally reinforces harmful behaviour. While the studies on Therabot and ChatGPT included safeguards – such as clinical oversight and professional input during development – many commercial AI mental health tools do not offer the same protections.

    That’s what makes these early findings both exciting and cautionary. Yes, AI chatbots might offer a low-cost way to support more people at once, but only if we fully address their limitations.

    Effective implementation will require more robust research with larger and more diverse populations, greater transparency about how models are trained and constant human oversight to ensure safety. Regulators must also step in to guide the ethical use of AI in clinical settings.

    With careful, patient-centred research and strong guardrails in place, generative AI could become a valuable ally in addressing the global mental health crisis – but only if we move forward responsibly.

    Ben Bond receives funding from Research Ireland.

    – ref. AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics – https://theconversation.com/ai-therapy-may-help-with-mental-health-but-innovation-should-never-outpace-ethics-255090

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Tove Jansson: lessons in life from her beloved Moomin characters

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Barbara Tesio-Ryan, ECDS Postdoctoral Fellow in European Languages, University of Edinburgh

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of The Moomins, the Finnish/Swedish trolls that have delighted generations of children, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right. While posterity will likely remember her as the inventor of Moomins, Tove Jansson was in fact a strikingly multi-talented creative force.

    Born in Helsinki in 1914, the daughter of artists, Jansson grew up surrounded by creativity, allowing her to develop her own in many different ways. During a career that spanned over 70 years, her work included illustrations, cartoons, paintings, murals, theatre productions, children’s books and beautifully crafted novels.

    The main thing in life is to know your own mind.

    Snufkin, Moominsummer Madness

    In 1929, aged 15, Jansson began her career as a cartoonist. Her illustrations were first published in Garm, the Finnish satirical magazine for which she later became the in-house illustrator.

    Her work as a cartoonist, before and during the war, gave her an outlet to be outspoken and express her militant anti-fascism and opposition to the war. For a woman at that time to assert her views so boldly and publicly was an act of defiance in itself, and she later recalled how liberating it had been to be able to be “so beastly to Hitler and Stalin” through her daring cartoons.

    This is part of a series of articles celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Moomins. Want to celebrate their birthday with us? Join The Conversation and a group of experts on May 23 in Bradford for a screening of Moomins on the Riviera and a discussion of the refugee experience in Tove Jansson’s work. Click here for more information and tickets.

    No one was spared, and her cartoons captured the megalomania of the main political figures of the time, as well as the impact of the war on everyday life. During the strenuous war years, Jansson refined her craft as an illustrator, and also, crucially, learned the importance of laughter in ushering light into the darkness. This is a skill that would characterise her entire output, both as an artist and as a writer.

    Everything looks worse in the dark, you know.

    Moominmama, The Moomins and the Great Flood

    She used humour as a tool to both critique and understand life and the world around her. Through the act of making art, Jansson brought light and lightness when life got darker.

    While Jansson had been sketching some variation of Moomintrolls her whole life, it was during the war that she began creating their Moominvalley world and imagining stories for them.

    In 1991, she wrote that the Moomins had come to her as an escape from the horrors of the war: “Perhaps it was understandable that I suddenly felt an urge to write something that was to begin with ‘once upon a time’.”

    When her first Moomin book, Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen (The Moomins and the Great Flood), was published in 1945, Finland had been through the second world war, as well as the “winter war” and the “continuation war” with Russia. So, while it was published during a time of peace, darkness surrounded the origin of the Moomins.

    This dichotomy of light and darkness pervades all the Moomin books. Often a catastrophe is waiting to happen, or has just happened, and how the Moomins react to those events is central to the story itself. This is what makes those books so universal and so timeless.

    The Moomins are so special because they are normal. Not everyone is a hero and not every day is great. There is space for both sadness and joy in Jansson’s tales, and this is why we keep reading them, because they are just like life itself.

    It would be awful if the world exploded. It is so wonderfully splendid.

    Snufkin, Comet in Moominland

    In the first two Moomin books, Moomins and the Great Flood, and Comet in Moominland, natural catastrophes mirror the horrors of the war and postwar era (such as the atomic bomb). Environmental disasters are also ongoing threats to the the creatures of Moominvalley.

    These are often, and mainly, brought by the sea, and can be fully appreciated only by someone like Jansson who lived between coastal and island landscapes most of her life. The natural landscape of Finland and Sweden, Jansson’s two homelands, are an essential part of her art.

    Moominvalley in particular is a decidedly Nordic landscape, and was in fact inspired by her grandparents’ house on the island of Blidö, and by the Pellinki archipelago. It was here that Jansson spent many happy summers with her family, and later, with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä.

    There is a humbleness to be learned in living by the sea, and a respect for the power of nature that Jansson captured beautifully in so many of her creations, such as The Summer Book.

    In Moominpappa at Sea, where Moominpappa goes on an existential journey to find his purpose in life again, the relationship to the sea also becomes pivotal to his personal development: “There was the sea – his sea – going past, wave after wave, foaming recklessly, raging furiously, but, somehow, tranquil at the same time. All Moominpappa’s thoughts and speculations vanished. He felt completely alive from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail. This was a moment to live to the full.”

    The Moomins’ unconditional love and respect for nature also translates beautifully into an acceptance of all of life’s diversity. The Moomin’s universe is one where everyone is welcomed and loved for whoever they are and however they feel.

    One of the biggest teachings of Jansson’s work for any reader at any age, is that all feelings are valid, and learning to accept this simple and profound truth makes life so much easier. As Moominpappa says: “For if you’re not afraid, how can you really be brave?”

    You seem to be yourself again. Actually, you’re nicer that way.

    Mymble, Moominvalley in November

    Jansson’s motto, labora et amare (work and love), did indeed mark her existence. She worked incessantly and loved fiercely. Well ahead of her time, Jansson lived her sexuality with a freedom that was truly revolutionary for her time (Finland, like many other countries, decriminalised homosexuality only in 1971).

    What characterised this artist’s life and career was the ambition and the courage to live differently. To create and to love without boundaries and without fear. And this is perhaps Jansson and her Moomins’ most important legacy.

    Barbara Tesio-Ryan 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. Tove Jansson: lessons in life from her beloved Moomin characters – https://theconversation.com/tove-jansson-lessons-in-life-from-her-beloved-moomin-characters-255280

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK is falling behind in tackling microplastic pollution – here are three ways the government can catch up

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Antaya March, Director – Global Plastics Policy Centre, University of Portsmouth

    SIVStockStudio/Shutterstock

    Microplastics – fragments of plastic smaller than 5mm – are accumulating in the environment. They’re found in soil, water, food, even in human lungs, placentas and blood. These plastic particles shed from items we use daily, such as synthetic clothes, tyres, plastic packaging and paint.

    Scientists, medical professionals and environmental bodies have raised growing concern about the potential impacts of microplastics on environments and human health. Studies suggest that microplastics could affect soil health, reduce food productivity and compromise ecosystem functioning. As a result, economic growth may be hindered.

    Some nations are acting. French regulations require that filters are put on new washing machines to capture microfibres. The EU has recently targeted microplastic inputs from artificial turf and paint and has passed rules to limit microplastic discharges in wastewater treatment.

    US states are beginning to regulate microplastic contamination in drinking water. In fact, California has set some of the world’s first safe water testing requirements for microplastic contamination.

    Yet, the UK hasn’t kept pace. There is still no national plan to reduce emissions. There are no legal targets for reducing microplastic pollution, no limits and no timeline for action. The only regulation to date (a 2017 ban on microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics) addresses just a fraction of the problem. Microbeads only account for less than 5% of the microplastics ending up in the environment.

    With evidence building and risks mounting, the UK urgently needs a more coordinated response. Drawing on insights from leading UK scientists and policy experts, here are three ways the UK can begin to close the gap.

    1. A national roadmap

    The UK has no coordinated plan to reduce microplastic pollution. Microplastics are mentioned in several UK government strategies – such as the Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan – but these don’t have clear targets, timelines or regulatory action.

    A national roadmap can tackle the problem more effectively by expanding the narrow scope of the microbeads ban to cover major sources of both primary (intentionally manufactured) and secondary microplastics (produced from the breakdown of larger plastics).

    To make this feasible, design standards for plastic products need to focus on reducing microplastics shedding upstream, rather than relying on clean-up alone.

    As with any effective regulation, measurable targets to reduce microplastics entering the environment can be paired with a programme for monitoring – so human exposure and microplastic levels in air, water and soil can be tracked to assess whether policies are working.

    2. Regulate the biggest sources

    The ban on microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics was an important early step, but it only scratches the surface. Most microplastic pollution comes from larger, less visible sources: car tyres, synthetic textiles, paint and fertilisers made from sewage sludge. These everyday sources account for most microplastic emissions, yet remain largely unregulated in the UK.



    Read more:
    Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment – urgent action is needed

    By making manufacturers responsible for the highest levels of microplastic pollution, a widespread industry shift can be achieved. That includes setting standards to reduce fibres shedding from textiles and requiring filters in washing machines, addressing tyre wear and road runoff in the transport sector and phasing out the use of contaminated sludge and plastic mulch films in agriculture. These are not distant or unrealistic goals. Many could be achieved by updating existing waste, water and environmental regulations.

    Paint is a big source of microplastics.
    r.classen/Shutterstock

    To date, the government has eschewed precaution and tended to shelve action where evidence of harm is still emerging. While research continues to evolve, existing scientific evidence provides a strong basis for meaningful policy actions today. What’s missing is a shift in focus – from marginal sources to the main drivers – and the political will to prioritise real reductions over symbolic moves.

    3. Tackle plastic production

    Most microplastics begin as larger plastic products that slowly break down over time. We need to reduce how much plastic is produced and used in the first place.

    The UK government’s stated aims for creating an economy in which less resources are used overall there is greater reuse of existing resources (otherwise known as a circular economy) focus on reducing waste and improving material use, but they don’t yet address how overproduction of plastics contributes to microplastic pollution.

    Setting targets to cut the volume of single-use plastic on the market would help prevent microplastics polluting the environment. Simplifying how products are designed and labelled can also enable safer disposal, reuse or recycling and reduce how much plastic breaks up.

    At the same time, alternatives (including biodegradable or bio-based plastics) must be carefully assessed. Without proper oversight, these substitutes risk repeating many of the same problems. Reducing plastic demand remains one of the most effective ways to tackle the microplastics crisis at its root. Consumers can also help by supporting policies that reduce plastic use and choosing to buy products that don’t produce as many microplastics.

    With microplastics now pervasive across ecosystems, waiting for more evidence risks further accumulation. Setting clear targets and strengthening regulation in the sectors that contribute most to emissions is essential.

    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.

    Antaya March receives funding from the Flotilla Foundation.

    Stephanie Northen receives funding from the Flotilla Foundation.

    – ref. The UK is falling behind in tackling microplastic pollution – here are three ways the government can catch up – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-is-falling-behind-in-tackling-microplastic-pollution-here-are-three-ways-the-government-can-catch-up-255465

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why a hotline is needed to help bring India and Pakistan back from the brink of a disastrous war

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, Deputy Director at the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore

    Two weeks after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that claimed 26 lives, India and Pakistan are getting perilously close to a dangerous military confrontation.

    Pakistan carried out two missile tests in three days over the weekend of May 3-5, while India announced that it will conduct on Wednesday May 7 its largest civil defence drill since the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

    The countries have closed their borders and shut down their airspace to each other and have suspended all trade. With both countries possessing nuclear weapons, the rising tension makes managing escalation particularly urgent.

    A key factor in the de-escalation of past crises has been Washington’s role as a third-party crisis manager. While the recent call for restraint from the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, shows US concerns over the gathering crisis, there are considerable uncertainties surrounding what role the US is prepared to play in de-escalation.

    US president Donald Trump remarked after the attack that he is “sure they’ll figure it out one way or the other … There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been”, which appears to put the onus of de-escalation on New Delhi and Islamabad.

    What is needed now is robust, real-time crisis communication between the two nations. Instead, both sides appear ready to ratchet up tensions further, with inflammatory rhetoric, enhanced military preparedness and skirmishing along the so-called line of control which separates the two countries in Kashmir.

    The need to give reassurance to each party through empathetic communication is particularly important in the India-Pakistan context. First, the risks of escalation between India and Pakistan are greater than they were in 2019 after the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist bombing, which killed 40 Indian troops at Pulwama near to Kashmir’s main town of Srinagar.

    India identified the Pakistani state as responsible for the attack and responded with airstrikes against what it claimed was a JeM training camp at Balakot in north-western Pakistan. The absence of a trusted channel of communication brought both countries closer than ever to a missile exchange.

    Mike Pompeo, then secretary of state in the first Trump administration, claimed in a 2023 memoir that both sides had readied their nuclear deterrents. Whatever the veracity of Pompeo’s claims, it’s clear that mutual restraint is critical to avoiding miscalculations.

    But Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s delegation of greater operational freedom to the Indian military after the Pahalgam attack has raised concerns that India’s use of force could be more extensive than in 2019. Modi has vowed to pursue and punish the terrorists and their abetters “to the ends of the Earth”, a pledge that raises domestic political costs for him and his government if there is no military follow-through.

    Lessons from the Cuban missile crisis

    One important lesson from past nuclear standoffs – especially the Cuban missile crisis – is that leaders of adversarial nuclear states can sometimes forge empathetic channels of communication that help pull their countries back from the brink. There was no established hotline in October 1962. But US president John F. Kennedy and his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, exchanged a series of letters in which they acknowledged and expressed their shared vulnerability to nuclear war.

    There was no talk of nuclear jingoism or the manipulation of nuclear threats. Instead, as one of us (Nicholas) has argued in a study co-authored with US academic Marcus Holmes, the nuclear shadow that hung over the two leaders encouraged the development of mutual empathy and a bond of trust that were both critical to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

    Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev and US president John F Kennedy established a leader-to-leader hotline in 1963.
    US State Department

    Kennedy and Khrushchev could have responded to the condition of mutual nuclear vulnerability with brinkmanship, and turned the crisis into what Thomas Schelling – one of the most prominent US nuclear strategists and an advisor to the Kennedy administration – called a “competition in risk-taking”. But instead, they recognised that competitive manipulations of risk could only lead to mutual disaster, which enabled them to avert a potential nuclear exchange.

    Indian and Pakistani leaders could take their cue from this episode. A recent report by the nuclear thinktank Basic (co-edited by Nicholas) urged policymakers to avoid viewing crises as “zero-sum tests of will”. Instead, they should see them as opportunities for cooperation to avert catastrophe.

    Why an India-Pakistan hotline is vital

    But the absence of a trusted confidential line of communication between the leaders of India and Pakistan is a major barrier to empathetic communication. It prevents the two reaching a proper appreciation of shared vulnerabilities that is so critical to crisis de-escalation. As Basic recommended in a 2024 report, the most important contribution to crisis de-escalation between the two countries would be to establish a leader-to-leader hotline.

    Schelling called the US-Soviet hotline agreement of 1963
    the “best single example” of a measure that increased confidence in mutual restraint on both sides, and virtually ruled out what he called the “anxiety to strike first”.

    Such a hotline between the highest levels of Indian and Pakistani diplomacy would be an important step towards preventing these crises from spinning out of control. More crucially, it could play a pivotal role in managing crises when they do occur, offering a vital channel for reassurance and de-escalation.

    Crucially, real-time, reliable and empathetic communication would allow each side to clarify the other’s intent, signal reassurance, correct misperceptions and demonstrate restraint.

    India and Pakistan should not see these mechanisms as concessions or signs of weakness, but as instruments for enhancing mutual security between two nuclear adversaries. In a nuclear age where the margin for error is vanishingly small, overconfidence and brinkmanship must give way to prudence and restraint.



    Read more:
    Moscow-Washington nuclear hotline has averted war in the past – but cool heads will be needed in Trump’s White House and Putin’s Kremlin

    Syed Ali Zia Jaffery is Deputy Director, Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore, and Associate Editor, Pakistan Politico Ali was a Visiting Fellow at the Stimson Center, Washington, D.C. Ali regularly writes on strategic issues for national and international publications, to include Routledge, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, South Asian Voices , The National Interest, The Atlantic Council, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), CSIS, The Diplomat, Dawn, and 9DashLine, among others. Ali is an alumnus of Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nuclear Proliferation International History Project’s Nuclear History Boot Camp. He is also an alumnus of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts( ISODARCO). Ali often shares his perspectives on major strategic developments on national and international media. Ali is associated with the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) both as part of its Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities and the Emerging Voices Network. His research interests lie in the fields of nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, and geopolitics. He taught undergraduate level courses on foreign policy, national security, arms control& disarmament, and non-proliferation from 2018 until 2023. He is also a Graduate Research Assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

    Nicholas John Wheeler is a non-resident Senior Fellow at BASIC where he works on the Nuclear Responsibilities Programme with special reference to South Asia.

    – ref. Why a hotline is needed to help bring India and Pakistan back from the brink of a disastrous war – https://theconversation.com/why-a-hotline-is-needed-to-help-bring-india-and-pakistan-back-from-the-brink-of-a-disastrous-war-255727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Are kids resilient? Societies and families need to offer supports and relationships to nurture resilience

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Elena Merenda, Assistant Program Head of Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

    “Kids are resilient.” You have heard this before, right? You might have even said it, with the best of intentions.

    Resilience sometimes seems like a buzzword and is used in ill-defined ways. If adults praise children’s resilience without addressing their needs, this leaves children vulnerable to harm.

    Resilience doesn’t mean being unaffected by adversity — it means having the tools, relationships and supports to cope with it.

    Part of my role as a child development specialist with expertise in therapeutic play, as well childhood loss and grief, is consulting work with families and educators. I see children acting out in classrooms, withdrawing at home or having difficulties processing and regulating emotions and behaviours. Finding the right supports for a child often means many things.

    Offering children the environments and relationships that build resilience includes:

    In the everyday, children need adults who are well enough to care for them and present enough to notice their struggles.

    Many families with deep needs

    The 2024 National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty from Campaign 2000, a network of organizations committed to ending child and family poverty in Canada, reveals that in 2022, nearly one in five children were growing up in poverty.

    The child poverty rate rose by two and a half percentage points from the previous year, representing the largest annual increase in child poverty on record. Lone-parent households, most of them led by women, are disproportionately affected, with one in five relying on social assistance.



    Read more:
    Child poverty is on the rise in Canada, putting over 1 million kids at risk of life-long negative effects

    As financial insecurity deepens and government supports like the Canada Child Benefit lose their effectiveness due to high costs of living, parents are under formidable financial pressure that impacts their parenting capacity and personal wellness.

    Mental health gaps

    Mental Health Research Canada’s 2023 report, Exploring the Mental Health Landscape of Canadian Parents, reveals that younger parents, especially those under 30, are facing self-reported elevated levels of anxiety and depression since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The data also suggests that parents of children under two years of age are more likely to receive a new mental health diagnosis, likely due to decreased contact with health-care providers during the pandemic.

    What happens when parents are overwhelmed? Children feel it, and they need support to bounce back from it.

    The pressures parents face are not isolated. In a 2025 study on the perceptions of kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 educators in Ontario regarding their students’ developmental and academic skills and their own mental health during the 2021 to 2022 school year, teachers reported increased anxiety and slower developmental progress in children.



    Read more:
    From full-day learning to 30 minutes daily: The effects of school closures on kindergarteners

    Healthy development can’t be taken for granted

    If we only skim headlines that children displayed resilient capacities during the pandemic without looking deeper at how the pandemic also impeded healthy development, we are missing the full picture.

    It is only through longitudinal study — examining how kids are doing across time — that we’ll be able to fully understand impacts. For example, data from the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth shows about one in five youth who felt their mental health was good in 2019 no longer felt that way four years later.



    Read more:
    Pandemic babies’ developmental milestones: Not as bad as we feared, but not as good as before

    The 2023 Raising Canada Report, based on research conducted by researchers at the University of Calgary and McGill University and published by the non-profit organization Children First Canada, reports on violence, poverty, mental health struggles and online sexual exploitation affecting Canadian children.

    The report reveals there were 40 child homicides in 2022, and rates of hospital visits for self-harm and suicide attempts among youth have doubled over the past decade.

    These alarming reports suggest many families and children are struggling, lacking the resources they need to process their experiences and heal.

    Building your child’s and your own resilience

    Parental burnout is real — and compassion for oneself is the first step in supporting children.

    A few minutes of undistracted time with your child matters.
    (Shutterstock)

    Here are a few strategies parents can try to use, even when worn down:

    Focus on connection. A few minutes of undistracted time with your child — reading a book, going for a walk or simply talking without a phone nearby — builds connection and safety. When children feel a sense of safety and connection with their parent, they are more likely to share their thoughts and emotions. When children feel safe enough to verbalize their emotions, they are more inclined to process challenging times.

    Name and normalize emotions. Help your child build emotional vocabulary by labelling feelings for them in your day-to-day interactions. Saying things like “I noticed you looked frustrated when your Lego broke. That’s OK. It’s hard when things don’t go as planned” helps children to learn how to identify and name their emotions which is the first step in taming emotions.

    Model self-regulation, and when you feel overwhelmed, label your feelings. Try saying, “I’m feeling really worried right now, so I’m going to take a few deep breaths.” This teaches children that big feelings are a normal human experience. It also models for children healthy coping strategies.

    Ask for help and accept support. Parenting shouldn’t be done alone. Ask for help. Find a community of like-minded parents who can talk through big and small moments with you. Let your child see that it’s OK to ask for help — this is how you build resilience.

    Elena Merenda 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. Are kids resilient? Societies and families need to offer supports and relationships to nurture resilience – https://theconversation.com/are-kids-resilient-societies-and-families-need-to-offer-supports-and-relationships-to-nurture-resilience-253789

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Currency controls and debt in Argentina: the stakes are high if Milei’s latest economic gamble doesn’t pay off

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matt Barlow, Lecturer International Political Economy, University of Glasgow

    Matias Lynch/Shutterstock

    In April, Argentina’s president Javier Milei partially lifted the capital and currency controls that had been in place since 2011. The move was possible with the support of a US$20 billion (£15 billion) IMF bailout and means Argentinians may now buy unlimited dollars again.

    Announcing the move in the capital Buenos Aires, Milei was flanked by American treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Milei took the opportunity to liken it to US president Donald Trump’s “liberation day”.

    While he is often associated with Trump for his abrasive rhetoric and right-wing populist support base, Milei’s liberation day was intended to reduce the role of the state in the economy – unlike the US’s approach of deepening it.

    The latest iteration of currency controls was implemented by then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to try to shore up the deteriorating value of the Argentinian peso.

    The controls, known locally as el cepo (the clamp), meant that citizens and businesses were limited in the amount of foreign currency they could purchase. At the same time, they were constrained in moving money out of Argentina. This was designed as a safeguard against capital flight, but in effect it stifled inward investment.

    These measures, coupled with a centrally controlled foreign exchange rate, created a lucrative black market for US dollars. Citizens were eager to exchange cash pesos for the traditionally safer US dollar.

    The currency controls were previously lifted by another advocate for market-friendly policies, president Mauricio Macri in 2015. But they were reimposed in 2019 at the end of his term to address a fall in value of the peso.

    Unlike Macri’s broad-brush removal, Milei is phasing out the controls. He is doing so in the context of less economic volatility and a more stable national budget.

    The measures announced this time mean that rather than being fixed, the peso will be able to float between a value of 1,000–1,400 pesos (64p-87p) per US dollar. Milei’s previous policy was a crawling peg, which meant that the peso was pegged to the dollar, but it was prevented from depreciating by more than 1% each month.

    However, this was costly. The central bank had to provide the liquidity and has spent US$2.5 billion since mid-March propping up the official rate of the peso.

    Floating it means its value is determined by the currency markets. This exposes it to volatility, but the currency band provides some security and the central bank can go back to focusing on building its reserves.

    For international companies, future capital can be repatriated out of Argentina (which had been a major barrier to investment). Under the previous restrictions, any profits made by international firms could not be moved out of the country.

    And while Argentinians can now buy unlimited dollars through banks, there is still a US$100 restriction on exchanging physical cash.

    Milei’s gamble

    Analysts have called Milei’s move bold and brave, but also described it as a high-stakes gamble. Recent attempts to do the same thing ended in capital flight, near bankruptcy and ultimately the re-imposition of controls.

    But it was also a step that he promised on the campaign trail in 2023. Back then, Milei argued that economic stability and deregulation were essential to attract investment into Argentina.

    So while the Trump administration looks inwards, Milei is opening Argentina to the private sector – especially in relation to its vast natural resources including shale oil and gas, and lithium.

    Extraction of Argentina’s shale oil and gas has slowed in recent years, but attracting foreign investment in infrastructure has been high on Milei’s priority list. Business, including US energy giant Chevron, seems cautiously optimistic.

    And increased foreign investment in Argentina’s lithium mining sector has raised hopes that the country could be a linchpin in the global energy transition. But at the same time it is deepening Argentina’s dependency on finite commodities.

    But what does all this mean for Argentinians right now? For many old enough to remember, it might seem like deja vu. Opening Argentina up to the forces of the market, reducing the regulatory role of the state and privatising major state assets while borrowing more from the IMF has precedent.

    It was the same approach followed by president Carlos Menem in the 1990s. This had initial success but over the course of the decade resulted in economic disaster, unsustainable debt (leading to the 2001 IMF debt default) and pushed nearly 60% of the population into poverty.

    The US$20 billion IMF loan package (alongside other borrowing) provides Argentina’s central bank with capital to lift the currency restrictions. Adding to the IMF debt burden (which already stood at more than US$40 billion in March 2025) has so far been well received by the markets.

    But market-friendly policies being well received by the markets is surely to be expected. What might the social costs be, however?

    Milei’s programme of deep austerity included cuts to salaries and welfare payments. These initially pushed poverty levels up to 53%, their highest point in two decades. Recent figures show that, while still frighteningly high, falling inflation has helped bring this down to 38%.

    But these figures mask the desperate reality of many. Reductions in state spending and the removal of subsidies mean that income levels for workers and pensioners are below 2023 levels. Many are taking on additional and more precarious work, and soup kitchens are proving essential.

    So for many citizens, the news about the partial lifting of currency controls is a moot point. For these people, buying dollars is not remotely feasible.

    One thing Argentinians are broadly united in is their disdain for the IMF. Borrowing from it has pushed Argentina to the brink previously – Milei will be hoping that by jettisoning one anvil, his deal with the IMF won’t chain him to a heavier one.

    Matt Barlow 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. Currency controls and debt in Argentina: the stakes are high if Milei’s latest economic gamble doesn’t pay off – https://theconversation.com/currency-controls-and-debt-in-argentina-the-stakes-are-high-if-mileis-latest-economic-gamble-doesnt-pay-off-255733

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Hodgetts, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Durham University

    Until now, little has been known about the effect PMDD can have on relationships. simona pilolla 2/ Shutterstock

    An estimated 2% of people who menstruate are thought to have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The condition causes severe emotional, mental and physical symptoms in the week or two before a person’s menstrual cycle – including brain fog, stomach cramps, bloating, mood swings, anger, sadness, low self-worth, anxiety and even thoughts of suicide.

    Although PMDD symptoms usually stop when the period starts, the condition can still make everyday life difficult. Research shows that PMDD is associated with people having a poor quality of life, missing work or school and withdrawing from social activities. The repercussions that PMDD has on a person’s life often persist beyond the symptomatic phase of the person’s cycle.

    Yet despite the prevalence of PMDD, little is known about how it affects life at home, as no studies have been done.

    My recent research is the first to shed light on how PMDD impacts life and relationships – from the perspective of both those with PMDD and their partners. Our findings showed that both PMDD sufferers and their partners experienced similarly poor life and relationship quality.

    My coauthor and I ran two studies that both used online surveys.

    In the first study, we asked people with PMDD to complete two questionnaires. The first was designed to tell us about their quality of life. They answered questions about four different areas of their life: their physical health, psychological health, social relationships and living conditions.

    The second questionnaire was designed to tell us about their relationship with their spouse by asking questions about different components of their relationship (including love, trust, intimacy, commitment and passion), as well as their overall satisfaction with the relationship. We compared their responses to a control group of people of menstruation age who did not have PMDD.

    Our results showed significantly lower quality of life in people with PMDD compared to people in the control group. This difference was evident in all four of the areas of life that we studied. We also found that participants with PMDD consistently reported lower quality of life when it came to their psychological health, social relationships and living conditions – regardless of their menstrual cycle phase.

    Relationship quality, too, was significantly lower for those with PMDD compared to the control group when it came to trust, intimacy and passion. However, when it came to love and commitment, people with PMDD and those without the condition reported similar levels of satisfaction.

    PMDD and partners

    In the second study, we compared the responses of people who are in a relationship with someone who has PMDD, with those who are in a relationship with someone who menstruates but does not have PMDD.

    Our study found PMDD is associated with poor relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners.
    Roman Chazov/Shutterstock

    We used the same questionnaire as the previous study to investigate relationship quality. To study quality of life, we used a standard questionnaire that was designed for people who provide care or support for an adult. This asked questions about different areas of life that are relevant for familial carers, such as their support for caring, caring choices, any stress they experience, money matters, personal growth, sense of value, ability to care and satisfaction.

    We found that PMDD partners also had lower life quality compared to the control group. This difference was evident in every area of life except money matters (where both groups had similarly low scores). When it came to relationship quality, results from the PMDD partners echoed those from the PMDD patients – both reported lower relationship satisfaction in all areas except for love and commitment.

    Our study shows that PMDD is associated with poor life and relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners. This highlights the need for support that goes beyond prescription drugs and managing symptoms. This support also needs to be available to the loved ones and partners of people with PMDD who provide care and support.

    These findings suggest that future research should aim to develop PMDD-specific interventions that support both the person with PMDD and their partner. My future research plans are to delve deeper into the aspects of relationships affected by PMDD. For instance, I am planning a follow-up study involving interviews and focus groups with PMDD sufferers and their loved ones, to better identify areas for intervention and inform the development of supportive strategies.

    There are many reasons why this kind of support is important. For instance, we know from research into other mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety) just how crucial good interpersonal relationships are for successfully managing these conditions in the long term.

    We also know that the partners and spouses of people with a mental illness often find themselves acting as a familial caregiver for their partner. Studies of other mood disorders have shown that familial caregivers are at a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves, when compared to the general population. Supporting familial caregivers is known to improve life for all involved.

    My research shows that PMDD isn’t just a problem for patients. It impacts daily life and relationship quality for both people in a relationship. This study provides a first step. Now that we have a better understanding of the wider effect that PMDD has, we can start to investigate how to support both people.

    Sophie Hodgetts 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. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study – https://theconversation.com/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-harms-relationships-for-both-sufferers-and-their-partners-new-study-255083

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David M. Evans, Professor of Sociotechnical Futures, University of Bristol Business School, University of Bristol

    Luis Molinero/Shutterstock

    The UK government is considering expanding its sugar tax on fizzy drinks to include milkshakes and other sweetened beverages, as part of new proposals announced in April 2025. The Treasury confirmed it plans to move forward not only with broadening the tax but also with lowering the sugar threshold that triggers it from 5g to 4g of sugar per 100ml.

    The changes, dubbed by critics as the “milkshake tax”, would end the current exemption for dairy-based drinks, as well as plant-based alternatives such as oat and rice milk. Chancellor Rachel Reeves first signalled the potential expansion in the 2024 budget, suggesting the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), to give it its official name, could be widened to cover a broader range of high-sugar drinks.

    Based on our research into dietary change, conducted as part of the H3 project on food system transformation, we see this as a welcome and timely development.

    Not everyone shares this optimism. Opponents of what they see as “nanny state” interventionist policies argue that the SDIL has failed to deliver any real improvements to public health. In a UK newspaper’s straw poll, for example, 88% of respondents claimed the sugar tax has not significantly reduced obesity rates. Shadow Chancellor Melvyn Stride described the proposed expansion as a “sucker punch” to households, particularly given the ongoing cost of living crisis.

    Scepticism around these proposals is not surprising. Many people, regardless of political affiliation, are wary of additional taxation. And indeed, there is evidence suggesting that fiscal tools such as taxes and subsidies can be blunt instruments. They are also often regressive, placing a disproportionate burden on lower-income households.

    These concerns are valid – but they don’t quite apply to the SDIL.

    Crucially, the SDIL is not a tax on consumers. It is levied on manufacturers and importers, who are incentivised to reduce the sugar content of their products to avoid the charge. According to Treasury figures, since the introduction of the SDIL, 89% of fizzy drinks sold in the UK have been reformulated to fall below the taxable threshold.

    For instance, the Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group Suntory invested £13 million in reformulating drinks like Ribena and Lucozade, removing 25,000 tonnes of sugar, making the products exempt from the levy. This means households aren’t priced out of soft drinks – they can simply choose reformulated and presumably cheaper versions.

    It’s true that the UK is still grappling with a serious obesity problem. In England alone, 29% of adultsand 15% of children aged two to 15 are obese.

    But the SDIL is having an effect. Excessive sugar consumption is consistently associated with rising obesity rates in the UK and globally. There has been a clear reduction in the sales of sugar from soft drinks, and the SDIL is reported to have generated £1.9 billion in revenue since its introduction in 2018.

    Early signs suggest health benefits, too. One study found a drop in obesity rates among 10 to 11-year-old girls following the levy’s implementation. Another analysis suggests that the greatest health benefits will be seen in more deprived areas, and that it may actually help to narrow some health inequalities for children in England.



    Read more:
    Child obesity is linked to deprivation, so why do poor parents still cop the blame?

    Shifting responsibilty

    The government’s 2016 announcement of the sugar tax gave manufacturers time to reformulate products before the tax’s introduction in 2018.

    Of course, the SDIL is no silver bullet. There are many contributing factors to the obesity epidemic, ranging from genetic predisposition to “obesogenic” environments – social contexts that promote unhealthy eating and sedentary behaviour, such as areas with a lot of fast food restaurants, limited access to healthy food options and a lack of pavements, parks, or safe places to exercise.

    Questions remain about the negative health effects of reformulated drinks, some of which still contain high levels of sweeteners or additives. And in the broader context of the need for food system transformation, focusing solely on soft drinks may be too narrow an approach.



    Read more:
    Are artificial sweeteners okay for our health? Here’s what the current evidence says

    But the SDIL’s success lies not just in outcomes but in its design. It shifts responsibility from individuals to industry, encouraging systemic change rather than simply blaming people for making “bad” choices. The government’s 2016 announcement of the levy gave manufacturers a two-year head start, allowing them to reformulate and get their products to market before it took effect in 2018.

    It’s also telling that the idea of taxing milkshakes has sparked such outrage, while most people now accept the high taxation of tobacco. That’s because smoking, as a public health issue, has matured: its risks are well understood and widely acknowledged. Obesity, meanwhile, is still catching up, despite posing similar health threats, including as a leading cause of cancer.

    In the UK, there’s still a strong social stigma around discussing diet and weight. But given the scale and urgency of the obesity crisis, it could be time to overcome this reluctance. Effective change will require bold, systemic policies – not just public awareness campaigns – but multipronged and targeted interventions that reshape the economic and cultural environments in which people make food choices.

    Expanding the SDIL may not be a cure-all, but the evidence so far suggests it’s a smart step in the right direction.

    David M. Evans receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).
    He is affiliated with Defra (the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as a member of their Social Science Expert Group.

    Jonathan Beacham receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).

    – ref. ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity – https://theconversation.com/milkshake-tax-theres-growing-evidence-that-expanding-the-uks-sugar-levy-could-help-tackle-obesity-255646

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Silvia Maioli, Associate professor and Principal Researcher, Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet

    Certain prescription drugs combinations had different effects on the mice. roger ashford/ Shutterstock

    Millions of older adults take five or more prescription drugs every day to manage chronic illnesses. While polypharmacy is often necessary, this practice has also been linked to many negative health outcomes in older adults – including memory problems, increased risk of falls and greater frailty.

    The most common prescription drugs involved in polypharmacy are those used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. Importantly, these same conditions are also known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

    This raises an important question: could polypharmacy have any influence on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

    Our recent research in mice suggests that certain prescription drugs combinations might actually have a positive effect on memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. However, these effects appeared to differ depending on whether the mouse was male or female.

    To better understand how polypharmacy may affect Alzheimer’s disease, we designed an experiment using mice that were genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s-like brain changes. These mice had amyloid plaques – clumps of protein in the brain that, with time, are linked with memory loss and considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease .

    We tested two different combinations of five commonly prescribed drugs, including: analgesics (painkillers), antithrombotics (to prevent blood clots), lipid-modifying agents (such as statins, which lower cholestrol), beta-blockers (which help controlling arrythmias and hypertension) and Ace inhibitors (used to treat cardiovascular conditions), as well as antidepressants.

    Both groups of mice were given paracetamol, aspirin, an antidepressant, a statin and a blood pressure drug. The only differences between the two groups were the specific types of statin and cardiovascular drugs used. The first group were given simvastatin and metoprolol, while the second group was given atorvastatin and enalapril.

    We gave these prescription drug combinations to both male and female mice. We then tested their memory, examined their brains for signs of disease and analysed blood samples for disease-related markers.

    Our findings showed that polypharmacy has both positive and negative effects on Alzheimer’s disease progression. The effects largely depended on which specific drug combinations were used as well as the sex of the mice.

    The first drug combination had beneficial effects in male mice. These mice showed better memory, reduced signs of Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain (such as the number and size of amyloid plaques) and fewer signs of the disease in their blood. This suggested that polypharmacy delayed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

    In females, however, the same combination had very little to no effect on signs and symptoms of the disease.

    But for the mice in the second combination group, the results were different. The benefits previously seen in males disappeared. In female mice, their memory worsened.

    Certain drug combinations reduced signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the male mice’s brains, such as the size and number of amyloid plaques.
    nobeastsofierce/ Shutterstock

    We also looked at what happened when some of the drugs were taken on their own. In some cases, they had beneficial effects for the female mice – improving memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain. For instance, the statin simvastatin improved memory and reduced signs of brain inflammation in female mice when the drug was taken on its own.

    Polypharmacy and brain health

    These results show how complex the effects of polypharmacy can be, especially in the context of a brain disease such as Alzheimer’s. They also suggest that men and women may respond differently to certain drug combinations.

    This is not surprising. Biological sex is known to influence how drugs are absorbed and metabolised and their effect on the body. When it comes to polypharmacy, these differences can become more pronounced, having an even stronger effect on drug safety and efficacy.

    This could partly help explain why the same drug combinations had very different effects in the male and female mice in our study. Other possible explanations for why certain drug combinations only improved signs and symptoms of the disease in male mice include sex differences in hormone levels and differences in immune responses that may influence how drugs work in the brain. Understanding these mechanisms will be key to tailoring safer and more effective treatments for the disease.

    Our study confirms that current, universal prescribing approaches for older adults may not be ideal.

    It’s also worth noting that older women are more likely to be polypharmacy users compared to men. This highlights the importance of understanding the effects of polypharmacy that are specific to men and women, and developing more personalised prescribing approaches.

    Future translational studies (from mice to humans) looking at how drug combinations affect Alzheimer’s in males and females are also warranted to help reduce risks and improve healthcare in the ageing population.

    The global population is continuing to age, which means that an even greater number of people are going to be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is why it’s so important we understand all of the causes of the disease and how it can be prevented.

    Silvia Maioli receives funding from The Swedish Research Council, Alzheimerfonden, King Gustaf V:s and Queen Victorias Foundation, The private initiative “Innovative ways to fight Alzheimer´s disease – Leif Lundblad Family and others”, Margaretha af Ugglas Foundation, The regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet, Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse, Stiftelsen Gamla Tjänarinnor

    Francesca Eroli received funding from Stiftelsen För Gamla Tjänarinnor and Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse.

    – ref. Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study – https://theconversation.com/alzheimers-certain-combinations-of-prescription-drugs-may-slow-progression-of-the-disease-says-mice-study-254243

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hazel Flight, Programme Lead Nutrition and Health, Edge Hill University

    Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

    Sugar — sweet, satisfying, and everywhere. From fresh fruit and honey to processed table sugar and drinks, it sneaks into nearly everything we eat. While delicious, sugar delivers what nutritionists call “empty calories” — energy without any essential nutrients. And with overconsumption linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and dental problems, it’s no wonder health authorities are urging us to cut back.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting added sugar to less than 10% of daily calorie intake, while the BMJ suggests even lower: no more than six teaspoons (25g) per day for women and nine teaspoons (38g) for men.

    In response, many people are turning to non-nutritive sweeteners — sugar alternatives that deliver sweetness without the calories. These include popular options like aspartame, sucralose, stevia and monk fruit extract. Found in many diet drinks, sugar-free snacks and low-calorie foods, these sweeteners are designed to help manage weight and blood sugar levels.

    But not all that tastes sweet is sweet in effect. Let’s zoom in on one of the most controversial sugar substitutes: aspartame.

    Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was discovered in 1965 and is 180–200 times sweeter than sugar. It was first regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974 and approved for use in dry foods in 1981. Today, it’s estimated to be found in over 6,000 food and drink products and 600 pharmaceutical items.

    Aspartame was initially embraced as a tool to help reduce obesity and support diabetics, offering a sweet fix without the sugar spike. But despite decades of use, its safety is still the subject of intense scientific and public debate.

    Potential benefits

    Aspartame has a similar taste to sugar, albeit much more intense, but comes with almost no calories, making it attractive for those who’re weight-conscious. With obesity rates soaring globally, even small calorie savings can matter.

    Aspartame does not raise blood glucose levels, making it a preferred choice for those managing type 2 diabetes. However, other research has found potential associations with metabolic syndrome and diabetes risk, suggesting that aspartame should be used as part of a controlled diet rather than a straight swap for sugar.

    While assessments suggest that aspartame is safe within current intake guidelines, concerns persist.

    Potential risks

    Some people may experience side-effects like headaches, dizziness, or mood changes. There’s emerging evidence linking aspartame to neurodegeneration, strokes and even dementia.

    Aspartame can increase levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid in the brain, which is a serious concern for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine. This causes it to accumulate in the blood and brain, potentially leading to brain damage. People with PKU must avoid aspartame completely.

    One study reported symptoms after consuming aspartame including irritability, migraines, anxiety and insomnia, especially with excessive consumption.

    In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame) as “possibly carcinogenic”, though it remains approved for consumption within existing safety limits. Some studies suggest a link to cancer, but conclusions remain mixed.



    Read more:
    Aspartame: popular sweetener could be classified as a possible carcinogen by WHO – but there’s no cause for panic

    It’s also advised that pregnant women avoid aspartame, as research suggests it may affect the placenta’s structure and function.

    Artificial sweeteners, despite being calorie-free, may trick the brain into craving more sweetness. This could lead to increased appetite and weight gain rather than weight loss. In fact, several studies have found a positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and obesity.

    Gut health matters

    Emerging evidence suggests that aspartame and other sweeteners may disrupt the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria that play a key role in digestion, immunity and even mood. This disruption can negatively affect digestive health and immune function, potentially increasing the risk of infections and other health issues.



    Read more:
    Artificial sweetener could harm your gut and the microbes that live there – new study

    Aspartame may offer a tempting sugar-free fix, but it’s not without its risks. The World Health Organization advises against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control and research continues to reveal complex links between aspartame and chronic diseases, from neurological issues to gut health concerns.

    Hazel Flight 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. Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains – https://theconversation.com/aspartame-the-artificial-sweetener-is-calorie-free-but-not-risk-free-a-nutritionist-explains-254318

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Annettee Nakimuli, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Makerere University

    Pre-eclampsia is a danger to pregnant women. It’s a complication characterised by high blood pressure and organ damage, arising during the second half of pregnancy, in labour or in the first week after delivery.

    It plays a major role in about 16% of the deaths of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.

    And it’s on the rise: between 2010 and 2018, the incidence of pre-eclampsia in Africa jumped by around 20%.

    Pre-eclampsia usually occurs in young mothers during a first pregnancy. Girls under the age of 18 years are most at risk. The probability that a 15-year-old girl will die from complications of pregnancy is one in 150 in developing countries, versus one in 3,800 in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization.

    Not only does pre-eclampsia pose a serious health threat to women, it also harms babies. It contributes to stillbirth, preterm birth and low birth weight.

    Yet we still do not know enough about pre-eclampsia. This gap has driven my research into the disease.

    I conducted the first genetic case-control study on pre-eclampsia among African women in comparison to European women over a decade ago for my PhD research.

    My work revealed that both African and European populations have a gene (KIR AA genotype) that increases the chance of pre-eclampsia. However, African women are at greater risk of pre-eclampsia than other racial groups. This is because they’re more at risk of carrying a fetus with a C2-type HLA-C gene from the father. African populations have a higher frequency of this gene, which raises the likelihood of risky mother-fetus combinations.

    An additional finding from my research is that genetic protection from pre-eclampsia works differently across populations – and African populations carry unique protective genes. However, even with these additional protections, African women are at greater risk of developing severe pre-eclampsia due to the other challenges, like access to healthcare and socio-economic constraints.

    There’s inequality in the treatment of the condition too. In my experience, wealthier and better-educated African women often receive the necessary diagnosis and treatment. Poorer and less-educated African women too often do not.

    Pre-eclampsia research, especially in Africa, requires a lot more funding, as does broader research related to the maternal health of African women.

    Pre-eclampsia in Uganda

    Around 287,000 women worldwide die during pregnancy and childbirth every year. Shockingly, 70% of these are African women.

    Most of these deaths are preventable. For example, around 10% are the result of high blood pressure-related conditions during pregnancy.

    Uganda’s Ministry of Health recorded in 2023 that out of 1,276 maternal deaths reported, 16% were associated with high blood pressure.

    Hospitals are being overwhelmed by patients with the illness. For example, Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala receives around 150 patients with the condition every month. It has set up a special ward to treat them.

    The maternal mortality rate (death due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth) in Uganda is 284 per 100,000 live births. In Australia it is 2.94. The neonatal mortality rate (death during the first 28 completed days of life) is 19 per 1,000 live births in Uganda against 2.37 in Australia. Infant mortality (death before a child turns one) is 31 per 1,000 live births in Uganda versus 3.7 in Australia, according to the WHO’s Global Health Observatory.

    This stark contrast highlights an enormous gap in care that the two countries’ pregnant mothers and babies receive.

    Part of the problem in Uganda, as in many developing countries, is persistent challenges in healthcare infrastructure. There are shortages of healthcare workers, medical supplies and facilities, particularly in the rural areas.

    Early detection is key

    As a clinician and researcher working at the centre of Uganda’s healthcare system, I witness mothers arriving at hospitals already in a critical condition, with limited options to treat the complications associated with pre-eclampsia. It is heartbreaking.

    The condition is both preventable and treatable if caught early. My research focuses on identifying biological signs of the likelihood of complications during pregnancy, using data analysis informed by Artificial Intelligence.

    These predictive biomarkers, as they are called, enable us to categorise patients based on their risk levels and identify those most likely to benefit from specific treatments or preventive measures.

    The precise causes of pre-eclampsia are not certain, but factors beyond genetics are thought to be problems with the immune system and inadequate development of the placenta. But much of what researchers know comes from work done in high-income countries, often with a limited sample size of African women.

    Consequently, the findings may not apply directly to the genetics of sub-Saharan African women. My research addresses this knowledge gap.

    Building on my findings about genetic determinants, I am leading a research team at Makerere University to design interventions tailored to specific prevention and treatment strategies for African populations.

    Raising pre-eclampsia awareness

    Research alone is not enough. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between research and practice.

    During my fieldwork, I have witnessed first-hand how many Ugandan women are not aware of pre-eclampsia’s warning signs and miss out on vital prenatal care. These warning signs often include headache, disturbances with vision, upper pain in the right side of the abdomen and swelling of the legs.

    But we can develop screening algorithms so that healthcare professionals can rapidly diagnose women at higher risk early in their pregnancy. Timely intervention, including specific treatment and plans for delivery, would reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

    In my capacity as a national pre-eclampsia champion appointed by Uganda’s Ministry of Health, I am spearheading initiatives to raise awareness and improve access to maternal healthcare services.

    Through community outreach programmes and educational campaigns, we want to empower all women, rich and poor, with knowledge about the condition and encourage them to seek medical assistance at an early stage.

    More resources must be allocated to genetics research to realise our goals of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and its associated complications.

    This investment will drive the development of predictive technology for precise diagnosis, and enable timely intervention for at-risk mothers.

    Moreover, investigating the genetic roots of pre-eclampsia could lead to novel therapies that reduce the need for costly medical procedures or prolonged care for those affected.

    This would reduce the strain on already overburdened African healthcare systems.

    Annettee Nakimuli receives funding from the Gates Foundation, GSK and the Royal Society.

    – ref. African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication – https://theconversation.com/african-women-at-higher-risk-of-pre-eclampsia-a-dangerous-pregnancy-complication-249222

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shawn Datchuk, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Iowa

    Pennsylvania is considering legislation that mandates cursive instruction in public schools. Angela Guthrie/iStock via Getty Images

    Recently, my 8-year-old son received a birthday card from his grandmother. He opened the card, looked at it and said, “I can’t read cursive yet.”

    Then he handed it to me to read.

    If you have a child in the Philadelphia School District, chances are they have not been taught how to read or write cursive either.

    But cursive handwriting is making a comeback of sorts for K-8 students in the United States. Several states in recent years passed legislation mandating instruction in cursive handwriting, including California, Iowa and Oklahoma.

    Pennsylvania and New Jersey are considering similar legislation, as are other states.

    I’m an associate professor of special education and the director of the Iowa Reading Research Center. At the center, we’re conducting a systematic review of prior research to improve cursive handwriting instruction.

    We also want to know how learning cursive affects the development of reading and writing skills.

    Cursive instruction sidelined

    In cursive handwriting, the individual letters of a word are joined with connecting strokes, such as in a person’s signature.

    Cursive fell out of favor in U.S. schools over a decade ago. In 2010, most states adopted Common Core academic standards which omitted cursive handwriting from expected academic skills to be learned by K-8 students. In fact, the standards only briefly mention print handwriting, a writing style in which the individual letters of a word are unconnected, as a skill to be taught in early elementary grades.

    Educators often have trouble finding enough time in the school day to teach all the expected writing skills, let alone something that’s not mandated such as cursive handwriting.

    In several national surveys, teachers have reported limited amounts of time for writing instruction and that they have found it difficult to address both the basic skills of writing, such as handwriting, and more advanced skills, such as essay composition.

    Benefits of handwriting

    The increased interest in cursive handwriting likely stems from effort by policymakers to improve the literacy performance of K-12 students across the country.

    On the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment, a measure of nationwide reading progress, only 31% of fourth grade students scored proficient or above. Philadelphia’s numbers were worse, with just 19% of fourth grade students scoring proficient or above.

    Research suggests it may be possible to improve overall writing and reading through handwriting instruction.

    The benefits have been more closely studied with print handwriting, but preliminary evidence suggests cursive handwriting instruction may also be beneficial. Some studies have found cursive handwriting instruction can improve handwriting legibility, writing length and select reading skills. In a 2020 study, researchers found cursive handwriting instruction can also improve spelling accuracy and storytelling ability.

    Why might cursive make a difference? On the surface, it seems like a simple motor skill. But under the surface, cursive handwriting draws upon deep reading knowledge and requires the coordination of multiple cognitive and physical processes.

    To handwrite letters or spell words in print or cursive, students need to commit multiple aspects of each letter to memory. For example, if students handwrite the word “cat,” they need to know the overall shape of each letter, as well as its name and sound.

    After drawing upon this reading knowledge from memory, students use a combination of motor and vision systems to write each letter and the entire word. Gross motor movements are used to adjust the body and arm to the writing surface. Fine motor movements are used to manipulate the pencil with one’s fingers. And visual-motor coordination is used to write each letter and adjust movements as needed.

    Many U.S. historical documents, such as the Constitution, were written in cursive.
    Douglas Sacha/Moment Collection via Getty Images

    A skill with staying power?

    Besides potential benefits to overall writing and reading development, cursive handwriting continues to have social importance.

    It is often used to sign formal documents via a cursive signature, or to communicate with close friends or loved ones. Furthermore, understanding cursive is needed to read important historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.

    Even in the digital age, touch-screen tablets and other devices often come with the ability to handwrite text with an electronic pencil. I teach courses at the University of Iowa, and many of my students handwrite their notes on electronic tablets.

    For schools, low-tech options such as paper and pencils remain more cost-efficient than high-tech options. For example, it can be time-consuming and expensive to replace a broken laptop but relatively cheap to sharpen a broken pencil or get a new piece of paper.

    Although it may be difficult for educators to find sufficient time for writing instruction, students will likely benefit from developing the capacity to express their ideas in a variety of ways, including cursive handwriting.

    For anyone interested in learning about cursive handwriting and teaching it to their children or students, the Iowa Reading Research Center will release a free online course and curricula called CLIFTER on June 2, 2025.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    Shawn Datchuk 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. Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try – https://theconversation.com/can-learning-cursive-help-kids-read-better-some-policymakers-think-its-worth-a-try-253610

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –