Headline: Health insurers rorting public hospital beds
Published: 30 September 2024
Released by: Treasurer, Minister for Health
Private health insurers are skipping out on the cost of public hospital beds their members use, costing taxpayers and boosting their bottom line by $140 million a year.
Currently, NSW public hospitals are heavily subsidising some private health insurers – a burden our health system can no longer shoulder.
NSW Health estimates the average cost of a hospital bed at $1,075 per day.
Last year, NSW Health charged private health insurers below cost, at a rate of $892 per hospital bed, per day – a 17 per cent subsidy.
Many insurers are doing the right thing and paying for the full cost of services they use. However, a select group of private health insurers are not paying their fair share – many only contributing $474 per hospital bed, per day – a 56 per cent subsidy from the people of NSW.
Private health insurers skipping out on the costs of public hospital beds is costing NSW hospitals $140 million every year – for the last five years.
This could employ an additional 1,000 senior nurses.
Thankfully, 44 of 53 private health insurers have agreed or are currently paying their fair share. But some of the largest insurers have held out, refusing to pay their fair share to the public health system while raking in record profits.
Quotes attributable to Treasurer Daniel Mookhey:
“The refusal of private insurers to pay their bills is robbing the public system of critical funds.
“This has been a very reasonable request to private health insurers to simply resume paying their fair share.
“I commend those smaller and not-for-profit insurers who are doing the right thing.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
“So many not-for-profit insurers have managed to do the right thing, including the health funds for police, nurses, navy and teachers.
“I commend those insurers who have paid their bills in full as well as those who have indicated they will resume paying in full.
“But we’re seeing some of the largest for-profit insurers, who enjoy billions of dollars in profit each year, sticking taxpayers with the tab.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martie-Louise Verreynne, Professor in Innovation and Associate Dean (Research), The University of Queensland
Humans are increasingly engaging with wearable technology as it becomes more adaptable and interactive. One of the most intimate ways gaining acceptance is through augmented reality (AR) glasses.
Last week, Meta debuted a prototype of the most recent version of their AR glasses – Orion. They look like reading glasses and use holographic projection to allow users to see graphics projected through transparent lenses into their field of view.
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg called Orion “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen”. He said they offer a “glimpse of the future” in which smart glasses will replace smartphones as the main mode of communication.
But is this true or just corporate hype? And will AR glasses actually benefit us in new ways?
Old technology, made new
The technology used to develop Orion glasses is not new.
In the 1960s, computer scientist Ivan Sutherland introduced the first augmented reality head-mounted display. Two decades later, Canadian engineer and inventor Stephen Mann developed the first glasses-like prototype.
Throughout the 1990s, researchers and technology companies developed the capability of this technology through head-worn displays and wearable computing devices. Like many technological developments, these were often initially focused on military and industry applications.
In 2013, after smartphone technology emerged, Google entered the AR glasses market. But consumers were disinterested, citing concerns about privacy, high cost, limited functionality and a lack of a clear purpose.
This did not discourage other companies – such as Microsoft, Apple and Meta – from developing similar technologies.
Looking inside
Meta cites a range of reasons for why Orion are the world’s most advanced glasses, such as their miniaturised technology with large fields of view and holographic displays. It said these displays provide:
compelling AR experiences, creating new human-computer interaction paradigms […] one of the most difficult challenges our industry has ever faced.
Orion also has an inbuilt smart assistant (Meta AI) to help with tasks through voice commands, eye and hand tracking, and a wristband for swiping, clicking and scrolling.
With these features, it is not difficult to agree that AR glasses are becoming more user-friendly for mass consumption. But gaining widespread consumer acceptance will be challenging.
A set of challenges
Meta will have to address four types of challenges:
ease of wearing, using and integrating AR glasses with other glasses
psychological factors such as social acceptance, trust in privacy and accessibility.
These factors are not unlike what we saw in the 2000s when smartphones gained acceptance. Just like then, there are early adopters who will see more benefits than risks in adopting AR glasses, creating a niche market that will gradually expand.
This will allow for broader applications in education (for example, virtual classrooms), remote work and enhanced collaboration tools. Already, Orion’s holographic display allows users to overlay digital content and the real world, and because it is hands-free, communication will be more natural.
Creative destruction
Smart glasses are already being used in many industrial settings, such as logistics and healthcare. Meta plans to launch Orion for the general public in 2027.
By that time, AI will have likely advanced to the point where virtual assistants will be able to see what we see and the physical, virtual and artificial will co-exist. At this point, it is easy to see that the need for bulky smartphones may diminish and that through creative destruction, one industry may replace another.
This is supported by research indicating the virtual and augmented reality headset industry will be worth US$370 billion by 2034.
The remaining question is whether this will actually benefit us.
There is already much debate about the effect of smartphone technology on productivity and wellbeing. Some argue that it has benefited us, mainly through increased connectivity, access to information, and productivity applications.
But others say it has just created more work, distractions and mental fatigue.
If Meta has its way, AR glasses will solve this by enhancing productivity. Consulting firm Deloitte agrees, saying the technology will provide hands-free access to data, faster communication and collaboration through data-sharing.
It also claims smart glasses will reduce human errors, enable data visualisation, and monitor the wearer’s health and wellbeing. This will ensure a quality experience, social acceptance, and seamless integration with physical processes.
But whether or not that all comes true will depend on how well companies such as Meta address the many challenges associated with AR glasses.
Martie-Louise Verreynne receives funding from the ARC and NHMRC.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
2 hours ago
Jeffery Adams is a Postgraduate Health Science Lecturer at EIT Auckland.
Supporting age-friendly communities and improving health access for rainbow people are key parts of an EIT Auckland lecturer’s research.
Jeffery Adams, Postgraduate Health Science Lecturer at EIT Auckland, says that he has undertaken research and programme evaluation across a number of health areas and settings – including physical activity, alcohol, gambling, mental health and wellbeing, workforce issues, volunteering, and community development/community action.
A recent research project has been an evaluation of the Office for Seniors age-friendly fund. Jeffery is working with Stephen Neville from Te Pūkenga, who is the lead researcher.
“We are looking at this funding scheme that the Office for Seniors offers and trying to work out how effective it has been in helping councils and communities either develop an age friendly plan or to implement age friendly projects.”
“It’s a New Zealand-wide sample with more than sixty different projects that have been funded. We are trying to make a determination about the fund as a whole as to whether it’s achieving outcomes and contributing to communities to be more age friendly.”
Another project that Stephen and Jeffery are involved in is the validation of an age-friendly survey tool. This is a partnership between the researchers, the Office for Seniors, and the Napier City Council and in association with The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The tool has been successfully trialled by Napier City Council with the aim of rolling it out for use in other communities in New Zealand.
There are eight domains for determining an age-friendly city – community and health care, transportation, housing, social participation, outdoor spaces and buildings, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, and communication and information. For the Napier study, validation process involved receiving feedback from a consumer panel in Napier.
Jeffery says that while New Zealand has areas of age-friendliness, there’s a growing interest among some councils and communities to create more age-friendly environments.
He says that one difficulty for cities is striking a balance between meeting the needs of everybody, while also ensuring older people’s specific needs are met.
“An example is that many places have short time limits on their parking, but this can make it more difficult for older people to go out and shop and attend appointments.”
Another focus area for Jeffery is the health and wellbeing of rainbow people (an umbrella term used to describe people of diverse sexualities, genders, and variations of sex characteristics). This research has included studies focused on mental health, alcohol consumption, HIV and sexual health promotion, and Asian gay men. It has been funded by a number of agencies including the NZ AIDS Foundation, Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Agency and is characterised by engagement with community organisations and employment of community members as research team members.
Jeffery’s most recent project is examining data from the New Zealand Health Survey to ascertain the healthcare experiences and health behaviours of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. This work was funded by Massey University and is set to be published soon in New Zealand and Australian publications.
Last year Jeffery and Stephen Neville wrote an article entitled Rainbow health in Aotearoa New Zealand – finally getting the attention it deserves? which was published in the Journal of Primary Health Care.
The authors wrote that the health of rainbow people had until now largely been ignored in government health policy.
“However this has changed with the release by Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora of Te Pae Tata: Interim New Zealand Health Plan, which details priority areas to improve health outcomes and equity for all New Zealanders.”
“Te Pae Tata promises a ‘new health system’ and improved health outcomes for rainbow people. Although this plan provides welcome recognition of inequity, it offers a limited, generalised view on how to improve health for rainbow people. More specific and detailed action plans on how equity might be achieved are required.”
China’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs on Sunday announced that it has confirmed the identities of eight martyrs whose remains were found in the Ngari Prefecture of the country’s southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region last year. Xi Yufeng, the ministry official in charge of the recovery of martyrs’ remains, said at a press conference that a national search team and a DNA lab that identifies martyrs’ remains have been working together since 2023 to recover and identify the eight sets of remains in Ngari. It was the first time a national search team has worked in a high-altitude environment since China officially established these teams in 2022, according to the ministry. The ministry also worked on facial reconstruction with forensic experts at Shanghai’s Fudan University. At a press conference earlier this month, it announced that it had located living family members of over 60,000 martyrs through an online service, which collects inquiries from the public.
Around 1,600 people from various sectors in Taiwan gathered at an event Saturday, calling for a distancing from “Taiwan independence” and expressing their desire and determination for peace, dialogue and reunification. Most attendees wore coordinated jackets with the following message printed on the back: “Supporting the 1992 Consensus, caring for people’s well-being, rejecting ‘Taiwan independence,’ and advocating cross-Strait peace and shared prosperity.” The event in New Taipei City involved a number of political parties and civil organizations. The 1992 Consensus serves as the political foundation for mutual trust between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, with its core meaning being that both sides belong to one China, said Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party and chair of the Taiwan-based Chinese Cyan Geese Peace Education Foundation, at the event. Hung criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for ignoring and distorting history, suppressing dissent on the island, clinging to the United States, and provoking confrontation with the mainland. Calling on the two sides of the Strait to work together toward national reunification, she urged the people of Taiwan, especially the youth, to understand and identify with Chinese history and cultural traditions, and to be aware of the historical mission they shoulder. “I am Chinese and I am proud. As Chinese people, we should not be afraid to say it openly,” said Wu Cheng-tien, chairman of the New Party, at the event. For both sides of the Strait, there is no better path than peaceful reunification and people in Taiwan bear the great responsibility to strive together for the cause, Wu added. Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of the Labor Party in Taiwan, urged the people of Taiwan to be highly vigilant given the current situation where Taiwan, through the collusion of “Taiwan independence” separatists and external forces, has been tied to a war machine — which is dragging the island toward the brink of conflict. The event, at which people stood up to voice opposition to war and “Taiwan independence” and show support for peaceful reunification, aimed to demonstrate that the “Taiwan independence” path is not supported by most people in Taiwan, said Gao An-go, a retired military officer and one of the event’s organizers. “We all earnestly hope for a peaceful and stable environment, but right now, this beautiful island is rapidly slipping into a dangerous situation, and the people of Taiwan feel a deep sense of fear and helplessness about the future,” said Xiong Zi-jie, president of the Hunan Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. “This is why we must completely sweep ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists into the dustbin of history and restore a peaceful and prosperous Taiwan for its people. Once the scourge of ‘Taiwan independence’ is removed, peaceful reunification will be within reach,” he said.
Tianjin University’s Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology, in collaboration with Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, has made a major breakthrough in DNA-based data storage, introducing the innovative DNA Palette coding scheme. This new method enables the successful encoding of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data into DNA, as well as lossless decoding and the 3D reconstruction of imaging data, paving the way for the development of advanced medical data storage technologies. The results of the study that saw this breakthrough have been published in the National Science Review. Brain MRI scans are an essential tool for clinical diagnosis, surgical planning and treatment evaluation. However, the vast amounts of data generated during these scans pose significant challenges for long-term storage methods. This issue is particularly critical for diseases such as juvenile Parkinson’s, epilepsy and neurogenetic disorders, as lifelong data accumulation and analysis are essential in such cases. Current storage mediums struggle to meet the high demand for large-scale, long-term data storage. DNA, known to have exceptional stability and storage density, has emerged as a promising medium for data storage. The Tianjin University research team successfully encoded 11.28 megabytes of brain MRI data into approximately 250,000 DNA sequences, achieving an impressive data density of 2.39 bits per base. The encoded oligos, which are single strands of synthetic DNA, are stored in dry powder form, weigh just 3 micrograms and support over 300 read operations under current technical standards. This breakthrough demonstrates DNA’s potential as a long-term, efficient, secure storage medium for medical data. This study marks a crucial step toward the practical application of DNA data storage, offering a new technical route for the secure storage of large amounts of medical data and accelerating the broader adoption of DNA-based storage technologies.
(Left to right): Ms Paula Ward, Mr Tom Steer, Mr Paul Beard, Mr Bruce Lines, Professor Steve Larkin, Professor Joanne Cys, Professor Jessica Gallagher, Professor Peter Høj AC, Professor David Lloyd FTSE, Professor John Williams AM, and Professor Anton Middelberg FTSE.
Adelaide University has today announced the appointment of its first Deputy Vice Chancellors (DVCs).
The selection of these important roles marks a significant milestone in the creation of a globally recognised institution committed to educational excellence and societal impact.
Adelaide University co-Vice Chancellors, Professor Peter Høj and Professor David Lloyd, said the selection of the DVCs will provide strong foundational leadership through this time of transition and transformation.
The Adelaide University DVCs are:
Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic: Professor John Williams AM
Deputy Vice Chancellor Corporate: Mr Paul Beard
Deputy Vice Chancellor Indigenous: Professor Steve Larkin
Deputy Vice Chancellor International & External Engagement: Professor Jessica Gallagher
Deputy Vice Chancellor People & Culture: Ms Paula Ward
Deputy Vice Chancellor Research & Innovation: Professor Anton Middelberg FTSE
Deputy Vice Chancellor Student Experience & Success: Mr Tom Steer
Provost & Deputy Vice Chancellor: Professor Joanne Cys
“We congratulate our newly appointed colleagues who we know will provide the vision, expertise and guidance in realising our collective ambitions for a new university for the future,” Professors Lloyd and Høj said.
“This leadership group have a tremendous depth of talent and we very much look forward to continuing our important work in creating a world-class contemporary and comprehensive institution and member of Australia’s prestigious and research-intensive Group of Eight [Go8].”
The extensive recruitment process was conducted independently by nation-leading firm, Boyden Australia.
The appointed DVCs will commence their roles on 1 October 2024 and Adelaide University will commence its operations on 1 January 2026.
International student applications are now open and research degrees will be open for application in early 2025.
Local student applications and acceptances for coursework programs will open in August 2025 ahead of the 2026 academic year.
The development of “superhuman” strength and power has long been admired in many cultures across the world.
This may reflect the importance of these physical fitness characteristics in many facets of our lives from pre-history to today: hunting and gathering, the construction of large buildings and monuments, war, and more recently, sport.
Potentially, the current peak of human strength and power is demonstrated in the sport of strongman.
What is strongman?
Strongman is becoming more common, with competitions now available at regional, national and international levels for men and women of different ages and sizes.
Strongman training and competitions typically involve a host of traditional barbell-based exercises including squats, deadlifts and presses but also specific strongman events.
The specific strongman events – such as the vehicle pull, farmer’s walk, sandbag/keg toss or stones lift – often require competitors to move a range of awkward, heavy implements either higher, faster or with more repetitions in a given time period than their competitors.
Researching one of the greats
Strongman has enjoyed substantial growth and development since the introduction of the World’s Strongest Man competition in the late 1970s.
However, from a scientific perspective, there are few published studies focusing on athletes at the elite level.
In particular, very little is currently known about the overall amount of muscle mass these athletes possess, how their mass is distributed across individual muscles and to what extent their tendon characteristics differ to people who are not training.
However a recent study sought to shed some light on these extreme athletes. It examined the muscle and tendon morphology (structure) of one of the world’s strongest ever men – England’s Eddie Hall.
Measuring an exceptionally strong person such as Hall – who produced a 500kg world record deadlift and won the “World’s Strongest Man” competition in 2017 – provided the opportunity to understand what specific muscle and tendon characteristics may have contributed to his incredible strength.
Eddie Hall is one of world strongman’s finest competitors.
What can we learn from a single case study?
A limited number of athletes reach the truly elite level of strongman and even fewer set world records or win premier events.
Because it’s so difficult to recruit even a small group of such rare athletes, conducting a case study with one elite strongman provided a unique opportunity to understand more about his muscle and tendon characteristics.
Case studies have many limitations, including an inability to determine cause and effect or generalise findings to other individuals from the same group.
However, the study of Hall was insightful, as his muscle and tendon results could be compared directly with various groups from the authors’ earlier published research.
These groups included untrained people, people who have regularly resistance trained for several years, and competitive track sprinters.
The inclusion of these comparative populations allowed meaningful interpretation of what makes Hall’s muscle and tendon characteristics so special.
What they found
Hall’s lower body muscle size was almost twice that of an untrained group of healthy active young men.
And the manner in which his muscle mass was distributed across his lower body exhibited a very specific pattern.
Three long thin muscles, referred to as “guy ropes”, were particularly large (some 2.5 to three times bigger) compared to untrained people.
The guy rope muscles connect to the shin bone via a shared tendon and provide stability to the thigh and hips by fanning out and attaching to the pelvis at diverse locations.
Highly developed guy rope muscles would be expected to offer enhanced stability with heavy lifting, carrying and pulling.
Hall’s thigh (quadriceps) muscle structure was more than twice that of untrained people, yet the tendon at the knee that is connected to this muscle group was only 30% larger than an untrained population.
This finding indicates muscle and tendon growth, within this case of extreme quadriceps muscle development, do not occur to the same extent.
What do the results mean?
The obvious implication is, the larger the relevant muscles, the greater the potential for strength and power.
However, sports like strongman and even everyday activities like climbing stairs, carrying groceries and lifting objects off the ground require the coordinated activity of many stabilising muscles as well as major propulsive muscles such as the quadriceps.
While Hall’s quadriceps were substantially bigger than untrained people, the largest relative differences occurred in the calves and the long thin “guy rope” muscles that help stabilise the hip and knee.
These results pose a question about whether additional or more specific training for these smaller muscles may further enhance strength and power.
This could benefit strongman athletes as well as everyday people.
Also, the relatively small differences in tendon size between Hall and untrained populations suggests tendons do not grow to the same extent as muscles do.
As muscular forces are transmitted through tendons to the bones, the substantially greater growth of muscle than tendon may mean athletes such as Hall have a greater relative risk of tendon than muscle injury.
Justin Keogh is the Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, an exercise scientist and a former strongman competitor.
Tom Balshaw is a Lecturer in Kinesiology, Strength and Conditioning employed by Loughborough University
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alister McKeich, Lecturer and Researcher in Law, Criminology and Indigenous Studies, Victoria University, Victoria University
The onslaught in the Middle East has brought to the world’s attention once again the “crime of crimes”, genocide.
Both the the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court (ICC) have brought allegations of genocide against Israel as a state and Israeli and Hamas leaders as individuals.
The Australian government’s response to the Gaza crisis has included temporarily freezing of A$6 million of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine. Though funding has been flowing again since March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been referred to the ICC by a law firm for being “an accessory to genocide”.
Against this backdrop, Australia’s own genocide legislation is under parliamentary scrutiny. A bill tabled by independent Senator Lidia Thorpe (for whom I work as a casual legal researcher) seeks to change the way Australia deals with genocide.
So what do our current laws say and what’s the case for changing them?
Yet it was not until 2002, once the ICC was established, that the Commonwealth Criminal Code was amended to create a new division of atrocity crimes.
Through this legislation, Australia may prosecute any person accused of a Rome Statute crime (such as genocide) under Australian law.
At the moment, written consent from the attorney-general is required before legal proceedings about genocide and other atrocity crimes can commence. This is called the “attorney-general’s fiat”.
Further, the attorney-general’s decision is final. It “must not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called into question”.
Thorpe’s bill seeks to overturn these two measures.
The explanatory memorandum in the 2002 amendment did not say why the attorney-general’s consent was necessary.
Consent from an attorney-general (or similar position) is not an international requirement.
Australia is only one of a handful of other countries (including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada) where the fiat also exists.
Why is it a problem?
The Australian government has justified the rule on the basis that prosecutions for atrocity crimes against individuals could affect Australia’s international relations and national security.
However, submissions from legal experts and community groups to a senate inquiry looking at the issue point out flaws.
They say this rule prevents access to justice for victims and survivors of atrocity crimes. It can also create the potential for government bias.
Submissions also say the lack of explanation or appeal process ignores fundamental principles of jurisprudence.
Has the rule been used?
The attorney-general’s fiat has been used in a limited number of cases.
In 2009, Palestinian rights groups Australians for Palestine issued a request for consent for the prosecution of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was visiting at the time.
The Australian Centre for International Justice states in its submission how then-attorney-general Robert McClellend denied the request. He cited matters of international state sovereignty and the difficulties of pursuing such a case in an overseas jurisdiction.
Then, in 2011, Arunchalam Jegastheeswaran, an Australian citizen of Tamil
background, sought the attorney-general’s consent for the prosecution of then Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was due to visit Australia.
McClellend again denied the request, saying Rajapaska was protected under “head of state immunity”. This concept is controversial in international law, given it’s often heads of state who commit atrocity crimes.
Head of state protection was also offered to former Myanmar (Burma) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was in government when the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya was committed.
With Suu Kyi due to be in Australia for an ASEAN conference in 2018, the Australian Rohingya community sought a prosecution. It was denied by then attorney-general Christian Porter.
And in 2019, retired Sri Lankan General Jagath Jayasuriya visited Australia. Despite concerted efforts to raise evidence to prosecute Jayasuriya of war crimes, delays with the Australian Federal Police meant the case never reached the point of attorney-general consent.
First Nations plaintiffs such as Paul Coe and Robert Thorpe have also sought to bring cases of genocide before the domestic courts, with no success.
What would changing the laws mean?
As it’s unlikely an attorney-general would consent to prosecutions against its own government, submissions to the inquiry argue the rule creates a direct conflict of interest.
For First Nations people seeking justice for crimes of “ongoing genocide” perpetuated by the Commonwealth, any government is hardly going to rule in their favour.
Some Indigenous community groups argue the high rates of First Nations children in protection, deaths in custody, hyper-incarceration and cultural, land and environmental damage amount to genocide crimes.
Submissions to the inquiry recommend instead of requiring the consent of the attorney-general, claims of genocide should be directed to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. This would ensure greater independence from government.
The director has a mandate for this sort of work. It already investigates similar crimes such as people smuggling, human trafficking, slavery and child exploitation.
Internationally, the implications of this bill, if passed, will be consequential. The Australian Centre for International Justice estimates up to 1,000 Australian citizens have returned to Israel to fight as part of the Israel Defense Forces. Israel has been accused of serious atrocity crimes in Gaza.
Should any of those citizens return, there could be attempts to mount a case. The government would then have to consider Australia’s political and economic ties with Israel.
Whether the bill is passed will depend on parliament. But the situation highlights a paradox: the state itself will be deciding whether to remove its own inbuilt protections against charges of genocide.
Alister McKeich is a casual legal researcher with the office of Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Imagine scrolling through social media or playing an online game, only to be interrupted by insulting and harassing comments. What if an artificial intelligence (AI) tool stepped in to remove the abuse before you even saw it?
This isn’t science fiction. Commercial AI tools like ToxMod and Bodyguard.ai are already used to monitor interactions in real time across social media and gaming platforms. They can detect and respond to toxic behaviour.
The idea of an all-seeing AI monitoring our every move might sound Orwellian, but these tools could be key to making the internet a safer place.
However, for AI moderation to succeed, it needs to prioritise values like privacy, transparency, explainability and fairness. So can we ensure AI can be trusted to make our online spaces better? Our two recent research projects into AI-driven moderation show this can be done – with more work ahead of us.
Whether it’s a single offensive comment or a sustained slew of harassment, such harmful interactions are part of daily life for many internet users.
The severity of online toxicity is one reason the Australian government has proposed banning social media for children under 14.
But this approach fails to fully address a core underlying problem: the design of online platforms and moderation tools. We need to rethink how online platforms are designed to minimise harmful interactions for all users, not just children.
This is where proactive AI moderation offers the chance to create safer, more respectful online spaces. But can AI truly deliver on this promise? Here’s what we found.
‘Havoc’ in online multiplayer games
In our Games and Artificial Intelligence Moderation (GAIM) Project, we set out to understand the ethical opportunities and pitfalls of AI-driven moderation in online multiplayer games. We conducted 26 in-depth interviews with players and industry professionals to find out how they use and think about AI in these spaces.
Interviewees saw AI as a necessary tool to make games safer and combat the “havoc” caused by toxicity. With millions of players, human moderators can’t catch everything. But an untiring and proactive AI can pick up what humans miss, helping reduce the stress and burnout associated with moderating toxic messages.
But many players also expressed confusion about the use of AI moderation. They didn’t understand why they received account suspensions, bans and other punishments, and were often left frustrated that their own reports of toxic behaviour seemed to be lost to the void, unanswered.
Participants were especially worried about privacy in situations where AI is used to moderate voice chat in games. One player exclaimed: “my god, is that even legal?” It is – and it’s already happening in popular online games such as Call of Duty.
Our study revealed there’s tremendous positive potential for AI moderation. However, games and social media companies will need to do a lot more work to make these systems transparent, empowering and trustworthy.
Right now, AI moderation is seen to operate much like a police officer in an opaque justice system. What if AI instead took the form of a teacher, guardian, or upstander – educating, empowering or supporting users?
Enter AI Ally
This is where our second project AI Ally comes in, an initiative funded by the eSafety Commissioner. In response to high rates of tech-based gendered violence in Australia, we are co-designing an AI tool to support girls, women and gender-diverse individuals in navigating safer online spaces.
We surveyed 230 people from these groups, and found that 44% of our respondents “often” or “always” experienced gendered harassment on at least one social media platform. It happened most frequently in response to everyday online activities like posting photos of themselves, particularly in the form of sexist comments.
Interestingly, our respondents reported that documenting instances of online abuse was especially useful when they wanted to support other targets of harassment, such as by gathering screenshots of abusive comments. But only a few of those surveyed did this in practice. Understandably, many also feared for their own safety should they intervene by defending someone or even speaking up in a public comment thread.
These are worrying findings. In response, we are designing our AI tool as an optional dashboard that detects and documents toxic comments. To help guide us in the design process, we have created a set of “personas” that capture some of our target users, inspired by our survey respondents.
We allow users to make their own decisions about whether to filter, flag, block or report harassment in efficient ways that align with their own preferences and personal safety.
In this way, we hope to use AI to offer young people easy-to-access support in managing online safety while offering autonomy and a sense of empowerment.
We can all play a role
AI Ally shows we can use AI to help make online spaces safer without having to sacrifice values like transparency and user control. But there is much more to be done.
Other, similar initiatives include Harassment Manager, which was designed to identify and document abuse on Twitter (now X), and HeartMob, a community where targets of online harassment can seek support.
Until ethical AI practices are more widely adopted, users must stay informed. Before joining a platform, check if they are transparent about their policies and offer user control over moderation settings.
The internet connects us to resources, work, play and community. Everyone has the right to access these benefits without harassment and abuse. It’s up to all of us to be proactive and advocate for smarter, more ethical technology that protects our values and our digital spaces.
The AI Ally team consists of Dr Mahli-Ann Butt, Dr Lucy Sparrow, Dr Eduardo Oliveira, Ren Galwey, Dahlia Jovic, Sable Wang-Wills, Yige Song and Maddy Weeks.
Dr Lucy Sparrow receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.
Dr Eduardo Oliveira receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.
Dr Mahli-Ann Butt receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.
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
The US presidential election will be held on November 5. In analyst Nate Silver’s aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 49.3–46.0 – a slight widening of the competition since last Monday, when Harris led Trump by 49.2–46.2.
President Joe Biden’s final position before his withdrawal as Democratic candidate on July 21 was a national poll deficit against Trump of 45.2–41.2.
There will be a debate on Tuesday evening US time between the vice-presidential candidates, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance. Vice-presidential debates in previous elections have not had a significant influence on the contest.
The US president isn’t elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each state receives electoral votes equal to its federal House seats (population based) and senators (always two). Almost all states award their electoral votes as winner-takes-all, and it takes 270 electoral votes to win (out of 538 total).
The Electoral College is biased to Trump relative to the national popular vote, with Harris needing at least a two-point popular vote win in Silver’s model to be the Electoral College favourite.
In Silver’s polling averages, Harris leads Trump by one to two points in Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (ten) and Nevada (six). If Harris wins all these states, she is likely to win the Electoral College by at least a 276–262 margin. Trump is ahead by less than a point in North Carolina (16 electoral votes) and Georgia (16), and if Harris wins both, she wins by 308–230.
In Silver’s model, Harris has a 56% chance to win the Electoral College, up from 54% last Monday but down from her peak of 58% two days ago. Earlier this month, there were large differences in win probability between Silver’s model and the FiveThirtyEight model, which was more favourable to Harris. But these models have nearly converged, with FiveThirtyEight now giving Harris a 59% win probability.
There are still more than five weeks until election day, so polls could change in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour by then. Harris’ one to two point leads in the key states are tenuous, and this explains why Trump is still rated a good chance to win.
Silver wrote on September 1 that polls in 2020 and 2016 were biased against Trump, but polls in 2012 were biased against Barack Obama. In the last two midterm elections (2022 and 2018), polls have been good. It’s plausible there will be a polling error this year, but which candidate such an error would favour can’t be predicted.
On Sunday, Silver said if there was a systematic error of three or four points in the polls in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour, that candidate would sweep all the swing states and easily win the Electoral College. There are other scenarios in which one candidate underperforms the polls with some demographics but overperforms with other demographics.
I wrote about the US election for The Poll Bludger last Thursday, and also covered bleak polls and byelection results in Canada for the governing centre-left Liberals ahead of an election due by October 2025, a dreadful poll for UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the new French prime minister, a German state election and a socialist win in Sri Lanka’s presidential election.
Upwardly revised economic data
Last Thursday, a revised estimate of June quarter US GDP was released. There was a large upward revision in real disposable personal income compared to the previously reported figures. This has resulted in the personal savings rate being revised up to 4.9% in July from the previously reported 2.9%, and it was 4.8% in August.
With these upward revisions, Silver’s economic index that averages six indicators is now at +0.25, up from +0.09. As the incumbent party’s candidate, a better economy than was previously believed should help Harris.
Coalition gains narrow lead in Essential
In Australia, a national Essential poll, conducted on September 18–22 from a sample of 1,117 people, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead (including undecided voters) after a 48–48 tie in early September. It’s the Coalition’s first lead in the Essential poll since mid-July.
Primary votes were 35% Coalition (steady), 29% Labor (down one), 12% Greens (down one), 8% One Nation (steady), 2% UAP (up one), 9% for all Others (up one) and 5% undecided (steady).
Anthony Albanese’s net approval was up five points since August to –5, with 47% disapproving and 42% approving. Peter Dutton’s net approval was down one to net zero.
On social media regulations, 48% thought them too weak, 43% about right and 8% too tough. By 67–17, voters supported imposing an age limit for children to access social media (68–15 in July). By 71–12, voters supported making doxing (the public release of personally identifiable data) a criminal offence (62–19 in February).
By 49–18, voters supported Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, and by 57–13 they supported the build-to-rent scheme. The questions give detail that few voters would know.
Voters were told the Liberals and Greens had combined to delay Labor’s housing policies in the senate. By 48–22, voters thought the Liberals and Greens should pass the policies and argue for their own policies at the next election, rather than block Labor’s policies. Greens voters supported passing by 55–21.
Labor keeps narrow lead in Morgan
A national Morgan poll, conducted September 16–22 from a sample of 1,662 people, gave Labor a 50.5–49.5 lead, unchanged from the September 9–15 Morgan poll.
Primary votes were 37.5% Coalition (steady), 32% Labor (up 1.5), 12.5% Greens (steady), 5% One Nation (down 0.5), 9.5% independents (down 0.5) and 3.5% others (down 0.5).
The headline figure is based on respondent preferences. By 2022 election preference flows, Labor led by an unchanged 52–48.
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.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
3 hours ago
A recent Ōtātara Outdoor Learning Centre (ŌOLC) staff meeting on the EIT Hawke’s Bay Campus.
Protecting and preserving an EIT Hawke’s Bay campus outdoor learning sanctuary is important environmentally and culturally for the future, says EIT new kaitiaki (guardian) of the Ōtātara Outdoor Learning Centre (ŌOLC).
Gerard Henry, a tutor in EIT’s School of Primary Industries, takes up the role while maintaining his teaching duties in EIT’s environmental management and horticulture programmes. Gerard will be supported by the wider Primary Industries team.
The ŌOLC has been inspirational for students and staff across numerous EIT Schools as well as local schools and organisations, and Gerard believes it can play an even greater role in connecting the campus with nature. “There are many opportunities for programmes to utilise this special space as part of their delivery, enriching the learning experience for ākonga”.
Initially the ŌOLC was established as the base for the Learning in Nature (LIN) education initiative, an innovative collaboration between EIT, Ngāti Pārau (the mana whenua hapū for Ōtātara), Te Papa Atawhai (the Department of Conservation), Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and local environmental groups. Financial support from the Air New Zealand Environment Trust helped get the OOLC underway. In 2021, EIT won the Benefiting Society Category of the prestigious Australasian Green Gown Awards for its ‘Ko au te taiao, ko te taiao ko au: I am nature, nature is me’ project.
Gerard Henry is the new kaitiaki (guardian) of the Ōtātara Outdoor Learning Centre (ŌOLC) on the EIT Hawke’s Bay Campus.
The ŌOLC has a steady stream of local school children and community groups utilising the facility. The team recently hosted ākonga from seven Ōtatāra Kāhui kura where children participated in various outdoor activities and enjoyed helping to organise some planting “Part of my role is to liaise with different community groups so that they can enjoy what ŌOLC has to offer” says Gerard.
Students and staff from a wide range of EIT programmes are invested in the space and work collaboratively on various projects to improve and celebrate the spaces and the amazing resource we have.
Gerard says “it was at the first planting project at ŌOLC in 2018 with a Sustainability cohort that he understood the meaning the place will have for ākonga, kaimahi and visitors”. EIT are privileged to be connected with “Ōtātara, one of the most outstanding Pa sites in New Zealand”. Kaitiakitanga and Mātauranga Māori will be guiding principles in leading the development of ŌOLC into the future.
Paul Keats, the Assistant Head of School for Primary Industries, said the ŌOLC is a perfect fit with our School and as well as benefiting our teaching, it’s an asset for the community.
It is important for people to know that the ŌOLC is now fully functional after the cyclone for EIT and community use. For inquiries, contact the team at OtataraOutdoorLearningCentre@eit.ac.nz
This panoramic aerial photo taken on Jan. 10, 2023 shows a view of Lujiazui area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China’s Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among Chinese listed firms have gathered pace in recent months thanks to favorable policies to consolidate companies’ competitiveness, contributing to the high-quality development of the country’s capital market.
The number of such M&A cases saw a marked increase from the same period last year, with 46 major asset reorganization deals disclosed between May and mid-September, according to information made public by companies listed on the A-share market.
“So far this year, M&A has been particularly active among technology firms, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and securities companies, with market forces playing a bigger role in the deals,” said Tian Lihui, head of the Institute of Finance and Development at Nankai University.
A telling example is the acquisition of APT Medical, a manufacturer and supplier listed on Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR) market, by Mindray, an industry leader in medical equipment development and manufacturing.
The transaction was announced in January and completed in April. By combining APT Medical’s advantages in the field of electrophysiology and vascular intervention medical devices and Mindray’s R&D capability and overseas marketing experience, the deal improved the competitiveness of both companies.
Semi-annual financial reports show that the net profits of Mindray and APT Medical increased by 17.37 percent and 33.09 percent, respectively, in the first six months of this year.
In June, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) publicized a slew of measures to further reform the STAR market and pledged greater efforts to support M&A activities among companies listed in the market.
The CSRC said it will support industrial chain integration among the companies, and make M&A institutions more inclusive by supporting companies to acquire high-quality tech firms that are yet to make profits.
Driven by such measures, the transaction values of M&A deals of the companies on the STAR market exceeded 3 billion yuan (about 427.34 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, doubling that of the same period in the previous year, data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed.
Technology companies can accelerate innovation and industrial upgrading through M&A activities, said Tian.
In addition, SOEs at both central and local levels are also leveraging M&A to drive industrial specialization and integration, enhancing industrial synergy with business partners.
In September, two listed subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation announced a plan to merge, which is expected to be one of the largest M&A transactions in the A-share market by market value in recent years.
The merger is projected to propel the new entity to a leading global position in shipbuilding, characterized by comprehensive research and innovation capabilities, along with a rich product structure and production lines, according to a research note from Huatai Securities.
Securities firms also saw major M&A deals this year, with Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities planning to merge through a share swap.
In recent years, the CSRC has continuously promoted market-oriented reform in the M&A of listed companies. This has been achieved through a slew of measures, including streamlining approval procedures and optimizing regulatory requirements.
The effort was intensified this year. In the context of global industrial transformation and China’s accelerated economic structural upgrade, it is “urgent” for companies to harness M&A’s pivotal role in promoting industrial integration as well as enhancing industry quality and efficiency, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing said at a press conference on Tuesday.
On the same day, the CSRC rolled out new measures to support Chinese listed companies in pursuing M&A activities, vowing to help channel more resources toward new quality productive forces, encourage the companies to enhance industrial consolidation and elevate their investment value through improving market value management.
Tian anticipated that the regulator’s latest policies will further invigorate China’s M&A market and drive the transformation and upgrading of listed companies.
“The M&A trend is expected to continue and play an important role in sharpening companies’ competitiveness, especially in areas related to SOE reform, sci-tech innovation and financial service integration,” he said.
China is intensifying moves to channel long-term funds into its capital market as part of the efforts to boost investor confidence and enhance market stability.
Central authorities recently issued guidelines to streamline the entry of medium- and long-term capital from social security funds, insurance funds and wealth management funds into the market.
The main measures contained in the guidelines include fostering a favorable long-term investment ecosystem, promoting the development of public and private equity funds, and improving related policies for medium- and long-term stock investment, according to the office of the Central Financial Work Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Financial analysts have expressed widespread recognition of the value of these policies. Du Xingye, an associate professor at the University of International Business and Economics, emphasized the necessity of attracting long-term funds. Ming Ming, chief economist at CITIC Securities, believes the move will help build long-term confidence.
The entry of long-term capital can help reduce market fluctuations and enhance overall market stability as such funds typically possess well-structured research teams capable of discovering a company’s value and executing long-term investment strategies, said Liu Xinyu, co-general manager of the public investment department of Rivers Fund, a public equity fund.
In recent years, calls for increasing long-term fund participation have intensified in China, and related measures have been introduced. However, while some progress has been made, an institutional environment friendly to long-term investment has not yet been fully established.
At the end of August 2024, institutional investors, including public equity, insurance and various pension funds, collectively held 14.5 trillion yuan (about 2 trillion U.S. dollars) of circulating A-shares. Their proportion of the total market value increased from 17 percent at the beginning of 2019 to 22.2 percent by August.
There is significant room for growth for long-term funds in the capital market, experts said, noting that the increasing participation of such funds, which feature higher professional standards and stability, will optimize the investor structure.
The latest guidelines achieved substantial policy breakthroughs in areas such as long-cycle assessment for funds, policy synergy and the building of a supportive market ecosystem.
A three-year long-cycle assessment mechanism for insurance funds and various pension funds will be established, and investment policies will also be improved for the national social security fund and basic pension insurance fund, according to the guidelines.
Problems in the current short-sighted assessment approach for funds are prominent, as the undue emphasis on short-term profit targets has overshadowed the importance of long-term metrics.
Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said the guidelines specifically address assessment challenges, thereby helping to reduce obstacles preventing long-term funds from flowing into the stock market.
Additionally, Pan Hongsheng, chief economist of the China Institute of Finance and Capital Markets, said the guidelines support institutional investors’ participation in corporate governance, which will solidify the market foundation for long-term fund entry. It is crucial to create an ecosystem where long-term funds can “enter, stay and thrive,” Pan added.
China’s central bank, top securities regulator and financial regulator Tuesday announced a raft of monetary stimulus, property market support and capital market strengthening measures to boost the country’s high-quality economic development.
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on Thursday to analyze and study the current economic situation and make further arrangements for economic work.
The meeting called for efforts to boost the capital market, vigorously guide medium- and long-term funds to enter the capital market, and clear obstacles for social security, insurance and wealth management funds to invest in the capital market.
Thanks to the new measures, the investor confidence has improved significantly, with the stock market on an upward streak in recent days.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,087.53 points on Friday — a 12.81 percent weekly gain. The Shenzhen Component Index soared 17.83 percent in the week to close at 9,514.86 points.
On Friday alone, the combined turnover of the two indices neared 1.45 trillion yuan, surpassing the 1-trillion-yuan mark for a third consecutive day.
China’s tourism market rebounded strongly this summer, with travel experts reporting significant growth in passenger numbers, spending, and both inbound and outbound trips as the country continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Domestically, travel surged during the summer holiday, which typically runs from early July to late August. The Civil Aviation Administration reported that domestic airlines transported 117 million passengers from July 1 to Aug 20.
Meanwhile, China Railway Group said it handled 887 million passengers from July 1 to Aug 31, a 6.7 percent increase year-on-year.
“Summer is always peak season for domestic tourism, but this year, tourists showed more interest in lesser-known destinations and traveled with more reasonable budgets,” said a spokesperson for Tuniu, a travel portal.
The domestic tourism market performed more evenly throughout the summer, with demand peaking in mid-July and lasting through the end of August.
Long-distance tours and family trips were the most popular choices — in fact, over half Tuniu’s summer bookings were for far-flung destinations. Besides traditional tourist hot spots like Beijing and Shanghai, smaller destinations such as Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture in Jilin province, Datong in Shanxi province and Chengde in Hebei province gained popularity for their cultural offerings and cooler climates.
“I took my 6-year-old daughter to Yanji in late July,” said Ye Xiao, a 31-year-old teacher from Beijing, speaking of the county-level city that serves as the seat of Yanbian. “The weather was pleasant, and we enjoyed exploring the Korean ethnic culture. It was a memorable trip with fewer tourists and great food at reasonable prices.”
China’s inbound tourism also experienced robust growth, buoyed by relaxed visa policies, including the 144-hour transit policy for citizens of 54 countries and the “ChinaTravel” topics that trended on international social media platforms.
And the 2024 Paris Olympics provided an additional boost to outbound travel, with LY.com reporting a 300 percent increase in hotel bookings in Paris and neighboring areas and an 80 percent surge in flight bookings from China’s major cities to the French capital.
Qunar, another travel portal, noted that bookings for domestic flights by travelers using non-Chinese passports were 1.8 times higher compared to last year. Trip.com Group reported a 70 percent year-on-year increase in mainland tourism bookings, with South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States contributing the most visitors. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou were the top destinations for international tourists.
Southeast Asia remained the top choice for Chinese traveling overseas due to cheaper flights, affordable hotels and favorable visa policies.
Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, told China Central Television that this summer marked the highest level of travel enthusiasm in recent years, with increases in the number of travelers, tourism spending and cross-border trips.
Today, I will travel to the United Kingdom to discuss rigorous policy evaluation with experts and policymakers.
Rigorous policy evaluation is an important tool for creating opportunity and addressing inequality. The meetings will be a valuable chance to exchange ideas with a jurisdiction that has been a leader in the field of evidence‑based policymaking.
On Wednesday, I will deliver a public lecture at the University of Oxford. On Thursday, I will speak at an event hosted by the UK Evaluation Task Force in London, and will also engage in an in‑conversation event hosted by the Behavioural Insights Team.
These events will be a chance to make the case for randomised trials and international evidence sharing.
I will also meet with leaders from the UK’s network of What Works Centres to discuss how we can further develop evidence‑based policy making in Australia.
This dialogue and engagement will directly support the development of the Australian Centre for Evaluation in Treasury and help improve the quality of evaluation across the Australian Government.
More broadly, the trip is a chance to discuss common difficulties and opportunities in my portfolio areas, including in competition, multinational tax and statistics. Meetings with UK government counterparts will cover how our economies can address common challenges in these areas.
A 1935 school photograph taken in Kandos, NSW.Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.
In the town of Kandos, New South Wales, there’s the local Kandos Museum run by volunteers. The museum holds relics from the cement works that once defined the town, but there are other treasures, too.
As part of the Cementa24 festival, I became fixated on the museum’s collection of school photos. Neatly organised into ring-bound folders by the volunteers, the group portraits span decades of students from Kandos Public School and Kandos High School, from 1924 through to the 1990s.
A photo album made by volunteers at the Kandos Museum. Author provided
I enlarged and cropped some of these photos to turn them into street posters to scatter around town. I asked permission before sticking a few outside the local pub, the radio station, the post office and the op shop. I spot the locals smiling as they pass them, stopping to look for someone they know. I watch them point at the pictures and hear them naming names.
Working on this project, I can’t stop thinking about the weight of these photographic rituals. School photos aren’t just memories; they hold social histories. Through them, you can trace changes in hairstyles, fashion, attitudes and even migration – yet there’s something homogeneous and unchangeable about how they’re made.
School photo rules
There’s always a physical hierarchy in these photos. The photographer organises the group to ensure compositional acuity. The students are lined up in rows, with tall people in the back and shorter people in front – evenly spaced, arranged by height and symmetry.
When was the rule made that says this is how a group should look? Balanced, orderly and with everyone fitting neatly into place, whether they socially do or not. Somehow I always ended up on the edge of the middle row. The social dynamics of the playground found their way into the organisation of our bodies, forever captured in a split second.
A photo of Kandos’ 5th Form, 1967. Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum
Looking at the Kandos photos from the 1940s through to the 1970s, then at my children’s photos from 2013 to 2024, and my own school photos in the 1980s and ‘90s, I can see the difference in public, private and catholic school uniforms. I can see the difference in racial diversity (or lack thereof) between a small regional town, inner-city Sydney and suburban southwest Sydney. I can also see how much photographic technology has changed.
Despite this, the organisational structure of the school photo remains the same. The kids still stand stiffly in their rows, with identical tunics and ties. Standing too close, someone’s elbow digs into someone else’s side.
As a photographer now, I often think about these school photos and the rituals that have remained largely unchanged in Australia. Every year, kids are shuffled onto tiered steps. Those in the front put their knees together, hands in laps, while the girls must “try to look like ladies”. Then there are the “nobodies” in the middle row (or is that just me reading into it?)
The perils of posing
Posing for school photos can be complicated. One year my daughter came home from school and declared the photographer was sexist because he made all the girls sit in the front row while the boys got to stand. I asked her why sitting was sexist. She couldn’t explain – she was eight years old – but she certainly felt the power difference between sitting with your knees pressed together and standing tall.
And what about the solo portrait? I still think about my kindergarten class from 1979. The group photo was fine. I was happy, standing next to my new best friend. But my solo portrait was a disaster. I looked possessed, my eyes half-closed, lashes blurred, caught mid-blink.
My mother didn’t buy the solo photo, but she kept the group one. After that I promised myself it would never happen again. I told myself every year: “don’t blink, don’t blink”. Back then, photography was on film. There were no re-dos, no instant feedback, no photoshop and no AI. Once the camera clicked, that was it.
‘Don’t blink, don’t blink,’ I’d think, while trying to keep my eyes open. Author provided
At the end of primary school, I’d visit my best friend’s house and envy the neat, chronological line of her school photos framed on her kitchen wall. Year by year, there she was, changing just slightly – a slow, steady record of growing up. I didn’t know why, but seeing framed evidence of time passing made me emotional. Maybe it was the certainty of the way her life was so neatly documented.
My own school photos never made it to the wall in such a tidy fashion. But they did make it into my father’s wallet, my mother’s purse, in frames above the piano, on the fridge, in photo albums and in many a drawer.
Small acts of rebellion
The 1950s photos are formal and solemn. Back then you stood straight, faced the camera and no one smiled too much. By the 1970s and ’80s, the kids started to smirk – with hair loosened, mullets, and bodies shifting like they were trying to resist the pose. In one photo, the basketball team boys have their shoes off, feet raised above the blistering asphalt in the summer heat. The rules were still there, but you can see them pushing back.
Bare feet raised in a photo of the Kandos High School Open basketball team, 1975. Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.
What if we invited the rituals to change? What if students could self-organise, be silly, pull faces, wear their own clothes, and resist gender binaries and institutional uniformity?
Some of the photos in the Kandos albums hint at this potential for small acts of rebellion. There’s the girl pulling a face, one laughing in profile. In one photo there’s a kid wearing a non-regulation jumper, and another in which they were clearly allowed to be silly because the teacher is laughing too.
Photographic rebellion in the class of 1996. Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.
In the pre-digital era, these small mishaps and moments of failure were captured unpolished and unfiltered. Those are the images I find myself drawn to; these are often the best ones. They reveal how uncomfortable it can be being photographed and how forced a pose can feel. Shirking a smile and a stiff stance is maybe the only power we have in that brief moment.
Cherine Fahd 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.
We’re wrapping up our time in the channel with the highly anticipated examination of the “Sheep Creek” white stones. Last plan’s reposition was a success, so we are able to go ahead with contact science on them this weekend. MAHLI and APXS picked three targets to investigate: “Cloud Canyon,” “Moonlight Lake,” and “Angora Mountain,” all of which sound so lovely and soft, and are quite evocative of these pale stones, which stand out so much against the background. ChemCam is also examining another of the white stones, “Pee Wee Lake.”
Since this is looking like it will be our last weekend in the channel, we’re packing the plan with all the other last-chance targets before we leave them behind. Mastcam is making a large survey of some other light-toned rocks in the middle distance dubbed “Orchid Lake,” as well as getting a bit more context for an old target, “Marble Falls,” which we first imaged almost two weeks ago. A bit closer to the rover, it will examine a target we’re calling “Brown Bear Pass,” to study the surface properties of the soil. Mastcam will also be looking backwards at our tracks to see if we turned up anything interesting in our travels. And ChemCam has a couple of long-distance observations of another familiar target, “Buckeye Ridge.”
After all that, it’s time for us to turn back around and head toward the edge of the channel with a drive of 55 meters (about 180 feet) back to our exit point. Even then, our weekend still isn’t over. We have a ChemCam-filled third sol, using AEGIS to autonomously select a target, and then getting a passive sky observation to keep an eye on the amount of different gases like oxygen and water vapor in the atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere, here on the environmental side we’re kept busy this weekend looking for dust devils and clouds, and keeping an eye on the amount of dust in the air around us. We’ll wrap up the weekend as we often do — with an early morning dedicated environmental science block.
Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University
More than 1.1 million Australians are estimated to be living with an eating disorder. Around one-third of these people are neurodivergent.
So why are neurodivergent people, such as autistic people and those with ADHD, more likely to experience eating disorders than the broader population? And how does this impact their treatment?
First, what is neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence, or the state of being neurodivergent, is a term for people whose cognitive functioning differs from what society considers “typical”. Many conditions broadly fall under neurodivergence, including (but not limited to):
autism
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
dyslexia
Tourette’s syndrome.
Our understanding of neurodivergence has come a long way. Neurodivergence used to be considered a linear “spectrum” ranging from less to more neurodivergent.
We now know every neurodivergent person will have a unique experience across a range of dimensions. This includes sensory processing, motor abilities and executive functioning (working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition).
Conceptualising these differences ends up looking more like a colour wheel.
What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders are complex and potentially life-threatening mental health conditions. They cause persistent and significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings and behaviours related to body weight, food and/or eating.
Many factors are likely to contribute to the development of an eating disorder. But research shows neurodivergent people are disproportionately affected.
One review found around 22.9% of autistic people had an eating disorder, compared with 2% in the general population. In another review, people with ADHD were four times more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder than people without ADHD.
Why are eating disorders more common among neurodivergent people?
Science has not pinpointed an exact reason why eating disorders are more common among neurodivergent people. But here’s what we know so far.
Neurodivergent people are more likely to experience feeding difficulties, sensory sensitivities and disordered eating.
A United States study assessing the eating behaviour of neurodivergent children found around 70% of autistic children displayed “atypical” eating behaviours. This includes food selectivity and a hypersensitivity to food textures. It compares with 4.8% of neurotypical children.
Similarly, autistic children may choose or reject foods based on texture more than other children. They may prefer foods with a consistent texture, bland taste and neutral colour (for example, chicken nuggets, plain pasta and rice).
Selective eating (having limited accepted foods and food aversions) has been associated with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). This is an eating disorder characterised by avoidance and aversion to food and eating that is not related to body image. ARFID is commonly associated with autism, with one study estimating 21% of autistic people will experience it in their lifetime.
Other neurodivergent traits, such as perfectionism and a preference for routine, have been associated with disordered eating and eating disorders.
Research on adolescent girls found those with anorexia nervosa are more likely to exhibit neurodivergent (in this case, autistic) traits and behaviours. These include developing rules, resistance to change and a hyperfocus on body weight. These features are commonly seen in anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterised by restricted food intake, an intense fear of weight gain and body image disturbances.
Meanwhile, impulsivity symptoms in ADHD have been associated with binge eating disorder. This can involve recurrent episodes of eating large amounts of food in a short period of time. Impulsivity may also be linked to bulimia nervosa, characterised by compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain after binge eating (such as exessive exercise).
Some studies indicate a link between ADHD, alexithymia (difficulty experiencing, identifying and expressing emotions) and overeating behaviours such as emotional eating.
Finally, neurodivergent people are more likely to identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, experience trauma and also have a mental health condition. Each of these considerations increases the likelihood someone will experience an eating disorder.
How does this affect treatment?
Despite the overlap between eating disorders and neurodivergence, current treatment approaches don’t meet the diverse needs of those affected.
Eating disorder treatment often has moderate success at best. For neurodivergent people, the outcomes are worse than for their neurotypical counterparts.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a broad range of treatments based on the interaction between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, is less beneficial for neurodivergent people. Yet this is often part of treatment for eating disorders. Autistic women have suggested CBT is less accessible due to its blanket approach and the assumption they have the skills needed to benefit.
Such care recognised and safely accommodates the multiple ways neurodivergence is related to feeding and eating behaviour.
Research suggests eating disorder treatment can be successfully adapted for neurodivergent people based on the following principles:
1. equal partnership. Including neurodivergent people as equal partners in their care and as decision-makers, and elevating their own experiences
2. embracing and celebrating differences. Neurodivergent traits should not be considered a deficit, or something to be “treated” or “fixed”. Rather, neurodivergent traits should be celebrated to nourish a positive sense of identity
3. accommodations. Neurodivergent traits and preferences are respected and accommodated. As an example, this might include reducing sensory inputs (the smell, sounds and lights) in a dining area, or a meal plan that is predictable and considers a person’s sensory sensitivities.
Breanna Lepre works for The University of Queensland and is a member of Dietitians Australia. Breanna is neurodivergent and has lived experience of an eating disorder.
Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
2,400 volunteers begin their first-year studies at four military universities. Over 1,300 took the oath today 28.09.2024– In the oath, you say, swearing allegiance to the homeland, that you will not spare your health, and if necessary, your lives. Bromear great mission, bromear great service, bromear great cause. Poland is a great cause, and there is no Polish cause without your involvement. On behalf of the Republic of Poland, I would like to thank you all for joining the armed forces, the Polish Army, for taking today’s oath. Poland is proud of you and is very grateful to you. You have already completed basic training, some of you have just received awards, but all of you are distinguished by the opportunity to wear the uniform of a soldier of the Polish Army, with a white and red flag on your niu. Take care of your honor, the honor of the Polish Army, the honor of each of you, the banners that stand and wave proudly among you today. Take care of each other, because you also create a great community of a 200,000-strong army that is growing – said Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz during the military oath in Warsaw.
On Saturday, September 28, at the Military University of Technology, Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz and Deputy Minister Stanisław Wziątek took part in the ceremonial military oath of volunteers starting their studies at four universities. – You start your service and your studies at military universities. You will combine this, this great effort and sacrifice. Today, there are over 1,300 cadets among us who have taken their oath. Another 600 are taking the oath in Wrocław at the same time. Some of those who started their studies, una broma que in total in the first year of all universities over 2,400 cadets. We have increased recruitment by 400 places this year, we are developing military universities – the head of the Ministry of National Defense emphasized during the ceremony. The oath in Warsaw was taken by 1,320 soldiers of voluntary basic military service from the Military University of Technology, the Air Force Academy, the Land Forces Academy (educated at the Military Medical College of the Medical University of Łódź) and the Naval Academy. In accordance with the Ministry of National Defense limit for the academic year 2024/2025 – many more than those taking the oaths today will start their studies at the four universities, because in total over 2,400 soldiers. A large group of those accepted for studies had already taken the military oath. At the ceremony, the head of the Ministry of National Defense presented awards to volunteers who achieved high results during basic training. The Deputy Prime Minister thanked the cadets of military universities for their involvement in the flood control operation in the south-west of the country. – Almost 8,200 soldier-cadets at all military universities will start another academic year this year. Para bromear a huge part of the Polish Army, which proves itself in action, not only in preparation. At this point I would like to sincerely thank a group of a thousand cadets from the Military University of Technology, the Land Forces Academy, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy for the fact that at the moment of trial, when support was needed, when Lower Silesia and the Opole region needed soldiers of the Polish Army, you also showed up to strengthen the embankments, to help those affected by the flood. Bromear your mission and this bromear practical test of your skills, this bromear helping others, these are the non-military activities of the Polish Army that are extremely important in modern times – noted the Deputy Prime Minister. * * *Students admitted to military studies in the academic year 2024/2025 will begin their military service on the principles introduced by the Act on the Defense of the Homeland. They will pursue education in the first year of studies as soldiers of voluntary basic military service, and from the second year they will gain the status of professional soldiers.
September 23, 2024, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (TATTE) Building Level 3.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the University of New Castle Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to initiate their partnership in promoting scientific, socio-economic and educational international engagement including capability development and research activities on renewable energy for the benefit of both Samoa and Australia.
The signing of this MOU open doors to a wide range of collaborative efforts. It will promote technical support, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building initiatives that are essential to the sustainable management of our natural resources. Specifically, the partnership will enhance our capacity to design, implement, and monitor joint research projects, with a focus on the development of policies, research design, and educational materials.
The signing ceremony, held on September 23, 2024 marks a significant milestone in Samoa’s ongoing efforts to transition towards a renewable energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. As part of this MOU, both parties will work together to
(i) establish scientific cooperation in areas of mutual exchange of scientific information including in the publications and policies, research design and the development of educational materials;
(ii) the design, development and implementation of joint research, capability development and pilot projects and programmes;
(iii) joint training of MNRE staff through joint Australian-Samoan management of Masters research and PhD programmes.
“This MOU is more than a formal agreement; it is the beginning of an exciting journey. By combining our resources, expertise and passion, we will address critical environmental challenges, improves capacity in both countries and develop solutions that can make a real difference”, said Lealaisalanoa Frances Brown Reupena.
Professor Zee Upton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor from the University of New Castle also highlighted the importance of the collaboration, “we are honored to partner with Samoa on this crucial mission to advance renewable energy research. Our joint efforts will contribute to addressing global energy challenges, particularly for small island nations that face disproportionate risks from climate change.”
The Ministry acknowledges with much appreciation the University of Newcastle Australia and Professor Alan Broadfoot for his leadership and dedication to fostering this partnership.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
1 hour ago
Corey Boocock is currently in the second year of the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) at EIT Tairāwhiti.
After a brief foray into plumbing, an EIT student has pursued his dream of being in a classroom by studying for a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) at EIT Tairāwhiti.
Born and bred in Gisborne, Corey Boocock did his schooling at Mangapapa Primary School, Gisborne Intermediate and then Gisborne Boys High School.
Despite having always liked teaching, Corey decided to pursue a plumbing apprenticeship after finishing school in 2020.
“I fell into the mindset of not wanting to study after I left school. I just wanted to get a job and start earning money. I did a gateway programme and got offered a job out of school but after probably six months I found that I was not enjoying it too much anymore, so I left.”
Corey says that he decided to visit Mangapapa School where his mother works as a teacher aide and observed a teacher teaching for a couple of hours. He had been told by his mother and a Careers Advisor at school that he would make a good teacher, so he decided to give it a go.
He got a job as a teacher aide where he worked until the end of 2021, before enrolling at EIT in 2022.
However, his tenure at EIT was not straightforward as he initially only completed semester one before taking a dream job teaching softball for Softball NZ for six months. Corey has a long history with softball, having represented New Zealand in the sport. This has seen him play overseas as well. He also travels to Hawke’s Bay each weekend to compete.
After working for six months in flood restoration after Cyclone Gabrielle, he rejoined the EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) mid last year.
Part of the programme sees students doing practicums throughout the year with partnerships schools and a placement as well. In 2023 Corey did his placement and Practicum at Mangapapa School. In 2024 his placement and first practicum was at Makaraka School. His last practicum for this year is at Sonrise Christian School in Gisborne.
Corey has no doubt in recommending EIT as a place to study.
“What I enjoy about the programme is the school based learning aspect of it in comparison to other places. I’m pretty sure that’s something exclusive to EIT so I quite appreciate that.”
Currently in his second year, Corey is looking forward to becoming a teacher when he finishes his degree.
Emma McFadyen, EIT Tairāwhiti Site Coordinator and Lecturer, Primary Education, said: “Corey’s experience prior to entering the Bachelor of Teaching provides a diverse perspective to his studies. His insights enrich class discussion and the learning environment.”
“Corey’s commitment to becoming an effective educator serves as an inspiration to his peers and for future students thinking of enrolling in the programme.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Ofqual is reminding schools and colleges of the importance of cyber security after a poll highlighted the risks associated with poor cyber hygiene.
Ofqual is reminding schools and colleges of the importance of cyber security after a poll highlighted the risks associated with poor cyber hygiene.
The prompt comes as a Teacher Tapp survey found 1 in 3 secondary teachers did not have cyber security training, in the last academic year.
Ofqual’s Executive Director of General Qualifications Amanda Swann said:
Losing coursework that is the result of many hours of hard work is every student’s nightmare. Even more distressing is losing a whole class or year group’s coursework because of weak cyber security on a school or college IT system.
Many schools and colleges take cyber security seriously, but this poll highlights that there is more to be done. I would encourage schools and colleges to visit the National Cyber Security Centre’s school resource guide to learn how to defend against cyber attacks.
The poll, which surveyed teachers across England, also found that:
34% of schools and colleges in England experienced a cyber incident during the last academic year
most commonly, 23% of schools and colleges in England experienced a cyber security incident due to a phishing attack
the north-west was hit hardest, with 40% of schools which responded having had a cyber incident, compared with 28% in the east of England
20% could not recover immediately, with 4% taking more than half a term to recover
9% of headteachers said the attack was critically damaging
1 in 3 teachers have not had cyber security training this year — of the two-thirds who have had training, 66% said it was useful.
Teachers who had experienced a cyber incident were asked how it affected them, their colleagues and students.
One teacher said:
[It happened] last summer before results days. From then on, all teaching staff were unable to access anything, so could not prepare for the year.
When back in school, we could not use the desktops and there were not enough laptops.
This went on for weeks and was utter chaos.
Another teacher said:
[It] caused a dip in belief about the security of our systems and led to difficult conversations with parents.
As global industrial competition intensifies, to enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan’s industrial parks, the Bureau of Industrial Parks (BIP) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) held the “2024 Industrial Parks Development Policy Summit Forum” on October 23, 2024. The forum brought together elites from central and local governments, academia, and industries to jointly explore how to promote comprehensive upgrades in park safety management through smart transformation and achieve sustainable economic development goals. The Director of BIP, Yang, Po-Keng, stated that the Industrial Park Policy Summit Forum has entered its 10th year, and this year’s forum is even more significant as it is the first held after the BIP’s reorganization under the MOEA. After the reorganization, the BIP now oversees 80 industrial parks nationwide. In the future, the BIP will strive to attract more enterprises to settle in the parks and provide more comprehensive value-added services. The Director also mentioned that many industrial parks are currently facing infrastructure aging. To address this, the BIP will actively seek funding from the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program to carry out major renovations of industrial zones. In addition, with more than 13,000 manufacturing companies operating in the parks, the BIP will assist businesses in developing research and sales capabilities. At the same time, The BIP will also accelerate the promotion of digital, intelligent, and AI-based production. Therefore, this forum focuses on the theme of ‘Smart, Safe, and Sustainable: Park Upgrades and Cross-Disciplinary Cooperation” to discuss the future development direction of Taiwan’s industrial parks and how to integrate hardware and software strategies to achieve the mission of smart, safe, and sustainable development. As one of the highlights of the forum, Lin, Chien-Yuan, the professor of National Taiwan University, delivered a speech titled “Industrial Park Development and Spatial Optimization Upgrades,” providing an in-depth analysis of the current state and future challenges of industrial park development. He emphasized that with the ever-changing demands of industries, industrial parks need to continuously innovate, focusing on spatial optimization and smart technology to meet future challenges. Following this, Zheng, Xiu-Rong, the Director of the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau of the National Science and Technology Council shared successful experiences in smart operations and investment environment optimization, noting that these experiences will serve as important references for the development of other parks. In the second half of the forum, discussions shifted toward how central and local governments can work together to promote the construction of smart parks. Lin, Rong-Chuan, the Director of the Tainan City Government’s Economic Development Bureau and Sheng Hsiao-Rung, the Deputy Director of the New Taipei City Government’s Economic Development Bureau each introduced their cities’ innovative initiatives in promoting smart parks. They emphasized that cooperation between local and central governments is key to unleashing the full potential of smart technology in park management and realizing sustainable industrial development. The forum concluded with insightful dialogues between representatives from industry and government on topics such as the application of smart technology in park management and the close connection between smart city construction and industrial parks. The participants unanimously agreed that close cooperation between central and local governments and the introduction of innovative technologies will be crucial to enhancing the competitiveness of Taiwan’s industrial parks in the future. The successful hosting of this forum demonstrated the BIP’s firm commitment to promoting smart and sustainable development. In the future, the bureau will continue to advance smart transformation policies, deepen cooperation between central and local governments, and lead Taiwan’s industrial parks to a more advantageous position on the global stage.
Spokesman: Mr. Liu Chi Chuan (Deputy Director General, BIP) Contact Number: 886-7-3613349, 0911363680 Email: lcc12@bip.gov.tw
Contact Person: Luo, Fong-Ying (Industrial Parks Development Division, BIP) Contact Number: 886-7-361-1212 ext 121 Email: luofeng@bip.gov.tw
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Cross-genre production “ChoreoMusica Soiree” to be performed at 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival (with photos) Cross-genre production “ChoreoMusica Soiree” to be performed at 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival (with photos) ******************************************************************************************
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Xinghai Concert Hall from Guangdong Province will present “ChoreoMusica Soiree” during the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival. Talented artists from Guangzhou and Hong Kong will deliver a cross-genre performance that blends with music, dance and visual art at the Studio Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in October, offering audiences a rich audio-visual experience and showcasing the diverse cultural charm of the region. “ChoreoMusica Soiree” is originated from a music and dance production presented by Xinghai Concert Hall, featuring outstanding artists from the Greater Bay Area. It premiered to critical acclaim in Guangzhou last year. The Hong Kong version will be led by renowned cross-disciplinary artist Tsang Man-tung as artistic director, director and choreographer. With his unique aesthetic, Tsang will bring a fresh style to the production. The performance will include two music pieces from the premiere in Guangzhou, namely Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Cello, M.73” performed by Peng Ke, the concertmaster of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and Pan Chang, the Associate Principal Cello of the GSO. The GSO chamber music ensemble, under the baton of the GSO’s Assistant Conductor Ding Jiaying, will perform Piazzolla’s “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” (arranged by Desyatnikov). Four young local dancers, Natalie Mak, Alice Ma, Liu Heung-man and Rex Cheng, will weave their way through music, blending seamless movement with pulsating tunes to present multifaceted artistic concepts. Unlike traditional chamber music concert, the programme will feature a two-sided auditorium design, with the stage set in the centre of the venue. The audience will be able to appreciate the performances of the musicians and dancers up close. With the integration of special multimedia art and stage lighting to create rich visual effects, the performances will guide the audience to feel the emotional resonance of each note and step. Xinghai Concert Hall is one of the most influential performance venues in Mainland China, showcasing top-tier performing arts and serving as a hub of multiculturalism. Over the years, it has attracted many of the world’s leading performing arts groups and musicians to perform there. Xinghai Concert Hall is also committed to bringing music and arts into people’s daily lives. Its two major resident orchestras, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and the Guangdong National Orchestra, organise a variety of concerts and arts promotion activities throughout the years. Since its founding in 1957, the GSO has developed into one of the Mainland’s most artistically exceptional and vibrant orchestral institutions, praised by the Financial Times in the UK as “China’s nexus of musical tradition and innovation”. It is now under the leadership of Music Director Huang Yi, a renowned conductor. Tsang Man-tung is a local interdisciplinary artist whose practice incorporates theatre, visual arts, music, and arts education. He employs a minimalist design approach to achieve spiritual balance and harmony, infusing his designs with the aesthetics of Transcend to the Beyond. He has received numerous local and international awards for scenography, including the Award for Best Artist (Theatre) at the 2008 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards and the Silver Prize for Set Design at 2017 World Stage Design with the dance drama “Storm Clouds”. He is renowned for his conceptual and minimalist style, as shown in his theatrical mediation productions, such as “Ashtanga” and “Cankramati”. Natalie Mak was nominated for the “Outstanding Performing Female Dancer” award at the Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2017. Alice Ma is a part-time lecturer at the City Contemporary Dance Company Dance Centre and Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Liu Heung-man is a freelance dancer and dance teacher. Rex Cheng is a part-time lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a freelance dancer and choreographer. “ChoreoMusica Soiree” will be held at 8pm on October 25 and 26 (Friday and Saturday), and at 3pm on October 27 (Sunday) at the Studio Theatre of Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at $300 and $440 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. Discount schemes are available for the programmes under the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival (including “ChoreoMusica Soiree”, “POP KONG”, Cantonese Opera Film “The Legend of The White Snake”, 2024 Zhuhai-Hong Kong-Macao Choral Concert, “Songs Echo My Voice” and Dance Drama “Wing Chun” Special Edition by Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre), including group booking discount and package booking discount. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2734 2960 or visit http://www.gbacxlo.gov.hk/en/programmes/choreomusica-soiree. This programme is also part of the celebratory programmes of the 35th anniversary of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. A post-performance talk (in Cantonese and Putonghua) will be held on October 25 (Friday). Members of the audience are welcome to stay behind to join. Hong Kong is the host city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival for the first time this year. It organises and co-ordinates over 260 performances and exchange activities to be held across the “9+2” cities of the Greater Bay Area. The festival aims to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the region and foster cultural exchange and co-operation among the cities. For detailed information about the festival, please visit http://www.gbacxlo.gov.hk.
Ends/Monday, September 30, 2024Issued at HKT 14:00
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
4 mins ago
Alisha Stanford, 18, is currently in her first year of the Bachelor of Nursing at EIT Hawke’s Bay.
Driven by compassion, a Hawke’s Bay student is motivated to pursue her ambition of becoming a nurse by studying at EIT.
Alisha Stanford, 18, who went to Napier Girls’ High School, was also attracted to studying the Bachelor of Nursing at EIT by the Year 13 scholarship on offer.
The Year 13 Scholarship, which is offered annually by EIT, covers one year of tuition fees. The Scholarship supports school leavers across the Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti regions to study any one of EIT’s degrees or selected level 5 diploma programmes that lead into a degree by providing one year FREE study. Students who live outside the region may be eligible for the scholarship in some programmes that are available nationwide.
“I’ve had family members go through EIT, including nursing and they enjoyed their studies, all fulfilling their carer pathways now. I’ve always wanted to do nursing and see where it takes me.”
“I also chose EIT for the convenience of staying local and because EIT offered me everything that I needed.”
Currently in her first year at the EIT Hawke’s Bay Campus, Alisha is enjoying learning more about her chosen craft, and especially enjoyed her first year placement, which was at a Napier rest home. She will soon be going on her second placement at Te Whata Ora in Hastings.
She says that she is hoping to eventually become a paediatric nurse at some stage, but was keeping her options open.
“It’s all on the table. I’m very open-minded to where this nursing could take me, offering me endless opportunities, which I think is an attraction to nursing.”
“I enjoy being in the lab and hearing the experiences of our lecturers. I’ve always been interested in how the body works and that side of biology.”
EIT Bachelor of Nursing Lecturer Abby Davis says: “Alisha is a student of mine currently on her placement, and she has been absolutely fantastic, thoroughly enjoying her clinical time in the hospital.”
“The nurses have genuinely appreciated working with her, noting her enthusiastic approach and dedication to her learning. She is hardworking and consistently ensures her patients receive the best nursing care.”
“She has a passion for nursing encouraging other students with her positive attitude, leadership qualities and relationships with her classmates. Alisha is an excellent student, and I eagerly anticipate her bright future in nursing.”
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
The All-Russian scientific conference with international participation “Yenisei Photonics – 2024” was held at the Institute of Engineering Physics and Radioelectronics of the Siberian Federal University from September 16 to 20. It was attended by more than 300 scientists, students and postgraduates from Russian universities, as well as from new regions of Russia and the Republic of Belarus. The conference program included lectures by leading scientists, oral and poster presentations by researchers, postgraduates and students in the field of photonics. The conference was held with the support of the L. V. Kirensky Institute of Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific and Educational Center of Photonics and Optoinformatics of ITMO University.
The conference participants, among whom were many young researchers, presented the results of theoretical and experimental research in several traditional areas of photonics at plenary and sectional sessions: creative photonics industries, new optical materials, coherent optics and nonlinear photonics, photonic crystals, metamaterials and topological phases, biophotonics. Attention was also paid to new areas of this science – artificial intelligence in photonics and quantum communications. 10 reports were presented by scientists from Novosibirsk State University and several institutes of the SB RAS: N.N. Vorozhtsov Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, G.I. Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, G.K. Boreskov Institute of Catalysis SB RAS, etc.
The plenary and sectional sessions discussed the results of theoretical and experimental research in seven areas: “Artificial Intelligence in Photonics: Integration of AI and Photonics, Optical Recognition (Faces and Objects), Optical Computing, Self-Learning Optical Systems, etc.”; “Quantum Communications: Quantum Information Theory, Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Optics, Quantum Entanglement, etc.”; “Creative Industries of Photonics: Applied Photonics, Optical Technologies, Optical Methods of Diagnostics of Matter, Optical Metrology, etc.”; “New Optical Materials: Crystals and Crystalline Solid Solutions, Glass, Optical Ceramics, Liquid Crystals, etc.”; “Coherent Optics and Nonlinear Photonics: Coherent Processes, Interaction of Light with Matter, Laser Physics, Nonlinear Optical Phenomena, etc.”; “Photonic crystals, metamaterials and topological phases: resonant and anisotropic photonic structures, nanophotonics, plasmonics, photovoltaic and photocatalytic effects, etc.”; “Biophotonics: emission, detection, absorption, scattering and generation of optical radiation in biological objects, use of light to obtain information about the state of biological objects, etc.”
Katerina Kozlova, first-year master’s student at the Physics Department of NSU:
— I gave a report entitled “Registration of the precession of the magnetic moment of rubidium atoms in the Earth’s magnetic field using an elliptically polarized light wave for applications in quantum magnetometry.” It presented experimental data concerning the development of a compact optical magnetometer (magnetic field sensor), which is being developed in our laboratory. This device will be able to measure the absorption of radiation by atoms in a magnetic field and determine its magnitude based on certain changes. The report described two magnetometer schemes: the Bell-Bloom scheme and its modification using elliptical polarization of radiation. The sensitivities of both schemes were assessed and magneto-optical resonances registered in the Earth’s magnetic field were presented.
The conference left a very positive impression due to the large number of areas and the diversity of the works presented. I realized that I do not know much and am only just beginning to touch upon what modern optics and related areas are doing.
Sofia Pudova, 4th year undergraduate student at the Physics Department of NSU:
— Мой доклад был посвящен разработке методики анализа белков, полученных из биожидкостей, на основе спектроскопии комбинационного рассеяния света. Анализировались кондиционные жидкости после культивирования фибробрастов роговицы и модельные объекты — растворы яичного белка в среде DMEM. Были оптимизированы параметры эксперимента, что позволило детектировать белок с начальной концентрацией >=1 mg/ml and distinguish the spectra of growth and conditioned media. A method for obtaining spectra and assessing the amount of proteins, if their concentration is less than 1 mg/ml, by precipitating them with trichloroacetic acid and adding lysozyme is also proposed.
I would like to thank NSU for participating in funding this trip. This conference gave me the opportunity to listen to papers from different areas of photonics from speakers from all over Russia and practice presenting my own results. I received a lot of interesting, informative information that will be useful for my future scientific career.
Anastasia Omelchenko, 5th year student of the Physics Department of NSU:
— I gave a poster presentation on the study of living tardigrades using Raman spectroscopy. In the Laboratory of Condensed Matter Spectroscopy at the Institute of Automation and Electrometry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we develop methods that allow non-invasive and non-destructive study of complex biological systems, which we demonstrated at the conference using organisms such as tardigrades as an example.
The conference left the most positive impressions – it is a wonderful location, a lot of interesting high-level reports and famous scientists who shared the latest scientific achievements with the participants. The conference featured about 300 reports covering modern issues and tasks of photonics – from quantum dot spectroscopy to phototherapy of diseases. In general, it was nice to see many familiar faces, and even nicer to make new promising acquaintances. As part of the conference, we also visited the laboratories of the L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics SB RAS, where we were shown some of the best devices used in optical spectroscopy.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
RIBER receives order to equip an autonomous pilot line for the design and manufacturing of optical devices in Europe
Bezons (France), September30,2024 – 8:00 am (CET) – RIBER, the global leader for Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) equipment serving the semiconductor industry, is announcing the sale of a fully automated MBE 412 cluster platform in Finland.
Based in Tampere, Finland, in the land of a thousand lakes, VEXLUM, a leading supplier of advanced laser devices for quantum technology applications, has ordered a MBE 412 cluster system to establish a pilot line for the growth of optical devices covering the visible and near-infrared spectrum. This line will mainly focus on VECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) structures while also exploring other innovative technologies.
The MBE 412 cluster is a platform compatible with 4” substrates, offering great flexibility in terms of equipment, modularity, and adaptability, allowing users to continuously extend the machine’s capabilities. Equipped with the EZ TOOL instrumentation package for real-time in situ growth control and powered by the advanced Crystal XE control software, this fully automated system is the first of its kind in Finland, a key European country for the development and manufacturing of next-generation semiconductors, and the 25th in operation since its launch in 2010.
This new order will be delivered in 2025.
AboutVEXLUM Founded in 2017, Vexlum is a spin-off from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), Tampere University of Technology. The team has been a leading research group in the area of VECSEL technology for almost two decades. In particular, the company focuses on development of III/V semiconductor materials enabling VECSELs at new wavelengths, scalable manufacturing processes, and application specific systems engineering. Recent breakthroughs include the use of VECSELs for quantum technology applications.
Vexlum capitalizes on a comprehensive knowledge in epitaxy, optoelectronics processes, and laser systems. The technical expertise is complemented by proven entrepreneurial skills. The company vision is to bring VECSEL technology to high impact applications with unique benefits in performance, cost, and usability.
About RIBER
Founded in 1964, RIBER is the global market leader for MBE – molecular beam epitaxy – equipment. It designs and produces equipment for the semiconductor industry, and provides scientific and technical support for its clients (hardware and software), maintaining their equipment and optimizing their performance and output levels.
Accelerating the performance of electronics, RIBER’s equipment performs an essential role in the development of advanced semiconductor systems that are used in numerous applications, from information technologies to photonics (lasers, sensors, etc.), 5G telecommunications networks and research, including quantum computing.
RIBER is a BPI France-approved innovative company and is listed on the Euronext Growth Paris market (ISIN: FR0000075954). http://www.riber.com
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
The organizer of the forum is Novosibirsk State University. According to the idea of the founder of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, academician Mikhail Lavrentiev, the university was included in the Lavrentiev triangle “science-personnel-industry” from the day of its foundation, and today it confidently ranks among the top ten leading universities in the country.
The Forum’s partners include the interregional association “Siberian Agreement”, the government of the Novosibirsk region, the NSU Graduates Association, the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok technology park, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Council of Rectors of Universities of Novosibirsk.
Director of the Center for Interaction with Government Authorities and Industrial Partners of NSU Alexander Lyulko noted:
— The results of the first Forum were very pleasing to all participants. One of the main results of the work was the signing of several agreements at once, designed to strengthen the trinity of science, education and business.
Throughout the past year, we have seen an active growth of interest from industrial enterprises in our university and its resources. The programs implemented by the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, New Functional Materials, the Advanced Engineering School and other innovation centers of NSU find a response and support in industry and business.
This year, the key aspect of the Forum will be the discussion of ways of further interaction between science and production with an emphasis on joint solution of import substitution tasks and creation of high-tech products. We will be glad to see representatives of both the scientific community and business structures at our Forum to strengthen ties and exchange ideas.
Together we can create conditions for the introduction of innovative technologies into production and the training of qualified specialists necessary for the success of the Russian economy, and become part of an important dialogue about the future of science and industry in our country.
The Golden Valley 2024 Forum will feature thematic sections:
Aviation
Unmanned aircraft systems.
Mechanical engineering and instrument making.
Energy.
Smart city technologies. Construction.
Medicine and pharmaceutical industry.
Artificial Intelligence in Industry and Robotics
Agriculture.
In addition to the business program, the Forum will host a number of related events aimed at establishing contacts between universities and potential industrial partners. In particular, there will be an exhibition of the latest scientific developments and advanced industrial achievements. Participants of the exhibition will be able to get acquainted with the best developments and technologies already implemented in the Novosibirsk Region, other regions of the Russian Federation and in the world.
The result of the Forum should be the formation of partnerships between representatives of science, universities, industry, development institutions, and government agencies to introduce new technologies and developments into the real sector of the economy.
In 2023, the Forum brought together more than 1,000 participants. Over 130 speakers spoke at sections and plenary sessions, including 15 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 20 rectors of universities in the Siberian Federal District, and more than 50 directors of federal and regional enterprises. The forum was attended by Deputy Governors of the Novosibirsk Region Irina Manuilova and Sergey Semka, representatives of leading corporations interested in introducing new technologies and promising developments into the domestic industry: Rosatom, Rostec, Russian Railways, Sitronics, Rostelecom, UEC, SGK, LUKOIL and many others.
Following the results of the first Forum, the rector of NSU, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Fedoruk noted:
— Such events will be held regularly, their main goal is to help ensure the technological sovereignty of our country. It is not without reason that the forum’s motto is: “Real science for real industry.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Switzerland – Canton Government of Grisons in Italian
On the occasion of the anniversary of “500 years of the Three Leagues Free State”, the Office for Popular Education and Sports has developed a learning concept for the new teaching medium “Grisons at a Glance”. The learning concept entitled “In the Footsteps of the Three Leagues” promotes historical awareness among pupils and is available in digital format in all eight languages of schooling.
History surrounds us and the past leaves traces that reach the present. For the Canton of Grisons, it is very important to pass on its history and culture. Before Grisons became part of the Helvetic Republic, the Three Leagues laid the foundations for today’s Canton with its borders, culture and linguistic diversity.
In collaboration with the publishing house «Schulverlag plus», the Office for Popular Education and Sports has designed and developed a digital learning approach on the Free State of the Three Leagues. This learning approach is available to teachers as well as pupils in the form of entertaining and informative teaching units. Starting with the 500th anniversary celebrations, pupils engage with the history of the Canton of Graubünden and follow in the footsteps of the Three Leagues, exploring various questions about the origin and development of the Canton. Among other things, they discuss what happened in 1524, why there is talk of a Free State and why this alliance was signed. With the fictional story of Maurizio, Bertilla and Jovin address historical questions about the origins of the Canton, analysing various sources.
In digital format and in eight school languages«Colpo d’occhio Grigioni» is a digital teaching aid for the subject nature, human beings, society (NEUS) for the second cycle and takes into account the specific regional requirements of the Study Plan 21 Grigioni. Both the teaching aid and the learning approach «In the footsteps of the Three Leagues» have been published in the eight school languages: German, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader, Rumantsch Grischun and Italian.
Further jubilee activities and projectsThe numerous projects and activities in all language regions can be found at https://500.gr.ch.
Questions about the 500th anniversary celebrations:
Prime Minister Dr. Jon Domenic Parolini, Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Environmental Protection, Tel. 41 81 257 27 01, e-mailJondomenic.Parolini@ekud.gr.ch Daniel Camenisch, project manager “500 years of the Three Leagues Free State”, tel. 41 78 659 63 60 (reachable between 10:00 and 12:00), e-mailcamenisch@vinavant.ch
Questions about learning setup:
Josy Marie Künzler, Project Manager, Teaching Materials Service, Office for Popular Education and Sports, Tel. 41 81 257 22 61 (reachable from 10:00 to 12:00), e-mailJosy.Kuenzler@avs.gr.ch
Competent body: Department of Education, Culture and Environmental Protection
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.
