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Category: Universities

  • MIL-Evening Report: Election anniversary: a year into 3-party coalition government, can the centre hold?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

    Getty Images

    Nearly a year on from its formation, it’s clear a three-party coalition is not quite the same as the two-party versions New Zealand is accustomed to.

    Normally, the primary dynamic has been clear: the major party sets the pace while the smaller governing partner receives a bauble or two for supporting the lead act. There may be occasional concerns about tails wagging dogs, but the dog is clearly in charge.

    With the present National-ACT-NZ First coalition, however, things are more complex and less predictable. The dog has two tails, both of which are more than capable of vigorous wagging.

    On the anniversary of the 2023 election, which produced the first three-party coalition government since the MMP system was adopted in 1996, we are perhaps beginning to get a picture of where dog ends and tails begin.

    Speed wobbles

    If that picture has been a little blurry until now it’s partly because of the speed with which the government has moved – not always to its own advantage.

    In the process of ticking off the 49 items on its plan for the first 100 days, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s administration has kept some election promises but broken or fudged others, having to backtrack as a result.

    It has delivered tax cuts, but been forced to trim and cap spending in areas (like health and infrastructure) crying out for extra investment.

    It has given the impression of urgency and action with its Fast-track Approvals Bill. But it had to scrap the policy’s core element of granting three ministers unprecedented constitutional authority over which projects to fast-track.

    Concerns about executive overreach and potential conflicts of interest have dogged other policy areas, too. These range from the repeal of ground-breaking smoke-free legislation to firearms control – both the responsibility of junior coalition party ministers.

    This sense of a government somewhat at odds with itself extends to the swingeing cuts made to the public service workforce. Marketed as freeing up resources for front-line staff, the cuts are increasingly likely to be affecting actual service delivery in health, police, defence and elsewhere.

    Executive overreach? A protest march in Auckland against the government’s fast-track consenting legislation.
    Getty Images

    An ‘executive paradise’

    Some of this can be put down to a new government’s distrust of a public service inherited from its predecessor, and a desire to make the most of its first year before the shadow election campaign kicks off mid-term.

    But the coalition’s vigorous embrace of the executive authority baked into New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements has still been something to behold. As constitutional lawyer and former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer put it, the fast-track legislation risked turning New Zealand into “an executive paradise, not a democratic paradise”.

    The government has used parliamentary urgency more frequently than any other contemporary administration. It has been rattling legislation through the House faster than the wheels of parliamentary democracy are meant to turn.

    Submitters on the Māori wards legislation, for example, were given just three working days to prepare their arguments. Those wanting to comment on the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill had four days.

    And the government has been making less use of parliament’s expert select committees than is standard practice. This has limited public participation and constrained scrutiny of proposed legislation.

    Ministers have also been prepared to ignore public service advice while paying plenty of attention to operational matters in the departments that furnish that advice.

    New Zealand’s system of public management distinguishes between ministers’ responsibility for policy outcomes and senior officials’ responsibility for the operational decisions required to deliver those outcomes.

    Nonetheless, Cabinet has commandeered oversight of operational matters in Whaikaha/Ministry of Disabled People, following botched communications over changes in disability funding. And civil servants have recently been told to stop working from home and return to the office.

    The government will be betting this tactical disposition bolsters its “getting stuff done” narrative. But no one wants a concern with short-term operational details to come at the expense of long-term policy thinking.

    Treaty principles pantomime

    Nowhere is the coalition’s internal tension more evident, however, than in its confrontational approach to Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi issues.

    Having courted voters already sceptical or disgruntled about Māori cultural assertiveness, the coalition moved fast to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora/Māori Health Authority, repeal legislation supporting Māori wards in local government, row back on official use of te reo Māori, and cut funding for Māori language revitalisation.

    But its proposed Treaty Principles Bill – an ACT Party initiative – looks set to be especially constitutionally fraught and politically divisive.

    National and NZ First have indicated they will not support the bill beyond its first reading, but have agreed it will receive a full six months in front of a select committee.

    This only raises the question of why any parliamentary time and money should be spent on the proposal at all – especially given the government’s supposed “laser focus” on cost and efficiency elsewhere.

    Can the centre hold?

    The politics around the Treaty Principles Bill also reveal just how much the prime minister has had to cede to ACT, for whom the proposed legislation was a bottom line during the government formation process.

    And it inevitably casts doubt on the extent and exercise of prime ministerial authority under three-way governing arrangements. ACT leader and soon-to-be deputy prime minister David Seymour has questioned Christopher Luxon’s authority more than once.

    And Luxon’s apparent unwillingness to at least censure an under-performing minister from another party (NZ First’s Casey Costello, for example) contrasts starkly with his firmer treatment of those in his own National Party (Melissa Lee and Penny Simmons, both demoted).

    One year into a three-year term, these issues can perhaps be dismissed as part of the process of bedding down a new government. But politics never rests. Winston Peters hands the deputy prime minister role to David Seymour at the end of next May. Both NZ First and ACT will want to distinguish themselves from National.

    As the next election nears and the jockeying for attention begins, the prime minister’s authority over his administration, and the coalition’s coherence, will be tested further.

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

    – ref. Election anniversary: a year into 3-party coalition government, can the centre hold? – https://theconversation.com/election-anniversary-a-year-into-3-party-coalition-government-can-the-centre-hold-240189

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The science of happier dogs: 5 tips to help your canine friends live their best life

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne

    Bigzumi/Shutterstock

    When you hear about “science focused on how dogs can live their best lives with us” it sounds like an imaginary job made up by a child. However, the field of animal welfare science is real and influential.

    As our most popular animal companion and coworker, dogs are very deserving of scientific attention. In recent years we’ve learned more about how dogs are similar to people, but also how they are distinctly themselves.

    We often think about how dogs help us – as companions, working as detectors, and keeping us safe and healthy. Dog-centric science helps us think about the world from a four-paw perspective and apply this new knowledge so dogs can enjoy a good life.

    Here are five tips to keep the tails in your life wagging happily.

    1. Let dogs sniff

    Sniffing makes dogs happier. We tend to forget they live in a smell-based world because we’re so visual. Often taking the dog for a walk is our daily physical activity but we should remember it could be our dogs’ only time out of the home environment.

    Letting them have a really good sniff of that tree or post is full of satisfying information for them. It’s their nose’s equivalent of us standing at the top of a mountain and enjoying a rich, colour-soaked, sunset view.

    Dogs live in a world of smells, so it’s important to let them sniff until their heart’s content.
    Pawtraits/Shutterstock

    2. Give dogs agency

    Agency is a hot topic in animal welfare science right now. For people who lived through the frustration of strict lockdowns in the early years of COVID, it’s easy to remember how not being able to go where we wanted, or see who we wanted, when we wanted, impacted our mental health.

    We’ve now learned that giving animals choice and control in their lives is important for their mental wellbeing too. We can help our dogs enjoy better welfare by creating more choices and offering them control to exercise their agency.

    This might be installing a doggy door so they can go outside or inside when they like. It could be letting them decide which sniffy path to take through your local park. Perhaps it’s choosing which three toys to play with that day from a larger collection that gets rotated around. Maybe it’s putting an old blanket down in a new location where you’ve noticed the sun hits the floor for them to relax on.

    Providing choices doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

    3. Recognise all dogs are individuals

    People commonly ascribe certain personality traits to certain dog breeds. But just like us, dogs have their own personalities and preferences. Not all dogs are going to like the same things and a new dog we live with may be completely different to the last one.

    One dog might like to go to the dog park and run around with other dogs at high speed for an hour, while another dog would much rather hang out with you chewing on something in the garden.

    We can see as much behavioural variation within breeds as we do between them. Being prepared to meet dogs where they are, as individuals, is important to their welfare.

    As well as noticing what dogs like to do as individuals, it’s important not to force dogs into situations they don’t enjoy. Pay attention to behaviour that indicates dogs aren’t comfortable, such as looking away, licking their lips or yawning.

    Just like humans, different dogs have different personalities.
    Daria Shvetcova/Shutterstock

    4. Respect dogs’ choice to opt out

    Even in our homes, we can provide options if our dogs don’t want to share in every activity with us. Having a quiet place that dogs can retreat to is really important in enabling them to opt out if they want to.

    If you’re watching television loudly, it may be too much for their sensitive ears. Ensure a door is open to another room so they can retreat. Some dogs might feel overwhelmed when visitors come over; giving them somewhere safe and quiet to go rather than forcing an interaction will help them cope.

    Dogs can be terrific role models for children when teaching empathy. We can demonstrate consent by letting dogs approach us for pats and depart when they want. Like seeing exotic animals perform in circuses, dressing up dogs for our own entertainment seems to have had its day. If you asked most dogs, they don’t want to wear costumes or be part of your Halloween adventures.

    5. Opportunities for off-lead activity – safely.

    When dogs are allowed to run off-lead, they use space differently. They tend to explore more widely and go faster than they do when walking with us on-lead. This offers them important and fun physical activity to keep them fit and healthy.

    Demonstrating how dogs walk differently when on- and off-lead.

    A recent exploration of how liveable cities are for dogs mapped all the designated areas for dogs to run off-leash. Doggy density ranged from one dog for every six people to one dog for every 30 people, depending on where you live.

    It also considered how access to these areas related to the annual registration fees for dogs in each government area compared, with surprising differences noted across greater Melbourne. We noted fees varied between A$37 and $84, and these didn’t relate to how many off-lead areas you could access.

    For dog-loving nations, such as Australia, helping our canine friends live their best life feels good. Science that comes from a four-paw perspective can help us reconsider our everyday interactions with dogs and influence positive changes so we can live well, together.

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

    – ref. The science of happier dogs: 5 tips to help your canine friends live their best life – https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-happier-dogs-5-tips-to-help-your-canine-friends-live-their-best-life-236952

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Voice defeat set us all back. And since then, our leaders have given up

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Blackwell, Research Fellow (Indigenous Diplomacy), Australian National University

    It’s one year since the failed referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution.

    The vote represents a moment of deep sadness and frustration for many First Nations people for the lost opportunity to move towards meaningful change in our lives, communities and for our futures. Many elders and old people will likely not live to see change.

    I was one of the many people in the Uluru Dialogue at UNSW who worked last year across the country educating on and advocating for the constitutional change. I spoke to communities across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, from Boorowa to Melbourne.

    I not only saw the campaign first-hand, I also have read every think piece imaginable in the 12 months since about why the referendum failed.

    A ceaseless blame game

    From the expected pieces blaming the usual suspects (Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Indigenous peoples, the Yes campaign, the No campaign and the media), there were also some weirder supposed culprits.

    Some blamed “wokeness”, Donald Trump and dark money, secret elites, identity politics, and all manner of culture war issues.

    To my mind, no single thing doomed the Voice. It was a mix of a lot of the above.

    Albanese treating the referendum like an election campaign but without the usual level of resourcing and advocacy. The Coalition’s outright opposition to the idea (despite previous indications of support). The media’s failure to grapple with Indigenous issues and dogmatic insistence on giving prominence to “both sides” of the debate.

    The YES23 organisation was also disorganised from the start. Yes campaigners were forced onto the back foot daily by relentless misinformation, seemingly deliberate, from the No campaign.



    Read more:
    Why did the Voice referendum fail? We crunched the data and found 6 reasons

    This built on a distinct lack of civic education among most Australians.

    It was further amplified by the No campaign’s very successful “If you don’t know, vote no” slogan – the idea being that their untruths warranted little scrutiny.

    That’s on top of a large undercurrent of racism that was never properly called out, and which has never been properly addressed.

    Campaigns like this are something we as a nation haven’t come to terms with. We’ve seen in the United States how effective misinformation can be at confusing people, creating false senses of reality and distorting public perception.

    Even if Australians supported the ideas behind the Voice in the abstract, neither they nor the media were prepared for the level of dishonesty and bad dealing from the No campaign. It was never a fair fight.

    No, no, and no again

    The Voice to Parliament represented a consensus plea from Indigenous communities for systemic reform. The idea was that the structure of the Australian political system was, either by design or outcome, causing many of the social and economic issues that we face, and therefore a structural solution was needed.

    The No campaign claimed after the referendum that the result was a rejection of this idea of a Voice to Parliament as a solution to issues in Indigenous communities or among Indigenous peoples more generally, “because it wasn’t going to fix the things that needed to be fixed”.

    Prominent No campaigner Warren Mundine even called the referendum the “most divisive, most racially charged attack on Australia I’ve ever seen”.

    “Australia has voted no to the Voice of division”, was the common refrain from people like Pauline Hanson and other No campaigners. Australians “wanted practical solutions” to Indigenous issues, not a body without any detail that wouldn’t hear “real communities”.

    I am not bringing up these issues again to relitigate the issues of the referendum. Instead, I want to ask a very important question: the Voice to Parliament was designed to address our systemic disadvantage, so what solutions to these serious structural issues have any of the No campaigners offered in the past 12 months?



    Read more:
    A royal commission won’t help the abuse of Aboriginal kids. Indigenous-led solutions will

    We have seen some policies from the Coalition. Plans to reduce “fly in, fly out” workers in remote communities. Reforming land rights and native title. A royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities. Less need for programs with “a specific Indigenous focus” in urban areas, where most First Nations people live.

    Some of these are just a rehash of failed Coalition policies of the past, as many others have mentioned. Some appear to have come personally from Senator Jacinta Price and are seemingly not backed by experts (or many people in Indigenous communities). Others appear to be tied directly into conservative political talking points, rather than really addressing Indigenous need.

    The Coalition also abandoned its plan for an alternative second referendum almost immediately after the failed vote.

    The Coalition and other leading No campaigners clearly have no plans to address the structural issues facing our peoples. They’re only offering more of the regular policy tinkering and seesawing we have seen far too often before.

    Abandoning the cause

    The same is true of the government. I have already written for this masthead about the government’s abject failures at implementing the Closing the Gap targets and its lack of meaningful consultation.

    The government’s current attempts at Indigenous policy remain exercises in seeking consent over genuine consultation. Its proposed “economic empowerment” agenda for First Nations peoples is a perfect example.

    Aside from the lack of codesign and meaningful engagement, such policies have been bandied about for the better part of two decades and still have not substantively moved the dial.

    The pursuit of market-based wealth for some privileged few First Nations peoples and communities, under the guise of closing the gap, as well as focusing on the overexaggerated benefits of renewable energy as a driver of Indigenous economic power, is not “economic development” for all mobs.

    The policy focus was also announced as Albanese abandoned his commitment to a Makaratta Commission – the Treaty and Truth components that were meant to follow the Voice to Parliament.

    These ideas fall into the same tired policy stereotypes of throwing money at some of the usual organisations and peoples who have long benefited, and claiming this solves the systemic problems we face. The problem isn’t money, it’s the very rules of the game.

    Charting a way forward

    Research following the referendum shows that 87% of Australians think First Nations peoples should be able to decide for ourselves about our way of life. Moreover, 64% think the disadvantages faced by our communities warrant extra government attention, and 68% believe this disadvantage comes from “past race-based policies”.

    Only 35% believe Indigenous peoples are now treated equally to other Australians, and only 37% believe injustices faced by our community are “all in the past”.

    This clearly shows a level of recognition by the Australian people that something needs to be done about Indigenous policy and the structural issues in this country.

    According to the same data, 87% of Australians agree it is “important for First Nations peoples to have a voice/say in matters that affect them”. This jumps to 98.5% among Yes voters, but also is true of 76% of No voters.

    This suggests that Australian people see the problem and can identify the structural issues.

    The real work, then, is on civics education, getting people to understand that the structural issues they can see need structural change; but also making them more aware of the effects of misinformation. It’s not right that proposals that should get the support of the Australian people can be derailed the way this was.

    But what also isn’t right is the current abdication of Indigenous policy by both major parties and their abandonment of any attempt to remedy structural issues. Following the referendum, the major parties have given up.

    To paraphrase myself from February’s Closing the Gap announcement: the next time you run into an MP, ask them what their plan for Indigenous people is. Ask them not just about closing the gap, but to fix the structural issues that so clearly disadvantage our people.

    That’s the question no one wants to answer, but it’s what we need to do if we are to move on from the 2023 referendum in a positive direction.

    James Blackwell is a member of the Uluru Dialogue at UNSW. He is also an Independent Councillor for Hilltops Council in NSW.

    – ref. The Voice defeat set us all back. And since then, our leaders have given up – https://theconversation.com/the-voice-defeat-set-us-all-back-and-since-then-our-leaders-have-given-up-239732

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How to look after your mental health right now if you have family in the Middle East or another conflict zone

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Procter, Professor and Chair: Mental Health Nursing, University of South Australia

    Escalating violence in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon in recent weeks, has brought news of death, casualties and displacement.

    In response, the Australian government has organised evacuation flights for Australian citizens and is urging all Australians in Lebanon to take the earliest available flights due to the unpredictable nature of the conflict.

    For the more than 248,000 Australians with Lebanese ancestry, and others, this has been a deeply distressing time.

    Escalating violence in Lebanon has also resonated deeply with other diasporas in Australia, such as those from Palestine and Ukraine. These scattered communities share similar experiences of conflict and displacement.

    So how do Australians with links to Lebanon, Gaza or other conflict zones look after their mental health at this time? And how can you support others who may be struggling?

    Identifying with pain and suffering

    People with emotional ties to conflict zones overseas identify with the pain and suffering they see and hear. Australians with shared cultural heritage may be living in the shadow of homeland events and experiencing what research has called “push-pull” dynamics.

    This may be experiencing periods of calm and ease mixed with intermittent periods of intense fear, uncertainty and emotional pain as upsetting events unfold.

    For some, sleeplessness, irritability, fear, frustration, uncertainty and emotional exhaustion combine. People are no longer isolated from their country of origin. Rather, global events influence their personal and social life, and mental health.

    The way people manage the interplay between homeland events, sense of powerlessness, and mental health in Australia are complex. It is easy to be rapidly consumed by what is happening. Events are graphic, compelling and fast moving.

    How to look after yourself

    So what can you do if you notice yourself or someone close to you is becoming impacted?

    Know your distress triggers. For some, this might be witnessing violence on television news or social media. For others, this might be stories about children and young people who have been killed. Seeing and hearing images and stories can be distressing if they are repeated across multiple platforms. Some people may need to minimise their media exposure.

    Talk to people you trust about how you are feeling. Describe what is happening and what you notice about yourself. If you are feeling fragile or concerned about your mental health, or the mental health of a loved one, seek support from your health-care provider.

    Reconnect with and strengthen personal support networks. Supportive cultural connections and family members, and other supports including friends and colleagues, can protect against the onset or worsening of mental distress.

    Getting help early can create more options for support. It can also make it easier to accept help in the future.

    Refer to trusted sources of information and calibrate media exposure. While many people need to know about events, news stories and imagery are distressing.

    Incorporate activities that comfort and distract you, and make your situation feel safer. This can include:

    • spending time with family members or friends

    • spiritual, faith or religious reconnecting

    • distraction through music or food.

    Avoid taking devices to bed to protect your sleep and your mental health.

    How to support others

    If you work with or support someone who is impacted, recognise this is a time for sensitivity and compassion. Show you are concerned and, at the same time, check they’re OK. Ask:

    What would be most helpful in our support for you?

    What is the best way for me/the team at work to be supportive and alongside you?

    It is also important to ask about someone’s mental health. You can ask:

    With events unfolding, how are things at home for you right now?

    When validating a person’s experience, remember it is not always important to know personal detail or circumstances in fine detail. What is important is to demonstrate genuine interest, create trust and psychological safety. Aim to really listen, rather than listening so you can respond.

    As a friend, colleague or manager, offering support and listening without judgement may help a person impacted by global catastrophic events.

    In times like these, validation, human connection and support are some of the best things you can do to protect your own and other people’s mental health.

    Sometimes it can be hard to find the words. Here’s what we know helps.

    If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    Nicholas Procter currently receives funding from Overseas Services to Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Foundation House and SA Health. He has previously received sitting fees from the Department of Home Affairs.

    Mary Anne Kenny has previous received funding from the Australian Research Council and sitting fees from the Department of Home Affairs.

    – ref. How to look after your mental health right now if you have family in the Middle East or another conflict zone – https://theconversation.com/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health-right-now-if-you-have-family-in-the-middle-east-or-another-conflict-zone-240995

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s school funding system is broken. Here’s how to fix it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glenn Savage, Associate Professor of Education Policy and the Future of Schooling, The University of Melbourne

    As Australian students begin the final term of 2024, governments are in the middle of a bitter standoff over public school funding for next year.

    The federal government has offered states and territories a 2.5% funding increase for schools to the tune of A$16 billion, but some are demanding 5%.

    The deadline for states and territories to sign the proposed new school funding agreement ended on September 30, leaving the future of Australian school funding beyond 2025 in limbo.

    On top of ongoing funding uncertainty, there are also significant issues with how the proposed new agreement is designed. How can we fix this?

    How does school funding work?

    Federal, state and territory governments each contribute to public school funding.

    The federal government currently contributes 20% of the schooling resource standard. This is the estimate of how much public funding a school needs to meet students’ educational needs.

    The Commonwealth ties this funding to reforms and targets aimed at improving equity and learning outcomes for students. The remaining 80% is up to states and territories to fund.

    The current agreement expires at the end of this year and the Albanese government is proposing to replace it with the ten-year Better and Fairer Schools Agreement from the start of 2025.

    The new agreement provides some important opportunities to improve schools and student outcomes, including measures to enhance student wellbeing, increase attendance, strengthen the teacher workforce, and increase the proportion of students who leave school with a Year 12 certificate.



    Read more:
    There’s a new school funding bill in parliament. Will this end the funding wars?

    Painfully slow progress

    The current round of funding negotiations has been plagued by sour politics and persistent roadblocks.

    The new national agreement was originally due to begin in 2024, but was delayed after a damning December 2022 Productivity Commission review. This found the current agreement had “done little” to lift student outcomes.

    The federal government then commissioned an expert review panel (of which one of us, Pasi Sahlberg, was a member) to inform a new agreement. This year, we have seen negotiations with states and territories over funding and details of the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement were released in July.

    But progress has been painfully slow. While Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have signed on, other states and territories are holding out.

    In August, federal Education Minister Jason Clare issued an ultimatum: sign the agreement by September 30 or forgo the 2.5% funding increase. The federal government has since downplayed the missed deadline while critics suggest it was always an “arbitrary” ultimatum.

    Ambiguous equity targets

    The political theatre and inability to find consensus raises major concerns about how effective the national reform agenda can be.

    A closer look at the targets also raises questions about how they might work in practice.

    For example, the new agreement is supposed to have equity at its core (it claims to be “better and fairer”) but it lacks a clear definition of equity. It also lacks specific equity targets to narrow achievement gaps between students from low and high socioeconomic backgrounds.

    The new agreement has “learning equity targets”. This includes measures to reduce the proportion of students in the “needs additional support” NAPLAN category for reading and numeracy by 10% and increase those in the “strong” and “exceeding” categories by 10% by 2030.

    The only specific target for disadvantaged students is there is a “trend upwards” of the proportion in higher NAPLAN proficiency levels.

    Past experience suggests schools will likely “triage” students to reach these targets. This means they will focus more on students who are just below or above the target levels, and less on those unlikely to make the mark. This is what happened when similar targets were set in Ontario in the 2000s.

    So, even if overall average NAPLAN scores improve, achievement gaps (between advantaged and disadvantaged students) could grow. This will not improve equity – it will do the opposite.

    Toothless targets

    There are also no mechanisms to hold states and territories accountable for meeting targets until schools are “fully funded” under the agreement.

    Fully funded means states and territories are receiving 100% of the schooling resource standard. To make matters worse, even when jurisdictions are fully funded, there are no penalties or sanctions for failing to cooperate with the agreement.

    Timelines to reach full funding in the bilateral agreements already signed are years away. For example, it is 2026 for Western Australia and 2029 for the Northern Territory.

    This means states and territories can choose whether they meet the targets or not.

    3 ways to fix school funding

    Failure to fully and fairly fund schools, mixed with an inability to set meaningful targets, creates deep uncertainty for schooling systems as a new year approaches.

    For example, last week the Australian Education Union placed a nationwide ban on the implementation of the new agreement, including “unfunded” reforms that would increase teachers’ workloads.

    This is not a sustainable situation. So, how can we fix it?

    1. Set meaningful targets: it is not enough to have ambiguous goals for improvement that might improve test scores for some but also worsen inequities. At a minimum, we need to rethink targets to ensure they narrow achievement gaps between equity groups. Without this, education systems will continue to fail those who need the most support.

    2. Ensure accountability for the targets: we need to make sure states and territories cannot escape or delay their obligations to improve equity and learning outcomes. To do this, schools should be fully funded from 2025, so current (not future) education ministers are compelled to act.

    3. Distance the politics from school funding: schools need stability and consistency to plan effectively. The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement has a helpful ten-year term but reforms are needed to ensure funding decisions remain fair and consistent across the nation. Instead of messy and protracted political negotiations between governments, we could instead set up a national agency to oversee the distribution of school funding.

    These measures would help avoid political interference and ensure funding is allocated in line with student needs, national reform priorities and agreed targets.

    It’s time to address the deeper issues

    The ongoing failure to fairly resource and set meaningful reforms for our schools is a symptom of a broken national funding system.

    Unless we address its foundational issues, Australian teachers and students — particularly those in disadvantaged schools — will continue to be short-changed.

    Glenn C. Savage receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Pasi Sahlberg was a member of the Australian Government’s Expert Panel to inform a better and fairer education system in 2023.

    – ref. Australia’s school funding system is broken. Here’s how to fix it – https://theconversation.com/australias-school-funding-system-is-broken-heres-how-to-fix-it-240908

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Federation University to commemorate anniversary of Voice to Parliament with reconciliation lecture

    Source: Federation University

    The National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and Justice is commemorating today’s anniversary of the Voice to Parliament Referendum by holding a special event tonight at the Melbourne Museum.

    The event is the second Annual Reconciliation Lecture, following last year’s inaugural event with Noel Pearson as guest lecturer. The Lecture is designed to increase understandings of reconciliation in the wider community.

    The National Centre, established at Federation University in March 2023, is Australia’s leading think-tank on reconciliation and will host a panel that will discuss “One Year on from the Referendum – Where are we with Reconciliation, Voice, Treaty, and Truth?”

    The panel, moderated by Professor Andrew Gunstone, the National Centre’s Executive Director and Australia’s foremost academic authority on reconciliation, will consist of three eminent First Nations leaders:

    • Dr Jackie Huggins AM, a national reconciliation leader for over four decades
    • Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter, Deputy Chair Yoorrook Justice Commission
    • Rueben Berg, Co-Chair First Peoples Assembly of Victoria

    The panel will explore several key issues, including where we are as a nation following the Referendum, is Reconciliation dead, and how Australia and Victoria are engaging with Voice, Treaty, and Truth.

    Professor Gunstone will host this special event to a sold-out audience, which will also include a speech from Federation University Australia’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley.

    The panel and moderator are available for interview by request.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

    Source: NASA

    4 min read

    Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 11, 2024

    This blogger is in the United Kingdom, just north of London, where we yesterday had beautiful night skies with a red aurora that was even visible with the unaided eye, and looked stunning on photographs. That reminded me of the solar storm that made it all the way to Mars earlier this year. Here is my colleague Deborah’s blog about it: “Aurora Watch on Mars.” And, of course, that was a great opportunity to do atmospheric science and prepare for future crewed missions, to assess radiation that future astronauts might encounter. You can read about it in the article, “NASA Watches Mars Light Up During Epic Solar Storm.” But now, back from shiny red night skies north of London, and auroras on Mars six months ago, to today’s planning!

    Power — always a negotiation! Today, I was the Science Operations Working Group chair, the one who has to watch for the more technical side of things, such as the question if all the activities will fit into the plan. Today there were many imaging ideas to capture the stunning landscape in detail with Mastcam and very close close-ups with the long-distance imaging capability of ChemCam (RMI). Overall, we have two long-distance RMIs in the plan to capture the details of the ridge we are investigating. You can see in the accompanying image an example from last sol of just how many stunning details we can see. I so want to go and pick up that smooth white-ish looking rock to find out if it is just the light that makes it so bright, or if the surface is different from the underside… but that’s just me, a mineralogist by training, used to wandering around a field site! Do you notice the different patterns — textures as we call them in geology — on the rocks to the left of that white-ish rock and the right of it? So much stunning detail, and we are getting two more RMI observations of 10 frames each in today’s plan! In addition there are more than 80 Mastcam frames planned. Lots of images to learn from!

    Chemistry is also featuring in the plan. The rover is stable on its wheels, which means we can get the arm out and do an APXS measurement on the target “Midnight Lake,” which MAHLI also images. The LIBS investigations are seconding the APXS investigation on Midnight Lake, and add another target to the plan, “Pyramidal Pinnacle.” On the third sol there is an AEGIS, the LIBS measurement where the rover picks its own target before we here on Earth even see where it is! Power was especially tight today, because the CheMin team does some housekeeping, in particular looking at empty cells in preparation for the next drill. The atmosphere team adds many investigations to look out for dust devils and the dustiness of the atmosphere, and APXS measures the argon content of the atmosphere. This is a measure for the seasonal changes of the atmosphere, as argon is an inert gas that does not react with other components of the atmosphere. It is only controlled by the temperature in various places of the planet — mainly the poles. DAN continues to monitor water in the subsurface, and RAD — prominently featured during the solar storm I was talking about earlier — continues to collect data on the radiation environment.

    Let’s close with a fun fact from planning today: During one of the meetings, the rover drivers were asked, “Are you driving backwards again?” … and the answer was yes! The reason: We need to make sure that in this rugged terrain, with its many interesting walls (interesting for the geologists!), the antenna can still see Earth when we want to send the plan. So the drive on sol 4332 is all backwards. I am glad we have hazard cameras on the front and the back of the vehicle!

    Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Kamala Harris dips in key states, making US election contest a toss-up

    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 United States 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 49.3–46.5, a slight gain for Trump since last Monday, when Harris led by 49.3–46.2.

    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.

    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).

    Relative to the national popular vote, the Electoral College is biased to Trump, with Harris needing at least a two-point popular vote win to be the Electoral College favourite in Silver’s model.

    Last Monday, Harris led by one to two points in Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (ten) and Nevada (six). In the last week, Trump has gained in all these states in Silver’s aggregates, reducing Harris’ lead to about one point in these states.

    If Harris wins these four states, she probably wins the Electoral College by at least a 276–262 margin. Trump leads by less than one point in Georgia and North Carolina, which both have 16 electoral votes.

    While Harris is still barely ahead in the Electoral College, her margins have been reduced in the states where she’s leading. As a result, Silver’s model now gives Harris a 52% chance to win the Electoral College, down from 56% last Monday.

    This means the presidential election is effectively a 50–50 toss-up. There’s a 23% chance that Harris wins the popular vote but loses the Electoral College. The FiveThirtyEight model
    is giving similar results to Silver’s model, with Harris a 53% favourite.

    There’s still over three weeks until the election, and polls could change in that time. The polls could also be biased against either Trump or Harris, and in this case that candidate could win easily. With the polls across the swing states so close, either candidate could sweep all these states.

    I wrote about the US election for The Poll Bludger last Thursday, and also covered the UK Conservative leadership election, the far-right winning the most seats at the September 29 Austrian election and Japan’s October 27 election.

    Favourability ratings and economic data

    Harris’ net favourability peaked about two weeks ago at +1.4 in the FiveThirtyEight national poll aggregate, but it has now dropped back to net zero, with 46.8% favourable and 46.8% unfavourable. Harris’ net favourability had surged from about -16 after becoming the Democratic nominee, and she gained further ground after the September 10 debate with Trump.

    Trump’s net favourability has been steady in the last two months, and he’s now at -9.4, with 52.6% unfavourable and 43.2% favourable. Harris’ running mate Tim Walz is at +4.2 net favourable and Trump’s running mate JD Vance is at -9.6 net favourable. Biden’s net approval remains poor at -14.0.

    US headline inflation rose 0.2% in September, the same increase as in August. In the 12 months to September, inflation was up 2.4%, the smallest increase since 2021. Core inflation increased 0.3% in September, the same as in August, and is up 3.3% in the 12 months to September.

    Real (inflation-adjusted) hourly earnings were up 0.2% in September after a 0.3% increase in August, while real weekly earnings slid 0.1% after a 0.6% increase in August owing to changes in hours worked. In the 12 months to September, real hourly earnings were up 1.5% and weekly earnings up 0.9%.

    Congressional elections

    I wrote about the elections for the House of Representatives and Senate that will be held concurrently with the presidential election three weeks ago. The House has 435 single-member seats that are apportioned to states on a population basis, while there are two senators for each of the 50 states.

    The House only has a two-year term, so the last House election was at the 2022 midterm elections, when Republicans won the House by 222–213 over Democrats. The FiveThirtyEight aggregate of polls of the national House race gives Democrats a 47.1–45.9 lead over Republicans, a gain for Republican from a 46.7–44.5 Democratic lead three weeks ago.

    Senators have six-year terms, with one-third up for election every two years. Democrats and aligned independents currently have a 51–49 Senate majority, but they are defending 23 of the 33 regular seats up, including seats in three states Trump won easily in both 2016 and 2020: West Virginia, Montana and Ohio.

    West Virginia is a certain Republican gain after the retirement of former Democratic (now independent) Senator Joe Manchin at this election. Republicans have taken a 5.4-point lead in Montana in the FiveThirtyEight poll aggregate, while Democrats are just 2.3 points ahead in Ohio.

    Republicans are being challenged by independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska, and he trails Republican Deb Fischer by just 1.5 points. Democrats did not contest to avoid splitting the vote. In other Senate contests, the incumbent party is at least four points ahead.

    If Republicans gain West Virginia and Montana, but lose Nebraska to Osborn, and no other seats change hands, Republicans would have a 50–49 lead in the Senate. If Harris wins the presidency, Osborn would be the decisive vote as a Senate tie can be broken by the vice president, who would be Walz. This is the rosiest plausible scenario for Democrats.

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

    – ref. Kamala Harris dips in key states, making US election contest a toss-up – https://theconversation.com/kamala-harris-dips-in-key-states-making-us-election-contest-a-toss-up-241216

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Coalition seizes Newspoll lead, but other polls have Labor improving

    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

    A national Newspoll, conducted October 7–11 from a sample of 1,258, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, a one-point gain for the Coalition since the previous Newspoll, three weeks ago. After three 50–50 ties in a row, this is the first time this term the Coalition has led in Newspoll.

    Primary votes were 38% Coalition (steady), 31% Labor (steady), 12% Greens (down one), 7% One Nation (up one) and 12% for all Others (steady). By 2022 election preference flows, these primary votes would normally give a 50–50 tie, so rounding probably contributed to the Coalition’s lead.

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval slumped six points to -14, his worst this term in Newspoll, with 54% dissatisfied and 40% satisfied. Peter Dutton’s net approval improved one point to -14. Albanese led Dutton as better PM by 45–37 (46–37 previously).

    The graph below shows Albanese’s Newspoll net approval ratings this term. The data points are marked with plus signs and a smoothed line has been fitted. Albanese’s net approval has been below -10 in two of the last three Newspolls, causing the trend line to turn down.

    Other federal polls last week had improvements for Labor, and Essential and Resolve last week both suggest the Middle East conflict has had virtually no impact on Australian party support. It’s possible this Newspoll is a pro-Coalition outlier.

    Labor’s primary improves in Resolve poll

    A national Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, conducted October 1–5 from a sample of 1,606, gave the Coalition 38% of the primary vote (up one since September), Labor 30% (up two), the Greens 12% (down one), One Nation 5% (down one), independents 12% (steady) and others 3% (down one).

    Resolve doesn’t usually give a two-party estimate, but applying 2022 preference flows to the primary votes would give Labor about a 51–49 lead, unchanged from September.

    Albanese’s net approval was unchanged at -18, with 53% giving him a poor rating and 35% a good rating. Dutton’s net approval improved one point to -1. Albanese led Dutton by 38–35 as preferred PM, a slight increase from 35–34 in September.

    The Liberals led Labor by 38–26 on economic management (37–26 in September). On keeping the cost of living low, the Liberals led by 31–24 (32–25 previously).

    By 58–29, respondents said they would struggle to afford an expense of a few thousand dollars (57–31 in May). This is the highest “struggle to afford” since Resolve started tracking this question in February 2023, but Labor can take some comfort from the little change since May.

    Asked who was most responsible for rising living costs, 36% selected the federal government, 13% global factors, 13% businesses, 12% the Reserve Bank and 8% state and territory governments. Labor incumbent Jim Chalmers led the Liberals’ Angus Taylor as preferred treasurer by 24–18.

    If Australians could vote in the US presidential election, Kamala Harris would lead Donald Trump by 52–21 (50–25 in September). Before Joe Biden’s withdrawal in July, he led Trump by just 26–22 with Australians with 31% for “someone else”. Harris’ net likeability is +24, Trump’s is -47 and Biden’s is -25.

    Labor gains lead in Essential poll

    A national Essential poll, conducted October 2–6 from a sample of 1,139, gave Labor a 49–47 lead including undecided (48–47 to the Coalition in late September). Primary votes were 34% Coalition (down one), 32% Labor (up three), 12% Greens (steady), 8% One Nation (steady), 1% UAP (down one), 9% for all Others (steady) and 5% undecided (steady).

    On Israel’s military action, 32% said Israel should permanently withdraw from Gaza (down seven since August), 19% said Israel is justified (up two), 18% said Israel should agree to a temporary ceasefire (down three) and 32% were unsure (up eight).

    On the Australian government’s response, 56% were satisfied (up five since August), 30% thought the government too supportive of Israel (down two) and 14% too harsh on Israel (down two).

    By 40–27, voters would support a road user tax for electric vehicle drivers. Just 2% thought the gap between the rich and poor was decreasing, 71% thought it was increasing and 27% staying the same. On Australia’s political system, 48% thought it needs reform but is fundamentally sound, 40% said it needs fundamental change and just 12% said it’s working well.

    Morgan poll tied

    A national Morgan poll, conducted September 30 to October 6 from a sample of 1,697, had a 50–50 tie, a one-point gain for Labor since the September 23–29 poll.

    Primary votes were 37.5% Coalition (down 0.5), 31.5% Labor (up 1.5), 12.5% Greens (down one), 5.5% One Nation (up one), 9% independents (down 0.5) and 4% others (down 0.5).

    The headline figure uses respondent preferences. By 2022 election preference flows, Labor led by 52–48, a 0.5-point gain for Labor.

    ACT election and NSW byelections this Saturday

    The ACT uses the Hare Clark proportional method with five five-member electorates to elect its 25-member parliament, so a quota for election is one-sixth of the vote or 16.7%. The ACT is easily Australia’s most left-wing jurisdiction, and Labor has governed since 2001, often in coalition with the Greens. In 2020, Labor won ten seats, the Liberals nine and the Greens six.

    There will also be three NSW state byelections this Saturday in the Liberal-held seats of Epping, Hornsby and Pittwater. Labor won’t be contesting any of these byelections. In Pittwater, Liberal Rory Amon defeated independent Jacqui Scruby by 50.7–49.3 at the 2023 state election. Amon resigned after being charged with child sex offences and Scruby will contest the byelection.

    NSW and Victorian state polls

    A NSW state Resolve poll for The Sydney Morning Herald, conducted with the federal September and October Resolve polls from a sample of 1,111, gave the Coalition 37% of the primary vote (down one since August), Labor 32% (up two), the Greens 11% (down one), independents 14% (steady) and others 6% (steady).

    The Poll Bludger said the primary votes suggested a “slight two-party advantage to Labor”. Labor incumbent Chris Minns led the Liberals’ Mark Speakman as preferred premier by 37–14 (38–13 in August).

    By 61–23, voters thought the NSW government is not doing enough to help renters. By 53–19, they thought the government should put aside money towards future metro rail projects.

    A Victorian state Redbridge poll, conducted September 26 to October 3 from a sample of 1,516, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, a one-point gain for the Coalition since a late July Redbridge poll. Primary votes were 40% Coalition (steady), 30% Labor (down one), 12% Greens (steady) and 18% for all Others (up one).

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

    – ref. Coalition seizes Newspoll lead, but other polls have Labor improving – https://theconversation.com/coalition-seizes-newspoll-lead-but-other-polls-have-labor-improving-240785

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NGV’s Reko Rennie retrospective asks whether he should be considered Australia’s Keith Haring

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National University

    Installation view of
    OA_RR, 2016-2017 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia     Photo Kate Shanasy

    Is Reko Rennie Australia’s equivalent of Keith Haring? Both Rennie, a Melbourne-based Aboriginal artist who celebrates the heritage the Kamilaroi people of northern New South Wales, and Haring, the American pop art great, emerged out of an urban graffiti culture.

    Both create a widely recognisable visual language that has a striking vitality, sense of authenticity and a pulsating vibrancy. Both are deeply autobiographical artists who created a visual code through which to share their personal histories.

    Rennie is an interdisciplinary artist who seamlessly moves between video, printmaking, sculpture, painting and neon art. With more than a hundred works on display, drawn from the artist’s two-decade-long career, this is the first significant retrospective of his art.

    Rennie possesses the gift of creating memorable images that are simultaneously puzzling, intriguing and entertaining. On entering the gallery, you encounter a 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche decorated with the strange camouflage colours that reoccur throughout Rennie’s art. The physical car is accompanied by a three-channel video work with a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds soundtrack.

    Installation view of REKOSPECTIVE: The Art of Reko Rennie at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
    Photo Kate Shanasy/NGV

    Beginnings

    Although born in Footscray in Melbourne, the artist’s grandmother Julia, who belonged to the Stolen Generation in the 1920s and was enslaved on a pastoral station, raised him and imparted to him his Kamilaroi heritage. In his youth, Rennie saw a photograph of a pastoralist and his wife dressed up for Sunday church and seated in their luxury Rolls-Royce car. At the time, he reflected on the poverty his grandmother would have experienced while working on a pastoral station.

    The markings he made on the car, that are layered with a traditional diamond pattern of the Kamilaroi people, claim ownership over the vehicle. Inside it is a photograph of his grandmother. In the video, with a setting sun as a backdrop, Rennie drives the car down dirt tracks to his home country and, in something resembling burnouts, he makes traditional sand engravings with the tyres of the car. The work is poignant, evocative and becomes quickly embedded in your memory.

    The piece references an earlier one, with a pink 1973 Holden Monaro. In that video, the car performs a series of burnouts and doughnuts, the traditional initiation ceremony with Westie drag-racing culture of suburbia into which the artist was born. This is in contrast with the initiation practices and traditional sand engravings of the Kamilaroi people. The video is accompanied with an operatic score from Yorta Yorta woman, composer and soprano, Deborah Cheetham, performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Again, the video becomes a haunting and somewhat surreal experience.

    Street spaces

    Rennie is an artist who looks best when he operates in a public environment.

    His early street art, accompanied by break dancing and hip hop, thrives in the accidental lighting of urban spaces. He loves the way street art can ambush the viewer and employ strategies that catch and hold the gaze of the casual passerby. Keith Haring and Howard Arkley were two of the artists who pointed a way for Rennie to move from the street and onto the gallery wall. Although they may have suggested some of the formal strategies, Aboriginal culture provided the content that would consummate the work and give it a narrative.

    When in 2020 there was a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Lieutenant James Cook’s first landfall at Botany Bay and the HMB Endeavour’s charting of the East Coast of Australia, the Carriageworks in Sydney commissioned Rennie to make a piece for the occasion.

    Reko Rennie, REMEMBER ME 2020, LEDs, plastic, aluminium, electrical components, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Gift of the Eva, Mila and Reko Collection through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2023.
    2023.229
    © Reko Rennie

    His monumental text work is made up of LED neon lettering held up in an aluminium armature. It measures over two-and-a-half metres in height and almost 19 metres in length. The simple message, one anchored in a tradition of street art, reads: “REMEMBER ME”. Cook’s landing marked the beginning of a process of invasion and dispossession, Rennie’s text affirms an opposition to the invasion and stresses that First Nations people survived. Sovereignty was never ceded.

    This message has been at the core of much of Rennie’s art, for instance, in the two neon pieces, OA Warrior I (pink) and OA Warrior I (blue), both from 2020. They are based on an 1800s photograph of a defiant Kamilaroi warrior with his raised club. The message is that the OA (Original Aboriginal) will never cede sovereignty.

    Reko Rennie, Kamilaroi born in 1974, Initiation 2013, synthetic polymer paint on plywood, Collection of the artist.
    Supported by Esther and David Frenkiel
    © Reko Rennie, courtesy blackartprojects, Melbourne

    In a much earlier piece from 2016, that has always been one of my favourites in Rennie’s art, a ten-metre-long banner bears the inscription, “I was always here”. It is made of hand-pressed metallic foil on satin where he employs the geometric diamond patterning of the Kamilaroi people as a background to the words.

    The work commemorates all of the Frontier Wars, massacres and oppression suffered by First Nation peoples in this country and in many other countries in a powerful way.

    ‘We’re not a monoculture.’ Artist Reno Rennie introduces his works.

    Impressive and consistent

    Rennie, who turns 50 this year, exhibited at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 and with the 2016 XIII Bienale de Cuenca in Ecuador and has held numerous exhibitions across Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe.

    His star is in the ascendancy and he is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most distinctive and versatile artists, who is attracting international acclaim.

    Beautifully curated by Myles Russel-Cook as his final show at the NGV before he takes up the directorship of ACCA, Rekospective is impressive in scope, consistent in content but not repetitive.

    While Keith Haring died at the age of 31, I feel Reko Rennie will be viewed, in retrospect, as an artist at least as significant as Haring and one of growing importance in Australian art.

    REKOSPECTIVE: The Art of Reko Rennie is at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia until 27 January 2025. Free admission.

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

    – ref. NGV’s Reko Rennie retrospective asks whether he should be considered Australia’s Keith Haring – https://theconversation.com/ngvs-reko-rennie-retrospective-asks-whether-he-should-be-considered-australias-keith-haring-238881

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: For people with lung cancer, exercise can be gruelling. It’s also among the most important things

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kellie Toohey, Associate Professor Clinical Exercise Physiology, Southern Cross University

    Ivan Samkov/Pexels

    When you think of lung cancer treatment, what comes to mind – chemotherapy, radiation, surgery? While these can be crucial, there’s another powerful tool that’s often overlooked: exercise.

    Our recent study, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, challenges the common belief that people with lung cancer are too sick to be physically active.

    In fact, we found exercise can play a vital role in improving life for those battling this disease.

    What we did and what we found

    Our review involved analysing 26 high quality studies on how best to incorporate exercise into treatment for lung cancer.

    We found the overwhelming weight of evidence shows exercise offers benefits at every stage of the lung cancer journey. This includes:

    • before surgery (being more fit can lead to faster recovery and potentially fewer complications)
    • after surgery (gentle exercise helps regain strength and makes daily tasks easier)
    • during other treatments (physical activity can ease side effects like fatigue and muscle weakness)
    • at advanced stages of disease (even for late-stage patients, evidence shows exercise can improve quality of life and maintain independence)
    • patients experiencing muscle wasting (evidence shows exercise, especially strength training, helps preserve muscle and keeps patients stronger).

    What does exercise look like?

    When we say “exercise,” we’re not talking about running marathons. For someone with lung cancer, it might mean:

    • taking a short walk around the block
    • doing some gentle cycling on a stationary bike
    • swimming or doing some movement in the water
    • lifting light weights or doing banded exercises
    • doing yoga or tai chi for more mobile, flexible joints, as well as stress and pain reduction.

    The key is to start slowly and listen to your body. What works for one person might not work for another.

    Getting started safely

    If you or a loved one has lung cancer and wants to be more active, start by talking with your doctor. They can advise on any precautions you should take and send you to an exercise specialist if needed.

    You might also consider working with an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist who can design a safe, personalised program.

    It’s OK to start small – even five to ten minutes of activity is beneficial, according to the Cancer Council Australia .

    Try to be consistent, if you can. Regular, gentle exercise is better than occasional intense bursts.

    It can help to keep track of your progress and how you feel after each session. You might also try looking for support groups or exercise classes specifically for cancer patients at local hospitals or community centres.

    The Cancer Council Australia website offers inspiration and ideas on exercises to start with, even in the home.

    The real-world benefits

    Research shows regular physical activity can significantly improve quality of life for lung cancer patients. These can include:

    • reduced fatigue, even though that might seem counterintuitive
    • less breathlessness, as exercise can improve lung function
    • less muscle weakness, which makes daily tasks easier
    • better mood, as physical exercise can help fight depression and anxiety
    • better sleep; many patients report sleeping more easily after starting an exercise routine.
    Exercise can improve lung function and may reduce breathlessness.
    Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock

    Ditch the stigma, and get the exercise support you deserve

    Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed worldwide. It’s a devastating illness that affects not just the body, but also a person’s mental health and quality of life.

    Unfortunately, there’s often a stigma attached to lung cancer. Many patients feel judged, or that they must have done something – such as smoking – to “deserve” their diagnosis.

    This shame can prevent people from seeking help or joining support programs.

    But here’s an important truth: anyone can get lung cancer, even if they’ve never smoked.

    And regardless of how someone developed the disease, they deserve compassion and the best possible care – including support for physical activity.

    Never too late to start

    It’s important to note exercise can be beneficial even for those receiving palliative care.

    In palliative care, the goals shift from fighting the cancer to enhancing comfort and quality of life, and physical activity can play a significant role in this.

    Even palliative care patients may benefit from exercise.
    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    A lung cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly daunting. But we’re learning patients have more tools to improve their wellbeing than we once thought.

    Exercise isn’t a cure, but it can be a powerful complement to traditional treatments and medications.

    If you or someone you know is facing lung cancer, don’t be afraid to discuss incorporating exercise into the treatment plan with your health-care team. Start small, be patient and consistent, and remember that every bit of movement counts.

    By challenging old assumptions and embracing exercise as part of lung cancer care, we can empower patients to take a more active role in their treatment.

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

    – ref. For people with lung cancer, exercise can be gruelling. It’s also among the most important things – https://theconversation.com/for-people-with-lung-cancer-exercise-can-be-gruelling-its-also-among-the-most-important-things-240216

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: A year later, Kiwis already see ACT’s real change

    Source: ACT Party

    A year after the 2023 election, ACT is celebrating the long list of actions already taken to empower New Zealanders.

    “In Opposition, we spent six years listening to New Zealanders,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “This resulted in a comprehensive election platform with a commitment not just to change the Government, but to deliver real change.

    “Thanks to New Zealanders’ support, on October 14 we were put in a position to deliver, and less than 11 months after signing the coalition agreement, we’ve made serious progress.

    “The breadth and intensity of our action in Government speaks for itself. Even our critics complain at how we’re punching above our weight for a small team. We call it value for your vote.

    “Below is a list of actions ACT has taken that reflect ideas we campaigned on, and on which Kiwis elected us to deliver. Together, these actions break down barriers for Kiwis working to succeed on their own terms. We’re addressing challenges in the economy, law and order, democracy, education, health and more.”

    THE ECONOMY:

    • Cut wasteful Government spending to get inflation under control.
    • Delivered tax cuts to ease the cost of living.
    • Restored the Reserve Bank’s focused on tackling inflation.
    • Restored the option of 90-day trials for all businesses.
    • Established the Ministry for Regulation to cut red tape to make doing business simpler.
    • Commenced two regulatory reviews for early childhood education and agricultural products.
    • Repealed the Auckland Fuel Tax.
    • Repealed the Ute Tax.
    • Repealed “Fair Pay” Agreements
    • Repealed Labour’s resource management regime.
    • Agreed on core design features for a replacement of the Resource Management Act centred on property rights.
    • Sped up timeframes for overseas investment applications.
    • Increased the use of sanctions for beneficiaries who can work but refuse to take steps to find a job.
    • Eased restrictions to accessing credit under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.
    • Scrapped EECA’s “decarbonising industry” (GIDI) fund.
    • Scrapped Auckland Light Rail, the Lake Onslow hydro scheme, and funding for Let’s Get Wellington Moving.
    • Started phasing back in interest deductibility.
    • Suspended the requirement for new Significant Natural Areas.
    • Unveiled a new contracting gateway test to provide certainty to workers and businesses.
    • Began delivering regulatory relief for businesses dealing with anti-money laundering rules.
    • Launched consultation to improve the Holidays Act.
    • Launched a nationwide roadshow to inform improvements to health and safety law.
    • Launched a framework for Regional Deals between central and local government to deliver infrastructure.
    • Stopped blanket speed limit reductions and enabled faster speed limits on our safest roads.
    • Introduced legislation to reverse the oil and gas ban and promote the use of Crown minerals.
    • Introduced tenancy legislation to enable Pet Bonds, restore 90-day ‘no cause’ terminations, and restore tenants’ and landlords’ notice periods to 21 and 42 days.
    • Introduced legislation to improve access to building products available overseas.
    • Introduced a member’s bill to liberalise Easter Trading.

    LAW AND ORDER:

    • Increased funding for Corrections to lift prison capacity.
    • Abolished Labour’s prisoner reduction target.
    • Defunded Section 27 “cultural reports”.
    • Commenced a review of the Firearms Registry.
    • Strengthened consequences for Kāinga Ora tenants who engage in repeated antisocial behaviour.
    • Strengthened Firearms Prohibition Orders.
    • Made gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing.
    • Introduced legislation to reinstate Three Strikes.
    • Introduced a member’s bill to make rehabilitation or education a condition of parole.
    • Introduced legislation to toughen sentences for attacks on workers and give weight to the victim’s circumstances at sentencing.
    • Introduced legislation to amend Part 6 of the Arms Act affecting clubs and ranges.

    STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY:

    • Directed the public service to deliver services based on need, not race, and end “progressive procurement” quotas.
    • Abolished the Māori Health Authority.
    • Advanced the Treaty Principles Bill.
    • Restored local referendums on Māori Wards.
    • Scrapped Labour’s law to give 16-year-olds votes in local elections.
    • Broadened the terms of reference of the Covid-19 Royal Commission with a second phase.
    • Defunded the Christchurch Call.
    • Halted work on hate speech laws.
    • Introduced legislation to remove Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.
    • Seen Otago University adopt a free speech policy in response to ACT’s coalition agreement.

    EDUCATION:

    • Restored charter schools, now with the option of state school conversion, with the first schools to open next year.
    • Streamlined early childhood education regulations.
    • Delivered an action plan to improve school attendance and started publishing attendance data weekly.
    • Improved the school lunch programme to feed more kids for less money.
    • Switched fees-free university from first year to third.

    HEALTH:

    • Delivered Pharmac its largest-ever budget, which has now funded life-saving medicines.
    • Repealed the Therapeutic Products Act.
    • Restored the sale of medicine containing pseudoephedrine.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: BRI to play role in sustainable development push

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    China will step up efforts to boost green development while promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, and support low-carbon transformation in developing countries, China’s ecology and environment minister said.

    The country’s concept and technologies of green development have been widely implemented during BRI infrastructure projects such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and the China-Laos Railway, Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment, said on Friday.

    China has signed 53 agreements on climate change cooperation with 42 developing countries while providing over 3,000 training sessions on ecological and environmental management for personnel in more than 120 countries. It has also provided feasibility assistance to enhance the climate change resilience of developing countries by helping to set up low-carbon demonstration zones, Huang said.

    He made the remarks during a forum on building a green Silk Road and enhancing South-South cooperation during the annual meeting of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development held in Beijing.

    In the future, China will offer more support for low-carbon transformation in developing countries, said Huang, who is also the executive vice-chairperson of the CCICED, adding the country will also share important concepts and the effective practices of coordinated efforts in carbon reduction and pollution control.

    Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said at the forum that a green BRI is more important to the world and China than ever before.

    “We are in the period where we need dramatically to accelerate the transformation of the world energy system. And China is the world’s great supplier of the technologies, hardware and software for that transformation because China produces the world’s low-cost and high-quality hardware and software whether it’s for zero-carbon power generation, long-distance power transmission, electric vehicles and supply chains,” Sachs said.

    China has great capacity in those sectors, and the world needs such capacity for accelerated green transformation, Sachs said, adding that the BRI is a great mechanism financially, organizationally, diplomatically, conceptually and in terms of specific project implementation to achieve such transformation.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How do heat protectants for hair work? A chemistry expert explains

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Eldridge, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, Swinburne University of Technology

    Dmitrii Pridannikov/Shutterstock

    Heat can do amazing things to change your hairstyle. Whether you’re using a curling wand to get ringlets, a flat iron to straighten or a hair dryer to style, it’s primarily the heat from these tools that delivers results.

    This comes with casualties. While your hair is surprisingly tolerant to heat compared with many other parts of your body, it can still only withstand so much. Heat treatment hair appliances frequently operate at over 150°C, with some reportedly reaching over 200°C. At these temperatures, your hair can end up fried.

    Many people use heat protectants, often in the form of sprays, to minimise the damage. So how do these protectants work? To answer that, I first have to explain exactly what heat does to your tresses on the molecular level.

    Heating tools can do amazing things – but this often comes at a price.
    Engin Akyurt/Pexels

    What heat does to your hair

    A large proportion of your hair is made up of proteins. There are attractive forces between these proteins, known as hydrogen bonds. These bonds play a big role in dictating the shape of your locks.

    When you heat up your hair, the total attraction of these hydrogen bonds become weaker, allowing you to more easily re-shape your hair. Then, when it cools back down, these attractions between the proteins are re-established, helping your hair hold its new look until the proteins rediscover their normal structure.

    The cuticle – the outermost protective layer of your hair – contains overlapping layers of cells that lose integrity when they’re heated, damaging this outer protective layer.

    Inside that outer layer is the cortex, which is rich in a protein called keratin.

    Many proteins don’t hold up structurally after intense heating. Think of cooking an egg – the change you see is a result of the heat altering the proteins in that egg, unravelling them into different shapes and sizes.

    It’s a similar story when it comes to heating your hair. The proteins in your hair are also susceptible to heat damage, reducing the overall strength and integrity of the hair.

    Heat can also affect substances called melanin and tryptophan in your hair, resulting in a change in pigmentation. Heat-damaged hair is harder to brush.

    The damage is even more devastating if you use heat styling tools such as curling irons or straighteners to heat wet hair, as at the high treatment temperatures, the water soaked up by the fibres can violently evaporate.

    The result of this is succinctly described by science educator and cosmetic chemist Michelle Wong, also known as Lab Muffin. She notes if you heat wet hair this way, “steam will blast through your hair’s structure”.

    This steam bubbling or bursting through the hair can cause substantial damage.

    It’s worth noting hair dryers don’t concentrate heat in the same way as styling tools such as flat irons or curling wands, but you still need to move the hair dryer around constantly to avoid heat building up in one spot and causing damage.

    Once heat damage is done, regardless of whether it is severe or mild, the best remaining options are symptom management or a haircut.

    For all of these reasons, when you’re planning to heat treat your hair, protection is a good idea.

    If you’re heating up hair, protection is a good idea.
    Bucsa Nicolae/Shutterstock

    How hair protectants work

    When you spray on a hair protectant, many possible key ingredients can go to work.

    They can have daunting-looking names like polyvinyl pyrrolidone, methacrylates, polyquaterniums, silicones and more.

    These materials are chosen because they readily stick onto your hair, creating a coating, a bit like this:

    Hair protectant applies a coating to your hair.
    Author provided

    This coating is a protective layer; it’s like putting an oven mitt on your hands before you handle a hot tray from the oven.

    To demonstrate, I created these by examining hair under a microscope before and after heat protectant was applied:

    These high magnification images of untreated hair, and hair sprayed with a heat treatment spray, show how the product coats your hair strands.
    Author provided

    Just like an oven mitt, a hair protectant delays the heat penetration, results in less heat getting through, and helps spread out the effect of the heat, a bit like in this image:

    Hair protectant can help spread out the effects of the heat.
    Author provided

    This helps prevent moisture loss and damage to both the protective surface cell layer (the cuticle) and the protein structure of the hair cortex.

    For these barriers to work at their best, these heat-protecting layers need to remain bound to your hair. In other words, they stick on really well.

    For this reason, continued use can sometimes cause a buildup which can change the feel and weight of your hair.

    This buildup is not permanent and can be removed with washing.

    One final and important note: just like when you use a mitt for the oven, heat does still get through. The only way to prevent heat damage to your hair altogether is to not use heated styling tools.

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

    – ref. How do heat protectants for hair work? A chemistry expert explains – https://theconversation.com/how-do-heat-protectants-for-hair-work-a-chemistry-expert-explains-233206

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: There’s a plan for free school lunches in Queensland. Is this a good idea?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Lecturer In Nutrition & Dietetics, University of the Sunshine Coast

    Queensland Premier Steven Miles has announced free school lunches if Labor is re-elected at the state’s upcoming election on October 26.

    The A$1.4 billion policy would cover primary students in public schools and begin next year. Labor estimates it would save parents about $1,600 per child, per year. On Sunday, Miles said:

    [The program is] universal to avoid stigmatising the kids that need the food the most, but also to ensure that it supports every Queensland family.

    The meals will be delivered in partnership with P&Cs Queensland, Queensland Association of School Tuckshops, school principals, Health and Wellbeing Queensland and non-government food providers.

    The Greens are also campaigning on a pledge to deliver free breakfasts and lunches for every state primary and high school student, costed at $3 billion over the next four years.

    Would a school lunches program help students and families? How would it work in practice?

    An unusual approach for Australia

    Unlike the United Kingdom and United States, Australian does not have a national or state-based free or subsidised school meal program.

    Instead, parents are responsible for providing morning tea and lunch through a “lunchbox system”. Families can also usually pre-order food from a canteen or tuckshop. In some cases, state or territory governments fund charities and non-for-profits to provide breakfast or lunch programs for schools identified as most in need of support.

    Research shows the nutritional quality of food provided to Australian school children often does not meet dietary guidelines. There are mandatory guidelines for state school canteens and tuckshops to follow but these are not always reflected in practice. Research shows many canteen menus contain less-than-desirable options and pricing often does not encourage families to buy healthier options.

    Unfortunately, health survey data shows Australian children’s diets are high in energy dense and nutritionally poor foods. On top of this, the 2023 Foodbank Report shows 36% of Australians are food insecure and about one quarter of these households have children at home who may not have adequate food for school.

    Australia has a ‘lunchbox system’ where families provide the food for school.
    Halfpoint/ Shutterstock

    What are the potential opportunities?

    So the idea of a free school lunch program delivered by organisations familiar with providing food in schools sounds like a positive solution.

    Beyond improving nutrition and health outcomes for more than 326,000 Queensland students, it can also provide other benefits.

    We could see improved school attendance by creating an incentive for students to go to school and improved diets leading to reduced illness. Because well-nourished children are more ready to learn, concentrate and stay on task, school lunches could lead to improved academic performance.

    Importantly, school lunches can reduce inequality and stigma for families who experience food insecurity.

    The school kitchen can also provide a opportunities for students to learn about food preparation and service as well as healthy eating.

    What are the key challenges?

    But we need to make sure the program is properly and sustainably designed. There will be a cost to taxpayers, not just in terms of the set up, but ongoing maintenance.

    The initial implementation will require commercial kitchens and equipment, qualified and trained staff, secure food procurement and supply chains as well as all the policies and procedures to go with this. This raises the question of whether the timeline of starting in Term 1, 2025 is realistic for all schools.

    The roll out needs to be equitable – extra consideration is needed for how this plan will be delivered to rural and remote Queenslanders. We also know access to reliable supplies of food, staff, equipment and support varies greatly across the state.

    The program will also need to cater to children with food allergies and intolerances, food preferences experienced with conditions like autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and different cultural eating practices.

    This plan has the potential to improve Queensland children’s health and education outcomes, while saving families money, time and stress. But it is complex and success will lie in making sure all Queensland primary students are provided with nutritious and appropriate food at school.

    Clare Dix has received funding from the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.

    – ref. There’s a plan for free school lunches in Queensland. Is this a good idea? – https://theconversation.com/theres-a-plan-for-free-school-lunches-in-queensland-is-this-a-good-idea-241242

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia has led the way regulating gene technology for over 20 years. Here’s how it should apply that to AI

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Powles, Associate Professor of Law and Technology; Director, UWA Tech & Policy Lab, Law School, The University of Western Australia

    Since 2019, the Australian Department for Industry, Science and Resources has been striving to make the nation a leader in “safe and responsible” artificial intelligence (AI). Key to this is a voluntary framework based on eight AI ethics principles, including “human-centred values”, “fairness” and “transparency and explainability”.

    Every subsequent piece of national guidance on AI has spun off these eight principles, imploring business, government and schools to put them into practice. But these voluntary principles have no real hold on organisations that develop and deploy AI systems.

    Last month, the Australian government started consulting on a proposal that struck a different tone. Acknowledging “voluntary compliance […] is no longer enough”, it spoke of “mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings”.

    But the core idea of self-regulation remains stubbornly baked in. For example, it’s up to AI developers to determine whether their AI system is high risk, by having regard to a set of risks that can only be described as endemic to large-scale AI systems.

    If this high hurdle is met, what mandatory guardrails kick in? For the most part, companies simply need to demonstrate they have internal processes gesturing at the AI ethics principles. The proposal is most notable, then, for what it does not include. There is no oversight, no consequences, no refusal, no redress.

    But there is a different, ready-to-hand model that Australia could adopt for AI. It comes from another critical technology in the national interest: gene technology.

    A different model

    Gene technology is what’s behind genetically modified organisms. Like AI, it raises concerns for more than 60% of the population.

    In Australia, it’s regulated by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. The regulator was established in 2001 to meet the biotech boom in agriculture and health. Since then, it’s become the exemplar of an expert-informed, highly transparent regulator focused on a specific technology with far-reaching consequences.

    Three features have ensured the gene technology regulator’s national and international success.

    First, it’s a single-mission body. It regulates dealings with genetically modified organisms:

    to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the environment, by identifying risks posed by or as a result of gene technology.

    Second, it has a sophisticated decision-making structure. Thanks to it, the risk assessment of every application of gene technology in Australia is informed by sound expertise. It also insulates that assessment from political influence and corporate lobbying.

    The regulator is informed by two integrated expert bodies: a Technical Advisory Committee and an Ethics and Community Consultative Committee. These bodies are complemented by Institutional Biosafety Committees supporting ongoing risk management at more than 200 research and commercial institutions accredited to use gene technology in Australia. This parallels best practice in food safety and drug safety.

    The Gene Technology Regulator has a sophisticated decision-making structure.
    Office of The Gene Technology Regulator, CC BY

    Third, the regulator continuously integrates public input into its risk assessment process. It does so meaningfully and transparently. Every dealing with gene technology must be approved. Before a release into the wild, an exhaustive consultation process maximises review and oversight. This ensures a high threshold of public safety.

    Regulating high-risk technologies

    Together, these factors explain why Australia’s gene technology regulator has been so successful. They also highlight what’s missing in most emerging approaches to AI regulation.

    The mandate of AI regulation typically involves an impossible compromise between protecting the public and supporting industry. As with gene regulation, it seeks to safeguard against risks. In the case of AI, those risks would be to health, the environment and human rights. But it also seeks to “maximise the opportunities that AI presents for our economy and society”.

    Second, currently proposed AI regulation outsources risk assessment and management to commercial AI providers. Instead, it should develop a national evidence base, informed by cross-disciplinary scientific, socio-technical and civil society expertise.

    The argument goes that AI is “out of the bag”, with potential applications too numerous and too mundane to regulate. Yet molecular biology methods are also well out of the bag. The gene tech regulator still maintains oversight of all uses of the technology, while continually working to categorise certain dealings as “exempt” or “low-risk” to facilitate research and development.

    Third, the public has no meaningful opportunity to assent to dealings with AI. This is true regardless of whether it involves plundering the archives of our collective imaginations to build AI systems, or deploying them in ways that undercut dignity, autonomy and justice.

    The lesson of more than two decades of gene regulation is that it doesn’t stop innovation to regulate a promising new technology until it can demonstrate a history of non-damaging use to people and the environment. In fact, it saves it.

    The UWA Tech & Policy Lab receives funding from nationally competitive research grants and philanthropic partners. The present research was supported by GA308883: Effective Ethical Frameworks for the State as an Enabler of Innovation, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Julia Powles is the Director of the Lab and has served as an independent member of the National AI Centre’s Think Tank on Responsible AI, the Australian Government’s National Robotics Strategy Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Panel supporting the Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Use of Generative AI in the Australian Education System. Through each of these bodies, she has provided advice on comparative AI regulation.

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

    – ref. Australia has led the way regulating gene technology for over 20 years. Here’s how it should apply that to AI – https://theconversation.com/australia-has-led-the-way-regulating-gene-technology-for-over-20-years-heres-how-it-should-apply-that-to-ai-240571

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Exercise empowers lung cancer patients to take active role in treatment

    Source: University of South Australia

    14 October 2024

    Coughing, chest pain and a shortness of breath – they’re all distressing symptoms of lung cancer. So, while exercise may seem a counterintuitive activity for lung cancer patients, new research shows otherwise.

    In a cornerstone review from a team of global experts*­ – including Southern Cross University and the University of South Australia – researchers show that exercise may not only improve quality of life and treatment effectiveness, but also boost survival rates for lung cancer patients.

    Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In Australia, it is estimated that 15,122 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year alone.

    Examining the effects of exercise on various lung-cancer associated health outcomes, researchers have now developed recommendations for patients and health practitioners, to support exercise before, during and after lung cancer treatments.

    Combined aerobic and resistance training, performed 2-5 times per week, is typically prescribed across the cancer continuum. Researchers say that exercise can support lung cancer patients by:

    • Improving quality of life: Exercise programs demonstrate improvements in fitness, strength, and quality of life for people with lung cancer before, during, and after treatment.
    • Reducing symptoms: Exercise can help manage cancer-related symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, and muscle weakness.
    • Reducing post-op complications: Preoperative exercise programs may lead to reduced postoperative complications and shorter hospital stays.
    • Boosting wellbeing: Exercise during treatment can help patients maintain muscle mass, reduce fatigue, and improve psychological well-being.
    • Increasing appetite: Exercise may play a role in managing cancer cachexia (a common complication of cancer that causes you to lose significant amounts of skeletal muscle and body fat) and can be safe for patients with bone metastases when properly prescribed.
    • Easing advanced symptoms: Exercise can be beneficial even for patients with advanced-stage lung cancer, helping to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.

    Lead author Southern Cross University’s Associate Professor Kellie Toohey says to optimise exercise interventions for lung cancer patients, an integrated approach across interdisciplinary care teams was needed.

    “Lung cancer care involves a broad range of healthcare professionals – oncologists, clinical exercise physiologists, dieticians, psychologists, and physical therapists – all of whom must work together to support a patient with exercise,” Associate Professor Toohey says.

    “To facilitate this integration, we need to educate healthcare providers and patients about exercise in lung cancer care.

    “By highlighting the mental and physical benefits of exercise, we hope that patients can be empowered to take a more active role in their treatment and recovery, potentially transforming their lung cancer journey from passive endurance to active participation in health improvement.”

    UniSA researcher Dr Ben Singh says the research challenges beliefs about the inability of people with lung cancer to exercise.

    “There’s an often-held misconception that lung cancer patients are too ill or frail to exercise, particularly because their illness affects their lungs and breathing. But contrary to this belief, research shows that exercise can have many benefits for people with lung cancer,” Dr Singh says.

    “Exercise has the potential to counteract many health issues, not only improving their quality of life, but also potentially influencing treatment outcomes.

    “This is particularly striking given the historically poor prognosis associated with lung cancer.

    “Regular, tailored exercise can help improve a patient’s physical condition, helping them better tolerate the physical demand of diagnosis, surgery, treatment, and recovery. It can also vastly improve a patient’s mental health, helping counteract feelings of depression and anxiety, so often associated with a lung cancer diagnosis.”

    Notes for editors:

    *This research has been conducted by a team of researchers from Southern Cross University, University of Canberra, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Edith Cowan University, Flinders University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Notre Dame Australia, University of South Australia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul (Brazil), Institute for Respiratory Health, University of Western Australia, University of Queensland, University of Pittsburgh (USA), Campbelltown Hospital, University of Melbourne, The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Griffith University, and Cancer Council Queensland.

    Media contacts

    Southern Cross University: Sharlene King, media office, M +61 429 661 349 E scumedia@scu.edu.au
    UniSA: Annabel Mansfield, media & communications, M +61 479 182 489 E Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au
    UniSA contact for interview:  Dr Ben Singh E: Ben.Singh@unisa.edu.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientists from the NSU Climate Center have developed low-carbon building materials

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    New building materials with a low carbon footprint have been developed by scientists from the Climate Center of Novosibirsk State University. Large-tonnage man-made waste from the mining, construction and energy industries is used in the production of these materials. Here, mineral raw materials obtained as a result of the demolition of buildings and structures, waste from quarries and mines for the extraction of minerals, metallurgical slag, as well as ash and slag waste from coal combustion at power plants are used. Thanks to the use of technology developed in the laboratory of the Climate Center, new cement-free building materials not only have a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional concrete, but are also capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

    — Cement production is associated with high energy costs. The specifics of the technological process involve the firing of mineral raw materials, which results in the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which ensures a high level of greenhouse gas emissions. About 800-900 kilograms of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere per ton of cement produced. This puts the cement industry in third place in terms of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the problem of decarbonization of the construction industry is relevant and quite acute. At our Carbon Polygon, we create technologies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint in the cement industry, developing and implementing alternative mineral binders and “green” building materials based on them, — explained Georgy Lazorenko, Director of the NSU Climate Center.

    In the production of materials, the technogenic mineral raw materials used are subjected to high-intensity mechanical grinding and are divided into different fractions. In some cases, methods of preliminary heat treatment in a high-temperature furnace or in microwave heating chambers are used – depending on the purpose of the finished mixture that scientists intend to obtain. Next, the mineral raw material mixture is mixed with an activator on an alkaline or acidic basis. As a rule, it is an aqueous solution that is mixed with a solid mineral finely dispersed phase. As a result, a solution mixture is formed, the hardening of which ensures the formation of a ceramic or concrete-like material.

    The use of man-made mineral raw materials with a high content of calcium and magnesium cations, capable of reacting with carbon dioxide to form stable carbonate minerals, in the production of binders ensures the binding of CO2 with the developed materials.

    — We conduct research on the ability of materials to absorb carbon dioxide using a specially designed carbonization chamber, into which CO2 is pumped under pressure. Under controlled operating parameters — temperature, humidity and pressure — we forcibly carbonize the material and study the kinetics of the mineral carbonization process, — said Georgy Lazorenko.

    Currently, the technology for producing cement-free low-carbon building materials is being developed in laboratory conditions. In the laboratory of the NSU Climate Center, scientists are optimizing the recipes and technological modes of producing materials, and are also developing approaches aimed at increasing the effect of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmospheric air by materials. Also, in laboratory conditions, pilot samples of materials have been created using various types of man-made materials from various industrial facilities in the country.

    Various products can be formed from the developed compositions. Currently, samples of tiles have been manufactured that can be used in urban infrastructure, as well as heat and sound insulation materials that can easily compete with products based on ordinary cements in terms of technical qualities and have a significant advantage in terms of carbon footprint.

    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.

    https://vvv.nsu.ru/n/media/nevs/science/scientists-climate-center-nsu-developed-low-carbon-building-materials/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City marks Hate Crime Awareness Week

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Hate crime is any criminal offence committed against a person or property which is motivated by an offender’s hatred of someone because of their race, colour, ethnic origin or nationality, their religion, their gender or gender identity, their sexual orientation, or their disability.

    It can take many forms, from physical attacks such as an assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti and arson, to verbal abuse or insults or the threat of attack, including the sending of offensive letters, emails or texts, abusive or obscene telephone calls or malicious complaints.

    The Safer Wolverhampton Partnership is calling on people to help raise awareness of the issue, and understand the ways that victims of, or witnesses to, an incident can report hate crime, during this year’s national Hate Crime Awareness Week, which began on Saturday and continues until 19 October. People can:

    • Call police on 101 – or dial 999 if it is an emergency
    • Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers 
    • Report in person to the police at any police station or one of the Police Hate Crime drop-ins – see StopHateWLV for details
    • Report at any Third-Party Reporting Centre – independent organisations that have been trained to record hate crimes and incidents, offer support and signpost to other help. See StopHateWLV for details
    • Visit Report It and fill in the online reporting form which will be forwarded to police for investigation
    • If an incident occurs on a train or the Midland Metro, text British Transport Police on 61016
    • If the incident is Islamophobic in nature, Tell MAMA by visiting Tell MAMA or calling on 0800 456 1226
    • If the incident is anti-Semitic, it can be reported via Community Security Trust’s website, CST, or by calling 0208 457 9999.  

    Members of the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership will be at Tesco Wolverhampton, Marston Road, on Wednesday (16 October) from 10am to 12.30pm, Central Library, Snow Hill, on Thursday (17 October) from 10am to 12.30pm and Wednesfield Library, Well Lane, also Thursday from 2pm to 4.30pm, to raise awareness the importance of reporting hate crime, and will also be holding a series of other activities throughout the week.

    Meanwhile, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Public Health team have been working with the University of Wolverhampton’s Wellbeing champions, who will be supporting with activities this week.

    John Denley, Wolverhampton’s Director of Public Health, said: “The Safer Wolverhampton Partnership takes hate crime incredibly seriously, and all reports will be fully investigated by police.

    “We are using Hate Crime Awareness Week to get people thinking about how they can respond to hate crime if they witness or are victims to it.

    “Most importantly, we’ll be encouraging people to report instances of hate crime, which will enable victims to get the support they need and to ensure those committing it are met with justice.”

    People can find out more about hate crime by logging on to StopHateWLV. For details of National Hate Crime Awareness week, please visit #NationalHCAW. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientific Symposium at the Polytechnic: New Technologies in Medicine and Physiology

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    On October 10 and 11, the Polytechnic University hosted a scientific symposium entitled “New Technologies in Preventive Medicine and Physiology”. The event was organized by Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the participation of the Preventive Medicine Section of the Medical Sciences Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Physiological Sciences Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

    The symposium, dedicated to new technologies in preventive medicine and physiology, was held as part of the events for the 125th anniversary of the founding of SPbPU. The participants were members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading experts in the field of immunology, virology, physiology, brain sciences, as well as young scientists, postgraduates and senior students of SPbPU.

    It is a great honor for us that such an event is held at the Polytechnic University. This means that our university is a significant part of the process of forming advanced scientific thought in the field of life sciences in the Russian Federation. Any high-quality research requires a serious material and technical base, constant continuity, and development of educational programs. To achieve maximum efficiency, we must concentrate our knowledge, transmit it, and combine efforts at events like our symposium, – the first vice-rector of SPbPU Vitaly Sergeev opened the event.

    After this, the event participants were greeted by the guests of honor.

    We are facing extremely serious tasks that can only be solved by consolidating all our efforts. The areas that we are discussing at the symposium are priorities. This is the development of mRNA drugs, the creation of vaccines, genetically engineered biological drugs, medicines, and many others. I am confident that today’s event will be another contribution to the development of science not only in St. Petersburg, but also in our country, – emphasized the head of the Rheumatology Research Laboratory, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Chief Scientific Secretary of the Presidium of the North-West Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Vadim Mazurov.

    Polytechnic University has already become a bit like home for me. For many years, we have been cooperating with the university in two areas. Firstly, this is the educational level: we give online lectures to students. Secondly, we have close scientific cooperation in the field of microRNA, as well as in the creation of vaccines, primarily subunit, recombinant ones. The symposium presents reports on various topics, but all of them are related to the most pressing medical and biological problems, – noted the scientific director of the I. I. Mechnikov Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the preventive medicine section of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Zverev.

    Words of gratitude to the Polytechnic University for holding the symposium were expressed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Advisor to the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Natochin.

    The first report was given by the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Systems and Biotechnology, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Vasin. He spoke about the development of “life sciences” at the Polytechnic and the contribution of Polytechnic scientists to the development of these sciences.

    Andrey Vasin presented the main areas of scientific activity of the Institute of Biomedical Systems and Biotechnology and its structural divisions, in particular the Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration under the direction of Ilya Bezprozvanny, the Research Complex “Nanobiotechnology”, the Research Laboratory “Polymer Materials for Tissue Engineering and Transplantology”, the Laboratory of Nano- and Microencapsulation of Biologically Active Substances.

    Yuri Natochin spoke about the problems of stabilizing the physicochemical parameters of blood, Vitaly Zverev spoke about vaccination. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei Seredenin spoke about the report “Pharmacological regulation of Sigma1R chaperone”. Director of the Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Areg Totolyan spoke about COVID-19 and the development of infectious immunology.

    A joint work dedicated to new technologies for the prevention of infections associated with the provision of medical care was presented by the head of the Department of Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine of the First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Briko, an employee of the Kemerovo State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia Elena Brusnina and the director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vasily Akimkin.

    The report “Natural technologies for controlling the activity of neural networks in the long-term range” was presented by the Director of the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pavel Balaban.

    Director of the Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnology of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia Vsevolod Belousov spoke about oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases.

    On the second day of the symposium, visiting sessions of the Bureau of the Section of Preventive Medicine of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Bureau of the Department of Physiological Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences were held.

    Research in the field of life sciences began at the Polytechnic University back in the 1960s, when the Physics and Mechanics Department began training personnel in the field of “Biophysics”. Our university has become a real forge of personnel for domestic molecular biology, physiology, biophysics, virology and even medicine. Many Polytechnic graduates have been successfully working in the leading scientific institutes of our country for half a century and head some of them. A number of graduates are members of the departments of medical, physiological and medical sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As part of the research conducted at the Polytechnic University, we collaborate with leading Russian and foreign research teams. I am very glad that we were able to gather such a large number of leading scientists of our country in the field of physiology and preventive medicine at the university. I would also like to note that we held two visiting Bureaus – the Department of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the section of preventive medicine of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, – Andrey Vasin summed up.

    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.

    http://www.spbstu.ru/media/nevs/science_and_innovations/scientific-symposium-at-polytechnic-new-technologies-in-medicine-and-physiology/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A presentation of the transport company DPD was held for students of the State University of Management

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    Last week, as part of the project day at the State University of Management, a presentation was held by DPD, the leader in the Russian market for express delivery of parcels and cargo.

    DPD is a reliable transport company providing a full range of transport and logistics services in the business sector.

    At the presentation, students were told about the organization’s activities and its services. Not only senior students were invited to it, but also first-year students studying in the specialty “Logistics and Supply Chain Management” in order to delve into the complex, but very important and interesting process of cargo delivery from the very beginning of their studies.

    The presentation was given by the Director of the Department of Operations of Moscow and the Moscow Region DPD, a graduate of the State University of Management Dmitry Yakushin and the Head of the Department of Technology and Development of Client Services in DPD Operations Svetlana Salakhutdinova. They were very happy to share their experience of working not only at DPD, but also in this area in general. In addition, they answered the students in detail to every question that arose.

    The students were also told about the procedure for completing an internship at DPD, and interested students were given individual consultations regarding further employment.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/14/2024

    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.

    A presentation of the transport company DPD was held for students of the State University of Management

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: This beautiful peacock spider was only found two years ago. Now it could be dancing its last dance

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lizzy Lowe, Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Ecology and Entomology, Edith Cowan University

    If you notice a tiny, strikingly coloured spider performing an elaborate courtship dance, you may have seen your first peacock spider.

    New species of peacock spider are discovered every year; the tally is now 113. One newly discovered species, Maratus yanchep, is only known to exist in a small area of coastal dunes near Yanchep, north of Perth.

    As Perth’s suburbs sprawl ever further north and south, it means one problem – the housing crisis – is worsening another, the extinction crisis.

    The dunes which are home to Maratus yanchep are just 20 metres from land being cleared for large new estates.

    If the species was formally listed as threatened, it could be protected. But the spider was only described in 2022 and has not been listed on state or federal threatened species lists. That means Maratus yanchep has no protection, according to the state government.

    What’s so special about a spider?

    Peacock spiders are tiny. Many have bodies just 4–5 mm across. The males only put on their mating displays during short periods of the year, typically August to September. Their size and habits also make it hard to learn about their populations and preferred habitats. This is partly why we’re only now realising how many peacock spider species there are.

    Concerted effort by enthusiasts such as Jurgen Otto has greatly expanded our knowledge. Of the 113 described species, each has distinctive colouring and its own dances (males have the colour and the moves). But we know there are more species of peacock spider waiting to be recognised by western science.

    Many species of peacock spider are only known from within a very small area of suitable habitat.

    This puts the species at high risk of extinction because a single threat such as a large bushfire or a suburban development can destroy all their habitat at once.

    Peacock spiders such as this Maratus tasmanicus are tiny but pack a lot of personality.
    Kristian Bell/Shutterstock

    How can this be allowed?

    Before any native bushland is cleared in Australia, developers have to undertake an environmental impact survey to look for threatened species and assess what damage the development would do. If a threatened species is found, the development can be scaled back or denied.

    The problem is, these surveys only look for species known to be in danger. If a species isn’t listed on Australia’s growing list of threatened species, it won’t be looked for.

    But Maratus yanchep has not been assessed to see if it is threatened. This means it has no protection from development.

    This points to a wider problem. Large, well-known Australian vertebrates such as koalas and platypuses tend to get more attention – and conservation efforts – than humble invertebrates. We face an uphill battle to conserve our wealth of invertebrates.

    Worldwide, many invertebrates are in real danger of disappearing. Australia is home to at least 300,000 invertebrate species, dwarfing the 8,000-odd vertebrates – but only 101 are currently listed under the federal government’s laws protecting threatened species, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act. The problem here is we don’t have enough data to assess most invertebrate species for formal conservation listing and protection.

    Data takes money

    Listing a species as threatened requires a large amount of data on where the species is and isn’t found. This takes time and specialist knowledge. But funding is scarce.

    As a result, our efforts to gather data on invertebrates often relies on passionate volunteers and enthusiasts, who may often pick one genus – say peacock spiders – and set out to expand our knowledge.

    When clear and immediate threats do appear – such as clearing coastal dunes in Yanchep – we are again reliant on the unpaid work of volunteers to gather information.

    The problem of sprawl

    Perth is one of the longest cities in the world. Its suburbs sprawl for 150 kilometres, running from Two Rocks in the north to Dawesville in the south.

    Many Perth residents want to live by the coast, driving demand for new housing on the city outskirts. This drives destruction of native bushland and pushes species towards extinction. Some species tolerate the change from bushland to suburbia, but these are a minority – less than 25%. Small, localised species are at highest risk of extinction.

    Perth’s sprawl shows no sign of slowing. Land clearing for housing has contributed to the worsening plight of the Carnaby’s cockatoo. Fifty years ago, the iconic cockatoo flew over the city in flocks as large as 7,000. There’s nothing like that now.

    Perth’s urban sprawl now stretches beyond Yanchep. Pictured: Yanchep’s beach. The bush area in the background is where maratus yanchep lives.
    Kok Kin Meng/Shutterstock

    What can we do?

    Efforts are underway to protect Maratus yanchep. The not-for-profit charity Invertebrates Australia is working to nominate it for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Greens MP Brad Pettitt raised the issue in Parliament in August.

    The one thing peacock spiders have going for them is their looks. They are spectacularly beautiful. They’re also easily identified by the distinct patterns on the males – for most species you don’t need expert training to tell them apart, just decent eyesight.

    As a result, peacock spiders have drawn attention from dozens of amateur arachnologists and photographers who collect and share information on where they can be found. This citizen science data is often able to be used as evidence in listing a species as threatened – and unlocking vital protection.

    Images of these spiders also boosts their public profile and support for their protection.

    Despite the recent groundswell of interest in saving this tiny spider, it may be too late. To avoid the mass extinction of iconic Australian species, we must find better ways of building without large-scale habitat clearing.



    Read more:
    Photos from the field: zooming in on Australia’s hidden world of exquisite mites, snails and beetles

    Lizzy Lowe is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia

    Jess Marsh is affiliated with Invertebrates Australia.

    Dr Leanda Denise Mason is affiliated with Centre for People, Place, and Planet.

    – ref. This beautiful peacock spider was only found two years ago. Now it could be dancing its last dance – https://theconversation.com/this-beautiful-peacock-spider-was-only-found-two-years-ago-now-it-could-be-dancing-its-last-dance-238437

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Students of the State University of Management won the competition program of the IV Saratov Youth Legal Forum

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On October 8-10, 2024, the 4th Saratov Youth Legal Forum “The Role of Law in Ensuring National Security of Modern Russia” was held at the Saratov State Law School, in which students of the State University of Management took part and won the competition program.

    Over the course of three days, at 48 industry sites, more than 500 young researchers from 37 subjects of the Russian Federation and 9 foreign countries exchanged experiences and research developments with each other, and strengthened their knowledge in the field of law and related areas at interactive lectures, business games and master classes.

    The State University of Management was represented at the Forum by IGUIP students in the Jurisprudence program: Alexandra Zhuk, Eva Salnikova, Alisa Savkina, Varvara Yupatova and Karina Meshcheryakova (academic supervisor: Associate Professor of the Department of Private Law Svetlana Titor).

    As part of the Forum, they took part in competitions for draft reports in the following nominations:

    — “Values of Law in the Context of the New World Order,” where Karina Meshcheryakova became the winner;

    — “Traditional family values: the law as a guarantee of their preservation and strengthening of national security”, where Alisa Savkina took third place;

    — “Transformation of Russian state policy in the sphere of labor and youth employment,” where Eva Salnikova became the winner, and Alexandra Zhuk took second place and received the audience award.

    Also, as part of the Forum, students visited the Historical Park in Saratov “Russia – My History” and presented reports at the All-Russian scientific and practical conference “Historical, legal, philosophical and socio-cultural experience of the development of Russian statehood”.

    The result of the large-scale work of the Forum was a resolution that summarized all the results achieved, reflected the opinions of the participants and the recommendations of experts. It will serve as a basis for new research and development in the field of legal science and practice.

    We congratulate our girls on a truly successful trip and a full podium of prize places, and wish them further great achievements in their studies.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/14/2024

    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.

    Students of the State University of Management won the competition program of the IV Saratov Youth Legal Forum

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: World sci-tech forum champions multilateral scientific cooperation

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    The 2024 World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF) will be held in Beijing from Oct. 22 to 24, the China Association for Science and Technology announced Thursday.
    The forum will focus on the theme “Science and Technology for the Future,” addressing topics such as artificial intelligence, ocean negative carbon emissions, open science, intelligent manufacturing, urban health and disaster prevention. It aims to gather global insights and promote technological innovation and sustainable development.
    Since its inception in 2019, the forum has prioritized development, fostering multilateral scientific cooperation and working to establish fairer international development partnerships while contributing Chinese solutions to global governance.
    Striving for a global sci-tech community
    The WSTDF champions open cooperation, serving as a bridge for global scientific development. By promoting open-source sharing, the forum aims to unify global expertise to advance technological innovation and social progress.
    Open science and open-source innovation form the backbone of technological application and industrial digitalization, providing crucial solutions to global challenges.
    The 2020 forum saw participants delve into technological and industrial upgrades through open-source innovation, chip development and internationalization of open-source initiatives. They also examined ways to deepen scientific research through open science. Discussions underscored the profound influence of open science, data sharing, and open-source innovation on the global tech landscape.
    The forum culminated in a shared vision of openness, inclusivity, and resource sharing, emphasizing a strategic global perspective for future technological progress.
    The forum has consistently advocated for open governance, urging the global scientific community to embrace collaborative efforts. For instance, the 2020 forum featured a technology service and trading event, establishing the Network for International Cooperation on Technology Commercialization to promote global technology transfer.
    Engaging in global environmental governance
    China advocates for harmony between humanity and nature, accelerating green and low-carbon transformation to promote ecological development. The WSTDF aligns with this vision, prioritizing environmental governance as a key way to advance global sustainability.
    In 2022, the forum launched an initiative on new energy equipment practices, encouraging domestic institutions to harness technological innovation for low-carbon development and high-level talent cultivation, with projects aimed at peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.
    Collaborating on global public health governance
    Public health is vital for human survival and integral to economic growth, social development and individual well-being. The forum emphasizes enhancing global health governance as a central concern.
    At the inaugural forum in 2019, Fang-Fang Yin, radiation oncology professor at Duke University, discussed the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in cancer imaging and radiotherapy.
    During the fourth forum in 2022, Yunbing Wang, director of the Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, dean of the College of Biomedical Engineering of Sichuan University, and vice president of the Chinese Society for Biomaterials, presented innovative research and products for treating severe heart diseases.
    In 2023, discussions expanded further, encompassing biomedical technology innovation, clinical advancements and future health industries. Participants also addressed bottlenecks in the field. These exchanges have played a crucial role in advancing technological development and commercialization in health while bolstering global health standards.
    Making efforts to safeguard food security
    Food security is essential for global peace and development, serving as a cornerstone for building a community with a shared future for mankind. In response to significant global challenges regarding food loss and waste, the WSTDF has consistently prioritized food security.
    At the inaugural forum in 2019, overseas scholar Vania G. Zuin Zeidler introduced the bio-circular economy, proposing a natural ecosystem through green, sustainable agriculture and processing systems that produce healthy food and value-added related products. She advocated for sustainable agriculture to address food waste.
    In 2022, discussions focused on technological innovations for high-quality agricultural development. The forum emphasized germplasm resources, seed technology, intellectual property protection and collaboration between scientific institutions and enterprises.
    These efforts have established a strong foundation for achieving global food security and promoting sustainable agricultural development.
    This year’s forum seeks to strengthen international scientific cooperation and tackle global challenges amid unprecedented changes. The event will provide perspectives on technological trends while showcasing China’s commitment to innovation-driven development and a community with a shared future for mankind.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fall of Khrushchev: 60 years since the ‘most democratic coup’ in Soviet history, how Comrade Nikita was toppled

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tomas Sniegon, Associate Professor, Department of European Studies, Lund University

    The overthrow of Nikita Khrushchev from the posts of first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and the leader of the Soviet state in October 1964 was an unprecedented event in the history of the Soviet Union.

    The old leader was deposed by the opposition without violence. He was not imprisoned or killed after losing power. While his predecessors Lenin and Stalin and successors Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko all died in power, Khrushchev was sent into retirement, where he lived under supervision for another seven years.

    Unlike the era of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union did not disintegrate when its leader had to relinquish power. Six decades have now passed since what has become known as the “most democratic coup” in Soviet history – sometimes referred to as the “little October revolution”.

    Khrushchev, who rose to power on the death of Josef Stalin in 1953, actually came close to being overthrown as early as 1957. At that time, Stalin’s former collaborators and close comrades, including Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov, opposed him. They even gained an upper hand in the party’s highest body, the presidium. But Khrushchev was saved by the support of the army leadership, the KGB political police and the wider party leadership, the central committee.

    Seven years later, however, he was brought down by politicians from the next generation – men who largely owed their powerful positions to him.

    Strongest among them was Leonid Brezhnev, who duly took Khrushchev’s place as first secretary (shortly afterwards renaming his position general secretary, the same title as Stalin). Next in line was Alexander Shelepin, the powerful secretary of the party’s central committee who had run the KGB from 1958 to 1961.

    The role of the KGB, which in October 1964 was headed by Shelepin’s successor Vladimir Semichastny, was crucial in ensuring Khrushchev’s downfall, as its ninth directorate – which was responsible for the protection of state officials – not only protected but also constantly monitored them.

    Semichastny not only knew about the revolt against Khrushchev but was actively involved in it. Had he informed the leader about the plotting, pretty much what he was in the job to do, Khrushchev would more than likely have averted the palace coup this time as well.

    In his memoirs, Semichastny even mentioned the fact that Brezhnev raised the possibility of Khrushchev’s assassination during one conversation with him. But this plan was never put into action. In the event the plot to remove the Soviet leader was completed by non-violent means.

    Reforming leader

    Khrushchev has gone down in history as a reformer who wanted to make Soviet communism less brutal. He strongly criticised Stalin for his abuse of power but, at the same time, he gradually increased his own powers.

    His efforts at political and economic reforms stopped when they posed a threat to maintaining the monopoly of communist power. Despite paying lip service to the idea of less heavy-handed domination of the Soviet bloc from Moscow, he became known for his bloody suppression of the Hungarian revolt in 1956. During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, he then brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

    New kind of leadership: Kruschev meeting US president John F Kennedy in Vienna in 1961.

    His initially positive reforms improved the living standards) of the people in his country, but later became chaotic and led to social unrest, including the massacre of workers in Novocherkassk in 1962 and the need to buy grain from the west, which he had previously wanted to ideologically “bury”.

    Also, the rift between the Soviet Union and China at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s caused a certain resentment in Moscow. Khrushchev’s moves towards liberalisation had not caused the rift, which was more due to China’s increased authoritarianism under Mao Zedong during that era. This was exacerbated by border disputes between the two countries as well as disagreements over international relations. But Khrushchev’s critics felt he could – and should – have handled relations more skilfully.

    Fall and legacy

    Having faced down a coup attempt in 1957, by October 1964 Khrushchev found himself politically isolated and without support in either the presidium or in the central committee. His opponents forced him to return prematurely from his vacation in the Georgian report town of Pitsunda to Moscow where he was confronted by his political opponents, led by Brezhnev with the support of other powerful politicians, including Shelepin, Alexei Kosygin and Mikhail Suslov.

    Realising his supporters in the presidium were in the minority and that to retain power would mean involving the army or KGB, which he was not confident would back him, Khruschev resigned.

    Reflecting on how his leadership had rejected Stalinism, he is reported to have said: “I am glad that, finally, the party has matured and can control any individual.”

    But Brezhnev, who manoeuvred himself into power in Khrushchev’s stead, learned from the fall of his predecessor and tightened his grip on the levers of power. Yet the Soviet Union – thanks in large part to Khrushchev – never returned the state terror and mass murder of Stalinism.

    The Soviet Union was to experience another coup attempt against a leader in 1991, when conservative opponents tried to overthrow another reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev. But this attempt, much less prepared and elaborate and lacking the necessary wider support, failed. The Soviet Union collapsed and was formally disbanded just a few months later.

    But for many people, it’s Khrushchev whose reforms and governing style began the gradual disintegration of the Soviet Union as far back as the 1950s, partly thanks to his efforts to impose more democratisation. It is not surprising that the current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, disdains him – especially since Khrushchev, according to Putin, “senselessly donated” Crimea to Ukraine in 1954.

    At least Khrushchev himself was able to live to focus on the positives. He would recall in his memoir how he freed his country from the suffocating fear of Stalinism and was able to raise a generation of younger politicians who were finally not afraid to stand up to him. Sadly, this is no longer a hallmark under the current leadership.

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

    – ref. Fall of Khrushchev: 60 years since the ‘most democratic coup’ in Soviet history, how Comrade Nikita was toppled – https://theconversation.com/fall-of-khrushchev-60-years-since-the-most-democratic-coup-in-soviet-history-how-comrade-nikita-was-toppled-241053

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Pedagogical Start”: Intern Training Begins at Polytechnic University

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    An important task of the university’s personnel policy is the development and systematic implementation of fundamentally new tools and mechanisms for the professional development of the teaching staff. Starting from this academic year, the Polytechnic University Four career paths have been introduced: teacher-researcher, teacher-mentor, teacher-practitioner and intern.

    Last week, the training of interns under the Pedagogical Start program began. 75 young specialists began studying the basics of pedagogical activity and teaching methods with subsequent practice. The interns included final-year students and postgraduates who have been working at the university since the beginning of this academic year as educational and auxiliary or engineering personnel. The allocation and financing of full-time positions for interns is carried out from the university’s centralized fund. Each intern is assigned a mentor – an experienced teacher.

    At the organizational meeting with interns and their mentors, the Vice-Rector for Educational Activities, Chairperson of the Selection Committee of the Faculty of the Faculty, Lyudmila Pankova, spoke about the specifics and features of training interns.

    Formation of the career trajectory of interns is aimed at creating additional conditions for attracting, retaining and developing young promising specialists with high potential at our university. Through planned training of interns through the system of training and mentoring, in a year the university receives a formed young specialist, ready for teaching and research activities, possessing pedagogical experience and planning his professional development at the university, – noted Lyudmila Vladimirovna.

    During this academic year, interns will undergo a special professional retraining program and enter the classroom with their mentors. Interns will also undergo an assessment of universal competencies on the presidential platform of the ANO “Russia – Country of Opportunities”.

    The retraining program “Pedagogical Start” includes several thematic modules devoted to the history and development trends of higher education, regulatory framework for educational activities, psychological and pedagogical training, visualization technologies, design of educational resources in a digital educational environment, rhetoric, as well as practices of using artificial intelligence as a teaching tool.

    An important element of the training program for interns is their internship, which includes attending classes with leading teachers of the structural unit where the intern works, developing and conducting practical classes with subsequent discussion of the results with their mentor, and creating an electronic educational resource for their course.

    The modules of the “Pedagogical Start” program are designed so that interns can quickly integrate into the Polytechnic’s teaching community. For example, the first classes include an introduction to the history of our university and a visit to the museum, and the basics of public speaking will be mastered using a specialized VR complex, explained Elena Zima, head of the retraining program and director of the Education Quality Center.

    In the second part of the organizational meeting, representatives of the PPS competition committee discussed topics of interest to interns, their mentors and those responsible for the implementation of personnel policy at the institutes. The employment procedure was covered by the Head of the Personnel Department Maria Pakhomova. Secretary of the PPS competition committee Olga Kalinina answered questions regarding the specifics of the entry conditions and the planned results of the intern’s career trajectory.

    After the organizational meeting, Lyudmila Pankova gave the interns the first lecture under the retraining program on the topic of “Modern trends in education.”

    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.

    https://vvv.spbstu.ru/media/nevs/education/pedagogical-start-at-the-polytechnic-training-trainees-has begun/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ashcroft Participates in Security Summit – Vows to Maintain Election Integrity in Missouri

    Source: US State of Missouri

    For immediate release:                 October 10, 2024

    Contact:                                         JoDonn Chaney, Communications Director

                                                            (573) 526-0949

    Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft returned yesterday from a two-day election security summit in Omaha, NE, put on by the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center (NCITE) headquartered at the University of Nebraska.

    Ashcroft and four other secretaries of state, Nebraska’s Bob Evnen, Iowa’s Paul Pate, Kansas’ Scott Schwab, and South Dakota’s Monae Johnson, met together to discuss election and cybersecurity issues in preparation for the upcoming November election.

    “We run elections for the people of the states; we run elections for our government because it is how ‘we the people’ decide that our Republic will move forward,” Ashcroft said. “No matter who wins or loses, or which issues pass or fail, at the end of the day, the American people can rest assured knowing that they were a part of the decision process and that their votes counted and that the votes made a difference.”

    The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) presented information to the secretaries as several states, including Missouri, have received threats and “suspicious packages” of recent. The federal agency provides election officials with security assessments and scenarios to help prepare for a variety of possibilities that could including ransomware, physical threats – including de-escalation and anti-active shooter incidents, and threats from foreign adversaries (such as Russia, Iran and China). 

    “It was good to come together in person; to share ideas,” Ashcroft said. “It is our job as the chief election official in our respective states to make sure elections are safe, secure and accurate for everyone participating in the process.”

    Missouri has 116 local election authorities who work to make sure elections run smoothly across the state. Election information, as well as ballot issues, can be found at GoVoteMissouri.com.

    —30—

    Visit http://www.sos.mo.gov to learn more about the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: English Translation of Opening Remarks by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at 21st ASEAN-India Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 10 OCT 2024 7:14PM by PIB Delhi

    Your Excellency, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone,

    Your Majesty,

    Excellencies,

    Namaskar।

    Today, I am honored to participate in this meeting for the eleventh time alongside the ASEAN family.

    Ten years ago, I announced India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Over the past decade, this initiative has revitalized the historic ties between India and ASEAN countries, infusing them with renewed energy, direction, and momentum.

    Giving importance to ASEAN centrality, we launched the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative in 2019. This initiative complements the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.”

    Last year, we initiated maritime exercises to enhance regional security and stability.

    Over the last 10 years, our trade with the ASEAN region has nearly doubled, surpassing USD 130 billion.

    Today, India has direct flight connectivity with seven ASEAN countries, and soon, direct flights to Brunei will also commence.

    Additionally, we have opened a new embassy in Timor-Leste.

    In the ASEAN region, Singapore was the first country with which we established FinTech connectivity, and this success is now being emulated in other nations.

    Our development partnership is founded on a people-centric approach. Over 300 ASEAN students have benefited from scholarships at Nalanda University. A Network of Universities has been launched.

    We have also worked to preserve our shared heritage and legacy in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Indonesia.

    Whether during the COVID pandemic or in response to natural disasters, we have provided mutual assistance and fulfilled our humanitarian responsibilities.

    Funds for collaboration in various sectors, including the Science and Technology Fund, Digital Fund, and Green Fund, have been established. India has contributed over USD 30 million to these initiatives. As a result, our cooperation now spans from underwater projects to space exploration. In other words, our partnership has significantly broadened in every aspect over the past decade.

    And, it is a matter of great satisfaction that in 2022, we elevated it to the status of a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.’

    Friends,

    We are neighbors, partners in the Global South, and a rapidly growing region in the world. We are peace-loving nations, that respect each other’s national integrity and sovereignty, and we are committed to ensuring a bright future for our youth.

    I believe that the 21st century is the “Asian Century,” a century for India and ASEAN countries. Today, when there is conflict and tension in many parts of the world, the friendship, coordination, dialogue and cooperation between India and ASEAN are of utmost importance.

    I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone of the Lao P.D.R. for successful chairmanship of ASEAN.

    I am confident that today’s meeting will bring new dimensions to the India-ASEAN partnership.

    Thank you very much.

    DISCLAIMER – This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: English translation of India’s National Statement at the 21st ASEAN-India Summit delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 10 OCT 2024 8:36PM by PIB Delhi

    Your Majesty,

    Excellencies,

    Thank you all for your valuable insights and suggestions. We are committed to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and ASEAN. I am confident that together we will continue to strive for human welfare, regional peace, stability, and prosperity.

    We will continue to take steps to enhance not only physical connectivity but also economic, digital, cultural, and spiritual ties.

    Friends,

    In the context of this year’s ASEAN Summit theme, “Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience,” I would like to share a few thoughts.

    Today is the tenth day of the tenth month, so I would like to share ten suggestions.

    First, to promote tourism between us, we could declare 2025 as the “ASEAN-India Year of Tourism.” For this initiative, India will commit USD 5 million.

    Second, to commemorate a decade of India’s Act East Policy, we could organise a variety of events between India and ASEAN countries. By connecting our artists, youth, entrepreneurs, and think tanks etc., we can include initiatives such as a Music Festival, Youth Summit, Hackathon, and Start-up Festival as part of this celebration.

    Third, under the “India-ASEAN Science and Technology Fund,” we could hold an annual Women Scientists’ Conclave.

    Fourth, the number of Masters scholarships for students from ASEAN countries at the newly established Nalanda University will be increased twofold. Additionally, a new scholarship scheme for ASEAN students at India’s agricultural universities will also be launched starting this year.

    Fifth, the review of the “ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement” should be completed by 2025. This will strengthen our economic relations and will help in creating a secure, resilient and reliable supply chain.

    Sixth, for disaster resilience, USD 5 million will be allocated from the “ASEAN-India Fund.” India’s National Disaster Management Authority and the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre can work together in this area.

    Seventh, to ensure Health Resilience, the ASEAN-India Health Ministers Meeting can be institutionalised. Furthermore, we invite two experts from each ASEAN country to attend India’s Annual National Cancer Grid ‘Vishwam Conference.’

    Eighth, for digital and cyber resilience, a cyber policy dialogue between India and ASEAN can be institutionalised.

    Ninth, to promote a Green Future, I propose organising workshops on green hydrogen involving experts from India and ASEAN countries.

    And tenth, for climate resilience, I urge all of you to join our campaign, ” Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (Plant for Mother).

    I am confident that my ten ideas will gain your support. And our teams will collaborate to implement them.

    Thank you very much.

    DISCLAIMER – This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Golden introduces bill to designate Bradley museum as National Museum of Forestry and Logging History

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

    WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today introduced legislation that would designate the Maine Forest and Logging Museum (MFLM), located in Bradley, as the National Museum of Forestry and Logging History.

    “The forest economy has played an important part in the American story, and Mainers are one of the biggest reasons why,” Golden said. “This national designation would pay tribute to those vital contributions while reaffirming Maine’s continued role as stewards and innovators of the industry.”

    “The Maine Forest and Logging Museum, a special place in the woods known by many as “Leonard’s Mills,” embodies the Great North Wood’s heart and soul by showcasing the natural beauty of our state’s Northern Forest. And by providing invaluable outreach and educational opportunities, we are proudly planting the seeds to grow careers in forestry stewardship and ensure our sustainable forests benefit both material needs and environmental responsibilities,” Mike Wetherbee, president of the Maine Forest and Logging Museum’s board of directors said. “We are so very grateful to Congressman Golden for helping us work to earn this prestigious status and look forward to many more years of sharing Maine’s amazing forestry and logging heritage with the world.

    MFLM was incorporated in 1960 to celebrate Maine’s forest heritage. Originally envisioned to preserve forest industry artifacts and documents, plans evolved into the creation of a living history site complete with working machinery and a community of volunteer reenactors. Today, MFLM owns more than 450 acres around Blackman Stream in Bradley and frequently hosts school groups, visitors and interactive public programs.  

    Maine’s forest economy employs more than 14,000 Mainers and generates more than $5 billion in sales. Maine’s 17.7 million acres of forest covers 89% of the state — the highest percentage in the country.

    Industry and community leaders praised the move:

     “The Maine Forest and Logging Museum is so important to Maine’s rich history of forestry and logging,” Shawn Bugbee, Roads and Infrastructure Manager for Seven Islands Land Company said. “Through the preservation and restoration of tools combined with the knowledge the volunteers bring to the Museum, those who visit get an authentic understanding of how forestry and logging was done by our ancestors. One of the most awe-inspiring things I have ever witnessed has been watching the steam powered Lombard Log Hauler operate in person — and this move will help more people get that same experience.”

    “The Maine Forest and Logging Museum is a testament to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of people involved in Maine’s rich timber industry,” Keith Kanoti, forest manager for the University of Maine said. “The combination ofworking equipment, infrastructure and the natural beauty of the museum grounds site is unsurpassed and truly deserving of national status.”

    “There’s a strong connection between the forest products industry and our modern society, and the Maine Forest and Logging Museum helps us all celebrate it,” Joe Phaneuf, executive director and publisher of the Northeastern Loggers Association said. “The story of the forest products is one worth telling, and this national designation will strengthen that mission.”

    “This museum doesn’t just honor Maine’s past: It stands as a national treasure,” Breanna Wing, director and producer of Axe Women: The Modern Lumberjill said. “At a time when our landscapes are rapidly developing, the Museum is a haven that keeps important history alive —  teaching future generations about the resilience of our ancestors, whose grit and innovation through harsh winters built for the growth we see today. This national designation will amplify the importance of understanding and protecting the natural world, for both our material and spiritual well-being.”

    “Leonard’s Mills has long been a special place in Maine for people to visit and learn about the history and heritage of forestry,” Rick Robertson, president and CEO of Dennis Food Service said. “I have taken my kids there when they were younger in year’s past as an opportunity to learn about the mill. It was a great way to learn about the beginnings of thisimportant industry as well as the ingenuity of our past. A visitor of any age will certainly be able to learn something from this treasure in the state of Maine, and elevating it as the National Museum of Forestry and Logging History will help so many people do just that.”

    Full text of Golden’s legislation can be found here.

     

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    MIL OSI USA News –