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Category: Universities

  • MIL-Evening Report: XEC is now in Australia. Here’s what we know about this hybrid COVID variant

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Herrero, Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, Griffith University

    Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

    Over the nearly five years since COVID first emerged, you’d be forgiven if you’ve lost track of the number of new variants we’ve seen. Some have had a bigger impact than others, but virologists have documented thousands.

    The latest variant to make headlines is called XEC. This omicron subvariant has been reported predominantly in the northern hemisphere, but it has now been detected in Australia too.

    So what do we know about XEC?

    Is COVID still a thing?

    People are now testing for COVID less and reporting it less. Enthusiasm to track the virus is generally waning.

    Nonetheless, Australia is still collecting and reporting COVID data. Although the number of cases is likely to be much higher than the number documented (around 275,000 so far this year), we can still get some idea of when we’re seeing significant waves, compared to periods of lower activity.

    Australia saw its last COVID peak in June 2024. Since then cases have been on the decline.

    But SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is definitely still around.

    Which variants are circulating now?

    The main COVID variants circulating currently around the world include BA.2.86, JN.1, KP.2, KP.3 and XEC. These are all descendants of omicron.

    The XEC variant was first detected in Italy in May 2024. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated it as a variant “under monitoring” in September.

    Since its detection, XEC has spread to more than 27 countries across Europe, North America and Asia. As of mid-September, the highest numbers of cases have been identified in countries including the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

    XEC is currently making up around 20% of cases in Germany, 12% in the UK and around 6% in the US.

    The virus behind COVID continues to evolve.
    Photo by Centre for Ageing Better/Pexels

    Although XEC remains a minority variant globally, it appears to have a growth advantage over other circulating variants. We don’t know why yet, but reports suggest it may be able to spread more easily than other variants.

    For this reason, it’s predicted XEC could become the dominant variant worldwide in the coming months.

    How about in Australia?

    The most recent Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report noted there has been an increasing proportion of XEC sequenced recently.

    In Australia, 329 SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected from August 26 to September 22 have been uploaded to AusTrakka, Australia’s national genomics surveillance platform for COVID.

    The majority of sequences (301 out of 329, or 91.5%) were sub-lineages of JN.1, including KP.2 (17 out of 301) and KP.3 (236 out of 301). The remaining 8.5% (28 out of 329) were recombinants consisting of one or more omicron sub-lineages, including XEC.

    Estimates based on data from GISAID, an international repository of viral sequences, suggests XEC is making up around 5% of cases in Australia, or 16 of 314 samples sequenced.

    Queensland reported the highest rates in the past 30 days (8%, or eight of 96 sequences), followed by South Australia (5%, or five out of 93), Victoria (5%, or one of 20) and New South Wales (3%, or two of 71). WA recorded zero sequences out of 34. No data were available for other states and territories.

    What do we know about XEC? What is a recombinant?

    The XEC variant is believed to be a recombinant descendant of two previously identified omicron subvariants, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. Recombinant variants form when two different variants infect a host at the same time, which allows the viruses to switch genetic information. This leads to the emergence of a new variant with characteristics from both “parent” lineages.

    KS.1.1 is one of the group commonly known as “FLiRT” variants, while, KP.3.3 is one of the “FLuQE” variants. Both of these variant groups have contributed to recent surges in COVID infections around the world.

    The WHO’s naming conventions for new COVID variants often use a combination of letters to denote new variants, particularly those that arise from recombination events among existing lineages. The “X” typically indicates a recombinant variant (as with XBB, for example), while the letters following it identify specific lineages.

    We know very little so far about XEC’s characteristics specifically, and how it differs from other variants. But there’s no evidence to suggest symptoms will be more severe than with earlier versions of the virus.

    What we do know is what mutations this variant has. In the S gene that encodes for the spike protein we can find a T22N mutation (inherited from KS.1.1) as well as Q493E (from KP.3.3) and other mutations
    known to the omicron lineage.

    Will vaccines still work well against XEC?

    The most recent surveillance data doesn’t show any significant increase in COVID hospitalisations. This suggests the current vaccines still provide effective protection against severe outcomes from circulating variants.

    As the virus continues to mutate, vaccine companies will continue to update their vaccines. Both Pfizer and Moderna have updated vaccines to target the JN.1 variant, which is a parent strain of the FLiRT variants and therefore should protect against XEC.

    However, Australia is still waiting to hear which vaccines may become available to the public and when.

    In the meantime, omicron-based vaccines such as the the current XBB.1.5 spikevax (Moderna) or COMIRNATY (Pfizer) are still likely to provide good protection from XEC.

    It’s hard to predict how XEC will behave in Australia as we head into summer. We’ll need more research to understand more about this variant as it spreads. But given XEC was first detected in Europe during the northern hemisphere’s summer months, this suggests XEC might be well suited to spreading in warmer weather.

    Lara Herrero receives funding from NHMRC.

    – ref. XEC is now in Australia. Here’s what we know about this hybrid COVID variant – https://theconversation.com/xec-is-now-in-australia-heres-what-we-know-about-this-hybrid-covid-variant-239292

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What are the greatest upsets in NRL grand final history?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wayne Peake, Adjunct research fellow, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University

    The Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm will contest the National Rugby League (NRL) grand final on Sunday.

    Betting markets have them pretty much equal favourites. However, history shows grand finals don’t always go to plan.

    But what are the biggest upsets in NRL grand final history?

    Using a combination of formlines during the season and in finals, betting odds, media coverage and past performances, here are some of the most outlandish upsets in rugby league’s history.

    1944: Balmain 12, Newtown 8

    In 1944, Newtown was the minor premier while Balmain was second.

    Newtown entered the finals series as hot favourite and looked even hotter after destroying third-placed St George 55–7 in the first semi-final.

    However, in the final, Balmain won 19–6. That wasn’t the end of the story, though.

    Under the rules of the day, Newtown, as minor premier, could seek a rematch in a grand final “challenge”.

    Newton fielded a much stronger side and most expected it to reverse the final result. However, Balmain won again, 12–8.

    1952: Western Suburbs 22, South Sydney 12

    In 1952, Wests were minor premiers, while Souths finished third.

    Souths won the first semi-final 18–10 but Wests, as minor premiers, went straight to the grand final challenge three weeks later anyway. Meanwhile, Souths beat North Sydney to advance.

    According to the Sydney Truth, Wests were “regarded in some quarters as rank outsiders”.

    Then, rumours spread that Wests had “thrown” the first game and the referee assigned to the decider, George Bishop, had placed £400 on them, causing their price to shorten.

    Bishop sent off a player from each team ten minutes into the second half. Souths scored a try with 20 minutes to go to take the lead before Wests scored four tries in the last ten minutes to win.

    Bishop retired after the grand final.

    1963: St George 8, Western Suburbs 3

    In 1963, St George was minor premiers, while Wests were second. However, Wests, which had lost the previous two grand finals to St George, had beaten them twice in the regular rounds and again in the major semi-final, and went into the game favourite.

    On grand final day, the field deteriorated into a quagmire and led to the famous post-match “gladiators” photograph of captains Arthur Summons and Norm Provan shaking hands while coated in mud.

    The foul conditions contributed to a low-scoring game, which St George won 8–3.

    Once more it was suspected the referee, this time Darcy Lawler, had a financial interest in the outcome. He, too, retired immediately.

    Today we view St George’s victory in the context of a huge winning streak of premierships from 1955 to 1966.

    1989: Canberra 19, Balmain 14

    South Sydney had been minor premiers while Balmain finished third, one point clear of Canberra.

    Balmain were generally considered to have been more impressive than Canberra and were favourites for the grand final.

    One media expert, Harry Craven, was so confident Balmain would win he had his “weatherboard” (house) on the Tigers.

    In the grand final, Balmain led 14-8 with 15 minutes to play before Canberra levelled at 14–14 with 90 seconds remaining.

    After 20 minutes of extra time, Canberra won 19–14 and became the first team to win from further back than third in the regular season.

    1995: Canterbury 17, Manly 4

    Possibly the hottest grand final favourites of the past half-century, Manly lost just two games in the regular season and shared the minor premiership with Canberra.

    Canterbury (officially, the “Sydney Bulldogs” in 1995) were sixth and needed to win four straight games to be premier.

    The two sides met once in the regular season, with Manly winning 26-0.

    In the grand final, the Bulldogs led 6–4 at half-time and disaster loomed when Terry Lamb was sin-binned early in the second term.

    Somehow, the Dogs held Manly out until his return, then gained the ascendancy and won comfortably.

    1997: Newcastle 22, Manly 16

    In 1997 we had the first season of the News Limited-funded “Super League”.

    The glamourous Manly side was once more expected to be easy winners over Newcastle, which was contesting its first grand final.

    Only two teams in 70 years had won at their first attempt, while Manly had won its past 11 matches against the Knights.

    The grand final followed its anticipated plot until Newcastle’s Robbie O’Davis evened the score at 16–16. Newcastle missed with two field goal attempts, but after the second, Darren Albert regathered the ball and pierced the Manly defence to score under the posts with six seconds remaining.

    In 1997, the Newcastle Knights secured a maiden title against the Manly Sea Eagles.

    1999: Melbourne 20, St George Illawarra 18

    Odds for the 1999 grand final are unknown but the press anointed St George “hot favourites” while Canterbury champion Ricky Stuart rated them “unbeatable”.

    Melbourne was in just its second year of NRL competition and had never beaten St George.

    Melbourne had pulled off “escapes” against Canterbury and Parramatta to make the decider but the Saints were winning with ease and even crushed Melbourne 34–10 in the qualifying final.

    In the decider, St George led 14–0 and was looking good. Then, in the 51st minute, Anthony Mundine kicked the ball to a vacant try line but fumbled it touching down.

    The Melbourne Storm shocked the NRL world when they won the 1999 grand final.

    Nevertheless, St George maintained an 18–6 advantage midway through the second half, before a Storm fightback.

    With minutes remaining, Melbourne received a penalty try which it converted to win the game.

    The biggest upset: 1969, Balmain 11, South Sydney 2

    Most agree the biggest grand final upset is Balmain’s 11-2 defeat of South Sydney in 1969.

    Bookies had Souths as heavy favourites – they had won the previous two grand finals, while Balmain was a young team lacking grand final experience.

    However, the form lines of the two teams were not dissimilar.

    At the end of the regular season, South Sydney was the minor premier with Balmain just one win behind them.

    Souths defeated Balmain by one point in the semi-final, and a week later, Balmain beat Manly by a point to scrape into the grand final.

    Despite South’s heavy favouritism, Balmain were not friendless. Of six “experts” whose opinion was sought by one newspaper on the morning of the game, two picked Balmain outright and another conceded them an even-money chance.

    It was perhaps the circumstances of the game, as much as the result, that has lent the 1969 grand final its legend status.

    Souths, noted for their attacking potency, were unable to score a try. Balmain scored a single try early in the second half but then several Balmain players set about disrupting the Souths attack by, allegedly, feigning injuries to give their teammates a breather.

    The game has since become known as the “sit-down grand final”.

    Wayne Peake 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. What are the greatest upsets in NRL grand final history? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-greatest-upsets-in-nrl-grand-final-history-239380

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How we created a beautiful native wildflower meadow in the heart of the city using threatened grassland species

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Horsfall, PhD Candidate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne

    Matthew Stanton, CC BY-NC

    A city street may seem an unusual place to save species found in critically endangered grasslands. My new research, though, shows we can use plants from these ecosystems to create beautiful and biodiverse urban wildflower meadows. This means cities, too, can support nature repair.

    Species-rich grassy ecosystems are some of the most threatened plant communities on the planet. Occupying easily developed flat land, grassy ecosystems are routinely sacrificed as our cities expand.

    In south-east Australia, the volcanic plains that support Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs were once grasslands strewn with wildflowers, “resembling a nobleman’s park on a gigantic scale”, according to early explorer Thomas Mitchell. But these exceptionally diverse, critically endangered ecosystems have been reduced to less than 1% of their original area. The few remnants continue to be lost to urban development and weed invasion.

    A mix of the seeds used to create the meadow.
    Hui-Anne Tan, CC BY-NC

    Unfortunately, efforts to restore the grasslands around Melbourne have had mixed results. In 2020 the City of Melbourne took matters into its own hands. Recognising it is possible to enrich the diversity of birds, bats and insects by providing low-growing native plants, the council set a goal to increase understorey plants by 20% on the land it manages.

    Creating a large native grassland in inner-city Royal Park would help achieve this goal. Adopting a technique used by wildflower meadow designers, we sowed a million seeds of more than two dozen species from endangered grasslands around Melbourne. All but one of these species established in the resulting native wildflower meadow.

    The recreated native wildflower meadow is close to an inner-city road.
    Matthew Stanton, CC BY-NC

    What were the challenges at this site?

    Existing restoration techniques remove nutrient-enriched topsoils full of weed seeds before sowing native seeds. The target plant community can then establish with less competition from nutrient-hungry weeds.

    However, this approach could not be used at the Royal Park site. Topsoil removal cannot be used on many urban sites where soils are contaminated or there are underground services. Alternative approaches are needed to reduce weed competition while minimising soil disturbance.

    I saw a possible answer in the horticultural approaches used to create designed wildflower meadows.

    Preparing the selected site in Royal Park by raking away mulch.
    Hui-Anne Tan, CC BY-NC

    While still rare in Australia, designed wildflower meadows can increase the amenity and biodiversity of urban environments. They also reduce the costs of managing and mowing turf grass. These meadows are designed to be infrequently mown or burnt.

    Wildflower meadow designers typically use an international suite of species that can be established from seed and persist without fertiliser or regular irrigation. An abundance of flowers makes people more accepting of “messy” vegetation. Recognising this, designers select a mix of species that will flower for as much of the year as possible.

    Seed being spread by hand across the prepared area in April 2020.
    Hui-Anne Tan, CC BY-NC

    To reduce competition from weeds, these meadows are often created on a layer of sand that covers the original site soils. The low-nutrient sand buries weed seeds and creates a sowing surface that resists weed invasion from the surrounding landscape.

    However, the grasslands around Melbourne grow on clay soils, not sand. Would these techniques work for plants from these ecosystems?

    A deep sand layer controls weeds and slugs

    To find out we sowed more than a million seeds on sites with two depths of sand (10mm and 80mm) and one without a sand layer in Royal Park. Within one year, 26 of the 27 species sown had established to form a dense, flowering meadow across all sand depths. These plants included three threatened species.

    The hoary sunray, Leucochrysum albicans subsp. tricolor, is one of the endangered species in the native wildflower meadow.
    Marc Freestone/Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, CC BY-NC-SA

    Crucially, the deepest sand layer reduced weed numbers and therefore time spent weeding.

    Interestingly, slugs played a role in determining the diversity of the native meadow. South-east Australia’s grasslands have largely evolved without slugs. As a result, seedlings lack chemical or physical defences against grazing by slugs, which can greatly reduce species diversity in native meadows.

    Again, sand provided a real benefit. Fewer slugs occurred on the deepest sand layer compared to bare soil. The suggestion that sand can deter slugs is consistent with meadow research in Europe.

    By September 2020, seedlings are growing on the prepared plots. The roof tile in the foreground is for monitoring slug numbers.
    Hui-Anne Tan, CC BY-NC

    Now to repair nature in all our cities

    Our research gives us another technique to reinstate critically endangered plant communities. We can use it to bring nature back to city parks and streets.

    Working in urban contexts also unlocks other advantages. There’s ready access to irrigation while the meadow gets established and to communities keen to care for natural landscapes. Creating native wildflower meadows in cities also helps native animals survive, including threatened species that call our cities home.

    People will be able to engage with beautiful native plants that are now rare in cities. Enriching our experience of nature can enhance our health and wellbeing.

    The meadow’s plant community was established by November 2020, six months after sowing.
    David Hannah, CC BY-NC

    My colleagues and I trialled these approaches with the support of the City of Melbourne. We are continuing our research to improve the scale and sustainability of native wildflower meadows in other municipalities.

    Native wildflower meadows and grassland restoration projects could genuinely help Australia meet its commitment to restore 30% of degraded landscapes. But first we need to invest much more in seed production. Reinstating native species on degraded land requires a lot of seed.

    Once seed supply is more certain, we will be able to bring back native biodiversity and beauty to streets, parks and reserves across the country.

    I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the project took place, the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nations, and we pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. I also acknowledge my colleagues listed as co-authors on the research paper that formed the basis of this article: urban ecologists Nicholas S.G. Williams and Stephen Livesley, and seed ecologists Megan Hirst and John Delpratt.

    Katherine Horsfall received funding from the City of Melbourne to undertake this research and receives funding from the Australian Research Training Program.

    – ref. How we created a beautiful native wildflower meadow in the heart of the city using threatened grassland species – https://theconversation.com/how-we-created-a-beautiful-native-wildflower-meadow-in-the-heart-of-the-city-using-threatened-grassland-species-240332

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From cheeky thrill to grande dame – the Moulin Rouge celebrates 135 years of scandal and success

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Visconti, Teacher and researcher, Art History, University of Sydney

    Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge – The Dance, 1890 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec/Wikimedia Commons

    When the Moulin Rouge first opened on October 6 1889, it drew audiences from across classes and countries.

    The Moulin offered an array of fin-de-siècle (end-of-the-century) entertainments to Paris locals and visitors. Located in Montmartre, its name, the “red windmill”, alluded to Montmartre’s history as a rural idyll. The neighbourhood was also associated with artistic bohemia, crime, and revolutionary spirit. This setting added a certain thrill for bourgeois audiences.

    From irreverent newcomer to a French institution, the Moulin Rouge has survived scandal, an inferno and found new ways to connect with audiences.



    Read more:
    How the Eiffel Tower became silent cinema’s icon

    Red and electric

    In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was not the only red landmark to open in Paris. The Eiffel Tower, built as part of the Universal Exhibition and originally painted red, had opened earlier that same year. What set them apart, however, was their popularity.

    The Moulin Rouge was an instant hit, capitalising on the global popularity of a dance called the cancan. Dancers like Moulin Rouge headliner La Goulue (“The Glutton”, real name Louise Weber) were seen as more appropriate emblems for the city than the Tower, which many considered an eyesore.

    In an illustration from Le Courrier Français newspaper, a dancer modelled on a photograph of La Goulue holds her leg aloft, flashing her underwear with the caption “Greetings to the provinces and abroad!”.

    Every aspect of the Moulin spoke to the zeitgeist, from its design to the performances, the use of electric lights that adorned its façade, and its advertising.

    Its managers, the impresario team of Joseph Oller and Charles Harold Zidler, had a string of successful venues and businesses to their names. They recognised the importance of modern marketing, using print media, publicity photographs, and posters to spark public interest.

    Among the most iconic images of the Moulin is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s 1891 poster. At its centre is La Goulue, kicking her legs amid swirling petticoats.

    Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s 1891 poster.
    Shutterstock

    She certainly can cancan

    Found primarily in working-class dance halls from as early as the 1820s, the cancan became a staple of popular entertainment the world over.

    Part of the dance’s thrill lay in the dancers’ freedom of movement and titillation of spectators, as well as its anti-establishment energy. Women used the cancan to thumb their nose at authority via steps like the coup de cul (“arse flash”) or coup du chapeau (removing men’s hats with a high kick).

    The cancan was not the only attraction at the Moulin. There were themed spaces, sideshows, and variety performances ranging from belly dancers and conjoined twins to Le Pétomane (“The Fartomaniac”) who was a flatulist and the highest-paid performer. People watching was equally popular.

    Famous farter, Le Pétomane (Joseph Pujol).
    Wikimedia Commons

    Scandals, riots, and royalty

    Over the years, the Moulin has been no stranger to controversy.

    In its early years, it cultivated an air of misbehaviour and featured in pleasure guides for visiting sex tourists.

    In 1893 it hosted the Bal des Quat’z’Arts (Four-Arts Ball) held by students from local studios. Accusations of public indecency were made against the models and dancers in attendance, and violent protests followed after the women were arrested.

    In 1907 the writer Colette appeared onstage at the Moulin in an Egyptian-inspired pantomime with her then-lover, Missy, the Marquise de Belbeuf. When the act culminated in a passionate kiss, a riot broke out.

    Historical footage shows the Moulin Rouge as it was.

    Kicking on and on

    Over time, the Moulin Rouge shows changed their format to keep pace with public taste, though the cancan remained. The venue hosted revues and operettas, and various stars including Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli.

    Famous guests have included British royalty: from Edward VII (while Prince of Wales) to his great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, and her son, Prince Edward.

    Since its opening, the Moulin’s fortunes have waxed and waned.

    In 1915 the Moulin Rouge burned down but was rebuilt in 1921. Its famous windmill sails fell off overnight earlier this year but were swiftly repaired.

    In the 1930s, it survived the Depression and rise of cinema (also capturing the attention of several filmakers). It also survived the Nazi occupation of Paris in the 1940s.

    By the early 1960s, Jacki Clerico was managing the Moulin’s show after his father had revamped the venue as a dinner theatre destination. The younger Clérico oversaw additions like a giant aquarium where dancers swam with snakes, and its now-famous “nude line” – a chorus of topless dancers – in its shows.

    In 1963, the Moulin Rouge struck upon a winning formula: revues, all named by Clérico with titles beginning with the letter “F” – from Frou Frou to Fantastique and Formidable. Since 1999, the revue Féerie (“Fairy”, also a French genre of stage extravaganza) has been performed almost without interruption.

    The Moulin Rouge or ‘red mill’ today, with its famous windmill.
    Rafa Barcelos/Shutterstock

    Ticket sales were boosted thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge! and more recently Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

    Since COVID, the Moulin Rouge management have diversified. The windmill’s interior has been rented out via AirBnB and the Moulin’s dance troupe has performed on France’s televised New Year’s Eve celebrations. This year, the Moulin Rouge and its dancers were part of the Paris Olympics celebrations, dancing in heavy rain.

    Though people have come to appreciate the Eiffel Tower too, the Moulin Rouge can still argue its status as the pinnacle of live entertainment in the French capital: immediately recognisable, internationally visible, and quintessentially Parisian.

    Will Visconti is the author of Beyond the Moulin Rouge: The Life & Legacy of La Goulue (2022), published by the University of Virginia Press.

    – ref. From cheeky thrill to grande dame – the Moulin Rouge celebrates 135 years of scandal and success – https://theconversation.com/from-cheeky-thrill-to-grande-dame-the-moulin-rouge-celebrates-135-years-of-scandal-and-success-239849

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 71% of Australian uni staff are using AI. What are they using it for? What about those who aren’t?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hay, Senior Lecturer, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University

    Yanz Island/Shutterstock

    Since ChatGPT was released at the end of 2022, there has been a lot of speculation about the actual and potential impact of generative AI on universities.

    Some studies have focused on students’ use of AI. There has also been research on what it means for teaching and assessment.

    But there has been no large-scale research on how university staff in Australia are using AI in their work.

    Our new study surveyed more than 3,000 academic and professional staff at Australian universities about how they are using generative AI.

    Our study

    Our survey was made up of 3,421 university staff, mostly from 17 universities around Australia.

    It included academics, sessional academics (who are employed on a session-by-session basis) and professional staff. It also included adjunct staff (honorary academic positions) and senior staff in executive roles.

    Academic staff represented a wide range of disciplines including health, education, natural and physical sciences, and society and culture. Professional staff worked in roles such as research support, student services and marketing.

    The average age of respondents was 44.8 years and more than half the sample was female (60.5%).

    The survey was open online for around eight weeks in 2024.

    We surveyed academic and professional staff at universities around Australia.
    Panitan/Shutterstock

    Most university staff are using AI

    Overall, 71% of respondents said they had used generative AI for their university work.

    Academic staff were more likely to use AI (75%) than professional staff (69%) or sessional staff (62%). Senior staff were the most likely to use AI (81%).

    Among academic staff, those from information technology, engineering, and management and commerce were most likely to use AI. Those from agriculture and environmental studies, and natural and physical sciences, were least likely to use it.

    Professional staff in business development, and learning and teaching support, were the most likely to report using AI. Those working in finance and procurement, and legal and compliance areas, were least likely to use AI.

    Given how much publicity and debate there has been about AI in the past two years, the fact that nearly 30% of university staff had not used AI suggests adoption is still at an early stage.

    What tools are staff using?

    Survey respondents were asked which AI tools they had used in the previous year. They reported using 216 different AI tools, which was many more than we anticipated.

    Around one-third of those using AI had only used one tool, and a further quarter had used two. A small number of staff (around 4%) had used ten tools or more.

    General AI tools were by far the most frequently reported. For example, ChatGPT was used by 88% of AI users and Microsoft Copilot by 37%.

    University staff are also commonly using AI tools with specific purposes such as image creation, coding and software development, and literature searching.

    We also asked respondents how frequently they used AI for a range of university tasks. Literature searching, writing and summarising information were the most common, followed by course development, teaching methods and assessment.

    ChatGPT was the most common generative AI tool used by our respondents.
    Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

    Why aren’t some staff using AI?

    We asked staff who had not yet used AI for work to explain their thinking. The most common reason they gave was AI was not useful or relevant to their work. For example, one professional staff member stated:

    While I have explored a couple of chat tools (Chat GPT and CoPilot) with work-related questions, I’ve not needed to really apply these tools to my work yet […].

    Others said they weren’t familiar with the technology, were uncertain about its use or didn’t have time to engage. As one academic told us plainly, “I don’t feel confident enough yet”.

    Ethical objections to AI

    Others raised ethical objections or viewed the technology as untrustworthy and unreliable. As one academic told us:

    I consider generative AI to be a tool of plagiarism. The uses to date, especially in the creative industries […] have involved machine learning that uses the creative works of others without permission.

    They also also raised about AI undermining human activities such as writing, critical thinking and creativity – which they saw as central to their professional identities. As one sessional academic said:

    I want to think things through myself rather than trying to have a computer think for me […].

    Another academic echoed:

    I believe that writing and thinking is fundamental to the work we do. If we’re not doing that, then […] why do we need to exist as academics?

    How should universities respond?

    Universities are at a crucial juncture with generative AI. They face an uneven uptake of the technology by staff in different roles and divided opinions on how universities should respond.

    These different views suggest universities need to have a balanced response to AI that addresses both the benefits and concerns around this technology.

    Despite differing opinions in our survey, there was still agreement among respondents that universities need to develop clear, consistent policies and guidelines to help staff use AI. Staff also said it was crucial for universities to prioritise staff training and invest in secure AI tools.

    Alicia Feldman receives an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and Fee Offset.

    Paula McDonald receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Abby Cathcart and Stephen Hay 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. 71% of Australian uni staff are using AI. What are they using it for? What about those who aren’t? – https://theconversation.com/71-of-australian-uni-staff-are-using-ai-what-are-they-using-it-for-what-about-those-who-arent-240337

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: White  House Appoints 2024-2025 Class of White  House  Fellows

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    The President’s Commission on White House Fellows is pleased to announce the appointment of the 2024-2025 class of White House Fellows. Founded in 1964, the White House Fellows program offers exceptional young leaders first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government. Fellows spend a year working with senior White House Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other top-ranking Administration officials, and leave the Administration equipped to serve as better leaders in their communities. Fellowships are awarded on a non-partisan basis.
    This year’s Fellows advanced through a highly competitive selection process, and they are a remarkably gifted, passionate, and accomplished group. These Fellows bring experience from across the country and from a broad cross-section of professions, including from the private sector, state government, academia, non-profits, medicine, and the armed forces.
    Applications for the 2025-2026 Fellowship year will be accepted starting November 1, 2024. The application link and additional information is available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/fellows/.
    Class of 2024-2025 White House Fellows
    Patrick Branco is from Kailua, Hawai‘i, and is placed at the Department of the Navy. He has been the Director of External Affairs with Hawai‘i Green Growth, a United Nations (UN) hub catalyzing action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the Asia-Pacific region. Branco is the first from Hawai‘i to receive the Congressman Rangel International Affairs Fellowship, funding his master’s degree at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He served at the State Department in Colombia, Pakistan, Venezuela and the Secretary of State’s Operations Center. In 2020, he was elected to the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives. Branco currently serves as a U.S. Navy officer reservist and is proficient in Spanish, Korean, and Hawaiian.
    Nicholas Dockery is from Indianapolis, Indiana, and is placed at the Office of the First Lady: Joining Forces Initiative. With a distinguished career in the Infantry and Special Operations Community, Nick has deployed to numerous combat zones and operational areas worldwide. For bravery and wounds in combat, Nick was awarded two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts. His military experience is complemented by his academic and advisory roles; he served as a research fellow at the Modern War Institute and as an advisor to the Military Times Charitable Foundation. Nick has received the West Point Nininger Award for Valor at Arms, the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, and the title of 2022 Soldier of the Year. An advocate for equine therapy, Nick passionately supports its use in helping veterans cope with PTSD. Nick holds a Master of Public Policy from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
    Tawny Holmes Hlibok, Esq. is from West Palm Beach, Florida, and is placed at the Domestic Policy Council. As a third-generation Deaf person and attorney, she is a dedicated advocate for deaf children’s education rights and language equity including access to sign languages. Tawny is a tenured associate professor in Deaf Studies at the world’s only university for the Deaf, Gallaudet University, where she recently won $3.75 million funding to lead a national implementation and change center for early intervention with deaf babies and their families in partnership with HRSA and NICHQ. She also serves as the executive director of the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf.
    DeAnna Hoskins is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and is placed at the Department of the Army. She has served as President/CEO of JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), a national nonprofit that empowers people directly impacted by the criminal justice system. DeAnna is a nationally- recognized advocate and policy expert who has shifted the national narrative on the disparities and limitations of having a criminal background. She has served as Senior Policy Advisor and as Deputy Director of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council at the U.S. Department of Justice. DeAnna was also the founding Director of Reentry for Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners in Ohio.
    Michael Kennedy is from Morehead City, North Carolina, and is placed at the United States Coast Guard. As a nurse practitioner, her career involves direct patient care while leading process improvement in rural and underserved settings. Michael attended Lenoir Community College to become a Registered Nurse and later earned a B.S. Nursing from Barton College. Witnessing disparities in practice led Michael to East Carolina University for an M.S. Adult Nurse Practitioner, Post-M.S. Nursing Leadership, Doctorate of Nursing Practice, and Post-DNP Nursing Education. To better serve her community, Michael completed a Post-M.S. Adult-Gerontological Acute Care NP and Post-DNP Psychiatric-Mental Health NP at Duke University. Michael is a Great 100 Nurse and Bonnie Jones Friedman Humanitarian Award recipient.
    Hoa Nguyen is from Silver Spring, Maryland, and is placed at the National Economic Council and the United States Coast Guard. At Montgomery College, she is an associate professor and chair of the business department, where she helped implement a zero-textbook-cost Business degree, saving students thousands of dollars in education costs. Under her leadership, faculty and students have won multiple local, state and national awards and recognitions. Hoa also co-led numerous initiatives that led to the launch of the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Taskforce at the college. Hoa received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Arizona.
    Amnahir Peña-Alcántara is from Bronx, New York, and is placed at the Department of Commerce: National Institute of Standards and Technology. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University funded by the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship. Her research focuses on polymer blends for stretchable electronics. She graduated from MIT with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, and was a researcher at Northwestern University, Oxford University, and MIT. She has interned in wearable technology and textile fabrication companies in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and India.
    Padmini Pillai is from Newton, Massachusetts, and is placed at the Social Security Administration. Padmini is an immunoengineer bridging the gap between discoveries in immunology and advances in biomaterial design to treat human disease. She has led a team at MIT developing a tumor-selective nanotherapy to eliminate hard-to-treat cancers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Padmini was featured in several media outlets including CNBC, The Atlantic, and The New York Times to discuss vaccination, immunity, and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on vulnerable communities. Padmini received her Ph.D. in immunobiology from Yale University and a B.A. in biochemistry from Regis College.
    Maddy Sharp is from San Diego, California, and is placed at the Office of the Second Gentleman. She is a physician leader committed to securing a healthier and more equitable future for all Americans. She has served as a health policy fellow for Senator Amy Klobuchar and a policy research fellow for Secretary John Kerry. Madison has performed clinical work and research in Nicaragua, Jordan, and the Navajo Nation to reduce health disparities and championed policies to enhance healthcare delivery. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Madison holds an M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine and B.A. from Yale University, where she captained the NCAA Division I field hockey team.
    Jason Spencer is from Medford, New York, and is placed at the Department of Commerce. Jason is a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy serving as an Information Warfare and Intelligence Officer. At sea, he was assigned to aircraft carriers and destroyers deployed to the Middle East and Europe. Ashore, Jason served as Targeting Officer and Aide-de-Camp to the Commander of U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and later as Aide-de-Camp to the Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. At the Pentagon, he served as Senior Intelligence Briefer for the Chief of Naval Operations – Intelligence Plot and as an Executive Officer to the Joint Staff’s Director for Intelligence. Jason earned a B.A. in international studies and political science from Virginia Military Institute, an M.A. from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
    Nalini Tata is from New York City, New York, and is placed at the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs. She is a neurosurgery resident at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she helps treat the spectrum of emergency and elective neurosurgical conditions between a level I trauma center and a world-renowned cancer institute. Her published work spans clinical and non-scientific journals with a focus on advancing equity in access to care. Her career in neurosurgery and long-standing interest in public policy are closely bound by a deep-rooted dedication to public service. She received her BSc in neurobiology from Brown University, MPhil from the University of Cambridge, M.D. from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, and MPP in Democracy, Politics, and Institutions from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    Alexander Tenorio is from Los Angeles, California, and is placed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a neurological surgery resident at the University of California, San Diego. He is the proud son of Mexican immigrants and dedicated to improving health disparities. He has led a research team investigating neurological traumatic injuries at the U.S.-Mexico border with his published work featured in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. In his commitment for health equity, he partnered with Hospital General de Tijuana in Mexico to improve their neurosurgical care. He earned an M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
    Zachary White II is from Birmingham, Alabama, and is placed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a Radiation Oncology resident physician and cancer researcher at Stanford University. Passionate about health equity, Zach co-chairs Stanford Medicine’s GME Diversity Committee, promoting diverse medical trainees’ recruitment and development, and provides health education to communities to improve health literacy. Zach graduated summa cum laude from Tuskegee University with a B.S. in biology and earned an M.S. in biomedical and health sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He received his M.D. from the University of South Alabama, where he served as class president.
    Ryan Wisz is from Aiken, South Carolina, and is placed at the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy serving as a Submarine Warfare officer. At sea, he has served aboard Attack and Ballistic Missile submarines and has deployed seven times, including missions vital to national security. Ashore, he has served as aide-de-camp to the Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and as the Submarine Squadron Engineer in San Diego, California. Prior to military service, he was a Page in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate. He received his B.S. in economics from the University of South Carolina and is a Distinguished Graduate from the Naval Postgraduate School with his MBA and published master’s thesis. He has received numerous personal and unit awards during his Navy service, is active in local tutoring, and passionate about financial education and physical fitness.
    Mark York is a seventh-generation farmer from Lake Wilson, Minnesota, and is placed at the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital. He is a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at Harvard, where he researches crowdsourcing and reinforcement learning algorithms in collaboration with MIT. He is the co-founder and President of Farm Yield Africa, a non-profit providing tractor services and microcredit to 1,500 farmers in Ghana since 2016. Mark has worked as a consultant, and before that he led a data science team at a startup building agricultural risk models. He began his career at Cargill as a commodity trader and data scientist. Mark studied agronomy and mathematics at South Dakota State University, where as Student Body President he introduced legislation at the state and local level.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Improving health care in rural and remote Alberta

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    [embedded content]

    Albertans living in rural and remote communities face unique challenges that require tailored supports and approaches to deliver safe, high-quality and sustainable health care services. To help guide actions, address challenges and improve outcomes in rural and remote health care, Alberta’s government is launching a Rural Health Action Plan.

    As some of the first steps being taken under the action plan, Alberta’s government is introducing a $16-million Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program, an $800,000 Medical First Responder (MFR) Grant program and a $600,000 Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) Education Grant program.

    “There is an urgent need for customized supports in rural and remote communities across Alberta. This action plan will serve as a roadmap to build and maintain access to high-quality health care in these areas of the province.”

    Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health

    “Investing in our rural health care workforce is essential for communities across the province. The introduction of the Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program is a vital step toward attracting and retaining skilled professionals in Alberta’s rural and remote areas.” 

    Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health

    Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program

    To support family medicine residents who are interested in practising in rural or remote Alberta, Alberta’s government is introducing a $16-million Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program. This initiative will provide up to $8 million annually for the next two years.

    Bursaries of either $125,000 (for rural stream applicants) or $200,000 (for remote stream applicants) will be available to medical students in their final year of an undergraduate medical program at any medical university who have been matched with a family medicine residency program at the University of Alberta or University of Calgary. The bursaries will also be available to residents currently completing a family medicine residency at the University of Alberta or University of Calgary, regardless of their year of study, including those graduating in June 2025. In return, bursary recipients will commit to delivering comprehensive patient care in eligible communities for three years after completing their residency, enhancing the capacity of rural and remote communities.

    This initiative is one part of a comprehensive strategy to build a thriving rural and remote health care workforce. Applications for 2024-25 will open in December.

    Medical First Responder Grant and Emergency Medical Responder Education Grant

    Alberta’s government is also implementing two grant programs to strengthen rural, remote, and First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities by attracting and retaining paramedics. This will also support the work to address long emergency response times by funding new medical first responder programs in communities with limited access to health care services.

    The initiative includes an $800,000 Medical First Responder (MFR) Agency Grant program to foster the establishment of new MFR agencies, and a $600,000 Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) Education Grant program for communities with existing emergency medical services (EMS) stations to recruit and train a local workforce. MFR agencies in Alberta such as fire departments provide initial medical care and assistance to individuals in emergency situations before more advanced medical help arrives, playing a valuable role in the care of patients before they arrive at a hospital. These agencies often consist of trained volunteers or professionals who are equipped to respond to a wide range of medical emergencies, including cardiac arrests, traumatic injuries and respiratory distress. MFRs are key partners with EMS in Alberta that provide timely aid to patients and assist EMS when requested.

    “This initiative is an exciting step in improving access to health care in rural and remote municipalities like ours, and we thank the provincial government for their commitment to taking swift and ongoing action to support and stabilize primary health care in our community.”  

    Nicholas Nissen, mayor, Town of Hinton

    “The RMA is encouraged by the Government of Alberta’s efforts into applying a rural lens on how health care is funded, structured and delivered. This plan is a significant step towards designing and implementing a system that works for rural communities across the province.”

    Paul McLauchlin, president, Rural Municipalities of Alberta

    Quick facts

    • The Rural Health Care Action Plan will be reviewed and updated every three years.
    • Focus areas of the action plan include:
      • Workforce: Create a healthy, sustainable, engaged and efficient health workforce in rural and remote Alberta.
      • Access: Deliver high-quality and appropriate health care services when and where Albertans need it. 
      • Models of Care: Create unique care models and solutions that serve the needs in rural and remote communities.
      • Community Care: Establish community-specific supports to promote the physical and mental well-being of rural and remote Albertans.
      • Prevention and Wellness: Support rural initiatives to reduce risk factors and encourage protective measures to reduce strain on the health system.
    • Bursary recipients will be free to practise and stay in a single community, move between communities or practise as locums, as long as they maintain a minimum patient panel and practise in Rural Remote Northern Program (RRNP) eligible communities.
    • The New Medical First Responder (MFR) Grant program will be used to fund up to 16 new programs at $50,000 per agency.
    • The Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) Education Grant program is expected to fund about 25 courses. The cost will vary depending on associated travel costs.

    Related information

    • Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS)
    • Rural Health Action Plan
    • Emergency Medical Responder Education Grant
    • Medical First Responder Grant

    Related news

    • Enhancing early detection of cervical cancer (Sept. 26, 2024)
    • Supporting innovation and growth in rural Alberta (Sept. 24, 2024)
    • Investing in Alberta’s Emergency Services (Feb. 21, 2024)
    • Strengthening health care: Improving access for all (Oct. 18, 2023)

    Multimedia

    • Watch the news conference

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Archie Moore unveils a new moving image commission at Samstag Museum of Art

    Source: University of South Australia

    04 October 2024

    In his first exhibition since winning the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist, Archie Moore, presents an ambitious new moving image work at the University of South Australia’s Samstag Museum of Art as part of the Adelaide Film Festival.

    Archie Moore: AFF and Samstag Moving Image Commission 2024 will feature as part of the Wirltuti (‘spring’ in Kaurna) season of exhibitions that run from 11 October to 29 November 2024.

    Sponsored by Dr David Bunton and Helen Stacey-Bunton, Archie Moore will be a UniSA Pirku murititya Visiting Research Fellow during October 2024.

    During this time, Moore will transform the Samstag gallery with a scaled and meticulously recreated replica of his childhood home. This will be Moore’s fifth iteration of his series Dwelling, installations that explore the rooms and spaces of his childhood family home.

    An ongoing investigation of memory and effects of colonisation, the exhibition draws on visual, auditory, haptic and olfactory elements in its staging. Moore has worked closely with filmmaker Molly Reynolds (Charlie’s Country, David Gulpillil) to realise the ambitious project.

    Erica Green, Director, Samstag Museum of Art says it’s been an honour to work closely with Archie over the past two years on his forthcoming work.

    “24 years ago, Archie was awarded the Anne and Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship, as a recent art school graduate. Since then, he’s gone on to build a remarkable career of international standing,” Green says.

    “Archie’s new moving image work is part of the 13th Adelaide Film Festival and Samstag Art and Moving Image Commission.

    “Our Wirltuti Season of exhibitions is a testament to our proud, long-standing and fruitful relationship with the Adelaide Film Festival that supports exceptional artists to create bold and visionary work.”

    Samstag will also premiere the inaugural AFF/Samstag 2024 Expand Moving Image Commission featuring a series of experimental docu-fiction moving image works by artists Susan Norrie, Matthew Thorne and Emmaline Zanelli.

    In three chapters, these artists follow the narrative threads of mining in Australia, focusing on fly-in-fly-out workers, their families, environmental impacts and the complex relationship experienced by First Nations custodians of the land on which the resource extraction takes place.

    Together they offer counter-perspectives to frequently cliched assumptions, excavating this underrepresented but critical sector of contemporary Australia.

    Samstag has a long history of commissioning and presenting screen-based works through its partnership with the Adelaide Film Festival. Previous art and moving image commissions have included Warwick Thornton (Stranded, 2011), Lynette Wallworth (Duality of Light, 2009) and Amos Gebhardt (Small acts of resistance, 2021).

    Notes for editors:

    • The Wirltuti Season Launch on Tuesday 22 October, 5:30-7:30pm
      Please join us for a drink and music in Fenn Place outside the Samstag Museum of Art entrance, Hawke Building, UniSA City West campus, 55 North Terrace, Adelaide.
      (Registrations encouraged: https://events.humanitix.com/wirltuti-season-launch)
    • Archie Moore in conversation with Mathew Kesting on Saturday 26 October, 3:00-4:00pm
      Please join us for a conversation about film with Archie Moore
      Samstag Museum of Art, Hawke Building, UniSA City West campus, 55 North Terrace, Adelaide.
      (Registrations essential: https://events.humanitix.com/in-conversation-with-archie-moore-and-matt-kesting).
    • Archie Moore – Deaf Led Tour on Saturday 19 October 1:00-2:30pm
      Please join us for an Aslan only tour of the exhibition.
      Samstag Museum of Art, Hawke Building, UniSA City West campus, 55 North Terrace, Adelaide.

    The Samstag is open every Wednesday from 10am-12pm. Entry is free.

    For more information, visit http://www.unisa.edu.au/samstagmuseum

    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    For further information, to arrange interviews and to obtain high-resolution images, contact:  
    Erica Green M: +61 438 821 239 E: Erica.Green@unisa.edu.au
    Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada Advances Small Modular Reactor Research and Development With $13.6-Million Investment

    Source: Government of Canada News

    News release

    October 3, 2024                                    Ottawa, Ontario                                                Natural Resources Canada

    As Canada continues to move toward a low-carbon economy, many forms of clean energy are needed to power the growing demand for affordable and reliable electricity. These include nuclear energy, which is non-emitting, consistent and safe.

    Today, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced funding of $13.6 million from National Resources Canada’s Enabling Small Modular Reactors (SMR) Program for nine research projects to promote the safe, commercial development of SMRs to contribute to our low-carbon economy and help fight climate change. The projects are:

    • $935,542 to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, to study fuel dry storage and to conduct a techno-gap / life-cycle assessment to enable the effective deployment of SMRs.
    • $2,131,000 to Chemetics in Pickering, Ontario, to support the research and development of SMR fabrication. This project will enable Chemetics to develop, test and qualify new fabrication technologies for SMR components.
    • $2,750,000 to Prodigy Clean Energy Ltd in Montreal, Quebec, to support research and development to enable transportable nuclear power plants as part of the SMR supply chain.
    • $3,750,000 to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization in Toronto, Ontario, to enhance the compatibility of the NWMO’s current Adaptive Phased Management program with the upcoming deployment of SMRs.
    • $261,535 to Calian Ltd. in Ottawa, Ontario, to provide a guidance document to SMR vendors and planned owners or operators in Canada that outlines the characterization of radiological elements in building materials for the construction of new SMR facilities.
    • $543,000 to the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries in Pickering, Ontario, to develop a National Ready4SMR program to identify procurement risks due to technological gaps in Canada’s SMR projects and subsequently develop supply strategies for at-risk parts and components.
    • $126,475 to Kinectrics in Etobicoke, Ontario, to investigate the feasibility of disposing the isotope carbon-14 by recovering it from radioactive wastes and to engage with stakeholders to identify a route to divert waste streams from disposal.
    • $2,070,336 to North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council in Eel Ground, New Brunswick, to study and develop robust supply chains in Canada for SMR manufacturing while anchoring elements in New Brunswick with First Nations ownership.
    • $1,094,850 to Opportunities New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to provide a research and development life-cycle framework and roadmap for the manufacturing of cost-effective modularized SMR technology to enhance the development and deployment of SMRs within Canada.

    As Canada advances toward a net-zero future, investments like these are key to reducing emissions, maximizing energy performance and industry competitiveness. These investments support workers and industry in building a more prosperous and sustainable future. With over 70,000 hard-working Canadians employed across its supply chain, Canada’s nuclear industry is well positioned to leverage its science and technology innovation to become a leader in the development and deployment of small modular reactor technology.

    Quotes

    “Developing next-generation nuclear technologies, like small modular reactors, will be essential as Canada faces growing energy demands and is called upon to export our clean technologies to partners around the world. Our nuclear sector is poised to be a leader in an emerging global SMR market that some estimate to be worth up to $150 billion a year by 2040.”

    Julie Dabrusin
    Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

    Quick facts

    • Budget 2022 allocated $29.6 million to NRCan over four years for research and development to support the conditions and frameworks necessary for SMRs to displace fossil fuels and contribute to climate change mitigation.

    • NRCan introduced the Enabling Small Modular Reactors Program in 2023 to support the development of supply chains for SMR manufacturing and fuel and to fund research on SMR waste management solutions to ensure that SMRs and the waste they generate can be safely managed, now and into the future.

    • The Enabling SMR Program has announced $3.5 million to date for projects being led by the Canadian Standards Association, the University of Alberta and the University of Regina.

    Related products

    Contacts

    Natural Resources Canada
    Media Relations
    343-292-6100
    media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

    Cindy Caturao
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
    613-795-5638
    cindy.caturao@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

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    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Is big tech harming society? To find out, we need research – but it’s being manipulated by big tech itself

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Graham, Associate Professor in Digital Media, Queensland University of Technology

    AlexandraPopova/Shutterstock

    For almost a decade, researchers have been gathering evidence that the social media platform Facebook disproportionately amplifies low-quality content and misinformation.

    So it was something of a surprise when in 2023 the journal Science published a study that found Facebook’s algorithms were not major drivers of misinformation during the 2020 United States election.

    This study was funded by Facebook’s parent company, Meta. Several Meta employees were also part of the authorship team. It attracted extensive media coverage. It was also celebrated by Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, who said it showed the company’s algorithms have “no detectable impact on polarisation, political attitudes or beliefs”.

    But the findings have recently been thrown into doubt by a team of researchers led by Chhandak Bagch from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In an eLetter also published in Science, they argue the results were likely due to Facebook tinkering with the algorithm while the study was being conducted.

    In a response eLetter, the authors of the original study acknowledge their results “might have been different” if Facebook had changed its algorithm in a different way. But they insist their results still hold true.

    The whole debacle highlights the problems caused by big tech funding and facilitating research into their own products. It also highlights the crucial need for greater independent oversight of social media platforms.

    Merchants of doubt

    Big tech has started investing heavily in academic research into its products. It has also been investing heavily in universities more generally. For example, Meta and its chief Mark Zuckerberg have collectively donated hundreds of millions of dollars to more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States.

    This is similar to what big tobacco once did.

    In the mid-1950s, cigarette companies launched a coordinated campaign to manufacture doubt about the growing body of evidence which linked smoking with a number of serious health issues, such as cancer. It was not about falsifying or manipulating research explicitly, but selectively funding studies and bringing to attention inconclusive results.

    This helped foster a narrative that there was no definitive proof smoking causes cancer. In turn, this enabled tobacco companies to keep up a public image of responsibility and “goodwill” well into the 1990s.

    Big tobacco ran a campaign to manufacture doubt about the health effects of smoking.
    Ralf Liebhold/Shutterstock

    A positive spin

    The Meta-funded study published in Science in 2023 claimed Facebook’s news feed algorithm reduced user exposure to untrustworthy news content. The authors said “Meta did not have the right to prepublication approval”, but acknowledged that The Facebook Open Research and Transparency team “provided substantial support in executing the overall project”.

    The study used an experimental design where participants – Facebook users – were randomly allocated into a control group or treatment group.

    The control group continued to use Facebook’s algorithmic news feed, while the treatment group was given a news feed with content presented in reverse chronological order. The study sought to compare the effects of these two types of news feeds on users’ exposure to potentially false and misleading information from untrustworthy news sources.

    The experiment was robust and well designed. But during the short time it was conducted, Meta changed its news feed algorithm to boost more reliable news content. In doing so, it changed the control condition of the experiment.

    The reduction in exposure to misinformation reported in the original study was likely due to the algorithmic changes. But these changes were temporary: a few months later in March 2021, Meta reverted the news feed algorithm back to the original.

    In a statement to Science about the controversy, Meta said it made the changes clear to researchers at the time, and that it stands by Clegg’s statements about the findings in the paper.

    Unprecedented power

    In downplaying the role of algorithmic content curation for issues such as misinformation and political polarisation, the study became a beacon for sowing doubt and uncertainty about the harmful influence of social media algorithms.

    To be clear, I am not suggesting the researchers who conducted the original 2023 study misled the public. The real problem is that social media companies not only control researchers’ access to data, but can also manipulate their systems in a way that affects the findings of the studies they fund.

    What’s more, social media companies have the power to promote certain studies on the very platform the studies are about. In turn, this helps shape public opinion. It can create a scenario where scepticism and doubt about the impacts of algorithms can become normalised – or where people simply start to tune out.

    This kind of power is unprecedented. Even big tobacco could not control the public’s perception of itself so directly.

    All of this underscores why platforms should be mandated to provide both large-scale data access and real-time updates about changes to their algorithmic systems.

    When platforms control access to the “product”, they also control the science around its impacts. Ultimately, these self-research funding models allow platforms to put profit before people – and divert attention away from the need for more transparency and independent oversight.

    Timothy Graham receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for his Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, ‘Combatting Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour on Social Media’. He also receives ARC funding for the Discovery Project, ‘Understanding and combatting “Dark Political Communication”‘ (2024–2027).

    – ref. Is big tech harming society? To find out, we need research – but it’s being manipulated by big tech itself – https://theconversation.com/is-big-tech-harming-society-to-find-out-we-need-research-but-its-being-manipulated-by-big-tech-itself-240110

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: IIFT organizes regional conference of Asian and African chair holders of WTO Chairs Programme in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    IIFT organizes regional conference of Asian and African chair holders of WTO Chairs Programme in New Delhi

    Conference highlights need for aligned trade strategies, digital solution for trade barriers and climate-responsive global trade norms

    Posted On: 03 OCT 2024 4:50PM by PIB Delhi

    The Indian Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chairs Programme (WCP) organised a  regional conference of the Asian and African Chairs on the theme Fostering Resilient and Responsible Trade for Changing Global Order at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi on 27thand 28thSeptember, 2024. The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) represented through its centres, namely, the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) and the Centre for WTO Studies (CWS) administers the WTO Chair in India. The conference was inaugurated by Shri Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India.

    The key takeaways from the Conference are: (i) necessity of aligning regional and multilateral trade strategies for coherent global norms; (ii) importance of addressing barriers to trade using digital tools to ensure inclusivity and equal opportunities for all nations and stakeholders in international trade and (iii) critical need for robust climate action that accommodates the unique challenges faced by developing countries.

    Several dignitaries including India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO Dr. Senthil Pandian C.; Deputy Director General, WTO, Amb. Xiangchen Zhang; Vice Chancellor, IIFT, Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi; Head and Professor, CTIL and India Chair, WCP, Prof. James J. Nedumpara; Permanent Representative of France to the WTO, H.E. Ms. Emmanuelle Ivanov-Durand and H.E. Mr. Jung Sung Park, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the WTO addressed the gathering.

    The conference provided an opportunity for WTO chairholders, leading scholars, trade experts, and policymakers from across Asia and Africa to discuss ways and means of fostering resilient and responsible trade in a dynamic global economy.

    The Conference, over the two days, included seven thematic sessions on a broad array of topics relating to resilient and responsible trade, a keynote address by Henry J. Braker Professor of Commercial Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, United States, Prof. Joel Trachtman and a special address by CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam.

    The Conference also focused on critical issues at the intersection of global trade and sustainability. The discussions highlighted the need for coherence in trade strategies, the challenges of inclusive digital transformation, and the importance of responsible practices in critical mineral extraction with a specific focus on Asia and Africa regions. The event emphasized collaborative approaches to support developing countries in navigating complex trade dynamics and achieving sustainable development goals.

    In the thematic sessions, the representatives from the WCP Chairs from Asian and African institutions presented their ideas and experiences from a national, regional and multilateral perspective. The sessions covered topics such as regional aspects in international trade law, green industrial policies, critical minerals for a clean energy future, WTO dispute settlement system and sustainable climate actions.

    A roundtable of WCP Chairs was also held during the Conference to deliberate on collaborations between WCP Chairs of Asia and Africa. During the roundtable, the WCP Chairs discussed the role that the WTO could play in facilitating the network and the different ways in which the WCP Chairs could exchange knowledge, and experience and engage in academic partnerships under the aegis of WTO Chairs Programme.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Iraqi experts get insight into Moscow’s intelligent transport system

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Department of Transport

    Nineteen specialists from the Iraqi Department of Traffic Management recently completed an intensive training program on intelligent transportation systems in Moscow. The educational program, initiated by the Department of Transport and Development of Road Transport Infrastructure of Moscow, was conducted by the Smart Cities Department of Synergy University.

    The program included a significant emphasis on practical application, with participants visiting key transport infrastructure facilities throughout the city. They learned about modern methods of road marking at the State Budgetary Institution “Motor Roads” and observed the work of the Unified Dispatch Center of the Moscow Metro and the Traffic Management Center.

    Upon completion of the training, Iraqi specialists received certificates confirming successful completion of the program. Representatives of the Iraqi Embassy attended the ceremony and expressed gratitude to the Moscow Department of Transport and Synergy University for the high level of organization and implementation of the course.

    Previously, similar training programs were conducted for specialists from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Iraqi Experts Gain Insights into Moscow’s Smart Transportation System

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Department of Transport

    Nineteen specialists from the Iraqi Department of Traffic Management recently completed an intensive training program on intelligent transportation systems in Moscow. The educational program, initiated by the Moscow Department of Transport and Development of Road and Transport Infrastructure, was delivered by the Smart Cities Faculty of Synergy University.

    The program included a significant focus on practical applications, with participants visiting key transportation infrastructure sites throughout the city. They gained firsthand experience with modern road marking techniques at the Automobile Roads State Budgetary Institution, observed the operations of the Moscow Metro Unified Dispatching Center and the Road Traffic Control Center.

    At the conclusion of the training, Iraqi specialists received certificates acknowledging their successful completion of the program. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Iraqi Embassy, ​​who expressed gratitude to the Moscow Department of Transport and Synergy University for the high standard of organization and delivery of the course.

    Previous similar training programs have been conducted for specialists from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Cabinet approves conferring status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 03 OCT 2024 8:30PM by PIB Delhi

    The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved to confer the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.  The Classical Languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone.

    Point Wise Detail & Background:

    The Government of India decided to create a new category of languages as “Classical Languages” on 12th October 2004 declaring Tamil as Classical Language and setting following as criteria for the status of Classical Language:

    A.   High Antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a thousand years.

    B.   A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generation of speakers.

    C.   The literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

    A Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) was constituted by the Ministry of Culture under Sahitya Akademi in Nov 2004 to examine the proposed languages for the status of Classical Language.

    The criteria were revised in Nov 2005 as following, and Sanskrit was declared as Classical Language:

                       I.          High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.

                      II.          A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.

                    III.          The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

                   IV.          The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

    The Government of India, has conferred status of Classical Languages to following languages so far:

    Language

    Date of Notification

     

    Tamil  

    12/10/2004

    Sanskrit

    25/11/2005

    Telugu 

    31/10/2008

    Kannada 

    31/10/2008

    Malayalam 

    08/08/2013

    Odia

    01/03/2014

     

    A proposal from the Maharashtra Government in 2013 was received in the Ministry requesting Classical Language status to Marathi, which was forwarded to the LEC. The LEC recommended Marathi for Classical Language. During the inter-ministerial consultations on the draft note for cabinet in 2017 for conferring classical status to the Marathi language, MHA advised to revise the criteria and make it stricter. PMO vide its comment stated that the Ministry may conduct an exercise to find out how many other languages are likely to become eligible.

    In the meantime, proposal from Bihar, Assam, West Bengal was also received for conferring status of Classical Language to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

    Accordingly, Linguistics Experts Committee (under Sahitya Akademi) in a meeting on 25.07.2024, unanimously revised the criteria as below. Sahitya Akademi has been appointed as nodal agency for the LEC.

    i.   High antiquity of (its) is early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 years.

    ii.  A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.

    iii. Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.

    iv.  The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.

    The committee also recommended following languages to be fulfilling revised criteria to be considered as a Classical Language.

    I.        Marathi

    II.        Pali

    III.        Prakrit

    IV.        Assamese

    V.        Bengali

     

    Implementation strategy and targets: 

    The Ministry of Education has taken various steps to promote Classical Languages. Three Central Universities were established in 2020 through an Act of Parliament for promotion of Sanskrit language. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was set up to facilitate the translation of ancient Tamil texts, promote research and offer courses for University students and language scholars of Tamil. To further enhance the study and preservation of Classical Languages, the Centres for Excellence for studies in Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia were established under the auspices of the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru. In addition to these initiatives, several national and internation awards have been instituted to recognize and encourage achievements in the field of Classical Languages. Benefits extended to Classical Languages by the Ministry of Education include National Awards for Classical Languages, Chairs in Universities, and Centers for promotion of Classical Languages.

    Major impact, including employment generation:

    The inclusion of languages as Classical Language will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media.

    States/districts covered:

    The primary states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali), and Assam (Assamese). The broader cultural and academic impact will extend nationally and internationally.

    *****

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Carbon contracts for difference’ are not a silver bullet for climate action

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Daniel Rosenbloom, Assistant Professor and Rosamond Ivey Research Chair in Sustainability Transitions, Carleton University

    Canadian federal climate policies and investments look increasingly fragile. Could ‘carbon contracts for difference’ help ensure the survival of long-term climate action in Canada? (Shutterstock)

    With the end of the supply-and-confidence agreement and plummeting support for the Liberals, Canada’s climate policy mix is becoming increasingly unstable with the future of everything from investment tax credits to carbon pricing seemingly in flux.

    Given this uncertainty, some industrial emitters have stated they will refrain from making final investment decisions for major emission reducing projects until they receive certain guarantees. Their rationale is that the potential reversal of any climate policy risks the return on investment for their proposed projects.

    Experts have pointed to an obscure mechanism known as a carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) as an opportunity to allay such concerns.



    Read more:
    Emotions may matter more than facts in shaping individual support for renewable energy, new study shows

    Carbon contracts for difference

    CCfDs are contractual agreements designed to provide price stability for projects that reduce emissions. Under CCfDs, a government entity guarantees a fixed price for the emissions reductions achieved by an industrial project based on established climate policy (for example, the existing or future carbon price).

    If the market price for those reductions falls below this fixed price, the government pays the difference to the project proponents. If the market price exceeds the fixed price, the excess is paid back to the government.

    This type of mechanism is used by a number of governments around the world, including the United Kingdom, and some experts have suggested that a “broad-based contracts for difference program is the key to unlocking billions of dollars of investment in industrial decarbonization.”

    The elegance and deceptive simplicity of this instrument has made it a policy winner in the eyes of many.

    The Canada Growth Fund has allocated up to $7 billion for the issuance of CCfDs to unlock decarbonization projects. In theory, using a CCfD agreement gives an industry partner price stability on investment while the government gets to advance its goals of large emissions reducing projects. Seemingly, a win-win.

    However, growing interdisciplinary research suggests that CCfDs may not always be the obvious win many assume they are.

    Feedback

    There is a long-held understanding in political science that policies produce important feedback patterns that can either reinforce or erode their durability. For example, the social security program in the United States has created a significant voting bloc of beneficiaries that makes it difficult for policymakers to propose cuts to the program.

    Bridging these insights with transition perspectives, my research indicates that harnessing these positive feedbacks can play an important role in building durable climate action.



    Read more:
    What does the end of the Liberal-NDP agreement mean for Canadians?

    In Germany, scholars have found that incentives for new renewable energy (such as in the form of tariffs) helped build coalitions around alternative energy innovations. These coalitions in turn placed pressure upon leaders to ensure continued policy support. Similarly, scholars have shown that industrial policies that support alternative energy innovations and their networks can create positive feedbacks for the climate policy mix.

    Translating these insights to the broad-based use of CCfDs reveals that this instrument risks undermining positive feedbacks or encouraging industrial decarbonization projects with limited ability to contribute to a long-term transition to net-zero.

    Not a perfect solution

    There are three main issues with a CCfD-based approach.

    First, as CCfDs protect the recipient’s bottom line, they are not necessarily incentivized to support existing climate policy. Some experts suggest that a way around this issue is to set the guaranteed price for carbon below the genuine carbon pricing policy. However, it is unclear how low such a discounted price would need to be to maintain positive feedbacks, or if the proposed difference would be sufficient to motivate final investment decisions.

    Second, providing CCfDs for certain emissions reduction projects (such as carbon capture and storage) may inadvertently support industries that have an interest in reversing the direction of climate policy. This focus on opportunities that extend current systems or deliver least-cost emissions reductions reflects a common tendency in policymaking to misunderstand the climate crisis as simply a market failure, and not an issue requiring whole systems change.



    Read more:
    Why do we need a Net Zero Economy Authority? And how can it fulfil its promise?

    Third, the time required to issue CCfDs on a case-by-case basis may actually encourage industrial actors to hold off on making final investment decisions until they receive a guarantee, delaying action further.

    What this shows is that while CCfDs may have a targeted role to play in advancing critical emission reduction projects (such as those that unlock systems change in key sectors), policymakers should be wary of relying too heavily on this instrument.

    A more strategic approach is needed that involves charting pathways between where sectors are now and long-term desirable net-zero outcomes — an approach that is being actively advanced by Canada’s Transition Accelerator. A strategic approach would focus support on industries willing to hitch their carts to the future of the climate policy mix and defend climate action no matter who is in office.

    As the Ivey Research Chair in Sustainability Transitions, Daniel Rosenbloom would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Ivey Foundation. Rosenbloom is also a Steering Group member of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network, which is a scholarly network working toward the advancement of transition scholarship.

    – ref. ‘Carbon contracts for difference’ are not a silver bullet for climate action – https://theconversation.com/carbon-contracts-for-difference-are-not-a-silver-bullet-for-climate-action-237437

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Prison Safety – Second Person Dies in Mount Eden Prison

    Source: People Against Prisons Aotearoa

    People Against Prisons Aotearoa can confirm that a second person has died in Mount Eden Corrections Facility. 

    This second death was discovered on Thursday morning, less than a week after Andrew Chan Chui was found dead in the same prison. Dr. Emmy Rākete, spokesperson for PAPA and a lecturer in criminology at the University of Auckland, says the string of deaths raises concerns about the facility’s management.  

    “Mount Eden Prison is a death trap,” says Dr. Rākete. “I am extremely concerned that prison management either can’t or won’t ensure the safety of the people they’re locking up.”

    Sources informed Dr. Rākete that emergency services were called to Mount Eden Corrections Facility on the morning of Thursday October 3rd, where they declared that the patient was deceased almost immediately. Correspondence from within the Department of Corrections, provided to Dr. Rākete, confirms that a death occurred in Mount Eden Corrections Facility on Thursday.

    “This is the third death in Mount Eden Prison this year. Andrew Chan Chui was murdered in his cell last week. Another man took his own life in Mount Eden Prison in June. There is a pattern of violence and death in Mount Eden Prison that Dion Paki, the director of the prison, needs to be held accountable for. How many more people will Mount Eden Prison let die?”

    People Against Prisons Aotearoa and the Chan Chui family will be holding a candlelight vigil outside of Mount Eden Corrections Facility tomorrow, October 5th, at 7:30pm.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Little kids, too little movement: Global study finds most children don’t meet guidelines for physical activity, screen time and sleep

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mark S Tremblay, Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine and Senior Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    A recent study found that only 14 per cent of preschoolers around the world are meeting movement recommendations for physical activity, sleep and screen time. (Shutterstock)

    Appropriate levels of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep (collectively termed movement behaviours) are essential for the healthy growth and development of preschool-aged children.

    This was the impetus for creating the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (birth to four years). Likewise, this is why the World Health Organization adopted the Canadian guidelines when creating the global guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under five years of age.

    Considering the extensive benefits of movement behaviours, it is very alarming that a recent study found that only 14 per cent of preschoolers around the world are meeting movement behaviour guideline recommendations.

    A 24-hour day in the life of a preschooler meeting the guideline recommendations includes:

    • three or more hours of total physical activity (including at least one hour of energetic play or activities that make them slightly out of breath),
    • one hour or less of screen time, and
    • 10 to 13 hours of good quality sleep

    Importantly, preschoolers who meet these guidelines gain health benefits such as reduced risk of obesity, improved social and emotional skills, and proficient motor skills.

    Global levels

    Preschoolers with healthy movement behaviour habits meeting these guideline recommendations gain health benefits such as reduced risk of obesity, improved social and emotional skills, and proficient motor skills.
    (Pixabay/Oleksandr Pidvalnyi)

    A new global study shows most children around the world don’t meet these guidelines. The study included more than 7,000 preschoolers from 33 different countries, including Canada. The countries represented various World Bank income groups (e.g., high, middle and low income countries); and the geographical regions of Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.

    When looking at each movement behaviour individually for preschoolers around the world, 49 per cent met the physical activity recommendations, 42 per cent met the screen time recommendation, and 81 per cent met the sleep recommendation.

    That most young children are not meeting each of these basic recommendations separately is cause for concern; that 86 per cent are not meeting all guideline recommendations combined is alarming and places preschoolers around the world at risk of sub-standard health and development.

    Globally, 81 per cent of preschoolers met sleep recommendations.
    (Shutterstock)

    Seventeen per cent of boys met all the guideline recommendations, compared to 13 per cent of girls. This slight difference was driven by more boys meeting the physical activity recommendation (56 per cent boys, 42 per cent girls), and protected from being even worse by more girls meeting the screen time (45 per cent girls, 38 per cent boys) and sleep (82 per cent girls, 79 per cent boys) recommendations.

    The fact that boys had more screen time and less good quality sleep could be related, as previous research has found screen time overall and screen time in the evening is associated with less sleep and lower sleep quality.

    Better screen time and sleep habits for girls protected their overall movement behaviour adherence from being even worse, showcasing the various paths to health through different movement behaviour combinations. However, the low number meeting all movement behaviour recommendations demonstrates the need for all preschoolers to routinely be more active, reduce screen time and accumulate good quality sleep in a day.

    By income

    Screen time in the evening is associated with less sleep and lower sleep quality.
    (Shutterstock)

    Low-income countries had the highest movement behaviour guideline adherence levels (17 per cent), compared to middle-income (12 per cent) and high-income (14 per cent) countries.

    While children from high-income countries were more active and had more quality sleep, they also had the worst screen time behaviours compared to low- and middle-income countries. It is a double-edged sword that in higher-income countries, children have more access to physical activity opportunities and quality sleep environments, but also more access to screen time devices.

    Likewise, middle-income countries with the lowest movement behaviour adherence rates could symbolize a region’s development transition where infrastructure in the homes and communities cannot yet support more physical activity and good quality sleep, but availability of cell phones, televisions and other screens leads to increased sedentary behaviours.

    By region

    The African and European regions had the highest movement behaviour adherence (24 per cent), while the Americas region had the lowest (eight per cent). With 17 per cent meeting the screen time recommendations and 68 per cent meeting the physical activity recommendations, the Americas region had the worst screen time and best physical activity.

    The physical activity levels of the Americas region preschoolers are higher compared to the 39 per cent of older Canadian children and youth as reported in the ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. But these older Canadian children and youth did have slightly better, albeit still poor, screen time behaviours with 27 per cent meeting the guidelines.

    Sixty-eight per cent of preschool-aged children in the Americas were meeting the physical activity recommendations, compared to only 26 per cent of Southeast Asian children. However, it remains a concern that roughly half of all young children around the world are at risk of sub-optimal health and development from lack of physical activity.

    Roughly half of all young children around the world are at risk of sub-optimal health and development from lack of physical activity.
    (Shutterstock)

    Guidance for improvements can be drawn from the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity, where the goal of a 15 per cent relative reduction in global physical inactivity rates by 2030 relies on capacity-building collaborations within research organizations and alliances to strengthen our global understanding of movement behaviours.

    Along with the best movement behaviours overall, the African region had the best screen time levels with 63 per cent meeting the recommendations. This is potentially explained by limited access to screen time devices.

    However, to better understand why screen time behaviours are better in Africa, initiatives like the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Global Matrix project should be used as a model. Within the Global Matrix, region-level differences are an opportunity to learn the strengths of other regions, while addressing regional weaknesses at home.

    For instance, Canada could be a model for less active countries, while attempting to model the African region’s reduced screen time lifestyles. Further, projects such as the SUNRISE study — where researchers from more than 70 countries are collaborating to measure preschoolers’ movement behaviours, health and development — are excellent venues for this necessary capacity-building and global learning.

    Take home

    The WHO has Global Movement Guidelines for preschool children and a Global Action Plan to increase physical activity. Canada has similar guidelines and a similar plan.

    However, health movement behaviour levels in Canada and across the globe are unsatisfactory and forecast further global health challenges, inequalities, and distancing from United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It’s time to get our little ones a little more active.

    Mark S Tremblay has received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada for research distally related to this article. He is affiliated with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology who created the Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years, under his leadership. He was also on the expert panel for the World Health Organization for the development of the global guidelines cited in the article.

    Nicholas Kuzik 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. Little kids, too little movement: Global study finds most children don’t meet guidelines for physical activity, screen time and sleep – https://theconversation.com/little-kids-too-little-movement-global-study-finds-most-children-dont-meet-guidelines-for-physical-activity-screen-time-and-sleep-240421

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI China: China-built supply chains to benefit all

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    China’s intensified efforts to build resilient industrial and supply chains and expand international collaboration will further drive global industrial development and unlock a wealth of opportunities for companies worldwide, experts and company executives said.

    The comments were made in response to the central authorities’ resolution to this end. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China — a meeting key to the nation’s reforms and modernization progress — said the country will move faster to build industrial and supply chains that are self-supporting and risk-controllable.

    Meanwhile, China will further deepen reform and opening-up, and facilitate international cooperation in industrial and supply chains, the meeting said.

    “China is both a participant and beneficiary of global industrial and supply chains, as well as a firm defender and builder of these chains,” Zhang Qingwei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, said during a recent meeting.

    He added that the country will integrate more deeply with the global industrial and supply chain system and firmly oppose protectionism and any form of decoupling, while maintaining the desired outcome of global public good.

    Zhang Yansheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said that China has witnessed momentum in emerging sectors like new energy in recent years despite headwinds such as decoupling moves initiated by the United States and its relocation strategies.

    “The US is leveraging new protectionism, industrial policies and government intervention to undermine the solid foundation of China’s industrial and supply chains. This retrogressive approach is not only unfair to Chinese companies and global consumers, but also a step backward in the global transition toward sustainability.

    “What is to the benefit of all is that China will further deepen market-oriented reforms, expand high-standard opening-up, improve the legal system, and enhance the institutional framework for fair competition, green development and the advancement of clean energy domestically.”

    Zhang added that if there were no negative spillovers of geopolitical tensions and protectionism, the supply and demand of new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and lithium batteries — areas in which the US unfairly accuses China of overcapacity — would achieve a dynamic balance at the global level.

    Recalling that the US and China have both benefited tremendously from more bilateral trade, Neil Bush, chairman of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, said while addressing a recent event that countries that rely solely on local manufacturing face significant challenges.

    “Manufacturing is no longer confined to national borders. Countries that embrace innovation while working together can unlock new potential and drive economic growth by sharing research and best practices in technical advancements,” he said.

    As Chinese companies continue to weave themselves into the fabric of global industrial and supply chains, Wang Yang, president of SinoEV (Hefei) Powertrain Technologies, a developer of electric vehicle power systems, said it is challenging for some countries to be independent of China’s new energy industry supply chain in the short term.

    “Developing a robust supply chain requires a long time and certain favorable conditions, such as comprehensive policy and a large market scale,” Wang said.

    “China’s new energy industry supply chain is competitive on the global stage, thanks to its complete industry chain covering research and development, engineering design, manufacturing management and final assembly integration. It will bring benefits to companies around the world.”

    According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China is the only country in the world that has all industrial categories listed in the United Nations Industrial Classification, covering almost all traditional and emerging manufacturing sectors.

    Zeng Yuqun, founder of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, a leading EV battery maker, said that countries can actually benefit from the new energy sector by sharing the industry chain.

    “CATL has already taken some measures to diversify its overseas market and is willing to share its technology with the world,” he added.

    Citing challenges faced by the global industrial and supply chains, Xue Lan, dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, said China will not isolate itself, but rather integrate more actively into the global innovation system to avoid severe disruptions in the global industrial chain.

    “With its position in the global industrial chain key to the world, China must continue to innovate and open up to reinforce this position,” Xue said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: New fish species found in east China

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Chinese researchers have discovered a new species of fish, Opsariichthys iridescens, in east China, which features beautiful colors.
    The research findings describe how the species is distinguished from congeners by morphological features, which have been validated through gene-based phylogenetic analysis.
    The discovery was published in a recent edition of the international academic journal Zookeys. The research was led by Yang Jinquan, a professor at Shanghai Ocean University, in collaboration with the Zhejiang Forest Resource Monitoring Center and other institutions.
    The new species can be distinguished from its closely related species with a genetic divergence of over 14 percent, according to the research findings. The new species is found in the Qiantang and Oujiang River systems in Zhejiang Province and the tributaries of the lower Yangtze River adjacent to the Qiantang River.
    Yang said that the discovery of several new species living in fast-flowing rivers or streams including Opsariichthys iridescens, indicates that the diversity of freshwater fish species in the region is still underestimated.
    According to Yang, these stream fish species are food resources for waterfowl and other animal, contributing to the nutrient cycling and water purification of rivers.
    Yang said protecting these fish species is essential to maintaining the balance of aquatic ecosystems, which helps to maintain biodiversity and promote the sustainable development of ecotourism and fisheries.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Down and under pressure: US and UK artists are taking over Australian charts, leaving local talent behind

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Kelly, PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney

    Shutterstock

    Missy Higgins’ recent ARIA number-one album, The Second Act, represents an increasingly rare sighting: an Australian artist at the top of an Australian chart.

    My recently published analysis of Australia’s best-selling singles and albums from 2000 to 2023 shows a significant decline in the representation of artists from Australia and non-English-speaking countries.

    The findings suggest music streaming in Australia – together with algorithmic recommendation – is creating a monoculture dominated by artists from the United States and United Kingdom. This could spell bad news for our music industry if things don’t change.

    Who dominates Australian charts?

    In 2023, Australia’s recorded music industry was worth about A$676 million, up 10.9% year on year.

    Building a strong local music industry is important, not only to support diverse cultural expression, but also to create jobs and boost Australia’s reputation on a global stage.

    When Australian artists succeed, this attracts global investment, which in turn stimulates all aspects of the local music industry. Conversely, a weak music economy can lead to global disinvestment, thereby disadvantaging local companies, artists and consumers.

    My research shows how the rise of music streaming – which became the dominant format for Australian recorded music sales in 2017 – has had a noticeable impact on the diversity of artists represented in the ARIA top 100 single and album charts.

    In the year 2000, the top 100 singles chart featured hits from 14 different countries. By contrast, only seven countries were represented in 2023.

    The percentage of Australian and New Zealand artists in the top 100 single charts declined from an average of 16% in 2000–16 to around 10% in 2017–23, and just 2.5% in 2023.

    Album share also declined from an average of 29% in 2000–16 to 18% in 2017–23, and 4% in 2023.

    This chart shows changes in diveristy in the ARIA top 100 albums chart over 22 years.
    Author provided

    Similarly, the proportion of artists from outside the Anglo bloc of North America, the UK and Australia/New Zealand declined from an average of 11.1% in 2000–16 to 7.3% in 2017–23 – while album share declined from 5% in 2000–16 to 2.3% in 2017–23.

    My study also found representation of Indigenous artists remained low, but stable, over the period studied – and in line with population ratios.

    Concetration of power

    The findings suggest the decline in Australian and non-Anglo representation in the ARIA top 100 charts is linked.

    Some economists and academics have argued easier access to independent music and global distribution via streaming will lead to greater diversity in music. But this hasn’t been the case in Australia, at least as far as chart-topping artists are concerned.

    The global recorded music industry has consolidated in recent years. In the early 2000s there were five major music labels. Currently there are just three: Universal, Sony and Warner.

    Last year, these three labels were responsible for more than 95% of the Australian top 100 single and album charts. Meanwhile, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube make up an estimated 97% of the Australian streaming market.

    These concentrations of power allow a handful of record labels and distributors to have a disproportionate influence over music design, production, distribution and governance – thereby limiting opportunities for diversity.

    The need for new policy

    My findings align with European research that found markets with a strong cultural differentiator of language are showing increased national diversity with streaming.

    However, countries without a distinctive language are being increasingly dominated by global music production. In Australia’s case, we’re becoming reliant on the star-making machinery of the US.

    Recently, Australia’s live music crisis came under scrutiny at a federal government inquiry, which highlighted the significant power imbalance between artists and multinational promoters.

    As I and many others have suggested, targeted cultural policies are necessary to combat our highly concentrated and US-dependent market.

    Relying on labels and streaming platforms will do little to preserve and promote our nation’s unique musical and cultural identity.

    Previous employment at Sony Music, Universal Music, Inertia Music. ARIA Chart Committee member 2005-2017. Employment at these labels ceased by 2017. No continued professional relationship with any of the companies.

    – ref. Down and under pressure: US and UK artists are taking over Australian charts, leaving local talent behind – https://theconversation.com/down-and-under-pressure-us-and-uk-artists-are-taking-over-australian-charts-leaving-local-talent-behind-239822

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Curious Kids: What does the edge of the universe look like?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology

    Greg Rakozy/Shutterstock

    What does the edge of the universe look like?

    Lily, age 7, Harcourt

    What a great question! In fact, this is one of those questions humans will continue to ask until the end of time. That’s because we don’t actually know for sure.

    But we can try and imagine what the edge of the universe might be, if there is one.

    Looking back in time

    Before we begin, we do need to go back in time. Our night sky has looked the same for all of human history. It’s been so reliable, humans from all around the world came up with patterns they saw in the stars as a way to navigate and explore.

    To our eyes, the sky looks endless. With the invention of telescopes about 400 years ago, humans were able to see farther – more than just our eyes ever could. They continued to discover new things in the sky. They found more stars, and then eventually started to notice that there were a lot of strange-looking cosmic clouds.

    Astronomers gave them the name “nebula” from the Latin word for “mist” or “cloud”.

    It was less than 100 years ago that we first confirmed these cosmic clouds or nebulas were actually galaxies. They are just like Milky Way, the galaxy our own planet is in, but very far away.

    What is amazing is that in every direction we look in the universe, we see more and more galaxies. In this James Webb Space Telescope image, which is looking at a part of the sky no bigger than a grain of sand, you can see thousands of galaxies.

    It’s hard to imagine there is an edge where all of this stops.

    The edge of the universe

    However, there is technically an edge to our universe. We call it our “observable” universe.

    This is because we don’t actually know if our universe is infinite – meaning it continues forever and ever.

    Unfortunately, we might never know because of one pesky thing: the speed of light.

    We can only ever see light that’s had enough time to travel to us. Light travels at exactly 299,792,458 metres per second. Even at those speeds, it still takes a long time to cross our universe. Scientists estimate the size of the universe is at least 96 billion light years across, and likely even bigger.

    You can learn a little more about that and our universe as a whole in this video below.

    What would we see if there was an edge?

    If we were to travel to the very, very edge of the universe we think exists, what would there actually be?

    Many other scientists and I theorise that there would just be … more universe!

    As I said, there is a theory that our universe doesn’t actually have an edge, and might continue on indefinitely.

    But there are other theories, too. If our universe does have an edge, and you cross it, you might just end up in a completely different universe altogether. (That is best saved for science fiction for now.)

    Even though there isn’t a straightforward answer to your question, it is precisely questions like these that help us continue to explore and discover the universe, and allow us to understand our place within it. You’re thinking like a true scientist.

    Sara Webb 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. Curious Kids: What does the edge of the universe look like? – https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-does-the-edge-of-the-universe-look-like-233111

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NSW will remove 65,000 years of Aboriginal history from its syllabus. It’s a step backwards for education

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Westaway, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland

    The NSW Education Standards Authority has announced that teaching of the Aboriginal past prior to European arrival will be excluded from the Year 7–10 syllabus as of 2027.

    Since 2012, the topic “Ancient Australia” has been taught nationally in Year 7 as part of the Australian Curriculum. In 2022, a new topic called the “deep time history of Australia” was introduced to provide a more detailed study of 65,000 years of First Nations’ occupation of the continent.

    However, New South Wales has surprisingly dropped this topic from its new syllabus, which will be rolled out in 2027. Instead, students will only learn First Nations’ history following European colonisation in 1788.

    This directly undermines the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration of 2020. This is a national agreement, signed by education ministers from all jurisdictions, which states:

    We recognise the more than 60,000 years [sic] of continual connection by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a key part of the nation’s history, present and future.

    If the planned change to the syllabus goes through, the only Aboriginal history taught to NSW students would be that which reflects the destruction of traditional Aboriginal society. It also means Aboriginal students in NSW will be denied a chance to learn about their deep ancestral past.

    The significance of Australia’s deep time past

    Bruce Pascoe’s groundbreaking 2014 book Dark Emu (which sold more than 500,000 copies), and the associated documentary, have highlighted an enormous appetite for learning about Australia’s deep time past.

    Hundreds of thousands of Australians engaged with Dark Emu. As anthropologist Paul Memmott notes, the book prompted a debate that encouraged a better understanding of Aboriginal society and its complexity.

    It also generated research that investigated whether terms such as “hunter-gatherers” are appropriate for defining past Aboriginal society and economic systems.



    Read more:
    Farmers or foragers? Pre-colonial Aboriginal food production was hardly that simple

    In schools, teachers have used Pascoe’s book Young Dark Emu to introduce students to sophisticated land and aquaculture systems used by First Peoples prior to colonisation.

    The book raises an important question. If you lived in a country that invented bread and the edge-ground axe – a culture that independently developed early trade and social living – and did all of this without resorting to land war – wouldn’t you want your children to know about it?

    For many students, the history they learn at school is knowledge they carry into their adult lives – and knowledge is the strongest antidote to ignorance. Rather than abandoning the Aboriginal deep time story, schools should be encouraging students to engage with it.

    Learning on Country

    One of the strengths of the current NSW history syllabus is the requirement for students to undertake a “site study” in Years 8 and 9. Currently, NSW is the only jurisdiction that has made this mandatory.

    Site studies are an excellent opportunity for students to learn on Country. Many teachers organise excursions to Aboriginal cultural sites where students can directly engage with local Traditional Owners and Elders.

    New South Wales is brimming with sites of cultural significance to Aboriginal people. The map below highlightssome of these, ranging from megafauna sites, to extensive fish traps, to the enigmatic rock art galleries and ceremonial engravings (petroglyphs).

    How students will miss out

    The Ngambaa people and archaeologists from the University of Queensland are currently investigating one of the largest midden complexes in Australia. This complex, located at Clybucca and Stuart’s Point on the north coast, spans some 14 kilometres and dates back to around 9,000 years ago.

    Middens, or “living sites”, are accumulations of shell that were built over time through thousands of discarded seafood meals. Since the shells help reduce the acidic chemistry of the soil, animal bones and plant remains are more likely to be preserved in middens.

    For instance, the Clybucca-Stuarts Point midden complex contains remains from seals and dugongs. Both of these animals were once part of the local ecosystem, but no longer are.

    The middens also extend back to before the arrival of dingoes, so studying them could help us understand how biodiversity changed once dingoes replaced thylacines and Tasmanian devils on the mainland.

    Local school students, especially Aboriginal students, will be actively participating in this cutting-edge research alongside the Ngambaa people, archaeologists and teachers. Among other things, the students will learn how the Ngambaa people sustainably managed land and sea Country over thousand of years during periods of dramatic environmental change.

    But innovative programs like this will no longer be as relevant if Australia’s deep time history is removed from the NSW syllabus.

    An opportunity for leadership

    The study of First Nations archaeological sites, history and cultures tells us a broader human story of continuity and adaptability over deep time. Indigenising the curriculum – wherein Aboriginal knowledge is braided with historical and archaeological inquiry – is a powerful way to reconcile different approaches to understanding the past.

    The NSW Education Standards Authority’s proposed changes risk sending young people the message that Australia’s “history” before colonisation is not an important part of the country’s historic narrative.

    But there is still time to show leadership – by reversing the decisions and by connecting teachers and students to powerful stories from Australia’s deep time past.

    Michael Westaway receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Humanities and Social Science at the University of Queensland .

    Bruce Pascoe is the author of the texts mentioned in this article, Dark Emu and Young Dark Emu: A Truer History. He also has positions on the boards of Black Duck Foods, the Twofold Aboriginal Corporation and First Languages Australia.

    Louise Zarmati receives research funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage.

    – ref. NSW will remove 65,000 years of Aboriginal history from its syllabus. It’s a step backwards for education – https://theconversation.com/nsw-will-remove-65-000-years-of-aboriginal-history-from-its-syllabus-its-a-step-backwards-for-education-240111

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU entered the top 10 of the rating of universities for technological entrepreneurship by the Expert Analytical Center

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    This week, the analytical center “Expert” published annual rating universities that are leaders in technological entrepreneurship. NSU is among the top 10 strongest universities in this indicator. Among other leading universities, there are mainly those located in Moscow.

    Since 2016, the Expert AC has been annually assessing the publication activity of Russian universities, their ability to create and implement innovations, and generate local and global technology entrepreneurs.

    The 2024 Techpred-50 study covers 863 local technology startups founded by 1,127 entrepreneurs between 2014 and 2023, headquartered in about 60 cities in Russia, as well as 2,303 startups from 2,367 entrepreneurs founded abroad during the same period. The study included universities with at least 5 active startups in Russia.

    In this edition of the rating, the selection of universities in the top 50 was carried out on a point scale of Effectiveness, which took into account the assessment of local and foreign startups from graduates of Russian universities according to several parameters.

    As an experimental approach to assessing the university’s potential for generating technology entrepreneurs, indicators of the university’s participation in federal competitions and selections, the region’s potential, as well as the presence of a large innovative infrastructure, which includes, for example, modern campuses built within the framework of a federal project, were used.

    Associate Professor of the Department of Management, Head of the Master’s Program “Innovative Entrepreneurship and Management” Faculty of Economics Elena Alyabina, Head of the Novosibirsk State University, commenting on the results of the rating, noted that in 2024 the methodology for calculating the rating of universities-leaders of technological entrepreneurship has changed somewhat: a block of “Local startups” of companies with headquarters in Russia has been added.

    — Despite this, NSU has once again entered the top ten. It is stability that distinguishes NSU from some economic universities that have only recently entered the ranking, — Elena emphasized.

    Technological entrepreneurship is successfully developing at NSU. Thus, at the moment, more than 50 startups founded by university students have received 1 million rubles each for the implementation of projects from the Innovation Assistance Fund; 24 teams have become residents of the Akadempark of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok.

    — In my opinion, the secret of NSU’s success is in the combination of formal and informal approaches to the development of technopreneurial education. We have learned to integrate acceleration programs into the curricula for training students in various areas, to form mixed teams of “physicists” and “lyricists,” and to involve active technology entrepreneurs in teaching. NSU has formed a productive innovation infrastructure, represented by Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, Startup studio, with many student initiative associations with a business focus,” noted Elena.

    NSU has been implementing this for several years now Master’s program “Innovative Entrepreneurship and Management”. It introduces disciplines related to product management that are useful for tech entrepreneurs, and also develops cooperation with NSU Advanced Engineering School. In addition, many entrepreneurial courses are built into the curricula of various bachelor’s degree programs. NSU also prepares and defends theses in the “Startup as a Diploma” format. At the same time, the number of teams is increasing: in 2023 and 2024, it is 2 times larger than the first graduating class in 2022.

    — The plans include involving more students in project activities, where kids can try themselves in the role of a startup team member and understand how close this development trajectory is to them. There are ideas on how to extend the “campus courses” approach to faculties that have not yet been covered. Another promising area is involving schoolchildren: students SUNC NSU are already creating interesting projects that win at the International Scientific Student Conference from a technological point of view. By adding an entrepreneurial component to them, you can get a reserve for future startups, – Elena added.

    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://vvv.nsu.ru/n/media/nevs/education/ngu-entered-top-10-rating-of-universities-technological-entrepreneurship-ats-expert/

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4323-4324: Surfin’ Our Way out of the Channel

    Source: NASA

    2 min read

    Earth planning date: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024

    As a member of the group tasked with organizing our campaign to investigate the Gediz Vallis channel and deposit (informally known as the Channel Surfers), I was a little sad this morning to see that our drive had successfully taken us out of the channel, back onto the magnesium sulfate-bearing unit, into which the channel is incised. Our long-anticipated investigation of the channel has proven fruitful: Curiosity made the first definitive detection of elemental sulfur on Mars, and we have examined a variety of intriguing lithologies and relationships within the deposit over the last 4.5 months. It has been an exciting time, and I have particularly enjoyed riding this wave with my fellow Channel Surfers — a great team! Now to make sense of all the fantastic data we have collected.

    We are not completely done looking at the channel and deposits though. We will be driving parallel to the western margin for a while to facilitate comparisons with what we observed from the east. Tosol we will image two areas of interest within the Gediz Vallis channel from our current vantage point with Mastcam and ChemCam long-distance RMI. But back to the sulfate unit — the team planned a number of activities to document the return to the sulfate unit. These include APXS and MAHLI of the nodular bedrock immediately in front of the rover (“Sub Dome”), ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam of another bedrock block (“Vert Lost Grove”), and Mastcam of the resistant bedrock ridge immediately adjacent to the Gediz Vallis channel (“Muah Mountain”).

    Once the drive of about 25 meters (about 82 feet) hopefully executes successfully, Curiosity will look down and image the terrain between her front wheels with MARDI, acquire ChemCam LIBS on an autonomously selected target in the workspace, and then perform a series of atmospheric and environmental observations. These include a Mastcam tau to measure dust in the atmosphere, Navcam dust devil and suprahorizon movies, and a Navcam line-of-sight observation. The plan is rounded out with DAN, RAD, and REMS activities.

    Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto and University of Nevada, Reno President Sandoval Discuss Democracy & Latino Civic Engagement During Hispanic Heritage Month

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    Reno, Nev. – Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) President Brian Sandoval participated today in a “Discussions in Democracy” fireside chat moderated by Jon Ralston and Vanessa Vancour in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Joined by students, faculty, and staff on UNR’s campus, Cortez Masto and Sandoval — two of Nevada’s highest ranking Latino officials — talked about working together across the aisle to deliver for Nevada, their shared background, and encouraging the Latino community and all Nevadans to partake in civic engagement.
    “I’ve known Brian for a long time, so I was honored to join him to honor Hispanic Heritage Month and discuss the growing power of our Latino communities,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “From our days combatting human trafficking at the state level to ensuring that UNR continues to be a top research institution, Brian and I have always worked together across the aisle to uplift all Nevadans. Our voices matter now more than ever, and I’m proud to come together to celebrate Latino culture and highlight our contributions to the Silver State.”
    “Today’s ‘Discussions in Democracy’ event at the University of Nevada highlighted the vital role that Latino voices play in shaping our political landscape,” said Brian Sandoval, President of the University of Nevada, Reno. “Engaging our diverse communities in meaningful dialogue not only strengthens our democracy, but also enriches the future of Nevada. I’m grateful to Senator Cortez Masto for her leadership and commitment to fostering civic participation among all Nevadans, starting right here at the University of Nevada. I would also like to thank Jon Ralston and Vanessa Vancour for moderating today’s discussion.”
    Born and raised in Las Vegas, Cortez Masto graduated from University of Nevada, Reno in 1986. She served two terms as Nevada’s Attorney General before becoming the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate, as well as the highest ranking Hispanic Senator in the Democratic Caucus. She passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month in the Senate this year. She helped create a new series of commemorative circulating coins highlighting remarkable American women trailblazers in the U.S.—including Latinas like Celia Cruz, Nina Otero-Warren, and Jovita Idar. And she’s leading the charge in the Senate to build the National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: New video shows sharks making an easy meal of spiky sea urchins, shedding light on an undersea mystery

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeremy Day, PhD researcher, University of Newcastle

    Author provided

    Long-spined sea urchins have emerged as an environmental issue off Australia’s far south coast. Native to temperate waters around New South Wales, the urchins have expanded their range south as oceans warm. There, they devour kelp and invertebrates, leaving barren habitats in their wake.

    Lobsters are widely accepted as sea urchins’ key predator. In efforts to control urchin numbers, scientists have been researching this predator-prey relationship. And the latest research by my colleagues and I, released today, delivered an unexpected result.

    We set up several cameras outside a lobster den and placed sea urchins in it. We filmed at night for almost a month. When we checked the footage, most sea urchins had been eaten – not by lobsters, but by sharks.

    This suggests sharks have been overlooked as predators of sea urchins in NSW. Importantly, sharks seem to very easily consume these large, spiky creatures – sometimes in just a few gulps! Our findings suggest the diversity of predators eating large sea urchins is broader than we thought – and that could prove to be good news for protecting our kelp forests.

    A puzzling picture

    The waters off Australia’s south-east are warming at almost four times the global average. This has allowed long-spined sea urchins (Centrostephanus rodgersii) to extend their range from NSW into waters off Victoria and Tasmania.

    Sea urchins feed on kelp and in their march south, have reduced kelp cover. This has added to pressure on kelp forests, which face many threats.

    Scientists have been looking for ways to combat the spread of sea urchins. Ensuring healthy populations of predators is one suggested solution.

    Overseas research on different urchin species has focused on predators such as lobsters and large fish. It found kelp cover can be improved by protecting or reinstating these predators.

    Sea urchins feed on kelp.
    Nathan Knott

    In NSW, eastern rock lobsters are thought to be important urchin predators. The species has been over-fished in the past but stocks have significantly bounced back in recent years.

    But despite this, no meaningful reduction in urchin populations, or increase in kelp growth, has been observed in NSW.

    Why not? Could it be that lobsters are not eating urchins in great numbers after all? Certainly, there is little empirical evidence on how often predators eat urchins in the wild.

    What’s more, recent research in NSW suggested the influence of lobsters on urchin populations was low, while fish could be more important.

    Our project aimed to investigate the situation further.

    Eastern rock lobsters are thought to be major urchin predators.
    Flickr/Richard Ling, CC BY

    What we did

    We tied 100 urchins to blocks outside a lobster den off in Wollongong for 25 nights. This tethering meant the urchins were easily available to predators and stayed within view of our cameras.

    Then we set multiple cameras to remotely turn on at sunset and turn after sunrise each day, to capture nocturnal feeding. We used a red-filtered light to film the experiments because invertebrates don’t like the white light spectrum.

    We expected our cameras would capture lobsters eating the urchins. But in fact, the lobsters showed little interest in the urchins and ate just 4% of them. They were often filmed walking straight past urchins in search of other food.

    Sharks, however, were very interested in the urchins. Both crested horn sharks (Heterodontus galeatus) and Port Jackson sharks (H. portusjacksonii) entered the den and ate 45% of the urchins.

    As the footage below shows, sharks readily handled very large urchins (wider then 12 centimetres) with no hesitation.

    Until now, it was thought few or no predators could handle urchins of this size. Larger urchins have longer spines, thicker shells and attach more strongly to the seafloor, making them harder to eat.

    But the sharks attacked urchins from their spiny side, showing little regard for their sharp defences. This approach differs from other predators, such as lobsters and wrasses, which often turn urchins over and attack them methodically from their more vulnerable underside.

    In fact, some sharks were so eager to eat urchins, they started feeding before the cameras turned on at sunset. This meant we had to film by hand.

    Footage captured by the researchers showing crested horn sharks eating sea urchins. Horn sharks generally do not pose a threat to humans.

    A complex food web

    Our experiment showed the effect of lobsters on urchins in the wild is less than previously thought.
    This may explain why efforts to encourage lobster numbers have not helped control urchin numbers.

    We also revealed a little-considered urchin predator: sharks.

    Lobsters are capable but hesitant predators, whereas sharks seem eager to eat urchins. And crested horn sharks are an abundant, hardy species that is not actively fished.

    When interpreting these findings, however, a few caveats must be noted.

    First, sharks (and lobsters) are not the only animals to prey on urchins. Other predators include bony fishes, and more are likely to be identified in future.

    Second, other factors can control urchin numbers, such as storm damage and the influx of fresh water.

    And finally, it is unsurprising that we found a key predator when we intentionally searched for it by laying out food. Tethering urchins creates an artificial environment. We don’t know if the results would be replicated in the wild.

    And even though we now know some shark species eat sea urchins, we don’t yet know if they can control urchins numbers.

    But our research does confirm predators capable of handling large urchins may be more widespread than previously thought.

    Jeremy Day received funding from University of Newcastle, Ecological Society of Australia, Royal Zoological Soceity of New South Wales and Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

    – ref. New video shows sharks making an easy meal of spiky sea urchins, shedding light on an undersea mystery – https://theconversation.com/new-video-shows-sharks-making-an-easy-meal-of-spiky-sea-urchins-shedding-light-on-an-undersea-mystery-240205

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran’s strike on Israel was retaliatory – but it was also about saving face and restoring deterrence

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Aaron Pilkington, Fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver

    Israel and Iran are at war. In truth, the two sides have been fighting for decades, but the conflict has played out largely under the cover of covert and clandestine operations.

    The recent actions of both sides in this once “shadow war” have changed the nature of the conflict. It is not clear that de-escalation is on the horizon.

    On Oct 1, 2024, Iran launched a massive, direct attack against Israel notionally in retribution for Israel’s dual assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s chief, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

    It was the second such barrage in six months.

    By many accounts, the previous Iranian attack against Israel on April 13 – which consisted of over 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones – caused very little damage to Israel. Perhaps because of this, and likely in part due to U.S. encouragement of restraint, Israel’s immediate military response then – an airstrike against a single advanced Iranian air defense system in the Isfahan province – was somewhat measured.

    Many onlookers saw the calibrated exchange in April as a possible indication that both sides would prefer to de-escalate rather than engage in ongoing open warfare.

    But further Israeli military operations since then have prompted escalatory Iranian military responses, forcing the conflict back out of the shadows.

    With Hamas’ capabilities and leadership degraded in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military leaders announced in June that they were “ready to face” Hezbollah – the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group whose persistent rocket attacks against northern Israel have caused tens of thousands to evacuate the area.

    Israel pivots north

    Israel’s pivot from Gaza toward Lebanon coincided with the July 31, 2024, assassination of Hamas’ political bureau chairman, Haniyeh, during his stay in Tehran. The purported Israeli operation was seen as an affront to Iran’s sovereignty. It was also an embarrassment that highlighted the vulnerability and permeability of Iran’s internal security apparatus.

    Even though Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei vowed a “harsh response” against Israel, by September Iran had taken no action.

    Tehran’s inaction caused many Middle East analysts to question if the Iranian response would ever materialize – and by extension, what that would mean for Khamenei’s commitment to his proxy forces.

    If indeed Iran’s leadership opted for restraint following the assassination of Hamas’ top political leader, the same could not be said for its reaction to Israel’s multiphase operation against Hezbollah in mid-September.

    Israel began with a clandestine operation to sow chaos and confusion in Hezbollah’s command and control through the means of sabotaged explosive communications devices. Israel then carried out airstrikes eliminating Hezbollah’s top leaders including Nasrallah. The Israeli military then launched what the country’s leaders describe as a “limited [ground] operation” into southern Lebanon to remove Hezbollah positions along the northern border.

    Tehran’s Oct 1. attack in response against Israel was, according to many Middle East experts and indeed Iranian military leaders, primarily a retaliation for the two high-profile assassinations against Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

    These were certainly key factors. But as an expert on Iran’s defense strategy, I argue that Iran’s leaders also felt compelled to attack Israel for three equally, if not more important, reasons: to slow Israel’s advance in Lebanon, to save face, and to restore deterrence.

    Challenging Israel’s advance

    Iran hopes to slow and potentially reverse Israel’s successes against Hezbollah, especially as Israel embarks on ground operations into southern Lebanon. Of course, Israeli ground troops must now deal with what is perhaps the world’s most capable guerrilla fighting force – one that performed quite successfully during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

    Nevertheless, Israel’s ability to achieve a tactical surprise and eliminate Hezbollah’s top leaders – even in the midst of an ongoing localized war, and even after Israel’s leaders announced their intention to engage Hezbollah – reveals a far superior Israeli strategy and operational planning and execution capability than that of Hezbollah.

    And that presents a huge blow to what is seen in Iran as the Islamic Republic’s crown jewel within its “Axis of Resistance.”

    In this respect, the Oct. 1 retaliatory strike by Iran can be seen as an attempt to afford Hezbollah time to appoint replacement leadership, regroup and organize against Israel’s ground invasion.

    The brutal art of save face?

    It also serves to help Iran save face, especially in how it’s seen by other parts of its external proxy network.

    Orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC – Tehran’s primary arm for coordinating external operations – Iranian money, training, guidance and ideological support enabled and encouraged the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel – even, as it has claimed, Iran had no prior warning of the assault.

    Since then, Hamas fighters have received almost no real-time support from Tehran. This lack of support has no doubt contributed to Hamas being successfully degraded as a threat by Israel, with many of its members either dead or in hiding and unable to mount a coherent offensive campaign, leading Israel’s military leaders to claim the group has been effectively defeated.

    Unsurprisingly, Iran is glad to enable Palestinians to fight Tehran’s enemies and absorb the human costs of war, because this arrangement primarily benefits the Islamic Republic.

    Once the fighting in Gaza started, the IRGC was nowhere to be found.

    Rockets fired from Iran are seen over Jerusalem on Oct. 1, 2024.
    Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Now that Israel has shifted its attention to Lebanon and scored several initial tactical successes against Hezbollah, Iran cannot afford to stand back and watch for two main reasons. First, a year of fighting in Gaza has demonstrated that Israel is willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate threats along its borders – including a willingness to withstand international political pressure or operate within Iran’s borders.

    And second, Iran’s proxy groups elsewhere are watching to see if Tehran will continue supporting them – or will abandon them, as it seemingly has done with Hamas.

    Reclaiming deterrence

    Perhaps above all, in Tehran’s calculus over how to respond is Iran’s need to restore a deterrence.

    The two defining features of Iran’s interrelated external, or “forward defense,” and deterrence strategies is its regional network of militant proxies and its long-range weapons arsenal, which includes a large number of advanced ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack-capable drones.

    These Iranian defense strategies seek to dissuade enemies from attacking Iran proper in two ways: first, by threatening Israel and other regional U.S. allies with punishment via proxy militia or long-range weapon attacks; and second, by offering scapegoat targets against which Iran’s enemies can express their rage. In effect, Iran’s proxy forces act as proxy targets that pay the costs for Iran’s hostile policies.

    Israel’s degradation of Hamas and ongoing operations against Hezbollah threaten to undermine Iran’s ability to deter attacks against the homeland. For the Islamic Republic’s leaders, this is an unacceptable risk.

    Who plays the next move?

    These interweaving imperatives likely prompted Iran’s leaders to launch a second massive, direct missile attack on Oct. 1 against Israel. How effective the strike will be in achieving any of Tehran’s aims is unknown.

    The Islamic Republic claimed that as many as 90% of the ballistic missiles reached their intended targets, while Israel and the United States characterize the attack as having been “defeated and ineffective,” despite unverified cellphone videos showing several ballistic missiles detonating after reaching land in Israel.

    What is almost certain, however, is that this will not be the last move in the conflict. Israel is unlikely to halt its Lebanon operation until it achieves its border security objectives. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed retaliation against Iran for its latest retaliatory attack.

    IRGC leaders met this warning with a counterthreat of their own that if Israel responds to the Oct. 1 attack militarily, Iran will again respond with unspecified “crushing and destructive attacks.”

    Rhetorically, neither side is backing down; militarily this may be true, too. The nature and scope of Israel’s next move will dictate how the war with Iran develops – but make no mistake, it is a war.

    Dr. Aaron Pilkington is a U.S. Air Force analyst of Middle East affairs and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. Dr. Pilkington will soon join the Military & Strategic Studies department at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, the United States Air Force Academy, or any other organizational affiliation.

    – ref. Iran’s strike on Israel was retaliatory – but it was also about saving face and restoring deterrence – https://theconversation.com/irans-strike-on-israel-was-retaliatory-but-it-was-also-about-saving-face-and-restoring-deterrence-240302

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Wollongong to host Multicultural Water Safety Day

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: Wollongong to host Multicultural Water Safety Day

    Published: 4 October 2024

    Released by: Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Minister for Regional Health, Minister for Sport

    As summer approaches, local government, sporting and community organisations have come together to host a free Multicultural Water Safety Day at Wollongong City Beach next Friday.

    In the 12 months to 30 June 2024, 61 people drowned at beaches, coastal waterways and the ocean according to Surf Life Saving NSW data.

    The Multicultural Water Safety Day aims to empower multicultural communities in the Illawarra with the skills and confidence to safely enjoy local waters.

    The initiative is a collaboration between the NSW Office of Sport, Illawarra Multicultural Services, Multicultural Communities Council Illawarra, Surf Life Saving NSW, Royal Life Saving, University of Wollongong, and other local stakeholders designed to educate multicultural communities on vital water safety skills and knowledge, particularly the beach, inland water and rock fishing safety.

    As well as interactive educational sessions including a live rip dye and resuscitation demonstrations, there will be hands-on practical activities and the opportunity to engage with facilitators and local organisations.

    The event will be held at Wollongong City Beach from 10am on Friday, 11 October. 

    Minster for the Illawarra and the South Coast, Ryan Park, said:

    “The Illawarra and South Coast is home to some of the best beaches in the State and the NSW Government is committed to making sure that all members of our community can enjoy them safely.

    “With a focus on inclusivity and community engagement, this initiative aims to make a lasting impact on the water safety in the region.”

    “We hope that this event is the first step in instilling a lifelong understanding and appreciation of water safety among our multicultural communities.”

    Minister for Sport, Steve Kamper, said:

    “Swimming and being on or near the water is a key part of the Australian lifestyle, but too many people, particularly those from multicultural backgrounds, continue to lose their lives to drowning.”

    “The NSW Government wants to ensure that people participating in water activities or just enjoying a swim at the beach have the skills and knowledge to do so safely.”

    Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, said:

    “Wollongong is a diverse community and events such as these allow us to provide targeted resources to our multicultural residents, particularly those who may not have grown up around the water.

    “Many newer residents and visiting students have little or no experience in the surf, it’s important they gave a good understand of water safety. 

    “I encourage as many members of our community as possible to come down, participate and learn potentially life-saving lessons.”

    Projects Coordinator for Illawarra Multicultural Services, Amro Zoabe said:

    “Working with multicultural communities, IMS understands the importance of having vital information available in language. By having our multilingual community workers provide language support for this event, we ensure everyone has equitable access.

    “We are lucky to be living on Dharawal land on waters. This event helps make sure our multicultural communities, access these waters safely.”
     

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Commission President reiterates calls for upholding human rights as violence in the Middle East escalates

    Source: Australian Human Rights Commission

    As the violence in the Middle East escalates, and with the approaching anniversary of the brutal 7 October attacks by Hamas and the start of Israel’s devastating and continuing response, the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission has reiterated its call for upholding human rights and international humanitarian law. 

    President Hugh de Kretser: “The toll of human suffering and death across Israel, Gaza and now Lebanon is horrifying. I acknowledge the ongoing and escalating impact of the war on communities in Australia. We have heard from affected communities about their feelings of loss, uncertainty, fear, anger and grief at what is happening. We recognise the disturbing rise in incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism in Australia.  

    “The Commission will continue to support and engage with all communities to address discrimination and hate speech. The Commission continues to provide access to justice services for all people affected by racial discrimination and vilification by investigating and conciliating complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act. Complaints that are not resolved through our processes can be taken for determination through the Federal Court system. 

    “The Commission has been funded to undertake a program of community engagement and awareness raising about racism to support safety in Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities across Australia. We have also been funded by the Australian Government to conduct a Study into the Prevalence and Impact of Racism in Australian Universities. The study will have a significant focus on antisemitism as well as Islamophobia.  

    “I call on Australian governments to protect people’s rights to peacefully assemble and protest. Any limitation on protest rights must be strictly necessary and reasonable. In general, protests should not be restricted based on the ideas or viewpoints taken by protesters. However, governments must address hate speech and the incitement of violence. 

    “I urge the Australian Government to adopt a compassionate, sustainable, non-discriminatory humanitarian response to people fleeing the violence. 

    “At the international level, I urge the Australian Government to support efforts to achieve a sustainable ceasefire, the protection of civilians, the return of hostages and accountability for violations of international humanitarian law. 

    “The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024 should be supported. I endorse the statement of Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: 

    ‘As the world reflects on and considers its inability to prevent this carnage, I urge all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire, lay down their arms and stop the killing once and for all. The hostages must be released. Palestinians arbitrarily detained must be freed. Israel’s illegal occupation must end and the internationally agreed two-State solution must become a reality.’ 

    “I urge the Australian Government to support international efforts towards achieving a lasting peace and a two-state solution that addresses the root causes of the violence.” 

    ENDS | Media contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or +61 457 281 897 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto and University of Nevada, Reno President Sandoval Discuss Democracy & Latino Civic Engagement During Hispanic Heritage Month

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    Reno, Nev. – Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) President Brian Sandoval participated today in a “Discussions in Democracy” fireside chat moderated by Jon Ralston and Vanessa Vancour in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Joined by students, faculty, and staff on UNR’s campus, Cortez Masto and Sandoval — two of Nevada’s highest ranking Latino officials — talked about working together across the aisle to deliver for Nevada, their shared background, and encouraging the Latino community and all Nevadans to partake in civic engagement.
    “I’ve known Brian for a long time, so I was honored to join him to honor Hispanic Heritage Month and discuss the growing power of our Latino communities,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “From our days combatting human trafficking at the state level to ensuring that UNR continues to be a top research institution, Brian and I have always worked together across the aisle to uplift all Nevadans. Our voices matter now more than ever, and I’m proud to come together to celebrate Latino culture and highlight our contributions to the Silver State.”
    “Today’s ‘Discussions in Democracy’ event at the University of Nevada highlighted the vital role that Latino voices play in shaping our political landscape,” said Brian Sandoval, President of the University of Nevada, Reno. “Engaging our diverse communities in meaningful dialogue not only strengthens our democracy, but also enriches the future of Nevada. I’m grateful to Senator Cortez Masto for her leadership and commitment to fostering civic participation among all Nevadans, starting right here at the University of Nevada. I would also like to thank Jon Ralston and Vanessa Vancour for moderating today’s discussion.”
    Born and raised in Las Vegas, Cortez Masto graduated from University of Nevada, Reno in 1986. She served two terms as Nevada’s Attorney General before becoming the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate, as well as the highest ranking Hispanic Senator in the Democratic Caucus. She passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month in the Senate this year. She helped create a new series of commemorative circulating coins highlighting remarkable American women trailblazers in the U.S.—including Latinas like Celia Cruz, Nina Otero-Warren, and Jovita Idar. And she’s leading the charge in the Senate to build the National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall.

    MIL OSI USA News –