Search

"God's problem now": Man's hilarious obituary for his father goes viral

A man's hilarious obituary for his father has gone viral, after he claimed his late dad's antics were "God's problem now." Texas man Charles Boehm wrote the obituary for his father Robert, who died at the age of 74 on October 6th after he fell and hit his head. When Charles was given the task of writing the notice for his father, he wanted to make it funny in a way that would reflect his dad's character, rather than making it a sombre and serious obit. “Robert Adolph Boehm, in accordance with his lifelong dedication to his own personal brand of decorum, muttered his last unintelligible and likely unnecessary curse on October 6, 2024, shortly before tripping backward over ‘some stupid bleeping thing’ and hitting his head on the floor,” the obituary read. He joked that his Catholic father managed to get his mother pregnant three times in five years, allowing him to avoid getting drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. “Much later, with Robert possibly concerned about the brewing conflict in Grenada, Charles was born in 1983,” Charles wrote. “This lack of military service was probably for the best, as when taking up shooting as a hobby in his later years, he managed to blow not one, but two holes in the dash of his own car on two separate occasions, which unfortunately did not even startle, let alone surprise, his dear wife Dianne, who was much accustomed to such happenings in his presence and may have actually been safer in the jungles of Vietnam the entire time.” Charles wrote of his father's hilarious hobby, saying, “Robert also kept a wide selection of harmonicas on hand — not to play personally, but to prompt his beloved dogs to howl continuously at odd hours of the night to entertain his many neighbours, and occasionally to give to his many, many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren to play loudly during long road trips with their parents.” Earlier this year, Robert’s wife and Charles’ mother, Dianne, passed away, with Charles writing that God had “finally” shown her mercy and given her some peace and quiet. “Without Dianne to gleefully entertain, Robert shifted his creative focus to the entertainment of you, the fine townspeople of Clarendon, Texas. Over the last eight months, if you have not met Robert or seen his road show yet, you probably would have soon,” the obituary read. “We have all done our best to enjoy/weather Robert’s antics up to this point, but he is God’s problem now.” The obit was shared to social media and quickly went viral, with many praising Charles for his unique and heartfelt writing. “You ever read an obituary and think, ‘Dang, I’m sorry I never had the chance to meet them. They seemed pretty cool’. That’s me with this guy,” one person wrote. Image credits: dignitymemorial.com

Family & Pets

Spending too much time on social media and doomscrolling? The problem might be FOMO

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> For as long as we have used the internet to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/07/email-ray-tomlinson-history">communicate and connect with each other</a>, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622007985">“cut off” from our social worlds</a> through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258344">find ways to connect online</a>. Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us are familiar with – the fear of missing out, or FOMO. In <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-024-05834-9">our latest research</a>, my colleagues and I investigated the role FOMO plays in two kinds of internet use: problematic social media use and “doomscrolling”. <h2>What are FOMO, problematic social media use and doomscrolling?</h2> FOMO is the fear some of us experience when we get a sense of “missing out” on things happening in our social scene. Psychology researchers have been studying FOMO for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014">more than a decade</a>, and it has consistently been linked to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8283615/">mental health and wellbeing</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871624001947">alcohol use</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106839">problematic social media use</a>. Social media use becomes a problem for people when they have difficulty controlling urges to use social media, have difficulty cutting back on use, and where the use has a negative impact on their everyday life. Doomscrolling is characterised by a need to constantly look at and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210226-the-darkly-soothing-compulsion-of-doomscrolling">seek out “bad” news</a>. Doomscrollers may constantly refresh their news feeds or stay up late to read bad news. While problematic social media use has been around for a while, doomscrolling seems to be a more recent phenomenon – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735659/">attracting research attention</a> during and following the pandemic. <h2>What we tried to find out</h2> In our study, we wanted to test the idea that FOMO leads individuals to engage in problematic use behaviours due to their difficulty in managing the “fear” in FOMO. The key factor, we thought, was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/b:joba.0000007455.08539.94">emotion regulation</a> – our ability to deal with our emotions. We know some people tend to be good at this, while others find it difficult. In fact, greater difficulties with emotion regulation was linked to experiencing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088761852100058X">greater acute stress related to COVID</a>. However, an idea that has been gaining attention recently is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636919/full">interpersonal emotion regulation</a>. This means looking to others to help us regulate our emotions. Interpersonal emotion regulation can be helpful (such as “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-016-9569-3">affective engagement</a>”, where someone might listen and talk about your feelings) or unhelpful (such as “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0012-1649.43.4.1019">co-rumination</a>” or rehashing problems together), depending on the context. In our analyses, we sought to uncover how both intrapersonal emotion regulation (ability to self-manage our own emotional states) and interpersonal emotion regulation (relying on others to help manage our emotions) accounted for the link between FOMO and problematic social media use, and FOMO and doomscrolling, respectively. <h2>What we found – and what it might mean for the future of internet use</h2> Our findings indicated that people who report stronger FOMO engage in problematic social media use because of difficulty regulating their emotions (intrapersonally), and they look to others for help (interpersonally). Similarly, people who report stronger FOMO are drawn to doomscrolling because of difficulty regulating their emotions intrapersonally (within themselves). However, we found no link between FOMO and doomscrolling through interpersonal emotion regulation. We suspect this difference may be due to doomscrolling being more of a solitary activity, occurring outside more social contexts that facilitate interpersonal regulation. For instance, there are probably fewer people with whom to share your emotions while staying up trawling through bad news. While links between FOMO and doomscrolling have been observed before, our study is among the first to try and account for this theoretically. We suspect the link between FOMO and doomscrolling may be more about having more of an online presence while things are happening. This would account for intrapersonal emotion regulation failing to help manage our reactions to “bad news” stories as they unfold, leading to doomscrolling. Problematic social media use, on the other hand, involves a more complex interpersonal context. If someone is feeling the fear of being “left out” and has difficulty managing that feeling, they may be drawn to social media platforms in part to try and elicit help from others in their network. <h2>Getting the balance right</h2> Our findings suggest the current discussions around <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/psychology-group-says-infinite-scrolling-social-media-features-are-par-rcna147876">restricting social media use for young people</a>, while controversial, are important. We need to balance our need for social connection – which is happening increasingly online – with the <a href="https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/spia#tab-3">detrimental consequences </a>associated with problematic internet use behaviours. It is important to also consider the nature of social media platforms and how they have changed over time. For example, adolescent social media use patterns across various platforms are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-019-01060-9">associated with</a> different mental health and socialisation outcomes. Public health policy experts and legislators have quite the challenge ahead of them here. Recent work has shown how loneliness is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190033">a contributing factor</a> to all-cause mortality (death from any cause). We have long known, too, that social connectedness is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190033">good for our mental health</a>. In fact, last year, the World Health Organization established a <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-11-2023-who-launches-commission-to-foster-social-connection">Commission on Social Connection</a> to help promote the importance of socialisation to our lives. The recent controversy in the United States around the ownership of TikTok illustrates how central social media platforms are to our lives and ways of interacting with one another. We need to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/27/dominic-andre-tiktok-ban">consider the rights of individuals</a> to use them as they please, but understand that governments carry the responsibility of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/what-does-tiktoks-ban-on-australian-government-devices-mean-for-its-future">protecting users from harm</a> and safeguarding their privacy. <hr /> If you feel concerned about problematic social media use or doomscrolling, you can speak to a healthcare or mental health professional. You can also call <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> on 13 11 14, or <a href="https://www.13yarn.org.au/">13 YARN</a> (13 92 76) to yarn with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/230980/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, Senior Lecturer - Psychology | Chair, Researchers in Behavioural Addictions, Alcohol and Drugs (BAAD), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/spending-too-much-time-on-social-media-and-doomscrolling-the-problem-might-be-fomo-230980">original article</a>.

Technology

The problem with shaming people for Auschwitz selfies

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-wight-1514086">Craig Wight</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edinburgh-napier-university-696">Edinburgh Napier University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/phiona-stanley-1514087">Phiona Stanley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edinburgh-napier-university-696">Edinburgh Napier University</a> Selfies have become the modern day equivalent of postcards, a way to share our travel experiences with family and friends on social media. It’s one thing to strike a goofy pose and snap a photo for Instagram on a beach or town square, but what if you are visiting a Holocaust memorial site? Taking fun, playful, even silly selfies at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9566811/">dark tourism</a> sites such as <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/45182/1/chernobyl-grenfell-tower-unpacking-the-rise-of-the-dark-tourism-tragedy-selfie">Chernobyl</a> Japan’s <a href="https://www.selondoner.co.uk/life/12122023-dark-tourism-in-london">“suicide forests”</a> or concentration camps has become a regular occurrence. It is widely regarded as controversial and distasteful. In 2017, Israeli-German artist Shahak Shapira launched a project aimed at shaming visitors taking selfies at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Germany. The project was <a href="https://yolocaust.de/">called Yolocaust</a> – a portmanteau of internet slang Yolo (you only live once) and Holocaust. It juxtaposed historical photos of Nazi murder victims with visitors’ photos of themselves, juggling and jumping, posing and playing at the Berlin memorial. Ever since, online vigilantes have been empowered to shame Holocaust-site selfie takers on social media. Many have used “yolocaust” in comments as shorthand for censure, judgement, and moral panic. We <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508281.2022.2153994">analysed hundreds</a> of these posts, captions and comments to see how the selfie-takers are perceived and punished by others online. We examined posts with location tags at the Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. Based on our analysis, we think it may be better that young people engage with Holocaust sites in their own way, rather than not engaging at all. We also suggest that some commenters may be just as guilty as the selfie-takers, using their comments to show themselves in a positive light. Paradoxically, this is precisely what they are shaming the selfie-takers for doing: centering themselves, using the Holocaust as a prop. Vigilantism and public shaming has been around for centuries – think angry villagers with pitchforks raised. Vigilantes take it upon themselves to prevent, investigate and punish perceived wrongdoings, usually without legal authority. Online vigilantes (often called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azv118">digilantes</a>”) punish others for perceived transgressions online. They act when they feel that someone has committed a crime or social wrongdoing on the internet as a form of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where-some-see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/">cancel culture</a>. There is, of course, a fine line between constructively questioning someone’s choices and publicly shaming them. <h2>Who gets shamed?</h2> We found that it wasn’t just any photo (we also looked at non-selfie tourist photos) that attracted online shaming. Some people were more likely to receive negative comments than others, depending on age, gender, cultural identity, photo pose, facial expression and the captions accompanying the photos. Younger, more conventionally attractive people – especially women, and especially people posting in English or German – attracted many negative comments. In contrast, older and less conventionally “sexy” selfie-takers, men, and those posting in, for example, Italian or Russian tended to be ignored. Some of these patterns appear related to how young women are often sexualised and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447345">demeaned online</a>, especially when it comes to the selfies of women holding their bodies in “model-like” poses. To some commenters, it appears more acceptable to shame those who society already deems unserious and flippant. Location was also important. While the Berlin Memorial saw plenty of tourist behaviour deemed “disrespectful” by commenters, it was rare to encounter selfie-taking at Auschwitz. This may because Auschwitz is a paid visitor attraction offering structured tours. In contrast, the Berlin memorial is an art installation, always open and part of the streetscape. Its purpose and meaning may not be immediately apparent. This leaves room for the possibility that some Holocaust-site selfie-taking is an innocent, accidental part of tourism in Berlin. Another predictor of negative comments was the captions on the photos we examined. If the caption was flippant or suggested a lack of serious engagement with Holocaust history and memory, the photo attracted more critical comments. Those who made some attempt to justify or even intellectualise their selfie-taking were often excused censure. In one example, a young woman is pictured jumping between the concrete slabs of the Berlin memorial. But her picture is accompanied by a careful caption that explicitly questions whether her behaviour is ethical. She writes, “One part of you comes out, simply wanting to explore the structure for what it is physically. Another part of you says that you cannot take part in anything that brings you joy here”. As the caption appears to neutralise the fun selfie, her post escapes critical comments. <h2>Think before you shame</h2> Although the Auschwitz Memorial Museum <a href="https://twitter.com/AuschwitzMuseum/status/1108337507660451841?lang=en">tells visitors not to take selfies</a>, and while playful selfie-taking seems disrespectful, we don’t think it should be banned, as some online commenters have called for. We argue that it is more important to keep alive – however clumsily and imperfectly – the memory of the more than six million Jews and <a href="https://holocausteducation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/1.-Non-JewishVictimsOfNaziPersecutionMurder-Digital.pdf">millions of others</a> who were killed by the Nazis. Perhaps this is best done through people living their ordinary, complex, messy and often joyous lives, precisely as the Nazis’ victims could not. We also think it is important to question the motives of digilantes themselves. Some seem to be using their comments to display their own moral superiority, rather than trying to educate or influence the behaviour of the selfie-takers. Before you join the ranks of the digilantes and comment on something you think is disrespectful, think about why you’re doing it – these images, their captions and the comments show that there is often more nuance to “ethical” behaviour than can be captured in a photo.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224304/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-wight-1514086">Craig Wight</a>, Associated Professor in Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edinburgh-napier-university-696">Edinburgh Napier University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/phiona-stanley-1514087">Phiona Stanley</a>, Associate Professor of Intercultural Communications (Tourism and Languages), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edinburgh-napier-university-696">Edinburgh Napier University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-shaming-people-for-auschwitz-selfies-224304">original article</a>.

International Travel

Is it normal to forget words while speaking? And when can it spell a problem?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/greig-de-zubicaray-1468234">Greig de Zubicaray</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> We’ve all experienced that moment mid-sentence when we just can’t find the word we want to use, even though we’re certain we know it. Why does this universal problem among speakers happen? And when can word-finding difficulties indicate something serious? Everyone will experience an occasional word-finding difficulty, but if they happen very often with a broad range of words, names and numbers, this could be a sign of a neurological disorder. <h2>The steps involved in speaking</h2> Producing spoken words involves several <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190672027.013.19">stages of processing</a>. These include: <ol> <li> identifying the intended meaning </li> <li> selecting the right word from the “mental lexicon” (a mental dictionary of the speaker’s vocabulary) </li> <li> retrieving its sound pattern (called its “form”) </li> <li> executing the movements of the speech organs for articulating it. </li> </ol> Word-finding difficulties can potentially arise at each of these stages of processing. When a healthy speaker can’t retrieve a word from their lexicon despite the feeling of knowing it, this is called a “tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon by language scientists. Often, the frustrated speaker will try to give a bit of information about their intended word’s meaning, “you know, that thing you hit a nail with”, or its spelling, “it starts with an H!”. Tip-of-the-tongue states are relatively common and are a type of speech error that occurs primarily during retrieval of the sound pattern of a word (step three above). <h2>What can affect word finding?</h2> Word-finding difficulties occur at all ages but they do happen more often as we get older. In older adults, they can cause frustration and anxiety about the possibility of developing dementia. But they’re not always a cause for concern. One way researchers investigate word-finding difficulties is to ask people to keep a diary to record how often and in what context they occur. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01190/full">Diary studies</a> have shown that some word types, such as names of people and places, concrete nouns (things, such as “dog” or “building”) and abstract nouns (concepts, such as “beauty” or “truth”), are more likely to result in tip-of-the-tongue states compared with verbs and adjectives. Less frequently used words are also more likely to result in tip-of-the-tongue states. It’s thought this is because they have weaker connections between their meanings and their sound patterns than more frequently used words. Laboratory studies have also shown tip-of-the-tongue states are more likely to occur under <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13825585.2019.1641177">socially stressful</a> conditions when speakers are told they are being evaluated, regardless of their age. Many people report having experienced tip-of-the-tongue problems during job interviews. <h2>When could it spell more serious issues?</h2> More frequent failures with a broader range of words, names and numbers are likely to indicate more serious issues. When this happens, language scientists use the terms “anomia” or “<a href="https://www.aphasia.com/aphasia-library/aphasia-types/anomic-aphasia/">anomic aphasia</a>” to describe the condition, which can be associated with brain damage due to stroke, tumours, head injury or dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, the actor Bruce Willis’s family <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/16/health/frontotemporal-dementia-definition-symptoms-wellness/index.html">revealed</a> he has been diagnosed with a degenerative disorder known as primary progressive aphasia, for which one of the earliest symptoms is word-finding difficulties rather than memory loss. Primary progressive aphasia is typically associated with frontotemporal or Alzheimer’s dementias, although it can be associated with other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3637977/">pathologies</a>. Anomic aphasia can arise due to problems occurring at different stages of speech production. An assessment by a clinical neuropsychologist or speech pathologist can help clarify which processing stage is affected and how serious the problem might be. For example, if a person is unable to name a picture of a common object such as a hammer, a clinical neuropsychologist or speech pathologist will ask them to describe what the object is used for (the individual might then say “it’s something you hit things with” or “it’s a tool”). If they can’t, they will be asked to gesture or mime how it’s used. They might also be provided with a cue or prompt, such as the first letter (h) or syllable (ham). Most people with anomic aphasia benefit greatly from being prompted, indicating they are mostly experiencing problems with later stages of retrieving word forms and motor aspects of speech. But if they’re unable to describe or mime the object’s use, and cueing does not help, this is likely to indicate an actual loss of word knowledge or meaning. This is typically a sign of a more serious issue such as primary progressive aphasia. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroimaging">Imaging studies</a> in healthy adults and people with anomic aphasia have shown different areas of the brain are responsible for their word-finding difficulties. In <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/jocn/article-abstract/35/1/111/113588/Neural-Correlates-of-Naturally-Occurring-Speech">healthy adults</a>, occasional failures to name a picture of a common object are linked with changes in activity in brain regions that control motor aspects of speech, suggesting a spontaneous problem with articulation rather than a loss of word knowledge. In anomia due to primary progressive aphasia, brain regions that process word meanings show a loss of nerve cells and connections or <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0148707">atrophy</a>. Although anomic aphasia is common after strokes to the left hemisphere of the brain, the associated word-finding difficulties do not appear to be distinguishable by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945215003299">specific areas</a>. There are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02687030244000563">treatments</a> available for anomic aphasia. These will often involve speech pathologists training the individual on naming tasks using different kinds of cues or prompts to help retrieve words. The cues can be various meaningful features of objects and ideas, or sound features of words, or a combination of both. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002199241730014X">Smart tablet</a> and phone apps also show promise when used to complement therapy with home-based practice. The type of cue used for treatment is determined by the nature of the person’s impairment. Successful treatment is associated with changes in activity in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093934X14000054">brain regions</a> known to support speech production. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for primary progressive aphasia, although <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2019.1617246">some studies</a> have suggested speech therapy can produce temporary benefits. If you’re concerned about your word-finding difficulties or those of a loved one, you can consult your GP for a referral to a clinical neuropsychologist or a speech pathologist. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212852/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/greig-de-zubicaray-1468234">Greig de Zubicaray</a>, Professor of Neuropsychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-normal-to-forget-words-while-speaking-and-when-can-it-spell-a-problem-212852">original article</a>.

Mind

Solutions to common cruising problems

Have you ever encountered any of these problems while you were out at sea? Here’s how to solve the most common problems encountered on a cruise. 1. You haven’t received your luggage Most cruise lines ask passengers to be patient for the first few hours of the cruise after sailing. If you haven’t received your luggage after a few hours then you need to talk to someone at the purser’s desk. If your luggage was lost in transit then the cruise line will begin to trace their location and try to have them delivered to the ship at the next cruise port. If your luggage was loaded by a porter then it is possible that it is missing because there is a contraband item (like candles or alcohol) in your bag or it has been delivered to the wrong cabin. It’s helpful to carry on a bag with an outfit for your first day on the cruise along with toiletry essentials and medication. 2. Something in your cabin doesn’t work The first step is to check with a cabin steward that there is a legitimate problem with the object and that it doesn’t just require a change of batteries. If the object still doesn’t work then call the front desk and notify them of the issue. If the problem can’t be fixed they may offer you a cabin upgrade or a gift like onboard credit. If they don’t offer you anything, be sure to ask! 3. You are unhappy with your dinner arrangements If you are unhappy with your assigned dining time then you can request a switch in time slots or swap assigned dining for flexible dining. All dining requests cannot be accommodated, however, due to the high demand, but the staff will do their best to cater to your preferences. If you are not getting along with your tablemates then be upfront with the dinning staff when you request a new table. Often, the other party will also request for other arrangements. 4. Your ship had an itinerary change All cruise contracts note that ports calls are not guaranteed and may be bypassed or changed. Usually, passengers will be refunded the port tax in the form of onboard credit, however, it is only a small amount of money. If you book excursions through the cruise line then you will be refunded your money but if you booked an excursion through a different company, you will need to contact them to find out about cancellation policies and refunds. It is always best to do your research in advance when booking a tour so if you do miss a port you won’t be short changed. 5. Your ship’s medical facility won’t accept your insurance Cruise ships do not accept regular health insurance but keep your receipts as some insurance companies will reimburse you for medical expenses you incurred while travelling. A safe bet is purchasing a travel insurance policy that will cover any healthcare expenses. 6. Your onboard account is inaccurate Incorrect account information can be fixed if you go to the purser’s office or call and explain the discrepancy. It’s best to keep an eye on your account throughout the cruise so you are not hit with any surprises at the end. It is helpful to save your receipts from onboard purchases if you need to contest anything. Images: Shutterstock

Cruising

Gaming 'loot boxes' linked to problem gambling

Gamers who purchase 'loot boxes' - digital treasure chests filled with random items that you buy in games using real-world currency - are more likely to have a problem with gambling, according to new research. A study published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2022.2141717" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Addiction Research & Theory</a> has found that 57 percent of adults surveyed who had bought loot boxes had gambled in the same year, compared to 37 percent of a control group who hadn't bought the virtual items. While previous studies have found a link between loot box purchasing, gambling and problem gambling, this study explored whether this link was due to psychological risk factors for gambling, such as childhood neglect, emotional distress, and the tendency to act rashly when upset. After analysing the purchase history and questionnaires of 1,189 Canadian university students, along with 499 adults recruited from the community, they found that a similar proportion of the students and adults had bought loot boxes, with an average spend between $90.63 and $240.94 respectively. Among the students, 28 percent of loot box-purchasers also gambled, in comparison to 19 percent of those who hadn't bought any loot boxes. Students who reported buying more loot boxes and other 'riskier' habits were also more likely to have a gambling habit. While this wasn't seen in the adult group, the authors argue this may be due to the small sample size. "Findings indicate that loot box purchasing represents an important marker of risk for gambling and problem gambling among people who play video games," Sophie Coelho, a PhD student at Toronto’s York University, said. "The persistent associations we observed between loot box purchasing and gambling may provide preliminary support for the role of loot boxes as a 'gateway' to gambling and eventually problem gambling. "Loot boxes may prime people to gamble and increase susceptibility to problem gambling." As for the role of gambling risk factors, the authors found that adverse childhood experiences, like abuse and neglect, were "most consistently associated with an increased likelihood of past-year gambling and greater problem gambling". They concluded that those with troubled upbringings have a "heightened vulnerability" to develop a gambling problem. “This may be compounded by engaging with gambling-like features embedded in video games, such as loot boxes," they added. Loot boxes, also called loot or prize crates, have become the subject of controversy recently, with concerns that their use of random chance to give players randomised weapons, armour, and items they can use to customise their character could be a form of gambling. In some games, loot boxes became a way to “pay to win”, with items that can affect gameplay and offer a competitive advantage, driving players to pay for more loot boxes to get items that allow them to compete with other players. Some countries have begun to introduce laws to regulate loot boxes, with Belgium and the Netherlands banning loot boxes altogether. In Australia, a law to restrict the use of loot boxes in games aimed at children has been proposed which could see games with loot boxes given a rating of R18+ or RC (“Refused Classification”, so they can't be sold in Australia) and carry warning labels. Image: Sameboat, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Money & Banking

There’s a serious ethical problem with some sunscreen testing methods – and you’re probably not aware of it

As summer approaches, we need to start remembering to slip on sun-protective clothing, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade where possible, and slide on sunglasses. When it comes to sunscreen, we all know we need to wear it to protect against the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can cause skin cancer. But what about the sun protection factor, known as the SPF rating, we see on our sunscreen bottles? It indicates the level of protection – but is it always what it says it is, and how is it actually tested? <h2>Risking human health for SPF testing</h2> While there have been some cases of <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/news/sunscreen-testing-ama-laboratories-condition-listing">sunscreens not matching up to their SPF claims</a>, this is the exception and not the norm. In Australia, we can be comfortable knowing these products are tightly regulated to ensure they are safe and meet their claimed SPF rating, according to current SPF testing methods. However, problems arise when it comes to how sunscreens are tested for their SPF rating. Most people would not be aware that the SPF value on their sunscreen bottles is determined by testing on humans. Ultimately, this means we are risking people’s health to test how effective our sunscreens are – and we urgently need to change this. <h2>How is sunscreen SPF tested?</h2> Once a sunscreen formulation has been developed by a manufacturer it needs to go through testing to ensure it only contains approved ingredients, and ultimately, that it does what it says it does. All sunscreen products available in Australia are <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/news/about-sunscreens">tested according to the Australian Standard to determine the SPF</a>. This is great and provides assurance of safety and quality for the consumer – but the problem is with how this testing is done. Currently, testing sunscreens on humans is the approved international standard to rate the UV protection level of a sunscreen. This testing involves volunteers wearing strictly defined amounts of sunscreen and being exposed to artificial solar <a href="https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/non-ionising-radiation/ultraviolet-radiation">UV radiation</a>. Performance is measured by determining the time it takes for erythema or redness to occur. <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/about-us/policy-and-advocacy/prevention-policy/national-cancer-prevention-policy/skin-cancer-statistics-and-issues/sunburn">This is, basically, sunburn</a>; based on this, an SPF rating is assigned. <h2>Why is human testing of SPF a problem?</h2> If sunscreens only contain approved ingredients we know are safe, is it really a problem they are tested on humans? Sadly, yes. Human testing involves exposing people to harmful UV radiation, which we know can cause skin and eye damage, <a href="https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/radiation-sources/more-radiation-sources/sun-exposure">as well as being the leading cause of skin cancer</a>. This alone is <a href="https://www.phrp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PHRP3212205.pdf">unethical and unjustifiable</a>. There are also other issues associated with testing sunscreen on humans. For example, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phpp.12095">use of erythema to determine sunscreen effectiveness is highly subjective</a>, and may differ from one person to another, even for those with the same <a href="https://www.arpansa.gov.au/sites/default/files/legacy/pubs/RadiationProtection/FitzpatrickSkinType.pdf">skin type</a>. This makes the reliability of such testing methods questionable. Further, testing is only done on a small number of people (a minimum of <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/australian-regulatory-guidelines-for-sunscreens.pdf">ten people is required in Australia</a>). This is great for exposing as few people as possible to harmful UV radiation to determine a product’s SPF rating – but not so great when it comes to inclusiveness. Testing such a small number of people is not representative. It does not include all skin types and leads to real <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ics.12333">challenges in achieving reproducible results</a> across different laboratories testing the same product. The testing itself is also very expensive. This adds to the already high cost of buying sunscreens, and potentially limits manufacturers from developing new and better products. These, along with many other issues, highlight the urgency for non-human (in vitro) testing methods of a sunscreen’s effectiveness to be developed. <h2>Human-free SPF testing technology is in development</h2> While efforts have been made to develop non-human testing methods, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165993622002072">there remain several challenges</a>. <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/292777">These include</a> the materials used to simulate human skin (also known as substrates), difficulties in applying the sunscreen to these substrates, reproducibility of results, and ensuring that results are the same as what we see with human testing. However, scientists at <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/">RMIT University</a>, with support from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (<a href="https://www.arpansa.gov.au/">ARPANSA</a>) and the <a href="https://www.cancervic.org.au/">Cancer Council Victoria</a>, are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165993622002072">working on a solution to this problem</a>. So far, they have developed a prototype sensor that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06273-3">changes colour when exposed to UV radiation</a>. This <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06273-3/figures/5">sensor</a> could be customised for human-free sunscreen testing, for example. Reliable in vitro testing methods will mean in the future, sunscreen manufacturers would be able to quickly make and test new and better sunscreens, without being limited by the time and cost constraints involved with human testing. So the next time you buy a bottle of sunscreen, look to purchase the highest-rated sunscreen of SPF 50+ – and know that work is underway on getting that rating classified in a more ethical way. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-serious-ethical-problem-with-some-sunscreen-testing-methods-and-youre-probably-not-aware-of-it-195359" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Beauty & Style

"I’m the problem, it’s me": Why do musicians revisit their pain and doubt in their art?

Taylor Swift’s latest album Midnights launched with the single <a href="https://youtu.be/b1kbLwvqugk">Anti-Hero</a>. Anti-heroes in fiction are dark, complex characters who may question their moral compass but are ultimately trying to be led by their good intentions. Perhaps most humans feel like we are all anti-heroes lacking the right amount of courage, idealism, and morality – wanting to be heroic but struggling through familiar dark places. In Anti-Hero, Taylor shares emotional rawness and sings “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me … everybody agrees.” “I don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before,” Swift said about the song in a video <a href="https://ew.com/music/taylor-swift-midnights-anti-hero-meaning/">on Instagram</a>. “I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized and, not to sound too dark, I struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.” Taylor’s album reveals her struggle with her own insecurities and maybe common universal human emotions that everyone struggles to face. In Labyrinth, for example, she sings about heartbreak, and more specifically, the fear of falling in love again: "It only feels this raw right now Lost in the labyrinth of my mind Break up, break free, break through, break down." Much of the new album, and Swift’s discography in general, often revisits past heartbreaks, disappointments, and insecurities. Swift has talked about how Midnights is an album devoted to the kinds of soul-searching thoughts we have in the middle of the night. “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” Swift wrote. “The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching — hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve… we’ll meet ourselves.” <h2>Music and pain</h2> Music has the potential to change our experience of intrusive thoughts and how we deal with pain. At an extreme level, when we revisit past traumatic experiences, we are often in danger of triggering a <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-four-fear-responses-fight-flight-freeze-and-fawn-5205083">feared response</a>, that manifests as either fight/flight/freeeze or fawn, that can often re-traumatise individuals. When we identify with a song that expresses similar struggles to what we are experiencing we feel understood and not judged. Clinical psychologist <a href="https://janinafisher.com/pdfs/trauma.pdf">Dr Janina Fisher</a> has proposed that distancing ourselves from pain helps humans survive, yet an ongoing “self-alientation” of parts of ourselves that carries fear or shame lead to a disowning of self – the bad parts that Taylor relates to as being the things she hates about herself which causes a further suppression of feelings that can create further psychological distress. Expression is central to releasing emotion and connecting to music may be the key that allows the disowned parts of self to be re-integrated by expressing them in a new way. Music provides a creative outlet to re-script a new story of survival of the fear of the past with a renewed ability to see to the good things again in life. Musicians often imbue grief and trauma in their lyrics and melodies as autobiographical reflections into their art as a way of working through complex emotions and feelings - and by doing so, enlighten the listener to work through their own pain. <h2>Music and connection</h2> Music seems to be a way for music lovers to connect with artists stories of tragedy, which allows their own traumatic or painful memories to become more comfortably <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-1280-0_2">integrated</a> and accepted. Durham University studied 2,436 people within the United Kingdom and Finland to explore the reasons why we listen to sad music. Research suggested that music is a way that people regulate their mood, pleasure and pain. Professor Tuomas Eerola, Professor of Music Cognition in the Department of Music said “<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160614155914.htm">previous research</a> in music psychology and film studies has emphasised the puzzling pleasure that people experience when engaging with tragic art.” The depth of loathing that Taylor taps into in Anti-Hero also affirms our own experience. It’s self confirming. Engaging with trauma in art allows us to rewrite the outcome from being victims of our circumstances to victors. We are either consumers or creators. <h2>Mental health and music</h2> As the <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/major-themes/health-and-well-being">World Health Organisation</a> states “there is no health without mental health”. A musician’s writing about trauma is a way of increasing mental health - of searching for understanding of themselves through self-reflection, it changes old thinking patterns and provides a new perspective and ways of thinking about themselves and others that can often <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/">heal emotional wounds</a>. Like telling your story through a <a href="https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/narrative-exposure-therapy">trauma narrative</a>, music can help reduce its emotional impact. Music is a universal language that gives you the chance to be a protagonist in your life story, to see yourself as living through it heroically. Psychologists understand that the quickest way to understanding someone is through their wounds, and musicians too understand this power of music to comfort, console, encourage and exhort themselves and other broken hearts. Humans need to feel safe and in connection with others for survival, and music is the language that activates <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.191355898">pleasure centres in the brain</a> and communicates <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-99991-007">powerful emotions</a>. If trauma causes distress to the brain and body and <a href="https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/narrative-exposure-therapy">music enhances</a> psychological wellbeing, improves mood, emotions, reduces pain, anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, music has the potential to alleviate chronic disease and pain. Music is a vehicle that gathers strength from distress, and helps you grow brave by reflections and maybe the anti-hero’s and insecurities recreated through music may be the treasures found in darkness that we may not have seen in the light. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-the-problem-its-me-why-do-musicians-revisit-their-pain-and-doubt-in-their-art-193528" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Cold homes increase the risk of severe mental health problems – new study

Concerns about <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-crisis-the-uk-is-still-heading-for-widespread-fuel-poverty-despite-the-governments-price-cap-190290" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fuel poverty</a> and people not being able to heat their homes adequately are not new in the UK, but these worries have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/26/warm-banks-open-wolverhampton-cost-of-living-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heightened</a> by significant increases in energy costs and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cost-of-living-crisis-has-been-many-years-in-the-making-but-politicians-on-both-sides-ignore-this-189483" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost-of-living crisis</a>. And as winter approaches, things are about to get a lot worse. Despite a relatively mild climate, the UK has higher levels of excess winter deaths – deaths associated with cold weather – than <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673614621140" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many colder countries</a>. This greater exposure to cold, despite milder weather, is related to poor housing quality, the high cost of heating homes and poverty. We know quite a lot about how living in a home that you can’t keep warm enough affects your physical health. Colder temperatures <a href="https://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/resources-reports/the-health-impacts-of-cold-homes-and-fuel-poverty/the-health-impacts-of-cold-homes-and-fuel-poverty.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suppress the immune system</a>, for example. But we know relatively little about the effects on mental health. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115461" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our new research</a> shows that living in a cold home is a significant mental health risk. Living in a cold home can affect your mental health in several ways. For many, heating costs are a source of stress and financial strain. Not being able to keep your home and family comfortably warm reduces feelings of control and autonomy over your environment. People who are unable to heat their home often adopt coping mechanisms that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2005.00558.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limit socialising</a> – for example, not inviting friends over and going to bed early to keep warm. And many people are just worn down by the drudgery of a whole winter of being uncomfortably cold. Using <a href="https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from a large representative sample of adults in the UK, we followed people over many years and tracked the effect of being unable to keep your home warm on mental health. When people’s homes became cold, their risk of severe mental distress significantly increased. For people who previously had no mental health problems, the odds of severe mental distress doubled when they had a cold home, while for those who had some (but not severe) mental health symptoms, the risk tripled (see chart below). We found these effects even after taking into account many other factors associated with mental health, including income. Odds of reporting severe mental distress following transition into cold housing compared to those who remained in warm homes <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492381/original/file-20221028-61968-sxkqgr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>author provided</figcaption></figure> Sadly, the risk of living in a cold home differs greatly across the UK population. Lone parents and people who are unemployed or long-term sick are much more likely to live in cold homes. There is also significant inequality across ethnic groups – more than 12% of black people live in cold homes compared with under 6% of white British people, for example. Those who rent rather than own their home are also far more likely to live in cold homes, for social renters this is despite the, on average, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1088447/EHS_Housing_quality_and_condition_report_2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher quality and</a><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091144/Energy_Report_2020_revised.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efficiency</a> of social rented homes. Putting on another jumper won’t be enough to get many in the UK through the coming winter. And mental health distress is just one consequence. Cold homes cause issues with significant personal and societal costs – from individual health effects to the increased pressure on the NHS, as well as broader economic loss due to missed work. Rishi Sunak’s new government needs to help people live in adequately warm homes this winter. But how? The older age of housing in the UK is <a href="http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/the-health-impacts-of-cold-homes-and-fuel-poverty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavily implicated</a> in the UK’s high levels of cold. Support for energy efficiency improvements is therefore a possible means of reducing cold homes. This will also mean tackling the so-called “split incentive” in the private rented sector, which houses a significant proportion of households. The split incentive refers to the challenge of the benefits of improvements not being experienced by the property owners but by tenants, reducing the incentive for owners to invest. This results in poorer quality and more expensive homes for renters. Heat or eat? Most can’t afford either The high proportion of cold homes in the social housing sector – despite having the best average energy efficiency due to insulation and building types (flats) – shows that energy efficiency improvements alone will not eliminate cold. <a href="https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Incomes in the UK are falling</a>. Benefit levels are <a href="https://theconversation.com/raising-benefits-in-line-with-earnings-will-make-the-poor-worse-off-heres-why-192880" target="_blank" rel="noopener">painfully low</a> and worsened by policies including the benefit cap, two-child limit and sanctions. Years of cuts and <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/file/59072/download?token=acsEgZp7&filetype=briefing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">below inflation rises</a> mean that the term “heat or eat”, used to describe difficult spending decisions for low-income households, is now out of date, as <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/file/59191/download?token=PCFIM8W9&filetype=briefing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many can afford neither</a>. The combination of low household incomes with surging energy costs has created devastating pressure on household budgets. While the energy cap has limited energy cost increases below the worst estimates, energy bills have still <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-crisis-the-uk-is-still-heading-for-widespread-fuel-poverty-despite-the-governments-price-cap-190290" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than doubled in the past year</a>. And prepayment meters mean that those the with the least end up paying the most. There are, therefore, many areas for potential government intervention, and clear evidence that failing to intervene will cause harm to health.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193125/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Amy Clair. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cold-homes-increase-the-risk-of-severe-mental-health-problems-new-study-193125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Real Estate

Is your dizziness caused by ear problems?

There are many causes to dizziness such as low blood pressure or dehydration, but did you know ear problems are also one of them? This occurs because the balance organ is actually located in part of the inner ear, although our sense of balance actually comes from the coordination of the balance organ, the visual system and the muscles in the body. If you’ve experienced a spinning sensation coupled with decreased hearing or ringing in the ears, your dizziness might be caused by an ear disorder. You should see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment. The most common ear-related causes of dizziness include: <ul> <li>Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo – This is a common inner-ear disorder among older people, where crystals normally located in the inner ear become dislodged. As your head moves, the crystals move causing dizziness.</li> <li>Labyrinthitis – An ear disorder that involves inflammation of the middle ear. It generally occurs after a viral infection.</li> <li>Meniere's disease – This is an inner ear disorder that causes severe hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness.</li> <li>Acoustic neuroma – It is a non-cancerous tumour of the ear that causes ringing in the ears, hearing loss and balance problems.</li> </ul> Image: Getty

Caring

Procrastinating is linked to health and career problems – but there are things you can do to stop

Do you ever beat yourself up for procrastinating? You might be composing that message to a friend who you have to let down, or writing a big report for school or work, and doing your best to avoid it but deep down knowing you should just get on with it. Unfortunately, telling yourself off won’t stop you procrastinating again. In fact, it’s one of the worst things you can do. This matters because, as my research shows, procrastination isn’t just a time-sapper but is actually linked to real problems. Procrastination is not a result of laziness or poor time management. Scientific studies suggest procrastination is due to <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor mood management</a>. This makes sense if we consider that people are more likely to put off starting or completing tasks that they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886999000914" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feel aversion towards</a>. If just thinking about the task makes you anxious or threatens your sense of self-worth, you will be more likely to put it off. Research has found that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.13782" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regions of the brain</a> linked to threat detection and emotion regulation are different in people who chronically procrastinate compared to those who don’t procrastinate frequently. When we avoid the unpleasant task, we also avoid the negative emotions associated with it. This is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.609874/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rewarding</a> and conditions us to use procrastination to repair our mood. If we engage in more enjoyable tasks instead, we get another mood boost. Tasks that are emotionally loaded or difficult, such as studying for an exam, or preparing for public speaking are prime candidates for procrastination. People with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-021-02075-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low self-esteem</a> are more likely to procrastinate as are those with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/per.2098" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high levels of perfectionism</a> who worry their work will be judged harshly by others. If you don’t finish that report or complete those home repairs, then what you did can’t be evaluated. But <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6_7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guilt and shame</a> often linger when people try to distract themselves with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215004343" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more pleasant activities</a>. In the long run, procrastination isn’t an effective way of managing emotions. The mood repair you experience is temporary. Afterwards, people tend to engage in <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-10572-023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-critical ruminations</a> that not only increase their negative mood, but also reinforce their tendency to procrastinate. <h2>How is procrastination harmful?</h2> So why is this such a problem? When most people think of the costs of procrastination, they think of the toll on productivity. For example, studies have shown that academic procrastination <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/academic-procrastination-in-university-students-associated-factors-and-impact-on-academic-performance/D230B8D2D670DC7C2884294A274A08B5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negatively impacts student performance</a>. But academic procrastination may affect other areas of students’ lives. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03075079.2013.854765" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In one study</a> of over 3,000 German students over a six month period, those who reported procrastinating on their academic work were also more likely to engage in academic misconduct, such as cheating and plagiarism. But the behaviour procrastination was most closely linked with was using fraudulent excuses to get deadline extensions. Other research shows employees on average spend almost a <a href="https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/how-much-time-are-your-employees-spending-procrastinating" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quarter of their workday procrastinating</a>, and again this is linked with worse outcomes. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijsa.12048" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In one US survey of over 22,000 employees</a>, participants who said they regularly procrastinated had lower annual incomes and less job stability. For every one-point increase on a measure of chronic procrastination, salary decreased by US$15,000 (£12,450). Procrastination also correlates with serious <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/procrastination-health-and-well-being/sirois/978-0-12-802862-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health and wellbeing</a> problems. A tendency to procrastinate is linked to poor mental health, including higher <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10942-017-0271-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">levels of depression and anxiety</a>. Across numerous studies, I’ve found people who regularly procrastinate report a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886902003264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater number of health issues</a>, such as headaches, flu and colds, and digestive issues. They also experience <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/91791/1/Procrastination%20and%20self%20compassion%20rev2%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher levels of stress</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2015.1074776#:%7E:text=Research%20to%20date%2C%20testing%20the%20procrastination%E2%80%93health%20model%20%28Sirois%2C,health%20problems%20and%20behaviors%20that%20included%20sleep-related%20outcomes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor sleep quality</a>. They were less likely to practice <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886906004454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">healthy behaviours</a>, such as eating a healthy diet and regularly exercising, and use <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1002/per.1985?journalCode=erpa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destructive coping strategies</a> to manage their stress. In one study of over 700 people, I found people prone to procrastination had a 63% greater risk of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor heart health</a> after accounting for other personality traits and demographics. <h2>How to stop procrastinating</h2> Learning not to procrastinate isn’t going to solve all your problems. But finding <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780675/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">better ways to regulate your emotions</a> could be a route to improving your mental health and wellbeing. An important first step is to manage your environment and how you view the task. There are a number of <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/procrastination/fuschia-m-sirois/9781433838064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evidence-based strategies</a> that can help you quarantine <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjso.12243" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distractions</a>, and set up your tasks so they <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-here-are-five-ways-to-reduce-procrastination-and-be-productive-133636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provoke less anxiety and feel more meaningful</a>. For example, remind yourself why the task is important and valuable to you can increase your positive feelings towards it. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886910000474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forgiving yourself</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2013.763404?journalCode=psai20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing yourself compassion</a> when you procrastinate can help break the procrastination cycle. Admit you feel bad without judging yourself. Remind yourself that you’re not the first person to procrastinate, nor will you be last. Doing this can take the edge off the negative feelings we have about ourselves when we procrastinate. This can make it easier to get <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167212445599?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back on track</a>. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/procrastinating-is-linked-to-health-and-career-problems-but-there-are-things-you-can-do-to-stop-188322" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Body

What is mindfulness? Nobody really knows, and that’s a problem

You’ve probably heard of mindfulness. These days, it’s everywhere, like many ideas and practices drawn from Buddhist texts that have become part of mainstream Western culture. But a review published today in the journal <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691617709589">Perspectives on Psychological Science</a> shows the hype is ahead of the evidence. Some <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23796855">reviews of studies</a> on mindfulness suggest it may help with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress. But it’s not clear what type of mindfulness or meditation we need and for what specific problem. The study, involving a large group of researchers, clinicians and meditators, found a clear-cut definition of mindfulness doesn’t exist. This has potentially serious implications. If vastly different treatments and practices are considered the same, then research evidence for one may be wrongly taken as support for another. At the same time, if we move the goalposts too far or in the wrong direction, we might lose the potential benefits of mindfulness altogether. <h2>So, what is mindfulness?</h2> Mindfulness receives a bewildering assortment of definitions. Psychologists <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12671-012-0122-5">measure the concept</a> in differing combinations of acceptance, attentiveness, awareness, body focus, curiosity, nonjudgmental attitude, focus on the present, and others. It’s equally ill-defined as a set of practices. A brief exercise in self-reflection prompted by a smart-phone app on your daily commute may be considered the same as a months-long meditation retreat. Mindfulness can both refer to what Buddhist monks do and what your yoga instructor does for five minutes at the start and end of a class. To be clear, mindfulness and meditation are not the same thing. There are types of meditation that are mindful, but not all mindfulness involves meditation and not all meditation is mindfulness-based. Mindfulness mainly refers to the idea of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness">focusing on the present moment</a>, but it’s not quite that simple. It also refers to several forms of meditation practices that aim to develop skills of awareness of the world around you and of your behavioral patterns and habits. In truth, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcbh20/12/1">many disagree</a> about its actual purpose and what is and isn’t mindfulness. <h2>What’s it for?</h2> Mindfulness has been applied to just about any problem you can think up - from relationship issues, problems with alcohol or drugs, to enhancing leadership skills. It’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-05/athletes-use-meditation-and-mindfulness-to-give-them-edge/8326004">being used by sportsmen</a> to find “clarity” on and off the field and <a href="https://mindfulnessinschools.org/">mindfulness programs</a> are being offered at school. You can find it in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/search-inside-yourself-googles-life-changing-mindfulness-course-2014-8?r=US&IR=T">workplaces</a>, <a href="https://amavic.com.au/doctor-wellbeing/mindfulness-in-medicine">medical clinics</a>, and <a href="https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/02/22/mindfulness-shows-mixed-results-for-older-adults-well-being/116765.html">old age homes</a>. More than a few popular books have been written <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Buddhism-True-Philosophy-Enlightenment/dp/1439195455">touting the benefits</a> of mindfulness and meditation. For example, in a supposedly critical review <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Meditation/dp/0399184384/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0399184384&pd_rd_r=W1WPPXCTWYZ2DB9XRRPY&pd_rd_w=Q6zJs&pd_rd_wg=1QvNB&psc=1&refRID=W1WPPXCTWYZ2DB9XRRPY">Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes your Mind, Brain and Body</a>, Daniel Goleman argues one of the four benefits of mindfulness is improved working memory. Yet, a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27580462">recent review</a> of about 18 studies exploring the effect of mindfulness-based therapies on attention and memory calls into question these ideas. Another common claim is that mindfulness reduces stress, for which there is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395196">limited evidence</a>. Other promises, such as improved mood and attention, better eating habits, improved sleep, and better weight control are not <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395196">fully supported by the science</a> either. And while benefits have limited evidence, mindfulness and meditation can sometimes be <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0176239">harmful</a> and can lead to psychosis, mania, loss of personal identity, anxiety, panic, and re-experiencing traumatic memories. Experts have suggested mindfulness is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-011-0079-9">not for everyone</a>, especially those suffering from several serious mental health problems such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. <h2>Research on mindfulness</h2> Another problem with mindfulness literature is that it often suffers from poor research methodology. Ways of measuring mindfulness are highly variable, assessing quite different phenomena while using the same label. This <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20580/abstract">lack of equivalence</a>among measures and individuals makes it challenging to generalise from one study to another. Mindfulness researchers rely too much on questionnaires, which require people to introspect and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22122674">report on mental states</a> that may be slippery and fleeting. These reports are notoriously vulnerable to biases. For example, people who aspire to mindfulness may report being mindful because they see it as desirable, not because they have actually achieved it. Only a <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-45553-002">tiny minority of attempts</a> to examine whether these treatments work compare them against another treatment that is known to work – which is the primary means by which clinical science can show added value of new treatments. And a minority of these studies are conducted in regular clinical practices rather than in specialist research contexts. A recent <a href="https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018">review of studies</a>, commissioned by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, found many studies were too poorly conducted to include in the review and that mindfulness treatments were moderately effective, at best, for anxiety, depression, and pain. There was no evidence of efficacy for attention problems, positive mood, substance abuse, eating habits, sleep or weight control. <h2>What should be done?</h2> Mindfulness is definitely a useful concept and a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735813000731">promising set of practices</a>. It may help <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25818837">prevent</a> psychological problems and could be useful as an addition to existing treatments. It <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735815000197">may also be helpful</a> for general mental functioning and well-being. But the promise will not be realised if problems are not addressed. The mindfulness community must agree to key features that are essential to mindfulness and researchers should be clear how their measures and practices include these. Media reports should be equally specific about what states of mind and practices mindfulness includes, rather than using it as a broad term. Mindfulness might be assessed, not through self-reporting, but in part using more objective <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566754/">neurobiological</a> and behavioural measures, such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208398/">breath counting</a>. This is where random tones could be used to “ask” participants if they are focused on the breath (press left button) or if their mind had wandered (press right button). Researchers studying the efficacy of mindfulness treatments should compare them to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_practice">credible alternative treatments</a>, whenever possible. Development of new mindfulness approaches should be avoided until we know more about the ones we already have. Scientists and clinicians should use rigorous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomized_controlled_trial">randomised control trials</a> and work with researchers from outside the mindfulness tradition. And lastly, mindfulness researchers and practitioners should acknowledge the reality of occasional negative effects. Just as medications must declare potential side effects, so should mindfulness treatments. Researchers should systematically assess potential side effects when studying mindfulness treatments. Practitioners should be alert to them and not recommend mindfulness treatments as a first approach if safer ones with stronger evidence of efficacy are available. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-mindfulness-nobody-really-knows-and-thats-a-problem-83295" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

Readers respond: What is an adult problem that nobody prepared you for?

We asked our readers what the biggest surprise of adulthood was, and their answers were hilariously honest. From cooking everyday and having kids, to various aches and pains, here are all the adult problems that no one warned our readers about, before it was too late! Jill Short - Needing to cook a meal every single night!! Gail Fredericks - When you've got little kids, you can't go to the toilet on your own. Diane Porter - Having to do your work and everyone else’s too, washing, shopping, cleaning, everything- unless you want to live in a pigsty and have nothing to eat. Norma Fowler - Loss of mobility, the amount of paper work to get anything, the huge cost of nursing home care. Julia Metcalfe - Being tired. All. The. Time. Tolla Edda Anderson - Having to be more flexible as you age. That is having to adapt faster to a faster pace of life. Camellia Musumeci-Cali - How lonely it gets when your children leave home. Annette Bradshaw - When getting older, my head would write cheque’s that my body can’t cash. Lynda Gibbons - The aches and pains of old age. Wendy McKnight - Your body growing old while your mind is stuck on 35. Pam Garmony - Trying to figure out how to program ovens and microwaves when you stay away from home. Ron Wright - The fact that the hill at the end of our street gets steeper every year. Terri Vanderwerf - Thinking of things to eat for the rest of your life! Fran Matthews - Not been able to move quickly, after 2 hips 2 knee replacements in old age! Jim Mitchell - That the "golden years" actually don't have gold. Image credits: Getty Images

Mind

“We still have a problem”: One in five people in aged care treated with antipsychotics

One in five aged care residents are being given antipsychotic medication - used to treat the symptoms of psychosis - that has been linked to chemical restraint by the aged care royal commission, according to new data. The data was mandatorily collected for the Department of Health from over 2400 aged care homes, revealing the industry’s heavy reliance on using antipsychotics on patients. Residents are also more likely to be given the drugs if they live in rural areas. Over half of those receiving the drugs don’t have a psychosis diagnosis, which is of particular concern as the royal commission found that “many of these medications were being used as chemical restraint”. “I have to say it was higher than I was expecting,” pharmacy researcher Dr Juanita Breen, who appeared as an expert witness at the royal commission, told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/chemical-restraint-antipsychotic-drugs-widespread-in-aged-care/100950924" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a>. Dr Breen said this data suggested that much of the use of these drugs was inappropriate. “It means that these medications are being used for other reasons,” she said. “It would suggest that a large proportion would be used as chemical restraint … that we still have a problem.” An earlier study from 2019 made similar findings after tracking 5825 people in residential aged care facilities over the age of 65 for three years, between 2014 and 2017. The study also found that residents were being given the medication for significantly longer periods of time than was recommended, per the <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/antipsychotics-overused-in-residential-aged-care-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RACGP</a>. Despite recommendations not to extend use of the medication beyond 84 days, the study found that the mean use for men and women sat at 212 days and 216 days (or around 30 weeks) respectively. Other experts who testified at the royal commission also indicated that a decrease in medically-trained staff at aged care facilities, combined with an increase in patients with complex needs, had contributed to the overreliance on antipsychotics. Former aged care nurse Amanda Gorton, who left the industry in 2020, told the ABC that staff shortages had regularly left her feeling overwhelmed. The same year, the home she worked at failed an audit from the aged care watchdog, the Quality and Safety Commission, over its use of antipsychotics. Ms Gorton said she saw workers use the drugs to restrain residents because they didn’t have the capacity to care for them. “I went home often in tears because I thought it can’t stay like this,” she said. “It has to get better, it has to improve, we can’t be treating elderly people like this.” According to an analysis of hundreds of aged care audits from the commission, Human Rights Watch said they found that the inappropriate use of antipsychotics was taking place all over the country. “We found homes where more than 75 percent of residents were given these drugs and there was not adequate documentation of why they needed them or relevant diagnosis,” researcher Sophie McNeil said. “We found homes where residents were so drugged up that they experienced a significant increase in falls, which resulted in injuries.” Ms McNeill also said there was a clear link between workforce issues and using chemical restraint, after finding that staff also used antipsychotics to deal with residents asking for help or who were in pain. “There’s not enough staff to look after people. So instead, vulnerable, older Australians are given these drugs when they don’t need them,” she said. The data and analyses come after the Senate passed an aged care bill on its last sitting day aimed at addressing several recommendations from the royal commission. It included an amendment to ensure every facility has a registered nurse rostered 24 hours a day. “Putting people on drugs, restraining people, is the easy option for an aged care facility that doesn’t have the necessary staff to deal with these sorts of matters,” Senator Rex Patrick, who put forward the new amendment, said. Having gone through the Senate without a formal division (where senators vote by sitting on the left or right of the chamber), the bill will be sent back to the House of Representatives for a vote. However, Senator Patrick believes the government won’t want the amendment to be successful and will “park the bill and it will never be seen again”. “The government didn’t want the optics of voting against nurses 24/7 in aged care, so they simply let it go through on the voices knowing that, tactically, they can avoid dealing with it in the house today,” he said. Image: Getty Images

Caring

Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that’s the problem

It seems like everyone is talking about housing these days. For many, it is in a state of crisis. But for others, it is a market doing exactly what it should be doing: <a href="https://torontolife.com/real-estate/im-28-and-own-six-properties-in-ontario-heres-how-i-built-a-7-million-real-estate-portfolio/">making money</a>. The crux of the housing problem is that it is both a basic <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-housing-rights-human-rights-1.4414854">human</a> <a href="https://housingrights.ca/right-to-housing-legislation-in-canada/">right</a> and a <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/">commodity from which to extract wealth</a>.Most housing debates largely ignore this <a href="https://www.acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/1347">contradiction</a>. Those who oppose new developments and those who believe we need more housing both focus on numbers, design, zoning and density. These perspectives miss key questions about <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2111-in-defense-of-housing">housing for whom</a>, against whom, <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2870-capital-city">who profits</a> and who is excluded.<h2>Upzoning and affordability</h2>In many neighbourhoods in Canada, zoning rules dictate that the only type of development permitted is the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/03/20/how-monster-homes-are-transforming-toronto-neighbourhoods.html">demolition of a small house</a> to replace it with a big one. This has no net effect on supply and can dramatically raise prices. It’s not uncommon for <a href="https://chbooks.com/Books/H/House-Divided">desirable neighbourhoods to both gentrify and decrease in population</a>, while the number of homes remains static.As a result, there have been <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-toronto-has-lots-of-room-to-grow-its-time-to-let-that-happen/">calls to change zoning rules to increase density in neighbourhoods</a> where only detached or semi-detached houses are permitted. Known as upzoning, this allows for taller buildings and more housing units, including triplexes, town houses or small apartments, often referred to as the “<a href="https://missingmiddlehousing.com/">missing middle</a>.” There are many good reasons to do this. Zoning rules have historically restricted opportunities for <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-planning-as-a-tool-of-white-supremacy-the-other-lesson-from-minneapolis-142249">racialized and low-income populations</a>. Older neighbourhoods in particular tend to have good transportation choices, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.05.013">fewer housing options</a>for low-income populations.Increasing density in the city can curb sprawl at the periphery, which preserves valuable farmland. This was an important aspect in <a href="https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2021/11/19/council-rejects-hamilton-urban-expansion.html">the recent decision made by councillors in Hamilton, Ont.</a>, to <a href="https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2021/12/01/building-a-denser-inclusive-hamilton.html">stop urban boundary growth</a>.A <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/minneapolis-ended-single-family-zoning/">number of cities</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/newsom-win-clears-the-way-for-california-zoning-reform">U.S. states</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-new-zealands-bold-housing-law-may-be-a-fit-for-canada/">New Zealand</a> have all eliminated single-family zoning. Although, in each case, the question of what to build (and for whom) has been left to the market. While there are many good reasons to upzone, there is little research indicating that on its own, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019859458">market-driven upzoning</a> produces the types of housing cities need <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/11/28/laneway-houses-were-supposed-to-help-ease-torontos-housing-crisis-so-why-are-so-few-being-built.html">in sufficient quantity</a> to tackle affordability problems. There is also evidence to suggest upzoning can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087418824672">raise prices without actually adding new supply</a>, further fuel speculation and lead to the <a href="https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14266-minneapolis-and-the-end-of-the-american-dream-house">development of more luxury units</a>.Despite this, there is still a persistent belief that upzoning specifically, and increasing supply more broadly, is the key to solving the affordability crisis.<h2>Supply and demand?</h2>There is growing evidence to indicate that in Canada, <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-solve-the-housing-crisis-address-super-charged-demand-169809">new housing supply meets or even exceeds population growth</a>, especially in the biggest cities and hottest property markets. Some of the biggest price increases on record have been in the last quarter, <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/canada-is-now-completing-18-homes-for-every-person-the-population-grows/">when 18 homes were completed for every new person</a>.But we need to move beyond focusing purely on the number of new houses, and how this relates to population or household change. The answers to the housing problem are far more complex, and require a deeper understanding of what type of supply gets built, what does not and what is lost as cities grow and redevelop. Reducing demand from speculators is key. In Ontario, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/investors-in-ontario-real-estate-market-1.6258199">a quarter of all home buyers are investors</a>. A recent survey found that <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/07/28/nearly-20-per-cent-of-gta-homeowners-under-35-own-more-than-one-property-survey-finds.html">20 per cent of homeowners under 35 in the Greater Toronto Area own more than one property</a>. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-cmhc-worried-about-speculative-investment-in-housing/">links skyrocketing housing costs to speculative investment</a>. Even the Bank of Canada is now concerned about the role the commodification of housing is playing, and has noted how <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-cmhc-worried-about-speculative-investment-in-housing/">investor buying has doubled in the past year</a>. Therefore, simply adding supply isn’t the solution. Speculators both increase demand for housing, and shape the supply that gets built. Investors love small condos, so most new towers going up across our cities contain small studio and one-bedroom units. This does little to address demand for shelter, particularly for those on low- to moderate-incomes, or <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/environment/news/renters-kitchener-waterloo-are-diverse-their-rental-options">families looking for larger dwellings in urban neighbourhoods</a>.This fixation on uncritically adding new market-driven supply also ignores existing affordable housing that is lost when neighbourhoods gentrify, or are upzoned. Some of this occurs when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.06.013">small apartments and rooming houses are demolished</a>, a process known as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.09.011">demoviction</a>.” My research team, working closely with the <a href="http://www.waterlooregion.org/">Social Development Centre Waterloo Region</a> has been <a href="http://www.waterlooregion.org/displacement-in-urban-core-mapping-project">documenting the rapid erosion of housing which is affordable for people on low-incomes</a>. <a href="https://www.renovictionsto.com/">Renovictions</a> also contribute to this loss. This is a process where landlords evict tenants, renovate their units and rent them out at higher rates. As planning scholar Martine August has found, this is often carried out by large, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2019.1705846">financialized landlords</a> who have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.04.011">acquiring apartment buildings across Canada for many years</a>.<h2>Decommodify housing</h2>To make cities affordable, upzoning will need to consist primarily of new <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-neighbourhoods-approved-for-affordable-housing-build-1.5316408">social housing</a> and other forms of ownership such as <a href="https://chfcanada.coop/about-co-op-housing/">co-ops</a> and rent-controlled apartments that are off limits to speculators. Fortunately, there are many examples across Canada and beyond that treat housing as homes, not investments. Private developers do not hold a monopoly on adding supply. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jan/16/radical-model-housing-crisis-property-prices-income-community-land-trusts">Community land trusts</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-matters-whistler-1.4989556">housing authorities</a> offer possibilities to decommodify housing by taking it out of the speculative market in creative and sustainable ways. Publicly owned land provides <a href="http://spacing.ca/toronto/2019/05/06/lorinc-want-affordable-housing-then-city-shouldnt-sell-publicly-owned-land/">the spaces to create the kind of housing that the market is unwilling or unable to build</a>. It should not be sold to private developers, especially at <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ryerson-university-report-affordable-housing-downtown-parcel-sold-1.5115645">discounted prices</a>, for a quick profit.Changes in zoning also need to be accompanied by proactive policies to shape what gets built and for whom. Montréal has new rules stipulating that many developments need to consist of at least <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bylaw-mixed-metropolis-montreal-1.6034993">20 per cent social housing, 20 per cent affordable housing and 20 per cent family units</a>. Other approaches include primary residency requirements for owner-occupied units to restrict investors, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-city-councillor-calls-for-speculation-tax-1.6271555">speculation taxes for investment properties</a> and incentives for purpose-built rentals. <a href="https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/programs-and-policies/housing/rental-use-zoning-policy">After implementing the latter</a>, Burnaby, B.C., has seen a <a href="https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/burnaby-credits-new-policies-for-historic-surge-in-cheaper-non-market-rentals-4830007">surge in new non-market rentals</a>.To protect existing affordable housing, strong rent controls, including <a href="https://www.acto.ca/vacancy-decontrol-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/">when a unit becomes vacant</a>, also have an important role to play. Rent controls on vacant units were eliminated in Ontario in 1996; this creates an incentive for landlords to evict tenants, <a href="https://monitormag.ca/articles/rents-keep-going-up-pandemic-or-not">even during the pandemic</a>.Other examples include rules in New Westminster, B.C., that <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6543840/new-westminster-renoviction-court-ruling/">fine landlords who do not provide temporary accommodation while their apartments are renovated</a>. The City of Montréal also has the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/right-of-first-refusal-social-housing-1.5466347">right of first refusal of any property that comes up for sale</a>. <h2>Housing for whom?</h2>To make housing more affordable, we need to confront its roles as both shelter and commodity. Housing supply needs to grow with our population, but it must address need, and not investor demand. All levels of government can implement proactive policies to make existing and new housing affordable. The provincial and federal governments need to return to funding new, non-market housing, <a href="https://data.fcm.ca/documents/corporate-resources/policy-statements/Municipal_Finance_and_Intergovernmental_Arrangements_Policy_Statement_EN.pdf">as they did until the early 1990s</a>.Solutions need to focus on decommodifing housing while supporting its role as a human right. That means that the rights of some to profit from housing will need to be curtailed so that everyone has the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13604810902982177">right to live in cities</a>. <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2111-in-defense-of-housing">Decades of housing research</a> have shown that leaving the question of supply to market forces, developers and speculators will add some new housing and make some people a tidy profit, but will do little to address the crisis facing a growing number of Canadians.Image credits: Getty ImagesThis article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-is-both-a-human-right-and-a-profitable-asset-and-thats-the-problem-172846" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Real Estate

Conflicts between nursing home residents are often chalked up to dementia – the real problem is inadequate care and neglect

Frank Piccolo was a beloved high school chemistry teacher in Ontario, Canada, until his retirement in 1998. “His trademark was to greet all of his students at the door at the start of class to make sure everyone felt welcomed there,” <a href="https://www.saultstar.com/2013/02/21/remembering-frank-piccolo--oconnor">wrote a former student</a>. “He had extensive knowledge of his subject matter, passion for his craft, and empathy for his students.” But after Frank’s retirement, he developed dementia. When his condition declined, his family moved him to a Toronto nursing home. One evening in 2012, another resident – a woman with dementia – entered Frank’s bedroom. She hit Frank repeatedly in the head and face with a wooden activity board. Staff found Frank slumped over in his wheelchair, drenched in blood. He died three months later. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care investigated. It found that the woman had a history of pushing, hitting and throwing objects at staff and other residents. But the nursing home didn’t address the woman’s behavioral expressions for weeks before the attack on Piccolo, <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21048374/inspection-report.pdf">the agency determined</a>. “There were no interventions implemented, no strategies developed,” the report stated. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440940/original/file-20220115-27-vtyb52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Frank Piccolo and his wife, Theresa, standing near each othe, on vacation, with a hillside village and the sea behind them." /> Frank Piccolo and his wife, Theresa, traveling together in Italy in 2001. Theresa Piccolo, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC-ND</a> As a gerontologist and <a href="http://dementiabehaviorconsulting.com">dementia behavior specialist</a>, I’ve <a href="https://www.healthpropress.com/product/understanding-and-preventing-harmful-interactions-between-residents-with-dementia/">written a book</a> on preventing these incidents. I also co-directed, with dementia care expert Judy Berry, a documentary on the phenomenon called “<a href="https://terranova.org/film-catalog/fighting-for-dignity-a-film-on-injurious-and-fatal-resident-to-resident-incidents-in-long-term-care-home">Fighting for Dignity</a>.” The film sheds light on the emotional trauma experienced by family members of residents harmed during these episodes in U.S. long-term care homes. <h2>Reporting and stigmatizing</h2> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01808.x">Resident-to-resident incidents</a> are defined by researchers as “negative, aggressive and intrusive verbal, physical, material and sexual interactions between residents” that can cause “psychological distress and physical harm in the recipient.” These incidents <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-1209">are prevalent</a> in U.S. nursing homes. But they are <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/29/resident-to-resident-incidents-hidden-source-nursing-home-harm/">largely overlooked</a> by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency overseeing care in approximately 15,000 nursing homes across the country. Consequently, such incidents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08946566.2017.1333939">remain untracked</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2015.10.003">understudied</a> and largely unaddressed. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440941/original/file-20220115-18-1qy7een.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440941/original/file-20220115-18-1qy7een.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="An elderly man with severe injuries, including cut marks and bruises, across his face and forehead." /></a> Frank Piccolo sustained severe injuries to his face and head after a woman with dementia entered his bedroom and hit him repeatedly with an activity board. Theresa Piccolo, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC-ND</a> These interactions don’t just result <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.291.5.591">in injuries</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464819863926">and deaths</a> among residents. They also leave behind devastated families who then must <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/20/nursing-home-immunity-covid-lawsuits">fight for answers</a> and accountability from nursing homes. Making matters worse, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-433">government reports</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980815000094">research studies</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301220981232">media coverage</a> commonly describe these episodes with words that stigmatize people with dementia. Researchers, public officials and journalists tend to <a href="https://www.startribune.com/when-senior-home-residents-are-abusers-minnesota-rarely-investigates/450625693/">label the incidents as “abuse</a>,” “violence” and “aggression.” They call a resident involved in an incident a “perpetrator” or an “aggressor.” News outlets described the attack on Piccolo by the woman with dementia as “aggressive” or “violent.” And when reporting on <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/02/09/more_than_10000_canadians_abused_annually_by_fellow_nursing_home_residents.html">the phenomenon</a> in Canada, the Toronto Star called it “abuse.” <h2>Getting to the root of the real problem</h2> Most incidents, however, do not constitute abuse. A growing body of evidence suggests the true cause of these injuries and deaths is inadequate care and neglect on the part of care homes. Specifically, there is a lack of the specialized care that people with dementia require. Two of every three residents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.02.009">involved in these incidents</a> have dementia. One study found that the rate of these episodes was nearly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.291.5.591">three times higher</a> in dementia care homes than in other long-term care homes. A recent study also found <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/m15-1209">an association</a> between residency in a dementia care home and higher rates of injurious or fatal interactions between residents. But for these residents, the conflicts occur mostly when their emotional, medical and other needs are not met. When they reach a breaking point in frustration related to the unmet need, they may push or hit another resident. My research in the U.S. and Canada has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08946566.2018.1474515">“push-fall” episodes</a> constitute nearly half of fatal incidents. Another U.S. study found that as residents’ cognitive functioning declined, they faced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.291.5.591">a greater likelihood</a> of injury in these incidents. Those with advanced dementia were more susceptible to inadvertently “getting in harm’s way,” by saying or doing things that trigger angry reactions in other residents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that what it calls “aggression” between residents <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ea_book_revised_2016.pdf">is not abuse</a>. Instead, the CDC noted that these episodes may result when care homes fail to prevent them by taking adequate action. And a study on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464819863926">fatal incidents</a> in U.S. nursing homes has shown that many residents were “deemed to lack cognitive capacity to be held accountable for their actions.” <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gk5iEo-s_6M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> An undercover yearlong investigation into nursing homes in Ontario, Canada, revealed shocking instances of abuse and neglect by staff members. <h2>How incidents often occur</h2> In one study, researchers examined <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1054773813477128">situational triggers</a> among residents with cognitive impairments. The strongest triggers involved personal space and possessions. Examples include taking or touching a resident’s belongings or food, or unwanted entries into their bedroom or bathroom. The most prevalent triggering event was someone being too close to a resident’s body. That study also found that crowded spaces and interpersonal stressors, such as two residents claiming the same dining room seat, could lead to these episodes. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301213502588">My own work</a> and a different <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0733464820955089">Canadian study</a> came to similar conclusions. Other research shows that when residents are bored or lack <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F153331750502000210">meaningful activity</a>, they become involved in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1471301213502588">harmful interactions</a>. Evenings and weekends can be particularly dangerous, with fewer organized activities and fewer staff members and managers present. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08946566.2018.1474515">Conflicts between roommates</a> are also common and harmful. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438566/original/file-20211220-49721-z6ev8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="With a smiling staff member looking on, two nursing home residents enjoy conversation while having coffee." /> Residents with dementia who are meaningfully engaged in activities are less likely to become involved in harmful incidents with other residents. <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/caretaker-with-senior-people-in-nursing-home-royalty-free-image/489582967?adppopup=true" class="source">Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a> A growing body of research suggests that most incidents between residents are preventable. A major risk factor, for example, is lack of adequate supervision, which often occurs when staff are assigned to caring for too many residents with dementia. One U.S. study found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-1209">higher caseloads</a> among nurses’ aides were associated with higher incident rates. And with <a href="https://doi.org/10.4137/hsi.s38994">poor staffing levels</a> in up to half of U.S. nursing homes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08946566.2018.1474515">staff members do not witness</a> many incidents. In fact, one study found that staff members missed the majority of unwanted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1211620">bedroom entries</a> by residents with severe dementia. <h2>Residents with dementia are not to blame</h2> In most of these situations, the person with dementia does not intend to injure or kill another resident. Individuals with dementia live with a serious cognitive disability. And they often must do it while being forced to share small living spaces with many other residents. Their behavioral expressions are often attempts to cope with frustrating and frightening situations in their social and physical environments. They are typically the result of unmet human needs paired with cognitive processing limitations. Understanding the role of dementia is important. But seeing a resident’s brain disease as the main cause of incidents is inaccurate and unhelpful. That view ignores external factors that can lead to these incidents but are outside of the residents’ control. Frank’s wife, Theresa, didn’t blame the woman who injured her husband or the staff. She blamed the for-profit company operating the nursing home. Despite its revenue of $2 billion in the year before the incident, it failed in its “<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/02/09/more_than_10000_canadians_abused_annually_by_fellow_nursing_home_residents.html">duty to protect</a>” Piccolo. “They did not keep my husband safe as they are required to do,” she said.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173750/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eilon-caspi-1298265">Eilon Caspi</a>, Assistant Research Professor of Health, Intervention, and Policy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-connecticut-1342">University of Connecticut</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/conflicts-between-nursing-home-residents-are-often-chalked-up-to-dementia-the-real-problem-is-inadequate-care-and-neglect-173750">original article</a>. Image: CasarsaGuru/E+ via Getty Images

Retirement Life

The 3 problems with fines for not reporting positive COVID tests

The NSW government this week decreed that anyone returning a positive COVID-19 reading using a rapid antigen test must report their result (through the Service NSW app or <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/register-positive-rapid-antigen-test-result" target="_blank">website</a>). Failing to do so can result in a $1,000 fine. The new rule came into effect on January 12 (there will be a one-week grace period). In the first 24 hours more than 80,000 people registered positive tests (recorded since January 1). In one sense that’s a lot. But since we have no idea of the total number of tests taken – let alone the number with a positive result – it’s hard to calibrate. The fine threat raises a number of questions, with the first being how will the government know if you test positive and don’t record it? On Wednesday, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet admitted that it would be a hard law to enforce, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/massive-surge-spike-in-covid-cases-as-nsw-records-rapid-tests-20220112-p59nq2.html" target="_blank">saying</a>: <blockquote> there are obviously areas right across the state where there are laws that are harder to enforce than others, this is clearly one that will be harder to enforce, there’s no doubt about it. </blockquote> Given this, it’s hard to know what the point of the announced penalty is. Indeed, both the economic theory and behavioural research research suggests it will achieve the opposite of its intention. 1. Fines act as a disincentive Economists view these rules through the lens of the field of “contract theory”. Rules create incentives that encourage or discourage certain behaviours. In this case, suppose you test positive. If you self-isolate as result, because that’s the right thing to do even without rules, then truthfully reporting the result is of no consequence to you (as long as it’s easy to do, which it is for most people). But if you wouldn’t isolate, then truthfully reporting the results is of consequence. In NSW you face a $5,000 fine for failing to comply with <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe/rules/legislation-penalties" target="_blank">obligations to self-isolate</a> when diagnosed with COVID-19. Your choice is the low probability of a $1,000 fine for not reporting the result or the higher probability of a $5,000 fine for failing to isolate. So there’s an individual disincentive to even taking the test at all – which is, after all, optional for most. This means fewer tests will be taken, the opposite of what authorities want. From the perspective of contract theory, therefore, this $1,000 fine is likely to reduce tests by those who are not willing or not able (perhaps because they have to work for financial reasons) to voluntarily isolate. So you can bet that these folks will be calculating the odds of getting caught. This is the way some people think about parking fines, or thieves think about stealing bicycles. It’s a calculation involving the size of the penalty and the probability of getting caught. 2. Fines can turn off good behaviour Some scholars, such as Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, argue the very act of putting a dollar value on things causes people to think of them in a transactional way. It’s no longer “wrong” to park in a no-standing zone, there’s just a kind of fee for it. In other words, fines can destroy civic virtue. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GvDpYHyBlgc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> A classic example of this comes from <a rel="noopener" href="https://rady.ucsd.edu/faculty/directory/gneezy/pub/docs/fine.pdf" target="_blank">a study</a> by behavioural economists Uri Gneezy and Aldo Rustichini on ways to encourage parents to pick up their children from child-care centres on time. Parents being late meant staff had to stay behind. The study involved some centres introducing fines to deter late pickups. But the fines actually led to more late pickups. Parents no longer felt so guilty. Being on time was no longer a social norm but a transaction. They could pay to disregard the expectation. So, too, it might be with this week’s $1,000 fine rule. In the unlikely event of getting caught, some might see the fine as just “the cost of doing business”. 3. Fines can make a mockery of the law A final consideration about the $1,000 fine for failing to report a positive RAT tests concerns the problem of laws that cannot be enforced. The NSW government concede the new rule will hard to police and is mostly about <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-13/sydney-news-rapid-covid-test-fines-hard-to-police-minister-says/100753328" target="_blank">messaging</a>. “If we didn’t put a fine on it then people would say you’re not taking it seriously,” the minister for customer service said. But this is just turning a law into a bit of a joke. Laws being openly “mocked” damage the rule of law itself. Getting rules right These three complementary perspectives all point to the $1,000 fine for failing to report a positive rapid antigen test being a bad idea. It’s good to make it convenient for people to do the right thing (that’s what the Service NSW app does). It’s good to encourage people to do the right thing. It would be really good if there were lots of RATs available (ideally for free or close to it) so people can have the information to empower and protect themselves, their families and their communities. This does none of these things. It’s bad to enact a rule that makes a mockery of the law and likely to be counterproductive.  <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107" target="_blank">Richard Holden</a>, Professor of Economics, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414" target="_blank">UNSW</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-the-3-problems-with-fines-for-not-reporting-positive-covid-tests-174774" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Woman "stuck" in the body of a child reveals dating problems

A woman who says she is "stuck" in the body of a child has revealed the extraordinary measures she must take in the dating world. Shauna Rae measures 1.16m in height, making her the average height of an 8-year-old. However, the US woman is actually 22 years of age, and had her growth stunted by chemotherapy when she was young. In an interview with <a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/tv/tlcs-shauna-rae-recalls-when-she-stopped-growing-at-age-16/" target="_blank">People</a> ahead of the release of her upcoming TV show I am Shauna Rae, Shauna said he has to take extra precautions when it comes to her dating life. “I have to have in-person conversations before we even think about going on a date. I have to know how this person reacts in public areas,” she said. “I have to know if they’re going to be able to deal with all the issues I have, because I can’t date someone unless they can take all of that on. And it’s a lot to ask someone to take on.” Despite her best efforts to meet her soulmate, Shauna said her "romantic life sucks". “I think I’ve dated like seven people. I attract creeps, a-holes – you know the typical ‘bad boy picture’ situation – and idiots,” she said. In the trailer for her new series, Shauna is seen meeting a man for a blind date, with the man thinking he is being pranked when she shows up. When Shauna was just six-months-old, she was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatment. “My pituitary gland was rendered almost dormant because of the chemotherapy,” Shauna says in the trailer. “The doctor told me I was done growing. My bones were fused, and my height is three feet and 10 inches (1.16m).” Shauna admitted to People that when she stopped growing at age 16, the revelation was "like a hammer crashing into glass". “It was a very difficult time,” she said. “It probably was the lowest time of my life, because I always imagined that I would be tall.” After spending time devoted to "bettering" herself, Shauna has learned to look on the bright side of life, and has come to terms with her size. “Being positive is just the best advice I can give, because at the end of the day, the only person that controls how you feel is yourself,” she said. Check out the trailer for I Am Shauna Rae here. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s7In-KGxduU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Image credits: Youtube

Relationships

Burning is the slickest film about climate change since An Inconvenient Truth – and that’s its problem

Review: Burning, directed by Eva Orner. The word “crisis” comes from the Greek krinein, which means to decide. You’re stuck in the middle of a burning fire: you need to decide whether you are going to stay and perish; whether you are going to fight to put it out; or whether you are going to leave and let it burn. Burning, Eva Orner’s new documentary, is about the climate crisis, and the Australian government’s decision to (metaphorically) let the fires burn. It is quite explicit in its claims, and this makes it effective as a kind of cinematic essay. It carefully presents – via the words of interviewee <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/former-fire-chief-greg-mullins-faces-the-firestorm-again-20210918-p58stw.html" target="_blank">Greg Mullins</a>, former New South Wales fire commissioner – the history of bushfires in Australia. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hTfyD7ALJtU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> While acknowledging, as the refrain goes, there have always been fires in Australia, the film presents evidence and analysis showing fires have massively worsened in recent years in frequency and severity in line with the forecasts of climate scientists regarding global warming. Burning goes on to argue the 2019-2020 “Black Summer” bushfires, its ostensible subject, could have been headed off by a well-conceived response to global warming. Past and present Through a series of talking head interviews, Burning convincingly argues the severity of the devastation of the Black Summer bushfires is largely the fault of the Morrison government (and preceding conservative governments) in refusing to recognise climate change is real, and to enact policies addressing this. Mullins’ commentary is joined by, among others, scientist <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/tim-flannery/110/" target="_blank">Tim Flannery</a>, young activist <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/teenage-climatechange-campaigner-daisy-jeffrey-on-what-its-really-like-to-be-a-young-activist/news-story/4b7442757e6e066df7d3ce31f07410cd" target="_blank">Daisy Jeffrey</a>, writer <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.magabala.com/collections/bruce-pascoe" target="_blank">Bruce Pascoe</a> and residents affected by the bushfires who talk about the devastation their communities faced. Through meticulously curated and assembled archival footage, we also hear from a list of the usual suspects: Tony Abbott, Malcolm Roberts, Barnaby Joyce, Alan Jones, and of course, Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The film is careful to tie this back to much earlier conservative discourse, with an interview with Alexander Downer in which he contests the reality of global warming. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430676/original/file-20211108-16752-1s9xxhz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430676/original/file-20211108-16752-1s9xxhz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A charred landscape" /></a> Burning argues the Black Summer bushfires could have been averted if climate action had been taken. Amazon Prime It also – again, convincingly – demonstrates the role of the Murdoch media in propagating climate change denialism, with snippets from Sky News as recent as 2020 casting doubt on the reality of global warming. The film is at pains to point out this is not only historical, but current – we see Morrison recently bagging out electric cars (“<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/10/scott-morrison-walks-back-end-the-weekend-rhetoric-on-electrical-vehicles" target="_blank">It’s not gonna tow your trailer</a>. It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family.”) and proselytising about the future role of gas in Australia’s economy. Too polished It’s a very well-made documentary, full of stunning images of Australian geography and flora and fauna – beautiful <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.videomaker.com/article/c6/17127-bokeh-and-depth-of-field" target="_blank">bokeh</a>, slow tracking shots around leaves, etc – interspersed with dramatic meteorological charts, and some shocking footage of the bushfires burning across the country. It is, I would suggest, the slickest film about climate change since An Inconvenient Truth (2006), and, like that film, its polish plays against it as a documentary film experience. This is the annoying thing about the film: it’s so right at the level of content, but formally it falls short. Apart from a few select moments – harrowing images of charred animals, a koala trying to escape a fire, and a devastating interview with a young mother whose baby was born prematurely with a dying placenta because of smoke inhalation – the actual material centred on the bushfires is peculiarly uninvolving. We watch interviews with Cobargo residents that, given the subject, seem surprisingly run of the mill. It’s like the film mentions the smoke, but doesn’t capture its eerie apocalyptic quality. It mentions the intense heartbreak and brutality of the fires for towns like Cobargo, but doesn’t put us in the middle of it. It tells us things more than it makes us feel things, and this is seldom beneficial in the medium. Even much of the footage captured by residents seems strangely contained by the film, with what surely was a surreal, infernal nightmare presented instead in a thoroughly digestible, middlebrow fashion. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430675/original/file-20211108-9989-1k54s2x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430675/original/file-20211108-9989-1k54s2x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A firefighter" /></a> Burning gets so much right in regards to its content, but is let down by its form. Amazon Prime Burning clearly examines climate change as a political weapon in Australia – and leaves no doubt about the connections between global warming and the recent bushfires. The message of the film is spot on, the logic of its argument faultless. There are striking moments – footage of dead animals; listening to Daisy Jeffrey; Bruce Pascoe’s closing words about the stewardship of the land. And yet it doesn’t work as well as it could as a piece of cinema. It lacks the edge of eco docos like <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/film-review-wild-things-packs-passionate-climate-activism-into-an-overly-polite-documentary-154374" target="_blank">Wild Things</a> (2020) partly because it’s too slick. We want a hot and sweaty, intense film from within the belly of the bushfires and the horrors of Australian climate policy – instead we get a polished and well-mannered one. It is a really good, well-made doco essay – primed for streaming (produced for Amazon, this is probably its primary intended medium, so it’s no surprise it isn’t very cinematic). Its material is compelling - it certainly stokes our indignation - but it is unlikely to teach a climate change believer anything they don’t already know, and a sceptic won’t watch or listen to it anyway. Burning is at Sydney Film Festival until Monday November 8 and will be streaming on Amazon Prime from November 26.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171385/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ari-mattes-97857" target="_blank">Ari Mattes</a>, Lecturer in Communications and Media, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852" target="_blank">University of Notre Dame Australia</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/burning-is-the-slickest-film-about-climate-change-since-an-inconvenient-truth-and-thats-its-problem-171385" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Amazon Prime

Movies

Are you binge-watching too much? How to know if your TV habits are a problem – and what to do about it

The term “binge-watch” was a contender for the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2013 word of the year. Although it didn’t win (“selfie” ultimately <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/18/5120390/selfie-is-the-2013-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year">took the crown</a>), this pointed to the rise of what was becoming a popular activity of watching multiple episodes of a TV show in a single sitting. Today, millions of us – including me – regularly consume our favourite series in this way. The proliferation of streaming services over recent years has made it very easy to do. Unsurprisingly, during COVID lockdowns, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178120313020?via%3Dihub">research shows</a> many of us spent more time binge-watching than usual. But can binge-watching become problematic or addictive? And if you can’t tear yourself away, what can you do? Problematic binge-watching isn’t defined by the number of episodes watched (although most researchers agree it’s at least two in a row), or a specific number of hours spent in front of the TV or computer screen. As with other addictive behaviours, more important is whether binge-watching is having a negative impact on other aspects of the person’s life. Over many years studying addiction, I’ve argued that all addictive behaviours comprise <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659890500114359">six core components</a>. In relation to binge-watching, this would mean: <ol> <li> Binge-watching is the most important thing in the person’s life (salience) </li> <li> The person engages in binge-watching as a way of reliably changing their mood: to feel better in the short-term or to temporarily escape from something negative in their life (mood modification) </li> <li> Binge-watching compromises key aspects of the person’s life like relationships and education or work (conflict) </li> <li> The number of hours the person spends binge-watching each day has increased significantly over time (tolerance) </li> <li> The person experiences psychological and/or physiological withdrawal symptoms if they’re unable to binge-watch (withdrawal) </li> <li> If the person manages to temporarily stop binge-watching, when they engage in the activity again, they go straight back into the cycle they were in previously (relapse). </li> </ol> In my view, any person who fulfils these six components would be genuinely addicted to binge-watching. A person who only fulfils some of these may be exhibiting problematic binge-watching, but wouldn’t be classed as addicted by my criteria. Like many other behavioural addictions, such as sex addiction, work addiction and exercise addiction, binge-watching addiction is not officially recognised in any psychiatric manuals. We also don’t have accurate estimates of the prevalence of problematic binge-watching. But research into this phenomenon is growing. <h2>A look at the evidence</h2> In the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.743870/full">latest study</a> on this topic, a research team in Poland surveyed 645 young adults, all of whom reported that they had watched at least two episodes of one show in a single sitting. The researchers wanted to understand some of the factors underlying problematic binge-watching. The authors (who based their definition of problematic binge-watching partly on my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659890500114359">components model of addiction</a>) used a questionnaire they developed in an <a href="https://www.termedia.pl/Characteristics-of-people-s-binge-watching-behavior-in-the-entering-into-early-adulthood-period-of-life,74,35865,0,1.html">earlier study</a> to assess problematic binge-watching among participants. Questions included: “How often do you neglect your duties in favour of watching series?” “How often do you feel sad or irritated when you can’t watch the TV series?” and “How often do you neglect your sleep to binge-watch series?” Participants had to give answers on a six-point scale from one (never) to six (always). A score above a certain threshold was deemed indicative of problematic binge-watching. Using a range of other scales, the researchers found that impulse control difficulties, lack of premeditation (difficulties in planning and evaluating the consequences of a given behaviour), watching to escape and forget about problems, and watching to avoid feeling lonely were among the most significant predictors of problematic binge-watching. Using the same data, the researchers reported in an <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689944/full">earlier study</a> that problematic binge-watching had a significant association with anxiety-depressive syndrome. The greater the symptoms of anxiety and depression, the more problematic a person’s binge-watching was. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435590/original/file-20211203-23-1o4rtql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A man on his laptop, appears to be watching something." /> There is a growing body of evidence about the psychology of binge-watching. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-young-bald-black-man-glasses-1789219070" class="source">Dragon Images/Shutterstock</a> Other studies have reported <a href="https://www.mediawatchjournal.in/new-era-of-tv-watching-behavior-binge-watching-and-its-psychological-effects-2/">similar findings</a>. A study of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/1168">Taiwanese adults</a>, for example, found problematic binge-watching was associated with depression, anxiety around social interaction and loneliness. An <a href="https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/honors-theses/98/">American study</a> found the behaviour was associated with depression and attachment anxiety. Most related studies – like <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354856519890856">this one</a> from Portugal – have also shown escapism to be a key motivation of problematic binge-watching. In terms of personality traits, <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/6/4/article-p472.xml">research</a> has shown that problematic binge-watching appears to be associated with low conscientiousness (characterised by being impulsive, careless and disorganised) and high neuroticism (characterised by being anxious and prone to negative emotions). We see these types of associations in addictive behaviours more generally. <h2>Breaking the habit</h2> If you want to cut down on the number of episodes you watch in one sitting, my golden rule is to stop watching mid-way through an episode. It’s really hard to stop watching at the end of an episode as so often the show ends with a cliff-hanger. I also suggest setting realistic daily limits. For me, it’s 2.5 hours if I have work the next day, or up to five hours if I don’t. And only start watching as a reward to yourself after you’ve done everything you need to in terms of work and social obligations. Remember, the difference between a healthy enthusiasm and an addiction is that the former adds to your life, whereas the latter detracts from it. If you feel binge-watching is taking over your life, you should seek a referral from your GP to see a clinical psychologist. Most addictions are symptomatic of other underlying problems.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172817/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-griffiths-116704">Mark Griffiths</a>, Director of the International Gaming Research Unit and Professor of Behavioural Addiction, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338">Nottingham Trent University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-binge-watching-too-much-how-to-know-if-your-tv-habits-are-a-problem-and-what-to-do-about-it-172817">original article</a>. Image: SeventyFour/Shutterstock

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

"God's problem now": Man's hilarious obituary for his father goes viral

Spending too much time on social media and doomscrolling? The problem might be FOMO

The problem with shaming people for Auschwitz selfies

Is it normal to forget words while speaking? And when can it spell a problem?

Solutions to common cruising problems

Gaming 'loot boxes' linked to problem gambling

There’s a serious ethical problem with some sunscreen testing methods – and you’re probably not aware of it

"I’m the problem, it’s me": Why do musicians revisit their pain and doubt in their art?

Cold homes increase the risk of severe mental health problems – new study

Is your dizziness caused by ear problems?

Procrastinating is linked to health and career problems – but there are things you can do to stop

What is mindfulness? Nobody really knows, and that’s a problem

Readers respond: What is an adult problem that nobody prepared you for?

“We still have a problem”: One in five people in aged care treated with antipsychotics

Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that’s the problem

Conflicts between nursing home residents are often chalked up to dementia – the real problem is inadequate care and neglect

The 3 problems with fines for not reporting positive COVID tests

Woman "stuck" in the body of a child reveals dating problems

Burning is the slickest film about climate change since An Inconvenient Truth – and that’s its problem

Are you binge-watching too much? How to know if your TV habits are a problem – and what to do about it