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How a sense of purpose can link creativity to happiness

There are plenty of famous artists who have produced highly creative work while they were deeply unhappy or suffering from poor mental health. In 1931, the poet T.S. Eliot <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/615958">wrote a letter</a> to a friend describing his “considerable mental agony” and how he felt “on the verge of insanity”. Vincent Van Gogh eventually took his own lifet, <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.4.519">having written</a> of “horrible fits of anxiety” and “feelings of emptiness and fatigue”. So how are creativity and happiness linked? Does happiness make us more creative or does creativity make us happy? Most of the research so far seems to indicate that a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074959780800054X">positive mood enhances creativity</a>. But others have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2003.9651405">challenged this argument</a>, suggesting a more complex relationship. For example, a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23063328">large study</a> in Sweden found that authors were more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders compared to people from non-creative professions. Even in the corporate world, it has been suggested that negative emotions can <a href="https://www.london.edu/lbsr/why-negative-emotions-can-spark-creativity">spark creativity</a> and that “anxiety can focus the mind”, resulting in improved creative output. Meanwhile, the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi conducted <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creativity-Psychology-Discovery-Mihaly-Csikszentmihaly/dp/0062283251/ref=asc_df_0062283251/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310973726618&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8230695318472149356&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-435435502203&psc=1&th=1&psc=1">extensive research</a> on creative individuals across many disciplines, which found a common sense among all the people he interviewed: that they loved what they did, and that “designing or discovering something new” was one of their most enjoyable experiences. It seems, then, that research to date supports a variety of different views, and I believe one of the reasons for this relates to time scale. A key factor that affects creativity is attention. In the short term, you can get people to pay attention using external rewards (such as money) or by creating pressure to meet urgent deadlines. But it is much harder to sustain creativity over longer periods using these approaches – so the role of happiness becomes increasingly important. My <a href="https://20twentybusinessgrowth.com/">experience of working</a> with a large number of commercial organisations in Wales (and my own career in the public and private sectors) is that creativity is often not sustained within an organisation, even when it is encouraged (or demanded) by senior management. Typical reasons for this lack of sustained creativity are pressures and stresses at work, the fear of judgement, the fear of failure, or employee apathy. One way to tackle this might be to aspire to psychologist Paul Dolan’s <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happiness-Design-Finding-Pleasure-Everyday/dp/0141977531/ref=asc_df_0141977531/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310805565966&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3028055397477065849&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-453838269765&psc=1&th=1&psc=1">definition of happiness</a>as the “experiences of pleasure and purpose over time”. He describes purpose as relating to “fulfilment, meaning and worthwhileness” and believes we are at our happiest with a “balance between pleasure and purpose”. Therefore, if your work is meaningful, fulfilling and worthwhile it helps in supporting your happiness. It also has the added advantage of making you want to engage and pay attention (rather than having to). Bringing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xegfNVFgxBs">purpose and creativity together</a> helps provide the intrinsic motivation for undertaking creativity, what has been called the “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11946306_Self-Determination_Theory_and_the_Facilitation_of_Intrinsic_Motivation_Social_Development_and_Well-Being">energy for action</a>”, and enables creativity to be sustained. So, if you want to be creative in the long term, the key questions to ask yourself are whether you are doing work that is interesting and enjoyable for you, and is that work of value to you? Or, as the American academic Teresa Amabile <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Progress-Principle-Ignite-Engagement-Creativity/dp/142219857X/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=52852474973&gclid=CjwKCAjw7anqBRALEiwAgvGgm7iZtdMahFJqhgxsC2Vr0P4aDxPC5aF1N6xhibIux1kR4TIfVxrnbRoCIE0QAvD_BwE&hvadid=259142341871&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045373&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4572506516620655268&hvtargid=aud-613328383159%3Akwd-300577486763&hydadcr=11464_1788015&keywords=the+progress+principle&qid=1565170905&s=gateway&sr=8-1">puts it</a>, do you “perceive your work as contributing value to something or someone who matters”. <h2>Performance anxiety</h2> Another question to ask yourself is: are you helping others gain that “energy for action”, whether you are a manager in a company or a teacher in a school. In situations where creative work has not been associated with happiness, such as the example of some prominent artists and authors, it might well be that their creative work was still driven by a sense of purpose and that other factors made them unhappy. Another common element affecting the happiness of many creative people is the pressure they put on themselves to be creative, something I have often <a href="https://repository.cardiffmet.ac.uk/handle/10369/10281?locale-attribute=cy">seen with my own students</a>. This kind of pressure and stress can result in creative blocks and consequently perpetuate the problem. So maybe the solution in these situations is to seek pleasure rather than purpose, as a positive mood does seem to enhance creativity, or to encourage people to be more playful. For those creative people who suffer from mental health problems, it is a much more complicated picture. But perhaps the act of undertaking creative activity can at least help in the healing process. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-sense-of-purpose-can-link-creativity-to-happiness-115335" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

Tactile robot with a sense of touch can fold laundry

Why can you buy a robot vacuum cleaner easily, but not one that folds laundry or irons clothes? Because fabric is actually a very difficult thing for robots to manipulate. But scientists have made a breakthrough with a robot designed to have tactile senses. Fabric is soft, and deformable, and requires a few different senses firing to pick up. This is why the fashion industry is so <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/garment-supply-chain-slavery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">labour-intensive</a>: it’s too hard to automate. “Humans look at something, we reach for it, then we use touch to make sure that we’re in the right position to grab it,” says David Held, an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science, and head of the Robots Perceiving and Doing Lab, at Carnegie Mellon University, US. “A lot of the tactile sensing humans do is natural to us. We don’t think that much about it, so we don’t realise how valuable it is.” When we’re picking up a shirt, for instance, we’re feeling the top layer, sensing lower layers of cloth, and grasping the layers below. But even with cameras and simple sensors, robots can usually only feel the top layer. But Held and colleagues have figured out how to get a robot to do more. “Maybe what we need is tactile sensing,” says Held. The Carnegie Mellon researchers, along with Meta AI, have developed a robotic ‘skin’ called <a href="https://ai.facebook.com/blog/reskin-a-versatile-replaceable-low-cost-skin-for-ai-research-on-tactile-perception/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ReSkin</a>. It’s an elastic <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/explainer-what-is-a-polymer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polymer</a>, filled with tiny magnetic sensors. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p220637-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> “By reading the changes in the magnetic fields from depressions or movement of the skin, we can achieve tactile sensing,” says Thomas Weng, a Ph.D. student in Held’s lab, and a collaborator on the project. “We can use this tactile sensing to determine how many layers of cloth we’ve picked up by pinching, with the sensor.” The ReSkin-coated robot finger could successfully pick up both one and two layers of cloth from a pile, working with a range of different textures and colours. “The profile of this sensor is so small, we were able to do this very fine task, inserting it between cloth layers, which we can’t do with other sensors, particularly optical-based sensors,” says Weng. “We were able to put it to use to do tasks that were not achievable before.” The robot is not yet capable of doing your laundry: next on the researchers list is teaching it to smooth crumpled fabric, choosing the correct number of layers to fold, then folding in the right direction. “It really is an exploration of what we can do with this new sensor,” says Weng. “We’re exploring how to get robots to feel with this magnetic skin for things that are soft, and exploring simple strategies to manipulate cloth that we’ll need for robots to eventually be able to do our laundry.” The researchers are presenting a <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/reskin-cloth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a> on their laundry-folding robot at the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Kyoto, Japan. <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=220637&title=Tactile+robot+with+a+sense+of+touch+can+fold+laundry" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/laundry-folding-robot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Ellen Phiddian. Image: Carnegie Mellon University </div>

Technology

A history of head injuries could impact your sense of smell

A history of head injuries could make you more likely to experience a loss of your sense of smell, according to a team of international researchers. The study, published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2022.1920" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery</a>, found that out of 5,961 participants - including 1,666 people who had a history of head injuries - those who had suffered from at least two head injuries or had more severe injuries were more likely to report a loss of smell. If you’ve ever had a nose full of snot during a severe cold or sinus infection, you’ve likely experienced a temoorary bout of anosmia - a full or partial loss of your sense of smell - but it can also be permanent. The team reported that 24 percent of those with a history of head injuries self-reported a loss of smell, in comparison to 20 percent of those with no head injuries, with 15 percent having objective anosmia versus 13 percent in the cohort with no injuries. For those with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), previous studies have found that 14 to 20 percent suffer from a loss of smell, with this most-recent study finding that the likelihood of suffering from smell loss relied on both the number of head injuries and their severity. The researchers found that both self-reporting a loss of smell and being objectively assessed to have anosmia were associated with a person having a history of at least two head injuries which were moderate, severe or penetrating. As for how TBIs cause a loss of smell, the authors suggest that it could include the shearing of the olfactory nerve fibres anchored to the cribriform plate, a part of the ethmoid bone that is anchored in the nasal cavity that is covered in holes to allow for nerves to convey smells to the brain. They also suggest that injuries to the sinonasal tract, olfactory bulbs, and olfactory-eloquent cortical brain regions could be behind smell loss, but note that other factors such as severe depression, posttraumatic epilepsy, and medications prescribed to manage TBIs could be responsible. Surprisingly, the team reported that a high proportion of participants were unaware of the extent of their loss of smell, echoing findings from previous studies. They found that those with a history of head injuries were more likely to under-report or over-report the extent of their smell loss - which was also measured using objective olfactory testing - in comparison to those who hadn’t suffered a head injury. Given that a loss of smell is often inaccurately reported by those with head injuries and that it is associated with negative effects on mental and physical health, the team argue that their study has important considerations for health practitioners working with patients with a history of head injuries. “Findings also suggest important clinical considerations for the diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic olfactory loss; that individuals with remote prior head injury are at risk for posttraumatic olfactory dysfunction but are unlikely to be aware of their deficits; and conversely, that individuals with prior head injury may be more likely to overreport subjective olfactory deficits, which may not be confirmed by objective testing,” they write. “Taken together, there should be consideration of objective psychophysical olfactory assessment in patients with head injury.” Image: Getty Images

Mind

Sydney to Newcastle fast rail makes sense. Making trains locally does not

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/our-policies/sydney-to-hunter-fast-rail">this week announced</a> a commitment to funding high-speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle. At speeds of more than 250km/h, this would cut the 150-minute journey from Sydney to Newcastle to just 45 minutes. Commuting between the two cities would be a lot more feasible. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439624/original/file-20220106-21-19utua0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439624/original/file-20220106-21-19utua0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Proposed route for high-speed Melbourne to Brisbane rail. <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/map/corridor-preservation-east-coast-high-speed-rail" class="source">Infrastructure Australia</a> The Sydney-Newcastle link would be a first step in a grand plan to link the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane corridor by high-speed rail. Albanese also wants the trains to be built at home, <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/our-policies/sydney-to-hunter-fast-rail">saying</a> “we will look build as much of our fast and high-speed rail future in Australia as is possible”. Of course, this idea has been around for a long time. Nobody has ever got the numbers to stack up before. Federal infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher made the obvious but reasonable point that such a rail link would be very expensive. “It is $200 to $300 billion on any credible estimate,” he <a href="https://newcastleweekly.com.au/coalition-pulls-brakes-on-labors-fast-rail-plans/">said in response</a> to Labor’s announcement. “It has to be paid for, and that means higher taxes”. Or does it? <h2>Social cost-benefit analysis</h2> Traditional cost-benefit analysis is how governments tend to make decisions about big infrastructure projects like this. Figure out the costs (such as $300 billion) and then figure out the benefits. Adjust for timing differences and when money is spent and received, and then compare. This generates an “internal rate of return” (IRR) on the money invested. It’s what private companies do all the time. One then compares that IRR to some reference or “hurdle” rate. For a private company that might be 12% or so. For governments it is typically lower. An obvious question this raises is: what are the benefits? <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439623/original/file-20220106-27-vyofyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439623/original/file-20220106-27-vyofyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> An artist’s impression by Phil Belbin of the proposed VFT (Very Fast Train) in the 1980s. Comeng If all one is willing to count are things such as ticket fares, the numbers will almost never stack up. But that’s far too narrow a way to think about the financial benefits. A Sydney-Newcastle high-speed rail link would cut down on travel times, help ease congestion in Sydney, ease housing affordability pressures in Sydney, improve property values along the corridor and in Newcastle, provide better access to education and jobs, and more. The point is one has to think about the social value from government investments, not just the narrow commercial value. Alex Rosenberg, Rosalind Dixon and I provided a framework for this kind of “social return accounting” in a <a href="http://research.economics.unsw.edu.au/richardholden/assets/social-return-accounting.pdf">report</a> published in 2018. <h2>Newcastle might make sense, Brisbane might not</h2> I haven’t done the social cost-benefit analysis for this rail link, but the social return being greater than the cost is quite plausible. The other thing to remember is that the return a government should require has fallen materially in recent years. The Australian government can borrow for 10 years at just 1.78%, as opposed to <a href="http://www.worldgovernmentbonds.com/bond-historical-data/australia/10-years/">well over 5%</a> before the financial crisis of 2008. I’m less sure about the Brisbane to Melbourne idea. The cost would be dramatically higher for obvious reasons, as well as the fact that the topography en route to Brisbane is especially challenging. Nobody is going to commute from Sydney to Brisbane by rail, and the air routes between the three capitals are well serviced. <h2>Transport policy is not industry policy</h2> The decision about building a Sydney-Newcastle rail link is, and should be kept, completely separate from where the trains are made. Transport policy shouldn’t be hijacked for industry policy. To be fair, Newcastle has a long and proud history of <a href="https://www.ugllimited.com/en/our-sectors/transport">manufacturing rolling stock</a>, at what was the Goninan factory at Broadmeadow – much of it for export. But ask yourself how sustainable that industry looks in Australia, absent massive government support. Can it stand on its own? It’s also true there have been some recent high-profile procurement disasters buying overseas trains. Sydney’s light-rail project has run massively late and over budget, with Spanish company Acciona getting an extra A$600 million due to the project being more difficult than expected. Then <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/transport-minister-expects-spanish-manufacturer-to-pay-for-cracked-trams-20211110-p597tq.html">cracks were found</a> in all 12 trams for the city’s inner-west line, putting them out of service for 18 months. These are terrible bungles due to the government agreeing to poorly written contracts with sophisticated counterparties. When contracts don’t specify contingencies there is the possibility of what economists call the “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2009.00236.x">hold-up problem</a>”. But these problems could have occurred with a local maker too. <h2>The Tinbergen Rule</h2> An enduring lesson from economics is the Tinbergen Rule – named after <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1969/tinbergen/facts/">Jan Tinbergen</a>, winner of the first Nobel prize for economics. This rule says for each policy challenge one requires an independent policy instrument. This can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-evergrande-may-survive-but-for-its-executives-expect-a-fate-worse-than-debt-168930">widely applied</a>. But here the lesson is particularly clear. Addressing housing affordability is a good idea, and a Sydney-Newcastle link could help with that. But if Labor want a jobs policy it should develop one. The more TAFE places Labor has already announced is a reasonable start. Reviving 1970s-style industry policy – something that has almost never worked – is not a good move. Governments are lousy at picking winners. The public invariably ends up paying more for less, and the jobs are typically transient. But aside from this conflation of policy goals, Albanese deserves credit for being bold about the future of high-speed rail in Australia. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107">Richard Holden</a>, Professor of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</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/vital-signs-sydney-to-newcastle-fast-rail-makes-sense-making-trains-locally-does-not-174341">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Domestic Travel

What day is it? How holidays warp our sense of time

The holidays are coming and chaos is upon us. You may be navigating crowded parking lots in the heat, shuffling from one holiday party to the next, not to mention trying to avoid recently arrived relatives. Amid this chaos, you might experience time a bit differently. You might forget what day it is. New Year’s Eve might sneak up on you when Christmas felt like it was just yesterday. And before you know it, the holidays are over, the trays of mangoes are gone, and the relatives have packed up and left. That’s not the only way your sense of time may be a bit distorted over summer. While sitting around and reflecting on past holiday seasons, you might find last Christmas feels just like yesterday. In fact, it might feel more recent than something that happened a few months ago. While it might seem like there’s a temporal vortex every December, these distortions make sense when you understand how the mind perceives time. How does the mind perceive time? The mind can’t perceive time directly. We don’t have watches, hourglasses, or calendars in our heads. Fortunately, the mind is quite good at approximating things it can’t measure directly. Our vision does this regularly. We can’t measure depth with our eyes, but we can approximate how far away objects are using various cues in our environment. Objects further away are smaller in our visual fields, less textured, and move less than objects closer to us. While this isn’t perfect, it serves us well enough for us to navigate our environments. Our minds do something similar with time. We <a rel="noopener" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.113.1.44" target="_blank">use cues</a> from both our environment and our memory to indicate how much time has passed. There are often a number of cues in our environments that signal what day it is. If you work 9 to 5, working or commuting only happens on weekdays; going out for brunch or playing tennis during the daytime only occurs on weekends. Our minds combine each of these cues to give us a sense of what day it is. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434884/original/file-20211201-17-4zkfoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434884/original/file-20211201-17-4zkfoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Overheat shot of couple eating breakfast or brunch at a cafe, while reading" /></a> A long, lazy brunch might tell you it’s the weekend. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/breakfast-eating-food-beverages-restaurant-concept-421563274" target="_blank" class="source">Shutterstock</a> Many of these cues are disrupted when we go on holidays. We’re no longer working, which means the events that normally signal to our minds it’s a weekday are gone. Several of the things we do on holidays, such as going to parties and having big dinners with our relatives, are things we usually only do on weekends, but can occur any day of the week on holidays. This disrupts our mind’s reference points for what day it is. This is why the holiday period might feel like one long weekend even though you know that’s not the case. Where do memories fit in? There are many cases where we lack external cues to give us a sense of how much time has elapsed. Fortunately, we can use our memory to fill in the gaps. You don’t need a memory scientist to tell you that more recent memories tend to be more vivid and detailed than older memories. So, the vividness of a memory is another cue we use to figure out how long ago an event occurred. I might see somebody who looks familiar but I can’t recall their name or how I met them. It’s probably safe for me to say I didn’t meet them very recently. Using memory to gauge time would work consistently if memories always got worse as time progresses. However, there are circumstances where memory for an event can improve with time. A great deal of experimental research has found memories for certain events improve <a rel="noopener" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03196157" target="_blank">when we return</a> to the conditions in which the memories were formed. This is because we form memories <a rel="noopener" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-00258-003" target="_blank">by linking</a> various aspects of an event – the location, the people at the event, the music we were hearing – together in our minds. When we attempt to remember something, we use various aspects of the event to retrieve the others, much like using a Google search. Remembering past Christmases In the holiday season, we often return to the circumstances where previous holiday memories were formed. We’re often surrounded by the same people, eating the same foods, and hearing the same holiday songs. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434888/original/file-20211201-26-jzfzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434888/original/file-20211201-26-jzfzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Pavlova on a table" /></a> Pavlova anyone? You probably ate that last year too. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pavlova-meringue-nest-berries-mint-leaves-1420767284" target="_blank" class="source">Shutterstock</a> This gives our minds additional cues to retrieve memories from past holiday seasons, such as gifts you may have received or arguments that happened over the dinner table. So, you might find yourself remembering a lot more memories from past holidays in greater detail and vividness than before. Because the mind uses vividness as a basis for time perception, this might have the effect of last Christmas season feeling like it was just last week, instead of a year ago. If your sense of time goes a bit haywire over the holidays, don’t worry. When you return to the structure of your daily life, your sense of time and memories will go back to normal.<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/172502/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-osth-850390">Adam Osth</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</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/what-day-is-it-how-holidays-warp-our-sense-of-time-172502">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Mind

Convenient but susceptible to fraud: Why it makes sense to regulate charitable crowdfunding

Within 24 hours of <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-southern-us-is-prone-to-december-tornadoes-173643" target="_blank">devastating tornadoes striking six states</a> in December 2021, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear launched the <a rel="noopener" href="https://secure.kentucky.gov/formservices/Finance/WKYRelief" target="_blank">Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund</a>. That the leader of the state this disaster hit hardest would immediately tap into <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/crowdfunding-nonprofits" target="_blank">crowdfunded charity</a> – raising money from the public directly – to complement relief dollars from official sources should come as no surprise. Crowdfunded donations have become a key source of disaster assistance – and often raise significant sums. In 2017, for example, football star J.J. Watt quickly raised more than $40 million help people affected by <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.houstontexans.com/news/j-j-watt-foundation-announces-hurricane-harvey-recap-and-2018-19-plans" target="_blank">Hurricane Harvey</a>. Following a series of Australian wildfires, entertainer Celeste Barber made a public appeal that eventually raised more than AU$50 million for the <a rel="noopener" href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/200554" target="_blank">New South Wales Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donation Fund</a>. And to date, the CDC Foundation has raised more than $51 million to support its “<a rel="noopener" href="https://give4cdcf.org/?utm_source=CDCF&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=combat-coronavirus" target="_blank">Crush COVID</a>” campaign. What’s not to like about this new way to raise funds for a good cause? Well, as long as there has been charitable fundraising there has been the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/how-donors-can-help-make-nonprofits-more-accountable-85927" target="_blank">potential for scams</a>. As a <a rel="noopener" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uplx-M8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" target="_blank">law professor who studies the regulation of charities</a>, as well as a lawyer who has represented numerous charities and donors in legal disputes, I’ve seen that two aspects of charitable crowdfunding make it particularly vulnerable to fraud. Sometimes it turns out to be crowd-frauding In late 2017, a New Jersey couple posted an inspiring story on GoFundMe. A homeless veteran, they said, had come to the wife’s rescue after she ran out of gas on a highway exit ramp. Their “<a rel="noopener" href="https://abc7ny.com/homeless-hero-gofundme-money-stolen-from-man-john-bobbitt-gofund-me-go-fund/4690185/" target="_blank">Paying it Forward</a>” campaign raised more than $400,000 to help the veteran. Heartwarming, right? Trouble is, it was a lie. All three of the people involved in this trickery eventually <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/mark-damico-johnny-bobbitt-kate-mcclure-gofundme-guilty-20211122.html" target="_blank">pleaded guilty to federal charges</a> of “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dicindiolaw.com/what-constitutes-theft-by-deception/" target="_blank">theft by deception</a>.” Fraudulent crowdfunding can also prey on political sentiments rather than just exploiting sympathy. In 2020, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leaders-we-build-wall-online-fundraising-campaign-charged-defrauding-hundreds-thousands" target="_blank">federal prosecutors charged</a> former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon and three others with defrauding thousands of donors to a crowdfunding campaign for <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/why-steve-bannon-faces-fraud-charges-4-questions-answered-144834" target="_blank">building portions of a wall</a> along the U.S. border with Mexico. Bannon and his partners allegedly instead used some of the funds raised to compensate themselves and pay for personal expenses. Although then-President <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/19/trump-pardons-expected-day-before-biden-inauguration.html" target="_blank">Donald J. Trump pardoned Bannon</a> in advance of any trial, the former White House aide still <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/05/25/steve-bannon-officially-cleared-of-federal-charges-after-trump-pardon---but-this-state-probe-still-looms/?sh=1a58e95657c4" target="_blank">faces possible state charges</a>. Reasons for vulnerability Making a special website isn’t necessary to raise charitable funds this way. Some 45 million people donated to or created a fundraiser using Facebook from 2015 to 2020, raising over <a rel="noopener" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/09/2-billion-for-causes/" target="_blank">$3 billion for charities</a>, according the company. And crowdfunding efforts can help people without <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506" target="_blank">technically counting as tax-deductible charity</a>. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.gofundme.com/" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a>, a popular charitable crowdfunding platform, lets people raise funds for both personal needs, such as covering medical expenses, and for specific charities of all kinds. Being fast and cheap to operate makes charitable crowdfunding ideal in some ways, not others. More traditional fundraising campaigns that rely on mailings and phone calls are time-consuming to establish. In contrast, it’s possible to set up a new campaign on GoFundMe that is then visible both nationally and internationally within a few minutes. In the wake of a highly publicized disaster, when many people are <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-select-a-disaster-relief-charity-83928" target="_blank">looking for a quick way to help</a>, everyone – even governors – will want to move fast. Opportunities for fraud are perhaps at their peak. Compounding this problem: Laws governing charitable fundraising do not clearly apply to campaign organizers and crowdfunding platforms. As I detail in an article <a rel="noopener" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3686612" target="_blank">soon to be published in the Indiana Law Journal</a>, state legislatures wrote those laws decades ago, when charities raised money either directly or using paid solicitors. As a result, those laws do not usually apply to individuals who voluntarily raise money for individuals or charities to which they have no formal ties. Nor do they apply to the recently emerged platforms where people crowdfund for causes. California takes aim So far, there’s no regulation taking shape to address these issues at the federal level. California became the first state to pass legislation specifically targeting charitable crowdfunding when Gov. Gavin Newson signed Assembly Bill No. 488 into law in October 2021. The measure, which will not <a rel="noopener" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB488" target="_blank">take effect until Jan. 1, 2023</a>, requires both charities raising funds online and platforms hosting campaigns for specific charities to register and file regular reports with the state’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://oag.ca.gov/charities" target="_blank">Registry of Charitable Trusts</a>. The new law will also require these charities and platforms to make certain public disclosures and receipts, as needed. It will also require platforms to promptly distribute donations to the designated charities and obtain a charity’s written consent before soliciting funds for its benefit – with some exceptions. In my view, California’s new law is a good first effort. It places the burden of compliance on the charities themselves and the handful of online platforms engaged in this work, not on the numerous individuals who start campaigns. But it remains to be seen whether the registration, reporting, disclosure and other requirements will create enough transparency and accountability to sufficiently deter fraud without over burdening legitimate charities and platforms. I appreciate the difficult task legislators face in striking a balance that avoids both over- and underregulation. Lawmakers do not want to overregulate charitable crowdfunding to the point that generous individuals and legitimate charities shy away from launching campaigns because of the legal burdens of doing so. That is, all new laws and regulations, in addition to discouraging crowdfunding fraud, ought to encourage generosity. At the same time, lawmakers want to regulate charitable crowdfunding enough to ensure that all or almost all funds raised go the individuals and charities that the donors intend to support. Time will tell whether California and the states that follow its example have struck the right balance.<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/172029/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lloyd-hitoshi-mayer-1148002" target="_blank">Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer</a>, Professor of Law, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-990" target="_blank">University of Notre Dame</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/convenient-but-susceptible-to-fraud-why-it-makes-sense-to-regulate-charitable-crowdfunding-172029" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Apocalyptic films have lulled us into a false sense of security about climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)‘s sobering <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58130705" target="_blank">“code red for humanity”</a> report comes on the heels of months of devastating weather events around the world. Our front pages have been dominated by photos that look as if they’ve come from a film – images of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58147674" target="_blank">heroic teams tackling forest fires</a> against a bright orange sky, of planes dropping water and fire retardant, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.voanews.com/europe/german-floods-kill-least-133-search-survivors-continues" target="_blank">cars sinking into flooded streets</a> and destroyed buildings. One image – that of a ferry, carrying evacuees from the Greek Island of Evia, surrounded by fire, helpless and in the middle of crisis – drew comparisons to the ferry scenes in the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds. In the film, people poured onto a vehicle ferry in a desperate attempt to escape the extraterrestrial invasion. In Greece, the ferry made safe landing, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58141336" target="_blank">all passengers were accounted for</a>. But in the film, few, bar the protagonists, survived that moment. While War of the Worlds ends happily – with the alien lifeforms that had ravaged the world succumbing to their vulnerability to microbes on Earth – the footage from Greece is just one scene in a story for which the ending is not yet fully written. It might seem frivolous to compare such moments to films, but these comparisons play an important role in helping us to comprehend and make sense of particular moments in history. Like all works of art, films reveal much about the social and political zeitgeist in which they are conceived and produced, often acting as magnifying lenses for humankind’s hopes and anxieties. Psychoanalysis researcher Vicky Lebeau <a rel="noopener" href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/psychoanalysis-and-cinema/9781903364192" target="_blank">has noted</a> that films can reveal the desires and fears of the societies that watch them. We have seen this in science fiction films, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Day the Earth Stood Still, which flourished <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.humanities.org/blog/movie-critic-robert-horton-discusses-sci-fi-films-the-cold-war-and-today" target="_blank">during the cold war</a>, inspired by the space race and the arms race. The proliferation of blockbuster disaster films just before the turn of the millennium (Twister, Dante’s Peak, Armageddon, Deep Impact, to name a few), fed off theories that <a rel="noopener" href="https://davefox990.medium.com/what-disaster-movies-say-about-us-536a5dabbad1" target="_blank">the world would end</a> as we entered the year 2000. And it is also no accident that during the early months of the COVID pandemic the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/contagion-coronavirus-download-watch-online-otorrent-warner-bros-cast-twitter-a9403256.html" target="_blank">most watched films online</a> were Contagion, Outbreak and 28 Days Later –- all of which depict degrees of pandemic apocalypse. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415428/original/file-20210810-15-7k1ul5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> A video of people being evacuated from the Greek island of Evia drew comparisons with the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds. Apocalypse now? Through these stories, directors have offered us an enthralling yet terrifying glimpse of what the end of the world might look like. It could be caused by zombies (Walking Dead, I Am Legend, Shaun of the Dead), biological demise (Children of Men, Logan’s Run), climate change (The Day After Tomorrow, Snowpiercer, Flood), nuclear accident or war (Dr. Strangelove), or ancient prophecy (2012). However, none of these are truly end-of-world narratives. Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic films start with the risk of total destruction, but more often than not, after the cataclysmic event of the story, a form of normality returns –- balance is restored to the world and life can once again move forward. This way of storytelling brings these films closer to the true meaning of apocalypse. The root of the word “apocalypse” comes from the ancient Greek term αποκαλύπτειν (apokalýptein), which <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/apocalypse" target="_blank">translates roughly</a> as “unveiling” or “revealing”. The implication being that the near destruction of the city or planet allows for a new understanding, a shift in priorities and a new way of seeing the world – or a renewed and better existence. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> This is some horrifying War of the Worlds shit right here. We have got to start electing governments that actually fight climate change, above all, and start demanding more of ourselves and of companies that can change things. <a href="https://t.co/9JDGI2fWgH">https://t.co/9JDGI2fWgH</a> — Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelenLOHara/status/1423980516181741570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a></blockquote> The scenes of flooding and fires that fill our news programmes echo those we see in movies. But for them to be truly apocalyptic, rather than merely world ending, they must reveal something to us. As we watch the real-world events unfold, the IPCC report makes clear what they reveal – that humans have changed the climate and we are on a trajectory to make much of our environment unlivable. But unlike the films, not everyone is going to be saved in 90 thrilling minutes. By comparing reality to films, we are seeking the hope for renewal that these apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives give us. Nevertheless, they are ultimately fiction. While rehearsing the end of the world through film can exorcise fears, at the same time they may have desensitised us, lulling us into a false sense of security that all will be well in the end – and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130731-the-lure-of-the-disaster-movie" target="_blank">that we are immortal</a>. If our own apocalypse is a three-act film, then the last 200 years of environmental harms have been the setup, the exposition. We are now at the moment of confrontation. We all, as the lead characters, must confront the reality of what is around us. If not, the third act, the resolution, may not be the ending we hope for. As French philosopher Jacques Derrida warned: “the end approaches, but the apocalypse is long lived”.<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/165837/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/doug-specht-530827" target="_blank">Doug Specht</a>, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-westminster-916" target="_blank">University of Westminster</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/silvia-angeli-1258983" target="_blank">Silvia Angeli</a>, Visiting Lecturer in Media and Communication, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-westminster-916" target="_blank">University of Westminster</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/apocalyptic-films-have-lulled-us-into-a-false-sense-of-security-about-climate-change-165837" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Movies

5 novels with a real sense of place to explore from your living room

Everybody knows the concept of “desert island books”, the novels you might pack if you were going to be marooned on a desert island. Thanks to the pandemic, many of us are indeed now marooned, except that instead of lazing on palm-fringed beaches, we’re in lockdown – in urban apartment blocks, suburban terraced houses or village homes. A good book can help us forget about the world around us and also substitute our longing for pastures greener. It can take us from our sofa to the beaches of Thailand (as in Alex Garland’s The Beach) or to the streets of New York (as in Paul Auster’s City of Glass). So, as someone who researches and teaches literature, I’ve chosen five novels that allow me to be elsewhere in my mind, whether that’s a glorious English countryside setting, the streets of a European metropolis, or the urban sprawl of an unnamed Indian city. Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day The Remains of the Day tells the story of Stevens, the aged butler of Darlington Hall, and his ill-judged life choices that saw him being involved, albeit only on the fringes, with British fascism in the interwar years. This allusion to British fascism in particular is something that makes this novel stand out: it is a subject matter not often discussed or even taught. But at the moment, I can particularly take solace in Ishiguro’s beautiful descriptions of the countryside that Stevens – unused to the freedom of travel – encounters during his journey across south-west England: <blockquote> What I saw was principally field upon field rolling off into the far distance. The land rose and fell gently, and the fields were bordered by hedges and trees … It was a fine feeling indeed to be standing up there like that, with the sound of summer all around one and a light breeze on one’s face. </blockquote> As the lockdown drags on, this is a feeling I am longing for. W.G. Sebald: The Emigrants This collection of four novellas is predominantly set in England and Germany but also offers glimpses of the US, Egypt, Belgium and Switzerland. Focusing on a different protagonist in each novella, Sebald portrays how the long shadows of the second world war have affected individuals – but also how Germany has engaged with its troubled past. His descriptions of the town of Kissingen’s illuminated spa gardens, with “Chinese lanterns strung across the avenues, shedding colourful magical light” and “the fountains in front of the Regent’s building” jetting “silver and gold alternately” conjure up images of times gone by and a town as yet untroubled by the scourge of antisemitism. Sebald’s narrative is a collage of fiction, biography, autobiography, travel writing and philosophy. His prose is so full of quiet beauty and eloquence that it always helps me forget my surroundings and enter a quiet and contemplative “Sebaldian” space. Patrick Modiano: The Search Warrant The Search Warrant pieces together the real-life story of Dora Bruder, a young Jewish girl who went missing in Paris in December 1941. Modiano attempts to retrace Dora’s movements across Paris and his book is full of evocative descriptions of quiet squares and bustling streets where she might have spent some time. <blockquote> In comparison with the Avenue de Saint-Mandé, the Avenue Picpus, on the right, is cold and desolate. Treeless, as I remember. Ah, the loneliness of returning on those Sunday evenings. </blockquote> From the first page it is clear that the city of Paris assumes the status of a character – and as readers we can follow the narrator’s (and Dora’s) movements on a map. If we are familiar with Paris, we can picture where they are. By tracing Dora’s possible steps, Modiano evocatively recreates the twilight atmosphere of Paris under occupation. Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance A Fine Balance is a sprawling narrative that takes the reader all the way to the Indian subcontinent. Set initially in 1975 during the emergency government period and then during the chaotic times of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Mistry’s novel focuses on the lives of four central characters whose lives are on a downward spiral, from poverty to outright destitution and, ultimately, death. Mistry does not whitewash the reality of urban poverty in India. His narrative does not hide away from disease or overcrowded slums with “rough shacks” standing “beyond the railroad fence, alongside a ditch running with raw sewage”. His are not places where we might want to be. But as readers, we become utterly engrossed in his characters’ lives – we hope with them, we fear for them and, at the end, we cry for them. Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante’s novels take me straight to my favourite city of Napoli. Starting with My Brilliant Friend, the four novels chart the intensive relationship between two girls, Elena “Lenù” Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, who grow up in a poor neighbourhood in the 1950s. Reading Ferrante’s sprawling narrative conjures up images of Napoli and makes me feel like I am standing in the Piazza del Plebiscito or having an espresso in the historic Caffè Gambrinus. Together with Lenù, I can see Vesuvio across the Bay of Naples, the: <blockquote> delicate pastel-colored shape, at whose base the whitish stones of the city were piled up, with the earth-coloured slice of the Castel dell’Ovo, and the sea. </blockquote> I can feel, hear and smell Napoli around me. Reading about the city might not be as good as being there in person; but, at the moment, it is a close second. Of course, books can’t stop a global pandemic. But, for a short while, they can let us forget the world around us and, instead, transport us to different places, allowing us to at least travel in spirit.<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/135367/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christine-berberich-319477">Christine Berberich</a>, Reader in Literature, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-portsmouth-1302">University of Portsmouth</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/five-novels-with-a-real-sense-of-place-to-explore-from-your-living-room-135367">original article</a>.

Books

Why a trans-Tasman travel bubble makes a lot of sense for Australia and New Zealand

We are hearing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/adelaide/programs/am/nz-and-australia-discuss-trans-tasman-bubble/12214452">increasing talk about a trans-Tasman “travel bubble”</a>, which could see Australia and New Zealand open their borders to each other. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was a special guest at Australia’s national cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which discussed the possibility of setting up a travel safe zone. Both Ardern and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison have cautioned a travel bubble will not happen immediately. After the meeting, Morrison said a safe zone is “still some time away”. But he also stressed, “it is important to flag it, because it is part of the road back”. What would a travel bubble mean in practice for Australia and New Zealand? As tourism researchers in both countries, we see a travel bubble as a great opportunity to kick-start the post-COVID economic recovery, while also focusing on more sustainable tourism. Why the trans-Tasman bubble makes sense A travel bubble would see quarantine-free travel allowed between Australia and New Zealand. The two neighbours have a unique opportunity to do this. Not only are they geographically isolated, both have so far had success containing - perhaps even eliminating - COVID-19 cases within their borders. It is not yet known when international flows of tourists will be possible again. But <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/lockdowns-cant-end-until-covid-19-vaccine-found-study-says">it is understood</a> that global tourism as we once knew it will not be possible until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. Historically, limited travel circuits have been associated with former and current Communist states. Nevertheless, for Australia and New Zealand in 2020, the idea of a travel safe zone makes a lot of sense. In 2018, <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/en/markets-and-stats/market-regions/new-zealand.html">New Zealand was Australia’s second largest inbound market for visitor arrivals and fourth largest market for visitor nights and total visitor spend</a>. Australia is New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/5c05b7bfce/nz-tourism-forecasts-2018-2024-report.pdf">largest visitor market</a>, generating 1.5 million visitors a year as of 2017. The beauty of our shared travel markets is our visitors are generally repeat visitors who head to diverse regions. Because more than <a href="https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/markets-stats/markets/australia/">70% of Australians book self-drive holidays</a>, for example, their spending spreads more widely than some other visitors. Australians seek skiing and adventure in Queenstown, wine in the Martinborough or Waiheke Island regions. They also support Australian sports teams competing in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. In reverse, lots of Kiwis head to the Gold Coast but also visit the Hunter Valley for wine or Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane for sports events. Starting to rebuild these markets while the rest of the world remains in lockdown would represent a huge boost to both economies. What is needed to make a bubble work? After the national cabinet meeting, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-lot-of-work-before-there-s-a-trans-tasman-bubble-ardern-says-20200505-p54pxf.html">Ardern stressed “there is still a lot of work to be done”</a> before the travel safe zone idea can progress. The key to a successful trans-Tasman travel arrangement will be sound planning and implementation. Rigorous public health measures to facilitate safe travel will be essential, including being prepared for all travel to be halted again if the situation changes. Broad stakeholder involvement and coordination will be necessary, including between tourism commissions, airlines and airports, industry associations and a range of government agencies, to ensure any reopening is managed well. Local councils and businesses must also be involved to ensure that the tourism restart is planned, coordinated and controlled. A chance for greener travel A trans-Tasman travel bubble could also lead to a change in both countries’ tourism strategies. Like other countries, Australia and New Zealand have historically prioritised international tourists, particularly <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/content/dam/assets/document/1/c/1/3/v/2240923.pdf">“high value travellers”, who spend more and stay longer</a>. A COVID-era focus on domestic and trans-Tasman travel will likely result in lower yield but could also lead to a more sustainable tourism future. Trans-Tasman travel is the least carbon emitting of our international markets, because it does not rely on long-haul flights. Trans-Tasman visitors also tend to have a lower carbon footprint at their destinations. In 2018, <a href="https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/markets-stats/markets/australia/">more than half of all Australian visitors to New Zealand (57%) were repeat visitors</a>. Repeat visitors tend to spend more of their time at regional destinations, and less time incurring the carbon costs of transporting themselves around the country. New Zealand has already begun to <a href="https://www.pce.parliament.nz/our-work/news-insights/media-release-pristine-popular-imperilled">rethink its tourism economy</a> to establish greater sustainability. A trans-Tasman bubble presents an opportunity to foster tourism with a lighter footprint. Could the bubble be expanded? There is a call for an extension of this travel bubble to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2020/may/01/if-australia-and-new-zealand-restart-travel-they-should-include-the-pacific-in-their-bubble">Pacific neighbourhood</a>, where there are also low infection numbers. Such a move would not only provide economic support to the Pacific community, it would also represent another step in the long process of restoring normality in different regions of the world. Ardern has kept the door open on this aspect, but noted “at the moment, we are focused on Australia”. She has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/programs/pacificbeat/should-pacific-countries-be-included-in-transtasman-travel/12214462">also cautioned</a> about not introducing COVID-19 to parts of the Pacific untouched by coronavirus. Even if it remains just Australia and New Zealand, any travel bubble will obviously elevate the risk of COVID-19 reinfection. So, public health priorities must trump the desire to kick-start economies, to make sure we don’t squander our success against coronavirus so far. But if the governments and tourism industries can find the right balance between public health and economic needs, then Australia and New Zealand stand to benefit from a head start on the long road to economic recovery.<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/137878/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/freya-higgins-desbiolles-181651">Freya Higgins-Desbiolles</a>, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-higham-134567">James Higham</a>, Professor of Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</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/why-a-trans-tasman-travel-bubble-makes-a-lot-of-sense-for-australia-and-new-zealand-137878">original article</a>.

International Travel

How a sense of purpose can link creativity to happiness

There are plenty of famous artists who have produced highly creative work while they were deeply unhappy or suffering from poor mental health. In 1931, the poet T.S. Eliot <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/615958">wrote a letter</a> to a friend describing his “considerable mental agony” and how he felt “on the verge of insanity”. Vincent Van Gogh eventually took his own lifet, <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.4.519">having written</a> of “horrible fits of anxiety” and “feelings of emptiness and fatigue”. So how are creativity and happiness linked? Does happiness make us more creative or does creativity make us happy? Most of the research so far seems to indicate that a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074959780800054X">positive mood enhances creativity</a>. But others have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2003.9651405">challenged this argument</a>, suggesting a more complex relationship. For example, a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23063328">large study</a> in Sweden found that authors were more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders compared to people from non-creative professions. Even in the corporate world, it has been suggested that negative emotions can <a href="https://www.london.edu/lbsr/why-negative-emotions-can-spark-creativity">spark creativity</a> and that “anxiety can focus the mind”, resulting in improved creative output. Meanwhile, the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi conducted <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creativity-Psychology-Discovery-Mihaly-Csikszentmihaly/dp/0062283251/ref=asc_df_0062283251/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310973726618&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8230695318472149356&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-435435502203&psc=1&th=1&psc=1">extensive research</a> on creative individuals across many disciplines, which found a common sense among all the people he interviewed: that they loved what they did, and that “designing or discovering something new” was one of their most enjoyable experiences. It seems, then, that research to date supports a variety of different views, and I believe one of the reasons for this relates to time scale. A key factor that affects creativity is attention. In the short term, you can get people to pay attention using external rewards (such as money) or by creating pressure to meet urgent deadlines. But it is much harder to sustain creativity over longer periods using these approaches – so the role of happiness becomes increasingly important. My <a href="https://20twentybusinessgrowth.com/">experience of working</a> with a large number of commercial organisations in Wales (and my own career in the public and private sectors) is that creativity is often not sustained within an organisation, even when it is encouraged (or demanded) by senior management. Typical reasons for this lack of sustained creativity are pressures and stresses at work, the fear of judgement, the fear of failure, or employee apathy. One way to tackle this might be to aspire to psychologist Paul Dolan’s <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happiness-Design-Finding-Pleasure-Everyday/dp/0141977531/ref=asc_df_0141977531/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310805565966&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3028055397477065849&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-453838269765&psc=1&th=1&psc=1">definition of happiness</a> as the “experiences of pleasure and purpose over time”. He describes purpose as relating to “fulfilment, meaning and worthwhileness” and believes we are at our happiest with a “balance between pleasure and purpose”. Therefore, if your work is meaningful, fulfilling and worthwhile it helps in supporting your happiness. It also has the added advantage of making you want to engage and pay attention (rather than having to). Bringing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xegfNVFgxBs">purpose and creativity together</a> helps provide the intrinsic motivation for undertaking creativity, what has been called the “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11946306_Self-Determination_Theory_and_the_Facilitation_of_Intrinsic_Motivation_Social_Development_and_Well-Being">energy for action</a>”, and enables creativity to be sustained. So, if you want to be creative in the long term, the key questions to ask yourself are whether you are doing work that is interesting and enjoyable for you, and is that work of value to you? Or, as the American academic Teresa Amabile <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Progress-Principle-Ignite-Engagement-Creativity/dp/142219857X/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=52852474973&gclid=CjwKCAjw7anqBRALEiwAgvGgm7iZtdMahFJqhgxsC2Vr0P4aDxPC5aF1N6xhibIux1kR4TIfVxrnbRoCIE0QAvD_BwE&hvadid=259142341871&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045373&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4572506516620655268&hvtargid=aud-613328383159%3Akwd-300577486763&hydadcr=11464_1788015&keywords=the+progress+principle&qid=1565170905&s=gateway&sr=8-1">puts it</a>, do you “perceive your work as contributing value to something or someone who matters”. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YRnvox6_o2M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Performance anxiety Another question to ask yourself is: are you helping others gain that “energy for action”, whether you are a manager in a company or a teacher in a school. In situations where creative work has not been associated with happiness, such as the example of some prominent artists and authors, it might well be that their creative work was still driven by a sense of purpose and that other factors made them unhappy. Another common element affecting the happiness of many creative people is the pressure they put on themselves to be creative, something I have often <a href="https://repository.cardiffmet.ac.uk/handle/10369/10281?locale-attribute=cy">seen with my own students</a>. This kind of pressure and stress can result in creative blocks and consequently perpetuate the problem. So maybe the solution in these situations is to seek pleasure rather than purpose, as a positive mood does seem to enhance creativity, or to encourage people to be more playful. For those creative people who suffer from mental health problems, it is a much more complicated picture. But perhaps the act of undertaking creative activity can at least help in the healing process.<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/115335/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gareth-loudon-513345">Gareth Loudon</a>, Professor of Creativity, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cardiff-metropolitan-university-1585">Cardiff Metropolitan University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-sense-of-purpose-can-link-creativity-to-happiness-115335">original article</a>.

Mind

Why it can make sense to believe in the kindness of strangers

Would you risk your life for a total stranger? While you might consider yourself incapable of acts of altruism on that scale, it happens again and again. During <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/03/us/houston-texas-harvey-heroes-trnd/index.html">hurricanes</a> and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/05/us/las-vegas-shooting-jonathan-smith-tom-mcgrath-hero-intv/index.html">mass shootings</a>, some people go to great lengths to help people they don’t even know while everyone else flees. To learn whether this behavior comes more naturally to some of us than others, I partnered with Abigail Marsh and other neuroscientists working at the <a href="http://www.abigailmarsh.com/">Laboratory on Social and Affective Neuroscience</a> at Georgetown University. We studied the brains and behavior of some extraordinary altruists: people who have donated one of their own kidneys to a total stranger, known as nondirected donors. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x7EglP5A2Hg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Vox journalist Dylan Matthews explains in this video why he donated his left kidney to save a stranger’s life. Unusually altruistic These kidney donors may never learn anything about the recipient. That means they are not making this personal sacrifice because a relative or someone they may interact with in the future would benefit. What’s more, this act of altruism is costly in multiple ways. It is a major, painful surgery. Many donors end up <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajt.13591/abstract">paying thousands of dollars</a> out of pocket for medical and travel expenses, and they can lose out on salary and other earnings. For the most part, there’s nothing to be gained in terms of the donor’s reputation. Many people, including some medical professionals, are skeptical about the motives of altruistic donors – even <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1600-6143.2003.00019.x/abstract">questioning their sanity</a>. These drawbacks help explain why altruistic kidney donation is extremely rare. Fewer than 2,000 people have done this to date in the United States since 1988, the first year with a recorded altruistic donor. That makes it something a mere one out of every 163,133 Americans have ever done. And the norm is for living friends and family to donate kidneys to their loved ones. That was the case when celebrity Selena Gomez, who has lupus, got a new kidney from <a href="http://people.com/music/selena-gomez-kidney-donor-francia-raisa-all-about/">her best friend</a>, the actress Francia Raisa. Most commonly, the kidneys of deceased organ donors are used in transplants for strangers. There are about twice as many transplants from deceased donors as transplants from living ones. Deceased donors and living friends and family account for a total of 99.5 percent of all kidney transplants performed over the past three decades. <hr /> <iframe id="LHG0m" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/LHG0m/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none;" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> Mammalian brains Deep in the brains of all mammals – whether squirrel, bonobo or human – the same regions respond to distress and vulnerability. This response is especially common when babies cry out or appear threatened. In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1731">most recent study</a>, we investigated whether those brain systems, which are responsible for making all mammals care about helpless youngsters, play a key role in making some people extremely altruistic. There are two major regions in what brain scientists call the “offspring care neural network,” evolutionarily old structures deep in the brain called the amygdala and the periaqueductal gray. The amygdala is a small almond-shaped structure in both hemispheres tucked below the cortex. (Amygdala means almond in Greek.) One of its main roles in the brain is picking up on important emotional cues. Research has long established that the amygdala is largely responsible for <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/15/9/5879">recognizing</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.042">feeling</a> fear. The periaqueductal gray is another small u-shaped structure at the base of the brain. It plays an important role in controlling basic behaviors like the impulse to cuddle a baby or the instinct to avoid predators. Many studies have shown these structures and the connections between them are responsible for, say, motivating <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2009.06875.x/abstract">female rats to take care of their pups</a> or making <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.10.017">humans want to console crying babies</a>. Responding to distressed offspring is such a strong survival instinct that it can even cross species. A deer, for example, will respond when it <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/677677">hears a crying human infant</a>. Other research by Marsh’s lab has studied how people respond when they sense that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000054">others are afraid</a> and feel an urge to comfort them. The sight of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699930600652234">frightened faces can evoke helping behavior</a>. And people who are good at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.239">noticing that someone is afraid</a> just by seeing their face tend to be more altruistic than the rest of us. Scientists have long hypothesized that the care people extend to strangers may be a sort of extension of our most basic impulses to take care of our own kids. Scientists also believe that the ancient brain structures humans share with other mammals trigger these responses. A test To learn more about the brains of extremely altruistic people, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1731">did an experiment</a> with people who had donated one of their kidneys to someone they didn’t know. In our study, we asked these extreme altruists to read scenarios, some of which described people who were the target of harmful or callous behavior, and rate how much sympathy they felt. We did the same thing with a control group of people who had not donated a kidney. Before reading some of these scenarios, we presented photos of fearful faces. These images were fleeting, lasting only 27 milliseconds. That means the participants couldn’t consciously recognize what they saw. Meanwhile, we scanned their brains. We found some interesting effects while reviewing images captured during this experiment. Most notably, the amygdalas and their periaqueductal gray were more active for kidney donors than people in our control group, with stronger reactions to fearful and distressed stimuli. What we found suggests that these two regions might be communicating or otherwise working together. We further tested this finding by looking at another aspect of our brain scans that allowed us to analyze how these two regions are connected by nerve cells. My colleague <a href="https://aamarsh.wordpress.com/lab/">Katherine O'Connell</a>, a doctoral student, found that there seemed to be greater structural connections between these two regions too. These connections may help nerve impulses travel between them. Understanding altruism To be sure, more studies will have to be done to confirm our results before we can be sure how the offspring care neural network contributes to human altruism. But our findings reinforce earlier neuroscience research that found that the amygdala and periaqeuductal gray, and communication between them, play an important role in caring for distressed and vulnerable others across all mammals – including humans. These findings also build on our own prior research with altruistic kidney donors. In those earlier studies, we detected <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1408440111">stronger amygdala responses</a> when the donors glimpsed the faces of people who were feeling fear and that while altruistic kidney donors value friends and family as others do, they <a href="http://rdcu.be/rJ93">tend to be more generous</a> toward strangers. Our study of the brains of real-world altruists backs up these theories. Caring about someone you have never met, what we learned suggests, may have a lot in common with caring about the people you love.<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/86271/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristin-brethel-haurwitz-418169">Kristin Brethel-Haurwitz</a>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pennsylvania-1017">University of Pennsylvania</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-can-make-sense-to-believe-in-the-kindness-of-strangers-86271">original article</a>.

Mind

Making sense of Australia's bushfire crisis

Bushfires plunder lives and landscapes in myriad ways, but they often start the same way. A bright morning suddenly turns to night. Ash flutters down from the sky, propelled ahead of the roaring fire front. An awful red glow slinks over the horizon. When I awoke in the NSW south coast town of Bermagui on the last day of 2019, I should have twigged straight away. At 8am the sky was a gruesome orange-black, the surrounding bush freakishly quiet. Our mobile phones had no signal. Outside, my car was coated in soot. We knew fires were burning more than 100km up the coast at Batemans Bay, but Bermagui had seemed a safe distance away. Suddenly, it wasn’t. Fire was bearing down on the seaside town, <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6561329/residents-evacuate-to-beaches-as-south-coast-fires-pose-serious-threat/">burning so fiercely</a> it created its own thunderstorm. Residents evacuated to the beach after emergency text messages at 4am, but with our phone service down we’d slept on, oblivious. When my partner and I woke and worked out what was happening, we too bundled our bewildered young son into the car and fled. Of course amid the devastation wrought this fire season, a disrupted holiday is nothing to complain about. Bushfires have decimated huge swathes of Australia this fire season, taking with them, at the time of writing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/04/australia-fires-death-toll-rises-and-six-people-missing-as-pm-calls-in-military">23 lives</a> and more than 1500 homes. Thousands of holidaymakers in NSW and Victoria were <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/families-stuck-in-mallacoota-after-navy-ships-discouraged-children-under-5-20200104-p53otm.html">stranded for days</a> in towns with <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/australias-apocalyptic-bushfire-towns-go-into-panic-stations-as-supermarket-shelves-are-cleared-petrol-stations-run-dry-water-supplies-are-contaminated-and-communities-struggle-without-power/ar-BBYwcd7">dwindling food</a> and <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6564632/fuel-shortages-slowing-bushfire-evacuees/?cs=14231">fuel </a>supplies. Some were forced to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/01/malua-bay-fire-survivors-tell-how-1000-people-lived-through-a-night-of-flames-on-nsw-beach">shelter on beaches</a>, dodging embers and watching flames creep ever closer. And we cannot forget the animals – <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/03/a-statement-about-the-480-million-animals-killed-in-nsw-bushfire.html">millions have been killed</a> this fire season, or will soon die from lack of food or shelter. With all roads out of Bermagui closed, we spent New Year’s Eve at a local club which had hastily been converted into an evacuation centre. Many evacuees were from the nearby fire-hit town of Cobargo. Some knew the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-31/father-and-son-patrick-and-robert-salway-die-in-cobargo-bushfire/11835194">father and son</a> who died after staying to defend their property. Many would presumably soon discover their own homes were gone. They watched, hands over their mouths, as the club’s giant plasma screens beamed images of their once-charming town, now a jumble of rubble and corrugated iron. We lay our doonas down between rows of poker machines and lined up for dinner with hundreds of other evacuees. Food supplies in the town had already run short – the shelves of the local Woolworths were all but empty. To feed the hordes, volunteers began rationing dinner portions to just half a sausage and a slice of bread. They had no idea where tomorrow’s meals would come from. All this raises inevitable questions. To what extent is climate change driving these fires, and how much of that is Australia’s fault? Do we need a permanent, paid rural fire-fighting force to deal with this “new normal”? Are our fuel, food and communications systems resilient enough to cope with these disasters? And how do we cope with the deep anxiety these fires provoke, on both a personal and societal level? Over the coming days and weeks, The Conversation will examine the tough issues emerging from this crisis. Our authors, experts in the field, will cut through the political spin and information barrage to help you understand this national disaster, and what it means for our future. Today, the University of Tasmania’s David Bowman examines whether it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfire-and-holiday-seasons-converge-it-may-be-time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-typical-australian-summer-holiday-129337">time to ditch the traditional summer holiday</a>, when thousands of people head to bushy areas in peak bushfire season. And while the fires absorb our attention, Monash University’s Neville Nicholls <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bushfires-are-horrendous-but-expect-cyclones-floods-and-heatwaves-too-129328">reminds us</a> that cyclones, floods and heatwaves are also likely this summer. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> The aftermath of fires at Cobargo, near Bermagui, where buildings were destroyed and two men died. Sean Davey On New Year’s Day, the wind having blown the fires away from Bermagui, officials opened a road out. They warned us to leave before conditions changed again. We had just under half a tank of diesel, and neither Bermagui nor the next town, Tarthra, had supplies. We drove on. No diesel at Bega either, until a local told us of a truck station on the outskirts of town where we filled up. The trip home was slow and smoky, and phone reception patchy. It struck me how vulnerable we are to technology and transport systems that can so easily shut down. We tried to buy a paper map in case of detours, but no service stations stocked them. Our three-year-old son grasped little of what was happening. I suggested a game of I-Spy, but it was soon abandoned – the smoke meant there was nothing much to see. We drove through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Smoke haze in Canberra from the South Coast bushfires has pushed air quality to extremely hazardous levels. Lucas Coch/AAP In the days after we arrived back in Canberra, air quality was more than <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6562383/air-quality-in-parts-of-canberra-20-times-above-hazardous-level/">20 times above hazardous levels.</a> Shops and swimming pools were closed, and mail deliveries were cancelled. A woman reportedly died from respiratory distress after exiting a plane to a tarmac filled with smoke. Babies were <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/baby-delivery-canberra-bushfire-smoke">born into smoke-filled hospital theatres</a>; their parents despaired at what the future holds. When the immediate threat of these fires has passed, many bigger questions will remain. The Conversation will continue to bring you the responsible, evidence-based journalism you need to be properly informed. Thank you for your continued support. <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/team#nicole-hasham">Nicole Hasham</a>, Section Editor: Energy + Environment, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-sense-of-australias-bushfire-crisis-means-asking-hard-questions-and-listening-to-the-answers-129302">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

How our sense of taste changes as we age

Taste is a complex phenomenon. We do not experience the sensation through a single sense (as we would when we see something using our sense of sight, for example) but rather it is made up of the five senses working together to allow us to appreciate and enjoy food and drink. Initial visual inspection of food indicates if we would consider consuming it. Then, when eating, smell and flavour combine to allow us to perceive a taste. Meanwhile, the mix of ingredients, texture and temperature can further impact how we experience it. Unfortunately, this means that losing any of our senses, particularly smell or taste, can reduce our enjoyment of food. Think of the last time you had a cold or a blocked nose. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579627/">It’s likely that</a> the temporary loss of smell changed the way you tasted food, lowered your appetite, or might even have caused you to overconsume as a means of seeking satisfaction and satiation. A similar phenomenon <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/130/4/927S/4686631">happens when we get older</a>. The way we perceive taste starts to change by the age of 60 – when the sensitivity of our sense of smell <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181219115505.htm">also starts to diminish</a> – becoming severe from the age of 70. Contributing senses As set out above, when our sense of smell functions less and is not able to detect and discriminate between different smells, it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579627/">affects our taste perception</a>. The decline in sensitivity of sense of smell with age is due to several factors, including a reduction in the number of olfactory receptors – which recognise different odour molecules – in the back of the nasal cavity, as well as a declining rate of regeneration of the receptor cells. Another reason for impairment of the sense of taste with ageing is due to structural changes in the taste papillae. These bumpy structures host taste buds in the mouth, on the tongue and palate. One type of these papillae, fungiform, which contain high levels of taste buds, decreases in number as we age and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23013608">also changes in shape</a>, becoming more closed. The more open the papillae, the easier it is for chemicals in food to come into contact with the receptors to create taste. Closed papillae <a href="https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/43/2/117/4718453">reduce the contact surface</a> between food compounds and receptors resulting in less perception of food tastes. Changing tastes Poor chewing is another factor that contributes to low detection of tastes. Due to ageing or poor oral health, some people lose their teeth, with many resorting to dentures. But dentures, particularly if ill-fitting, can affect the quality of chewing and breaking down of food compounds. This can then reduce the dissolution of the food compounds in saliva and reduces the contact levels with the sensory receptors in the taste buds. In addition, saliva secretion <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579627/">can also decline</a> as a result of ageing. This means that there is less fluid to carry food compounds to the taste receptors, and less liquid available to help food compounds to dissolve, so taste is more poorly received. General health also plays an important role in our sense of taste at any age. Head injuries, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2980431/pdf/0561142.pdf">medicinal drugs</a>, respiratory infections, <a href="https://www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/coping/side-effects-and-symptoms/eating-problems/changes-in-taste.html">cancer</a>, radiation, and environmental exposure such as <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140325094810.htm">smoke</a> and particulates can all contribute to an impaired sense of taste and exposure to many of these factors increase as we get older. Not everyone’s sense of taste declines in the same way, however. Changes are known to be diverse among different people and genders, and not everyone shows the same level of impairment as they age. Though some things are inevitable, there are things that we can all do to at least reduce loss of taste. Our preliminary research, for example, has indicated that keeping a healthy diet, an active lifestyle, and ensuring a low to moderate consumption of the five tastes – sweet, sour, salt, umami and bitter – could help to slow down the changes in papillae. Written by Anita Setarehnejad and Ruth Fairchild. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-our-sense-of-taste-changes-as-we-age-112569">The Conversation</a>.

Body

How to find a sense of purpose in life

The idea of life’s purpose is a classic moot point – does life have a purpose? Is it predetermined? And do we need to have one? Multiple studies have shown that having a sense of purpose is associated with <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2014/nov/sense-meaning-and-purpose-life-linked-longer-lifespan">longer lifespan</a> as well as <a href="http://time.com/4903166/purpose-in-life-aging/">better physical health</a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/minding-the-body/201707/how-sense-purpose-in-life-improves-your-health">reduced stress and improved coping abilities</a>. One found that a sense of purpose lowers risk of death, even after the researchers controlled for other factors that could influence longevity such as age, emotional wellbeing and gender. However, finding the reason to wake up every morning can be an elusive task. Cultivating meaning is indeed not an easy feat when today’s life offers no shortage of stress, pressures and responsibilities. According to experts, identifying the activities that make you lose track of time is a good starting point. Clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior suggests finding things that get you in “flow”. “When you are in flow, you are so fully engaged and immersed in an activity that you feel relaxed, but also challenged, interested but not stressed,” Bonior wrote on <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/friendship-20/201803/5-questions-help-you-find-your-sense-purpose">Psychology Today</a>. “What types of activities bring you to this place?” Indeed, a <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201712/4-ways-achieve-meaning-and-purpose-in-your-life">2017 study</a> found that engaging in “personally treasured activities” is also one of the most effective factors in encouraging meaning and purpose in life. Finding a community is also popular advice. Surrounding yourself with the people you care for, share dreams and values with or want to help can inspire your desire to step forward in life. “Take a look at the people around you,” said Jeremy Adam Smith, editor of <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life">Greater Good</a>. “What do you have in common with them? What are they trying to be? What impact do you see them having on the world? Is that impact a positive one? Can you join with them in making that impact?” If the answers do not satisfy you, it might be time to find a new community, he said. Some also recommend thinking about what you want out of life, or the things you wish to accomplish. Leadership coach Kristi Hedges advises to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2017/06/14/look-here-if-youre-missing-a-sense-of-purpose/#6b10008e2b04">consider factors</a> such as, “How’s your work today getting you closer to what you want for yourself? What do you hope is possible for you, without setting limitations? What could you do next with what you’re learning now?” However, not everyone is in favour of the idea of creating goals and targets. Author Heather Havrilevsky wrote in <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2016/04/ask-polly-why-should-i-keep-going.html">one of her advice columns</a>, “As long as you imagine that the outside world will one day deliver to you the external rewards you need to feel happy, you will always perceive your survival as exhausting and perceive your life as a long slog to nowhere.” Instead, she advises to focus on the journey, savouring the small but blissful moments we experience on our daily life. Life coach Max Daniels shares a similar sentiment. “What if there is no pre-defined life purpose? What if you don’t need to spend your precious life searching for one, because there isn’t one to discover?” she wrote in an <a href="https://www.masondixonknitting.com/self-care-discovering-your-life-purpose/">essay</a>. “How might life be if your only ‘job’ here on earth is simply to show up and participate, just as you desire?” Do you know the purpose of your life? Share with us in the comments.

Mind

How to gain a sense of meaning in life

The pursuit of happiness and health is a popular endeavour, as the preponderance of self-help books would attest. Yet it is also fraught. Despite ample advice from experts, individuals regularly engage in activities that may only have short-term benefit for well-being, or even <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181218-whats-the-quickest-way-to-happiness-do-nothing">backfire</a>. The search for the heart of well-being – that is, a nucleus from which other aspects of well-being and health might flow – has been the focus of decades of research. New findings recently reported in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/4/1207">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> point towards an answer commonly overlooked: meaning in life. Meaning in life: part of the well-being puzzle? University College London’s psychology professor Andrew Steptoe and senior research associate Daisy Fancourt analysed a sample of 7,304 UK residents aged 50+ drawn from the <a href="https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/">English Longitudinal Study of Ageing</a>. Survey respondents answered a range of questions assessing social, economic, health, and physical activity characteristics, including: <blockquote> …to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile? </blockquote> Follow-up surveys two and four years later assessed those same characteristics again. One key question addressed in this research is: what advantage might having a strong sense of meaning in life afford a few years down the road? The data revealed that individuals reporting a higher meaning in life had: <ul> <li>lower risk of divorce</li> <li>lower risk of living alone</li> <li>increased connections with friends and engagement in social and cultural activities</li> <li>lower incidence of new chronic disease and onset of depression</li> <li>lower obesity and increased physical activity</li> <li>increased adoption of positive health behaviours (exercising, eating fruit and veg).</li> </ul> On the whole, individuals with a higher sense of meaning in life a few years earlier were later living lives characterised by health and well-being. You might wonder if these findings are attributable to other factors, or to factors already in play by the time participants joined the study. The authors undertook stringent analyses to account for this, which revealed largely similar patterns of findings. The findings join a body of prior research documenting longitudinal relationships between meaning in life and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2015.1117127">social functioning</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28461710">net wealth</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26630073">reduced mortality</a>, especially among <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12126-002-1004-2">older adults</a>. What is meaning in life? The historical arc of consideration of the meaning in life (not to be confused with the <a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Meaning_of_life">meaning of life</a>) starts as far back as Ancient Greece. It tracks through the popular works of people such as Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Victor Frankl, and continues today in the field of psychology. One definition, offered by well-being researcher Laura King and colleagues, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.90.1.179">says</a> <blockquote> …lives may be experienced as meaningful when they are felt to have a significance beyond the trivial or momentary, to have purpose, or to have a coherence that transcends chaos. </blockquote> This definition is useful because it highlights three central components of meaning: <ol> <li>purpose: having goals and direction in life</li> <li>significance: the degree to which a person believes his or her life has value, worth, and importance</li> <li>coherence: the sense that one’s life is characterised by predictability and routine.</li> </ol> <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RLFVoEF2RI0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Curious about your own sense of meaning in life? You can take an interactive version of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, developed by Steger and colleagues, yourself <a href="https://kevgrig.github.io/mlq-react/">here</a>. This measure captures not just the presence of meaning in life (whether a person feels that their life has purpose, significance, and coherence), but also the desire to search for meaning in life. Routes for cultivating meaning in life Given the documented benefits, you may wonder: how might one go about cultivating a sense of meaning in life? We know a few things about participants in Steptoe and Fancourt’s study who reported relatively higher meaning in life during the first survey. For instance, they contacted their friends frequently, belonged to social groups, engaged in volunteering, and maintained a suite of healthy habits relating to sleep, diet and exercise. Backing up the idea that seeking out these qualities might be a good place to start in the quest for meaning, several studies have causally linked these indicators to meaning in life. For instance, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2016.1209541">spending money on others and volunteering</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjhp.12113">eating fruit and vegetables</a>, and being in a well-connected <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2015.1117127">social network</a> have all been prospectively linked to acquiring a sense of meaning in life. For a temporary boost, some activities have documented benefits for meaning in the short term: envisioning a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-9960-8">happier future</a>, writing a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2015.1048814">note of gratitude</a> to another person, engaging in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2519">nostalgic reverie</a>, and bringing to mind one’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167213499186">close relationships</a>. Happiness and meaning: is it one or the other? There’s a high degree of overlap between experiencing happiness and meaning - most people who report one also report the other. Days when people report feeling happy are often also days that people report meaning. Yet there’s a tricky relationship between the two. Moment-to-moment, happiness and meaning are often <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1948550616678455">decoupled</a>. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764">Research</a> by social psychologist Roy Baumeister and colleagues suggests that satisfying basic needs promotes happiness, but not meaning. In contrast, linking a sense of self across one’s past, present, and future promotes meaning, but not happiness. Connecting socially with others is important for both happiness and meaning, but doing so in a way that promotes meaning (such as via parenting) can happen at the cost of personal happiness, at least temporarily. Given the now-documented long-term social, mental, and physical benefits of having a sense of meaning in life, the recommendation here is clear. Rather than pursuing happiness as an end-state, ensuring one’s activities provide a sense of meaning might be a better route to living well and flourishing throughout life.<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/110361/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Written by Lisa A Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, UNSW. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/having-a-sense-of-meaning-in-life-is-good-for-you-so-how-do-you-get-one-110361">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

6 search results that prove Google has a sense of humour

Seems like the brains behind search engine Google have a pretty good sense of humour to include these hidden tricks and japes. <div id="section">1. It can do a barrel roll!</div> <div> Type "do a barrel roll" into Google, click search, and your browser window will do a 360-degree spin. </div> <div> It's a geeky reference to Nintendo's Star Fox series, in which a wise old rabbit named Peppy (an intergalactic fighter pilot) advises your character to avoid enemy fire by pulling said maneuver. You can get the same fun Google tricks effect by typing "z or r twice" in reference to the controller buttons you'd press in the game. 2. It's a word nerd! Google "anagram" and the search engine will suggest "nag a ram." Very cute. 3. It can read images! Looking for something specific, but don't have the right keywords to describe it? This is one of the more useful fun Google tricks. You can "<a href="https://support.google.com/images/answer/1325808?p=searchbyimagepage&hl=en" title="" data-original-title="">reverse image search</a>" at <a rel="noopener" href="http://images.google.com/" target="_blank" title="" data-original-title="">images.google.com</a> by clicking the camera icon, uploading an image, and then getting results of pictures that look similar. (Make sure you're okay with your photos floating around the web first.) 4. It speaks secret languages! On the top of your Google homepage, hit the nine squares at the top and go to My Account. Scroll to the bottom to find Language & Input Tools under Account Preferences. You can change your language to fun ways of speaking like Muppets (Bork, bork, bork!), Elmer Fudd (Ewmew Fudd), Klingon, and pirate. For instance, with that last one you'll find "moorr" instead of "more." 5. It can boost brainpower! ZDNet offers a handy <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.zdnet.com/photos/10-google-search-secrets_p10/6349203#photo" target="_blank" title="" data-original-title="">tip</a> to sift through university research: first type "site:edu" to limit the query to educational institutions, then try "intitle:" before your topic. For example, site:edu intitle:"American magazines" brings up results from Harvard, the University of Michigan, and more. You can also search get results from a specific website a similar way. 6. It likes to get specific! Thought "once in a blue moon" was just a vague expression? Not according to Google. Search that phrase and you'll get a very specific frequency: 1.16699016 × 10-8 hertz. It's a play off the fact that blue moons happen every 2.71 years. Did you know these facts about Google? Let us know in the comments! Written by Damon Beres. This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/humour/19-search-results-prove-google-has-sense-humour">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN87V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>. <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /> </div>

Technology

Why sensing the dead is normal (and even helpful)

Simon McCarthy-Jones is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on the experience of hearing voices that others cannot. Céline Dion recently <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/fresh-fears-celine-dion-singer-10794528" target="_blank">revealed</a> that she still senses the presence of her husband, even though he died from cancer in January 2016. What’s more, the Canadian singer said she still talks to René Angélil, who she was married to for 22 years, and can still hear him at times. While her remarks prompted ridicule in some quarters, seeing, hearing or sensing the presence of a deceased loved one is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it is a perfectly normal and often helpful way of dealing with grief. Sensing a deceased spouse is remarkably common. Between <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26254619" target="_blank">30 and 60 per cent</a> of elderly widowed people experience so-called bereavement hallucinations. In his book, <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/oliver-sacks/hallucinations" target="_blank">Hallucinations</a>, the late neurologist Oliver Sacks gives the following example. Marion, who had lost her husband, Paul, came home from work one day: Usually at that hour Paul would have been at his electronic chessboard … His table was out of sight … but he greeted me in his familiar way “Hello! You’re back! Hi!” His voice was clear and strong and true … the speech was live and real. This is not rare. A study of elderly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf" target="_blank">widows and widowers</a> in Wales found that 13 per cent had heard their dead loved one’s voice, 14 per cent had seen them and 3 per cent had felt their touch. By far the greatest number, 39 per cent, said they continued to feel the presence of loved ones. Such experiences can encourage people to talk to their lost loved one, which the study found 12 per cent did. This talking can be accompanied by a feeling that the dead spouse is <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Continuing-Bonds-New-Understandings-of-Grief/Klass-Silverman-Nickman/p/book/9781560323396" target="_blank">listening</a>. Intriguingly, it has been found that those who talk to their dead spouse are more likely to be <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2190/9JPJ-1FM1-37NX-2DEC" target="_blank">coping with widowhood</a> than those who don’t. It doesn’t have to be a partner or spouse who dies. For example, <a href="http://www.leudar.com/pdfs/voices/Hayes&Leudar2013.pdf" target="_blank">a study</a> of bereavement hallucinations in people of a range of ages described the experiences of Samuel, who had lost his grandmother. One day, when trying to work out where the problem was with a waste disposal unit, he heard her say, “It’s at the back. It’s at the back.” And so it was. Grateful for the dead <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf">Multiple</a> <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1985.tb04619.x/abstract">studies</a> have found that more than two thirds of the widowed find their hallucinations pleasant or helpful. The experiences can provide <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713686002" target="_blank">spiritual and emotional strength and comfort</a>, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Continuing-Bonds-New-Understandings-of-Grief/Klass-Silverman-Nickman/p/book/9781560323396" target="_blank">reduce feelings of isolation</a> and <a href="http://www.leudar.com/pdfs/voices/Hayes&Leudar2013.pdf" target="_blank">give people encouragement during difficult tasks</a>. Take the experience of Aggie, which she recounted to researchers as part of a <a href="http://www.leudar.com/pdfs/voices/Hayes&Leudar2013.pdf" target="_blank">study of bereavement hallucinations</a>. Her boyfriend knew he was dying but hid it, ending their relationship to try to spare her pain. After he died, Aggie heard his voice apologising for pushing her away at the end. She had partly blamed herself for his death and felt guilty. Hearing his voice helped Aggie to forgive herself. Such experiences will <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8424323" target="_blank">typically fade over time</a>. The dark side Of course, bereavement hallucinations can be problematic. When they first happen, some people will get <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18044417" target="_blank">very upset</a> when they realise that the deceased person has not actually returned. The hallucination can also be traumatising. A woman who lost her daughter to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12457021" target="_blank">heroin overdose</a> reported hearing her voice crying out, “Mamma, Mamma! … It’s so cold.” In the widowed, they can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf" target="_blank">prevent new relationships developing</a>. Also, death does not become everyone. After her mother died, <a href="http://www.leudar.com/pdfs/voices/Hayes&Leudar2013.pdf" target="_blank">Julie started hearing her voice</a>. It called her a slag, slut and whore. It told her she wasn’t fit to live and encouraged her to overdose on pills. Julie’s relationship with her mother had been problematic, but she’d never said such things things while alive. Thankfully, negative experiences are rare. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf" target="_blank">One study</a> reported that only 6 per cent of people found bereavement hallucinations unpleasant. These experiences hardly ever require <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26254619" target="_blank">psychiatric treatment</a>. Indeed, if people find the first hallucination pleasant, they typically want it to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8424323" target="_blank">happen again</a>. How they happen <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-predictive-mind-9780199686735?lang=en&cc=us" target="_blank">Many scientists</a> think that normal perception starts with the brain creating a prediction of what is “out there”. This prediction is then revised using feedback from the world, and forms the basis of what we perceive. Perception is edited hallucination. So <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810014001639" target="_blank">one way to understand hallucinations</a> is as uncorrected predictions (<a href="http://www.jkp.com/uk/can-t-you-hear-them-34840.html" target="_blank">my recent book</a> explains this in more detail). If someone has been a consistent, valued presence in your life, the brain is so used to predicting them that it may continue to do so, overruling the world. A new day has come, but the brain still bets on yesterday. Don’t judge Why don’t we hear more about these experiences? The obvious answer is that hallucinations are <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0020764014535757" target="_blank">often stigmatised</a>. In countries such as the UK and US, people are typically taught that they are a sign of madness. So it is perhaps unsurprising that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf" target="_blank">a study in the UK</a> found that only 28 per cent of people with bereavement hallucinations had told someone else about them. Not one had told their doctor. Although most could give no reason for why they had not told anyone, those who did most often cited a fear of ridicule. This problem is not apparent in all countries. For example, <a href="http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.125.12.1660" target="_blank">a study in Japan</a> found that 90 per cent of widows felt the presence of their dead spouse, yet none worried about their sanity. Ancestor worship may help Japanese people mourn. As a result of all this, people should think twice about judging these experiences harshly. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1799198/pdf/brmedj02669-0049.pdf" target="_blank">One study of widowed people</a> found bereavement hallucinations only occurred in those whose marriages had been happy; we should perhaps simply be marvelling at the power of love. Written by Simon McCarthy-Jones. Republished with permission of <a href="http://theconversation.com/" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.<img width="1" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/81048/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation"/>

Caring

Struggling with a sense of purpose in retirement

<img width="94" height="141" src="https://i1.wp.com/retireematters.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/IMG_2776.jpg" style="user-select: none; background-position: 0px 0px, 10px 10px; background-size: 20px 20px; background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, #eeeeee 25%, transparent 25%, transparent 75%, #eeeeee 75%, #eeeeee 100%), linear-gradient(45deg, #eeeeee 25%, transparent 25%, transparent 75%, #eeeeee 75%, #eeeeee 100%); cursor: zoom-in; float: left;"/>Celena Ross’s plans to ramp up her celebrant businesses were compromised when she found herself part of the sandwich generation of caring for an elderly mother and grandchildren. Struggling with the unexpected hours of caring and faced with a loss of identity in her transition to semi-retirement, Celena established her website <a href="/www.retireematters.com.au">Retiree Matters</a> to assist other corporate women. It is now five years since I left my fabulous government job assisting businesses with their growth and development. I took early retirement as a package and I saw my retirement as time with my daughter as she started her family as well as an opportunity to operate a micro business. In those five years I have become a nana to two beautiful granddaughters and spent many hours caring for them. Many more hours than I anticipated due to baby sleep issues and suddenly finding myself in a carer role of my elderly mother. My eldest granddaughter started school this year, so I only really see her at school pick up – three times a week. But no longer for regular full days. The youngest who is three, we care for each Thursday. So early in the year and with a reduced need for caring, I have found myself struggling. I am missing a sense of purpose. A sense of feeling belonging. A sense of feeling fulfilled and making a difference. I have started the year determined to improve my health after three weeks of physio on my back. I attend a community centre and attend stretching and Pilate classes. I plan to book time with a personal trainer to help me keep on track. I have booked sessions with a psychologist/hypnotherapist to assist me with overcoming some childhood issues. On the wellbeing side, I have joined a women’s group choir. The group sits or stands in a circle and harmonises. I found out it is a form of cappella singing. I loved it. It made me feel grounded, relaxed and uplifted at the same time. After much research, I joined a local VIEW Club – which is a group for women that raises money for The Smith Family, who in turn provide financial support to disadvantaged children. Not long after joining I volunteered for the committee and as assistant secretary I am the guest speaker organiser. Sigh… I just feel brain dead. I feel a lack of stimulation. A lack of purpose. I am still busy assisting and providing care for my elderly mum. The hours of care depend on her health. I have just come out of two months of intensive care hours after she had had a fall. As a celebrant, I have conducted a few weddings. But I am over being involved in all the stress of brides and weddings. Well at least the very big weddings. I still enjoy the small weddings of two to 20 guests. Especially when held on a property or backyard of a home. Just so much more relaxed and intimate. However, I am seriously considering retiring and handing in my celebrant registration. So, now what to do. I looked at University of the Third Age, but nothing I am interested in is available on my pockets of available time. That is of course part of my dilemma. I have pockets of availability in between when I help mum, take her out, take her shopping etc, the day I mind my granddaughter, being at the school by 2.30pm to get a car park close enough for pickup of the eldest granddaughter – then minding them both until 5pm. I also set aside time for the hubby – he is at golf three times a week. Soooooooooo! What can I do to stimulate my mind? What can I do that will give me a sense of purpose? I just feel the days and weeks are passing so quickly. What do I want to do with my life? I don’t want to “just fill in the hours”, with gym, lunches, bowls – oh I did try some bowls but then it got SO HOT! I will look at that in the cooler months. I learnt crochet. Loved that but made everything I really want to make. I will look at making some items to donate. My thoughts are to join and volunteer with another charity. Maybe some volunteer office work. Perhaps use my event management background and stage an event of some sort. My needs are – new friendships in my age bracket for now until… well, until death us to part! As well as brain stimulation and a sense of purpose. Well it is now time to think about dinner. Gawd, I am after nearly 43 years of marriage over coming up with ideas for dinner. Thank goodness for the good old basics of spag bol, sausages, roast chicken! I love baking, but everything I love to bake my daughter tells me has too much sugar! And hubby has asked when I am going to diet and lose weight! ARGH! Oh look, it is wine o’clock… must go! Follow Celena Ross on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Retireematters/" target="_blank">Facebook here.</a> Do you have a story to share? Write for us! <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/community/contributor/community-contributor/">Head over to the Over60 Share your story page to get started today.</a> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/bride-asks-92-year-old-grandmother-to-be-her-bridesmaid/">Bride asks 92-year-old grandmother to be her bridesmaid</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/seniors-perform-carpool-karaoke/">Young-at-heart seniors perform hilarious carpool karaoke</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/elderly-couple-celebrates-76-years-together/">Adorable couple in their 90s celebrate 76 years together</a>

Retirement Life

“Free range” parenting: neglect or common sense?

It is my 6-year-old daughter's greatest wish to walk home from the park on her own. It's just 100 metres of wide pathway, which turns into our quiet little street. My catastrophising mind says: "Forget it kid, walking all that way is a dangerous prospect, what with all those child-catchers and heavy traffic to contend with." But I say: "Sure." And then I tail her up the path as though at least one of us is playing What's the time, Mr Wolf. This is my small foray into "free-range parenting" - a style of parenting that is supposed to give your littl'uns freedom to learn self-reliance by being allowed to test limits out in the real world. We can call it free-range parenting but really, it's just a dinky title for how we grew up - and I'm talking the 1970s here, when certainly at the age of 8 or 9 my siblings and I, along with our mates, would roam a neighbourhood consisting of beach, bush tracks and all that lay in between. Home time was when dusk fell and we could smell dinners being cooked as we meandered home for our own. The only time I recall my mother being remotely worried was when a friend and I were a tad late for dinner and I told her it was because we'd got stuck several metres up on a shed roof, where we'd been playing, naturally. And all this is to say nothing of our exploits "nicking out" at night to do what, I can't exactly recall. Now that I'm a parent I have grasped firmly the adage "do as I say, not as I did". If I had it my way, I'd probably tether my daughter to me. For life. At the moment, she quite likes the idea of living with mummy and daddy till she's 40. But then she's also told us she'd like to marry us, so that's where she's at right now. All this free-range malarkey has reared its public head with the story from Montgomery County, Washington, about the parents of a couple of free-range kids – a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old - who were allowed to walk a mile to their home unsupervised. The police stopped them halfway, took them home and got the child protection service involved. The parents are determined their children will continue to range freely. Meanwhile, outraged comments from both free-range and conservative parents ensue online. Tracey McLeish, mother of four, made headlines recently after her 7-year-old son, Jacob, fell several metres off a rock in White's Bay, near Blenheim. He was not seriously injured but her and husband John's parenting has been criticised online in social media. Tracey and John responded to the backlash by saying their son was just being a boy. They are firm believers in giving kids scope to be independent. Their three older sons – aged 10, 7 and 5 – all walk 1km to school together crossing two roads to get there. "We taught them from a young age that roads and cars were dangerous so they are really on to it," Tracey says. "We gave them rules and we gave them our trust and they have not betrayed that trust. "There's no reason kids can't do this on their own. By giving them independence to walk to school they gain confidence in themselves, self-reliance and self-worth." Safer world today Russell Ballantyne, co-director and teacher at Early Childhood on Stafford, in Dunedin, has long been an advocate of free-range parenting. The father of three grown-up free-range kids runs what he terms a "risk-taking centre". That is to say, they have ropes and swings, kids leap from great heights and ride their bikes fast. Ballantyne says today's world is safer than the one he grew up in "but the mentality is that we are under siege". "We think risk is hiding behind every lamp-post in the neighbourhood. Fear has become the dominating young parent's response. "Those parents who let their kids walk home from the park in Montgomery County made the conscious effort of giving their children responsibility but they're being punished for it. We should be aspiring to do what they did." If you give your children freedom, he says, these same children will not be scared to make decisions in life, they'll know their capabilities. They are the people who will become our future leaders. "Ninety-nine point nine per cent of people are good and yet we treat them as if they are evil and that's where we have lost the plot. "We have to have faith in our children. We have to have faith in our society, in our villages. If you do not have faith in your village then as a community, we do not exist." Sure, he says, we have to monitor our children and make sure they are OK but we should not always be the source of their entertainment. <img width="498" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/33605/image__498x280.jpg" alt="Image_ (73)"/> "That's not healthy. The way for children to know themselves is to have the freedom to try." Lenore Skenazy would have a field day with my parenting style. Skenazy, to her naysayers' chagrin, embraces rather self-deprecatingly the title of "World's Worst Mum" bestowed on her after she let her kid take the subway home by himself at the age of 10 in New York's Manhattan. The backlash from this act was huge and enough for her to launch the Free-Range Kids website, write a book and star in her own TV show. So, what would a free-range parent let an almost 6-year-old do? Skenazy, mum to two boys now aged 16 and 18, reckons we could let them walk down the street and knock on a friend's door to play or maybe walk to school with a friend, depending on the area you live in and how far away the school is. Heart palpitations kick in. It's OK, Skenazy says. "Take a moment to think back to your own childhood. "Think back to when you were a kid and try to recall the times you enjoyed the most. "A lot of people recall making forts, playing ball with their buddies. Most recall doing these things without a parent. "You might be giving your kids organic bananas and violin lessons but you could be missing the one thing that you recall so fondly. Why would you keep that precious thing from them? Give them the free-range childhood you had." Skenazy says by giving the reins on our kids some slack, we're giving them the knowledge that their parents believe in them. "If you're doing everything with, and for, your child, they get the message that you don't believe in them. "I'm trying to restore perspective on the fact that our children are not in constant danger. We shouldn't have to make our decisions based on that premise." But how has it come to this, I wonder. Why are we so freaked out by every conceivable danger for our kids? The fact that we live in a fairly litigious society means we see everything through the lens of danger, Skenazy says. "In America, recently a school got rid of all its swings because they read a study that said swings were the most dangerous equipment in the playground. If you look at everything like 'what terrible thing could happen?' nothing seems safe enough." She coined the phrase "worst-first thinking", which means coming up with a worst-case scenario first and perceiving that it's likely to happen. "It drives us crazy and it has no relation to reality. It has relation to fantasy. "The fact that you can dream up something terrible doesn't make it more likely to happen." The number of horrifying TV shows and 24-hour news add to our paranoia. So does the culture of "experts" where parents are fed so much information on how to do everything from hugging their own kid to how to have fun in the sun. It's got to the point where we don't even trust ourselves to make our own decisions without going to some expert to tell us what to do, she says. Skenazy also points to the exploitation of parental fear - the easiest way to make a buck is from a terrified parent, she says. "We live in constant fear of two things: One is that your child will be kidnapped and eaten and the other is that they won't get in to the best university. So, all these products and services exist to make them safe and make them get ahead." Basically, Skenazy says, giving your child a free-range childhood gives them a place in the world, not just inside our homes. But whether you're letting your 8-year-old walk to school on his own or letting your 6-year-old daughter walk up the path by herself, wannabe free- range parents might consider the story of a 10-year-old kid who rode his bike across the George Washington Bridge to New York City on his own. He pedalled 30 kilometres down unfamiliar roads and busy streets, past neighbours and strangers, out into the unknown. "I didn't need help from anyone. It took me all day, but I found the way and did it myself," he recalled. This free-range kid went to the moon. His name is Buzz Aldrin. Tell us in the comments below, what’s your take on so-called “free-range” parenting? Written by Bess Manson. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/01/photos-show-what-kids-do-when-left-alone/">15 hilarious photos show what kids do when left alone</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/01/signs-your-grandchild-is-being-bullied/">4 signs your grandchild is being bullied</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/12/teach-grandkids-mindfulness/">3 ways to teach mindfulness to your grandkids</a>

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“Free range” parenting: neglect or common sense?