Search

From maxing out to slowing down, how much do heart rates vary across sports?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/theresa-larkin-952095">Theresa Larkin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gregory-peoples-1556509">Gregory Peoples</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> A classic image of the Olympics and Paralympics is an athlete at the end of a race struggling for breath, their heart obviously racing. But at the other end of the scale are athletes such as archers and shooters, who need to slow their heart rates down as much as possible. Athletes in speed and endurance events regularly push their heart rate to the maximum. But these athletes usually have low heart rates at rest. What causes our heart rates and respiratory (breathing) rates to change so much, and is this healthy? <h2>When heart rates and respiratory rates rise</h2> If you are still and calm as you read this, your heart is probably beating 60–100 times per minute and you are likely breathing 12–20 times per minute. These are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-my-heart-rate-be-and-what-affects-it-98945">normal ranges for a resting adult</a>. During physical activity when muscles are contracting, the muscles need more oxygen to provide them with energy to work. To deliver this extra oxygen (<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-is-blood-red-229121#:%7E:text=Haemoglobin%20is%20like%20a%20red,oxygen%2C%20our%20blood%20is%20red.">carried in our blood</a>), our heart pumps blood faster. In other words, our heart rate increases. We also breathe faster to get more oxygen into our lungs to be delivered to the exercising muscles. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3YOap5k0R_8?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Your resting heart rate can tell you plenty about your health and fitness.</figcaption></figure> <h2>How fast can our heart rate get during exercise?</h2> Aerobic means “with oxygen”. In <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7050-aerobic-exercise">aerobic exercise</a> (“cardio”) you use large muscles repetitively and rhythmically. For example, walking, running, cycling, swimming and rowing. Muscles that are contracting during aerobic exercise use a lot of energy and need ten times <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4551211/">more oxygen than at rest</a>. High intensity aerobic events that involve large muscles or the entire body cause the highest heart rates. An <a href="https://www.heartonline.org.au/resources/calculators/target-heart-rate-calculator">estimate</a> of maximum heart rate (beats per minute) is 220 minus your age. This equates to 195 beats per minute for a 25-year-old – close to the average age of the Australian Olympic team of 26.5 years. Athletes competing in Olympic events of endurance or speed will reach their maximum heart rate. You can usually only maintain maximum heart rate for a few minutes. But in a 2000-metre rowing race, the rowers maintain intense effort at close to maximum heart rate for 6–8 minutes. This is one of the toughest events for the heart. It’s no wonder rowers often collapse in the boat <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68731840">as they cross the finish line</a>. Highly trained endurance athletes can have a maximum heart rate higher than expected for their age. <a href="https://olympics.com/en/athletes/eliud-kipchoge">Eliud Kipchoge</a> from Kenya is considered the greatest marathon runner of all time. During his <a href="https://au.coros.com/stories?world-record">world record run</a> in the 2022 Berlin marathon, he ran with a heart rate of around 180 beats per minute for almost the entire race. <h2>How does breathing change with exercise?</h2> Our breathing changes with exercise to increase oxygen uptake from the air. At low-to-moderate intensity exercise, you start to take deeper breaths. This brings in more air and oxygen with each breath. However, there is a limit to how much the chest can expand. With higher intensity exercise, respiratory rate increases to increase oxygen intake. Elite athletes can breathe <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818249/">more than 50 times</a> per minute. This is driven by <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-breathwork-and-do-i-need-to-do-it-231192">our diaphragm</a>, the most important muscle of breathing. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-28/paris-olympics-grace-brown-cycling-gold-medal-australia/104151466">Grace Brown</a>, Olympic gold medal cyclist in Paris, <a href="https://inscyd.com/article/grace-brown-olympic-gold-physiology/">breathes close to a maximal oxygen uptake</a> when she is cycling at high intensity. <h2>Some athletes need to slow things down</h2> Archery and shooting athletes perform better with a lower heart rate. They time their shots to be <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3580727/#:%7E:text=Results%20showed%20that%20the%20champion,both%20during%20diastole%20and%20systole">between heart beats</a> when the body is the most still. This is easier with a slower heart rate, with more time between beats. Archers consciously lower their heart rate <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6441821/">prior to shooting</a> by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6721071/">slowing their breathing</a>. Other Olympians use <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10224217/#:%7E:text=For%20practicing%20slow%20and%20deep,minutes%20before%20starting%20the%20exercise.">breathing techniques</a> to calm pre-race anticipation and high heart rates. Slowing the breath, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-breathwork-and-do-i-need-to-do-it-231192">especially the exhale</a>, is the best way to lower your heart rate. Beta-blockers also reduce heart rate, by blocking adrenaline. This is why they are on the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list">prohibited substances list</a> of the World Anti-Doping Agency. <h2>What about resting heart rates?</h2> Athletes often have a <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/is-a-low-heart-rate-worrisome">low resting heart rate</a>, around 40-50 beats per minute, and slower during sleep. Some are even lower – five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain famously had a resting heart rate of <a href="https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/miguel-indurain-vs-your-body-34288">28 beats per minute</a>. Legendary US swimmer Michael Phelps is the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/michael-phelps-olympic-medals-record-how-many-gold-swimmer-world-record">most successful Olympian</a> of all time – he had a resting heart rate of <a href="https://www.reanfoundation.org/low-resting-heart-rate-and-lifespan/#:%7E:text=Studies%20on%20Athletes%20and%20Low%20Resting%20Heart%20Rate&text=It%20could%20also%20hint%20at,BPM%20throughout%20his%20professional%20career">less than 40 beats per minute</a>. Regular moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise makes the <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/athletes-heart-rate">heart stronger and more efficient</a>. A stronger heart pumps more blood per beat, which means it doesn’t need to beat as often. Exercise also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12477376/">increases vagus nerve</a> activity to the heart and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms4775">slows down</a> the heart’s pacemaker cells. These both reduce heart rate. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6306777/">A large review</a> found endurance training and yoga were the best exercises to reduce resting heart rate. But training needs to be maintained to keep resting heart rate low. When elite athletes reduced their training volume by half during COVID lockdown, their <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2970">resting heart rate increased</a>. <h2>What does this mean for our health?</h2> A slower resting heart rate is linked to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6306777/">longer life expectancy and reduced death from cardiovascular disease</a>. Indeed, <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/4/206">a study</a> of more than 8,000 Olympians from the United States found they lived longer than the general population. So it is healthy to do activities that increase your heart rate in the short-term, whether as an Olympian or Paralympian competing, or a fan with your heart racing watching a gold medal event.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/235594/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/theresa-larkin-952095">Theresa Larkin</a>, Associate professor of Medical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gregory-peoples-1556509">Gregory Peoples</a>, Senior Lecturer - Physiology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-maxing-out-to-slowing-down-how-much-do-heart-rates-vary-across-sports-235594">original article</a>. </div>

Body

What are heart rate zones, and how can you incorporate them into your exercise routine?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hunter-bennett-1053061">Hunter Bennett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more popular in recent years partly because of the boom in wearable technology which, among other functions, allows people to easily track their heart rates. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6537749/">Heart rate zones</a> reflect different levels of intensity during aerobic exercise. They’re most often based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate, which is the highest number of beats your heart can achieve per minute. But what are the different heart rate zones, and how can you use these zones to optimise your workout? <h2>The three-zone model</h2> While there are several models used to describe heart rate zones, the most common model in the scientific literature is the <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/9/1/article-p100.xml">three-zone model</a>, where the zones may be categorised as follows: <ul> <li> zone 1: 55%–82% of maximum heart rate </li> <li> zone 2: 82%–87% of maximum heart rate </li> <li> zone 3: 87%–97% of maximum heart rate. </li> </ul> If you’re not sure what your maximum heart rate is, it can be calculated using <a href="https://www.jacc.org/doi/full/10.1016/S0735-1097%2800%2901054-8">this equation</a>: 208 – (0.7 × age in years). For example, I’m 32 years old. 208 – (0.7 x 32) = 185.6, so my predicted maximum heart rate is around 186 beats per minute. There are also other models used to describe heart rate zones, such as the <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/14/8/article-p1151.xml">five-zone model</a> (as its name implies, this one has five distinct zones). These <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/9/1/article-p100.xml">models</a> largely describe the same thing and can mostly be used interchangeably. <h2>What do the different zones involve?</h2> The three zones are based around a person’s <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200939060-00003">lactate threshold</a>, which describes the point at which exercise intensity moves from being predominantly aerobic, to predominantly anaerobic. Aerobic exercise <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/difference-between-aerobic-and-anaerobic">uses oxygen</a> to help our muscles keep going, ensuring we can continue for a long time without fatiguing. Anaerobic exercise, however, uses stored energy to fuel exercise. Anaerobic exercise also accrues metabolic byproducts (such as lactate) that increase fatigue, meaning we can only produce energy anaerobically for a short time. On average your lactate threshold tends to sit around <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/OAJSM.S141657">85% of your maximum heart rate</a>, although this varies from person to person, and can be <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00043.2013">higher in athletes</a>. In the three-zone model, each zone loosely describes <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2015.00295/full">one of three types of training</a>. Zone 1 represents high-volume, low-intensity exercise, usually performed for long periods and at an easy pace, well below lactate threshold. Examples include jogging or cycling at a gentle pace. Zone 2 is threshold training, also known as tempo training, a moderate intensity training method performed for moderate durations, at (or around) lactate threshold. This could be running, rowing or cycling at a speed where it’s difficult to speak full sentences. Zone 3 mostly describes methods of high-intensity interval training, which are performed for shorter durations and at intensities above lactate threshold. For example, any circuit style workout that has you exercising hard for 30 seconds then resting for 30 seconds would be zone 3. <h2>Striking a balance</h2> To maximise endurance performance, you need to strike a balance between doing enough training to elicit positive changes, while avoiding over-training, injury and burnout. While zone 3 is thought to produce the largest improvements in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244018309198">maximal oxygen uptake</a> – one of the best predictors of endurance performance and overall health – it’s also the most tiring. This means you can only perform so much of it before it becomes too much. Training in different heart rate zones improves <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=38c07018c0636422d9d5a77316216efb3c10164f">slightly different physiological qualities</a>, and so by spending time in each zone, you ensure a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/bf00426304">variety of benefits</a> for performance and health. <h2>So how much time should you spend in each zone?</h2> Most <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2023.1258585/full">elite endurance athletes</a>, including runners, rowers, and even cross-country skiers, tend to spend most of their training (around 80%) in zone 1, with the rest split between zones 2 and 3. Because elite endurance athletes train a lot, most of it needs to be in zone 1, otherwise they risk injury and burnout. For example, some runners accumulate <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/22/5/article-p392.xml?content=pdf">more than 250 kilometres per week</a>, which would be impossible to recover from if it was all performed in zone 2 or 3. Of course, most people are not professional athletes. The <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity">World Health Organization</a> recommends adults aim for 150–300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. If you look at this in the context of heart rate zones, you could consider zone 1 training as moderate intensity, and zones 2 and 3 as vigorous. Then, you can use heart rate zones to make sure you’re exercising to meet these guidelines. <h2>What if I don’t have a heart rate monitor?</h2> If you don’t have access to a heart rate tracker, that doesn’t mean you can’t use heart rate zones to guide your training. The three heart rate zones discussed in this article can also be prescribed based on feel using a simple <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00418.x">10-point scale</a>, where 0 indicates no effort, and 10 indicates the maximum amount of effort you can produce. With this system, zone 1 aligns with a 4 or less out of 10, zone 2 with 4.5 to 6.5 out of 10, and zone 3 as a 7 or higher out of 10. Heart rate zones are not a perfect measure of exercise intensity, but can be a useful tool. And if you don’t want to worry about heart rate zones at all, that’s also fine. The most important thing is to simply get moving.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228520/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hunter-bennett-1053061">Hunter Bennett</a>, Lecturer in Exercise Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-heart-rate-zones-and-how-can-you-incorporate-them-into-your-exercise-routine-228520">original article</a>.

Body

Why Mary Poppins has received a new rating 60 years on

Almost 60 years after Mary Poppins was first released, the classic film has been given a new rating by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The BBFC, which regulates films and video content in the country, changed the rating of the 1964 Disney musical last week from U (Universal) to PG (Parental Guidance) because it features a racial slur once used by white Europeans to refer to the native peoples of southern Africa. "Mary Poppins (1964) includes two uses of the discriminatory term 'hottentots'," a BBFC spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. "While Mary Poppins has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U." The approaching 60th anniversary of the film is what prompted the BBFC to reexamine the film, as it is set to return to UK cinemas in celebration of the milestone. Even as Mary Poppins remains a treasured part of UK culture, the film has long been criticised for the use of blackface. It's partly in this context that the discriminatory language referenced by BBFC appears in the film. In one scene, the eccentric Admiral Boom asks one of the Banks children if he is going on an adventure to "defeat hottentots." Later in the film, as Admiral Boom sees chimney sweeps with soot-blackened faces dancing in the distance, he shouts, "We're being attacked by hottentots!" and orders a cannon to be fired in their direction. "Hottentot" is a derogatory term used by European settlers to refer to Khoikhoi peoples of South Africa and Namibia, according to the Oxford Dictionary reference. Per the new film rating, children of any age can still watch without an adult present, but parents should consider whether the content might upset younger or more sensitive children, a BBFC spokesperson said. Image credits: Disney

Movies

Five ways to take advantage of rising interest rates to boost your savings

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/fredrick-kibon-changwony-234363">Fredrick Kibon Changwony</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-stirling-1697">University of Stirling</a> With the Bank of England base rate <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-bank-of-englands-interest-rate-hikes-are-filtering-through-to-your-finances-210344">currently the highest</a> it has been since early 2008, you may have a valuable opportunity to increase your earnings on pensions, investments and savings accounts. After all, when the central bank raises its main rate – the base rate, which is typically used as a benchmark for loans as well as savings accounts – it is trying to encourage people to spend less and save more. But UK banks and building societies have <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/money/martin-lewis-savings-rates-mortgage-crisis-b2362955.html">recently been accused</a> of letting their savings rates lag the recent rapid rise in the base rate. UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has urged these financial firms to offer “<a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/action-plan-cash-savings">fair and competitive</a>” savings rates in response to the increasing interest rates. Many financial institutions do offer accounts with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/jul/15/uk-savings-accounts-interest-nsi-building-societies-banks-deals">rates of 6% or more</a>. This is good news for avid savers – but only if you keep an eye on the market so you can switch from less competitive products. This is why it’s important to establish a regular savings habit, but many people are unsure about what that should involve. My colleagues and I have studied the <a href="https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/32240">correlation between people’s savings goals</a> (if they have any) and how they invest their money. We also looked at how seeking financial information advice, and being “good with numbers”, both influence this correlation. We analysed data from more than 40,000 individuals in 21,000 UK households from five waves of the Office for National Statistics Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), conducted between 2006 and 2016. This data captures comprehensive economic wellbeing information and attitudes to financial planning. Our research shows the importance to your finances of setting multiple savings goals, keeping up with financial news, and seeking professional advice. Based on this, here are five research-based ways to make the most of your money. <h2>1. Set specific savings goals</h2> Establishing personal savings goals is one of the first steps most financial institutions and advisers will recommend to their customers, because it’s a good idea to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/compoundinterest.asp">save regularly</a>. Plus, our study shows that total financial assets increase in line with the number of savings goals you have, and that setting specific, rather than vague, goals leads to higher performance. Specific savings goals should have an end date, target figure, and even a meaningful name – for example, “£1,000 for 2024 trip to Asia” or “£250 for 2023 Christmas present fund”. This will create tangible reference points that encourage self-control and increase the pain you feel if you fail to meet your goal. <h2>2. Seek professional financial advice</h2> Rather than relying on friends, family and social media for financial advice, speak to an expert. Our research shows households that access professional financial advice were more likely to allocate a higher share of their wealth to stock portfolios than those that rely on friends, family and social media for financial advice. This result was consistent even across different wealth and income levels, with lower earners possibly using products like ISAs to make investments in stocks and shares. Other <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/134/3/1225/5435538">research shows</a> stock portfolios outperform most other types of investment in the long term. We also found that access to professional financial advice can substitute for setting goals, because your adviser should help you to determine the kinds of products to invest in (which is called asset allocation) for specific timelines and aims. <h2>3. Brush up on your maths</h2> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5890.2007.00052.x">Several studies</a> show numerical skills affect how households gather and process information, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0013114">set goals</a>, perceive risks, and <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/fedred89&i=791">decide to invest</a> in various financial assets. So, by brushing up on your basic numeracy and financial literacy skills – even with free online videos – you could boost your savings for the long term. Our study shows that individuals with high confidence in their numerical skills tend to have better financial planning habits – such as investing more in stocks and bonds than cash, which carries more risk but also the potential for greater returns. This trend is particularly evident among households with no savings goals, suggesting that numerical ability could compensate for failing to set such goals. <h2>4. Adopt appropriate savings strategies</h2> Diversified stock market portfolios generally outperform bonds and cash savings <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz012">over longer periods</a>. However, stock markets can be volatile, so putting savings into less risky assets like bonds and cash is wise for savings goals of less than five years. In the longer term, investing across different global stock markets for more than five years can help counteract inflation. And you can access low-cost, diversified investment portfolios via financial products based on indices of stocks or other assets, such as exchange traded funds. <h2>5. Set, monitor and adjust your plan</h2> Free financial planning and budgeting apps can help you save money by tracking your spending and savings goals, and encouraging you to adhere to a budget. Most importantly, once you set savings goals and create a budget, don’t forget about them. Check regularly to see how your savings are building up and to monitor for any spending changes. A growing array of fintech tools can prompt and encourage this kind of long-term planning. Keeping an eye on savings rates is also important. As banks change rates or create new accounts, consider switching to get a better deal if you can do so without falling foul of account closure fees. It’s important to make sure your savings are working for you at any time, but its crucial in the current economy, when finances are tight but interest rates are rising.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208853/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/fredrick-kibon-changwony-234363">Fredrick Kibon Changwony</a>, Lecturer in Accounting & Finance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-stirling-1697">University of Stirling</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-take-advantage-of-rising-interest-rates-to-boost-your-savings-208853">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Ping, your pizza is on its way. Ping, please rate the driver. Yes, constant notifications really do tax your brain

A ping from the pizza company. A couple of pings from your socials. Ping, ping, ping from your family WhatsApp group trying to organise a weekend barbecue. With all those smartphone notifications, it’s no wonder you lose focus on what you’re trying to do do. Your phone doesn’t even need to ping to distract you. There’s <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-28923-001">pretty good</a><a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462">evidence</a> the mere presence of your phone, silent or not, is enough to divert your attention. So what’s going on? More importantly, how can you reclaim your focus, without missing the important stuff? <h2>Is it really such a big deal?</h2> When you look at the big picture, those pings can really add up. Although estimates vary, the average person checks their phone <a href="https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30085/1/PubSub7601_Andrews.PDF">around 85 times</a><a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/trapped-in-the-net-are-we-all-addicted-to-our-smartphones-20190531-p51t44.html">a day</a>, roughly once every 15 minutes. In other words, every 15 minutes or so, your attention is likely to wander from what you’re doing. The trouble is, it can take <a href="https://lifehacker.com/how-long-it-takes-to-get-back-on-track-after-a-distract-1720708353">several minutes</a> to regain your concentration fully after being <a href="https://www.ics.uci.edu/%7Egmark/chi08-mark.pdf">interrupted</a> by your phone. If you’re just watching TV, distractions (and refocusing) are no big deal. But if you’re driving a car, trying to study, at work, or spending time with your loved ones, it could lead to some fairly substantial problems. <h2>Two types of interference</h2> The pings from your phone are “exogenous interruptions”. In other words, something external, around you, has caused the interruption. We can <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_21">become conditioned</a> to feeling excited when we hear our phones ping. This is the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2002.00015.x">same pleasurable feeling</a> people who gamble can quickly become conditioned to at the sight or sound of a poker machine. What if your phone is on silent? Doesn’t that solve the ping problem? Well, no. That’s another type of interruption, an internal (or endogenous) interruption. Think of every time you were working on a task but your attention drifted to your phone. You may have fought the urge to pick it up and see what was happening online, but you probably checked anyway. In this situation, we can become so strongly conditioned to expect a reward each time we look at our phone we don’t need to wait for a ping to trigger the effect. These impulses are powerful. Just reading this article about checking your phone may make you feel like … checking your phone. <h2>Give your brain a break</h2> What do all these interruptions mean for cognition and wellbeing? There’s increasing evidence push notifications are associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853217300159">decreased productivity</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958820300051">poorer concentration</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0927537116300136">increased distraction</a> at work and school. But is there any evidence our brain is working harder to manage the frequent switches in attention? One study of people’s brain waves <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cin/2016/5718580/">found</a> those who describe themselves as heavy smartphone users were more sensitive to push notifications than ones who said they were light users. After hearing a push notification, heavy users were significantly worse at recovering their concentration on a task than lighter users. Although push notification interrupted concentration for both groups, the heavy users took much longer to regain focus. Frequent interruptions from your phone can also leave you <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563219302596">feeling stressed</a> by a need to respond. Frequent smartphone interruptions are also associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131519301319">increased FOMO</a> (fear of missing out). If you get distracted by your phone after responding to a notification, any subsequent <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2050157921993896">procrastination</a> in returning to a task can also leave you feeling guilty or frustrated. There’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219300883">certainly evidence</a> suggesting the longer you spend using your phone in unproductive ways, the lower you tend to rate your wellbeing. <h2>How can I stop?</h2> We know switching your phone to silent isn’t going to magically fix the problem, especially if you’re already a frequent checker. What’s needed is behaviour change, and that’s hard. It can take several attempts to see lasting change. If you have ever tried to quit smoking, lose weight, or start an exercise program you’ll know what I mean. Start by turning off all non-essential notifications. Then here are some things to try if you want to reduce the number of times you check your phone: <ul> <li> charge your phone overnight in a different room to your bedroom. Notifications can prevent you falling asleep and can repeatedly rouse you from essential sleep throughout the night </li> <li> interrupt the urge to check and actively decide if it’s going to benefit you, in that moment. For example, as you turn to reach for your phone, stop and ask yourself if this action serves a purpose other than distraction </li> <li> try the <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hates-productivity-hacksthe-pomodoro-technique-actually-works#:%7E:text=The%20Pomodoro%20Technique%20is%20a,are%20referred%20to%20as%20pomodoros">Pomodoro method</a> to stay focused on a task. This involves breaking your concentration time up into manageable chunks (for example, 25 minutes) then rewarding yourself with a short break (for instance, to check your phone) between chunks. Gradually increase the length of time between rewards. Gradually re-learning to sustain your attention on any task can take a while if you’re a high-volume checker. </li> </ul> Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/ping-your-pizza-is-on-its-way-ping-please-rate-the-driver-yes-constant-notifications-really-do-tax-your-brain-193952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Technology

Fighting inflation doesn’t directly cause unemployment – but that’s still the most likely outcome

You may have seen the news: in its attempts to tackle inflation, the Reserve Bank is going to increase unemployment. The idea can even seem to come right from the mouths of experts, including the bank’s governor, Adrian Orr. <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/adrian-orr-beating-inflation-will-mean-higher-unemployment/WO3WLQQUGWEC5NVK3AQTR2BN5A/">Speaking recently</a> to an industry conference, he said: <blockquote> Returning to low inflation will, in the near term, constrain employment growth and lead to a rise in unemployment. </blockquote> Similar sentiments have been expressed by <a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/opinion/inflation-taming-the-costs-are-becoming-more-visible">independent economists</a> and <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/31-10-2022/the-big-banks-just-cant-stop-winning">commentators</a>. But is it as simple as it might appear? What is the relationship between inflation and unemployment, and is it inevitable that reducing one will lead to an increase in the other? <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Unemployment rate holds steady at 3.3%, wages rise strongly - Stats NZ <a href="https://t.co/IQOPBaNYTn">https://t.co/IQOPBaNYTn</a> — RNZ News (@rnz_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/rnz_news/status/1587568087808999424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2022</a></blockquote> Historic highs and lows Like other developed countries, New Zealand has been going through a period of historically high inflation. The latest figures, for the September quarter of 2022, show an annual <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-7-2-percent/">rise of 7.2%</a>, only slightly lower than the 7.3% recorded for the June quarter. Inflation is the highest it has been since 1990. The story is similar across the OECD, where inflation averages <a href="https://www.oecd.org/economy/consumer-prices-oecd-updated-4-october-2022.htm">10.3%</a>, including <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/september2022">8.8%</a> in the UK and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">8.2%</a> in the US. At the same time, New Zealand is experiencing a period of very low unemployment, with a <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/unemployment-rate-at-3-3-percent">rate of just 3.3%</a> for September 2022, following 3.2% in the June quarter. These are near-record lows, and the rate has not been below 4% since mid-2008. So, right now New Zealand is in a period of historically low unemployment and historically high inflation. At first glance, that might suggest that in order to return to low inflation, we may inevitably experience higher unemployment. The Phillips Curve The idea that inflation and unemployment have a negative relationship (when one increases, the other decreases, and vice versa) dates back to work by New Zealand’s most celebrated economist, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phillips_(economist)">A.W. (Bill) Phillips</a>. While working at the London School of Economics in the 1950s, Phillips wrote a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0335.1958.tb00003.x">famous paper</a> that used UK data from 1861 to 1957 and showed a negative relationship between unemployment and wage increases. Subsequent work by economics Nobel Prize winners <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Samuelson.html">Paul Samuelson</a> and <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1987/solow/facts/">Robert Solow</a> extended Phillips’ work to show a negative relationship between price inflation and unemployment. We now refer to this relationship as the “Phillips Curve”. However, even though this relationship between inflation and unemployment has been demonstrated with various data sources, and for various time periods for different countries, it is not a causal relationship. Lower inflation doesn’t by itself cause higher unemployment, even though they are related. To see why, it’s worth thinking about the mechanism that leads to the observed relationship. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LISTEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LISTEN</a> 🔊 The Finance Minister says addressing inflation without increasing unemployment is a difficult balancing act. 📎 <a href="https://t.co/CfaopcqjGv">https://t.co/CfaopcqjGv</a> <a href="https://t.co/1gMNat2G99">pic.twitter.com/1gMNat2G99</a> — Morning Report (@NZMorningReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZMorningReport/status/1587893034351411200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2022</a></blockquote> Collateral damage If the Reserve Bank raises the official cash rate, commercial banks follow by raising their interest rates. That makes borrowing more expensive. Higher interest rates mean banks will lend less money. With less money chasing goods and services in the economy, inflation will start to fall. Of course, this is what the Reserve Bank wants when it raises the cash rate. Its <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/library-research-papers/research-papers/monetary-policy-and-the-policy-targets-agreement/">Policy Targets Agreement</a> with the government states that inflation must be kept between 1% and 3%. So when inflation is predicted to be higher, the bank acts to lower it. At the same time, higher interest rates increase mortgage payments, leaving households and consumers with less discretionary income, and so consumer spending falls. Along with reduced business spending, this reduces the amount of economic activity. Businesses therefore need fewer workers, and so employment falls. So, while the Reserve Bank raises interest rates to combat inflation, those higher interest rates also slow down the economy and increase unemployment. Higher unemployment is essentially collateral damage arising from reducing inflation. Great expectations That’s not the end of the story, though. After its 1960s heyday, the Phillips Curve was criticised by economists on theoretical grounds, and for its inability to explain the “stagflation” (high unemployment and high inflation) experienced in the 1970s. For example, <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Friedman.html">Milton Friedman</a> argued there is actually no trade-off between inflation and unemployment, because workers and businesses take inflation into account when negotiating employment contracts. Workers’ and employers’ expectations about future inflation is key. Friedman argued that, because inflation is expected, workers will have already built it into their wage demands, and businesses won’t change the amount of workers they employ. Friedman’s argument would suggest that, aside from some short-term deviations, the economy will typically snap back to a “natural” rate of unemployment, with an inflation rate that only reflects workers’ and businesses’ expectations. Symptom or cause? Can we rely on this mechanism to avoid higher unemployment as the Reserve Bank increases interest rates to combat inflation? It seems unlikely. Workers would first have to expect the Reserve Bank’s actions will lower inflation, and respond by asking for smaller wage increases. Right now, however, consumer inflation expectations <a href="https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/households/household-inflation-expectations">remain high</a> and wage growth is at <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/latest-job-numbers-out-unemployment-flatlining-near-record-lows/O4NDE3Y4W5GMHGDRDDS733LX7A/">record levels</a>. So, we can probably expect unemployment to move upwards as the Reserve Bank’s inflation battle continues. Not because lower inflation causes higher unemployment, but because worker and consumer expectations take time to reflect the likelihood of lower future inflation due to the Reserve Bank’s actions. And since workers negotiate only infrequently with employers, there is an inevitable lag between inflation expectations changing and this being reflected in wages. Alas, for ordinary households, there is no quick and easy way out of this situation. Writen by Michael P. Cameron. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/fighting-inflation-doesnt-directly-cause-unemployment-but-thats-still-the-most-likely-outcome-193617" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193617/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />

Money & Banking

Europe warming at double the rate of other continents

Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, according to a newly released report from the World Meteorological Organization. The State of the Climate in Europe report cites the loss of more than 25 metres of ice loss in alpine glaciers, and 20 metres of loss in Greenland (a Danish territory), as particularly responsible for the rise in ocean levels. Climate change events were also responsible for more than US$50 billion in damages. In its statement releasing the report, the WMO described Europe as the “live picture” of a world burdened by warming climate. Since 1990, Europe’s temperatures have undergone an average rate of temperature increase of 0.5 degrees each decade. That rate is twice as high as the next fastest warming continent. The WMO points to high-impact weather and climate events – nearly 85% of which were floods and storms – as directly affecting around 510,000 people. Extreme heat also took its toll, with provisional record temperatures experienced in southern Italy in August reaching 48.8°C. These temperatures influenced drought and low rainfall across the Mediterranean, leading to deadly wildfires that burned through three times the amount of land area than the region’s 15-year average up to 2020. <h2>But are carbon emissions decreasing in Europe?</h2> Fuel prices and the COVID-19 pandemic were major influences on the continent’s carbon emissions reduction, the WMO found. A 31% decline in carbon emissions between 1990 and 2020 was recorded, although it’s expected to be far less in 2021 due to the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and altered fuel prices. 2021 also marked the introduction of EU legislation to make net zero by 2050 a legally-binding target for member nations. Although temperature data provided by six datasets showed a decrease in 2021 from the preceding year, it still marked one of the 10 warmest years on record. And observers will keenly await the release of next year’s 2022 appraisal, after record summer droughts and heatwaves heaped pressure on European nations. Even now, regions across the continent are recording their hottest temperatures for November on record. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> (2) More November records in Europe. France had 21 records today (left column), the most important were: Aigues Mortes (POR since 1872), Aix en Provence and Valence (1st class stations). In Austria 4 records beaten the highest was 23.3C at Hohe Wand (right column). tb continued.. <a href="https://t.co/DjmR7oR0oR">pic.twitter.com/DjmR7oR0oR</a> — Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) <a href="https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1587481854680219653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2022</a></blockquote> “[Europe] reminds us that even well-prepared societies are not safe from impacts of extreme weather events,” says WMO secretary-general Professor Petteri Taalas. “This year, like 2021, large parts of Europe have been affected by extensive heatwaves and drought, fuelling wildfires. In 2021, exceptional floods caused death and devastation. “On the mitigation side, the good pace in reducing greenhouse gases emissions in the region should continue and ambition should be further increased. Europe can play a key role towards achieving a carbon neutral society by the middle of the century to meet the Paris Agreement.” <h2>Future outlook</h2> The release of the report comes ahead of the global climate change conference to be held in Egypt, where delegations from around the world convene to recalibrate efforts to address climate change. Last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow was criticised for scrubbing language to phase out coal from the final agreement. In its place came language to ‘phase down’ its use. Coal is the leading source of carbon emissions from energy use. Similarly, several nations failed to renew important targets to reduce carbon emissions by the end of the decade, considered an important tipping point if net zero by 2050 is to be achieved. The WMO echoed the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts that weather, climate and water disasters will increase in the future, and that Europe will experience temperature rises at rates exceeding global average increases. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/europe-warming-at-double-the-rate-of-other-continents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Matthew Agius. Image: Getty

Travel Trouble

Suicide rates reveal the silent suffering of Australia’s ageing men

Men aged 85 and older have the highest suicide rates in Australia, but the tragedy has gone relatively unnoticed. This group is growing older, feeling alone and flying under the radar. The tragedy of suicide is recognised as a major public health issue. Yet what may come as a surprise to many is data <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release#intentional-self-harm-deaths-suicide-in-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing men over 85 have suicide rates more than three times the average rate. Public perception is that men – in particular, young men – have the highest suicide risk. While this is true for the net number of suicides, if we don’t consider age-standardised rates (which account for differences in age distribution across the population) we miss a crucial finding. Adjusting for age Men aged over 85 accounted for a relatively small proportion of all male suicides (3.1%) in 2020 (the latest data available). But the age-specific suicide rate was 36.2 deaths per 100,000 (up from 32.3 per 100,000 in 2019). For women aged over 85, this rate was much lower (6.2 per 100,000). The next highest rate was for men in both the 40-44 and 50-54 age bands (27.1 per 100,000). In 2020, the overall suicide rate was 12.1 per 100,000 people. But this issue is rarely addressed in public discourse or policy directives. The <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/2020-21#psychological-distress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing</a> released last month did not include data on people older than 85. This risk is <a href="https://theconversation.com/elderly-men-have-the-highest-suicide-rate-and-ageism-stops-us-from-doing-something-about-it-46923" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not new</a>, but little has changed to address it over the past decade. In light of COVID and what it has <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.679711/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed about ageism</a> and the value of older people in our society, it is crucial to explore these issues again. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477294/original/file-20220803-1926-uuu06d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="older man with head in hands" /></a><figcaption>All the key risk factors for suicide have become even more relevant due to COVID. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-man-covering-his-face-hands-701935606" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> Preventable deaths It is startling that men who have shown resilience to survive to late life are at such risk of preventable death. Many factors contribute, including physical and material circumstances like <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28511737/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frailty, chronic pain, bereavement</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23209090/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial troubles</a>. However, we cannot assume only external issues cause distress and lead to suicide. In fact, for older people, successful ageing is rarely defined purely by physical circumstances. Ageing well often implies flourishing despite hardship. The silent challenge among men aged over 85 who take their own lives is psychological and existential distress, which can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20438238/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reinforce feelings of loneliness and worthlessness</a>. Older men at risk of suicide may feel they are “no longer needed” or perceive themselves as “burdensome” to family and community. These beliefs can overlap with major life transitions, such as retirement, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31431103/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopping driving</a> or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21500012/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moving to residential care, where they are a minority</a>. Such stressful events can increase feelings of marginalisation, loss of independence and worthlessness, and also lead to social isolation. Talking about it A reluctance to express their feelings or be vulnerable has long been discussed as an important factor for men’s wellbeing, especially when they’re feeling low. Research suggests gender stereotypes and social norms linked to masculinity <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27664823/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduce help-seeking behaviours</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2156869317725890" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can increase suicide risk</a>. Many ageing men hold restrictive and stoic beliefs about what it means to be a man. This may make them <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29019282/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less inclined to share</a> when they aren’t coping. Yet emerging research <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27473200/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">challenges the assumption</a> men don’t talk because they can’t. One reason men are not talking about their mental health struggles is because there’s <a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/153516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nowhere for them</a> to open up in a way they see as culturally and socially acceptable. Instead, older men are speaking through their actions. Suicide prevention and early intervention responses that are not tailored to the needs of older men are unlikely to be effective. We need to meet men where they are and listen to their quiet and absent voices by designing programs in partnership with them. This means better understanding men’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28871841/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">barriers</a> to suicide interventions. These include a lack of trust in traditional services and an aversion to “formal” supports that frame emotional distress and suicidal behaviours as mental illness. It also means exploring, developing and funding new options that are acceptable, relevant and accessible, such as gendered support, peer-led programs, community-based informal support and programs combining exercise with mental health promotion. The objective is not only to develop more suitable suicide prevention for this specific group, but also to examine broader interactions between ageing, isolation and loneliness; <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-psychogeriatrics/article/covid19-the-implications-for-suicide-in-older-adults/9890D02E0DA3021FCFE66B9A29F2684E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all key risk factors</a> for suicide that have become even more relevant due to COVID. More calls for help Increased feelings of distress and loneliness produced by the pandemic can be measured by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-04/lifeline-records-highest-daily-calls-on-record/100350522" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased calls to services such as Lifeline</a>. And more persistent mental health problems are likely to present more slowly, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2020-41461-001.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over longer horizons</a>, and peak after the most acute phases of the pandemic. Older people have handled much of the burden of COVID, including unprecedented <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7295320/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictions and ageist sentiments</a>. We must recognise these factors – growing old, being alone and feeling unheard - underpin increasing distress felt by men aged over 85, not only during the pandemic, but more generally. This group must be seen as a priority population for suicide prevention. We must start listening and work together to find solutions so older men can access the help they need in a way that suits them. <hr /> UNSW Ageing Futures Institute would like to acknowledge the research contribution of <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/about/our-research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lifeline Research Foundation</a>’s Dr Anna Brooks (National Manager) and Dr Tara Hunt (Research and Engagement Manager). <hr /> If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, you can call these support services, 24 hours, 7 days: <ul> <li> Lifeline: 13 11 14 </li> <li> Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 </li> <li> Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800 (for people aged 5 to 25) </li> <li> MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 </li> <li> StandBy - Support After Suicide: 1300 727 24<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187925/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> </li> </ul> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rhys-mantell-1350710" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rhys Mantell</a>, PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNSW Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adrienne-withall-1366339" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrienne Withall</a>, Senior Research Fellow, School of Population Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNSW Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/suicide-rates-reveal-the-silent-suffering-of-australias-ageing-men-187925" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Mind

Ratings revealed for Neighbours finale

Almost 900,000 Aussies tuned in to the much anticipated finale of Neighbours. 37 years later, the soap which was responsible for launching a long list of Hollywood careers ended as 873,000 watched on across five metro capital cities. The finale out-ranked Nine News, and even scored double the amount of views as The Project. TV writer Colin Vickery reported that the figure was even higher nationwide - Neighbours saw its best ratings in 13 years. Emotions ran high as <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/i-m-not-crying-you-re-crying-viewers-react-to-neighbours-finale" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fans reacted</a> to the soap ending, sharing their sadness over on Twitter. Even Craig McLachlan was devastated and <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/craig-mclachlan-films-his-own-neighbours-finale-tribute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared his own personal tribute</a> to the show on Facebook before the finale aired on TV. McLachlan was noticeably excluded from being in the last episode but that didn't stop him from <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/why-craig-mclachlan-s-neighbours-finale-snub-is-so-devastating" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling out</a> the show's creators for "succumbing to cancel culture", which left him out of the reunion after alleged assault charges made against him. In true Neighbours fashion the last episode of the show ended with Guy Pearce’s character rekindling a past romance after whizzing into Erinsborough on a motorcycle and featured Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan making their way back to Ramsay Street after a long stay in Queensland. Of course surprise cameos from Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia, and even included Toadie’s fourth wedding. Neighbours announced in March the iconic program was being axxed as funding was withdrawn by UK network Channel 5. Image: Twitter

Why smoking shouldn’t give movies an automatic R rating

In an era when <a href="http://www.whitehutchinson.com/blog/2014/01/movie-attendance-continued-its-long-term-decline-in-2013/">cinema attendance</a> is in continual decline, the United States Surgeon General’s <a href="http://http//www.cdc.gov//tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/movies/index.htm">proposal</a> that all movies depicting smoking should be rated R is a particular form of silliness. The Surgeon General <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-anniversary/">estimates</a> that giving an R rating to movies with smoking would reduce the number of young smokers in the US by nearly 18% and prevent one million deaths from smoking among children alive today. But these statements are based on <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001078">questionable assumptions</a> and calculations.<h2>Beyond the cinema</h2>Advocates for R ratings argue two effects. R-rating would dramatically reduce the number of young people who would be exposed to smoking scenes in movies. And it would act as a major disincentive to movie producers to include smoking scenes because R rated movies attract smaller audiences. These producers would thus self-censor smoking scenes after doing the box office maths.But studies purporting to demonstrate the power of smoking scenes to cause smoking already include R-rating movies in their smoking scene exposure assessments. In this 2007 <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/5/e1167.long">paper</a>, for example, 40% of the films were R-rated. The same research team has also <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/1/149.long">shown</a> that 81% of US adolescents are allowed to watch R-rated movies. If youth who allegedly start smoking because of exposure to smoking in movies are already watching lots of R-rated movies, how would an R-rating reduce such exposure? Moving movies with smoking to R-rating would put the onus on parents to regulate their children’s viewing. Few would disagree with that. But why would parents regulate their children’s viewing more because of concern about smoking than they do now because of concerns about exposure to strong violence and explicit sex in R-rated movies?If the R-rating solution is designed to prevent youth seeing smoking, it may prevent them seeing it in cinemas, but it will not prevent them seeing the newly rated R movies elsewhere with consummate ease, increasingly so as download and i-View markets rapidly expand. It surely cannot be long until proponents of R-rating realise they will need to call for total movie censorship of smoking. If they’re comfortable with that, let them be open about it.But I, for one, am not. And because the call for this proposal has received no serious consideration outside of the US and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_India">India</a> (a nation with a strong history of censorship), I’m certainly not alone. <h2>Art imitating life</h2>As I wrote <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001078">before</a> in the journal PLOS Medicine, I’m concerned that public health advocates think it’s reasonable for the state to regulate cultural products such as movies, books, art and theatre to further their cause.Film isn’t just about the communication of public health messages to the masses. And children’s moral development and health decision-making is far complex than a response to wholesome role models. Filmmakers depict all sorts of antisocial, unhealthy and even dangerous realities that we might expect in society. That doesn’t mean the behaviour is desirable or that the filmmaker is endorsing the behaviour. In nations such as Australia which ban all forms of tobacco advertising, any evidence of paid tobacco product placement in movie would be a breach of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/tapa1992314/">Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992</a>. There would be many inside the local film industry who would be appalled if tobacco companies were paying illegally for such scenes to occur. There have been no whistleblowers exposing this here, so any smoking scenes are highly likely to be script and directional judgements.Smoking prevalence in <a href="http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-1-prevalence/1-6-prevalence-of-smoking-secondary-students">Australian children</a> is at an all-time low, as it is in the <a href="http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/press_releases/post/2012_12_19_survey">United States</a>. This has been achieved by the sustained combination of policies and campaigns mostly directed at adults, but to which kids are also exposed. So while smoking in movies has been rising, smoking in kids has been falling.There are many overtly and subtly negative treatments of smoking in movies and television that are probably contributing to the decay of smoking’s former status. This compilation from the globally massively popular Friends TV series is illustrative.If R-rating advocates had their way, no adolescent should ever be exposed to such programs.Image credits: Getty ImagesThis article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-smoking-shouldnt-give-movies-an-automatic-r-rating-30864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Movies

Rap song linked to dip in suicide rates

Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide. An American rap song has been more than just a hit on the charts, after new research found it had a direct link to more people reaching out for crisis support and a decrease in suicide-related deaths. 1-800-273-8255, a song by American rapper Logic, features the phone number for the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The study, published in the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-067726" target="_blank">BMJ</a>, found that within 34 days of the song’s release in April 2017, the 2017 MTV Music Video Awards and the 2018 Grammy Awards, the hotline received an increase of 9,915 calls - working out to be an increase of seven percent more than the expected number. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846511/logic1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1958b234800047b3926988b93a6e3e28" /> Logic performing ‘1-800-273-8255’ at the VMAs in 2017. Image: Getty Images These three events generated intense public attention around the song, and within those periods of publicity, the number of suicides in the US decreased by 245. 1-800-273-8255 <a rel="noopener" href="https://happymag.tv/logic-song-linked-decline-in-suicide-rates/" target="_blank">has been praised</a> for its efforts to end the stigma surrounding mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts. But, the researchers point out that their study is only observational and “can’t establish cause”. They also noted that it was unclear whether the song had any effects beyond the three events where it received peak attention, or whether using social media data captured how many people listened to the song. Despite this, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/1-800-hip-hop-song-linked-to-a-reduction-in-suicides-in-the-us" target="_blank">they say</a> these findings “emphasise the potential population health benefits of working creatively and innovatively” with the music industry to share stories of people seeking help and depicting people coping during times of crisis. Logic has also been touched by the impact the song has had and the attention it’s brought to suicide prevention. “We did it from a really warm place in our hearts to try to help people,” he told CNN. “And the fact that it actually did, that blows my mind.” If you are experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636 or visit <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/" target="_blank">lifeline.org.au</a> or <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/national-help-lines-and-websites" target="_blank">beyondblue.org.au</a>. Image: Getty Images

Mind

First Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to change

Child protection processes in Australia have a history of injustice that disproportionately targets and harms First Nations children, families and communities. As a result, contemporary child protection systems and associated professions have sought to distance themselves from explicitly racist past policies and practices by <a href="https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/618">apologising</a> for their past involvement in the Stolen Generations and committing to change. Yet child protection systems continue to operate on assumptions about <a href="http://upendmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/How-We-endUP-6.18.21.pdf">race and class</a> that increase inequalities and injustices against First Nations families. In a Queensland <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.05.002">study</a> published in 2018 that used data from 2010-2011, Indigeneity was found to be a greater predictor of “subsequent child protection reports and investigations than a rating of ‘high risk’ on child protection’s risk assessment tool”. Another study in Western Australia found, when controlled for all other factors, Aboriginality was associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.017">almost double the risk</a> of infant removal. Understandings of risk, child abuse and neglect are often biased in favour of white middle-class parenting practices. This can lead to over-surveillance of First Nations families, and a flawed notification system. <h2>First Nations styles of parenting are disregarded or considered unsafe</h2> According to University of Utah <a href="http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/resources/whiteness/summary_of_whiteness_theory.pdf">academic Audrey Thompson</a>, “Whiteness Theory treats whiteness not as a biological category but as a social construction.” White social constructions are often informing major decision-making in child protection practice and policies. This is because legislators and those making decisions about child protection are often white. However, families disproportionately affected by these decisions are often Indigenous. As a result, white constructs also inform the baseline for good parenting practices in Australian child protection services. Essentially, Australian child protection systems were built around <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajs4.90">white, middle class standards</a> of parenting. This means they often <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.201569927296804">ignore</a> cultural differences in how children are raised. For example, many First Nations families <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/strengths-australian-aboriginal-cultural-practices-family-life-and-child-r">raise their children collectively</a>, with resources – such as food and housing – shared among family, kinship and community members. The recent documentary <a href="https://sharkisland.com.au/portfolio/the-department/">The Department</a> told the story of First Nations woman Stacey and her struggles trying to get her children returned to her care. The size of Stacey’s house was viewed by child protection services as a barrier. Stacey complied with the department’s guidelines, including moving into a larger house with four bedrooms. Despite having two of her children in her care, the film ends with three of Stacey’s children remaining in out-of-home care. Another case was a First Nations woman who had her baby taken from her by child protection. According to The Guardian, the chief executive officer of the First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing Clinic said the initial assessment of this mother had been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/18/aboriginal-woman-wins-battle-to-keep-baby-after-six-court-appearances">culturally inappropriate</a>. This ignorance of Indigenous ways of parenting could be contributing to the 20,077 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care as of 30 June 2019. According to the <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FamilyMattersReport2020_LR.pdf">Family Matters Report</a>, this represents one in every 16.6 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in Australia. <hr /> <iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/7897444/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 100%; height: 650px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe> <div style="width: 100%!; margin-top: 4px!important; text-align: right!important;"><a href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/7897444/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/7897444" target="_top" class="flourish-credit"><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg" alt="Made with Flourish" /> </a></div> <hr /> First Nations children had far higher rates of substantiations for neglect (31.8%) compared to non-Indigenous children (18.2%) in 2019-20, and lower rates of substantiations for sexual abuse. Understandings of neglect and emotional abuse are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473919716">subject to interpretation</a> by child protection practitioners. These interpretations can be based on societal and cultural values often incompatible with collective child rearing, and do not account for the impacts of material poverty when raising children. <h2>Families facing punishment instead of support</h2> Currently, child protection services often punish and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1035077200000079">blame</a> individuals for their “dysfunction” or risk. Genuine support, with a focus on addressing the <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/the-family-matters-report-2020/">drivers</a> of child protection involvement, remains lacking. For First Nations families, these drivers include poverty, housing issues, racism, trauma, mental health concerns, domestic and family violence, and alcohol and other drugs abuse. Rather than offering support to First Nations families who are in dire circumstances – such as financial support – the response of child protection systems remains <a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/726329/Family-Is-Culture-Review-Report.pdf">coercive, controlling, and punitive</a>. For example, <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/australian-legal-definitions-when-child-need-protection">reasons for emotional abuse substantiations</a> can include children <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi419">witnessing</a> domestic and family violence. Rather than providing ways for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence (<a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-australia-2019/contents/summary">often women and children</a>) to stay together, child removal often occurs. There is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/204674315X14207948135699">no focus on the structures driving these problems</a>. Instead, blame is placed on the affected individual. As argued by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udIq9oRDcDQ">Derecka Purnell</a>, lawyer and author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675803/becoming-abolitionists-by-derecka-purnell/">Becoming Abolitionists</a>, child protection systems in the United States are predicated on the failure of individuals to “protect” and supply their children with certain provisions. However there is limited support from these services to supply resources needed for parents to feed, clothe and house their children. Australia’s child protection systems <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338476340_Typologies_of_Child_Protection_Systems_An_International_Approach">have the same flaws</a>. <h2>A flawed notification system</h2> Increased involvement of child protection agencies with First Nations families contributes to a harmful perception among those who report issues to child protection (teachers, health professionals, police and the general public) that First Nations families ought to be surveilled more than others. This becomes a vicious circle, increasing the number of reports, contributing to the <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/the-family-matters-report-2020/">overrepresentation</a> of First Nations children in child protection and out-of-home care. <hr /> <iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/7862106/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 100%; height: 650px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe> <div style="width: 100%!; margin-top: 4px!important; text-align: right!important;"><a href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/7862106/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/7862106" target="_top" class="flourish-credit"><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg" alt="Made with Flourish" /> </a></div> <hr /> Anyone in the community can make a notification of alleged child abuse or neglect to child protection authorities. The concerned neighbour, the midwife at the maternity hospital, the teacher in the classroom, or the police officer responding to a family violence call-out. They do not need to supply substantive proof or evidence of the alleged harm. They need only have “<a href="https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/making-report-child-protection">reasonable belief</a>” of harm or potential harm. Their judgement as to what constitutes child abuse or neglect is at their discretion. The notifier can also remain anonymous to the family who are the target of the allegation. Once a <a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/726329/Family-Is-Culture-Review-Report.pdf">notification</a> of alleged child abuse or neglect has been made to child protection authorities, the likelihood of future allegations increases. This is because an allegation in and of itself serves as <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/australian-legal-definitions-when-child-need-protection"> another “risk factor”</a>. Child protection authorities hold the power to investigate any allegation of child abuse or neglect made to their jurisdiction. But affected families are left with no choice but to <a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/726329/Family-Is-Culture-Review-Report.pdf">comply</a> with child protection’s directives. These families often feel voiceless, powerless and in fear of a system that continues to remove First Nations children at disproportionate rates (despite making <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/dashboard/socioeconomic/outcome-area12">commitments</a> to change). <a href="https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/618">Social workers</a> have acknowledged the harms of past practices. However they remain complicit in child protection systems that continue to inflict harm against First Nations families and communities. These practices have resonance with the Stolen Generations. Changing child protection systems requires more than apologies and acknowledgements of past harms. On-paper reforms, such as the commissioning of independent reviews into child protection systems without fully implementing the recommendations, ring <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/still-they-take-the-children-away-while-20211107-p596oy.html">hollow</a>. As a result, child protection systems continue to cause harm to another generation of First Nations children and families. It needs to be accepted that understandings of “risk” in Australian child protection systems have been built on racial discrimination and biased understandings of “good parenting”. Transformation of these systems requires investment in prevention and early intervention, confronting whiteness in these practices, and improving cultural awareness about different styles of parenting. These are a vital steps in addressing the structural drivers of involvement with child protection systems. Better support for First Nations families to stay together is needed to avoid more generations of stolen children.<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/169090/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jacynta-krakouer-196720">Jacynta Krakouer</a>, Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-bhathal-1288514">Alex Bhathal</a>, Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-chamberlain-1223086">Catherine Chamberlain</a>, Professor Indigenous Health Equity, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-c-beaufils-1288512">James C. Beaufils</a>, Research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-gray-1102843">Paul Gray</a>, Associate professor, Jumbunna Insitute for Indigenous Education and Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tatiana-corrales-1288516">Tatiana Corrales</a>, Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-children-are-still-being-removed-at-disproportionate-rates-cultural-assumptions-about-parenting-need-to-change-169090">original article</a>. Image: Unsplash, CC BY

Family & Pets

As Aucklanders anticipate holiday trips, Māori leaders ask people to stay away from regions with lower vaccination rates

Despite the emergence of the new Omicron variant, New Zealand will move to a new <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/covid-19-protection-framework/">COVID-19 Protection Framework </a> this Friday, with a traffic light system to mark the level of freedoms for each region. Auckland and other parts of the North Island that are battling active outbreaks or have low vaccination rates will start at red, which means hospitality and businesses will be largely open only for fully vaccinated people. The rest of the country will be in orange, which allows for larger gatherings but restricts access for those who remain unvaccinated. From December 15, the Auckland boundary will lift and Aucklanders will be free to travel around the country, despite the ongoing community outbreak in which <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-case-demographics#vaccinations-details">23% of cases have been children under 12 and 14% were fully vaccinated</a>. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434350/original/file-20211129-13-pa5w88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Map of traffic light COVID-19 Protection Framework" /> Parts of the North Island will continue to have restrictions in place, particularly for people who remain unvaccinated, once New Zealand shifts to a new system on Friday. Provided, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC</a> To travel outside the Auckland boundary, anyone aged 12 or over will need to be fully vaccinated or have had a negative COVID-19 test within three days of departure. This will reduce the number of infected people leaving Auckland, but cases will spread across the country as people travel to see whānau and go on holidays. As part of our research to build a <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/04/15/super-model-for-team-of-5m.html">population-based contagion network</a>, we used electronic transaction data from previous years to derive movement patterns across the country. We show that during weeks without public holidays, just over 100,000 travellers left Auckland to visit one or more other regions. For the summer period of 2019-2020, close to 200,000 people left Auckland each week, with travel peaking over the Christmas and New Year period. The most common destinations for these trips were Thames-Coromandel (30,000 people), Tauranga (17,000 people) and Northland (15,000 people). <h2>Vaccination remains the best protection</h2> While full (two-dose) vaccination levels in Auckland are almost at 90% — remembering that 90% of eligible people means only about 75% of the total population, with lower rates for Māori — rates are much lower in many places Aucklanders like to visit over summer. This provides much less protection, against both illness and transmission, and any outbreak would be larger and more rapid. Vaccination coverage in these areas is increasing but is unlikely to be at 90% before Christmas. Holiday destinations also have health infrastructure designed for the much lower local population and face additional pressures if visitors get sick. New Zealand’s outdoor summer lifestyle might be an advantage; transmission is greatly reduced outdoors with good air movement. But people should remain mindful anytime they move into an environment with less ventilation, such as using the toilet at the beach or sharing a car. A good rule of thumb is if you can smell perfume in the air then there’s a transmission risk. COVID-19 is passed on through the air we breathe, which is why masking remains important, as long as the mask <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/proper-mask-wearing-coronavirus-prevention-infographic">fits properly</a>. People planning to travel should reduce their risk of exposure during the two weeks before a trip. <ul> <li> Skip the office party (especially if they are held indoors) </li> <li> consider postponing meetings until after the holidays rather than having them during the days before people are likely to travel around the country </li> <li> if you decide to go ahead, make sure gatherings and parties are outdoors </li> <li> avoid alcohol as it can increase the likelihood of risky behaviour </li> <li> limit yourself to one meeting per week (if someone is infected, you’ll have a better chance to find out and self-isolate before passing it on) </li> <li> use your contact tracer app, always </li> <li> shop online </li> <li> wear a mask anywhere there is a crowd, even outdoors. </li> </ul> <h2>Protecting people in regions with lower vaccination rates</h2> Vaccination is the best step to reduce spread and symptom severity. But it’s not perfect. The risk of “breakthrough” infections depends on the intensity of exposure – short exposure to an infected person is less likely to result in infection and meeting indoors poses a higher risk. When people are vaccinated, we’d expect to see most transmission happening in dwellings where people are together for long periods of time. For anyone with a breakthrough infection, vaccination approximately halves the chance of transmitting the virus. Vaccination also reduces the risk of developing symptoms, and greatly reduces the risk of needing hospitalisation. But having milder symptoms can make it harder to detect cases, which means it remains important to get tested. The most popular places New Zealanders like to visit over summer are remote and people living there haven’t had the same easy access to vaccination as those living in bigger cities. Nearly a third of Northland’s eligible population remains unvaccinated, the East Cape is only 65% fully vaccinated and parts of the Coromandel Peninsula are also sitting well under ideal vaccination rates. These places also have fewer testing facilities, which could mean outbreaks become harder to detect and manage. Many rural communities aren’t connected to town supply, so wastewater testing won’t be as useful, and emergency medical attention is harder to access. <h2>Planning to manage COVID infections</h2> Many residents in these remote towns, including <a href="https://waateanews.com/2021/11/18/border-opening-no-christmas-treat-for-taitokerau/">iwi leaders</a>, are <a href="https://tinangata.com/2021/11/21/painting-a-covid-picture/">asking holiday makers to stay away</a>, regardless of vaccination status. Māori are already disproportionately represented in our COVID-19 statistics and have more young people who can’t be vaccinated yet. By travelling to areas with low vaccination rates among the Māori population we risk <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/people-will-die-at-home-covids-unstoppable-summer">compounding tragedy</a> in places where health services would not cope with the level of illness. Anyone choosing to go on holiday after weighing these factors should have a plan for what they’ll do if they or someone on their group develops COVID-like symptoms while away from their usual health support systems. Questions to ask include: <ul> <li> Where will you go to get a test? </li> <li> What will you do while you wait for test results? </li> <li> Will it be possible for you to self-isolate while you wait for a test result? </li> <li> Where is the closest medical centre? Do they operate after hours? </li> <li> Is there an ambulance service and how far is the nearest hospital? </li> <li> Is there good phone reception? If not, what will you do in a health emergency? </li> <li> How would you manage an outbreak in your holiday accommodation? </li> </ul> Campers should take extra precautions by wearing masks in shared kitchens and bathrooms and using their own cleaning and hygiene products. They should keep good social distance wherever possible and minimise contact with people they don’t know. Family gatherings will also bring together different generations, with elders who may be more vulnerable and younger people who are more mobile and more likely to be infected. A group of New Zealanders who experienced COVID-19 put together a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e2v-rOztBgQfFBKHJN0R59RrinRtq2RmjuFhEZP9JfM/edit#gid=0">management kit</a> with a list of things anyone travelling will find useful. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Kylie Stewart, a member of the team at Te Pūnaha Matatini and the HRC-funded project <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/04/15/super-model-for-team-of-5m.html">Te Matatini o te Horapa</a> — a population-based contagion network for Aotearoa New Zealand.<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/172682/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dion-oneale-1283438">Dion O'Neale</a>, Lecturer - Department of Physics, University of Auckland; Principal Investigator - Te Pūnaha Matatini, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-sporle-1151937">Andrew Sporle</a>, Honorary associate professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-harvey-1284406">Emily Harvey</a>, Principal Investigator, Te Pūnaha Matatini, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-turnbull-1280540">Steven Turnbull</a>, Te Pūnaha Matatini Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</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/as-aucklanders-anticipate-holiday-trips-maori-leaders-ask-people-to-stay-away-from-regions-with-lower-vaccination-rates-172682">original article</a>. Image: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Travel Tips

Denzel Washington to star in R-rated Macbeth

Academy Award winner Denzel Washington will be taking on the titular character of Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth, a new adaptation of the famous Shakespearean tragedy. A <a rel="noopener" href="https://movieweb.com/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-teaser-a24/" target="_blank">new teaser</a> sees Washington depict the fictional Scottish lord in stark black-and-white in an eerie and otherworldly version of medieval Scotland. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845673/_0-19-screenshot-1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6feccf71e63c402d99b87f90984344e9" /> Frances McDormand will star alongside Washington in the new adaptation. Image: A24 “In meticulously world-weary performances, a strikingly inward Denzel Washington is the man who would be king, and an effortlessly Machiavellian Frances McDormand is his Lady,” the New York Film Festival’s announcement of the film reads. The film is directed by Joel Coen - one half of the Coen brothers - though this time he will be working solo. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoxy5pIXjd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoxy5pIXjd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by A24 (@a24)</a> </div> </blockquote> Famed actress Kathryn Hunter will also join the cast as a trio of ‘weird sisters’, alongside Brendan Gleeson as King Duncan, Corey Hawkins as Macduff, and The Queen’s Gambit star Moses Ingram as Lady MacDuff. “Though it echoes the forbidding visual designs - and aspect ratios - of Laurence Olivier’s classic 1940’s Shakespeare adaptations, as well as the bloody medieval madness of Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, Coen’s tale of sound and fury is entirely his own,” the announcement reads. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDKPNFrkku/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDKPNFrkku/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by A24 (@a24)</a> </div> </blockquote> Coen previously shared his aspirations for the film, with hopes it will be a “boldly inventive visualisation of the Scottish Play” and “an anguished film that stares, mouth agape, at a sorrowful world undone by blind greed and thoughtless ambition”. The film made its debut at the 2021 New York Film Festival in September and is due to be released in select theatres on December 25. It will then be streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022. See the latest teaser trailer below. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bk6VArB6_us" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Image: A24

Movies

How hotels get their 5-star ratings

For hotels around the world, a 5-star review is the perfect validation from customers and experts that their service is top tier. Websites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia give travellers the chance to review their accommodation and how pleasing they found their stay. For many holiday-goers, their review often encompasses their entire experience and is reflected with a score out of five. However, there are official global organisations, such as the Visit England Quality Scheme, to help hotels achieve the highly sought after 5 out of 5 ratings, and the criteria is extensive. Firstly, one of the main criteria is “sustainable writing table with excellent free space” for travelling professionals. Others include high-quality soft furnishing, welcoming decor and a broad range of dishes of outstanding quality. Double beds in 5 star hotel rooms must be at least 5 ft wide, and single beds at least 3 ft wide, with generous access to both sides. And of course, bunk beds are an absolute no-no. Hotel pools, spas and saunas being open 24 hours will help a hotel's quest for a 5 star review, as well as having multiple dining options. Other checklist categories are less important however, such as having a business centre and the semantics of different suite sizes. The hotel rating system has proven to be a valuable tool for smaller boutique hotels with limited means of advertising, as they strive harder to achieve their perfect 5 out of 5 score. The rating system has seen establishments both blossom and crumble from the court of public opinion, showing everyone’s say matters when it comes to high-quality accommodation. Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Son interrupts Zoom interview with X-rated carrot

Though many parents have experienced unexpected interruptions with working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, one New Zealand politician’s experience has taken the cake. Carmel Sepuloni shared a clip from her live interview on Twitter of a moment that many can relate to. In the video, Ms Sepuloni is giving an interview for Radio Samoa when the door opens and her son appears, holding an unusually-shaped carrot in view of the camera. “Hang on, my son is in the room,” she says, turning to see her son with the vegetable in hand. Though she attempts to grab the carrot off him, he manages to hold onto it, and the moderator starts to laugh off camera. The segment then cuts away, as Ms Sepuloni can be heard saying “Sorry!” off camera. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> That moment when you’re doing a LIVE interview via Zoom & your son walks into the room shouting & holding a deformed carrot shaped like a male body part. 🙄🤦🏽‍♀️ Yes, we were almost wrestling over a carrot on camera, and yes, I’m laughing about it now but wasn’t at the time! 🥴 <a href="https://t.co/oUbcpt8tSu">pic.twitter.com/oUbcpt8tSu</a> — Carmel Sepuloni (@CarmelSepuloni) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarmelSepuloni/status/1432178595112251401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote> “That moment when you’re doing a LIVE interview via Zoom & your son walks into the room shouting & holding a deformed carrot shaped like a male body part,” Ms Sepuloni captioned the clip. “Yes, we were almost wrestling over a carrot on camera, and yes, I’m laughing about it now but wasn’t at the time!” Others were quick to share the sympathy and understanding for the mother and politician. “OMG I’ve taken to jamming my door shut as no one reads the sign that says I’m in video calls,” one person wrote. “My worst was a giant teddy bear attacking me whilst I was on a work zoom.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"> A big up’s to all our parents working from home and parenting at the same time — I see you! ❤️ *Note to self: I will never buy the odd shaped carrot pack again. 🙅🏽‍♀️🥕 — Carmel Sepuloni (@CarmelSepuloni) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarmelSepuloni/status/1432178774305509379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote> Ms Sepuloni followed up the tweet, writing: “A big up’s to all our parents working from home and parenting at the same time - I see you! “Note to self: I will never buy the odd shaped carrot pack again.” Image: Radio Samoa

Family & Pets

NZ politician’s hilarious X-rated blunder

New Zealand’s Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins has given the nation “a reason to laugh” after giving some x-rated health advice on the Delta outbreak. Mr Hipkins was caught in his hilarious blunder while reminding people of the strict COVID-19 restrictions. His humorous moment saw him telling the nation they should social distance when they go outside to “spread their legs”. "It is a challenge for people in high density areas to get outside and spread their legs when they are surrounded by other people," he accidentally told reporters at the live press conference on Sunday. He meant to say "stretch their legs". <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Latest official government advice, please retweet to get the message out <a href="https://twitter.com/cjsbishop?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cjsbishop</a> <a href="https://t.co/FddDNPFkRA">pic.twitter.com/FddDNPFkRA</a> — ᴀɴᴅʀᴇᴡ ʙɪɢɢs (@biggsintweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/biggsintweets/status/1429262495009542144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2021</a></blockquote> The blunder wasn’t forgotten by Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, who raised an eyebrow and smirked seconds later. Hipkins realised his embarrassing error, and said that the media “would all have fun with him later”. The mistake has given some heavily-needed comedic relief for New Zealanders who are currently in the midst of a nationwide lockdown. “Spread your legs, not the virus!” one person took to Twitter to share. "When Jacinda takes a break and leaves it to the boys.." another added. Mr Hipkins later responded on his official Facebook page, saying “at least I’ve given you all something to laugh about.”

Travel Trouble

X-Files star makes X-rated confession

Actress Gillian Anderson has revealed she has well and truly given up on wearing a bra any longer. The Crown star shared an hilarious Instagram Live video on Monday, where she daringly admitted her bra-wearing days are gone for good. “I can’t wear a bra, I’m sorry,” the 52-year-old revealed. “I don’t care if my breasts reach my belly button. “I’m not wearing a bra, it’s just too f****** uncomfortable.” <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRPrrERlKou/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRPrrERlKou/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Gillian Anderson (@gilliana)</a> </div> </blockquote> Fans took to the comments to share their thoughts on the matter. “I never wear a bra and I get a lot of distasteful comments about it, so knowing Gillian Anderson doesn’t wear a bra anymore is information most pleasing to me!” one person said. Another added: “If two-time Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Gillian Anderson says no more bras, who are we to disagree?” Anderson has just landed a sixth Emmy nomination, for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Her role as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown was behind the honourable recognition, but it is not the only prize she’s received for her hard work. She has already won a Golden Globe for the role. In 1997, Anderson won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work as Dana Scully in The X-Files.

Beauty & Style

X-rated wedding bouquets go viral

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> A person has been left a bit embarrassed after flower bouquets they made have gone viral for all the wrong reasons. The person who initially made the bouquets that are looking a bit x-rated proudly shared them online, writing "Made all these for like less than 50 bucks". The flowers have stems that are wrapped in a purple fabric with what appears to be fake pearls around the bases with a sea shell stuck at the bottom. Many have been quick to point out that the bouquets look like male appendages. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7840635/flowers-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b98af9fe0de64581a021c992f4103890" /> "I thought she'd put flowers on dildos [to be honest]," one Facebook user wrote. "But why are they penises?" another wrote. "It took me a second to see the problem. Then, ohhhhhhhhh," another said. "I'd rather have my bridesmaids carry nothing over these," one added. "I wouldn't have shelled out money for that," another joked. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Beauty & Style

What happens when you free unemployed Australians from ‘mutual obligations’ and boost their benefits? We just found out

<div class="grid-ten large-grid-nine grid-last content-body content entry-content instapaper_body inline-promos"> During COVID-19 the government ran what turned out to be a giant real-world experiment into what happens when you boost someone’s unemployment benefits and free them of the “mutual obligation” to apply for jobs. On April 27 2020 the government as good as doubled the $565.70 per fortnight JobSeeker payment, lifting it by $550 per fortnight for what turned out to be six months. In September the boost dropped to $250 per fortnight, and in December to $150 per fortnight. Next Thursday the boost vanishes, although the base rate of JobSeeker will climb by a less-than substantial $50 a fortnight, leaving recipients $100 a fortnight worse off than they have been, $500 per fortnight worse off than back when JobSeeker doubled and back well below the poverty line. From Thursday April 1 they will also be subject to much more demanding work tests, having to show they have applied for a minimum of 15 jobs a month, climbing to 20 jobs a month from July 1. On top of that the government has announced: <ul> <li> a return to compulsory face-to-face meetings with Jobactive providers </li> <li> work-for-the-dole after six months of unemployment </li> <li> a dob-in line for employers to report jobseekers who seem not to be genuine </li> <li> increased auditing of job applications to ensure they are legitimate </li> </ul> They are the sort of “mutual obligations” that were scrapped while JobSeeker was doubled. Yet the government’s natural experiment where they doubled benefits and freed recipients of “mutual obligations” provides us with an opportunity to examine how a more generous approach affected recipients and whether, as the government says, a tougher approach is needed in order to compel people to work. During last year’s more generous approach, we conducted an online survey of JobSeeker recipients and found that (contrary to what appears to be the government’s expectation), it was helping get people into work. Freed of “mutual obligations”, many were able to devote time to reengaging with the workforce. As one respondent said, <blockquote> I was able to focus on getting myself back into the workforce. Yes, mutual obligation activities PREVENT people from being able to start a new business or re-enter the workforce as an employee </blockquote> And the extra income freed recipients to do things that would advance their employment prospects; either through study, through properly looking for work, or buying the tools needed to get work. One said <blockquote> I could buy things that helped me with employment — equipment for online work, a bicycle for travel, a proper phone" </blockquote> An Australia Institute review of unemployment payments and work incentives in 33 OECD countries found something similar — that higher payments correlate to lower unemployment. Another respondent said the suspended mutual obligation requirements made it easier to care for an elderly parent during pandemic and their recovery from major surgery. Another said she had been able to focus on her health needs and her children. People on social security are often accused of being dependent on welfare, but it’s often the economy and society that are dependent on their unpaid labour. Yet (except for during the worst of the pandemic) these people have been denied a safety net that ensures their survival. The inadequacy of payments goes to a major and enduring flaw in the Australian social security system — its inability to recognise all of the productive activities people undertake, including unpaid care largely undertaken by women. The decisions the government took during 2020 made a major difference to the lives of people outside the formal workforce. They enabled them to turn their attention away from day-to-day survival towards envisioning and realising a more financially and emotionally sustainable future for themselves and their dependants. The flow-on benefits, to all of us, ought to be substantial. The government ought to be very interested. If it was, it would examine the findings further, but they don’t seem to be on its radar. </div> <div class="grid-ten grid-prepend-two large-grid-nine grid-last content-topics topic-list"> Written by Elise Klein, Kay Cook and Susan Maury. This article first appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-when-you-free-unemployed-australians-from-mutual-obligations-and-boost-their-benefits-we-just-found-out-157506">The Conversation</a>. </div>

Retirement Income

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

From maxing out to slowing down, how much do heart rates vary across sports?

What are heart rate zones, and how can you incorporate them into your exercise routine?

Why Mary Poppins has received a new rating 60 years on

Five ways to take advantage of rising interest rates to boost your savings

Ping, your pizza is on its way. Ping, please rate the driver. Yes, constant notifications really do tax your brain

Fighting inflation doesn’t directly cause unemployment – but that’s still the most likely outcome

Europe warming at double the rate of other continents

Suicide rates reveal the silent suffering of Australia’s ageing men

Ratings revealed for Neighbours finale

Why smoking shouldn’t give movies an automatic R rating

Rap song linked to dip in suicide rates

First Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to change

As Aucklanders anticipate holiday trips, Māori leaders ask people to stay away from regions with lower vaccination rates

Denzel Washington to star in R-rated Macbeth

How hotels get their 5-star ratings

Son interrupts Zoom interview with X-rated carrot

NZ politician’s hilarious X-rated blunder

X-Files star makes X-rated confession

X-rated wedding bouquets go viral

What happens when you free unemployed Australians from ‘mutual obligations’ and boost their benefits? We just found out