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50 years on, Advance Australia Fair no longer reflects the values of many. What could replace it?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-hargreaves-1373285">Wendy Hargreaves</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> On April 8 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced to parliament the nation’s new national anthem: <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/honours-and-symbols/australian-national-symbols/australian-national-anthem">Advance Australia Fair</a>. Australia was growing up. We could stop saving “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_King">our gracious Queen</a>” and rejoice in being “young” and “girt”. Finding a new anthem hadn’t been easy. There were unsuccessful <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/help-your-research/fact-sheets/australias-national-anthem">songwriting competitions</a> and an unconvincing opinion poll. Finally, we landed on rebooting an Australian favourite from 1878. After Whitlam’s announcement, Australians argued, state officials declined the change and the next government reinstated the British anthem in part. It took another ten years, another poll and an official proclamation in 1984 to adopt the new anthem uniformly and get on with looking grown-up. Advance Australia Fair was never the ideal answer to “what shall we sing?”. The original lyrics ignored First Nations people and overlooked women. Like a grunting teenager, it both answered the question and left a lot out. On its 50th anniversary, it’s time to consider whether we got it right. Advance Australia Fair may have helped Australia transition through the 1970s, but in 2024, has it outstayed its welcome? <h2>How do you pick a national anthem?</h2> A national anthem is a government-authorised song performed at official occasions and celebrations. It unifies people and reinforces national identity. Often, governments nominate a tune by searching through historical patriotic songs to find a <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/golden-oldie">golden oldie</a> with known public appeal. For example, the lyrics of the Japanese anthem <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimigayo">Kimigayo</a> came from pre-10th-century poetry. Germany’s anthem <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Deutschlandlied">Deutschlandlied</a> adopted a 1797 melody from renowned composer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Haydn">Joseph Haydn</a>. An enduring song or text offers star quality, proven popularity and the prestige of age. In the 1970s, Australia’s attempt at finding a golden oldie was flawed. In that era, many believed Australia’s birth occurred at the arrival of explorer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Cook">James Cook</a> in 1770. Hence, we narrowed our search to hymns, marches and fanfares from our colonial history for possible anthems. With 2020s hindsight (pun intended), <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-national-anthem-is-non-inclusive-indigenous-australians-shouldnt-have-to-sing-it-118177">expecting First Nations</a> people to sing Advance Australia Fair was hypocritical. We wanted to raise Australia’s visibility internationally, yet the custodians of the lands and waterways were unseen by our country’s eyes. We championed “history’s page” with a 19th-century song that participated in racial discrimination. <h2>Changing anthems</h2> With a half-century on the scoreboard, are we locked in to singing Advance Australia Fair forever? No. Anthems can change. Just ask <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Morrison_(jazz_musician)">James Morrison</a>. In 2003, the Australian trumpeter played the Spanish national anthem beautifully at the <a href="https://www.daviscup.com/en/home.aspx">Davis Cup</a> tennis final. Unfortunately, he <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-11-28/spanish-angry-over-anthem-mix-up/1516684">played the old anthem</a> that heralded civil war. Morrison’s accidental performance incited a fist-shaking dignitary and an enraged Spanish team who temporarily refused to play. Morrison did, however, to his embarrassment, later receive some excited fan mail from Spanish revolutionists. If we want to change our anthem, where could we begin? We could start by revisiting the golden-oldie approach with a more inclusive ear. Perhaps there’s a song from contemporary First Nations musicians we could consider, or a song from their enduring oral tradition that they deem appropriate (and grant permission to use). If we have learnt anything from Australian history, it’s that we must include and ask – not exclude and take. We could also consider Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton’s 1987 song <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/101146-i-am-australian-various">I Am Australian</a>, which reached golden-oldie status last year when the <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/slip-slop-slap-i-am-australian-join-sounds-australia">National Film and Sound Archive</a> added it to their registry. The lyrics show the acknowledgement and respect of First Nations people that our current anthem lacks. The line “we are one, but we are many” captures the inclusivity with diversity we now value. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KrLTe1_9zso?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> I Am Australian wouldn’t be a problem-free choice. Musically, the style is a “light rock” song, not a grand “hymn”, which could be a plus or minus depending on your view. Lyrically, romanticising convicted killer <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelly-edward-ned-3933">Ned Kelly</a> is controversial, and mispronouncing “Australians” could be considered inauthentic (fair dinkum Aussies say “Au-strail-yins”, not “Au-stray-lee-uhns”). That said, Australians are quite experienced at patching holes in our anthem. Advance Australia Fair required many adjustments. If the golden-oldie approach fails again, how about composing a new anthem? We could adopt <a href="https://nationalanthems.info/ke.htm">Kenya’s approach</a> of commissioning an anthem, or could revive the good ol’ songwriting competition. Our past competitions weren’t fruitful, but surely our many talented musicians and poets today can meet the challenge. <h2>It’s time to ask</h2> Fifty years on, we acknowledge Advance Australia Fair as the anthem that moved our nation forward. That was the first and hardest step. Today, if Australians choose, we can retire the song gracefully and try again with a clearer voice. Changing our anthem begins with asking whether the current song really declares who we are. Have our values, our perspectives and our identity changed in half a century? Australia, it’s your song. Are you happy to sing Advance Australia Fair for another 50 years? <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/226737/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-hargreaves-1373285">Wendy Hargreaves</a>, Senior Learning Advisor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</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/50-years-on-advance-australia-fair-no-longer-reflects-the-values-of-many-what-could-replace-it-226737">original article</a>. Images: Shutterstock | Wikimedia Commons

Music

"Unsung heroes" win millions in Lotto draw

A group of 50 hospital workers have had their lives changed for the better after winning a huge stake in Saturday's $20 million Lotto draw. The syndicate of healthcare professionals at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth had one of five division one-winning tickets, worth a staggering $4 million. The prize will be split between 50 hospital employees, with each of the facility’s “truly unsung heroes” set to receive $80,000 each. The syndicate included staff from all areas of the hospital, including nurses, orderlies, cleaners and supply staff. “I immediately ran down the corridor to my boss’s office,” the ticket holder said. “Then I messaged the group chat to let everyone know, and called those who aren’t on social media to share the good news." “This will be life-changing for a lot of people, and some really touching stories have come out of this experience.” The same group of dedicate Lotto ticket buyers have been trying their luck at a big win for more than a year. “I’ve had not much good luck. I lost my husband seven months ago,” clinical nurse specialist Genevieve Stacey said. “This is not just going to change our lives but the lives of our families as well, so it’s nice to have something good happen.” Some among the group will spend their winnings on family holidays and releasing mortgage pressure, while one staff member also plans to start her long-awaited IVF treatment. Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group executive director Neil Doverty said he could not think of a group of people more deserving of the life-changing win. “These staff are often behind the scenes but play a critical role in the day-to-day running of our hospital and caring for our patients,” Doverty said. “They are truly unsung heroes and are incredibly deserving of this win.” Image credits: 7News

Money & Banking

How friendship changes as the years advance

"You know the sort of thing you fantasise about when you are standing having a . . .?" Thus began an opening sally in a recent conversation. Such a beginning reveals a thoroughly satisfying degree of intimacy, acceptance, self-disclosure and a very easy familiarity. We found it extremely heart-warming to be its recipients, as we both were recently from a (clearly) close friend. It set me wondering about friendship, closeness, nurturance, and, as usual, the meaning of life in general. Singer/humourist Greg Tamblyn put it nicely: "Friends are people who know you really well and like you anyway." A dictionary type of definition of friendship runs something like 'Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection' and liking between two (or more) people." And plenty of work has been done on the topic by researchers who might well have begun with puzzlement about their own friendship patterns. What is important, as was definitely demonstrated by our friend, is self-disclosure. But there has to be some reciprocity here. If I tell a potential friend about my unsightly and ill-positioned warts or my liking for kippers and jam I expect some similarly horrifying self-disclosure in return. Beyond self-disclosure and reciprocity, there comes a swag of characteristics that one would like to see in a written reference (preferably about oneself). Unconditional support, acceptance, loyalty and trust and all of this to be expressed openly. At this point, you might well be thinking that true friendship is a bit hard to come by. It gets worse. Researchers have shown that absolutely crucial in the development of friendship is that the potential friend supports what they call one's social identity. Roughly speaking this means that we like our friends to confirm how we see ourselves (tall, handsome, even-handed, mellow etc rather than the reality of a short somewhat indifferent appearance, biased and a touch grumpy). This support of what might well be our deluded view of self is thought to boost our self-esteem. It might also be leading us even further up the garden path, so the occasional cold shower of social reality could be useful. However, more research has demonstrated that there are four ways to maintain a bond of friendship once it has been made. More self-disclosure, more supportiveness, a fair amount of contact and a relatively unfailing positivity. All of which takes a bit of doing. Some interesting questions have not yet been answered by those who study friendship rather than courting it. To put the perennial late-night-after-a-few-drinks question - can there be cross-gender friendships without sex? The jury remains out on this, but it is perhaps something that becomes less problematic with age. This reminds me of what I intended to be the main point here and that is that we become better at the whole business of friendship in later years. We become more picky and tend to have fewer but deeper friendships that we can count on. Much of the mere acquaintanceship of earlier years disappear in favour of an increase in all of those sterling qualities already described. However, the clever Oliver Burkeman, in his Guardian column recently drew attention to a problem of friendship in the modern world; namely, the number of friends. It used to be that with developments in qualifications, jobs, marriage and so on people would change communities, leave old friends behind and make new ones, probably keeping the overall number reasonably constant. Modern communication means that we can easily keep all of our friends, new ones simply adding to the number. So, our friends might be less densely linked these days. And that is not so good, because friends that are physically close to us will probably talk about us more often, something which Burkeman believes strengthens the general social fabric. I can think of instances in which it might well weaken it. In spite of all this musing, it might be better not to think too much about how to make friends. The title of a popular book years ago was How to make friends and influence people. That's the problem; think about these things too much and it all seems to be a bit contrived and manipulative and that changes everything. George Carlin put it very well. "One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of every four murders are committed by people who know the victim." Thinking of this, Jim Hayes suggested that "A good friend will help you move. But a best friend will help you move a body." Garry Shandling should have the final word though, with "My friends tell me that I have an intimacy problem. But they don't really know me." Image credit: Shutterstock Written by Ken Strongman. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stuff.co.nz.</a>

Mind

10 things we sort of miss because of technological advances

The world has certainly changed in the last few decades – great technological advancements has meant many things we did in the past are all but a memory (or they are on their way out.) Let’s look back on ten things we sort of miss even though they’ve been replaced by new technology. 1. Buying disposable cameras, only taking picture that were worth the cost of film and having to go all the way to the chemist to develop and print photographs. Then you had to decide how to arrange them in an album. 2. Recording your favourite television programs using a video tape. Nowadays people are downloading movies and TV shows straight to their computer. 3. Saving all your loose change just in case you needed to use the pay phone when you were out. And having to remember numbers. 4. Spending hours over a road map and writing down your own directions so you wouldn’t get lost before a holiday road trip or just going somewhere new. Nobody needs to remember how to get anywhere now because most have GPS. 5. Physically visiting institutions like banks, post office and the newsagents. We don’t miss the long lines but at least it was personal. 6. Hand-writing essays, letters and notes, which meant knowing how to hand-write. Now it’s about how fast you type not how legible your handwriting is! 7. Looking up information in big encyclopaedias and definitions in the dictionary. Not just consulting the internet. 8. Receiving mail in your letterbox not your inbox. Unluckily, there is more “junk mail” and spam now than ever. 9. Advertising or looking for finds in classified section of the newspaper. 10. Packing your friends in the backseats of the car to go to the drive-in movies because it was the only one around. While we do love the comfy seats in air-conditioned cinemas, you can’t beat the fun and romantic possibilities of drive-in cinemas. Images: Getty

Technology

There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined 50,000 people to march in support of queer rights across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for World Pride in early March. A week earlier, Albanese became the first sitting prime minister to march in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, something he’s done over several decades. And yet at the same time, in another part of the world, Uganda’s parliament passed <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-new-anti-lgbtq-law-could-lead-to-death-penalty-for-same-sex-offences-202376">a string of draconian measures</a> against homosexuality, including possible death sentences for “aggravated homosexuality”. Any “promotion” of homosexuality is also outlawed. Seven years ago, I co-wrote a book with Jonathan Symons called Queer Wars. Back then, we suggested there was <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/queer-wars-the-new-global-polarization-over-gay-rights">a growing gap </a>between countries in which sexual and gender diversity was becoming more acceptable, and those where repression was increasing. Sadly, that analysis seems even more relevant today. <h2>A growing gap</h2> Some countries have been unwinding criminal sanctions around homosexuality, which are often the legacy of colonialism. This includes, in recent years, former British colonies <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/22/singapore-decriminalize-gay-sex">Singapore</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/indian-supreme-court-decriminalises-homosexuality">India</a>. But others have been imposing new and more vicious penalties for any deviation from stereotypical assumptions of heterosexual masculine superiority (what Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205278639">terms</a> “hegemonic masculinity”). Anti-gay legislation is currently pending in Ghana, which led US Vice President Kamala Harris to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-43822234">express concerns</a> on a recent visit. These moves echo the deep homophobia of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/putins-anti-gay-war-on-ukraine/">bizarrely linked</a> intervention in Ukraine to protecting traditional values against LGBTQ+ infiltration. Meanwhile, reports from Afghanistan suggest that anyone identified as “LGBT” is <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/26/afghanistan-taliban-target-lgbt-afghans">in danger of being killed</a>. Indonesia recently passed legislation <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/indonesia-passes-legislation-banning-sex-outside-marriage">penalising all sex outside marriage</a>. This follows <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639811.2022.2038871">years of anti-queer rhetoric</a> from Indonesian leaders and crackdowns in regional areas. And while the Biden administration is supportive of queer rights globally, the extraordinary hysteria <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/07/cpac-anti-trans-rhetoric">around trans issues in the Republican Party</a> reminds us the West has no inherent claim to moral superiority. <h2>Where to next?</h2> Speaking at the World Pride Human Rights Conference, both Wong and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus made it clear Australia would press for recognition of sexuality and gender identity as deserving protection, as part of <a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/sydney-worldpride-human-rights-conference-opening-statement">our commitment to human rights</a>. Wong also announced a <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/213443-wong-announces-international-fund-for-lgbt-rights/">new Inclusion and Equality Fund</a> to support queer community organisations within our region. Australian governments have usually been wary of loud assertions of support for queer rights. This is partly due to a reasonable fear this merely reinforces the perception that such language reflects <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/locating-neocolonialism-tradition-and-human-rights-in-ugandas-gay-death-penalty/33A06F4F33CF586E20E208BE790E71E0">a sense of Western superiority</a>, unwilling to acknowledge other societies may have very different attitudes towards gender and sexuality. Australia is part of the Equal Rights Coalition, an intergovernmental body of 42 countries dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and has supported sexual and gender rights in the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/australias-second-universal-periodic-review-human-rights">country reviews</a> undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Australia has a minimal presence in Uganda, and direct representations are unlikely to have much effect. Uganda is a member of the Commonwealth, as are Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, where official homophobia appears to be increasing. But there’s little evidence the Australian government sees this as a significant foreign policy forum, or is prepared to push for sexual rights through its institutions. As persecution on the basis of sexuality and gender identity increases, more people will seek to flee their countries. Queer refugees face double jeopardy: they’re not safe at home, but they’re often equally unsafe in their diasporic communities, which have inherited the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/lgbt-refugees-untold-story/">deep prejudices of their homelands</a>. The UN’s refugee agency <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/lgbtiq-persons.html">reports</a> that most people seeking asylum because of their sexuality are unwilling to disclose this, because of discrimination within their own ethnic communities. This makes it impossible to have accurate numbers. But a clear signal from Australia would be a powerful statement of support – that it understands the situation and welcomes people who need flee because of their sexuality or gender expression. An official Canadian government document <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/2slgbtqi-plus.html">states</a>: "Canada has a proud history of providing protection to and helping to resettle the world’s most vulnerable groups. That includes those in the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse community." Theirs is a model worth following. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-growing-gap-between-countries-advancing-lgbtq-rights-and-those-going-backwards-203329" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Caring

As the US pushes to make daylight saving permanent, should Australia move in the same direction?

Sunday marked the end of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) in eastern Australia, but there are many who would like to see it last longer or permanently. Twice a year, New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and South Australia make this shift. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not change times. In those states the issue has been hotly debated for years. But what would be the benefit of making time permanent, and is it feasible? In the United States, the push to fix time has gathered pace, with a bipartisan bill <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/us/politics/daylight-savings-bill-marco-rubio.html">reintroduced</a> to the House this month. The Sunshine Protection Act is set to bring uniformity in fixing the time, starting from November 2023. If enacted, it means daylight saving would be permanent across the US. The bill passed the Senate in March 2022. It was received at the House, but Americans are split on whether they prefer permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time – the bill then expired and so had to be reintroduced. The proponents argue the biannual ritual of switching time <a href="https://healthnews.com/news/forwarding-time-potentially-a-health-hazard-expert-suggests/">is a health hazard</a> leading to insomnia, decline in mental health, increased risk of hospitalisations and accidents. The solution, they argue, is to <a href="https://fortune.com/well/2023/03/06/daylight-saving-time-is-hurting-your-health/">restore</a> permanent, year-round standard time. Would fixing time permanently have benefits in Australia? <h2>Why the US is considering fixing permanent time</h2> One of the US policy’s goals is to reduce energy consumption. However, according to the latest research, contrary to the policy’s intent,<a href="https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/93/4/1172/57919/Does-Daylight-Saving-Time-Save-Energy-Evidence">daylight saving caused</a> increased electricity demand in the US. Research has also found it <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=981688">does not conserve electricity in Australia</a>. Overwhelmingly, recent research opposes the current situation of changing the clocks twice year. In particular, the loss of one hour of sleep in spring has been <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p622.full">linked</a> to an increase in heart attacks, strokes, road accidents and negative mood. Moreover, with mobile phones available in offices and bedrooms, the shift to daylight saving was shown to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22369272/">result in a dramatic increase</a> in “cyberloafing”. On the Monday following the switch, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-12532-013">employees sustain more workplace injuries</a> and injuries of greater severity, according an analysis of data from the US Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration between 1983-2006, although there is a decrease in injuries when employees are gaining one hour of sleep. In a study of Australian suicide data from 1971 to 2001, researchers found <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x">a rise in male suicide rates</a> in the weeks following the commencement of daylight saving, concluding the shifts could be destabilising for vulnerable people. The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35622532/">health evidence</a> is, in fact, contrary to idea behind the current legislation and instead suggests a permanent switch to standard time may offer the maximum health and public safety benefits. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is strongly supporting the bill, <a href="https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2022/11/03/6363f0ab46163fe7848b4571.html">told the Senate, "</a>There’s some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock-switching has. I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it’s one of those issues where there’s a lot of agreement. If we can get this passed, we don’t have to do this stupidity anymore. Pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come." <h2>Australian legislation - move to uniformity</h2> Standard time legislation dates back to 1890s. That is when jurisdictions enacted uniform legislation related to standard Greenwich Mean Time. For example, Tasmania fixed the time of the <a href="https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/2003-12-01/act-1895-004">150th meridian of longitude east of Greenwich</a> and Western Australia <a href="https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/law_a772.html">declared the mean time of the 120th meridian</a> as the standard time. At that stage, the legislation was consistent. This continued until the daylight saving debate commenced. Daylight saving was first considered at the Premiers’ Conference in May 1915. During the first and second world wars, national daylight time operated in Australia. Tasmania and Victoria introduced daylight saving in 1916. In Tasmania, the act was repealed by the Daylight-Saving Repeal Act 1917 (Tas). In 1967, Tasmania again introduced daylight savings. By 1990, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-3292-2">the jurisdictions were changing the dates</a> on which to introduce daylight savings, and their positions were not uniform. Liberal Senator Paul Calvert <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/calls-for-pm-to-set-daylight-saving-dates-20051113-ge18b2.html">described</a> the “maze of different times” as a “shackle on the economy, as well as causing interruptions to work and family balance”. Then-prime minister John Howard <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/calls-for-pm-to-set-daylight-saving-dates-20051113-ge18b2.html">stated</a>: “I think it’s a great pity that we have this month when Tasmania and NSW and Victoria are on different time zones.” Starting from September 1 2005, all jurisdictions adopted the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard. Following long deliberations, in April 2007 they agreed on a uniform start and end date. Queensland, WA and the NT have fixed permanent time. South Australia became an international anomaly by having 30 minutes difference, rather than full hour, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-12/business-backs-sa-time-zone-shift,-but-some-regions-worried/6385030">to achieve a compromise</a> between strong advocacy groups within the jurisdiction. One of the arguments against fixing is geographical location. Tasmania has more drastic variation in sun activity compared to Northern Territory. The scientific solution would be to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00944/full#B47">fix the time</a> but reassign the regions to the actual sun-clock based time zones. Where does all this leave us? While daylight saving is not the most pressing problem facing Australia today, it may be that soon enough, the scientific evidence and practical convenience of fixing time might be preferred to biannual shifts. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-us-pushes-to-make-daylight-saving-permanent-should-australia-move-in-the-same-direction-202627" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Legal

Be prepared: plan now for future health and care

There are two things certain in life - death and taxes. One of them only happens once. As much as people don’t want to talk about it, most of us have prepared our loved ones for some key aspects following our death by writing wills and arranging funeral plans. But have we prepared them for making some of the hardest decisions of their life - decisions that may literally determine how well we live and die? Over 50 per cent of people approach their end of life without the capacity to make their own decisions. So, decisions about whether to insert a feeding tube, move to an aged care facility or be resuscitated (and many more) are often left to family members who are making the decision ‘in the dark’ while upset about our declining health. But we can change that. Be Open, Be Ready, Be Heard The first step is to think about what our unique ‘quality of life’ looks like. Or if that is too hard, maybe what a poor ‘quality of life’ looks like. It will be different for each of us. Maybe I could accept being able to eat only pureed food, but would never want to have surgery that left me with ongoing pain. It might be that my neighbour wants to live ‘at all costs’ as long as they can still communicate meaningfully with loved ones. If my sister couldn’t move or talk, she might feel she would be happier looking out on a garden view and find it demeaning if she had people bathing her without introducing themselves. Thinking about all aspects of our lives and considering what matters most to us is the basis of advance care planning. <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia</a> has ‘Conversation Starters’ that provide focussed questions to help us get started. Once we have bravely thought about some of these things, the second step is to talk to our doctor and all those who may be asked to make decisions on our behalf. Family members may be shocked, cry, or even initially refuse to talk about it. Yet hopefully there can be an open and honest conversation about what really matters and how this influences our preferred health care outcomes and treatment decisions. The third step is to decide who will make decisions for us and fill in the form that legally appoints this person – the name of this form differs in every state/territory but all are available from Advance Care Planning Australia. We should also write down our preferences for health and personal care in either a legally binding advance care directive (which also has different names in each state) or a values-based advance care plan. These documents are used to inform care and help decision-makers know our preferences. We can discuss our preferences with doctors and ask them to sign our documents. Check if your doctor can upload advance care planning documents to My Health Record or upload them yourself. We should share copies with our chosen substitute decision-maker, family, local hospital and other health providers. This will enable documents to be accessed when they’re needed most so that everyone is aware of our choices. It is important to review these forms regularly, especially if our medical situation or care needs change. Xanthe Sansome, the National Program Director for Advance Care Planning Australia suggests, “We should talk regularly about our quality of life and health care preferences so everyone is on the same page if treatment decisions are needed. The last thing I would want in my final days is hearing two people I love disagree about what medical treatment decisions to make on my behalf. I would rather be calm, knowing I had made this very clear to them, lying comfortably on my favourite silk pillowcase with the scent of roses in the air and listening to them reflect together on my life and the person I had been to them. I would rather they feel at peace as they say, ‘Goodbye, we love you’.” Free starter pack and support are available For free, personalised advice or to request a printed starter pack, call the National Advance Care Planning Support Service on 1300 208 582 from 9am - 5pm (AEST/AEDT) Monday to Friday. Visit <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia’s website</a> to access a free email starter pack and other information. You can also find face to face awareness raising events and online webinars available Australia-wide during <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/nacpweek?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Advance Care Planning Week</a> from 20 – 26 March. Advance Care Planning Australia is funded by the Australian Government and administered by Austin Health. This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Advance Care Planning Australia. Image: Shutterstock

Caring

Jetlag hits differently depending on your travel direction. Here are 6 tips to get over it

After a few difficult years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, people are finally winging their way across the globe again; families are being reunited and sights are being seen. Yet the joys of international travel often come with a side of jetlag, which can make it hard to initially enjoy a holiday, and to settle in once you return home. Why do people experience jetlag? And is there anything you can do to lessen its effects? <h2>What causes jetlag?</h2> The term “jetlag” describes the physical and cognitive symptoms people experience when travelling quickly across several timezones. Before you leave for a trip, you’re synchronised to your local time. Once you enter a new timezone, your body’s rhythms are no longer lined up with the clock on the wall. That’s when jetlag symptoms hit. You’re sleepy when you want to be awake, and wide awake when you want to be asleep. You’re hungry in the middle of the night, and might feel bloated or nauseous if you eat during the day. Until your body clock and all the rhythms it controls line up with the new local time, you are physiologically and mentally discombobulated. Not a happy holiday vibe! <h2>Jetlag isn’t the same for everyone</h2> Interestingly, the experience of jetlag varies between people. That’s because we all tick along to our own internal rhythm. Most of us have a natural daily cycle of about 24.2 hours. So if we lived in a cave and didn’t see any light, our sleep/wake cycle and other daily rhythms would tick along at about 24.2 hours. Researchers think <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsfs.2019.0098">this is an evolutionary adaptation</a> that allows us to adjust to different day lengths across the year. But some people have slightly longer cycles than others, and this may play a role in how a person experiences jetlag. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000418">Research suggests</a> if you have a longer cycle you might adjust quicker to westward travel, such as when travelling from Australia to South Africa, but we don’t know if a shorter cycle helps going the other way. We also get a little less resilient as we age, so the older among us might have worse jetlag symptoms. <h2>Does direction of travel matter?</h2> More generally, many people find westward travel, where you “gain” time, a bit easier. Say Jasmine and Sarah depart Adelaide at the same time. Jasmine lands in Perth in the afternoon, where it’s about 2.5 hours earlier in the day. She sees some sights and easily falls asleep at about 8.30pm local time. She then wakes up very early and starts her day. Because Jasmine’s body clock naturally delays – shifting a little later relative to the local time each day – after a few days she is fully synchronised. Sarah, meanwhile, lands in Auckland which is about 2.5 hours later in the day. She takes advantage of the balmy evening and some of the night, and is wide awake until 2am. She then struggles out of bed when the alarm goes off at 7am, because it’s still 4.30am on her body clock. Sarah will likely feel the effects of jetlag more severely than Jasmine, and for longer. <h2>Is jetlag just ‘psychological’?</h2> Some people might wonder if jetlag is just in your head. Well, in a way it is, because it’s a mismatch between your body’s internal time (which is determined in your brain) and your local time. But that doesn’t mean you can talk yourself out of jetlag. It’s better thought of as a physiological condition, rather than a psychological one. Luckily, there are a few simple ways to alleviate jetlag symptoms and help your body clock adjust. This is particularly important <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01502-0">for elite athletes</a> who travel to compete. <ol> <li> First, decide whether it’s worth trying to adapt to the new time or not. If it’s only a short trip, it might make more sense to stay on your home time. If it’s longer than three days, start consciously moving your own rhythms – such as when you sleep, eat, exercise and get sunlight – towards the new timezone. </li> <li> If you’re trying to shift your body clock, it’s a good idea to start on the plane. Set your watch to your destination’s timezone and line up your activities accordingly. </li> <li> Keep caffeine and alcohol intake low on the journey. This will be better for sleep and hydration, and will help with adjusting your body clock to the new timezone. </li> <li> When adjusting to a new timezone, try to sleep during the local night time and just rest when you need to at other times. Short naps can give you a boost to get through the day and evening activities. Aim for about 30 minutes and avoid naps later in the day as you near your actual planned bedtime. </li> <li> Gastrointestinal discomfort is a symptom of jet lag. If you’re prone to or experience tummy trouble while travelling, stick to small meals and eat when you’re hungry. Your body will tell you when it’s ready for food. Tip 3 about caffeine and alcohol applies here too. </li> <li> Get outside. Sunlight is key to adjusting to a new timezone. Depending on your timezone change, appropriately-timed <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00927/full">outside activities</a> will help. </li> </ol> If that’s not enough, the Sleep Health Foundation has more tips <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/tips-to-help-combat-jet-lag.html">here</a>. Images: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/jetlag-hits-differently-depending-on-your-travel-direction-here-are-6-tips-to-get-over-it-196730">The Conversation</a>.

International Travel

Classics Direct is bringing classical music back to life!

Are you passionate about music? Looking for an easy way to update your classical collection, replace some of those old scratched-up records, or even find a new favourite you never knew existed? Classics Direct can help your music collection soar to new heights and get a discount on your first purchase simply by <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/pages/newsletter?utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signing up to the Classics Direct mailing list!</a> Offering an expertly curated selection from the world’s most prominent classical music labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca Records, Blue Note, Verve, ECM, Eloquence and many more, Classics Direct is your one-stop shop for everything classical. Whether you’re in the market for classic Christmas collections to add that extra touch of charm to the up-coming festive season, or perhaps you want to splash out on a box set for yourself (or that special someone in your life), Classics Direct can bring the joy of music direct to you. Christmas Albums Christmas is a time for gathering with loved ones, reflecting on the year gone by, giving thanks for all the special elements of your life and taking time to relax and rejoice. What could be a more fitting accompaniment for a perfect Christmas than a stunning variety of classical music to score those moments? <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/collections/christmas?utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignnone wp-image-64159 size-full" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/ChristmasCDs_1280.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="308" /></a> Jump right into the festive spirit with the blockbuster Christmas title “A Family Christmas” by internationally renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo and daughter Virginia. Their first ever album together, “A Family Christmas” showcases their multi-generational musical talent in a range of festive favourites. Featuring new renditions of traditional carols arranged for all three voices, including “Away in a Manger” and “Joy to the World” plus popular Christmas tunes from around the world such as “Feliz Navidad” and “Il Giorno Piu Speciale”. Or be transported by the ethereal sounds and angelic classics of “Christmas Music for Harp”, featuring favourite carols in sublime arrangements by harp master Carlos Salzedo, performed with grace and charm by Australian harp virtuosa Alice Giles. “I Dream of Christmas” by Norah Jones; “Paul Kelly’s Christmas Trains”; “The Three Tenors at Christmas” – these titles and many more are available right now and can be with you in time to enjoy the festive season to the full. Explore the entire range of wonderfully festive <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/collections/christmas?utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christmas options here</a>. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fJJaeCHi-tU" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Box Sets Is there a music fan in your life – or perhaps it’s even YOU! – who absolutely must have every CD in an artist’s back catalogue? These completists are a rare and wonderful breed and when it comes to buying gifts for them, a CD Box Set is a hands down winner every time. The value for money is almost second to none, with some exceptional box sets containing upwards of 20, 30, 50 – even 90 CDs! That equates to hours and hours of listening enjoyment in one easy package. What’s not to love? <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/collections/box-set?sort_by=best-selling&utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="alignnone wp-image-64160 size-full" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/BoxCDs_1280.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="313" /></a> Relax and enjoy the stirring sounds of the 16-disc box set of “Sir Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy, Vol 1”, the first in a limited-edition three-volume set of the complete Decca recordings of Boult, including previously unpublished recordings of Holst and a pioneering cycle of Vaughan Williams. Sit back and immerse yourself in the ultimate box set “The New Complete Beethoven, Essential Edition”. Featuring more than 115 hours of sublime music across an epic 95 CDs! Representing Beethoven's entire oeuvre in legendary interpretations from Deutsche Grammophon’s unrivalled Beethoven catalogue, together with reference recordings and musical treasures from Decca and many other labels, this is a must-have for any true fan of classical music. From Strauss to Stravinsky, Beethoven to Bach, all your musical tastes are covered at Classics Direct – even if you fancy something a little more whimsical like “Classic 100: Music for the Screen”, “The Complete Classics Kids” collection, or favourite love songs throughout the decades. Dive into the <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/collections/box-set?sort_by=best-selling&utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best-selling Box Sets for the ultimate CD Collectors here</a>. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hkJdSBsflnY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> So, why not visit the <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/?utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Classics Direct</a> website now for a leisurely browse through old favourites and new discoveries galore? Don’t forget to <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/pages/newsletter?utm_source=over-sixty&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign up to the mailing list</a> for a discount off your first purchase! Images: Supplied This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with <a href="https://classicsdirect.com.au/?utm_source=over-sxity&utm_medium=native-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Classics Direct</a>.

Music

A job with a $500K salary and free house has no takers

Healthcare can be hard to access in rural areas, but even one Aussie town’s tantalising offer of a hefty salary and free home has yet to successfully attract any doctors. Julia Creek’s McKinlay Shire Council, located 600km west of Townsville, Queensland, has put together an enticing package for a GP looking to go bush and help their tight-knit community. Despite offering a salary of up to $513,620 and a rent-free house on a decent piece of land, the council have had no takers so far. Currently, temporary doctors fly into the community for two days each week to support local hospital staff - with residents needing care on the other five days of the week forced to travel two hours or 200km to Mount Isa. Deputy Mayor Janene Fegan told NCA NewsWire that the package was first offered three months ago, but their search for a permanent GP in the community has been ongoing for the past 18 months. “It’s not only about the money, it’s also about the lifestyle,” she said. Ms Fegan first moved to the area for a temporary posting to work as a nurse, but three months has since become three decades. “It’s just a nice, easy, simple lifestyle,” she said. “We have plenty of room, plenty of space.” With a tight-knit community of 500 residents, Ms Fegan said Julia Creek boasts warm sunny days, a gym that will only set you back $30 a month, and a pool that costs just $2 to use. <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEFjiShND8/?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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEFjiShND8/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by McKinlay Shire Council (@mckinlay_shire_council)</a> </div> </blockquote> While the council has received two applications so far, both have requested a fly-in, fly-out arrangement. Residents are desperate for the return to having a permanent doctor, which will result in greater stability and access to urgent care when needed. “If you had a sick child in the middle of the night, they might have to send you on,” Ms Fegan said. “And some things aren’t quite serious enough to need an ambulance, but serious enough that you want care quickly.” She added that they had survived so far through the good will of neighbours helping each other out. “I guess that’s why we’ve survived so long without the doctor, because we are such a tight-knit community and someone will also help someone else out,” she said. The council has also said it will provide the new GP’s partner with employment if needed. “We would definitely make all our effort to find something suitable,” Ms Fegan said. “And also with the internet, you don’t need to work in the city anymore.” Image: @mckinlayshirecouncil

Money & Banking

“A serious chip on her shoulder”: Pauline Hanson refuses to see ‘foreign’ doctors

Pauline Hanson has revealed that she refuses to be treated by doctors trained outside of Australia, claiming that she doesn’t trust them and that they are not up to Australian standards. The controversial leader of the right-wing One Nation party made the revelation while slamming a proposal from Health Minister Brad Hazzard to remove barriers preventing overseas doctors from working in Australia. Mr Hazzard told the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/brad-hazzard-slams-barbed-wire-fence-blocking-foreign-doctors-from-easing-gp-crisis/news-story/c8c2564f2705459be3c745f9fca74c22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Telegraph</a> that the “barbed wire fence” of red tape medical graduates trained overseas face to practice in New South Wales has forced hundreds of doctors to quit the industry, even as the country faces a GP shortage that risks creating a healthcare “apocalypse”. “This should be ringing alarm bells in the offices of the Federal Health Department and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP),” he said. Speaking to Sky News, Hanson questioned the red tape Mr Hazzard was referring to and went on to claim that his plan would lower the standards in healthcare. “Lowering the standard again which I believe that if you do that and allow these foreign doctors here that are not up to our standards,” she said. “Well then you're going to play Russian roulette with people's lives.” “I personally will not go to a foreign doctor because I don't trust ... the system when I know they've allowed them into this country and most of them don't pass the first test.” To practise medicine in Australia, doctors who have earned medical degrees from overseas institutions need to be registered with the <a href="https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/Registration/International-Medical-Graduates.aspx">Australian Medical Council</a>, which can involve passing a written exam and clinical exam, including demonstrating a minimum standard of English speaking skills through proof of education in English or passing one of several exams. Hanson claimed that a lot of overseas doctors had to take the test “a couple of times” and that many couldn’t pass because “they can’t speak English” - though it is unclear which test she was referring to. “You can't be a doctor in this country if you can't communicate with the patient. It's not good at all,” she said. “If we allow these foreign doctors in that can't pass the test, they've already lowered the standard twice.” To combat this lowering of standards, Hanson said the solution should be paying GPs more to prevent them from moving into specialist areas to get a higher wage. “We've got to stop draining doctors from other countries and bringing them out here to Australia because, you know, we have a world standard in (medicine),” she continued. “The people (Australia is) bringing over from overseas, we're lowering our standards.” Her comments have come under fire across social media, with many rallying to support internationally-trained doctors and praising them for the care they have provided. “Pauline Hanson yet again demonstrated prejudice against foreign trained doctors. Maybe we should fast track our current medical students? Oh that would be lowering standards then as well! And who still has mandates? Misleading bigoted crap once again from this troublemaker!” one person noted. “To all my wonderful colleagues, Australian or from other countries, who Pauline Hanson might consider foreign. I am so sorry. You are wonderful,” one emergency physician <a href="https://twitter.com/KristinJBoyle/status/1579640575925837824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. “Our health system depends on you. Thank you for working alongside me and for treating me and my family. 🙏” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> My GP came to Australia from overseas, he is an excellent communicator and caring doctor, I thank him for picking up my cancer. What Pauline Hanson is doing is spewing racist bile based on her own prejudices. She is a truly awful human being with a serious chip on her shoulder — Dr Anthony (Tony) Moore 💉💉💉💉 (@PerpetualWinger) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerpetualWinger/status/1579652006733828102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2022</a></blockquote> Another doctor wrote: “My GP came to Australia from overseas, he is an excellent communicator and caring doctor, I thank him for picking up my cancer. “What Pauline Hanson is doing is spewing racist bile based on her own prejudices. She is a truly awful human being with a serious chip on her shoulder.” Image: Sky News

News

Pioneering a new way to retire

For a new generation of Australians, being retired doesn’t mean what it used to. From rediscovering passions and hobbies left behind in the hustle and bustle of daily life to packing a bag and exploring the world, pursuing the lifestyle of your dreams is simply not restricted by age. Having a sense of security, whether it’s related to feeling at home where we live or trusting that we can access the care we need as our health changes, is another priority for this generation. Then when it comes to how and where we live, easy maintenance, independence and cost effectiveness are the <a href="https://www.seniors.com.au/news-insights/australian-seniors-series-quality-of-life-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three top considerations for Aussies</a> according to the latest Australian Seniors Quality of Life report. With all of these considerations in mind, it can feel daunting to figure out whether living at home or moving into a retirement village suits our wants and needs – which is where<a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Ryman Healthcare</a> comes in. Ryman has been pioneering retirement living for over three decades and challenging the status quo when it comes to how Aussies live in retirement. If you are trying to figure out this next exciting phase of life means for you, here are three ways Ryman Healthcare stands out from the crowd, ensuring you can live life the way you want to. Ultimate freedom to lock and leave If you’re anything like <a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/pioneers/cindy-and-del" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cycling duo and Ryman Pioneers Cindy and Del</a>, adventure is in your blood. When they moved into their apartment in a Ryman village several years ago, it served as an even greater opportunity for them to live out their motto: “Do it while you can!” While many of us might worry about leaving our belongings and home unattended for long stretches of time, Cindy and Del say the security and maintenance services provided by Ryman means they have the peace of mind to live life to the fullest – and that it’s as simple as shutting their front door. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/Ryman_Healthcare_Cindy_and_Del_01_1280.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Endurance cyclists Cindy and Del say Ryman has given the security to embrace their motto of doing it while they can. “We did feel a little bit nervous about leaving the house, but not here – not at Ryman,” Cindy says. “We just come and go as we please, and we know that the place is safe and secure.” “A big thing about the apartment is, we just close the door and come back a couple months later and it’s just the same,” Del adds. “We don’t have to worry about security. We don’t have to worry about maintenance or gardens. It’s all done.” When they aren’t circumnavigating the country, Cindy and Del can be found planning their next adventure or getting involved in the activities available through Ryman – think everything from dance lessons to playing bowls, creating charcoal art and more. They’re not the only ones taking advantage of these opportunities either, or the sense of community created and put front and centre by Ryman. A community like no other Engaging in activities with others and staying connected with the local community is beneficial not just for our mood, but also our mental and physical health, no matter whether we’re retired or working. Ryman retirement villages champion this by removing the stress that comes with maintaining a family home, allowing residents to pursue their passions, connect with fellow residents, and stay active mentally and physically through regular events, activities and trips. For <a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/pioneers/lynette" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yoga lover Lynette</a>, living in the Ryman community has seen her continue her decade-long practice of mindful yoga and embrace her love of walking. With walking being one of the many social activities in the village, Lynette has made plenty of friends through Monday outings with her walking group. “A lot of people still believe that you’re going to a rest home,” she says. “They don’t know the concept of a retirement village. You go there, it’s beautiful. You’ve got facilities. You’ve got activities. And you don’t stop living.” <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/Ryman_Healthcare_Lynette_02_1280.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Lynette, a former corporate high-flyer turned yoga lover, says Ryman’s sense of community has helped her when she needed it most. Having this strong social network also helped her adapt to life after her husband’s passing. “My husband passed away exactly a year ago, so walking was fantastic because it cheered me up to see the flowers and the gardens and meet people,” she says of the group she now considers to be as close as family. Lynette and her husband moved into the village with the knowledge that “one would go before the other”, but living there has helped her find inner peace and support when she needed it most. “I’m so pleased that we moved because I’ve had a chance to make a lot of friends,” she says. “I’ve had a chance to get to know pretty much everyone in the village team. And everyone has been so supportive, particularly over the last year, that it’s my family now.” Having that level of support also provides Lynette and other Ryman residents with peace of mind when it comes to their health. Rest assured that your future is in good hands With four in five Aussies prioritising good physical and mental health, Ryman’s comprehensive care options give residents the confidence to live life with the knowledge that there is care available as their needs change. With aged care built into the fabric of their villages, Ryman offers living options ranging from independent and assisted living to residential aged care and specialist dementia care. For <a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/pioneers/brian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian and Pauline</a>, who have been married for more than half a century, these options have ensured they can stay together and still access care for their differing needs. After Pauline received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s shortly after they moved in, Brian has stayed in their apartment while Pauline moved into the village’s specialist dementia care just a short walk away. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/Ryman_Healthcare_Brian_03_1280.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Brian’s apartment and the care centre are mere steps away, making it easy for Brian and family members like his grandson Tom to visit every day. “Our apartment is just a few steps away, on the same floor, so it’s very easy to pop in and see my wife or nip around and get something for her,” Brian says. “It’s been very, very good.” Having the support of the village’s nursing team has also been invaluable, allowing Brian to enjoy the village’s sense of community while trusting that his wife is in good hands. “My wife’s cared for, and we can still be together,” he says. “It’s a great relief.” All of these Ryman residents – each one a pioneer of a new way of living – are enjoying their lives in retirement to the full. So if you’re still trying to decide your future, get ready to <a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/the-ryman-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explore the possibilities</a>. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MqECwJ0symg" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe> All images: Ryman Healthcare This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with <a href="https://www.rymanhealthcare.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryman Healthcare</a>.

Retirement Life

We studied how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over 10,000 years. It holds warnings for the future

Alarming stories from Antarctica are now more frequent than ever; the ice surface is <a href="https://theconversation.com/warmer-summers-threaten-antarcticas-giant-ice-shelves-because-of-the-lakes-they-create-180989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">melting</a>, floating ice shelves are <a href="https://theconversation.com/conger-ice-shelf-has-collapsed-what-you-need-to-know-according-to-experts-180077" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsing</a> and glaciers are <a href="https://theconversation.com/ice-world-antarcticas-riskiest-glacier-is-under-assault-from-below-and-losing-its-grip-178828" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flowing faster</a> into the ocean. Antarctica will be the largest source of future sea-level rise. Yet scientists <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-still-dont-know-how-far-melting-in-antarctica-will-go-or-the-sea-level-rise-it-will-unleash-166677" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don’t know</a> exactly how this melting will unfold as the climate warms. Our <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00309-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest research</a> looks at how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over the past 10,000 years. It holds stark warnings, and possibly some hope, for the future. <h2>The current imbalance</h2> Future sea-level rise presents one of the most significant challenges of climate change, with economic, environmental and societal impacts expected for coastal communities around the globe. While it seems like a distant issue, the changes in Antarctica may soon be felt on our doorsteps, in the form of rising sea levels. Antarctica is home to the world’s largest single mass of ice: the Antarctic ice sheet. This body of glacier ice is several kilometres thick, nestled on top of solid land. It covers entire mountain ranges beneath it. The ice sheet “<a href="https://vimeo.com/133626869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flows</a>” over the land from the Antarctic interior and towards the surrounding ocean. As a whole it remains a solid mass, but its shape slowly deforms as the ice crystals move around. While the ice sheet flows outward, snowfall from above replenishes it. This cycle is supposed to keep the system in balance, wherein balance is achieved when the ice sheet is gaining the same amount of ice as it’s losing to the ocean each year. However, <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">satellites</a> keeping watch from above show the ice sheet is currently not in balance. Over the past 40 years, it has lost more ice than it has gained. The result has been global rising sea levels. But these historical observations span only four decades, limiting our understanding of how the ice sheet responds to climate change over much longer periods. We wanted to look further back in time – before satellites – and even before the first polar explorers. For this, we needed natural archives. <h2>Digging up Antarctica’s past</h2> We brought together various natural archives to unearth how the Antarctic ice sheet changed over the past 10,000 years or so. These included: <ul> <li>ice cores collected from Antarctica’s remote interior, which can show us how snow accumulated in the past</li> <li>rocks collected from exposed mountain peaks, which reveal how the ice sheet has thickened or thinned with time</li> <li>sediment cores collected from the seafloor, which reveal how the ice sheet margin – where the edge of the land ice meets the ocean – advanced or retreated</li> <li>lake mud and old beaches, which reveal how the coastline changed in response to the ice sheet growing or shrinking.</li> </ul> When we started our research, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, this period of time was long considered fairly dull, with only small changes to the ice margin. Nevertheless, we studied the many different natural archives one by one. The work felt like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, full of irregular-shaped pieces and seemingly no straight edge. But once we put them together, the pieces lined up and the picture was clear. Most striking was a period of ice loss that took place in all regions of Antarctica about 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. It resulted in many metres of sea-level rise globally. In some regions of Antarctica, however, this ice loss was then followed by ice gain during the past 5,000 years – and a corresponding global sea-level fall – as the ice sheet margin advanced to where it is today. <h2>A warning</h2> Understanding how and why the Antarctic ice sheet changed in this fashion offers lessons for the future. The first lesson is more of a warning. The period of ice loss from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago was rapid, occurring at a similar rate to the most dramatically changing parts of the Antarctic ice sheet today. We think it was likely the result of warm ocean water melting the underside of floating ice shelves – something that has also happened in recent decades. These ice shelves hold back the ice on land, so once they’re removed the ice on the land flows faster into the ocean. In the future, it’s predicted ice loss will <a href="https://youtu.be/XRUxTFWWWdY?t=149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accelerate</a> as the ice sheet retreats into basins below sea level. This may already be under way in some regions of Antarctica. And based on what happened in the past, the resulting ice loss could persist for centuries. <h2>Bouncing back</h2> The second lesson from our work may bring some hope. Some 5,000 years ago the ice sheet margin stopped retreating in most locations, and in some regions actually started to advance. One explanation for this relates to the previous period of ice loss. Before the ice began melting away, the Antarctic ice sheet was much heavier, and its weight pushed down into the Earth’s crust (which sits atop a molten interior). As the ice sheet melted and became lighter, the land beneath it would have lifted up – effectively hauling the ice out of the ocean. Another possible explanation is climate change. At Antarctica’s coastal fringe, the ocean may have temporarily switched from warmer to cooler waters around the time the ice sheet began advancing again. At the same time, more snowfall took place at the top of the ice sheet. Our research supports the idea that the Antarctic ice sheet is poised to lose more ice and raise sea levels – particularly if the ocean continues to warm. It also suggests uplift of the land and increased snowfall have the potential to slow or offset ice loss. However, this effect is not certain. The past can never be a perfect test for the future. And considering the planet is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warming faster</a> now than it was back then, we must err on the side of caution. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-how-the-antarctic-ice-sheet-advanced-and-retreated-over-10-000-years-it-holds-warnings-for-the-future-185505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Moral injury: what happens when exhausted health workers can no longer provide the care they want for their patients

Healthcare workers in New Zealand already face life-and-death decisions daily. But as multiple winter illnesses add pressure to a system already stretched by COVID, staff now also have to deal with <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-democracy-reporting/300534812/covid19-union-and-frontline-worker-say-staff-at-middlemore-hospital-facing-increasing-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">daily abuse</a>, acute <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/05/christchurch-hospital-cancels-surgeries-as-it-hits-112-pct-capacity.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staff shortages</a> and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/06/17/dhb-clashes-with-union-over-stretched-palmerston-north-ed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unsafe working conditions</a>. At times, they cannot provide the care they would like for their patients. The impact on health workers is often described as <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/great-minds-health-workers-on-covid-19-frontlines-burnt-and-bled-by-two-years-of-virus/T7JXOXGXEKKCICUNOMUJYT4QWM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stress and burnout</a>. The consequences of this prolonged pressure can be seen in the number of <a href="https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/acem-welcomes-111b-health-nz-budget-urges-fixes-health-workforce-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doctors</a>, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nursing-shortage-nurses-broken-while-sector-faces-thousands-of-vacancies/L7NUXOPG4AB472OKXOH5QJSUMU/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nurses</a> and other <a href="https://capsulenz.com/be/therapist-shortage-nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health professionals</a> leaving their jobs for overseas positions and the private sector, or being lost to their professions completely. Many of these healthcare workers may well be suffering from a more serious form of psychological distress than burnout: moral injury. <a href="https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Moral-Stress-Healthcare-Workers-COVID-19-Guide-to-Moral-Injury.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moral injury</a> refers to the psychological, social and spiritual impact of events on a person who holds strong values (such as caring for patients) and operates in high-stakes situations (hospital emergency care), but has to act in a way inconsistent with those values. Examples include having to turn patients away despite them being in pain or discomfort; being unable to provide adequate care due to staff shortages; having to care for a dying patient isolated from their loved ones while wearing full protective gear. Symptoms of moral injury can include strong feelings of guilt and shame (about not being able to uphold healthcare values, for example) as well as high levels of anger and contempt towards the system that prevents proper care. High levels of self-criticism, loss of trust in people and organisations and a weakening of personal relationships are further <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00113-9/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">symptoms</a> of moral injury. It can be viewed as a <a href="https://www.afta.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Physicians-aren%E2%80%99t-%E2%80%98burning-out.%E2%80%99-They%E2%80%99re-suffering-from-moral-injury..pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more severe form of burnout</a>. But while burnout can happen in most workplaces, moral injury requires the three core components listed above. From war to the operating table The term moral injury arose in <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/moral_injury.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military psychology</a> to refer to situations where, for example, soldiers were unable to intervene to save lives in case they risked breaching the rules of engagement. More recently, the term has been adapted to apply to healthcare. Viewing the experiences of health workers through this lens can help us understand why they may experience a seesawing emotional state and the confusing conflict of simultaneously wanting to be at work while wishing they were anywhere but. For healthcare workers, understanding the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6752815/#:%7E:text=Over%20time%2C%20these%20repetitive%20insults,is%20in%20some%20way%20deficient" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concept of moral injury</a> may help reframe it as something that is happening to them rather than because they don’t have the skills to cope. The latter can sometimes be a mistaken implication of the term burnout. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.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/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471254/original/file-20220627-22-u7c2tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Exhausted nurse" /><figcaption>Staff shortages can take health workers beyond exhaustion and burnout. Getty Images</figcaption></figure> While healthcare workers are largely at the mercy of the organisations they work for, there are some steps individuals can take to alleviate moral injury. Firstly, simply recognising they may be suffering from this condition can reduce confusion and validate their experiences. Secondly, reconnecting back to an individual’s values and beliefs can help refocus and re-energise, at least temporarily. Reminding themselves why they got into this job in the first place is a useful place to start. Organisational responses Organisations and businesses must play a lead role in preventing and treating moral injury. Many of the factors leading to it (lack of resources or staff, a pandemic or peak flu season) are outside the control of individuals. Most modern businesses will be aware they have a legal responsibility under the 2015 <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0070/latest/DLM5976660.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health and Safety at Work Act</a> to look after their employees’ mental and physical well-being. At a high level, organisations can advocate for systemic change and increases in funding and resourcing, where needed. But these higher-level changes take time to achieve. In the meantime, it is important healthcare workers are protected and supported. Broad steps an organisation can take to prevent or reduce moral injury include removing the burden of difficult ethical decisions from frontline workers and instead adopting evidence-based policies to guide an organisation-wide response. Where possible, rotating staff between high and low-stress environments may help. Providing funding for workers to access professional psychological supervision is another practical step businesses can consider. At a team level, it can be helpful to have leaders who are visible, validating and can help make sense of the moral conflict. Leaders can also play a role in keeping alive professional values and modelling their own struggles with the situation. The general public also has a role to play in supporting healthcare workers. Any steps we can take to protect our own health and thereby reduce pressure on the system can have a cumulative effect on the well-being of doctors, nurses and allied health clinicians. The health of our nation rests with those who work in this field and it is in all our interest that their health is protected and prioritised.<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/185485/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dougal-sutherland-747623" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dougal Sutherland</a>, Clinical Psychologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/te-herenga-waka-victoria-university-of-wellington-1200" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington</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/moral-injury-what-happens-when-exhausted-health-workers-can-no-longer-provide-the-care-they-want-for-their-patients-185485" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Caring

$3,000 bonus for one group of workers

The NSW government has announced a one-off $3000 payment for health workers to thank them for their ongoing efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the decision on June 6, adding that the state’s health workforce would see a major boost of over 10,000 staff over the next four years, per <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/3000-cash-bonus-to-one-group-of-workers-for-efforts-during-covid19-pandemic/news-story/2f5b90844a5a495e0eae05881e6b8dec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>. “I want to pay special tribute to our health workers who over the past two years have done an outstanding job,” Mr Perrottet said. Paramedics and nurses will also be receiving a boost to their annual wage increases, with the wages of all public service workers being lifted from a 2.5 percent to a 3 percent increase this year, followed by a 3.5 percent increase in the next financial year. “That’s up to 6.5 percent pay increases for our public servants over the next two years,” Mr Perrottet said. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHealthServicesUnionNSW%2Fvideos%2F551732946613372%2F&show_text=true&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="429" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> The increase comes as an addition to natural progression within the public sector and will apply to new industrial agreements made from July 1, 2022. The one-off payment will be available to permanent staff employed by the NSW Health Service, including paramedics, midwives, and cleaners. Between now and 2026, the government will spend $4.5 billion on bringing new doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health staff into the system. The NSW Health Services Union welcomed the influx of staff that has come as a result of ongoing “pressure” placed on the government, which has followed calls from many in the industry for better pay and working conditions. “We’ve been fighting nonstop for two years: fighting an international pandemic; fighting for recognition; fighting for what we’re worth,” the organisation wrote on Facebook. “Significant staffing increases will be welcomed by tired HSU members, but we’re not taking the pressure off. We need real pay rises from this government.” Image: NSW Health Services Union (Facebook)

Money & Banking

Qantas announces new direct routes overseas

After international travel returns following years of closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Qantas has announced a way to help travellers get to their destinations more efficiently. The airline giant recently announced plans to grow its international network out of Sydney by unveiling new direct routes to India and Korea, which will be taking off this year. A direct route will be introduced between Sydney and Bengaluru (Bangalore) in southern India from September 14th. This will be the first non-stop flight between Australia and southern India by any airline. Qantas and Jetstar have also announced the launch of direct flights between Sydney and Seoul, South Korea. The flights will commence from November 22nd and will occur three times a week, making Jetstar the only budget airline to make the direct flight. Qantas will also make direct flights from Australia to South Korea from December 10th, making the airline’s first scheduled service to Seoul since 2008. The introduction of these new direct routes are designed to help kickstars New South Wales’ post-Covid tourism recovery. "Sydney is one of the world's truly global cities and these new direct flights to India and Korea will make it easier for millions of people to come here," Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce says. "It's clear that Australia is back on the map for international travellers. Demand for our international flights has rebounded since borders reopened, and that's giving us the confidence to launch these new routes together with the marketing support from Destination New South Wales." "With expected strong business, premium leisure and low-cost travel demand on the route, we see an opportunity for both Qantas and Jetstar to fly on the route." Image credits: Getty Images

International Travel

Thinking ahead: Why you should make an advanced care plan

When it comes to preparing for unforeseeable events - whether it’s an accident, injury, or death - most of us know that preparing a Will or taking out life insurance can protect us and our families and ensure things happen the way we want them to.But what is less well-known is that preparing an Advance Care Plan can enable our loved ones and carers to look after us and respect our wishes, especially if we can no longer express them.Though the process can differ from state to state, advance care planning generally involves discussions and decisions about a person’s future healthcare and options for medical treatment. According to <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/understand-advance-care-planning/advance-care-planning-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia’s website</a>, this can include providing future consent, refusal, or withdrawing of treatments, as well as appointing someone to make decisions on your behalf.Maree, a NSW aged care worker, told OverSixty that having a plan in place can give people and their loved ones peace of mind as they get older, while ensuring carers can honour their wishes regarding resuscitation, transportation, and medical treatment. “A lot of old people get to that stage, they say, ‘Look I’m waiting to go. I’ve had enough of this life, this is what I’ve got left’... and basically, they’ve lived their life and they’re ready,” she says.“So to let other people know that that is what they desire, you know, I don’t want to be resuscitated, I’m not for transfer to hospital, I’d like to end my life quietly, calling this one person that I’ve nominated. If they can make it for my end, that’s lovely. And otherwise, quite often, it’s one of us in an aged care facility that will hold their hand, if we can and we know the time’s pretty close… we’ll see them through.”Though anyone can create an advance care plan, Professor Liz Reymond, Queensland’s Director of the Statewide Office of Advance Planning, says only a small percentage of people have one.“Currently, approximately 19 percent of Queenslanders have an Advance Care Plan,” Professor Reymond says. “It is vital that more people discuss and document their preferences.”Though thinking about death, illness, and potential medical issues can be difficult, Professor Reymond says it can help families navigate them more easily as they arise.“As hard as the conversation can be, it will save your loved ones from having to make difficult decisions on your behalf without knowing what you would have wanted,” she explains.“Having these conversations early on can make the unfortunate situation of your passing more straightforward and less stressful when it eventually occurs.”Maree agrees, adding that having a plan in place can make a person’s passing more peaceful - and can even include what a person wishes to wear after their death.“It’s just nice when you know that they’re prepared for it, I’m prepared for it, [and] quite often, they’ll actually have their outfit for death in their wardrobe,” Maree explains. “And that’s lovely, because you go, ‘Right, she’s gone, and let’s go prepare the body before the undertaker and the family come, and that’s her favourite outfit she had ready for it and… I think they die more peacefully, and I feel more at peace if they knew it was coming, they were prepared for it.“And you know, it’s a blessing, rather than, ‘Oh my God’, you know, everyone’s panicking and… it makes it a peaceful, lovely end, not a haphazard, stressful, unpleasant ending.”Aged care facilities - like the one Maree works for - also encourage incoming residents to prepare an advance care plan, as well as an end-of-life plan. But she says people should consider thinking about their plan earlier, especially if they have been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.“Depending on your health, I mean, if you’re up and running and still doing great at 60, make it at 70. But do it before you start losing your faculties,” she says.“If you’re diagnosed with dementia, or Alzheimer’s, or (a) life-threatening disease, do it then because you don’t know what course that disease will take. Sometimes it takes years for those diseases to kill, or sometimes it comes upon you so quickly that you’re really incapable of making those decisions.”“So get your facts together (of) where you think you are, and as soon as you get more information, go with it, make your plan, and then go out the way you want to go.”Maree hopes more awareness will be directed towards advance care planning, and argues that local GPs could have a huge effect on uptake, especially for those who may need to consider entering aged care.“I think it should be part of the doctor’s role, especially if they know - which they normally do - that this human being is no longer able to care for themselves,” she says. “Have some official document drawn up, where it’s handled by a doctor or somebody like a carer.“Even something like Centrelink should be making people knowledgeable, or just a GP… Probably the greatest effect would be for the GP to advise them on these things.”Professor Reymond also stressed that advance care planning isn’t just about what happens when we die and can be adjusted as our living situations change.“Your decisions are not set in stone and may need to be updated for any number of reasons, including a change in your medical circumstances, a change in your living arrangements, or simply a shift in your beliefs or values,” she explains.“One thing we’d like people to keep in mind is that advance care planning isn’t always about death - it’s also about your life and how you want to live it.”Image: Getty Images

Retirement Life

Can mental healthcare be automated?

Depression is predicted to become the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030442" target="_blank">leading global cause of loss of life years</a> due to illness by 2030, yet <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5288082/" target="_blank">fewer than one in five people</a> who suffer depression receive appropriate care. And there are <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02143-7/fulltext" target="_blank">worrisome signs</a> the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating triggers of the disease. As the burden of disease rises around the world, mental healthcare systems, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.who.int/news/item/08-10-2021-who-report-highlights-global-shortfall-in-investment-in-mental-health" target="_blank">many of which are already patently inadequate</a>, will be stretched thin. That’s why many experts are turning to digital interventions to help manage surging demand, packaging up psychotherapeutic treatments into computer programs and apps that can be used at home. But how effective are digital interventions? And will people accept therapy without a human face? These are the questions an international team of researchers from Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy sought to answer through a systematic review and meta-analysis <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000334" target="_blank">published today</a> in Psychological Bulletin. The team analysed 83 studies published between 1990 and 2020, reporting on 15,530 individuals, making it the largest and most comprehensive analysis of digital mental healthcare to date. The findings, while mixed, are promising. Software alone not enough The data suggests that digital interventions are effective in the treatment of depression, but the best results come when a digital program is augmented by support from an actual human. That’s when digital therapy can actually rival the effectiveness of face-to-face therapy. “Digital interventions could provide a viable, evidence-based method of meeting the growing demand for mental healthcare, especially where people are unable to access face-to-face therapy due to long waiting lists, financial constraints or other barriers,” says Isaac Moshe, lead author of the study and a PhD researcher at the University of Helsinki. But, he notes, “software alone just isn’t enough for many people, especially individuals who suffer from moderate or more severe symptoms.” Interestingly, the researchers found that while a level of human support behind a digital program was important, there was no marked difference in outcomes whether that support was provided by a highly experienced clinician or someone with less experience, such as a student or trainee. Moshe says that means digital programs could be scaled up by relying on less experienced practitioners, and offer a powerful solution to a growing problem. Even with the assistance of a clinician, however, there are barriers to the uptake of digital healthcare. According to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/cost-security-concerns-and-lack-of-integration-into-existing-workflow-the-main-barriers-to-the-adoption-of-digital-health-tools-poll/" target="_blank">one industry-based poll</a>, major barriers include cost, security concerns and a lack of digital savviness among patients. Another major therapeutic concern is the idea that spending time working face-to-face with a human builds trust and a sense of alliance. This is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7016304/" target="_blank">particularly true</a> among older generations. Digital healthcare is also generally only appropriate for those who can afford the means to access it through a mobile phone or computer. That means it’s inaccessible for many people living in poverty or in remote communities. AI has a role to play The researchers also say artificial intelligence may have a role to play, principally in flagging risk factors for mental health, as well as helping clinicians develop tailor-made interventions. “Over three billion people now own a smartphone and wearable devices are growing in popularity,” explains Lasse Sander from the University of Freiburg, who led the research team. “These devices produce a continuous stream of data related to a person’s behaviour and physiology. With new developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, we now have promising methods of using this data to identify if someone is at risk of developing a mental illness.” Moshe cautions that the results are focused on moderate depression, and that digital interventions may not be sufficient to cater to severe cases. “There are very few studies involving people with severe depression or individuals at risk of suicide, leaving the evidence unclear for the role of digital interventions for the treatment of severe and complex depression,” he says.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=176089&title=Can+mental+healthcare+be+automated%3F" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/can-digital-mental-healthcare-be-automated/" target="_blank">This article</a> was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/amalyah-hart" target="_blank">Amalyah Hart</a>. Amalyah Hart is a science journalist based in Melbourne. Image: Getty Images </div>

Mind

Flight attendant’s trick for avoiding unwanted advances on the job

A flight attendant has taken to TikTok to share her tips and tricks for avoiding unwanted advances while on the job. For her biggest and most lauded hack, Taylor, who shares videos under the username @flywithtay, admits she wears a fake engagement ring to prevent travellers from hitting on her. In a video she shared, she flaunts her ring on camera as she walks down the aisle of an aeroplane. She has captioned the post, "Flaunting my fake Amazon engagement ring at work to keep the creeps away." In the video description she adds, "Works like a charm." The video welcomed a flood of comments from women who feel forced to adopt similar tactics in their lines of work. "I'm in healthcare, I do the same thing lol," says one commenter. "Divorced and do this when I go to a work conference," another admits, while another says, "It's so sad we have to do this." One viewer asked if Taylor ever flirts with customers, to which she responded, "I don't flirt with passengers, but that's just me. I can't speak for everyone." During the back and forth in the comments of the video, Taylor said she is already dating her "perfect guy" so isn't worried she will miss the opportunity to meet someone on a flight. One person also commented, “Respectful men will notice. It’s the creeps who won’t care.” Image credit: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

COVID-19 heroes honoured by new Barbie range

Women in science and medicine are being honoured with a miniature version of themselves in the form of a Barbie doll. Toymaker Mattel has recognised the work of six women across STEM who have made significant contributions to the fight against COVID-19 by modelling new Barbies after them. Professor Sarah Gilbert, one of the co-developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, is one of the honourees, with her Barbie sharing her long auburn hair and oversized black glasses. “It’s a very strange concept having a Barbie doll created in my likeness,” Gilbert said in an interview for Mattel. “I hope it will be part of making it more normal for girls to think about careers in science.” <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/CSKIFZwl7c9/?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/p/CSKIFZwl7c9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Barbie (@barbie)</a> </div> </blockquote> Amy O’Sullivan, the emergency room nurse who treated the first COVID-19 patient at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn and appeared on the cover of Time magazine for its 100 Most Influential People list, also received a doll version of herself. Other honourees include Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, a Canadian psychiatrist who spoke out against racism in healthcare, frontline doctor Audrey Cruz, who fought discrimination, and Jacqueline Goes de Jesus, the Brazilian biomedical researcher who led the genome sequencing of a COVID-19 variant in Brazil. <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/CSKN4QuFL_2/?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/p/CSKN4QuFL_2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Chika Stacy (@chikastacy)</a> </div> </blockquote> Finally, Australian Dr Kirby White, who pioneered a washable and reusable surgical gown for frontline workers to use during the pandemic, received a doll in her honour. To support her work, $5 from each eligible doctor, nurse, and medical doll sold in Australia will be donated by Barbie to <a rel="noopener" href="https://gownsfordoctors.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR3DoOlLlqp06mby2LE06j3zIMFEOJMrH7cyhApl6TeHfmxE80Pi6bhBiDI%2F" target="_blank">Gowns for Doctors</a>, the initiative she started to supply GPs with the gowns. “This donation from Barbie will mean many more doctors across Australia will be able to receive a box of reusable protective gowns and many patients and children will be able to seek care from their doctor,” the Bendigo GP said. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> 🇦🇺👩‍⚕️ <a href="https://twitter.com/Barbie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Barbie</a> launches 6 new dolls celebrating female scientists - including Australian Dr Kirby White. Dr White pioneered Gowns for Doctors, an initiative behind surgical gowns that can be washed & reused by frontline workers during the pandemic. ▶️ More: <a href="https://t.co/PHYXvyFIu5">https://t.co/PHYXvyFIu5</a> <a href="https://t.co/PwnL6J4I8o">pic.twitter.com/PwnL6J4I8o</a> — Australia in the US 🇦🇺🇺🇸 (@AusintheUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/AusintheUS/status/1422923782180777986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2021</a></blockquote> “Australia is once again facing increasing COVID-19 case numbers and this donation will allow Gowns for Doctors to upscale our efforts to support those clinics in need.” In the UK, Gilbert chose Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), a nonprofit organisation inspiring girls to pursue a career in STEM, to receive a financial donation from the company. Image: Mattel

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