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"Breakups are hard": Sam Armytage announces shock split from husband

<p>Samantha Armytage has made the shock announcement that her and her husband Richard Lavender have separated. </p> <p>According to reports from <em><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fentertainment%2Fsamantha-armytage-confirms-split-with-husband-richard-lavender%2Fnews-story%2F72dbdc875cc3d81eaf9f2e3d521ff62f&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Telegraph</a></em>, the couple allegedly split up months ago, with the TV host moving out of Richard's Southern Highlands home and returning to Sydney. </p> <p>"Yes, Richard and I have separated. All breakups are hard, but it’s somewhat lessened by the fact it’s amicable and we wish the best for each other," she told the publication.</p> <p>"I appreciate you respecting our privacy. I won’t be making any further comment."</p> <p>While there has been no official statement on the reason behind their split, <em>news.com.au</em> claim their separation was due to tensions between Sam and Richard's adult daughters.</p> <p>Samantha and Richard began dating in April 2019 and announced their engagement in June 2020, with the presenter revealing on <em>Sunrise</em> how he popped the question.</p> <p>"We’d been picking weeds in the paddock and he said ‘darling, do you want to marry me?" she said. "It was very sweet, very romantic."</p> <p>"He’s just a very, charming, lovely fellow. He is totally the opposite of the showbiz world and TV."</p> <p>They planned their wedding in just three days, with Sam revealing on <em>Sunrise</em>, "Three days before we decided we'd do it for New Year's Eve."</p> <p>"It was nice, there was 12 of us there, we organised it in three days and it was fun."</p> <p>This New Year's Eve would've marked their fourth wedding anniversary. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

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Hotel booking sites actually make it hard to get cheap deals, but there’s a way around it

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-martin-682709">Peter Martin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em></p> <p>Booking a place to stay on holidays has become a reflex action.</p> <p>The first thing many of us do is open a site such as <a href="https://www.wotif.com/">Wotif</a>, <a href="https://au.hotels.com/?locale=en_AU">Hotels.com</a> or <a href="https://www.trivago.com.au/">trivago</a> (all of which are these days owned by the US firm <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-will-not-oppose-expedia%E2%80%99s-proposed-acquisition-of-wotif">Expedia</a>), or their only big competitor, <a href="https://www.booking.com/">Booking.com</a> from the Netherlands.</p> <p>Checking what rooms are available – anywhere – is wonderfully easy, as is booking, at what usually seems to be the lowest available price.</p> <p>But Australia’s Assistant Competition Minister Andrew Leigh is concerned there might be a reason the price seems to be the lowest available. It might be an <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/andrew-leigh-2022/media-releases/supporting-tourism-and-accommodation-providers-set-their">agreement not to compete</a>, or the fear of reprisals against hotel owners who offer better prices.</p> <h2>Agreements to not compete</h2> <p>Leigh has asked the treasury to investigate, and if that’s what it finds, it may be the booking sites have the perverse effect of keeping prices high, especially when the substantial fees they charge hotels are taken into account.</p> <p>For now, the treasury is seeking information. It has set a deadline of <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2022-338978">January 6</a> for hotel operators and booking sites to tell it:</p> <ul> <li> <p>the typical fees charged by online booking platforms</p> </li> <li> <p>the details of any agreements not to compete on price</p> </li> <li> <p>whether hotels that try to compete get ranked lower on booking sites.</p> </li> </ul> <p>What’s likely to come out of it is a ban on so-called price-parity clauses that prevent discounting, or a ban on “algorithmic punishment,” whereby hotels that do discount get pushed way down the rankings on the sites.</p> <p>But in the meantime, there are things we can do to get better prices, and they’ll help more broadly, as I’ll explain.</p> <h2>Flight Centre precedent</h2> <figure class="align-right zoomable"></figure> <p>Back in 2018, in a case that went all the way to the High Court, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) forced <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/flight-centre-ordered-to-pay-125-million-in-penalties">Flight Centre</a> to pay a penalty of A$12.5 million for attempting to induce airlines not to undercut it on ticket prices.</p> <p>That the ACCC eventually won the case might be an indication price-parity clauses are already illegal under Australian law. But it’s a difficult law to enforce. This is why the treasury is considering special legislation of the kind in force in France, Austria, Italy and Belgium.</p> <p>The ACCC has known for some time that Expedia and Booking.com have included clauses in their contracts preventing hotels offering the same room for any less than they do, even directly.</p> <p>Rather than take the big two to court, in 2016 the ACCC “reached agreement” with them to delete the clauses that prevented hotels offering better deals <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/expedia-and-bookingcom-agree-to-reinvigorate-price-competition-by-amending-contracts-with-australian-hotels">face-to-face</a>.</p> <h2>The concession that conceded little</h2> <p>From then on, hotels were able to offer better deals than the sites over the phone or in person, but not on their own websites. Given we are less and less likely to walk in off the street or even use the phone to book a hotel, it wasn’t much of a concession.</p> <p>Then, in 2019, with the Commission under renewed pressure from hotel owners for another investigation, Expedia (but not Booking.com) reportedly <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/competition/expedia-allow-hotels-undercut-prices-online/">waived</a> the rest of the clauses, giving hotel owners the apparent freedom to advertise cheaper prices wherever they liked including on their own sites without fear of retribution.</p> <p>Except several appear to fear retribution, and very few seem to have jumped at the opportunity.</p> <h2>Algorithmic punishment</h2> <p>An Expedia spokesman gave an indication of what might be in store when he was quoted as saying a hotel that undercut Expedia might “find itself ranked <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/competition/expedia-allow-hotels-undercut-prices-online/">below its competitors</a>, just as it would if it had worse reviews or fewer high-quality pictures of its property”.</p> <p>Being ranked at the bottom of a site is much the same as not being ranked at all, something Leigh refers to as “algorithmic punishment”.</p> <p>It’s not at all clear the present law prevents it, which is why Leigh is open to the idea of legislating against it.</p> <p>Although you and I may not often think about what hotels are paying to be booked through sites such as Wotif and Booking.com, and although what’s charged to the hotel isn’t publicised, it appeard to be a large chunk of the cost of providing the room.</p> <p>One figure quoted is <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/tourism/online-travel-booking-fed-up-small-businesses-call-accc-action/">20%</a>. Leigh says hotel owners have told him the fees are in the “<a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/andrew-leigh-2022/transcripts/interview-geraldine-doogue-abc-saturday-extra">double digits</a>”, something he says is quite a lot when you consider the sites don’t need to clean the toilets, change the sheets or help on the front desk.</p> <h2>‘Chokepoint capitalism’</h2> <p>What this seems to mean (the treasury will find out) is almost all bookings are more expensive than they need to be because firms that sit at the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/chokepoint-capitalism-why-well-all-lose-unless-we-stop-amazon-spotify-and-other-platforms-squeezing-cash-from-creators-194069">chokepoint</a>” between buyers and sellers are squeezing sellers.</p> <p>A hotel could always abandon the sites and offer much cheaper prices, but for a while – perhaps forever – it will be much harder to find.</p> <p>In their defence, the operators of the platforms might say they need to get the best offers from hotels in order to make it worthwhile for the operators to invest in their sites, an argument the treasury is inviting them to put.</p> <p>In the meantime, with some hotels reluctant to put their best rates on their websites, but with them perfectly able to offer better rates over the phone, there’s a fairly simple way we can all get a better deal – and help fix the broader problem by weight of numbers.</p> <p>If we look up the best deal wherever we want online, and then phone and ask for a better one (or a better room), we might well find we get it. We might be saving the owner a lot of money.</p> <p>Leigh reckons the more we do ring up, the more the sites might feel pressure to discount their own fees, helping bring prices down even before he starts to think about writing legislation.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/196460/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-martin-682709"><em>Peter Martin</em></a><em>, Visiting Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/hotel-booking-sites-actually-make-it-hard-to-get-cheap-deals-but-theres-a-way-around-it-196460">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Travel Trouble

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Distraught bride explains why no one showed for her wedding

<p>The heartbroken bride who went viral after no one showed up to her wedding has updated her followers on the events leading up to the big day. </p> <p>Kalina Marie, a bride from the US, went <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/what-did-we-do-bride-shares-heartbroken-reaction-to-empty-wedding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viral</a> after she took to TikTok to share the gut-wrenching video of the moment her and her new husband Shane stepped inside the lavishly decorated hall with their son, as they tried to come to terms with the fact that only a handful of people showed to celebrate with them. </p> <p>“FIVE PEOPLE SHOWED UP!!!!!!! Like, are you kidding me!?!? As you see in the video, we enter the venue. And no one is there," she wrote in the caption of the video before adding, “It just makes me think, like, why? What did we do? Am I that bad of a person?"</p> <p>Her video raked up millions of views with many people sharing words of encouragement, and thousands of people asking for an update on the situation.</p> <p>Hundreds of comments asked Kalina if she had heard from any of the invitees who didn't show up, wondering if they had provided her with a reason. </p> <p>In response to the comments, Kalina made another video to share some context with her followers.</p> <p>She first explained that and her husband, who have been together for nine years, got engaged in 2019 and weren’t able to have their wedding when they had intended to, due to the pandemic.</p> <p>In January this year, they announced they were finally tying the knot in October and for the past 10 months, Ms Marie said she has been “blabbing about it” all over Facebook.</p> <p>“I created a Facebook event and invited everyone I could and also sent out over 25 invitations to our elders and those not on social media to make sure they were included as well,” she said in a video.</p> <p>Ms Marie said she received notice from 40 who said they would be coming to the big day, so she planned for that number by setting up the venue accordingly and ensuring her mum had catered enough food.</p> <p>She also made sure to check in with everyone the week of to confirm their attendance, and said “at least 20 people” had gotten back to her saying they were coming, leaving her asking why those people chose not to show up at the last minute. </p> <p>“If I could answer that, I would tell you. And no, I haven’t really received a lot of messages explaining why people weren’t there or giving me excuses,” she said.</p> <p>However, the newlywed said she was actually grateful for this because it meant she could get a clear understanding of who actually cared about her and her husband.</p> <p>“We’ve been having to deal with the grief of deleting a lot of people out of our lives,” she admitted. </p> <p>“For the most part, we’ve done a lot of re-evaluating our lives and just spending a lot of time appreciating what we have and what we had.”</p> <p>To anyone who has had something similar happen to them, Ms Marie says: “I am truly very sorry as I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”</p> <p>The comments section of the video was again flooded with words of support and encouragement for the newlyweds, as one person wrote, “My heart aches for you,” while another called it “cruel” and “unbelievable.”</p> <p>Others emphasised that it was a powerful learning moment: “You really find out who your friends are when you have a wedding. Sorry, you went through this,” insisted one commenter.</p> <p>“The people who didn’t turn up you don’t need in your life,” another reassured.</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Relationships

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"What did we do?": Bride shares heartbroken reaction to empty wedding

<p>A bride has recalled the devastating moment she made a grand entrance to her wedding, only to discover almost no guests showed up. </p> <p>Kalina Marie took to TikTok to share the gut-wrenching video of the moment her and her new husband Shane stepped inside the lavishly decorated hall with their son, as they tried to come to terms with the fact that only a handful of people showed to celebrate with them. </p> <p>“This is our entrance to our Masquerade ball,” Ms Marie, who is from Oregon in the US, wrote in the caption of her clip, which has since amassed over seven million views. </p> <p>“The Masquerade ball that I have talked EXCESSIVELY about for the last 10 months. The same ball that I not only digitally invited over 75 people to. But ALSO spent money to send 25 beautiful invitations out to."</p> <p>“FIVE PEOPLE SHOWED UP!!!!!!! Like, are you kidding me!?!? As you see in the video, we enter the venue. And no one is there. The invite said 1pm. My mum messaged me at 1:15pm that no one was there. My husband and I finally showed up at 2 o’clock, to five people, in a venue planned for 40.”</p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: currentcolor !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px; max-width: 100%; outline: currentcolor !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7433899067664551198&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40kalina_marie_23%2Fvideo%2F7433899067664551198&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-pu-sign-useast8.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast8-p-0068-tx2%2F7f29587f56a44788903eea92cd974c62_1730839526%3Flk3s%3Db59d6b55%26x-expires%3D1731499200%26x-signature%3DbUQfTW%252F8BrelG0Dy5rCNSzBBbiQ%253D%26shp%3Db59d6b55%26shcp%3D-&amp;key=5b465a7e134d4f09b4e6901220de11f0&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>She said she “dreamt” that she would walk into a bunch of people “hooting and hollering” for them, but instead ended up having to “hold herself together” because she had “no idea” how to deal with her venue being almost completely empty.</p> <p>“All the wasted food and drinks,” Ms Marie continued. “All the empty tables and chairs. Every moment of my reception changed to adapt.”</p> <p>“It just makes me think, like, why? What did we do? Am I that bad of a person? What did my husband ever do to deserve any of this?” she questioned. “Why couldn’t we matter enough for people to show up?”</p> <p>She revealed that it makes her “sick” that she still has “friends” who haven’t even messaged her to congratulate her or tell her why they didn’t come, adding, “I honestly can’t wrap my head around this yet.”</p> <p>The heart-breaking video quickly wrapped up millions of views and comments, with many empathising with the new bride, with one person writing, "This hurts my heart for you."</p> <p>Thousands of others tried to lighten the mood, praising Ms Marie for how beautiful she looked and vowing to attend a do-over wedding.</p> <p>“NAH, RE-DO THIS. WE ALL SHOWING UP,” read a top comment, while another wrote, “Let’s do it over. This time invite me and the rest of us. We’ll show up and out. I love you beautiful and congratulations!!” </p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Relationships

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Bride's touching tribute to late father on her wedding day

<p>"Who's going to walk me down the aisle?" those were the first words 13-year-old Bianca Accurso told her mother when she found out her father had passed away. </p> <p>"I knew from that moment that I needed to feel like he was going to be there right there with me [on my wedding day]," the now mum-of-one told <em>Yahoo Lifestyle</em>. </p> <p>"It was always important for me to acknowledge my dad in a special way at my wedding as he was my first love and whole world."</p> <p>Bianca kept her promise to her teenage self when she got married earlier this year, and the way she did it was by tracking down the man who owned her late father's car, and asking him if she could use it on her big day. </p> <p>"When going down the path of planning, I was writing down all that we needed to organise and tick off and ‘cars’ was one of the many things on the list," she recalled. </p> <p>Her husband had asked her what car she wanted for the special day, and she quickly responded "an XY GT just like my Dad’s". </p> <p>It was only when she brought up the topic of wedding cars to her mum that she had her "light bulb moment". </p> <p>"I literally then had a light bulb moment and said out loud, ‘Hey imagine if I could get it..’. I asked my Mum to see if she still had the transfer papers and contact details of the male that she sold it to after Dad had passed." </p> <p>It didn't take long for her to find the contact details for a man named Harold, while the phone call started a little awkwardly, once he realised who she was, they started talking like they were long lost friends. </p> <p>"I then proceeded to ask if he still owned my dad’s GT, to which he responded, ‘I would never sell it’. I had total goosebumps," Bianca said.</p> <p> </p> <div class="embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important; width: 537px; max-width: 100%;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7430359178104802561&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40loverslenssocials%2Fvideo%2F7430359178104802561&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign-sg.tiktokcdn.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-alisg-p-0037%2FoQ4D7LDJFHhEO47CqjA4ACqIYzZIQoCfAOeHfE%3Flk3s%3Db59d6b55%26x-expires%3D1730498400%26x-signature%3DZNBsHGDfkYMa0%252F22tUjN3D3RPjE%253D%26shp%3Db59d6b55%26shcp%3D-&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>"I then told Harold the real reason why I had called and explained to him my wish of driving to my wedding in my Dad’s GT. There was no hesitation and he quite literally responded, ‘I would be absolutely honoured to do that for you, count me in.’ I was speechless. The butterflies were fluttering in my tummy... it was a meant-to-be moment."</p> <p>People were moved by Bianca's story which she posted on TikTok, with the video gaining almost a million views. </p> <p>"Your father is watching down crying and praising that man for taking time out of his day to make yours even better ❤️❤️," one person wrote.</p> <p>"The pure joy and happiness on your face ❤️ your dad may have not walked you down the aisle but he made sure you arrived in style..bless this beautiful man for doing this for you on your special day🥰🥰🥰,"  another added. </p> <p>Bianca recalled the moment she saw the car for the first time, saying: "seeing my Dad’s car after 10 years was indescribable."</p> <p>"My smile said it all. It looked like it had never been touched. I could picture my Dad in the driver's seat with me buckled in tightly by his side.</p> <p>"When we were driving in it, it was pure joy and happiness! We were just so present and tried to enjoy every last moment. Harold made us feel so comfortable and gave us a ride that we will never forget."</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram/ TikTok</em></p> <p> </p>

Family & Pets

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Bride slammed for asking wedding photographer to commit fraud

<p dir="ltr">A bride-to-be has been slammed online over a “dodgy” email she sent to her wedding photographer, in which she asked him to commit a crime to lower the wedding cost. </p> <p dir="ltr">The young woman, who works in event planning, was shocked when she realised the cost of her wedding photographer, and was worried the cost didn’t fit in her budget. </p> <p dir="ltr">She came up with a plan to lower the cost, not knowing that she was asking her photographer to commit fraud. </p> <p dir="ltr">In an email to the photographer, the woman pitched an idea to charge her business some of the wedding costs to lower the overall price of her big day.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are so excited to have you as a wedding photographer. Hard to believe it's only a few months away,” the email began. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wasn't sure how to approach this with you, but the budget has been rapidly expanding as we go through this process. I'm sure that happens with a lot of weddings and you've dealt with it many times.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was wondering if we could work something out. I work in the events department at [a company], and I'm wondering if I could hire you to photograph some events there, and you could overcharge them, and whatever you overcharge you could take off our remaining balance.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?”</p> <p dir="ltr">The shocking email saw the “unhinged” bride labelled as “tacky” and “criminal”, with many people urging the photographer to report the bride-to-be to her place of work. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Is this person also telling the florist, the caterer, or any other vendor this?” one asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Stop expecting to bargain with creatives like photographers. If you can't pay for a professional photographer, ask a relative or friend to get a few shots. This is so tacky.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Many couldn't believe the bride would stoop so low, as one woman suggested, “Just write back, 'I respectfully decline because I don't want to go to jail'.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another person added, “I beg your finest pardon? I thought she was going to ask for an extension or a payment plan - not fraud!”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Legal

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Why is it so hard to cancel subscriptions or end ‘free’ trials? Report shows how companies trap you into paying

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katharine-kemp-402096">Katharine Kemp</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Many businesses are trapping Australian consumers in paid subscriptions by making them hard to cancel, hiding important details and offering “free” trials that auto-renew with hefty charges. We need law reform to tackle this continuing problem.</p> <p><a href="https://cprc.org.au/report/let-me-out">A new report</a> shows 75% of Australian consumers have had negative experiences when trying to cancel a subscription, according to the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC).</p> <p>It shows businesses use “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-spot-avoid-dark-patterns/">dark patterns</a>”, which are designs that hinder consumers who try to act in their own best interests. Subscription traps are often called “<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2022/11/checking-out-ftcs-100-million-settlement-vonage">Hotel California</a>” techniques, referring to The Eagles’ famous lyric: “you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave”.</p> <p>In some of these cases, consumers may have remedies under our existing consumer law, including for misleading conduct. But we need law reform to capture other <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-430458">unfair practices</a>.</p> <p>In the meantime, the CPRC’s research also gives examples of businesses with <em>fair</em>, consumer-friendly subscription practices. These also benefit the business.</p> <h2>Examples of unfair subscription traps</h2> <p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/09/12/the-evolution-of-the-subscription-model-and-whats-on-the-horizon/">Subscription business models</a> have become common – many products are now provided in the form of software, an app or access to a website. Some of these would once have been a physical book, newspaper, CD or exercise class.</p> <p>Most people who use online services have experienced the frustration of finding a credit card charge for an unwanted, unused subscription or spending excessive time trying to cancel a subscription.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Infographic with a few statistics from the report." /></a><figcaption><span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cprc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPRC_LetMeOut_SubsTraps_Report_FINAL.pdf">CPRC, Let me out – Subscription trap practices in Australia, August 2024</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Businesses can make it difficult for consumers to stop paying for unwanted subscriptions. Some do this by allowing consumers to start a subscription with a single click, but creating multiple obstacles if you want to end the subscription.</p> <p>This can include obscuring cancellation options in the app, requiring consumers to phone during business hours or making them navigate through multiple steps and offers before terminating. The report points out many of the last-ditch discounts offered in this process are only short term. One survey respondent said:</p> <blockquote> <p>I wasn’t able to cancel without having to call up and speak to someone. Their business hours meant I had to call up during my work day and it took some time to action.</p> </blockquote> <p>Other businesses badger consumers with frequent emails or messages after they cancel. One respondent said a business made “the cancellation process impossible by making you call and then judging your reason for cancellation”.</p> <h2>What does consumer law say?</h2> <p>Some subscription traps already fall foul of the Australian Consumer Law and warrant investigation by the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-warns-consumers-to-beware-of-subscription-traps">Australian Competition &amp; Consumer Commission</a> (ACCC). Consumers may have remedies where the business has engaged in misleading conduct or imposes an unfair contract term.</p> <p>For example, the ACCC is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-court-action-against-eharmony-for-alleged-misleading-online-dating-membership-statements#:%7E:text=The%20ACCC%20has%20today%20commenced%20proceedings%20in%20the,the%20pricing%2C%20renewal%20and%20duration%20of%20its%20memberships.">suing dating site eHarmony</a> for its allegedly misleading subscription practices.</p> <p>In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/06/ftc-takes-action-against-adobe-executives-hiding-fees-preventing-consumers-easily-cancelling">has filed a complaint against software company Adobe</a> for allegedly using dark patterns in its subscription practices.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission has alleged that “Adobe pushed consumers toward the ‘annual paid monthly’ subscription without adequately disclosing that cancelling the plan in the first year could cost hundreds of dollars”.</p> <p>Adobe <a href="https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2024/Adobes-Recent-Statement-Regarding-Updated-Federal-Trade-Commission-Complaint-/default.aspx">issued a statement</a> arguing the commission’s complaint “mischaracterises” its business. The litigation is ongoing.</p> <h2>We need an unfair practices prohibition</h2> <p>Some subscription traps would fall outside the existing consumer law. This is because they don’t meet the test for misleading conduct or unfair contract terms, but make it practically very difficult to cancel.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-welcomes-consultation-on-possible-unfair-trading-practices-regulatory-reforms">ACCC has advocated</a> for Australia to follow other countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States to enact an unfair practices prohibition to capture conduct like this.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The shift businesses can make today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cprc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPRC_LetMeOut_SubsTraps_Report_FINAL.pdf">CPRC, Let me out – Subscription trap practices in Australia, August 2024</a></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Better practices benefit businesses too</h2> <p>The CPRC report also revealed that 90% of Australians would likely purchase from the same organisation if cancelling a subscription process was quick and simple.</p> <p>Businesses focused on a short-sighted cash grab fail to realise that consumers might cancel but later return if treated well.</p> <p>The CPRC highlights businesses that are doing a good job. For instance, the habit change app Atoms (based on James Clear’s book Atomic Habits) has a genuinely free trial. It doesn’t require credit card details, doesn’t auto-renew, and lets consumers know how many trial days remain.</p> <p>The CPRC says the charity World Vision doesn’t auto-renew annual sponsorships, but reminds supporters about when the sponsorship will lapse.</p> <p>Importantly, some businesses – such as Netflix – use their data for good in this context. They notice when users are paying for the service without using it and help them unsubscribe.</p> <p>These practices should be applauded. But we need an unfair practices prohibition for businesses who don’t follow suit and recognise the long-term benefits of treating customers fairly.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/237236/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katharine-kemp-402096">Katharine Kemp</a>, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law &amp; Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law &amp; Tech Initiative, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-cancel-subscriptions-or-end-free-trials-report-shows-how-companies-trap-you-into-paying-237236">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

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Bride and groom slammed over their “draconian wedding rules”

<p dir="ltr">A wedding planner has exposed a bride and groom she worked for who had an exhaustive list of rules for their big day.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ivy Miller shared a now viral TikTok about the couple’s “draconian” demands for their wedding day, that left many people saying they would “rather stay home” than attend the restricted day. </p> <p dir="ltr">Miller shared that the couple didn’t want any wedding guests making song requests to their DJ, with the bride and groom allegedly suggesting, “Just go to the club if you want your songs played.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The wedding planner also claimed that the couple asked guests not to ask their professional photographer to take photos of them, with the post reading, “I did not pay 10,000s of dollars for random portraits.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Instead, guests were told to join a shared photo album on a group app where they could crowd source photos from the day.</p> <p dir="ltr">Additionally, Miller said the couple did not permit any guests to bring a plus one, saying, “I’m not stressing and paying for strangers I’ve never met.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Finally, Miller’s post revealed that the couple had banned alcohol from their wedding because they wanted their guests to “actually remember” their celebrations.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No plus one? No alcohol? Is this a wedding?” questioned one TikTok user in response to the list of rules.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sounds like a business convention rather than a wedding,” another person said of the unusual demands.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I went to an alcohol free wedding,” another commenter added. “[It was] the most boring wedding I’ve ever been to. Pretty much everyone went at eight and most of the evening guests didn’t turn up.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Those are all the reasons people attend the wedding for,” a fourth person claimed. “I would recommend a really small wedding because that way your guests don’t end up secretly hating you.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, other users defended the bride and groom’s requests, with one person saying, “It’s their wedding, their rules.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p>

Relationships

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“Absolutely livid”: Woman discovers she’s been fired via text on her wedding day

<p dir="ltr">A woman has recalled the moment she discovered she had lost her job after her boss delivered the news via text on the woman’s wedding day.</p> <p dir="ltr">The bride shared that she got the message from her boss just 30 minutes after she walked down the aisle. </p> <p dir="ltr">The woman shared the story with Ben Askins, who regularly shares stories online of toxic employers, as she read out the messages she received on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. </p> <p dir="ltr">“On my wedding day, half an hour after the ceremony, I got a text from my boss to let me know I had been fired,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">The message from her boss read, “Hey, I hope your wedding went well and that you had a nice time away. I just wanted to let you know that the decision has been made to unfortunately let you go.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“An email has been sent to your personal email address detailing this. I'm really sorry that it didn't work out and wish you all the best moving forward x.”</p> <p dir="ltr">As she was surrounded by loved ones, the bride struggled to contain her emotions as she quickly checked her emails.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I hope your wedding went well and you had a good time. This email is to inform you that your employment will be terminated effective the 20th of May,” the email read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Your employment has been terminated as we unfortunately feel your performance doesn't meet the expectations that we require for the role.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The woman explained how she felt her manager's email was a “coward's way” of letting her go while she wasn't at work, and was unable to defend herself. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wasn't going to let it go but what they did... I was really angry at them,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“They had the opportunity to do it in person. Everyone was let go in person except for me.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Askins said the woman’s story was one of the “worst things” he's ever heard a boss do to an employee. </p> <p dir="ltr">“It's meant to be one of the best, most amazing days ever and they've done that to you,” he told the woman. “You have every right to be absolutely livid with them.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Askins' video of the woman’s story has been viewed more than 600,000 times, with many taking particular issue on the bride's boss for being “petty” and “inappropriate”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This person could have waited a day. It's done on purpose to ruin your special day. Only narcissists would do that,” one said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another added, “The fact that she texted her to let her know about the email is so petty. She wanted her to know on her wedding day.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Legal

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Ovarian cancer is hard to detect. Focusing on these 4 symptoms can help with diagnosis

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jenny-doust-12412">Jenny Doust</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p>Ovarian cancers are often found when they are already advanced and hard to treat.</p> <p>Researchers <a href="https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2010.32.2164">have long believed</a> this was because women first experienced symptoms when ovarian cancer was already well-established. Symptoms can also be <a href="https://cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/early-detection-and-screening/early-detection-of-ovarian-cancer">hard to identify</a> as they’re vague and similar to other conditions.</p> <p>But <a href="https://ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2024/07/24/ijgc-2024-005371">a new study</a> shows promising signs ovarian cancer can be detected in its early stages. The study targeted women with four specific symptoms – bloating, abdominal pain, needing to pee frequently, and feeling full quickly – and put them on a fast track to see a specialist.</p> <p>As a result, even the most aggressive forms of ovarian cancer could be detected in their early stages.</p> <p>So what did the study find? And what could it mean for detecting – and treating – ovarian cancer more quickly?</p> <h2>Why is ovarian cancer hard to detect early?</h2> <p>Ovarian cancer <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24979449/">cannot be detected</a> via cervical cancer screening (which used to be called a pap smear) and pelvic exams <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24979449/">aren’t useful</a> as a screening test.</p> <p>Current <a href="https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/cancer-types/gynaecological-cancers/clinicians-hub/ovarian-cancer-guidelines">Australian guidelines</a> recommend women get tested for ovarian cancer if they have symptoms for <a href="https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/assessment-symptoms-may-be-ovarian-cancer-guide-gps/pdf/ocg_assessment_of_symptoms_gp_card_0.pdf">more than a month</a>. But many of the <a href="https://cancer.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/ovarian-cancer">symptoms</a> – such as tiredness, constipation and changes in menstruation – are vague and overlap with other common illnesses.</p> <p>This makes early detection a challenge. But it is crucial – a woman’s <a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/ovary.html">chances of surviving ovarian cancer</a> are associated with how advanced the cancer is when she is diagnosed.</p> <p>If the cancer is still confined to the original site with no spread, the five-year survival rate is 92%. But over half of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer first present when the cancer has <a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/ovary.html">already metastatised</a>, meaning it has spread to other parts of the body.</p> <p>If the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the survival rate is reduced to 72%. If the cancer has already metastasised and spread to distant sites at the time of diagnosis, the rate is only 31%.</p> <p>There are mixed findings on whether detecting ovarian cancer earlier leads to better survival rates. For example, a trial in the UK that screened more than 200,000 women <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37183782/">failed to reduce deaths</a>.</p> <p>That study screened the general public, rather than relying on self-reported symptoms. The new study suggests asking women to look for specific symptoms can lead to earlier diagnosis, meaning treatment can start more quickly.</p> <h2>What did the new study look at?</h2> <p>Between June 2015 and July 2022, the researchers recruited 2,596 women aged between 16 and 90 from 24 hospitals across the UK.</p> <p>They were asked to monitor for these four symptoms:</p> <ul> <li>persistent abdominal distension (women often refer to this as bloating)</li> <li>feeling full shortly after starting to eat and/or loss of appetite</li> <li>pelvic or abdominal pain (which can feel like indigestion)</li> <li>needing to urinate urgently or more often.</li> </ul> <p>Women who reported at least one of four symptoms persistently or frequently were put on a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22479719/">fast-track pathway</a>. That means they were sent to see a gynaecologist within two weeks. The fast track pathway has been used in the UK since 2011, but is not specifically part of Australia’s guidelines.</p> <p>Some 1,741 participants were put on this fast track. First, they did a blood test that measured the cancer antigen 125 (CA125). If a woman’s CA125 level was abnormal, she was sent to do a internal vaginal ultrasound.</p> <h2>What did they find?</h2> <p>The study indicates this process is better at detecting ovarian cancer than general screening of people who don’t have symptoms. Some 12% of women on the fast-track pathway were diagnosed with some kind of ovarian cancer.</p> <p>A total of 6.8% of fast-tracked patients were diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. It is the most aggressive form of cancer and responsible for 90% of ovarian cancer deaths.</p> <p>Out of those women with the most aggressive form, one in four were diagnosed when the cancer was still in its early stages. That is important because it allowed treatment of the most lethal cancer before it had spread significantly through the body.</p> <p>There were some promising signs in treating those with this aggressive form. The majority (95%) had surgery and three quarters (77%) had chemotherapy. Complete cytoreduction – meaning all of the cancer appears to have been removed – was achieved in six women out of ten (61%).</p> <p>It’s a promising sign that there may be ways to “catch” and target ovarian cancer before it is well-established in the body.</p> <h2>What does this mean for detection?</h2> <p>The study’s findings suggest this method of early testing and referral for the symptoms leads to earlier detection of ovarian cancer. This may also improve outcomes, although the study did not track survival rates.</p> <p>It also points to the importance of public awareness about symptoms.</p> <p>Clinicians should be able to recognise all of the ways ovarian cancer can present, including vague symptoms like general fatigue.</p> <p>But empowering members of the general public to recognise a narrower set of four symptoms can help trigger testing, detection and treatment of ovarian cancer earlier than we thought.</p> <p>This could also save GPs advising every woman who has general tiredness or constipation to undergo an ovarian cancer test, making testing and treatment more targeted and efficient.</p> <p>Many women remain <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24612526/&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1723610085733806&amp;usg=AOvVaw3J5o5DwRFiDzFaQcD7VTQn">unaware of the symptoms</a> of ovarian cancer. This study shows recognising them may help early detection and treatment.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/236775/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jenny-doust-12412">Jenny Doust</a>, Clinical Professorial Research Fellow, Australian Women and Girls' Health Research Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/ovarian-cancer-is-hard-to-detect-focusing-on-these-4-symptoms-can-help-with-diagnosis-236775">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Body

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It’s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lara-b-aknin-1365501">Lara B Aknin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/simon-fraser-university-1282">Simon Fraser University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gillian-sandstrom-1283157">Gillian Sandstrom</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sussex-1218">University of Sussex</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristina-castaneto-1548733">Kristina Castaneto</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/simon-fraser-university-1282">Simon Fraser University</a></em></p> <p>Millions of <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=4510004801">Canadians are lonely</a>. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as “<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-11-2023-who-launches-commission-to-foster-social-connection">the social pain of not feeling connected</a>,” predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352">equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day</a>.</p> <p>To combat loneliness, people are commonly advised to seek out social connection. For many, this guidance brings to mind spending time with loved ones, such as close friends, family and romantic partners. But are there other people we can reach out to?</p> <p>In our research, recently published in <em>Communications Psychology</em>, we examined whether people have “old friends” — individuals that they care about but with whom they have lost touch — and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00075-8">how easily these relationships can be rekindled</a>.</p> <p>We found that certain strategies can help people reconnect — and, in new research, we are getting a sense that certain values and personality traits may make it easier for people to stay in touch far into the future.</p> <h2>Reconnecting with old friends</h2> <p>Across a series of seven studies, we found the majority of people reported having an old friend. Yet, when we asked over 400 participants how willing they would be to reach out to an old friend right now, most said they were neutral or unwilling. In fact, in one study, people reported being no more willing to reach out to an old friend than they were to talk to a stranger or pick up trash.</p> <p>This reluctance was observable in behaviour too. We conducted two experiments in which more than 1,000 people were given several minutes to draft and send a message to an old friend. Only 30 per cent sent the message to their old friend.</p> <p>Given that reaching out to an old friend could boost <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/08/19/the-power-and-joy-of-reconnecting-with-old-friends/">feelings of social connection and happiness</a>, we tried designing interventions to encourage reaching out. For instance, we reminded participants that reaching out to an old friend was an act of kindness and that the recipient would appreciate it more than they realize. We also tried telling participants not to overthink it — to just send their message. Unfortunately, neither prompt was effective at encouraging more people to reach out.</p> <h2>Reluctance to reconnect</h2> <p>Why are people reluctant to reach out to old friends? There may be a number of reasons, including the possibility that old friends feel like strangers after time has passed. In one study with over 500 participants we asked people to list between three to five old friends, and tell us how close each one felt to them right now. The more unfamiliar an old friend felt, the less willing people were to reach out.</p> <p>Research has found that when people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104356">practise talking to strangers for a week</a>, they become less anxious about it. If old friends can feel like strangers, might a similar strategy encourage people to reach out to old friends?</p> <p>To find out, we conducted an experiment in which we randomly assigned some people to complete a three-minute warm-up activity in which they messaged current family or friends. Other participants were randomly assigned to a control condition in which they simply browsed social media for three minutes instead.</p> <p>Afterward, all participants were given an opportunity to write and send a message to an old friend. While only 30 per cent of participants sent their message in the control condition, over 50 per cent did so after warming-up, suggesting that practising the behaviour that underlies reaching out may make this act easier.</p> <h2>Personality traits</h2> <p>We are extending this research in a number of new directions. For instance, in some newly conducted and unpublished research, we are examining whether people with certain personality traits or beliefs are more likely to send a message to an old friend.</p> <p>Responses from over 300 people suggest that people who are open to new experiences — <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/big-5-personality-traits">one of the five key personality traits studied by psychologists</a> — say they are willing to reach out to an old friend. Despite this inclination, our research found that highly open people do not necessarily communicate with old friends when given the chance.</p> <p>On the other hand, people’s values and beliefs may be important determinants of whether they stay in touch. Our preliminary work shows that people who see friendship as a bond that does not easily break may be more likely to reach out than others.</p> <p>We hope this work helps normalize the fact that friendships can fade and be hard to rekindle. That said, with some practice, people can overcome this reluctance and hit “send” to potentially open a path to connection and less loneliness.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/234895/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lara-b-aknin-1365501">Lara B Aknin</a>, Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/simon-fraser-university-1282">Simon Fraser University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gillian-sandstrom-1283157">Gillian Sandstrom</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sussex-1218">University of Sussex</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristina-castaneto-1548733">Kristina Castaneto</a>, Master's Student, Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/simon-fraser-university-1282">Simon Fraser University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness-234895">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Why IBD is so hard to treat – and how scientists are making progress

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/falk-hildebrand-1490022">Falk Hildebrand</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katarzyna-sidorczuk-1490026">Katarzyna Sidorczuk</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wing-koon-1490274">Wing Koon</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a></em></p> <p>Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478758/">life altering</a> chronic illness that is <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e065186">rising dramatically globally</a>. It is stubbornly difficult to treat, and many people find the treatments we have just don’t work for them.</p> <p>Over the last 30 years, there has been almost a 50% increase in cases – now affecting around 5 million people. Not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is a condition that affects the digestive system, IBD is more serious. It is the term for two severe illnesses called <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/">Crohn’s disease</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/">ulcerative colitis</a>. More women are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9958616/#:%7E:text=Male%20predominance%20in%20IBD.,%2C%202.32%3A1%20in%20CD.">diagnosed with Crohn’s disease</a> while more men are affected by ulcerative colitis.</p> <p>People with IBD can experience a variety of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4106026/">symptoms</a>, ranging from diarrhoea and blood in the stool, to weight loss and belly aches. On paper, this may sound no worse than mild food poisoning, however, this is no normal stomach upset.</p> <p>Experiences are often extreme; people with IBD can suffer excruciating pain and in some cases, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9963331/">require surgery</a> to remove parts of the bowel. This is done by redirecting the bowel to a hole in the abdomen, where faeces are collected in a <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/colostomy/">colostomy bag</a>.</p> <p>However, we still don’t fully understand the cause of IBD.</p> <h2>The impact of inflammation</h2> <p>The main symptom of IBD is excessive and uncontrolled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805548/">inflammation</a> – normally a sign of the body fighting off an infection. Although inflammation is an important aspect of our immune system, in IBD it is happening when the body is not under attack. Since we don’t know what causes this over-the-top reaction, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8720971/">treatments</a> are limited to managing the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964397/">derailed immune system</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8373857/">Inflammation is controlled</a> by cell signalling. Our cells detect bacteria using receptors that attach to parts of bacteria. This activates the receptor, causing it to send a signal to proteins, and each protein sends on more signals, creating a signal cascade. This is what tells the body it’s under attack.</p> <p>Many treatments follow the strategy of intercepting signals and preventing the signal cascade from starting. However, they are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/co-gastroenterology/abstract/2022/07000/management_of_refractory_inflammatory_bowel.6.aspx">not effective</a> for many people.</p> <p>Scientists are trying to target a different protein network, called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2924159/">NOD2</a>, that often goes haywire in people with IBD but is not targeted by current treatments. A protein, called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.650403/full">RIPK2</a>, seems like a promising target since it is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6939834/">only found</a> in this network. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10485824/">European Molecular Biology Laboratory</a> are investigating its structure to help scientists design a new medication that will block the signals from this protein.</p> <h2>Importance of the microbiome</h2> <p>Another inspiration for new treatments comes from the bacteria residing in our guts. This community of bacteria, called the gut microbiome, has been associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6314516/">all sorts of health conditions</a> ranging from asthma to obesity.</p> <p>Gut bacteria work closely with our bodies and play a vital role in digesting food and managing our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0332-7">immune system</a>. In a healthy person, there is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143175/">fine balance</a> between gut bacteria and the immune system. Disruption of this balance can lead to disease, starting from minor discomfort to more severe, long-term conditions.</p> <p>Scientists are trying to understand how our bodies interact with gut bacteria, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8102608/">what changes</a> when people develop IBD.</p> <p>The gut microbiome is an ecosystem. Just like a forest has animals eating different things, microbes can form a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00153/full">food web</a>. Some bacteria will use up one type of food, while others feed off other foods. Some rely on the waste of other bacteria after they’ve eaten. It is now believed that disruption to the gut microbiome is a characteristic of IBD and contributes to its development and progression.</p> <p>It’s a chicken and egg situation. Is there a change in the bacteria and food web that alters our bodies? Or does something else in the body, like our immune system, change the food web, subsequently limiting which bacteria can grow? Scientists aren’t sure of the answer.</p> <p>Instead of trying to figure out what happens first, a team at the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42112-w">Hudson Institute of Medical Research</a> in Australia have focused on investigating which interactions in the food web are the most affected in IBD. This could help scientists to prioritise certain gut bacteria, or their food source, to restore the balance in the microbiome and improve patients’ symptoms.</p> <p>Hopefully, this specialised targeting of the microbiome will lead to more effective and longer lasting treatments.</p> <p>Although we have a long way to go before these ideas for treatments can become a reality, it is a step in the right direction. Targeting a new signalling pathway will hopefully control the inflammation in more patients. And studying the microbiome may reveal how we can reverse changes associated with IBD.</p> <p>Since they are key features of IBD, these developments could allow doctors to stop the disease in the early stages and reduce complications.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/218307/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/falk-hildebrand-1490022">Falk Hildebrand</a>, Researcher in Bioinformatician, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katarzyna-sidorczuk-1490026">Katarzyna Sidorczuk</a>, Research Scientist in Metagenomics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wing-koon-1490274">Wing Koon</a>, PhD student in Bioinformatics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/quadram-institute-5557">Quadram Institute</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock  </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ibd-is-so-hard-to-treat-and-how-scientists-are-making-progress-218307">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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“Insufferable” bride rinsed over her list of “wild demands”

<p dir="ltr">A bride-to-be has been slammed online after her list of “wild demands” was posted by one of her bridesmaids, who were expected to spend thousands of dollars to be part of the “wedding of the century”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The bride wasn’t afraid to set her sights high ahead of her nuptials, and wasn’t shy in asking for a mixture of friends and sponsors to pay for it. </p> <p dir="ltr">One of her bridesmaids shared the exhaustive list of non-negotiable demands to Reddit, in which she asked her bridal party to “step up their game” months before the wedding. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Welcome to the beginning of my wedding journey, I'm thrilled to have you all along for the ride, but let's be clear, this is my day and everything needs to be perfect,” the bride began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know what I want and I won't settle for anything less, get ready to follow my lead and make this the most fabulous day ever - this isn't just a wedding, it's basically the met gala.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She first demanded weekly one hour zoom progress meetings, in addition to everyone meeting at a private member's club every Tuesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then there was a weekend of luxury dress fittings with “no skips allowed”, followed by demands for everyone to spend approximately $700 on champagne brunches, hotel rooms and travel.</p> <p dir="ltr">The expenses didn’t stop there, with bridesmaids expected to shell out $1,200 for beauty treatments, and $500 accommodation for her  'safari barbie' themed engagement party.</p> <p dir="ltr">The packed and pricey itinerary continued with the girls then jetting off to Ibiza for “bachelorette party number one”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Mother in law is leading the charge and will send Venmo requests soon so you guys can budget,” the bride said.  </p> <p dir="ltr">The bridesmaids were also expected to buy the bride a gift, which she felt she deserved for all her hard planning, and expected her bridal party to throw her the “perfect” bridal shower.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It needs to be elegant, chic and totally Instagrammable; think designer decorations and gourmet catering, make sure it's perfect, this is your responsibility to handle and make amazing,'” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">There was one last trip for final dress fittings and then a reminder to set aside another $1,000 for the wedding weekend itself, which promised to be amazing. </p> <p dir="ltr">The post was quickly met with a wave of backlash with many commenting on the bride’s “entitled and narcissistic” behaviour, with one saying the list should be titled “how to lose friends in one page”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Some people said the hefty cost was one thing, but that it was “horrible” how much time the bridesmaids were expected to give up for planning every week, for months leading up to the big day. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The minute I read ‘weekly one hour check in meeting’ I would have been out. I don't do that s*** for my actual job, let alone this bankruptcy in the making,” one woman said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Relationships

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“Don’t marry him”: Bride-to-be shares wild altercation with her future in-laws over her wedding dress

<p dir="ltr">A woman has been told to “run” from her fiancé after sharing a wild conversation she had with her future in-laws about her wedding dress. </p> <p dir="ltr">The bride-to-be shared that ever since she was a child, she wanted to wear her mother’s wedding dress on her own big day. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, the woman was then confronted by her soon-to-be in-laws, with drama ensuing over her wedding dress.</p> <p dir="ltr">Taking to Reddit’s “Am I The A**hole?” page, the woman explained, "My mother's wedding dress has been passed down for generations and I remember being a little girl dreaming of walking down the aisle in it."</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite her wishes to wear the family heirloom on her big day, she said things went south at a dinner at her sister-in-law’s (SIL) house when she  "tapped her spoon against the glass and said that she had to make a toast."</p> <p dir="ltr">"She then said she would be right back before going into another room and returning with a large plastic bag," the bride continues.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Everyone seemed to be excited but I just felt confused."</p> <p dir="ltr">As she "awkwardly smiled", her SIL opened the bag to reveal her wedding dress from her wedding two years earlier as her in-laws began clapping, as her future sister-in-law announced she wanted the bride to wear her dress at her upcoming nuptials.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I tried to smile but I guess I didn't do a good job of hiding my disappointment and everyone began asking me what was wrong," the bride-to-be continues, adding that she tried to explain that she wanted to wear her mother's wedding dress.</p> <p dir="ltr">At this point, her SIL began to cry and her in-laws began berating her, causing the bride to burst into tears and run outside.</p> <p dir="ltr">"My fiancé didn't even come after me and after crying my eyes out on the steps for what felt like hours, he finally came outside and yelled at me to get into the car," she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">Confused, she got into the car only for her fiancé to berate her for making "such a big scene" leaving him feeling "embarrassed in front of his family."</p> <p dir="ltr">"He sounds so mad and he even said he couldn't believe he chose to marry such a 'bitchy c--t' (his exact words)."</p> <p dir="ltr">The woman tried to explain how important it was to her to wear her mother's dress and that she had already promised her mother she would be wearing it on her big day.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I felt like my fiancé's family planned this and put me on the spot thinking I wouldn't stand up for myself and just agree to wear SIL's dress," she continues.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I don't think I did anything wrong but a part of me thinks I should have just gone along with it and then told SIL in private that I wouldn't be wearing the dress."</p> <p dir="ltr">Hundreds of people were quick to comment on her post, suggesting that she “run” not only from her in-laws, but from her partner as well. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Ma'am you need to leave that whole family behind including your fiancé," one said. "You just had a peek into your future if you carry on with this relationship."</p> <p dir="ltr">"Don't you dare marry that man!!!" another said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The problem doesn't exist as the wedding shouldn't be happening anymore," another added.</p> <p dir="ltr">One Redditor suggested she "be thankful that he is showing you who he really is before you marry him."</p> <p dir="ltr">"You have just had a glimpse of what your future is going to look like if you go through with your wedding."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p> </p>

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We know what to eat to stay healthy. So why is it so hard to make the right choices?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nina-van-dyke-822557">Nina Van Dyke</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a></em></p> <p>A healthy diet <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/healthy-diet">protects us</a> against a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer.</p> <p>From early childhood, we receive an abundance of <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/healthy-diet/healthy-diet-fact-sheet-394.pdf?sfvrsn=69f1f9a1_2&download=true">information</a> about how we <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating">should eat</a> to be healthy and reduce our risk of disease. And most people have a <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/1479-5868-11-63.pdf">broad understanding</a> of what healthy eating looks like.</p> <p>But this knowledge <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001209216310584?casa_token=6CZgCmT1RMgAAAAA:sSRsj2o6swVfvoBxMIVrMTxqdczSAiFwfTCYzYQ8U3z4ey_WLQ6knpmk8WRH77zugAS3wEAQrA">doesn’t always result</a> in healthier eating.</p> <p>In our new research, we set out to <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-18432-x.pdf">learn more</a> about why people eat the way they do – and what prevents them from eating better. Lack of time was a major <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/obr.12472?casa_token=1D1mi-l0TR0AAAAA:dgebTQx-wgw7jbREfdawxZ5AZSDRztvrt8t1tuKyDy1x2mmXlyLDY8z9NbUf0v4hnh80HY_RbAk08Q">barrier</a> to cooking and eating healthier foods.</p> <h2>How do you decide what to eat?</h2> <p>We spoke with <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-18432-x.pdf">17 adults</a> in a regional centre of Victoria. We chose a regional location because less research <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s40900-020-0179-6.pdf">has been done</a> with people living outside of metropolitan areas and because rates of obesity and other diet-related health issues are <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-remote-australians/rural-and-remote-health">higher</a> in such areas in Australia.</p> <p>Participants included a mix of people, including some who said they were over their “most healthy weight” and some who had previously dieted to lose weight. But all participants were either:</p> <ul> <li>young women aged 18–24 with no children</li> <li>women aged 35–45 with primary school aged children</li> <li>men aged 35–50 living with a partner and with pre- or primary-school aged children.</li> </ul> <p>We selected these groups to target <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022318212803669">ages and life-stages</a> in which shifts in eating behaviours may occur. Previous research has found younger women <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00642.x?casa_token=33QKWwhc2ogAAAAA:ZvJ6wfXiRC_6eoqvoxD121JOSKSPmIRHcrdiGl2uHzkq5pY6VVPL6WI2DhmxQ2q9i6bBGvLiFl8afQ">tend to</a> be particularly concerned about appearance rather than healthy eating, while women with children often shift their focus to providing for their family. Men <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/obr.12472?casa_token=KakMB6hAOQ0AAAAA:fLnpoxZQiiJIdEkg_TOcCq8hBwZef1iZETZKTiG5W6zW2x_PYzK0oLeOg5F9arKThq9RzMWEi4x4Xw">tend to be less interested</a> in what they eat.</p> <p>We asked participants about how they decided what food to eat, when, and how much, and what prevented them from making healthier choices.</p> <h2>It’s not just about taste and healthiness</h2> <p>We found that, although such decisions were determined in part by taste preferences and health considerations, they were heavily influenced by a host of other factors, many of which are outside the person’s control. These included other household members’ food preferences, family activities, workplace and time constraints, convenience and price.</p> <p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2767106">Healthy eating</a> means consuming a balanced diet rich in nutrients, including a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats, while limiting processed foods, added sugars and excessive salt. Healthy eating also includes how we eat and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244292">how we think about</a> food and eating, such as having a positive relationship with food.</p> <p>One 35- to 45-year-old woman, for example, said that time constraints and family preferences made it difficult to prepare healthier food:</p> <blockquote> <p>I love the chance when I can actually get a recipe and get all of the ingredients and make it properly, but that doesn’t happen very often. It’s usually what’s there and what’s quick. And what everyone will eat.</p> </blockquote> <p>One of the 35- to 50-year-old men also noted the extent to which family activities and children’s food preferences dictated meal choices:</p> <blockquote> <p>Well, we have our set days where, like Wednesday nights, we have to have mackie cheese and nuggets, because that’s what the boys want after their swimming lesson.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joss.12649?casa_token=gsnU9O_G2GQAAAAA:mV2vtHlnEd0jqBGJPFkfml_ecLIDqwSlH5xksSwt4eQb_FP_UShyAKm9sLNnKy6Mkf2q9aKAlDEixA">Research shows</a> that children are often more receptive to new foods than their parents think. However, introducing new dishes takes additional time and planning.</p> <p>An 18- to 24-year-old woman discussed the role of time constraints, her partner’s activities, and price in influencing what and when she eats:</p> <blockquote> <p>My partner plays pool on a Monday and Wednesday night, so we always have tea a lot earlier then and cook the simple things that don’t take as long, so he can have dinner before he goes rather than buying pub meals which cost more money.</p> </blockquote> <p>Despite popular perceptions, healthy diets are not more expensive than unhealthy diets. A <a href="https://preventioncentre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1702_FB_LEE_4p_final_lr.pdf">study</a> comparing current (unhealthy) diets with what the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/the-australian-dietary-guidelines">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> recommend people should eat found that the healthy diet was 12–15% cheaper than unhealthy diets for a family of two adults and two children.</p> <p>However, learning and planning to prepare new types of meals <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/3/877">takes effort and time</a>.</p> <p>Simply educating people about what they should eat won’t necessarily result in healthier eating. People want to eat healthier, or at least know they should eat healthier, but other things <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00394-017-1458-3.pdf">get in the way</a>.</p> <p>A key to improving people’s eating behaviours is to make it easy to eat more healthily.</p> <p>Policy changes to make healthy eating easier could include subsidising healthier foods such as fresh produce, providing incentives for retailers to offer healthy options, and ensuring access to nutritious meals in schools and workplaces.</p> <h2>So how can you make healthier food choices easier?</h2> <p>Here are five tips for making healthy choices easier in your household:</p> <ol> <li> <p>If certain days of the week are particularly busy, with little time to prepare fresh food, plan to cook in bulk on days when you have more time. Store the extra food in the fridge or freezer for quick preparation.</p> </li> <li> <p>If you’re often pressed for time during the day and just grab whatever food is handy, have healthy snacks readily available and accessible. This could mean a fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen counter, or wholegrain crackers and unsalted nuts within easy reach.</p> </li> <li> <p>Discuss food preferences with your family and come up with some healthy meals everyone likes. For younger children, <a href="https://healthykids.nsw.gov.au/downloads/file/campaignsprograms/NewFoodsFussyEaters.pdf">try serving</a> only a small amount of the new food, and serve new foods alongside foods they already like eating and are familiar with.</p> </li> <li> <p>If you rely a lot on take-away meals or meal delivery services, try making a list ahead of time of restaurants and meals you like that are also healthier. You might consider choosing lean meat, chicken, or fish that has been grilled, baked or poached (rather than fried), and looking for meals with plenty of vegetables or salad.</p> </li> <li> <p>Remember, fruit and vegetables taste better and are often cheaper when they are in season. Frozen or canned vegetables are a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-cost-of-fresh-fruit-and-veggies-is-rising-is-canned-or-frozen-produce-just-as-healthy/tzuhnfrnr">healthy and quick alternative</a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/231489/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> </li> </ol> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nina-van-dyke-822557">Nina Van Dyke</a>, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Mitchell Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/we-know-what-to-eat-to-stay-healthy-so-why-is-it-so-hard-to-make-the-right-choices-231489">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a></em></p> <p>I first saw A Hard Day’s Night at a film festival over 20 years ago, at the insistence of my mum. By then, it was already decades old, but I remember being enthralled by its high-spirited energy.</p> <p>A Beatles fan, mum had introduced me to the band’s records in my childhood. At home, we listened to Please Please Me, the band’s 1963 single, and the Rubber Soul album from 1965, which I loved.</p> <p>Television regularly showed old black-and-white scenes of Beatlemania that, to a ten-year-old in the neon-lit 1980s, seemed like ancient history. But then, I’d never seen a full-length Beatles film. I had no idea what I was in for.</p> <p>When the lights went down at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the opening chord of the film’s title song announced its intentions: an explosion of youthful vitality, rhythmic visuals, comical high jinks and the electrifying thrill of Beatlemania in 1964.</p> <p>This time, it didn’t seem ancient at all.</p> <p>Since that first viewing, I’ve returned to A Hard Day’s Night again and again. I now show it to my students as a historically significant example of pop music film making – visually inventive cinema, emblematic of a fresh era in youth culture, popular music and fandom.</p> <h2>Beatlemania on celluloid</h2> <p>A musical comedy depicting a chaotic 36 hours in the life of the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night has now reached its 60th anniversary.</p> <p>Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/">Richard Lester</a>, the film premiered in London on July 6 1964, with its first public screening a day later (incidentally, also Ringo Starr’s birthday), and the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/24003-The-Beatles-A-Hard-Days-Night">album of the same name</a> released on July 10.</p> <p>The band’s popularity was by then reaching dizzying heights of hysteria, all reflected in the film. The Beatles are chased by hordes of fans, take a train trip, appear on TV, run from the police in a Keystone Cops-style sequence, and play a televised concert in front of screaming real-life Beatles fans.</p> <p>Side one of the album provides the soundtrack, and the film inspired pop music film and video from then on, from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/">Monkees TV series</a> (1966–68) to the Spice Girls’ <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/">Spice World</a> (1997) and music videos as we know them today.</p> <h2>The original music video</h2> <p>Postwar teen culture and consumerism had been on the rise since the 1950s. In 1960s Britain, youth music TV programmes, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196287/">Ready Steady Go!</a> (1963–66), meant pop music now had a developing visual culture.</p> <p>The youthful zest and vitality of ‘60s London was reflected in the pop-cultural sensibility, modern satirical humour and crisp visual impact of A Hard Day’s Night.</p> <p>Influenced by <a href="https://nofilmschool.com/french-new-wave-cinema">French New Wave</a> film making, and particularly the early 1960s work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/">Jean-Luc Godard</a>, A Hard Day’s Night employs <em><a href="https://indiefilmhustle.com/cinema-verite/">cinéma vérité</a></em>-style hand-held cinematography, brisk jump cuts, unusual framing and dynamic angles, high-spirited action, and a self-referential nonchalance.</p> <p>The film also breaks the “fourth wall”, with characters directly addressing the audience in closeup, and reveals the apparatus of the visual performance of music: cameras and TV monitors are all part of the frame.</p> <p>Cutting the shots to the beat of the music – as in the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence – lends a visual rhythm that would later become the norm in music video editing. Lester developed this technique further in the second Beatles film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/">Help!</a> (1965).</p> <p>The closing sequence of A Hard Day’s Night is possibly the film’s most dynamic: photographic images of the band edited to the beat in the style of stop-motion animation. Sixty years on, it still feels fresh, especially as so much contemporary film making remains hidebound by formulaic Hollywood rules.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=453&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=453&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=453&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=569&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=569&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=569&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="A Hard Day's Night movie poster" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new pop aesthetic: original film poster for A Hard Day’s Night.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Slapstick and class awareness</h2> <p>As with much popular culture from the past, the humour in A Hard Day’s Night doesn’t always doesn’t land the way it would have in 1964. And yet, there are moments that seem surprisingly modern in their razor-sharp irony.</p> <p>In particular, the band’s Liverpudlian working-class-lad jibes and chaotic energy contrast brilliantly with the film’s upper-class characters. Actor Victor Spinetti’s comically over-anxious TV director, constantly hand-wringing over the boys’ rebelliousness, underscores the era-defining change the Beatles represented.</p> <p>Corporate pop-culture consumerism is also satirised. John Lennon “snorts” from a Coca-Cola bottle, a moment so knowingly silly it registers as more contemporary than it really is. George Harrison deflects a journalist’s banal questions with scathingly witty answers, and cuts a fashion company down to size by describing their shirt designs as “grotesque”.</p> <p>And there is Paul McCartney’s running joke that his grandfather – played by Wilfred Brambell from groundbreaking sitcom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057785/">Steptoe and Son</a> (1962–74) – is “very clean”.</p> <p>Even the film’s old-fashioned visual slapstick still holds up in 2024. Showing the film to this year’s students, I didn’t expect quite as much laughter when Ringo’s attempts to be chivalrous result in a fall-down-a-hole mishap.</p> <p>In 2022, the <a href="https://www.criterion.com/">Criterion Collection</a> released a high-resolution restoration of the film, so today A Hard Day’s Night can be seen in all its fresh, black-and-white, youthful vigour.</p> <p>Happy 60th, A Hard Day’s Night. And happy 84th, Ringo. Both still as lively and energetic as ever.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/228598/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267"><em>Alison Blair</em></a><em>, Teaching Fellow in Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: THA/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <p><em>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/still-fab-after-60-years-how-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-made-pop-cinema-history-228598">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Movies

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Bride and groom slammed for “gift fishing”

<p dir="ltr">A couple has been rinsed online for sending out the “worst wedding invitation ever” that quickly went viral on social media. </p> <p dir="ltr">The bride and groom decided they would tie the knot in a “private ceremony”, but still decided to send out invitations to those who weren’t actually invited to attend. </p> <p dir="ltr">The invitation asked people to “join us in spirit”, while the word “spirit” was spelled incorrectly. </p> <p dir="ltr">The bride claimed that she thought the cards would soften the blow for loved ones who weren't invited, but many online commenters say they have the opposite effect. </p> <p dir="ltr">The couple were quickly slammed as “patronising and rude” with hundreds of infuriated social media users claiming it was “nothing but a present grab”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Great way to let people know they aren't invited but you'd still like a present,” one person wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Not even a virtual wedding, this is just tacky,” said another. </p> <p dir="ltr">The view was universal, as one person joked, “We're having a wedding, you're not invited.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“If I got this, it would go straight in the trash,” another said, while someone else suggested, “I'd use it as kindling for the fire pit.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Some people also added that despite the couple’s alleged best intentions with the non-invites, they were bound to cause confusion among recipients. </p> <p dir="ltr">“She's going to get so many confused phone calls about this,” one person said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“People will be confused about where to buy tickets,” said another. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock / Facebook</em></p>

Relationships

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Bride slammed for “absolutely ridiculous” dress code rules

<p dir="ltr">A bride-to-be has gone viral for all the wrong reasons after her exhaustive list of wedding day dress code rules has divided the internet. </p> <p dir="ltr">A wedding guest took to a wedding shaming facebook group to share the list of attire rules she received alongside her invitation to the nuptials, sparking a heated debate over the “absolutely ridiculous” dress code.</p> <p dir="ltr">The specific dress code nitpicks at colour, fabric, length, print, and even the “vibe” clothes give off.</p> <p dir="ltr">The invite read: “Dress code: Formal (non-black tie) wear. Suits (preferably dark blue or dark grey, no tuxedos), ties, and dress shoes for men. No need to get creative!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Linen is better suited for our welcome party; please wear a traditional fabric for the wedding.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“For women, tea-length dresses are great. Knee-length also works, but make sure it is not too casual (no summer floral dresses, for example) and floor-length is fine but make sure it is not an evening gala gown.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Avoid any outrageous necklines, cut-outs, or sparkles. The idea is to be formal and glam, but not like you are on the way to a black-tie gala. Solid jewel tones generally work better than florals. No black please!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Most importantly, please make sure to cover your shoulders and back with a cardigan or light scarf!”</p> <p dir="ltr">The huge list sparked a debate online, with some people claiming the bride is “controlling” and “entitled”, while others defended the bride and groom. </p> <p dir="ltr">“When in the hell did we start telling guests what to wear?” one person commented, “This is utterly ridiculous and if I received this invitation, it would go directly into the bin.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another person wrote, “What is 'traditional fabric'? Am I supposed to show up in undyed wool? If we're being pedantic here, linen is pretty much the most traditional fabric in terms of historic use.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“They should just pick a uniform for the guests,” another said, while one wrote, “I honestly don't know if this type of dress or outfit exists?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Some claimed they would go against the dress code on purpose, as one person wrote, “I'd show up in an above-the-knee black floral number with cold shoulder cut outs and a sparkling neckline. For fun, it would be made out of linen.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, a few people were quick to defend the bride and groom.   </p> <p dir="ltr">“They could be getting married in a church, mosque, or synagogue - where this is a requirement. I would rather an invite tell me this than show up and not have known. Telling people gives people the opportunity to RSVP no if it's an issue,” one wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To me this isn't exactly unreasonable,” another said. “It's not some huge list of dos and don'ts or very specific colours that must be adhered to or avoided. It helps guests who have no idea what to wear.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Facebook / Shutterstock</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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“Too chaotic for me”: Bride and groom slammed for “unreasonable” wedding rules

<p dir="ltr">A bride and groom has been slammed online for giving their wedding guests an extensive list of rules they must abide by on their big day.</p> <p dir="ltr">The list of 15 demands was shared on Reddit, where social media users tore the newlyweds to shreds with their “unreasonable” rules. </p> <p dir="ltr">The post racked up thousands of comments on the Wedding Shamers subreddit, with one person writing, 'If someone sent this to me, I would simply just not go.' </p> <p dir="ltr">The rules included that guests needed to remember their opinions on the wedding are “irrelevant” while also banning attendees from “sitting down all night” or making their own big announcements.</p> <p dir="ltr">The first rule urged guests to remember that this was the bride and groom's big day, “not yours”, while also telling guests, “Do not get in the photographer's way.” </p> <p dir="ltr">They also made a strict dress code, writing, “the attire is BLACK and/or GOLD not red, blue, green and definitely NO WHITE!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Do not rearrange the seats, we have a seating chart for a reason.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The rules continued, “If you didn't put out any money for the wedding, keep your "should've, could've, would've" to yourself. Your opinion is irrelevant.”</p> <p dir="ltr">But the couple did not stop there as they also urged guests to pace themselves when drinking and banned “big announcements or proposals.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Next up, it read, “If you can't handle or dislike the music being played, simply go home. This is a celebration, not a funeral.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The lovebirds then instructed their friends and family to use their own personalised hashtag when posting photos on social media.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rounding out the demands, the final five read, “Do not sit down all night. No outside liquor. If caught, you will be escorted out.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Refer back to rule number one. The bride and groom said what they said! Turn ALL the way up!”</p> <p dir="ltr">The post was soon flooded with comments with many insisting that the couple had taken it too far.</p> <p dir="ltr">One person wrote, “What kind of list is this? Too chaotic for me.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another person added, “Yeah, I would not be going to that wedding. Sounds like too much drama.”</p> <p dir="ltr">On the other hand, there were a few commenters who understood the need for issuing such strict guidelines and defended the couple.</p> <p dir="ltr">One person wrote, “They're not asking for anything out of order. They're just stating what should be obvious, but they probably have seen from their family and friends past behaviour, that it NEEDS to be addressed.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“Is it a little tacky? Yes, but the only people that will be bothered by any of it are the ones that would have been an issue.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Reddit / Shutterstock</em></p>

Relationships

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It’s so hard to see a doctor right now. What are my options?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-scott-10738">Anthony Scott</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>Deciding whether to wait and see if your health condition improves or go to a GP can be a difficult task. You might be unsure about where to go, whom to see, how much it will cost and whether you’ll need to take time off work.</p> <p>These choices can create significant barriers to accessing health care in Australia. There is often limited information available about the pros and cons of the different options. Often, we stick to what we know, unaware of better alternatives.</p> <p>But making the wrong decision about how to access care can impact both your health and finances. So what are your options? And what policy reforms are needed to improve affordable access to care for all Australians?</p> <h2>How quickly can I be seen?</h2> <p>Access depends on how long it takes you to speak to a GP, or be seen in an emergency department, or by a community pharmacist, or a nurse practitioner whom you can see directly. Access depends on where you live and the time of day.</p> <p>The rise of telehealth means GPs now get paid to talk to you on the phone, which is great for many minor ailments, medical certificates, repeat scripts or getting test results. Call centres such as <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/">Healthdirect</a> have been available for some time and now <a href="https://www.vved.org.au/patients/">virtual emergency departments</a> can also see you online.</p> <p>There are even GPs who only provide their services <a href="https://www.instantscripts.com.au/gp-online/">online</a> if you can pay. A phone call can save you valuable time. Before COVID, you needed to take half a day off work to see a GP, now it takes five to ten minutes and the GP even calls you.</p> <p>Things get more tricky outside of normal working hours and at weekends – appointments are harder to come by, it is unlikely you will be able to see a GP whom you know, and out-of-pocket costs might be higher.</p> <p>If you can’t wait, your local emergency department is likely to be more accessible, or you might be lucky enough to live near a bulk-billed Medicare <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/find-a-medicare-ucc">urgent care clinic</a>, where you don’t need an appointment. Tomorrow’s federal budget <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/more-free-urgent-care-clinics-part-of-8-5-billion-health-commitment-20240511-p5jcse.html">will include</a> funding for another 29 urgent care clinics, on top of the 58 already operating.</p> <p>But things are much worse if you live if a rural or remote area, where choice is limited and you need to wait much longer for GP appointments or travel long distances. Telehealth helps but can be expensive if it is not with your usual doctor.</p> <h2>Who will I see?</h2> <p>Access depends on who you will see. At the moment, this will usually be your GP (or, depending on the severity of your health concern, your community pharmacist or local emergency department staff). But to see your preferred GP you might need to wait as they are usually very busy.</p> <p>But a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/issues-papers?language=en">review</a> of “scope of practice” in primary care aims to free up GPs’ time and use their skills more effectively.</p> <p>So in future, you could receive more of your health care from qualified nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals.</p> <p>But which tasks can be delegated to other health professionals is a significant bone of contention for GPs. For GP practices facing significant cost pressures, safely delegating tasks to other less costly health professionals also makes good business sense.</p> <h2>How much will it cost?</h2> <p>Access depends on out-of-pocket costs. Bulk billing of GP services reached a peak of <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/medicare-quarterly-statistics-state-and-territory-december-quarter-2023-24?language=en">89.6%</a> in the September quarter of 2022 but plummeted to 76.5% by the September quarter of 2023.</p> <p>Last November, bulk billing incentives for children under 16 and those on concession cards were tripled, and between November and December 2023 bulk billing had <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/bulk-billing-slide-stopped-thanks-to-albanese-government?language=en">increased</a> from 76.5% to 77.7%.</p> <p>They key issue for patients is that it remains uncertain whether a GP will bulk bill you. You often don’t know this until you get into the consultation, at which point you can’t back out. Unless the whole practice bulk bills and so it is guaranteed, it’s entirely up to the GP whether you are bulk billed. It’s difficult to think of any other service where you don’t know how much you will pay until after you have used it.</p> <h2>How can policymakers improve access to care?</h2> <p>Government policies to strengthen primary care have focused on giving patients improved access through telehealth, urgent care clinics and <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/strengthening-medicare-taskforce-report?language=en">Strengthening Medicare</a> initiatives, which are currently being developed.</p> <p>But uncertainty surrounding out-of-pocket costs can deter people from seeking medical attention, or delay care or go instead to the emergency department or urgent care clinic where there is no out-of-pocket cost.</p> <p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-services/patient-experiences/latest-release">Cost is a factor</a> that leads to 20% of those with a mental health problem and 30% of those with chronic disease to delay or avoid visiting a health professional. Those most in need are more likely to miss out on necessary visits and prescriptions, sometimes with disastrous consequences. A recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/qje/qjae015/7664375?login=false">study</a> shows people can die if they stop heart medications due to increased out-of-pocket costs.</p> <p>The next task for policymakers should be developing policies to guarantee there are no out-of-pocket costs for those on low incomes. This could be a worthwhile investment in our health and should be included in tomorrow’s budget.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/229191/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-scott-10738">Anthony Scott</a>, Professor of Health Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/its-so-hard-to-see-a-doctor-right-now-what-are-my-options-229191">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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