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Research reveals how long it takes Aussies to save for a holiday

<p dir="ltr">Saving up for a holiday can seem like an overwhelming task, but some destinations are easier to save for than others. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to new research by <a href="http://money.com.au/">money.com.au</a>, nearly a third of travellers - or 31 percent - need on average a year to save for a trip, while 29 percent of Aussies save for up to six months before jetting off.</p> <p dir="ltr">For 18 percent of travellers, it takes more than a year to save for a trip, while just 13 percent of Aussies manage to save for a holiday in less than three months.</p> <p dir="ltr">On the flip side, 7 percent of eager travellers decide to skip saving altogether and cover their holiday expenses fully on a credit card, while just 2 percent opt for a personal loan to fund their trips. </p> <p dir="ltr">Money.com.au's Finance Expert, Sean Callery said of the survey, "Our research also shows that travel is the one expense Australians aren't willing to forgo, no matter their financial goals or income level."</p> <p dir="ltr">"Going into debt for a holiday brings additional costs and risks. It's important to have a plan for clearing the debt as quickly as possible."</p> <p dir="ltr">With these saving trends in mind, the experts have crunched the numbers to estimate how long it would take the average Aussie to save for a trip to the most popular overseas holiday destinations.</p> <p dir="ltr">The saving time for each location was calculated based on a 10 per cent savings rate of the average weekly earnings of $1,923.40 (from ABS data).</p> <p dir="ltr">Two of the quickest destinations to save for are China and Thailand, while other destinations the experts say you can save for in around half a year include New Zealand, Vietnam and Singapore. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Travel Tips

110-year-old woman reveals the secret to a long life

<p>Perth woman Bridget Grocke, who has just celebrated her 110th birthday, has revealed the very Aussie secret to her longevity. </p> <p>Ms Grocke, who has lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Space Race, and the Information Age, is officially one of Australia's oldest residents. </p> <p>For sixty years, she has credited her old age to one glass of Emu Export beer everyday, as she chose a glass of the Aussie tipple over a slice of cake at her birthday party on Wednesday.</p> <p>“If there was a whole heap of beer and I was asked which one is your favourite I’d have to say this,” she told 9News as she held a glass of bush chook in her hand.</p> <p>“I’ve always known it. It tastes good. Cheers to Emu Export.”</p> <p>Born in Western Australia on November 18th 1914, Bridget spent her early years in Kalgoorlie and moved all across WA as the family followed her father’s work as an engine driver.</p> <p>Then at the age of 18, she took the leap and moved to Perth on her own. </p> <p>Ms Grocke spent her years working in fashion and customer service, also building her own family of four children with her husband, Jim, who she married at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Subiaco in 1942.</p> <p>Despite losing her husband in 1985 and two of her children, Ms Grocke is surrounded by the love of her remaining son and daughter, 10 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren.</p> <p>Other than one of her beloved beers a day, Ms Grocke attributed her long life to her loving family, and her word of advice to younger generations was “if you’re nice to people they will be nice to you”.</p> <p>Ms Grocke’s daughter Jan Robertson said her mother’s adventurous spirit and loving family had kept her young at heart.</p> <p>“Mum was very easy going and she was strict, of course, but she always gave you the right path,” she said.</p> <p>“She has always been well. The only thing she got done was her cataracts at 100, before that she hadn’t been in hospital since childbirth.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine News</em></p> <div class="more-coverage-v2" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: #e0e1e2; float: right; margin-left: 16px; max-width: 40%; padding: 16px 0px;"> </div>

Caring

Man dies after months-long wait for at-home care

<p>A man has died after his almost year-long wait to receive his government-approved at-home care. </p> <p>Cyril Tooze, 86, was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/man-decides-to-end-his-own-life-after-waiting-for-at-home-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> for a Level 4 Home Care Package in January, but almost one year on, he was still waiting for access to the money to fund daily assistance with physical, medical and social tasks. </p> <p>After sharing his story with <em>7News</em> in October, Tooze candidly admitted that he was pursuing the avenue of voluntary assisted dying, saying at the time, "There is no hope."</p> <p>Just weeks later, Tooze has passed away. </p> <p>While in hospital after suffering a fall, Mr Tooze passed away on Friday, weighing just 46kg. </p> <p>Independent federal Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie, who advocated for Mr Tooze to receive his government funding, said it had been an honour to have known him.</p> <p>"The man that I knew, he had such courage and such dignity to the very end," she said.</p> <p>"To the very end he wanted his situation to shed light and provide a human story for the 76,000 other older Australians who, just like him, are deteriorating, having accidents and injuring themselves while waiting for a Home Care package that they've been assessed as needing."</p> <p>"Despite a new Act being passed in the House of Representatives with urgency, there is no plan from the government to address the blown-out waiting list and the reality is that people are dying while they're waiting for Home Care."</p> <p>Federal aged care minister Anika Wells said her thoughts were with Mr Tooze's family and friends "as we mourn their loss but appreciate Cyril's life and his commitment to helping older Australians."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine</em></p>

Caring

Aussie Vietnam vet reunited with lost war medals just in time

<p>A Vietnam veteran has been reunited with his lost war medals that were missing for a year, just in time for Remembrance Day. </p> <p>When attending a Remembrance Day event in New Zealand last year, Townsville veteran Malcolm Edmiston lost his medals somewhere along the journey to Christchurch from Brisbane. </p> <p>The medals were left sitting unclaimed in Brisbane Airport's lost and found after being found in an airport terminal, before airport staff launched a social media campaign to find their owner. </p> <p>After seeing a post on Facebook, Edmiston was finally reunited with his precious medals just in time for this year's Remembrance Day events. </p> <p>"It's very good to have them back, great to have them back, I thought they were gone and gone for good," Malcolm told <em><a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/today/lost-war-medals-returned-to-vietnam-veteran-in-time-for-remembrance-day/b03bf4df-0d3c-440b-9783-1e6c7ac73a11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today</a></em>.</p> <p>"The zip was opened on my case and somehow they fell out, so it's a good reminder for us to take extra care when we pack."</p> <p>Malcolm was not the only one in his family to serve the country, sharing how his father served in the Royal Navy, he had uncles in the Royal Australian Air Force and and the Royal Air Force and a brother who served in Naval Reserve.</p> <p>His son also served in the Navy and with so many of his fellow Vietnam veteran soldiers no longer alive, having his medals back today is something special.</p> <p>"Remembrance Day is a very important day for me," he said.</p> <p>Brisbane Airport's media manager Peter Doherty added that he was thrilled to see the medals return to their rightful owner. </p> <p>He said, "For Malcolm's lifetime of service, the least we could do was the door-to-door service to get the medals back to him."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Today </em></p>

Retirement Life

Can you die from long COVID? The answer is not so simple

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rose-shiqi-luo-1477061">Rose (Shiqi) Luo</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-itsiopoulos-14246">Catherine Itsiopoulos</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-anderson-1412897">Kate Anderson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/magdalena-plebanski-1063786">Magdalena Plebanski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zhen-zheng-1321031">Zhen Zheng</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p>Nearly five years into the pandemic, COVID is feeling less central to our daily lives.</p> <p>But the virus, SARS-CoV-2, is still around, and for many people the effects of an infection can be long-lasting. When symptoms persist for more than three months after the initial COVID infection, this is generally referred to as <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/post-covid-19-condition">long COVID</a>.</p> <p>In September, Grammy-winning Brazilian musician <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-07/brazilian-musician-sergio-mendez-dies-at-83/104323360">Sérgio Mendes</a> died aged 83 after reportedly having long COVID.</p> <p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/covid-19-mortality-australia-deaths-registered-until-31-july-2023">Australian data</a> show 196 deaths were due to the long-term effects of COVID from the beginning of the pandemic up to the end of July 2023.</p> <p>In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 3,544 <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20221214.htm">long-COVID-related deaths</a> from the start of the pandemic up to the end of June 2022.</p> <p>The symptoms of <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/long-covid">long COVID</a> – such as fatigue, shortness of breath and “brain fog” – can be debilitating. But can you die from long COVID? The answer is not so simple.</p> <h2>How could long COVID lead to death?</h2> <p>There’s still a lot we don’t understand about what causes long COVID. A popular theory is that “zombie” <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2300644120">virus fragments</a> may linger in the body and cause inflammation even after the virus has gone, resulting in long-term health problems. Recent research suggests a reservoir of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1198743X24004324?via%3Dihub">SARS-CoV-2 proteins</a> in the blood might explain why some people experience ongoing symptoms.</p> <p>We know a serious COVID infection can damage <a href="https://covid19.nih.gov/news-and-stories/long-term-effects-sars-cov-2-organs-and-energy#:%7E:text=What%20you%20need%20to%20know,main%20source%20of%20this%20damage">multiple organs</a>. For example, severe COVID can lead to <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19">permanent lung dysfunction</a>, persistent heart inflammation, neurological damage and long-term kidney disease.</p> <p>These issues can in some cases lead to death, either immediately or months or years down the track. But is death beyond the acute phase of infection from one of these causes the direct result of COVID, long COVID, or something else? Whether long COVID can <em>directly</em> cause death continues to be a topic of debate.</p> <p>Of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr025.pdf">3,544 deaths</a> related to long COVID in the US up to June 2022, the most commonly recorded underlying cause was COVID itself (67.5%). This could mean they died as a result of one of the long-term effects of a COVID infection, such as those mentioned above.</p> <p>COVID infection was followed by heart disease (8.6%), cancer (2.9%), Alzheimer’s disease (2.7%), lung disease (2.5%), diabetes (2%) and stroke (1.8%). Adults aged 75–84 had the highest rate of death related to long COVID (28.8%).</p> <p>These findings suggest many of these people died “with” long COVID, rather than from the condition. In other words, long COVID may not be a direct driver of death, but rather a contributor, likely exacerbating existing conditions.</p> <h2>‘Cause of death’ is difficult to define</h2> <p>Long COVID is a relatively recent phenomenon, so mortality data for people with this condition are limited.</p> <p>However, we can draw some insights from the experiences of people with post-viral conditions that have been studied for longer, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).</p> <p>Like long COVID, <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/5/e058128">ME/CFS</a> is a complex condition which can have significant and varied effects on a person’s physical fitness, nutritional status, social engagement, mental health and quality of life.</p> <p>Some research indicates people with ME/CFS are at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5218818/">increased risk</a> of dying from causes including heart conditions, infections and suicide, that may be triggered or compounded by the debilitating nature of the syndrome.</p> <p>So what is the emerging data on long COVID telling us about the potential increased risk of death?</p> <p>Research from 2023 has suggested adults in the US with long COVID were at <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2802095">greater risk</a> of developing heart disease, stroke, lung disease and asthma.</p> <p>Research has also found <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9721155/">long COVID</a> is associated with a higher risk of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21642850.2022.2164498#abstract">suicidal ideation</a> (thinking about or planning suicide). This may reflect common symptoms and consequences of long COVID such as sleep problems, fatigue, chronic pain and emotional distress.</p> <p>But long COVID is more likely to occur in people who have <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/covid-19/long-covid-in-australia-a-review-of-the-literature/summary">existing health conditions</a>. This makes it challenging to accurately determine how much long COVID contributes to a person’s death.</p> <p>Research has long revealed <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7302107/">reliability issues</a> in cause-of-death reporting, particularly for people with chronic illness.</p> <h2>So what can we conclude?</h2> <p>Ultimately, long COVID is a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/chronic-conditions/about-chronic-conditions">chronic condition</a> that can significantly affect quality of life, mental wellbeing and overall health.</p> <p>While long COVID is not usually immediately or directly life-threatening, it’s possible it could exacerbate existing conditions, and play a role in a person’s death in this way.</p> <p>Importantly, many people with long COVID around the world lack access to appropriate support. We need to develop <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2024/221/9/persistent-symptoms-after-covid-19-australian-stratified-random-health-survey">models of care</a> for the optimal management of people with long COVID with a focus on multidisciplinary care.</p> <p><em>Dr Natalie Jovanovski, Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences at RMIT University, contributed to this article.</em><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/239184/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rose-shiqi-luo-1477061"><em>Rose (Shiqi) Luo</em></a><em>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-itsiopoulos-14246">Catherine Itsiopoulos</a>, Professor and Dean, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-anderson-1412897">Kate Anderson</a>, Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/magdalena-plebanski-1063786">Magdalena Plebanski</a>, Professor of Immunology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zhen-zheng-1321031">Zhen Zheng</a>, Associate Professor, STEM | Health and Biomedical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT 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/can-you-die-from-long-covid-the-answer-is-not-so-simple-239184">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Body

Readers response: What’s the best book you’ve read recently, and what did you love about it?

<p>With hundreds of new books on the market, it's hard to know what are the best to recommend.</p> <p>We asked our readers what the best book they've read recently is and what did they love about it, and the response was overwhelming. Here's what they said. </p> <p><strong>Helen Ulgekutt</strong> - The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods, loved it start to finish.</p> <p><strong>Zoy Crizzle</strong> - The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. Great book, so easy to read and an interesting story line. I loved it.</p> <p><strong>Keralie Stack</strong> - I have just finished Fallen Woman by Fiona McIntosh. A good read.</p> <p><strong>Karen Peardon</strong> - The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston. A great story.</p> <p><strong>Nola Schmidt</strong> - The Perfect Passion Company by Alexander McCall Smith. It was clever, witty, and gentle. </p> <p><strong>June Lennie</strong> - People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. Interesting story set in different historical periods. Brilliantly written and researched.</p> <p><strong>Christine Hayes</strong> - Where the Crawdads Sing, just beautiful.</p> <p><strong>Sandra Moores</strong> - All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien. A great debut based in Cabramatta, very compelling read.</p> <p><strong>Greg Cudmore </strong>- 'To Alpha From Omega'. Although very much Australian, its themes are universal.</p> <p><strong>Denise Zephyr</strong> - The Days I Loved You Most. Such a beautiful story and a beautiful ending.</p> <p><strong>Marie Chong</strong> - Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy. I love all her books, she tells a good story.</p> <p><strong>Yvonne Bercov</strong> - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, couldn’t put it down.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p> </p>

Books

Arguing with the people you love? How to have a healthy family dispute

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-robles-617248">Jessica Robles</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/loughborough-university-1336">Loughborough University</a></em></p> <p>Unlike Britain’s royal family, most of us don’t have the option to move to another country when we don’t see eye to eye. But most of us have likely experienced disagreements with loved ones.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/heritage/Site/Publications_files/CA_as_SOCIAL_THEORY.pdf">Conversations are designed to</a> do things – to start some action, and complete it – whether it’s a service transaction, an invitation to coffee or reassurance on a bad day. Our <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZnhyDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">uniquely complex communicative system</a> has evolved to help us get things done in the social world.</p> <p>Arguments are part of this complex system. They can be unavoidable, necessary or even productive. But they can also be difficult.</p> <p>It can be hard to know what to do when tensions are high and harsh words are flying, particularly when it involves someone you’re close to. But research on how disputes unfold – and conversation more generally – offers some ideas about the best way to handle one.</p> <h2>What is a dispute?</h2> <p>There are many words for disagreeing, and there are plenty of academic theories describing what disputes are and why they happen. But arguments are not abstract models. They’re lived in, breathed in, sweated in and talked (or sometimes shouted) into being.</p> <p>Research focusing on <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288351315.pdf">how disputes actually happen</a> shows they’re characterised by three types of features. First are the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378216606000488">vocal features</a>, which include talking in a higher pitch, louder and faster. Then, there are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1750481310395452?casa_token=MCNQWEQD6HwAAAAA:8nbyXh-cgjWzfL3syRrwybRFQl_ddHIMy9tRIAwPRAFADrgHtR2LSl9ZoUFsVlnzWPjWaKQZZ9XEVA">embodied features</a> such as aggressive gestures and avoidant stances, such as turning away from someone. Finally, there are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01638539009544746?casa_token=BB9edpIE1oUAAAAA:FTK-JRJ2oCmG7BufkUAQX1k1_9C1Cvc12r5ynYPM6duFB-HDWhgef8Va-Rh5Z2XksR64oTcPmi4FAQ">interactional features</a> such as talking over each other, not listening or metatalk – <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08351813.2020.1826765?casa_token=isJl2NJbSIkAAAAA:Mh-dXMfkBSGvEeoOWAoxLDjzbZ_eF-zbND-D8q4RAP5WHadqg1KUZDF_UnySFAcyb3LD-DF3BbGq1A">comments about the conversation</a> as it’s happening.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1354067X9953001?casa_token=Gje17vkyg_AAAAAA:ik_4Ze-4PIFLa6yjthOpztvJrtdVOokhRT73M8jDN4t1w0Bl7WzW2--d1vjZwanphorOH_r6jaVZdA">Displays of emotion</a> such as displeasure or anger, are also common. Participants might accuse each other of emotions or label their own emotions.</p> <p>Disputes happen for several reasons. What each person is doing can vary, from <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.530.8869&rep=rep1&type=pdf">complaints and accusations</a> to <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1348/014466610X500791?casa_token=r58ikQ5XFxEAAAAA:QR9wr0Fcz7q5BeSvL8soAIhKMNA1O9TcpcBaLleBKDvZ8Q5sPyX1OSg0OzSL5-xb8By5QbgNm9kHNhg">demands, threats or resistance</a>.</p> <p>They can be about many things – familial obligations, what to have for dinner, politics or how to plan a holiday. Luckily, disputes share elements <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2NxaC7nSetAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false">with each other</a> and with conversation generally – so you don’t have to invent new strategies every time you’re caught in one.</p> <h2>Affiliation and alignment</h2> <p>When bickering with a friend or family member, there are ways to make them feel like you’re still on their side even if you disagree. If you can keep these in mind, and use them at the right time, you might stop your dispute from escalating into something harder to mend.</p> <p>The first thing is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0196.pub2">affiliation</a>, which means support for the other person or their view of things.</p> <p>Affiliation involves phrasing what you say so it’s best <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08351810903471258?casa_token=yxnWxfDAEB8AAAAA:uoHEX2dlOS06wxwlHH7TOWmmfB51qMMbzg5tadx5SeRcf_5-vABUKQZtIt0Hchu4vUlFNfCX4qRi5A">understood and easier to respond to</a>. For example, saying “you’ve been to France before, right?” invites someone to share their experience – partly by including the tag “right” at the end, which at least requires a confirmation.</p> <p>It can also involve categorisation, the way we talk about or treat others as <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF00142771.pdf">certain types or group members</a>. For example, if you reduce the other person to a stereotype through labelling – by saying something like “girls always say stuff like that” or “OK, boomer” – you risk provoking a response to the insult, not to the action in which that insult was embedded.</p> <p>The second thing we expect from any conversation is alignment – cooperating with the direction of the conversation, such as accepting or denying a request. The opposite, disalignment, might occur when a request is ignored.</p> <p>Alignment has more to do with the sequence of the conversation, how the dispute unfolds over time. Asking for clarification – a practice known as <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136100">repair</a> – or <a href="https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/prag.27.1.03rob?crawler=true">claiming a misunderstanding</a> can treat problems as fixable errors rather than moral failings or attacks. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0261927X17744244">Humour can diffuse</a> conflict escalation.</p> <h2>How to have a healthy dispute</h2> <p>In the course of a dispute, you need to think about when to bring these tactics out. They’re more likely to yield better outcomes earlier in the dispute. By the time it’s escalated, your responses may be viewed through the prism of the dispute and <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eFSXDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT200&ots=6tM3fJnXr1&sig=Zchtur1abh25W7ERN5Q49ASRaJc#v=onepage&q&f=false">any offensiveness</a> you’ve already displayed toward each other. In cases like this, teasing can come across as contempt, for example, and claims to misunderstand as bad-faith mockery.</p> <p>It can feel like disputes take on a life of their own – as if the conversation uses us rather than we use it – and this is partly because conversation can seemingly take us along for the ride (consider the difficulty of turning down invitations). We invest our identities into conversations so disputes can seem to threaten us and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216618304302?casa_token=1SbOpn_2k8MAAAAA:YQ2Yb9nt-ONsmBKmVzTCx8cfl76bS5nK6_Yd8zONBVJFdJ57vwgdBDJxsXfk0aUOhilRQAF-ABA">what we stand for</a> morally.</p> <p>This may be starker with family, whose opinions of us often matter more than friends or colleagues, for example. It’s always worth stopping to reflect on what a dispute is really for, whether what you’re saying lines up with your goals and whether taking a stand is worth it.<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/159565/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-robles-617248">Jessica Robles</a>, Lecturer in Social Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/loughborough-university-1336">Loughborough 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/arguing-with-the-people-you-love-how-to-have-a-healthy-family-dispute-159565">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Family & Pets

Readers response: What’s your top travel tip for staying comfortable on long journeys?

<p>When it comes to a long travel day, getting comfortable can often be a mammoth task. </p> <p>We asked our readers to share their favourite tips and tricks to stay comfy on a long haul flight, car ride or train journey, and the response was overwhelming. Here's what they said.</p> <p><strong>Amy Cardino</strong> - Long-haul journeys (to me longer than 8hrs), you need to save up or upgrade your ticket if you have mileage benefits, into business class. </p> <p><strong>Ester Cibasek</strong> - My own blowup pillow and blanket (long enough to cover my head), noise reducing ear phones and keep my eyes closed so I dose in and out of sleep all the way.</p> <p><strong>Valerie Keily</strong> - A neck pillow is essential and an eye shade. Keep hydrated and remember to move around if possible.</p> <p><strong>Di Richardson</strong> - Memory neck pillow. Recovery sleeves on my calves. One departure drink then limit alcohol or coffee. Window seat and sleep when possible. Bliss.</p> <p><strong>Anita Thornton</strong> - Go business class. </p> <p><strong>Chrissie Martini</strong> - Break the journey by staying overnight in a hotel. Takes longer to get there but you practically eliminate jet lag and the worry of DVTs. On the way to Europe, two overnight stops helps me.</p> <p><strong>Lyn Goodman</strong> - Keep warm and wear loose fitting clothes.</p> <p><strong>June Debono</strong> - Stretch jeans and socks (as well as other clothes of course). Plus, eye shade and ear plugs.</p> <p><strong>Ingrid Plueckhahn</strong> - Take a good book, break up the journey with a fave movie, and just get in the zone and relax. It’s just a day!</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Travel Tips

Exploring The Lost Recipes by Ross Dobson

<p><em>In his quest to unearth Australia’s forgotten culinary treasures, Ross Dobson has dredged up everything from the delicate to the downright curious – recipes that had slipped into obscurity like an old record player and are now ready for a comeback.</em></p> <p>During the Covid pandemic I embalmed myself in nostalgia. There was loss on a global scale and, for many of us, it was also a time of great personal loss. Within a few short years, just prior to and during the pandemic, I lost both my parents. I found peace and comfort (and joy in spades) in reading old Australian recipes. </p> <p>I devoured recipes in old books, newspapers, magazines – anything I could get my hands on. Simple and even not-so-simple recipes. Shared or sought. I became interested in (nay, obsessed with) the forgotten: recipes that have been overlooked or disregarded, or were barely noticed in the first place. These are the lost recipes. </p> <p>We found a culinary oasis that was the beginning of the end of our ‘meat-and-two veg’ diet: a rival more exotic and delicious. </p> <p>The original idea for this book was to limit it to baking recipes: cakes, slices, biscuits and puddings. Surely we have all heard of, eaten or made a lamington, custard kiss, finger bun, passionfruit sponge or pav. These have all received top billing in any production of Australian classics. But what about a whimsy, fluffy dick, Napoleon cake, Australian shortbread or cream lily? These delicious things have been waiting in the wings for far too long. I am nudging them into the limelight. </p> <p>But as I perused an article in a magazine or newspaper, it was not uncommon to see a cake or slice recipe incongruously sandwiched between recipes for braised breast of lamb and devilled whitebait, or turmeric duck and farmhouse casserole (rabbit with inside-out stuffing). How could I possibly resist including these? And so, the scope of the book fell into place. </p> <p>I was drawn to the recipes that were popular at one point in time. A good recipe would be printed in newspapers again and again. Today, we would say it has ‘gone viral’. But, like a whispered game of ‘pass it on’, some good recipes would lose something or become something else over time. </p> <p>In researching for a previous book, <em>Australia: The Cookbook</em>, I noticed a recurring lack of nuance. There seemed to be little room for movement or deviation from a recipe. A lamington recipe was just that. There are, to this day, slight variations. Some recipes might call for a filling of jam, cream, buttercream or even panna cotta, a contemporary take. And if this was the case, it wasn’t a regional thing. It was shared and enjoyed on a national level. Much like a recipe for pavlova, meat pie or a hamburger with the lot. </p> <p>Nigella Lawson says of Australian food: ‘These [recipes] demonstrate that peculiar mixture of macho and camp that is a feature of a certain kind of Australian cooking tradition.’ </p> <p>I agree. I feel like much of our food tradition is binary: the meat and the sweet. The brown of a beef stew and the garish pink of coconut ice. Of course, this is reducing Australian recipes to a simple notion. </p> <p>There are exceptions to the rule, not as rare as one might think. It is these exceptions that I went in search of. In doing so, I inadvertently discovered that some Australians did cook with ingredients such as garlic, ginger, coconut milk and chilli. A simple roast lamb with garlic (page 110) and a chicken curry (page 96) laden with ginger and green chilli are testament to that. Capers, anchovies and lentils are also used in recipes that went under the radar. </p> <p>Looking at our past offers insight into who we are now. Through this culinary looking glass we can also see the opposite of what we might expect or what we might think is the norm. What we choose to cook and consume can be a revelation of our identity, of who we are. </p> <p>Our Indigenous culture is the oldest in the world, yet many of us are unfamiliar with native ingredients; Europeans brought cuisines and cultures to these shores, yet we are not European; Asia is our nearest neighbour and the origin of some of our favourite dishes, but we are not Asian. </p> <p>We are unique. In all this, there is wonder to be had, and wonder I do.</p> <p><em>To learn more about </em>The Lost Recipes<em> and other exciting upcoming publications from Echo Publishing, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, or visit our website at <a href="https://www.echopublishing.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.echopublishing.com.au/</a></em></p> <p><em>Images: Echo Publishing </em></p> <p><em>Brought to you by Echo Publishing</em></p>

Food & Wine

What to claim for lost, delayed or damaged bags on overseas flights

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-johnston-123333">Rebecca Johnston</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-hodgkinson-6574">David Hodgkinson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a></em></p> <p>If you get on a plane and your baggage ends up being delayed, damaged or lost, who’s responsible: you or the airline? And what rules apply when you’re flying between different countries – even if you don’t have travel insurance?</p> <p>Airlines (otherwise known as carriers) generally include baggage requirements in their terms and conditions of carriage, which are set out or referred to on your ticket. These are the rules that apply to the journey that you have booked.</p> <p>But for international flights, a carrier’s liability for damage, loss or delay of baggage is governed by a number of overarching international treaties, which many passengers aren’t aware of.</p> <h2>International agreements</h2> <p>The <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.1929/doc.html">Warsaw Convention</a> of 1929 was the first of these treaties, and the latest is the passenger-friendly 1999 <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.unification.convention.montreal.1999/">Montreal Convention</a>.</p> <p>In order for one of these treaties to apply to a particular journey, the same treaty must be in place at the point of departure and the passenger’s final destination.</p> <p>For many trips, the agreement that will apply will be the Montreal Convention, which has to date <a href="http://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf">108 state parties</a>, covering everywhere from Albania and Australia to Zambia. In time, the Montreal Convention is expected to apply to almost all air travel.</p> <p>The Warsaw Convention (as amended by the <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.hague.protocol.1955/doc.html">Hague Protocol</a> and <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.montreal.protocol.4.1975/doc.html">Montreal Protocol No. 4</a>) will generally apply where the Montreal Convention does not. It is less favourable to passengers.</p> <p>All these treaties have similar provisions to deal with baggage claims – but very different limits to what you might get if you need to make a claim.</p> <h2>What the airline is responsible for</h2> <p>A carrier is liable if your checked baggage is lost, delayed or damaged regardless of fault.</p> <p>This is so unless the damage resulted from the inherent defect or quality of the baggage or, in terms of delay, if it proves that it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage occasioned by that delay.</p> <p>As for unchecked baggage (that is, carry-on baggage), the carrier is only liable if the damage is due to the fault of the carrier or its agents.</p> <p>Unless otherwise specified, reference to “baggage” includes both checked and unchecked baggage.</p> <h2>Calculating baggage compensation</h2> <p>Under the Warsaw Convention (as amended by the <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.hague.protocol.1955/doc.html">Hague Protocol</a> and <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.montreal.protocol.4.1975/doc.html">Montreal Protocol No. 4</a>) and the Montreal Convention, liability limits are expressed in <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/sdr.HTM">special drawing rights</a> (SDRs).</p> <p>An SDR is a type of foreign exchange reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund. Its value is based on an artificial basket of currencies consisting of the US dollar, the euro, the pound and the Japanese yen. The liability limits are reviewed every five years.</p> <p>As of October 16, 2014, the <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx">value of an SDR</a> is about US$1.49, £0.93 or A$1.70. Current SDR values for other currencies are also listed <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx">here</a>.</p> <h2>So what is your baggage worth?</h2> <p>In terms of baggage liability limits, the Warsaw Convention is of relatively little assistance to passengers.</p> <p>If your international travel is subject to Warsaw (for example, if you flew out of the United States on a one way ticket to Guatemala), liability for delayed, damaged or lost baggage is limited to 17 SDRs (about US$25.33, £15.81 or A$28.90) per kilogram per passenger for checked baggage and 332 SDRs (about US$494.68, £308.76 or A$564.40) per passenger for unchecked baggage.</p> <p>In contrast, a carrier is liable to pay far greater damages if the Montreal Convention applies.</p> <p>For any travel covered by Montreal, the carrier’s liability for baggage is limited to 1131 SDRs per passenger (US$1685.19, £1051.83 or A$1922.70), unless otherwise declared.</p> <p>The carrier is not liable for damages caused by delay if the carrier took all reasonable measures, or if it was impossible for it to take such measures.</p> <h2>Time limits on baggage claims</h2> <p>Time limits are imposed on making a claim for delayed, damaged or lost baggage. Any potential claims should be made to a carrier in writing within these specified limits.</p> <p>Article 26 of Warsaw provides that any complaint as to delay of baggage must be made at the latest within 21 days from the date the baggage was placed at the passenger’s disposal.</p> <figure class="align-right zoomable"></figure> <p>Similarly, under Article 31 of Montreal, a complaint must be made within 21 days of a passenger receiving their baggage.</p> <p>With respect to damaged baggage, under Warsaw, any claim must be made “forthwith” after the discovery of the damage and at most seven days from the date of receipt of the baggage. Montreal also gives passengers seven days from receipt of checked bags to report a damage claim.</p> <p>Neither convention imposes a time limit for reporting lost baggage claims. But it is advisable that you make your complaint as soon as possible.</p> <p>Warsaw does not state when baggage is considered “lost”, leaving it up to carriers to make that ruling. Under Montreal, baggage is only considered lost after 21 days or if the carrier admits that they have lost it.</p> <p>If a passenger fails to make a complaint within the specified times, the carrier will not be liable unless there has been fraud on the carrier’s part.</p> <h2>Insurance alternatives</h2> <p>If you are concerned that the contents of your baggage exceed the liability limits outlined above, you can make a special declaration of the value of your baggage prior to check-in and pay any additional fee (if required).</p> <p>In this case, the carrier will be liable to pay a higher amount, unless it is proved that the declared amount is greater than the actual value of your baggage.</p> <p>Alternatively, prior to travelling, check with your insurance company as to whether your travel insurance covers any excess from delayed, damaged or lost baggage.</p> <p>You might also want to <a href="http://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf">check this list</a> to see whether the places you’re departing from and finally arriving at are parties to the Montreal Convention. If not, you might just find yourself out of pocket.<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/32111/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-johnston-123333">Rebecca Johnston</a>, Adjunct Lecturer, Law School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-hodgkinson-6574">David Hodgkinson</a>, Associate Professor, Law School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</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/what-to-claim-for-lost-delayed-or-damaged-bags-on-overseas-flights-32111">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Travel Trouble

Incredible reason behind Aussie woman's 5,500km outback ride

<p>Sarah Wheeler has been travelling through the New South Wales outback for the last four and a half months, doing it entirely on horseback. </p> <p>The 26-year-old Aussie plans to ride 5,500 kilometres through outback Queensland and New South Wales to raise awareness about the rare cancer that killed her mum in 2022, a little over a decade after her father passed away. </p> <p>With around four months left on her trip, Wheeler and her two horses, Shifty and Sally, are slowly trekking across some of the most remote and rugged parts of the country in a trip that has never been done before. </p> <p>"I'd always thought about doing something like this throughout my life," Wheeler told <em>Yahoo News</em>. </p> <p>"So after my parents died, I went out and bought two horses and, yeah, set off on a five-and-a-half-thousand-kilometre horse ride to honour and remember, and grieve."</p> <p>Wheeler set off with her horses from her hometown Rowena in western NSW in May, and has since travelled across long stretches of highways, desolate plains and rocky terrain and has now passed the halfway mark. </p> <p>She explained that in recent weeks she has also been trekking on foot and has contact with other people only when she stops in towns for supplies or when she feeds her horses, using a support vehicle. </p> <p>"The car travels 10 kilometres at a time so that I can keep replenishing my horses, with both food and water. Ten kilometres takes me two hours, sometimes a bit longer, and I'm usually in the saddle for six to eight hours a day," she told the publication. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C89KIgsxb_A/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C89KIgsxb_A/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Sarah Wheeler - The Outback Long Ride (@_beneaththebrim)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"The most challenging thing has probably been the saddles and saddle pads and cleanliness — that's all so important. I have to wash my saddle blankets every second day. Otherwise, things just start happening, like fungus type of stuff."</p> <p>She added that while "this has been one of the hardest things I have ever done", the friendliness and support of locals has been a highlight of her trip. </p> <p>"Everyone's so lovely and inviting and, yeah, I just I didn't think that I was going to see that to this extent," she said. "People want to invite me in and feed me, they just want to help me as much as they can."</p> <p>Remembering her late parents' legacy, Wheeler said she wants everyone to know just how "remarkable" they both were.</p> <p>"They were like everything this world needed and more," she said. "They were very kind and genuine and humble."</p> <p>Wheeler's ride is raising awareness and funds for two key charities: <a href="https://pancare-gi-cancer.raisely.com/sarah-wheeler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pancare Foundation</a>, the lead organisation supporting families and funding research for upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, which claimed the life of her mother, and A Daughter’s Way, her own charity supporting rural families experiencing grief. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Snakes are waking up. What should you do if you’re bitten? And what if you’re a long way from help?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hamish-bradley-2217649">Hamish Bradley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alice-richardson-252002">Alice Richardson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/breeanna-spring-1545193">Breeanna Spring</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a></em></p> <p>From the creeks that wind through inner city Melbourne to the far outback in Western Australia, snake season is beginning.</p> <p>Over the cooler months snakes have been in state of <a href="https://youtu.be/FjXOzNjZjoU?si=Mc0eeayVk4VU9906">brumation</a>. This is very similar to hibernation and characterised by sluggishness and inactivity. As warmer conditions return both snakes and humans become more active in the outdoors, leading to an increased likelihood of interaction. This may happen when people are hiking, dog-walking or gardening.</p> <p>The risk of being bitten by a snake is exceptionally small, but knowing basic first aid could potentially save your, or another person’s, life.</p> <h2>When a snake bites</h2> <p>Snake bite envenomation (when venom enters the blood stream) is a significant issue in Australia, with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja17.00094">3,000 cases annually and an average of two deaths</a>.</p> <p>Snake bite should always be <a href="https://stjohnwa.com.au/online-resources/first-aid-information-and-resources/snake-bite">treated</a> as a life-threatening emergency, and if you are bitten in rural or remote Australia, you will often receive an air medical emergency pick up to a regional or metropolitan hospital for advanced care.</p> <p>The effects of snake bites vary, depending on the species of snake and first aid measures undertaken.</p> <p>Australian <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/snake-bites">standard first aid guidelines</a> include:</p> <ul> <li>calling for help (dialing 000 or activating an emergency beacon)</li> <li>applying a pressure immobilisation bandage</li> <li>resting.</li> </ul> <h2>Why pressure is important</h2> <p>Snake venom is carried within the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-lymph-nodes-and-can-a-massage-really-improve-lymphatic-drainage-209334">lymphatic system</a>. This is a collection of tiny tubes throughout the body that return fluid outside of blood vessels back to the blood stream.</p> <p>Muscles act as a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/pneumatic-compression-therapy-can-it-really-help-olympians-or-you-recover-after-exercise-236228">pump</a>” to help the fluid move through this system. That’s why being still, or immobilisation, is vital to slow the spread of venom.</p> <p>A firm pressure immobilisation bandage, applied as tight as you would for a sprained ankle, will compress these tubes and help limit the venom’s spread.</p> <p>Ideally bandage the entire limb on which the bite occurred and apply a splint to help further with immobilisation. It is very important that the blood supply to the limb is not limited by this bandage.</p> <p>Never attempt to capture or kill the snake for identification. This risks further bites and is not required for specialist care. The decision about when to give antivenom (if any) is based on the geographical location, symptoms, the results of blood tests and discussion with a toxicologist.</p> <h2>The tyranny of distance</h2> <p>People living in rural and remote locations may also have limited access to health care, including access to ambulance services, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10871209.2020.1769778">snake bite first aid</a> such as bandages and splints, and to antivenom.</p> <p>Availability and the prompt use of antivenom have been identified as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590171022000558">crucial factors in the effective treatment</a> of snake envenomation – but not studied in detail.</p> <p>Over one year (as a component of a larger three-year study) we collected information on the pre-hospital care and in-flight care with the Royal Flying Doctors Service Western Operations.</p> <p>During this time, 85 people from regional, rural, remote and very remote Western Australia were flown by Royal Flying Doctor Service to hospital for suspected or confirmed snake bites. Reassuringly, only five of these patients (6%) ultimately received a toxicologist’s diagnosis of envenomation.</p> <h2>To move or not to move?</h2> <p>Troublingly, 38 (45%) of the 85 snake bite victims continued to move around and be active following their suspected snake bite. This raises questions about whether people lack knowledge of first-aid guidelines, or whether this is a consequence of being isolated, with limited access to health care.</p> <p>Either way, our as-yet-unpublished research highlights the vulnerability of Australia’s rural and remote people. All patients eventually received a pressure immobilisation bandage, with an average time from bite to application of 38 minutes. Three quarters of the patients made their way to health-care site by foot, or private car, arriving on average 65 minutes after the bite.</p> <h2>What needs to change?</h2> <p>Our results indicate rural and remote Australians need innovative health-care solutions beyond the metropolitan guidelines, particularly when outside ambulance service areas.</p> <p>Basic snake bite first aid education needs to be not only reiterated but also a pragmatic approach is required in these geographically isolated locations. This would involve being vigilant, staying safe and, when isolated, always carrying emergency technology to call for help.</p> <hr /> <p><em>The authors wish to acknowledge the efforts required through this research project as it continues, including by Fergus Gardiner, Kieran Hennelly, Rochelle Menzies, James Anderson, Alex McMillan and John Fisher. Hamish Bradley is an Aeromedical Retrieval Specialist and Principal Investigator in this project.</em><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/234365/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hamish-bradley-2217649">Hamish Bradley</a>, Adjunct Lecturer, Anaesthetist and Aeromedical Retrieval Specialist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alice-richardson-252002">Alice Richardson</a>, Associate professor and lead of Statistical Support Network, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/breeanna-spring-1545193">Breeanna Spring</a>, PhD student, Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights, Faculty of Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin 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/snakes-are-waking-up-what-should-you-do-if-youre-bitten-and-what-if-youre-a-long-way-from-help-234365">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Body

Lost touch with someone? Reach out – your friend will likely appreciate it more than you think

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peggy-liu-818769">Peggy Liu</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pittsburgh-854">University of Pittsburgh</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-min-1354136">Lauren Min</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-kansas-1588">University of Kansas</a></em></p> <h2>The big idea</h2> <p>The next time you wonder whether to reach out to a friend, family member, classmate or other person who’s been out of touch for a long time, go ahead and do it. According to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000402">our just-published research</a>, it’s likely they’ll appreciate it more than you think.</p> <p>In a series of 13 experiments involving over 5,900 participants, we – along with colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0Stzf1cAAAAJ&hl=en">SoYon Rim</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TZQefJAAAAAJ&hl=en">Kate Min</a> – wanted to investigate whether people accurately predict <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000402">how much their social contacts appreciate being reached out to</a>.</p> <p>In one experiment we conducted, college students wrote a note “to check in and say hello” to a classmate they hadn’t interacted with in a while. Then we asked them how much they thought their classmate would appreciate receiving this note.</p> <p>Next, we delivered these notes to their classmates and asked the recipients how much they appreciated receiving them.</p> <p>We found that the students who received the notes were much more appreciative of the gesture than the students who wrote them had anticipated.</p> <p>Other experiments varied the scenario by involving older adults as participants rather than college students, switching the written message to a small gift – such as cookies or coffee – and comparing how much the sender underestimated the appreciation that an emotionally distant contact would feel compared with a close contact.</p> <p>Overall they yielded the same basic finding: People tended to underestimate how much others appreciated hearing from them.</p> <p>What drives this underestimation? Our results suggest that it’s related to how little the people reaching out factor in the surprise felt by those being contacted. When we asked recipients what they focused on when indicating how appreciative they felt, they reported paying a lot of attention to their positive feelings of surprise, which were linked to how appreciative they felt.</p> <p>Comparatively, potential senders did not report focusing much on recipients’ positive feelings of surprise.</p> <p>It also mattered whether the two parties were already in a close relationship. People’s underestimations were even greater when their contact was a distant acquaintance because these recipients were especially surprised at being contacted.</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>Many people can name at least one person with whom they would like to reconnect. Taking a new job, moving to a different city, becoming a parent, or the busyness of everyday life – these are just some of the life events and circumstances that can cause people to lose touch. Then, if the desire to reconnect arises on one side, doubts may arise about whether the other person may appreciate being contacted out of the blue.</p> <p>When people consider taking the initiative to reach out, especially after a prolonged period of no contact, they may worry about being rejected. This worry might keep them from reaching out in the first place.</p> <p>Our research lessens this challenge by showing that often, these gestures will be much more appreciated than one might expect.</p> <h2>What other research is being done</h2> <p>Our findings fit within a growing stream of research examining the tendency to underestimate others’ appreciation of various social exchanges. For example, other researchers have found that people underestimate how much <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000277">others appreciate receiving compliments</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618772506">expressions of gratitude</a>.</p> <p>Our work adds to this area by broadening the scope of the contexts in which people underestimate how much social exchanges are appreciated. Reaching out could but need not require giving compliments or expressing gratitude – the gesture can be as simple as checking in with someone to show that one is thinking about them.<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/185001/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peggy-liu-818769">Peggy Liu</a>, Ben L. Fryrear Chair in Marketing and Associate Professor of Business Administration, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pittsburgh-854">University of Pittsburgh</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-min-1354136">Lauren Min</a>, Assistant Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-kansas-1588">University of Kansas</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/lost-touch-with-someone-reach-out-your-friend-will-likely-appreciate-it-more-than-you-think-185001">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Relationships

‘We’re all Muriel’: why we still love Muriel’s Wedding, 30 years on

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lisa-french-12625">Lisa French</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p>P.J. Hogan’s classic Australian film Muriel’s Wedding is 30 and it plays as well today as it did when it had its world premiere. Muriel might have been “terrible” – but the film was a great success.</p> <p>Australians love to laugh at themselves, and everyone loves an underdog. Muriel’s Wedding took more than A$15 million at the box office in Australia — making it one of the <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/cinema/australian-films/feature-film-releases/top-australian-films">highest-grossing</a> Australian feature films of all time.</p> <p>As fun as the film is with its kitsch aesthetic, bold colour palette and garish costumes, it has a unique mix of comedy and serious drama. It slips from the absurd to painful realism, with more depth than your average comedy and a twist in the plot that made it an original take on the genre.</p> <p>While Australians generally have received it as hilarious, audiences elsewhere were more attuned to the tragedy, such as Muriel’s mother Betty’s suicide following relentless bullying, and Rhonda’s illness and disability. But it worked for audiences everywhere who warmed to the representation of friendship, its emotional compassion and critique of the narrow mindedness of small-town communities.</p> <h2>‘We’re all Muriel’</h2> <p>Sometimes it is the stars who can bring in an audience and make a film successful. However, although there were a lot of experienced actors in Muriel’s Wedding, Toni Collette (Muriel) and Rachel Griffiths (Rhonda) – whose performances were exceptional – were both playing lead and supporting roles for the first time in a feature film.</p> <p>It was also Hogan’s first feature, so it is unlikely star power drew in audiences (although all of them were to become stars, and Hogan later directed My Best Friend’s Wedding with Julia Roberts, one of the <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/08/best-romantic-comedies-list">top romantic comedies of all time</a>).</p> <p>It did, however, have a wonderful trailer.</p> <p>I asked Rachel Griffiths what she thought was the key to the film’s success and she identified its universality: it translated for an array of audiences and enabled broad identification.</p> <p>She described the film as having one foot in the grotesque and the other in Ridley Scott’s 1991 getaway heist Thelma & Louise – another film about female friendship, independence and individual growth.</p> <p>Griffiths gave the example of going with the film to New York on its release and discovering it was wildly meaningful to the LGBTQIA+ community. In conversation with a gay man in his late 20s, he described it as a parable for AIDS, which at that time was in full-blown crisis.</p> <p>According to Griffiths, he said: “We’re all Muriel. We don’t fit in.”</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/laHqRJeXeVU?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Growing up in small towns where they are “the freak”, with closet musical tastes, he said:</p> <blockquote> <p>We’re the outcasts in our family. Our fathers belittle us for being feminine. We escape to the big smoke with the promise of becoming ourselves and following our own journey. We replace our families who have rejected us with our chosen family who celebrate us.</p> </blockquote> <p>And when one of their own is struck suddenly by this terrible affliction, like Rhonda, they are sent home in humiliation, to be looked after, which is their worst fear. The aspiration is to be rescued by the adopted family and taken back to the big city and shown unconditional love.</p> <p>Griffiths says:</p> <blockquote> <p>That’s the ending and the survival story of both Rhonda and Muriel, you go back to that kind of pride moment, to be proud of who you are.</p> </blockquote> <p>For Griffiths, Rhonda and Muriel have “a kind of blood-sister friendship, a bond that can’t be broken”.</p> <p>We all long for that deep acceptance. It is a parable of inclusion, where Muriel and Rhonda truly see and accept each other and themselves.</p> <h2>A feminist film</h2> <p>I asked Griffiths if Muriel’s Wedding was received as feminist when it was released. She replied it wasn’t at the time it was made, but more recently this has come up.</p> <p>Her explanation of why this wasn’t considered 30 years ago is informative regarding film criticism. She elaborated that the critics at the time were 90% male and their take on feminism expected powerful female lead characters who pursue their goals and achieve in the face of competition.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oykn8YgGkJs?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>In this story, there is a girl escaping patriarchal control. Muriel’s father, Bill Heslop (Bill Hunter), is a bully and narcissist who blames everyone else – especially the women – for his failures.</p> <p>Griffiths aligns Muriel to the Cinderella myth because in the beginning she sees her value will only be ascribed to her once she marries. The film, Griffiths said, is “a fundamental kind of feminist journey”.</p> <p>The central focus is Muriel’s personal growth in rejecting ideology that promotes romantic coupling as the pinnacle of happiness for women. Instead Muriel embraces her own worth and her friendship with Rhonda. Marriage is portrayed as a patriarchal structure that ideologically binds women – the marriages are variously fraudulent, starting with Tanya and Chook, then Muriel and, ultimately, her mother.</p> <p>There are many elements that make Muriel’s Wedding an Australian classic, from the universal themes and relatability to how the story is able to extend beyond national borders. The film leaves us with admiration for resilience in the face of adversity, signalled by Muriel and Rhonda grinning assuredly at each other in the final scene.</p> <p>It is a unique and very real comedy/drama with a highly engaging aesthetic and a feminist message. It is an opportunity to laugh at ourselves, despite quite a lot of tragedy and adversity — which is a very Australian thing to do!</p> <p><em>The author wishes to thank Rachel Griffiths who was interviewed in Melbourne on August 17 2020.</em><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/236793/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lisa-french-12625">Lisa French</a>, Professor & Dean, School of Media and Communication, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Miramax</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/were-all-muriel-why-we-still-love-muriels-wedding-30-years-on-236793">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Movies

ATO urges Aussies to cash in on nearly $18 billion in lost or unclaimed super

<p>The Australian Taxation Office is urging people to check whether they are eligible to cash in on almost $17.8 billion in lost or unclaimed superannuation. </p> <p>Lost super is when your fund has lost touch with you or your account is inactive, and this can occur if you've changed your name, moved homes or changed jobs, without updating your details. </p> <p>The lost super becomes unclaimed when your fund transfers this lost money to the ATO. </p> <p>"Since 2021, the ATO has reunited almost $6.4 billion of unclaimed super with its owners. But there is still more than $17.8 billion waiting to be found,"<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> ATO deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig said.</span></p> <p>"If you've changed jobs, moved house or simply forgotten to update your details, you may have lost or unclaimed super.</p> <p>"We're urging Australians to check if some of the $17.8 billion in lost and unclaimed super belongs to them."</p> <p>As of June 30, 2024, super funds and the ATO are holding lost super for over 7.1 million accounts, with retirees among those with lost or unclaimed super. </p> <p>The ATO revealed it was holding $471 million on behalf of those aged over 65. </p> <p>“Superannuation is a key part of your retirement, and we want to make sure Australians are claiming the investment they’ve worked for,” Rosenzweig said.</p> <p>You can check for lost super online through the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/keeping-track-of-your-super/super-health-check#ato-Check3Checkforlostandunclaimedsuper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATO</a>. </p> <p>For those wanting to search for unclaimed cash, including unclaimed refunds, share dividends, uncashed cheques and more, you can visit <a href="https://asic.gov.au/for-consumers/unclaimed-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal</a> and state websites to see if you have anything owed to you. </p> <p>Unclaimed money is cash owed to people who can't be located, either due to name or address changes, lost paperwork or just forgot about the cash. </p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

Parents under fire for taking their sick toddler on a long-haul flight

<p>A couple has come under fire after documenting their experience online of boarding a long-haul flight with their toddler, despite the child being sick. </p> <p>Alina and her husband were excited to go on their long-awaited holiday to Thailand with their one-year-old son in tow, taking off on their first big family trip. </p> <p>However, shortly before they were set to take off, their child developed a raging fever, and they decided to go on the trip anyway. </p> <p>Taking the experience to social media, Alina said her son’s temperature soared to around 40 degrees, with their little boy’s condition escalating so rapidly that the parents were considering calling off their entire trip. </p> <p>“My husband and I even wanted to cancel the flight,” she confessed in the video, which has received around 1.4 million views.</p> <p>However, after realising they would be out of pocket by several thousands of dollars if they cancelled the trip at such short notice, they decided to take the risk and board the plane. </p> <p>“Our tickets would have been wasted, and the trip that cost us $3,000 would have been wasted,” the mum wrote. "One plus of this flight was that the flight was at night, and the child could sleep and recover.”</p> <p>In the clip, the parents were seen walking their son around the plane, cradling the sick toddler as he cried uncontrollably.</p> <p>Luckily, the parents “managed to bring down the temperature”, but they weren’t convinced their son would keep quiet for the rest of the trip. </p> <p>“We were so worried about how the baby would feel on an eight-hour flight,” she continued, walking the baby up and down the corridors of the airport, trying to calm him down. </p> <p>As they tried to settle the child, they realised that their hopes that he would sleep the whole way were misguided. </p> <p>“The flight turned out to be difficult,” Alina confessed. “The baby kept waking and crying.” </p> <p>In the middle of the night, their son’s fever returned, which forced the parents to “bring the temperature down again” and left them “very worried” about their son’s health. </p> <p>Their baby’s fever took a toll on the parents as well, who complained of feeling “squeezed like a lemon” while trying to keep his temperature down, as Alina recalled, “We took turns looking after the baby so each of us could sleep.”</p> <p>In a later video, the parents defended their choice to take their son on the flight despite his intense fever and blamed it on his teething, not sickness. </p> <p>“Our baby wasn’t sick, he was teething, and that’s why he had a fever,” she said. “If our child had been sick, we would have cancelled everything … I consider myself a wonderful mother.”</p> <p>Despite the mother's clarification of her son's fever, the parents were slammed for even considering taking a sick child on such a long flight. </p> <p>“It’s OK, don’t worry about making anyone else on that flight sick,” a sarcastic comment read. “This is so tremendously selfish, you are appalling for doing this to him and others.” </p> <p>“I was in the same situation,” another parent said. “I lost all bookings, but who cares, my daughter comes first always and forever, no matter the amount of money!”</p> <p>“Trips come and go; your baby’s health is priceless!” read another comment. “Forty degrees is a hospital admission! Not a flight to Thailand!”</p> <p>However, not everyone was as judgmental, with many parents extending their sympathies to the first-time parents, as one person wrote, “You know what’s best for your baby. Everyone will say things. But only you will know when you are in that situation.”</p> <p>“Everyone is a first-time parent,” another defended. “This was a lesson learned. A baby’s health is of utmost importance. No holiday is more important than that. I hope he is OK now.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Trouble

"Love lives on": Touching Irwin tributes on 18th anniversary of Steve's death

<p>Terri Irwin has paid a touching tribute to her late husband, Steve Irwin, on the 18th anniversary of his passing, stirring emotions among fans worldwide.</p> <p>In a poignant Instagram post, Terri, 59, shared a nostalgic photo of the couple, embraced warmly in front of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. Accompanying the image was the simple yet profound caption, “Love lives on,” followed by a red heart emoji. The tribute evoked an outpouring of support and love from fans and followers, many of whom expressed the lasting impact the Irwin family has had on their lives.</p> <p>One fan wrote, “Thank you for sharing that love with us. I grew up to never settle for less,” while another reflected, “He was my idol growing up... It’s crazy to think it’s been 18 years since that tragic day. Long live the crocodile king.” Even singer-songwriter Amy Shark commented, “This is just beautiful.”</p> <p>This tribute follows Terri’s Father's Day post, where she shared touching side-by-side photos of Steve and their son Robert, both holding large native lizards. “Steve had so much love for Robert and Bindi. He was the best dad,” she wrote. “I know he would be proud of the way they have continued his message and mission for conservation.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_iQJIzS6_Z/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_iQJIzS6_Z/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Terri Irwin (@terriirwincrikey)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Steve Irwin, known globally as “The Crocodile Hunter", tragically died at age 44 on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a documentary off the coast of Queensland. His death left an indelible mark on fans worldwide, but his legacy has been passionately carried on by his family.</p> <p>His daughter, Bindi, also shared a heartfelt tribute to her father, posting a throwback photo of Steve handling a crocodile. She reflected on the honour of continuing his work, writing, “Your legacy lives on in our family, our team, Australia Zoo, Wildlife Warriors, and The Crocodile Hunter Lodge. Hope to make you proud.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_gzUmuBQH2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C_gzUmuBQH2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The Irwin family’s commitment to wildlife conservation has only strengthened in the years since Steve’s passing. Australia Zoo, originally built by Steve’s father, Bob Irwin, in 1970, has flourished under their stewardship. The family continues Steve’s mission through their wildlife reality series, <em>Crikey! It’s the Irwins</em>, which debuted in 2018 and remains popular on Animal Planet.</p> <p>Fans around the world continue to honour Steve’s memory, with many sharing their admiration on social media. One fan wrote, “I am so thankful that a piece of Steve really did live on in you guys. Outstanding in your own right and amazing to see,” while another commented, “Amazing how Steve changed the way we viewed wildlife in Australia.”</p> <p>Steve Irwin’s influence on wildlife conservation, his pioneering television work, and his legacy of love and adventure live on, continuing to inspire millions worldwide. His family’s unwavering dedication ensures that his passion for nature and animals will never be forgotten.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

How long does back pain last? And how can learning about pain increase the chance of recovery?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sarah-wallwork-1361569">Sarah Wallwork</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lorimer-moseley-1552">Lorimer Moseley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p>Back pain is common. One in thirteen people have it right now and worldwide a staggering 619 million people will <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7186678/">have it this year</a>.</p> <p>Chronic pain, of which back pain is the most common, is the world’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7186678/">most disabling</a> health problem. Its economic impact <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92510/">dwarfs other health conditions</a>.</p> <p>If you get back pain, how long will it take to go away? We scoured the scientific literature to <a href="https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/196/2/E29.full.pdf">find out</a>. We found data on almost 20,000 people, from 95 different studies and split them into three groups:</p> <ul> <li>acute – those with back pain that started less than six weeks ago</li> <li>subacute – where it started between six and 12 weeks ago</li> <li>chronic – where it started between three months and one year ago.</li> </ul> <p>We found 70%–95% of people with acute back pain were likely to recover within six months. This dropped to 40%–70% for subacute back pain and to 12%–16% for chronic back pain.</p> <p>Clinical guidelines point to graded return to activity and pain education under the guidance of a health professional as the best ways to promote recovery. Yet these effective interventions are underfunded and hard to access.</p> <h2>More pain doesn’t mean a more serious injury</h2> <p>Most acute back pain episodes are <a href="https://www.racgp.org.au/getattachment/75af0cfd-6182-4328-ad23-04ad8618920f/attachment.aspx">not caused</a> by serious injury or disease.</p> <p>There are rare exceptions, which is why it’s wise to see your doctor or physio, who can check for signs and symptoms that warrant further investigation. But unless you have been in a significant accident or sustained a large blow, you are unlikely to have caused much damage to your spine.</p> <p>Even very minor back injuries can be brutally painful. This is, in part, because of how we are made. If you think of your spinal cord as a very precious asset (which it is), worthy of great protection (which it is), a bit like the crown jewels, then what would be the best way to keep it safe? Lots of protection and a highly sensitive alarm system.</p> <p>The spinal cord is protected by strong bones, thick ligaments, powerful muscles and a highly effective alarm system (your nervous system). This alarm system can trigger pain that is so unpleasant that you cannot possibly think of, let alone do, anything other than seek care or avoid movement.</p> <p>The messy truth is that when pain persists, the pain system becomes more sensitive, so a widening array of things contribute to pain. This pain system hypersensitivity is a result of neuroplasticity – your nervous system is becoming better at making pain.</p> <h2>Reduce your chance of lasting pain</h2> <p>Whether or not your pain resolves is not determined by the extent of injury to your back. We don’t know all the factors involved, but we do know there are things that you can do to reduce chronic back pain:</p> <ul> <li> <p>understand how pain really works. This will involve intentionally learning about modern pain science and care. It will be difficult but rewarding. It will help you work out what you can do to change your pain</p> </li> <li> <p>reduce your pain system sensitivity. With guidance, patience and persistence, you can learn how to gradually retrain your pain system back towards normal.</p> </li> </ul> <h2>How to reduce your pain sensitivity and learn about pain</h2> <p>Learning about “how pain works” provides the most sustainable <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-067718">improvements in chronic back pain</a>. Programs that combine pain education with graded brain and body exercises (gradual increases in movement) can reduce pain system sensitivity and help you return to the life you want.</p> <p>These programs have been in development for years, but high-quality clinical trials <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2794765">are now emerging</a> and it’s good news: they show most people with chronic back pain improve and many completely recover.</p> <p>But most clinicians aren’t equipped to deliver these effective programs – <a href="https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(23)00618-1/fulltext">good pain education</a> is not taught in most medical and health training degrees. Many patients still receive ineffective and often risky and expensive treatments, or keep seeking temporary pain relief, hoping for a cure.</p> <p>When health professionals don’t have adequate pain education training, they can deliver bad pain education, which leaves patients feeling like they’ve just <a href="https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(23)00618-1/fulltext">been told it’s all in their head</a>.</p> <p>Community-driven not-for-profit organisations such as <a href="https://www.painrevolution.org/">Pain Revolution</a> are training health professionals to be good pain educators and raising awareness among the general public about the modern science of pain and the best treatments. Pain Revolution has partnered with dozens of health services and community agencies to train more than <a href="https://www.painrevolution.org/find-a-lpe">80 local pain educators</a> and supported them to bring greater understanding and improved care to their colleagues and community.</p> <p>But a broader system-wide approach, with government, industry and philanthropic support, is needed to expand these programs and fund good pain education. To solve the massive problem of chronic back pain, effective interventions need to be part of standard care, not as a last resort after years of increasing pain, suffering and disability.<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/222513/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sarah-wallwork-1361569">Sarah Wallwork</a>, Post-doctoral Researcher, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lorimer-moseley-1552">Lorimer Moseley</a>, Professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Foundation Chair in Physiotherapy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</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/how-long-does-back-pain-last-and-how-can-learning-about-pain-increase-the-chance-of-recovery-222513">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Body

John Boland’s battle against prostate cancer and the urgent need for reform

<p>John Boland, a 74-year-old retired Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander, found himself at a crossroads – a place where hope and despair often meet in the lives of those battling life-threatening illnesses like prostate cancer. </p> <p>Diagnosed five years ago, John’s journey has been a relentless fight against a disease that, despite medical advancements, still claims the lives of 10 men in Australia every day.</p> <p>After undergoing surgery and 37 rounds of radiation therapy, John’s battle was far from over. His PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) levels, an indicator of prostate cancer activity, were not dropping sufficiently, signalling that the fight was only getting tougher. It was then that John was introduced to a groundbreaking treatment: Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy (LuPSMA), a targeted radionuclide therapy with pinpoint accuracy to attack cancer cells.</p> <p>This innovative treatment offered a glimmer of hope, a chance to strike at the heart of the disease that had disrupted his life. But there was a catch – the cost. Each round of LuPSMA treatment costs $10,000, and while some patients may require up to eight rounds, John’s doctors recommended two based on his response. Even so, the financial burden was immense, forcing John to dip into his superannuation, ultimately spending $60,000 on the treatment that was not covered by insurance.</p> <p>Despite the financial strain, the results were nothing short of miraculous. After just the first round, John’s PSA levels dropped by a staggering 95%. After the second, they fell to nearly zero. The treatment had not only attacked the cancer but had also restored his quality of life, allowing him to once again enjoy the simple pleasures – time with family, daily activities and even golf. It was a victory that brought renewed hope and confidence for the future, a victory that made the $60,000 investment worth every cent.</p> <p>“My case was remarkably successful after the second treatment, which are eight weeks apart, after the scan had no cancer, and my PSA was effective to zero. So it was a reliable result for me and a huge boost, but unfortunately, they're $10,000 a time, and you can require up to eight treatments,” says John. “Fortunately we were able to fund it from our superannuation pension account, the $20,000, but I imagine that a lot of people, they can’t find that $20,000.”</p> <p>But John’s story, while inspiring, also highlights a grim reality: many Australians are not as fortunate. The LuPSMA treatment that worked so well for John remains out of reach for many others due to its prohibitive cost. And this isn’t just an isolated issue; it’s a systemic problem affecting thousands of men across the country.</p> <p>A new report, the <a href="https://www.pcfa.org.au/media/nbennwom/aus-np-1123-80001-amgen-access-gap-report_april-2024-data-final-approved.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Patient Access Gap Report</a>, has shed light on the alarming delay in the public availability of new medicines in Australia. The report reveals that Australians with life-threatening illnesses are waiting an average of 591 days – more than 18 months – for access to new, potentially life-saving medicines. For some, the wait can be as long as three years. These delays are not just statistics; they represent real people, real lives hanging in the balance.</p> <p>The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA), the country’s leading organisation in the fight against prostate cancer, is calling for urgent reform. They argue that the current system, which often requires multiple rounds of review before new treatments are approved for public use, is failing Australians. </p> <p>PCFA CEO Anne Savage points out that while 10 men die from prostate cancer every day, the approval process for new treatments drags on, leaving patients like John Boland to fend for themselves – often at great financial and emotional cost. “In almost every instance, Australians are being denied access to new medicines that can extend and save their lives, simply because our approval systems have not kept up with the pace of change,” she says. </p> <p>“In relation to prostate cancer, applications typically undergo two or three rounds of review before achieving a positive recommendation, while 10 men die a day from the disease. It’s simply not good enough.”</p> <p>John’s story serves as a strong call to action. His successful treatment with LuPSMA is a testament to the power of modern medicine, but it also underscores the urgent need for change. No one should have to choose between their life savings and their life; it’s time for Australia to modernise its pharmaceutical benefits scheme, ensuring that all Australians, regardless of their financial situation, have access to the treatments they need.</p> <p>As we move forward, the PCFA is urging Australians to take part in initiatives like <a href="https://www.thelongrun.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Long Run</a> during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, raising awareness and funds to support the fight against this devastating disease. </p> <p>For John Boland, and for the thousands of others who share his struggle, we must work towards a future where no one is left behind in the fight against cancer.</p> <p><em>Image: Courtesy of John Boland.</em></p>

Caring

Flight attendant shares travel tips for loved-up couples

<p dir="ltr">A flight attendant has shared what loved-up couples should not do when taking a trip together. </p> <p dir="ltr">Seasoned cabin crew member Suzanne Bucknam has warned couples to be wary of appropriate behaviour, and advised against these travel “icks”. </p> <p dir="ltr">Suzie told <em><a href="https://www.skyparksecure.com/">SkyParkSecure</a></em>, that one thing couples should be aware of when travelling are public displays of affection (PDA), which could land you in trouble. </p> <p dir="ltr">"A kiss on the lips or handholding doesn't warrant ick status but making out and putting a blanket over each other's laps gets very uncomfortable for everyone in the vicinity," Suzanne explains.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I've seen several couples attempt to join the mile-high club either in the bathroom or, worse, at their seats with said blanket over them. In fact, I've caught a couple with their pants down in the back of our plane once. We did an emergency landing and had them escorted off the plane, then got back in the air without them.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"It should be known that you can be arrested for public indecency, and flight attendants won't be afraid to call the authorities if they see you trying to get too cosy with your partner."</p> <p dir="ltr">Another must do for travelling couples is to book your plane seats together, rather than ask other passengers to change seats. </p> <p dir="ltr">"A simple boarding process can become a nightmare if couples don't book seats together but demand another passenger to move," she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Not only does it slow the process down significantly, but it often causes an altercation between passengers when someone won't move. Someone picked and paid for that seat, so they are well within their right to turn down a request to switch."</p> <p dir="ltr">Suzie said that while she understands couples, especially honeymooners, are excited about their travels, that doesn’t give them the right to make demands, and being difficult will get you nowhere. </p> <p dir="ltr">"What I wish all honeymooners knew before travelling somewhere is that, just because they're celebrating, it doesn't mean others have to celebrate or contribute to that celebration. If you do get a free upgrade or a free drink, fantastic! But please don't demand one from an unsuspecting flight attendant," she explains.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And as an employee who has been in that situation, it's just plain awkward if there are no upgrades available, and it's against the airline's policy to give freebies."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p> </p>

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