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What happens if you want access to voluntary assisted dying but your nursing home won’t let you?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/neera-bhatia-15189">Neera Bhatia</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charles-corke-167297">Charles Corke</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Voluntary assisted dying is now lawful in <a href="https://theconversation.com/voluntary-assisted-dying-will-soon-be-legal-in-all-states-heres-whats-just-happened-in-nsw-and-what-it-means-for-you-183355">all Australian states</a>. There is also <a href="https://nationalseniors.com.au/uploads/VAD-Report-correct-month-12.8.21.pdf">widespread community support</a> for it. Yet some residential institutions, such as hospices and aged-care facilities, are obstructing access despite the law not specifying whether they have the legal right to do so. As voluntary assisted dying is implemented across the country, institutions blocking access to it will likely become more of an issue. So addressing this will help everyone – institutions, staff, families and, most importantly, people dying in institutions who wish to have control of their end. <h2>The many ways to block access</h2> While voluntary assisted dying legislation recognises the right of doctors to <a href="https://theconversation.com/was-take-on-assisted-dying-has-many-similarities-with-the-victorian-law-and-some-important-differences-121554">conscientiously object</a> to it, the law is generally silent on the rights of institutions to do so. While the institution where someone lives has no legislated role in voluntary assisted dying, it can refuse access in various ways, including: <ul> <li> restricting staff responding to a discussion a resident initiates about voluntary assisted dying </li> <li> refusing access to health professionals to facilitate it, and </li> <li> requiring people who wish to pursue the option to leave the facility. </li> </ul> <h2>Here’s what happened to ‘Mary’</h2> Here is a hypothetical example based on cases one of us (Charles Corke) has learned of via his role at Victoria’s <a href="https://www.safercare.vic.gov.au/about/vadrb">Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board</a>. We have chosen to combine several different cases into one, to respect the confidentiality of the individuals and organisations involved. “Mary” was a 72-year-old widow who moved into a private aged-care facility when she could no longer manage independently in her own home due to advanced lung disease. While her intellect remained intact, she accepted she had reached a stage at which she needed significant assistance. She appreciated the help she received. She liked the staff and they liked her. After a year in the facility, during which time her lung disease got much worse, Mary decided she wanted access to voluntary assisted dying. Her children were supportive, particularly as this desire was consistent with Mary’s longstanding views. Mary was open about her wish with the nursing home staff she felt were her friends. The executive management of the nursing home heard of her intentions. This resulted in a visit at which Mary was told, in no uncertain terms, her wish to access voluntary assisted dying would not be allowed. She would be required to move out, unless she agreed to change her mind. Mary was upset. Her family was furious. She really didn’t want to move, but really wanted to continue with voluntary assisted dying “in her current home” (as she saw it). Mary decided to continue with her wish. Her family took her to see two doctors registered to provide assessments for voluntary assisted dying, who didn’t work at the facility. Mary was deemed eligible and the permit was granted. Two pharmacists visited Mary at the nursing home, gave her the medication and instructed her how to mix it and take it. These actions required no active participation from the nursing home or its staff. Family and friends arranged to visit at the time Mary indicated she planned to take the medication. She died peacefully, on her own terms, as she wished. The family informed the nursing home staff their mother had died. Neither family nor staff mentioned voluntary assisted dying. <h2>Staff are in a difficult position too</h2> There is widespread community support for voluntary assisted dying. In a 2021 survey by National Seniors Australia, <a href="https://nationalseniors.com.au/uploads/VAD-Report-correct-month-12.8.21.pdf">more than 85%</a> of seniors agreed it should be available. So it’s likely there will be staff who are supportive in most institutions. For instance, in a survey of attitudes to voluntary assisted dying in a large public tertiary hospital, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/imj.15285">88% of staff</a> supported it becoming lawful. So a blanket policy to refuse dying patients access to voluntary assisted dying is likely to place staff in a difficult position. An institution risks creating a toxic workplace culture, in which clandestine communication and fear become entrenched. <h2>What could we do better?</h2> 1. Institutions need to be up-front about their policies Institutions need to be completely open about their policies on voluntary assisted dying and whether they would obstruct any such request in the future. This is so patients and families can factor this into deciding on an institution in the first place. 2. Institutions need to consult their stakeholders Institutions should consult their stakeholders about their policy with a view to creating a “<a href="https://bmcpalliatcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12904-021-00891-3">safe</a>” environment for residents and staff – for those who want access to voluntary assisted dying or who wish to support it, and for those who don’t want it and find it confronting. 3. Laws need to change Future legislation should define the extent of an institution’s right to obstruct a resident’s right to access voluntary assisted dying. There should be safeguards in all states (as is already legislated <a href="https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2021/5721T707.pdf">in Queensland</a>), including the ability for individuals to be referred in sufficient time to another institution, should they wish to access voluntary assisted dying. Other states should consider whether it is reasonable to permit a resident, who does not wish to move, to be able to stay and proceed with their wish, without direct involvement of the institution. <hr /> The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Victoria’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board.<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/183364/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/neera-bhatia-15189">Neera Bhatia</a>, Associate Professor in Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charles-corke-167297">Charles Corke</a>, Associate Professor of Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-if-you-want-access-to-voluntary-assisted-dying-but-your-nursing-home-wont-let-you-183364">original article</a>. </div>

Caring

Ozempic isn’t approved for weight loss in Australia. So how are people accessing it?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-bartlett-849104">Andrew Bartlett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> To say that Ozempic is a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/31/obesity-drug-ozempic-novo-nordisk-record-wegovy">blockbuster drug</a> is an understatement. Manufacturer Novo Nordisk is scrambling to expand production sites to keep up with global demand. While Ozempic is only approved for the treatment of diabetes in Australia, it is also marketed overseas for weight loss under the brand name Wegovy. Social media is full of posts and endorsements by celebrities who are using it for weight loss. Faced with limited access in Australia, some people who need the medication for diabetes can’t access it. Others are turning to the internet to source it from compounding pharmacies – a practice Australia’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), plans to clamp down on. <h2>How doctors are prescribing Ozempic</h2> Use of Ozempic for weight loss in Australia is considered “<a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023#why-the-tga-cant-stop-offlabel-prescribing">off label</a>”. This is when a doctor prescribes a medicine for a purpose outside of what is approved. Ozempic is only approved to be used for the treatment of diabetes in Australia, but its off-label prescribing for weight loss is driving <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023#when-will-the-ozempic-shortage-end">shortages</a> which the TGA thinks will last until 2025. To manage these shortages, Australian doctors and pharmacies are being asked <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023#information-for-prescribers">not to start new patients</a> on Ozempic and to prioritise it for patients with type 2 diabetes who are already stabilised on this medicine. However, the TGA <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023#why-the-tga-cant-stop-offlabel-prescribing">says</a> it: "does not have the power to regulate the clinical decisions of health professionals and is unable to prevent doctors from using their clinical judgement to prescribe Ozempic for other health conditions." <h2>Why can’t we just make more?</h2> The active ingredient in Ozempic, semaglutide, is a delicate <a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-the-difference-between-a-peptide-and-a-protein">peptide</a> molecule made up of two small chains of amino acids. It’s just one in a family of drugs that are classified as GLP-1 inhibitors. Because it’s a peptide, its manufacture is complex and requires specialised facilities beyond those used to make normal chemical-based drugs. It is also delivered via an injection, meaning that it has to be manufactured under strict conditions to ensure it is both sterile and temperature controlled. This means increasing production is not as simple as just deciding to manufacture more. Its manufacturer <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023#why-the-tga-cant-stop-offlabel-prescribing">needs time</a> to build new facilities to increase production. <h2>Compounding pharmacies are making their own</h2> <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/guidance-compliance-regulatory-information/human-drug-compounding#:%7E:text=Compounding%20is%20generally%20a%20practice,needs%20of%20an%20individual%20patient">Compounding</a> is the practice of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients of a drug to create a formulation tailored to the needs of an individual patient. Australian law allows <a href="https://www.pharmacyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines.aspx">pharmacists to compound</a> only when it is for the treatment of a particular patient to meet their individual clinical need and there is no suitable commercially manufactured product available. An example is making a liquid form of a drug from a tablet for people unable to swallow. Compounded products are not held to the same safety, quality and efficacy standards required for mass produced medicines. This recognises the one-off nature of such compounded medicines and the professional training of the pharmacists who prepare them. Recently, pharmacies have been relying on these compounding rules to produce their own Ozempic-like products at scale and ship them to consumers around Australia. However, there are risks when using these products. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/medications-containing-semaglutide-marketed-type-2-diabetes-or-weight-loss#:%7E:text=Are%20there%20concerns%20with%20compounded,available%20to%20treat%20a%20patient.">warned consumers</a> of the dangers of using compounded formulations that contain particular salt formulations of semaglutide. It has received more reports of side effects in patients using these products. <h2>How the regulator plans to tighten the loophole</h2> The TGA is taking a number of steps to tighten the compounding loophole and there are ongoing investigations in this area. In December 2023, the agency issued a <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-alerts/compounding-safety-information-semaglutide-products">public safety warning</a> on the dangers of these compounded medicines. More recently, it has proposed <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-29/compounding-pharmacies-mounjaro-ozempic/103283926">removing GLP-1 drugs</a>, which includes Ozempic, from Australia’s compounding exemptions. This would effectively ban pharmacies from making off-brand Ozempic. This proposal is <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/consultation-remove-glucagon-peptide-1-glp-1-receptor-agonist-analogues-pharmacist-extemporaneous-compounding-exemption">currently under consultation</a> and a final decision is expected by June this year. If you want to access the drug for weight loss before the shortage is over, be aware that compounded products are not identical to approved Ozempic and have not been evaluated for safety, quality and efficacy. Supply of copycat versions is also likely to be limited, given the ongoing TGA crackdown. <hr /> Read the other articles in The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ozempic-132745">Ozempic series</a> here.<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/224859/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, Associate Lecturer, Sydney Pharmacy School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-bartlett-849104">Andrew Bartlett</a>, Associate Lecturer Pharmacy Practice, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, Associate Professor of the School of Pharmacy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ozempic-isnt-approved-for-weight-loss-in-australia-so-how-are-people-accessing-it-224859">original article</a>.

Body

Attempts to access Kate Middleton’s medical records are no surprise. Such breaches are all too common

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bruce-baer-arnold-1408">Bruce Baer Arnold</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-20/claim-hospital-staff-tried-to-access-kate-middleton-health-info/103608066">alleged</a> data breach involving Catherine, Princess of Wales tells us something about health privacy. If hospital staff can apparently access a future queen’s medical records without authorisation, it can happen to you. Indeed it may have already happened to you, given many breaches of health data go under the radar. Here’s why breaches of health data keep on happening. <h2>What did we learn this week?</h2> Details of the alleged data breaches, by <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/breaking-kate-middleton-three-london-32401247">up to three staff</a> at The London Clinic, emerged in the UK media this week. These breaches are alleged to have occurred after the princess had abdominal surgery at the private hospital earlier this year. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office <a href="https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/03/ico-statement-in-response-to-reports-of-data-breach-at-the-london-clinic/">is investigating</a>. Its report should provide some clarity about what medical data was improperly accessed, in what form and by whom. But it is unlikely to identify whether this data was given to a third party, such as a media organisation. <h2>Health data isn’t always as secure as we’d hope</h2> Medical records are inherently sensitive, providing insights about individuals and often about biological relatives. In an ideal world, only the “right people” would have access to these records. These are people who “need to know” that information and are aware of the responsibility of accessing it. Best practice digital health systems typically try to restrict overall access to databases through hack-resistant firewalls. They also try to limit access to specific types of data through grades of access. This means a hospital accountant, nurse or cleaner does not get to see everything. Such systems also incorporate blocks or alarms where there is potential abuse, such as unauthorised copying. But in practice each health records ecosystem – in GP and specialist suites, pathology labs, research labs, hospitals – is less robust, often with fewer safeguards and weaker supervision. <h2>This has happened before</h2> Large health-care providers and insurers, including major hospitals or chains of hospitals, have a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/22/st-vincents-health-australia-hack-cyberattack-data-stolen-hospital-aged-care-what-to-do">worrying</a> <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/medical-information-leaked-in-nsw-health-hack-20210608-p57z7k">history</a> of <a href="https://www.innovationaus.com/oaic-takes-pathology-company-to-court-over-data-breach/">digital breaches</a>. Those breaches include hackers accessing the records of millions of people. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/11/medical-data-hacked-from-10m-australians-begins-to-appear-on-dark-web">Medibank</a> data breach involved more than ten million people. The <a href="https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics/">Anthem</a> data breach in the United States involved more than 78 million people. Hospitals and clinics have also had breaches specific to a particular individual. Many of those breaches involved unauthorised sighting (and often copying) of hardcopy or digital files, for example by nurses, clinicians and administrative staff. For instance, this has happened to public figures such as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-15-me-britney15-story.html">singer</a> <a href="https://journals.lww.com/healthcaremanagerjournal/abstract/2009/01000/health_information_privacy__why_trust_matters.11.aspx">Britney Spears</a>, actor <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/nyregion/10clooney.html">George Clooney</a> and former United Kingdom prime minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/20/when-fame-and-medical-privacy-clash-kate-and-other-crises-of-confidentiality">Gordon Brown</a>. Indeed, the Princess of Wales has had her medical privacy breached before, in 2012, while in hospital pregnant with her first child. This was no high-tech hacking of health data. Hoax callers from an Australian radio station <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-2day-fm-break-the-law-and-does-it-matter-11250">tricked</a> hospital staff into divulging details over the phone of the then Duchess of Cambridge’s health care. <h2>Tip of the iceberg</h2> Some unauthorised access to medical information goes undetected or is indeed undetectable unless there is an employment dispute or media involvement. Some is identified by colleagues. Records about your health might have been improperly sighted by someone in the health system. But you are rarely in a position to evaluate the data management of a clinic, hospital, health department or pathology lab. So we have to trust people do the right thing. <h2>How could we improve things?</h2> Health professions have long emphasised the need to protect these records. For instance, medical ethics bodies <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2255">condemn</a> medical students who <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-14/picture-sharing-app-for-doctors-raises-privacy-concerns/5389226">share</a> intimate or otherwise inappropriate images of patients. Different countries have various approaches to protecting who has access to medical records and under what circumstances. In Australia, for instance, we have a mix of complex and inconsistent laws that vary across jurisdictions, some covering privacy in general, others specific to health data. There isn’t one comprehensive law and set of standards <a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-privacy-review-has-some-strong-recommendations-now-we-really-need-action-200079">vigorously administered</a> by one well-resourced watchdog. In Australia, it’s mandatory to report <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches">data breaches</a>, including breaches of health data. This reporting system is currently <a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-privacy-review-has-some-strong-recommendations-now-we-really-need-action-200079">being updated</a>. But this won’t necessarily prevent data breaches. Instead, we need to incentivise Australian organisations to improve how they handle sensitive health data. The best policy <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-4932.12693">nudges</a> involve increasing penalties for breaches. This is so organisations act as responsible custodians rather than negligent owners of health data. We also need to step-up enforcement of data breaches and make it easier for victims to sue for breaches of privacy – princesses and tradies alike.<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/226303/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bruce-baer-arnold-1408">Bruce Baer Arnold</a>, Associate Professor, School of Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/attempts-to-access-kate-middletons-medical-records-are-no-surprise-such-breaches-are-all-too-common-226303">original article</a>. Images: Getty

Legal

What does a building need to call itself ‘accessible’ – and is that enough?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ilan-wiesel-303040">Ilan Wiesel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-bentley-173502">Rebecca Bentley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> The <a href="https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/resources/reports/working-together-deliver-ndis">National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) review</a> and the disability royal commission’s <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-09/Final%20Report%20-%20Volume%207%2C%20Inclusive%20education%2C%20employment%20and%20housing%20-%20Part%20C.pdf">final report</a> both highlighted the crucial role of accessible buildings and homes in ensuring the inclusion of people with disabilities. But the experiences of people with disability show Australia is a very long way from achieving this. There are the stories from people with disability who <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-25/taylor-swift-concert-disability-access-concerns/102520088">can’t enjoy events</a> or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-09/harry-styles-concert-disability-tickets-consumer-rights/102060698">venues</a>. And researchers say even <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/our-research/research-impact/case-studies/are-our-accessible-bathrooms-inaccessible-to-people-in-wheelchairs">accessible bathrooms are not usable</a> for half the people with disability. What can be called an accessible building or home? And should standards be improved? <h2>What is accessibility?</h2> The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability</a> includes the right to accessibility. Australia’s 1992 <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/frequently-asked-questions-access-premises">Disability Discrimination Act</a> includes premises standards to ensure people with disability have “dignified, equitable, cost-effective and reasonably achievable access to buildings, facilities and services”. However, a building is exempt if the owners can demonstrate modifying a building would cause them “unjustifiable hardship”. The burden of making a complaint about an inaccessible building falls on people with disability and the act also does not apply to private homes. Although experts follow different definitions of accessibility, they generally include some key principles: <ul> <li> easy entry and exit into a building </li> <li> easy navigation and functionality in and around the building </li> <li> potential for easy adaptation in response to changing needs of occupants. </li> </ul> An accessible building is one where people of all abilities are able move and carry out activities independently, safely, in comfort and with dignity. For people with disabilities <a href="https://disability.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3969109/Accessible-Housing-Research-Report-22-October-2020.pdf">many buildings are inaccessible</a>. In these buildings, basic everyday activities such as taking a shower or preparing breakfast becomes difficult, tiring, uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous. Some people have been <a href="https://disability.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3969109/Accessible-Housing-Research-Report-22-October-2020.pdf">injured</a> repeatedly in inaccessible homes, for example falling down a staircase. Such injuries may compound their disability. Many people with disabilities worry that if they’re injured at home, they will be forced to move permanently into a nursing home. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718523001525">Studies</a> have found living in inaccessible homes severely harms the dignity, independence, social inclusion, employment, health and wellbeing of people with disabilities. People become more reliant on family members for support, putting strain on their relationships. Difficulty getting in and out of the house for social activities worsens social isolation. A sense of fatigue also reduces the motivation and capacity to work. <h2>Access through the front door</h2> Dignity is a crucial aspect of accessibility but it is often forgotten. For example, many buildings’ front entry has stairs that make it inaccessible for wheelchair users. There may be an accessible ramp entry in the back of the building. The building is then considered accessible, since wheelchair users can enter and exit. But such a “backdoor treatment” can be experienced as an indignity and discrimination. Accessible toilets are sometimes used for <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/most-public-toilets-inaccessible-to-people-with-disabilities/adsx7cnr8">storage, locked or out of order</a>. Again, although the design meets accessibility standards, in practice the building is inaccessible because of poor management. And accessibility is not exclusively about physical disabilities and physical barriers. People with cognitive disabilities, for example, might struggle to find their way in a building if way-finding signs are difficult to understand. <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-people-with-communication-disability-complaining-about-their-treatment-isnt-so-simple-214717">Communication accessibility</a> in building is achieved when the information needed to navigate and use the building is understood by everyone, no matter how they communicate. <h2>Silver, gold and platinum standards</h2> There are different levels of accessibility. In Australia, housing accessibility is most often assessed according to <a href="https://livablehousingaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SLLHA_GuidelinesJuly2017FINAL4.pdf">Livable Housing Australia</a>’s (LHA) three standards of silver, gold and platinum. Silver-level homes have minimal accessibility features, but are designed in a way that enables easy home modifications over time. The silver standard of accessibility requires seven features: • a step-free path of travel from the street or parking area • at least one step-free entrance • internal doors and corridors that allow comfortable movement, including for people using wheelchairs • a toilet on the entry level with easy access • a bathroom with a hobless shower recess, so there isn’t a step-over barrier to entry • reinforced walls around the toilet, shower and bath. These allow installation of grabrails later if needed • stairways designed to reduce the risk of injury and also enable future adaptation. Gold-level homes have additional accessibility features. Platinum homes are designed for people with higher mobility needs and to allow ageing at home. <h2>A patchwork of standards and what the NDIS review says</h2> In 2021 Australian housing ministers <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/news/building-ministers-meeting-communique-april-2021">agreed for the first time</a> to introduce minimum accessibility standards in the National Construction Code. It followed decades of campaigning by activist groups such as the <a href="https://anuhd.org/">Australian Network for Universal Housing Design</a>, <a href="https://riaustralia.org/">Rights and Inclusion Australia</a> and the <a href="https://www.summerfoundation.org.au/">Summer Foundation</a>. The code requires all new homes be built to silver standards. It does not apply to existing homes and exemptions will apply for some newly built homes because of site restrictions. When the code was introduced, New South Wales and Western Australia announced they would not adopt the new code. Both the NDIS review and the disability royal commission recommended all states and territories <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2023-09/Final%20Report%20-%20Volume%207%2C%20Inclusive%20education%2C%20employment%20and%20housing%20-%20Part%20C.pdf">immediately adopt</a> the code’s new accessibility standards. A consistent application of the code’s new standards across Australia is a good start. But the code provides only the minimum standard of accessibility. To make buildings and homes truly accessible, we need to improve education on accessibility for designers, operators and consumers. <h2>An urgent national priority</h2> With Australia’s ageing population, most people will experience disability – or have a household member with disability – at some point. Accessible homes and buildings can reduce pressure on the health system and improve quality of life. A consistent national construction code is just the first step urgently needed to improve building accessibility and inclusion so people with disability have autonomy and flourish.<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/217278/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ilan-wiesel-303040">Ilan Wiesel</a>, Associate Professor in Urban Geography, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-bentley-173502">Rebecca Bentley</a>, Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-a-building-need-to-call-itself-accessible-and-is-that-enough-217278">original article</a>.

Caring

A new monarch who is a divorcee would once have scandalised. But Charles’ accession shows how much has changed

King Charles III is the first British monarch who has previously had a civil marriage and a civil divorce. In 1981, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/july/wedding-of-prince-charles-and-lady-diana-spencer">married Lady Diana Spencer</a> in a fairytale wedding watched by 750 million people worldwide. However, the royal couple <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1992-12-09/debates/ecfacae4-f52c-461c-b253-d7c04a299735/PrinceAndPrincessOfWales">separated in 1992</a> and they were <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9608/28/royal.divorce/decree/">divorced in 1996</a>. The marriage had spectacularly broken down. Charles later went on to marry his long-time love interest Camilla Parker-Bowles. They married in a civil ceremony in 2005. This broke with the tradition of royal family members getting married in an Anglican church ceremony. The extramarital relationship of Charles and Camilla prevented them from being remarried in church. But there was a subsequent <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g19135643/prince-charles-camilla-wedding-photos/">service of prayer and dedication</a>. Queen Elizabeth II <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4289225.stm">declined to attend the wedding</a>, reportedly because it conflicted with her role to uphold the Christian faith as supreme governor of the Church of England. The accession of Charles to the throne is not only politically significant, but also carries religious importance. Charles is the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/king-charles-defender-of-faith-what-the-monarchys-long-relationship-with-religion-may-look-like-under-the-new-sovereign-190766">defender of the faith</a>” and the supreme governor. Charles’ status as a divorcee puts him at odds with his religious roles. <h2>Royal divorces</h2> <a href="https://www.history.com/news/henry-viii-wives">King Henry VIII</a> was infamous for having six wives in the 16th century. He annulled his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. This meant the marriage was never legally valid to begin with. <a href="https://archives.blog.parliament.uk/2020/06/02/the-queen-caroline-affair/">King George IV</a> was almost successful in divorcing his wife Queen Caroline in 1820. At the time, divorce could only be granted by Act of Parliament. The trial took place in the House of Lords. The king accused his wife of committing adultery as grounds for divorce. However, Prime Minister Lord Liverpool eventually withdrew the divorce bill due to political pressure. <a href="https://www.royal.uk/edward-viii">King Edward VIII</a> was forced to abdicate in 1936 because he wanted to marry an American divorcee Wallis Simpson. This conflicted with his role as supreme governor. While Charles was in a similar position to his great-uncle in his marriage to Camilla, they lived in different worlds. The Conservative government and the Church of England simply could not tolerate Edward’s marriage to a divorcee. It was viewed as an affront to morality. Similarly, <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/news/a8139/princess-margaret-peter-townsend-love-affair/">Princess Margaret</a> was pressured to not marry the divorcee Group Captain Peter Townsend. As the sister of the queen, the marriage would have been scandalous in some circles. Queen Elizabeth called 1992 the “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-22/2021-could-be-queen-elizabeth-ii-second-annus-horibilis/100643696">annus horribilis</a>” (horrible year) for the royal family. Her three children Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew’s marriages had all broken down. Divorce by then had become increasingly acceptable in society. <h2>Royal civil marriage</h2> Charles had to seek his mother’s permission to marry Camilla. The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/apgb/Geo3/12/11/1991-02-01?view=extent">Royal Marriages Act 1772</a> stipulated that all descendants of King George II were required to seek the consent of the sovereign to marry. This law was repealed in 2013. Only the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/20/enacted">first six persons</a> in the line of succession now have to seek the sovereign’s permission to marry. There was controversy at the time whether a member of the royal family could legally marry in a civil ceremony. The <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/relationships/overview/lawofmarriage-/">Marriage Act 1836</a> permitted civil marriages. But the law stated this did not apply to members of the royal family. The British government released a <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldhansrd/vo050224/text/50224-51.htm#50224-51_head0">statement</a> declaring Charles could legally enter into a civil marriage. The view was the Marriage Act 1949 had repealed the previous legislation. The government also argued there was a right to marry under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights. The civil marriage of Charles and Camilla symbolised the changing values of society. The view of marriage had shifted from a moral commitment to a celebratory union. This marked the modernisation of the monarchy over tradition. <h2>A modern monarchy</h2> The accession of a divorcee as king a generation earlier would have been unpalatable to many. But Charles embodies the modern character of monarchy and the liberal values of wider society. Charles has recently <a href="https://www.royal.uk/kings-remarks-faith-leaders">affirmed</a> his commitment to Anglican Christianity. This is an acknowledgement of his constitutional role in the <a href="https://www.royal.uk/act-settlement-0#:%7E:text=The%20Act%20of%20Settlement%20of,succession%20for%20Mary%20II's%20heirs.">Act of Settlement 1701</a>. Only Protestant Christians can claim succession to the crown. It also affirms his role as nominal ruler of the Church of England. The monarch still <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance">appoints bishops</a> on the advice of the prime minister. Anglicanism is the official state religion of England. Yet Charles is also pushing for a modern monarchy. He has viewed himself as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/09/king-charles-to-be-defender-of-the-faith-but-also-a-defender-of-faiths">defender of diversity</a>. Upholding a space for multifaith practice and expression of secular ideals form part of the agenda of his reign. The monarchy faces a tension between modernity and tradition. As a divorced and remarried monarch, Charles III represents the reinvention of the crown, an ancient institution that seeks to embrace its role in a multicultural, religiously diverse and more open and tolerant society. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-monarch-who-is-a-divorcee-would-once-have-scandalised-but-charles-accession-shows-how-much-has-changed-204544" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Relationships

What happened when we gave unemployed Australians early access to their super? We’ve just found out

One of the most <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2310/references.pdf">well-established</a> practical observations in economics is that when we give an unemployed person a payment, it tends to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2523111">delay their return to work</a>. Rightly or wrongly, it is an argument used to justify a rate of JobSeeker <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Newstartrelatedpayments/Report/section?id=committees%2freportsen%2f024323%2f72958">one third</a> below the pension. How well does the finding apply if the payment is a A$10,000 lump sum delivered at the height of a pandemic, funded through a corresponding reduction in someone’s retirement savings? That is what we and colleague Timothy Watson at the ANU Tax and Transfer Institute set out to examine as part of <a href="https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/taxstudies_crawford_anu_edu_au/2022-06/complete_wp_sainsbury_breunig_watson_jun_2022.pdf">new research</a>. <h2>The early release of super</h2> By way of recap, the COVID early access to superannuation announced on <a href="https://theconversation.com/scalable-without-limit-how-the-government-plans-to-get-coronavirus-support-into-our-hands-quickly-134353">Sunday 22 March 2020</a> was available to people who faced a 20% decline in working hours (or turnover for sole traders), were made unemployed or redundant, or received JobSeeker or related benefit. These people were able to take out lump sums of up to $10,000 between April and June 2020, and a further $10,000 between July and December 2020. The maximum $10,000 represented approximately 13 weeks of (effectively <a href="https://theconversation.com/scalable-without-limit-how-the-government-plans-to-get-coronavirus-support-into-our-hands-quickly-134353">doubled</a>) unemployment benefit, and eight weeks of the minimum wage. In essence, the government offered a bargain like this, "You know those superannuation savings you probably won’t be able to access until your late 60s? Well, life’s scary and uncertain. So here’s a chance to take out $10,000! You can only make use of it in the next three months though. That said, there’s a second chance in the next six months if you still qualify." Three million Australians responded, close to one fifth of the population aged 16 to 65 with super accounts. Seven in ten took out the maximum $10,000. This made the $38 billion withdrawn the second largest stimulus measure in 2020 behind the $88 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy, and one of the biggest stimulus measures in Australian history. <h2>Withdrawals delayed the return to work</h2> We were given access to de-identified administrative records that link takeup of the offer to the length of stay on the unemployment benefit. Focusing on the half a million Australians who arrived on payments as economic and social conditions deteriorated in the initial months 2020, we compared the length of time on benefits of the more than 230,000 who took advantage of early release with the 300,000 individuals who did not. We calculate that the withdrawers who completed their time on benefits by June 2021 (about 162,000) spent about seven weeks longer on benefits than similarly-placed recipients who didn’t withdraw. The chart below shows the story. A big gap in the rate of exit from benefits opens up between those who took advantage of the opportunity to access their super and those who did not, with those who used more likely to stay on benefits. The gap grows over the first 13 weeks on benefits, then narrows only slowly, taking 18 months to come close to closing. <h2>Probability of staying on benefits, first lot of withdrawals</h2> Interestingly, those who withdrew are also those we would ordinarily have expected to spend less time on benefits. They tended to have higher pre-COVID wages and superannuation balances, and were more likely to be married, male, and have children. <h2>Probability of staying on benefits, second lot of withdrawals</h2> Factor in an extensive collection of population characteristics, and – after a battery of sensitivity and robustness checks – we found that the large lump sums had large effects in extending benefit tenures. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being pushed into work too soon can push people into the wrong jobs. But we find no evidence that those who stayed out longer because of withdrawing their super found higher-paying jobs. <h2>Implications</h2> From today’s standpoint, two years on, with unemployment the lowest in almost 50 years, it is clear that early access to super delayed rather than prevented unemployed Australians returning to work. But that mightn’t have been the case if the early withdrawal measure had been introduced at a different time, when the labour market wasn’t about to pick up. It is also clear that the measure helped people when they needed it, although it is too early to assess its impact on their rest-of-life incomes and super balances. A further thing we can say is that early withdrawals should not be considered private “off balance sheet” matters without an impact on public finances. A back-of-the-envelope calculation puts the cost of additional benefit payments to the 162,000 withdrawers we studied at $600 million, a figure that might climb to $1 billion if applied to everyone who used the scheme. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happened-when-we-gave-unemployed-australians-early-access-to-their-super-weve-just-found-out-188440" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Retirement Income

Instagram and Facebook are stalking you on websites accessed through their apps. What can you do about it?

Social media platforms have had some bad <a href="https://theconversation.com/concerns-over-tiktok-feeding-user-data-to-beijing-are-back-and-theres-good-evidence-to-support-them-186211" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press</a> in recent times, largely prompted by the vast extent of their data collection. Now Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has upped the ante. Not content with following every move you make on its apps, Meta has reportedly devised a way to also know everything you do in external websites accessed through its apps. Why is it going to such lengths? And is there a way to avoid this surveillance? ‘Injecting’ code to follow you Meta has a custom in-app browser that operates on Facebook, Instagram and any website you might click through to from both these apps. Now ex-Google engineer and privacy researcher Felix Krause has discovered this proprietary browser has additional program code inserted into it. Krause developed a tool that <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> Instagram and Facebook added up to 18 lines of code to websites visited through Meta’s in-app browsers. This “code injection” enables user tracking and overrides tracking restrictions that browsers such as Chrome and Safari have in place. It allows Meta to collect sensitive user information, including “every button and link tapped, text selections, screenshots, as well as any form inputs, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers”. Krause published his <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings</a> online on August 10, including samples of the <a href="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/pcm.js" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actual code</a>. In response, Meta has said it isn’t doing anything users didn’t consent to. A Meta spokesperson said: <blockquote> We intentionally developed this code to honour people’s [Ask to track] choices on our platforms […] The code allows us to aggregate user data before using it for targeted advertising or measurement purposes. </blockquote> The “code” mentioned in the case is <a href="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/pcm.js" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pcm.js</a> – a script that acts to aggregate a user’s browsing activities. Meta says the script is inserted based on whether users have given consent – and information gained is used only for advertising purposes. So is it acting ethically? Well, the company has done due diligence by informing users of its intention to collect <a href="https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an expanded range</a> of data. However, it stopped short of making clear what the full implications of doing so would be. People might give their consent to tracking in a more general sense, but “informed” consent implies full knowledge of the possible consequences. And, in this case, users were not explicitly made aware their activities on other sites could be followed through a code injection. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Facebook reached out to me, saying the system they’ve built honours the user’s ATT choice. However, this doesn’t change anything about my publication: The Instagram iOS app is actively injecting JavaScript code into all third party websites rendered via their in-app browser. <a href="https://t.co/9h0PIoIOSS">pic.twitter.com/9h0PIoIOSS</a> — Felix Krause (@KrauseFx) <a href="https://twitter.com/KrauseFx/status/1557777320546635776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote> Why is Meta doing this? Data are the central commodity of Meta’s business model. There is astronomical value in the amount of data Meta can collect by injecting a tracking code into third-party websites opened through the Instagram and Facebook apps. At the same time, Meta’s business model is being threatened – and events from the recent past can help shed light on why it’s doing this in the first place. It boils down to the fact that Apple (which owns the Safari browser), Google (which owns Chrome) and the Firefox browser are all actively placing restrictions on Meta’s ability to collect data. Last year, Apple’s iOS 14.5 update came alongside a <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/privacy/control/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requirement</a> that all apps hosted on the Apple app store must get users’ explicit permission to track and collect their data across apps owned by other companies. Meta has <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly</a> said this single iPhone alert is costing its Facebook business US$10 billion each year. Apple’s Safari browser also applies a default setting to block all third-party “cookies”. These are little chunks of <a href="https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/definition/cookies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking code</a> that websites deposit on your computer and which tell the website’s owner about your visit to the site. Google will also soon be phasing out third-party cookies. And Firefox recently announced “total cookie protection” to prevent so-called cross-page tracking. In other words, Meta is being flanked by browsers introducing restrictions on extensive user data tracking. Its response was to create its own browser that circumvents these restrictions. How can I protect myself? On the bright side, users concerned about privacy do have some options. The easiest way to stop Meta tracking your external activities through its in-app browser is to simply not use it; make sure you’re opening web pages in a trusted browser of choice such as Safari, Chrome or Firefox (via the screen shown below). <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /> Click ‘open in browser’ to open a website in a trusted browser such as Safari. screenshot <figure class="align-right "><figcaption></figcaption></figure> If you can’t find this screen option, you can manually copy and paste the web address into a trusted browser. Another option is to access the social media platforms via a browser. So instead of using the Instagram or Facebook app, visit the sites by entering their URL into your trusted browser’s search bar. This should also solve the tracking problem. I’m not suggesting you ditch Facebook or Instagram altogether. But we should all be aware of how our online movements and usage patterns may be carefully recorded and used in ways we’re not told about. Remember: on the internet, if the service is free, you’re probably the product. <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/188645/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-tuffley-13731" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Tuffley</a>, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffith University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/instagram-and-facebook-are-stalking-you-on-websites-accessed-through-their-apps-what-can-you-do-about-it-188645" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Data visualisations made more accessible to screen reader users

A type of assistive technology, screen readers are software programs that scan the contents of a computer screen and transform it into a different format – like synthesised voice or Braille – for people with complete or partial blindness, learning disabilities, or motion sensitivity. Now, scientists from the University of Washington (UW) in the US have designed a JavaScript plugin called VoxLens that allows people to better interact with these visualisations. VoxLens allows screen reader users to gain a high-level summary of the information described in a graph, listen to said graph translated into sound, or use voice-activated commands to ask specific questions about the data, such as the mean or the minimum value. The team presented their <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3491102.3517431" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> last month at the <a href="https://programs.sigchi.org/chi/2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems</a> in New Orleans in the US. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <div class="entry-content-asset"> <div class="embed-wrapper"> <div class="inner"><iframe title="VoxLens - Paper Summary and Demo Video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o1R-5D2WS4s?feature=oembed" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> </div> </div> </div> </figure> “If I’m looking at a graph, I can pull out whatever information I am interested in – maybe it’s the overall trend or maybe it’s the maximum,” says lead author Ather Sharif, a doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at UW. “Right now, screen reader users either get very little or no information about online visualisations, which, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, can sometimes be a matter of life and death. The goal of our project is to give screen reader users a platform where they can extract as much or as little information as they want.” The difficulty with translating graphs, according to co-senior author Jacob O. Wobbrock, a professor of information at UW, comes from deciphering information with no clear beginning and end. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p193459-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.61 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/technology/voxlens-accessibility-screen-readers/#wpcf7-f6-p193459-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page spai-bg-prepared" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://www.google.com/" data-value="https://www.google.com/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “There is a start and an end of a sentence and everything else comes in between,” he explains. “But as soon as you move things into two dimensional spaces, such as visualisations, there’s no clear start and finish. “It’s just not structured in the same way, which means there’s no obvious entry point or sequencing for screen readers.” Working with screen reader users to improve accessibility The team worked with screen reader users who had partial or complete blindness when designing and testing the tool. During the testing phase, participants learned how to use VoxLens and then completed nine tasks, each of which involved answering questions about a data visualisation. The researchers found that participants completed the tasks with 122% increased accuracy and 36% decreased interaction time, compared to participants of a previous study who hadn’t had access to VoxLens. “We want people to interact with a graph as much as they want, but we also don’t want them to spend an hour trying to find what the maximum is,” says Sharif. “In our study, interaction time refers to how long it takes to extract information, and that’s why reducing it is a good thing.” VoxLens can be implanted easily by data visualisation designers with a single line of code. Right now it only works for visualisations created using <a href="https://www.javascript.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JavaScript</a> libraries – such as <a href="https://d3js.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">D3</a>, <a href="https://www.chartjs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chart.js</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com.au/sheets/about/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Sheets</a> – but the team is working towards expanding to other popular platforms. “This work is part of a much larger agenda for us – removing bias in design,” adds co-senior author Katharina Reinecke, associate professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at UW. “When we build technology, we tend to think of people who are like us and who have the same abilities as we do. “For example, D3 has really revolutionised access to visualisations online and improved how people can understand information. But there are values ingrained in it and people are left out. It’s really important that we start thinking more about how to make technology useful for everybody.”  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=193459&title=Data+visualisations+made+more+accessible+to+screen+reader+users" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/voxlens-accessibility-screen-readers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/imma-perfetto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Imma Perfetto</a>. Imma Perfetto is a science writer at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science Communication from the University of Adelaide. Image: Getty Images </div>

Technology

China bans WHO access to Wuhan

China has prevented the World Health Organisation investigators from entering Wuhan, the Chinese province largely believed to be the epicentre of the coronavirus. According to reports, Beijing is avoiding the independent WHO probe, which was expected to take four to five weeks in efforts to avoid being held accountable for the coronavirus pandemic. “Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters yesterday at a press conference in Geneva. “I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute. “I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made it clear the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team.” The WHO's Dr Michael Ryan said that the officials on the ground have not been given visa clearances, with one being sent back home and another staying in a different country until they have been given access to Wuhan. “We trust and we hope that this is just a logistic and bureaucratic issue (and) will be resolved quickly,” Dr Ryan said. “This is frustrating and as the Director-General has said this is disappointing. We trust in good faith we can solve these issues in coming hours and recommence the deployment of the team as urgently as possible.” The independent probe comes after the Chinese prvince of Hebei has plunged into "wartime mode" after an outbreak of 59 cases in the last three days. Officials have launched mass testing for the 11 million residents, schools have shut and the infections are thought to have been spread through social events such as gatherings and weddings. The Global Times published a story just days ago saying that Wuhan is hosting "more gatherings" in the New Year and that the "west" should "get used to it". “More big gatherings like the New Year celebrations, sports events and live concerts will be staged in Wuhan, which was the hardest-hit city in China by COVID-19, during 2021, and the world had better get used to it, Wuhan residents said, calling on some Westerners to save their fellow countrymen following Chinese experiences rather than attacking Wuhan’s gatherings with prejudice and hostility,” the article read. “When large crowds of Wuhan residents took to streets and launched balloons to celebrate the arrival of 2021 on New Year’s Eve, in sharp contrast with what Western media called a ghost town like Times Square with roads closed but no live audience, some Westerners with jealous eyes were sarcastic about Wuhan.”

News

Coronavirus: Government greenlights early access to superannuation

Australians who have lost work due to the new coronavirus outbreak will be allowed to access up to $20,000 from their superannuation, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday. Starting mid-April, workers and sole traders who have lost part or all of their income as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would be eligible to make tax-free withdrawals of up to $10,000 this financial year and another $10,000 next financial year. To be eligible, applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements: <ul> <li>Be unemployed.</li> <li>Be eligible to receive a job seeker benefit, youth allowance for jobseekers, parenting payment or special benefit or farm household allowance.</li> <li>Have been made redundant or had their working hours reduced by 20 per cent or more since 1 January this year.</li> <li>If you’re a sole trader, your business operations have been suspended or your turnover has fallen by 20 per cent since 1 January this year.</li> </ul> Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the super fund regulator APRA has assured him the easing of access to super would not have “a significant impact on the industry overall”. Ben Butler of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/22/australia-is-easing-superannuation-access-for-those-worst-hit-by-coronavirus-but-can-we-afford-it">The Guardian</a> warned that allowing withdrawals will diminish the super funds’ ability to invest in long-term, high-growth assets and may lead to redemption freezes, which some funds experienced during the global financial crisis. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ chief executive officer Eva Scheerlinck said people should only access their super as a last resort. “Australians who are facing financial hardship to access all other sources of income measures before tapping into their super,” she told <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/moneysaverhq/australians-have-been-given-the-green-light-to-access-super-early-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic/news-story/1366f9d205543310cd29e8810fb2d47c">The Herald Sun</a>. The initiative was announced as part of the federal government’s second stimulus package. The $66 billion package also included $750 payments for those on the age pension, carers allowance or family tax benefit and Commonwealth senior card holders, which will be <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-22/coronavirus-second-stimulus-package-how-much-money-you-will-get/12078972">made automatically from July 13</a>.

Retirement Life

Oatlands tragedy: Family faces costly medical bills after no access to Medicare

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Rania Geagea Kassas is dealing with every parent’s nightmare as she begged people to pray for her son who has been in a coma for over a week. Earlier this month, the young boy was walking with his cousins to get ice cream when an alleged drunk driver mounted the footpath and hit the children. The child suffered critical injuries to his head and spine and was placed in an induced coma. Sadly, he is yet to realise that the accident took the lives of his four cousins and best friends; Antony, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah and Veronique Sakr. “He needs your prayers now,” his mother told 10 News First. “I think he is happy with his cousins like he is in heaven, and then he’s going to come back after the funeral and he’s going to tell us about … his trip.” The three Abdallah children were laid to rest in a beautiful ceremony held at the Maronite Catholic rite at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in Harris Park yesterday. Two more children were injured in the crash, but they have since been discharged from hospital and being taken care of by their family. The boy remains in the intensive care unit at Sydney’s Westmead Children’s Hospital. He is in a stable condition and is in an induced coma and is being monitored every two to three hours. His uncle, Anthony Geagea revealed that he could remain in a coma for up to six months and they won’t know just how much damage has been caused to his brain and spine until after he wakes up. “When he wakes up, the doctor will give us a full diagnosis,” he said. Currently, the driver’s Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance will cover the immediate hospital bills but the family’s neighbour has set up a <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/team-charbel-kassas" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a> page to help ease the financial burden once the boy has woken up. His parents do not have access to Medicare as they’ve only been in Australia for a short time. “All medical expenses are out of pocket and will increase dramatically,” says the fundraising page. “Any donation made towards this beautiful humble family is greatly appreciated.” The boy’s parents have not been able to return to work, and won’t be able to for some time as he needs full-time care. “We don’t know what is going to happen – maybe he will need medicine, maybe he will need lots of equipment,” said his mother. So far, close to $130,000 have been raised as they attempt to reach their $150,000 goal. </div> </div> </div>

Caring

State-of-the-art centre makes accessible holidays easy

Planning a getaway isn’t always easy – sometimes it feels like you need a holiday from planning a holiday. This is especially true for people with a physical disability or mobility issues and older Australians, where accessibility can become a huge factor in choosing appropriate accommodation. A new state-of the-art accommodation and disability services centre opening in Cairns in February 2020 will provide guests with the peace of mind knowing their getaway will be fully accessible with a specialist team on hand to support their health and therapy needs. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7834314/3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/52c6517cee374d8aa8b842a64ebfae8d" /> The <a href="http://www.spinalhealthyliving.com.au">Spinal Life Healthy Living Centre</a> is the first of its kind in Queensland and regional Australia, combining fully accessible accommodation with vital therapies and services for people with physical disabilities. The Centre, located just minutes away from the iconic Cairns Esplanade, also includes an accessible gym and hydrotherapy pool to help guests to continue their rehabilitation work or look after their health and wellbeing. In addition to a perfect holiday destination for visitors with a disability or mobility impairment looking to explore the beautiful sights of Far North Queensland, the Healthy Living Centre is also available for medium-term transitional accommodation for people returning home after sustaining a serious injury. The Centre includes a team of specialist-trained Personal Support Workers who can assist guests with their daily routines or getting out into the community. NDIS-funded packages are also available for scheme participants, with included accessible gym access, therapy consultations (including Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy or Exercise Physiology) and access to a Personal Support Worker. Here are some of the services on offer: Active Gym The Healthy Living Centre’s Active Gym includes the latest in accessible gym equipment specifically designed for people with a disability and can be used with or without a wheelchair. Guests and gym members can enjoy seven-day a week access to the Active Gym or join in one of the regular classes. You can also work with the on-site Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist to develop a training or rehabilitation plan that works for you. Active Hydro Pool The Centre’s Hydrotherapy Pool is a great way to improve your movement, balance and strength, as well as helping to manage pain. The Hydrotherapy Pool is open six days a week and is open to solo visitors, classes or one-on-one sessions with a qualified Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist. The pool features an accessible lift for easy entry and exit and is open to guests by appointment. Accommodation The Healthy Living Centre includes seven self-contained, fully accessible units with one and two bedrooms and water views available, all located just a few meters away from the Cairns Esplanade. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7834313/2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ef8dd49e36834b1692a721da1076e3bd" /> There are options for holiday accommodation as well as medium-term transitional accommodation and are open to self-funded guests as well as guests looking to fund their stay via MyAgedCare, the NDIS and other funding options. Each room contains a height-adjustable bed and ceiling hoists, left or right transfer bathrooms, shower chairs and tablet-controlled electronics, lights and blinds for the convenience of guests with a disability. Therapies and services The Spinal Life Healthy Living Centre includes a team of specialist therapists and support workers on site to assist and empower guests and visitors to the Centre. This includes: <ul> <li>Occupational Therapy to help find the best assistive equipment and provide specialist advice on NDIS applications and assessments for funding.</li> <li>Personal Support Services to provide personal assistance tailored to the guest’s needs.</li> <li>Physiotherapy to help reduce pain and improve muscle movements and assist in injury management and prevention.</li> <li>Hydrotherapy to manage rehabilitation, pain and muscle strength.</li> <li>Exercise Physiology to make the most of your time at the Active Gym or Active Hydro Pool and assist in developing a tailored fitness plan.</li> </ul> Spinal Life Australia have used their 60 years of experience to create a state-of-the-art facility specifically designed with the needs and comfort of people with a disability or mobility issues in mind. To find out more, or book your next holiday and stay supported as you explore the wonders of Far North Queensland, visit <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.spinalhealthyliving.com.au" target="_blank">spinalhealthyliving.com.au</a>

Caring

The smart way to access your money overseas

We all know it takes more than simply packing to prepare for an overseas trip. When you’re in a foreign country, it’s essential to have your money ready for use at all times. However, converting your funds to the local currency can be a tricky process. Before you go and spend your hard-earned cash on your holiday, doing a bit of homework can help you get the best value. There are many ways to access the currency of your destination, but which one is the safest, most convenient – and most competitive? For Qantas Frequent Flyer members, travelling abroad is easy with <a href="https://www.qantasmoney.com/travel-money-card?alt_cam=au:cs:n:natcon::cs_jan_2020_natcon_:n:jancomp_native_over60:n:n&utm_medium=Native+Content&utm_source=&utm_campaign=Travel+Money&utm_content=-Native+Content-Travel+Money-Jan-2020">Qantas Travel Money</a>. It’s the prepaid Mastercard® built into the Qantas Frequent Flyer card. Wherever your journey takes you Qantas Travel Money is made for travel, and allows you to manage dollars, pounds, yen and more on the go while also reaping some serious rewards. The many benefits of Qantas Travel Money Keeping up with paper bills will be the least of your worries. With Qantas Travel Money you can load up to 10 foreign currencies at any one time – including US and Canadian dollars, the UK pound, euro, Thai baht, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen and the UAE dirham, along with Australian dollars. Whether you’re on a budget or having an unexpected splurge, the card gives you the ability to manage your money effortlessly. Through the Qantas Money mobile app and website, you can top up, transfer funds and check your balance and transactions wherever you are. Security is also not an issue – the chip and PIN security ensure that only you can access your funds. Dropped your wallet while roaming? You may temporarily lock your card and access emergency funds if it’s lost or stolen. Mastercard Zero Liability and the Mastercard Qantas Travel Money 24/7 Global Support also ensure your balance is protected against fraudulent transactions#. Worried about fluctuating exchange rates? You can lock in the rates when you load eligible foreign currencies~, allowing you to skip on any conversion fees+. But if you run out of local funds during the trip, don’t fret – many more options are available. You can transfer between currencies, or simply tap on your loaded Australian dollars for any international transactions using the applicable daily rates wherever Mastercard is accepted. Best of all, you can earn as you spend throughout your travel. The Qantas Travel Money card is the only prepaid card to reward you with Qantas Points whenever you make a transaction – for every dollar you splash out on eligible overseas purchases, you’ll earn 1.5 Qantas Points. And <a href="https://www.qantasmoney.com/travel-money-card/features-and-benefits?alt_cam=au:cs:n:natcon::cs_jan_2020_natcon_:n:jancomp_native_over60:n:n&utm_medium=Native+Content&utm_source=&utm_campaign=Travel+Money&utm_content=-Native+Content-Travel+Money-Jan-2020">the benefits</a> don’t end once you return to the land down under; use the card for your everyday purchases such as petrol and groceries, and get 1 Qantas Point for every $4 spent^. That’s more chances for you to grab flights, upgrades and retail savings! How Qantas Travel Money works Qantas Frequent Flyer members are eligible for a Qantas Travel Money enabled membership card, which can be <a href="https://www.qantasmoney.com/travel-money-card/how-it-works?alt_cam=au:cs:n:natcon::cs_jan_2020_natcon_:n:jancomp_native_over60:n:n&utm_medium=Native+Content&utm_source=&utm_campaign=Travel+Money&utm_content=-Native+Content-Travel+Money-Jan-2020">requested online or over the phone</a>. Once you receive and activate the card, you can start setting up your PIN as well as topping up funds. You can load money onto the card in three convenient ways: bank transfer, BPAY, or through the Instant Load++ option on the Qantas Money app or website. After your card is loaded, you’re good to go. Monitor your balances, view your transaction history, update your details and cash out the funds on your card to your Australian bank account at any time via the Qantas Money website. You can also move money between different currencies or make an instant transfer to another Qantas Travel Money cardholder using the app or website. Not yet a member of the loyalty program? Simply <a rel="noopener" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.qantaspoints.com_join-2Dnow-3Fcode-3DQANTASMONEY-3Falt-5Fcam-3Dau-3Acs-3An-3Anatcon-3A-3Acs-5Fjan-5F2020-5Fnatcon-5F-3An-3Ajancomp-5Fnative-5Fover60-5Fapply-3An-3An-26utm-5Fmedium-3DNative-2BContent-26utm-5Fsource-3D-26utm-5Fcampaign-3DTravel-2BMoney-26utm-5Fcontent-3D-2DNative-2BContent-2DTravel-2BMoney-2DJan-2D2020&d=DwMFaQ&c=8bHjhITO0F85Cmi91C_4TA&r=VZNrATyhWBTQcl9OeoHIQCTfBJmb1wno-A00OW7Hz-k&m=qN2hgx_xAncZ8OnABwdMztPW1NqB6bpjWX_bdtieQYI&s=oT2YmIWrKk94r6wWt0XfI4r8e-SnYF6CdfmNwV0s0d4&e=" target="_blank">apply</a> for complimentary Qantas Frequent Flyer membership with the option of Qantas Travel Money. <a href="https://www.qantasmoney.com/travel-money-card/competition?alt_cam=au:cs:n:cm::cs_jan_2020_cm_:n:jancomp_native_over60:n:n&utm_medium=Content+Mktg&utm_source=&utm_campaign=Travel+Money&utm_content=-Content+Mktg-Travel+Money-Jan-2020-100k+competition-NA-Lifestyle+image-NA-Over+60s">Activate Qantas Travel Money</a> for the chance to win a share of $100,000. Ten lucky winners will receive $10,000 loaded onto their Qantas Travel Money card, with 10 foreign currencies to choose from*. This is a sponsored post written in partnership with Qantas Travel Money. Qantas Travel Money is a prepaid Mastercard® payment facility built into the back of the Qantas Frequent Flyer Membership Card. To be eligible to receive the Qantas Card with the option of Qantas Travel Money you must be an Australian resident Qantas Frequent Flyer member 16 years of age or older. Before you can use Qantas Travel Money you must activate the facility on your Qantas Card. Apply to activate your facility by visiting<a href="https://t.e.qantas.com/r/?id=h64de174a,1d6f1f21,1d6fd488"> qantastravelmoney.com/activate</a>. Heritage Bank Limited (AFSL 240984) (the Issuer) issues Qantas Travel Money under arrangements between it, Qantas Airways Limited (AFS representative number 261363) and Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd (AFSL 386837) (a Mastercard business). Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd distributes Qantas Travel Money (together with Qantas which is an authorised representative of Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd for the purposes of providing general financial product advice with respect to Qantas Travel Money). Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd can be contacted at customercare@qantastravelmoney.com. Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd and Qantas earn foreign exchange revenue from Qantas Travel Money transactions. Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Australia Pty Ltd receives a processing fee from domestic Qantas Travel Money "point of sale" transactions. Qantas receives revenue generated by Qantas Travel Money transactions based on interchange fees paid to the Issuer, deposits held by the Issuer, cardholder fee and certain rebates and incentives from Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd. This promotion has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider the appropriateness of the Qantas Travel Money facility having regard to those matters. A Product Disclosure Statement (<a href="https://t.e.qantas.com/r/?id=h64de174a,1d6f1f21,1d6fd48%39">PDS</a>) in respect of Qantas Travel Money is available via <a href="https://t.e.qantas.com/r/?id=h64de174a,1d6f1f21,1d6fd48a">qantastravelmoney.com</a> and will also be given to applicants. A person should obtain and consider the <a href="https://t.e.qantas.com/r/?id=h64de174a,1d6f1f21,1d6fd48b">PDS</a> before making any decisions about whether to acquire or continue to hold the prepaid facility. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. # Terms and conditions apply. Visit <a href="http://qantasfw.custmta.com/re?l=D0Is48wutI7u4fn3iIp">www.mastercard.com.au</a> for details. ~ Exchange rates for initial loads and subsequent reloads made using Bank Transfer or BPAY via <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__qantasfw.custmta.com_re-3Fl-3DD0Is4fivaI7u4fn3iI15ITk3qytudj-26s-3DGEFNHDBEJDGDLOMD&d=DwMFaQ&c=8bHjhITO0F85Cmi91C_4TA&r=0Tl85br3MHBkj8NCJCeX3fXhNyMapEVVE3s17e9cD_8&m=PyZ4yWexHFoJDjSyZ9VFbCKLZg2QX-unN18UfF4X1KQ&s=MifVuA6jLKnEoNbYh7dv1QfLT8ududgjeA0mIbjI6Xc&e=">qantastravelmoney.com</a> will be set at the prevailing exchange rate set out at <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__qantasfw.custmta.com_re-3Fl-3DD0Is4fivaI7u4fn3iI16ITk3qytudj-26s-3DGEFNHDBEJDGDLOMD&d=DwMFaQ&c=8bHjhITO0F85Cmi91C_4TA&r=0Tl85br3MHBkj8NCJCeX3fXhNyMapEVVE3s17e9cD_8&m=PyZ4yWexHFoJDjSyZ9VFbCKLZg2QX-unN18UfF4X1KQ&s=Ka0lFsparkC8E9jf7sgba2TZH-EICFp5Y8yNf_uyh-c&e=">qantastravelmoney.com</a> at the time you request the load provided you settle the transaction within four hours. Different exchange rates apply for loads initiated directly via Bank Transfer or BPAY using your Unique Payment Details (i.e. not via <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__qantasfw.custmta.com_re-3Fl-3DD0Is4fivaI7u4fn3iI17ITk3qytudj-26s-3DGEFNHDBEJDGDLOMD&d=DwMFaQ&c=8bHjhITO0F85Cmi91C_4TA&r=0Tl85br3MHBkj8NCJCeX3fXhNyMapEVVE3s17e9cD_8&m=PyZ4yWexHFoJDjSyZ9VFbCKLZg2QX-unN18UfF4X1KQ&s=6yJl2nc1YnyAdfv60WmXmsBF5-wvC_rkqwL-qBd60FY&e=">qantastravelmoney.com</a>). For more information on how exchange rates are set and applied, see the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__qantasfw.custmta.com_re-3Fl-3DD0Is4fivaI7u4fn3iI18ITk3qytudj-26s-3DGEFNHDBEJDGDLOMD&d=DwMFaQ&c=8bHjhITO0F85Cmi91C_4TA&r=0Tl85br3MHBkj8NCJCeX3fXhNyMapEVVE3s17e9cD_8&m=PyZ4yWexHFoJDjSyZ9VFbCKLZg2QX-unN18UfF4X1KQ&s=bqdwlX_cnaBEQEtXB9qLJTPGRh7nePX8CRcegqWJizM&e=">PDS</a>. + A foreign exchange rate will apply to foreign transactions as set out in the PDS. Other fees and charges may apply. ^ Eligible purchases do not include money orders, traveller’s cheques, gambling chips, adult entertainment, purchasing foreign currencies in cash or the making of payment(s) towards any credit cards, loans or other financial debt that is not incurred with respect to goods and services. You will not earn Qantas Points when transferring funds to another currency balance or another member’s facility, when withdrawing funds from ATMs, cashing out your facility balance or for over the counter withdrawals. Purchases that are reversed, refunded or charged-back are also ineligible for points earned, in addition to fees incurred. Qantas Points are earned as follows: 1.5 Qantas Points per AU$1 spent in foreign currency and 1 Qantas Point per AU$4 spent in Australian dollars. Qantas Points are calculated using the Qantas Travel Money Daily Rate as defined in the PDS, and may vary daily. 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International Travel

Slim and skinny: how access to TV is changing beauty ideals in rural Nicaragua

Think about the last time you watched a film or picked up a magazine. Chances are the majority of models and actresses were young, beautiful and slim – or even underweight. Research shows that in films and TV programmes heavier characters are more likely to be lower status, the target of jokes and are less likely to be <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/276547">lead or romantic characters</a>. This sends a very clear message: that thinness is normal and desirable. For many young people, this emphasis on extreme thinness in women seems normal. But it’s actually relatively new and seems to have arisen in parallel with the growing cultural dominance of mass media – films, television and magazines. Models, for instance, became <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1980.47.2.483">thinner across the latter half of the 20th century</a>, and are now <a href="https://onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/evolution-miss-universe/">considerably slimmer</a> than depictions of female beauty in preceding eras. Just as in the past when the development of shape-altering garments <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0123284">changed ideas about body shape</a>, the mass media now seems to have changed ideas about body size. Current body ideals in Western Europe and North America are also significantly slimmer than in other cultural groups, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513899000070">Tanzanian hunter-gatherers</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513806000584">black South Africans</a> or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144507000769">rural Malaysians</a>. And it’s been argued this large gap between the ideal female figure and most women’s own bodies is a key factor in the endemic levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in countries such as <a href="https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.2009.28.1.9">the UK</a>. Body dissatisfaction and <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/yco/2016/00000029/00000006/art00006">rates of disordered eating are increasing globally</a>, and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-004-1067-5">spread of mass media may be one reason why</a>. But it’s a challenge to link increasing media access with changing body ideals – because as populations gain more access to media, they also change in other ways. They may become more urbanised, wealthier and have better access to nutrition – all of which can lead to <a href="http://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/normanli/Swamietal2010.pdf">differences in body ideals</a>. The Nicaragua project This is why we have spent three years running a <a href="http://www.dur.ac.uk/l.g.boothroyd/NEBP/">research project</a> in an area of rural Nicaragua – where access to mass media is often unrelated to urbanisation or nutrition. The government in Nicaragua has been increasing electrification of the rural Caribbean coast. This has led to a region where very similar neighbouring villages differ in whether or not the residents have access to mains electricity – and whether they can run televisions. There are no magazines in this region. And at the time of our research, very few residents had access to smart phones, making television viewing a good measure of total media access. We recruited 300 participants from seven villages around the region. Some villages had regular electricity supplies, others did not. Because the region is very ethnically diverse, we also balanced our sample across four main ethnic groups. Generally among our participants, those of Mestizo ethnicity – who have the highest levels of European heritage – tend to prefer slimmer figures than those of more indigenous or Afro-Caribbean heritage, such as the Miskitu, Garifuna and Creoles. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000224">Our research found</a> that above and beyond ethnicity, those who watched more television preferred slimmer bodies. Specifically, our analysis suggested that people who watched approximately three hours of TV a week preferred a body one full point slimmer on the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/">Body Mass Index</a> than someone who didn’t watch TV. On a woman of average height, that’s about a difference of three kilos. We also found the more people watched TV, the slimmer their preferred female body size became. This was true for both men and women. Changing ideals Over the three years, we also collected data from a small village without electricity. For a short period of time, one house in this village had a small TV powered by a solar panel. Residents were also able to watch TV for short periods of time if they travelled to other communities. We found that over the three years, villagers tended to favour thinner figures when they had been able to watch more TV, suggesting that real-time change may be happening in these communities. When we showed residents of two villages without TV images of typical or plus size media models, their preferences shifted in the immediate aftermath of viewing these images towards thinner figures. Again this was true for both men and women. By studying one population in depth, and by also having previously ruled out evidence for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08653-z">impacts of nutrition in this population</a>, we have been able to give the strongest evidence to date that visual media really does change people’s perception of the ideal female body. Our findings also support the argument that increasing global rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders are driven at least in part <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-004-1067-5">by the expansion of globalised mass media</a>. Of course, television is in many respects a valuable and important source of information. Our participants considered that besides entertainment, television gave them a vital link to the rest of Nicaragua, to political news, and lifesaving services such as storm warnings. But while it’s important that such benefits be maximised, threats to women’s body image must be minimised. Body positive education can help here, and this is something <a href="http://community.dur.ac.uk/l.g.boothroyd/NEBP/wellcome_body.html">we are working on with local groups</a>. But ultimately, media producers and commissioners must do a better job of diversifying their content to reflect a range of sizes and body types. Written by Lynda Boothroyd. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/slim-and-skinny-how-access-to-tv-is-changing-beauty-ideals-in-rural-nicaragua-128717">The Conversation.</a>

Beauty & Style

The WhatsApp bug that lets hackers access your files

WhatApp users are being urged to update their app to avoid a security bug that compromises user chat history and files. The hack allows hackers to take over the app when a user opens a malicious GIF image as an attachment or through other channels. When the user opens their WhatsApp Gallery, the bug in the malicious GIF will be triggered and the hacker will have access to their WhatsApp messages, files, photos, videos and more. Tech blog <a href="https://awakened1712.github.io/hacking/hacking-whatsapp-gif-rce/">Awakened</a> reported that devices running Android 8.1 and 9.0 were vulnerable to the attack, while versions of the operating system below 8.0 were not. In response to the report, WhatsApp’s owner Facebook released a vulnerability patch in the messaging app’s new 2.19.244 version. “This issue was reported and quickly addressed,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement. “We have no reason to believe this affected any users, though of course we are always working to provide the latest security features to our users.” To update WhatsApp to the latest version, iPhone users should go to the App Store, select updates and then tap update next to the messenger icon. Android users should go to the Play Store, tap on menu and then select “My apps & games” before picking WhatsApp and clicking on the Update button.

Technology

“Dream come true”: Olivia Newton-John wants more people to have access to medicinal cannabis

Olivia Newton-John believes Australia is “on its way” to making medicinal cannabis legal to those who need it thanks to a $3 million research pledge from the federal government. The Grease actress and singer is a firm believer in medicinal cannabis in cancer treatment, which she credits to helping her wean off morphine during her third breast cancer battle. “I’m right here, right now, alive and healthy,” she said on Sunday at the annual Wellness Walk and Research Run. “Last year, I was flat on my back in the centre [the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre] and this year, through treatment and medicinal cannabis, I am feeling fantastic. “I hope to be able to soon offer that to everyone – that’s my dream.” Now, that dream is inching closer to becoming reality as the federal government has pledged three million dollars to medicinal cannabis research. “It’s a dream come true. We’re on our way,” said the star. Health Minister Greg Hunt stood beside Newton-John on stage, as he announced the funding will go towards examining how cannabis can be used to help alleviate cancer pain, symptoms and other side effects. He said the government is committed to ensure a “safe, quality supply” of medicinal cannabis to Australian patients, “but only when it is prescribed by a medical professional”. Medicinal cannabis is legal in Australia, but doctors very rarely prescribe it. According to the government, over 11,000 Australians have been approved to use the drug medicinally – mostly this year. “Given the increase in prescribed medicinal cannabis, the Government has supported the nation’s medicinal cannabis industry, and cut red tape to help meet demand,” said Hunt. The Aussie actress said while the funding was a step in the right direction, the amount of Australians with access to the drug is “frustrating”. She wants Australia to follow in the footsteps of the United States where “they’ve discovered it hasn’t caused all the problems that people are afraid of”. “People need to let go of that old hipping thing [about the drug],” she said. “It has helped me incredibly, with pain, with sleep, with anxiety – particularly when I had to wean myself off morphine.” “And I used cannabis.” According to Hunt, there are not enough well-designed clinical studies on medicinal cannabis, and further research is needed to support doctors on their decisions.

Body

Accessing your super: Ways to withdraw your super benefits

After years of hard work, you may want to finally claim your super. But how does one go about accessing these funds? Below is a guide to superannuation, including the legal ways to get yours early. When can you access your super? In most cases, supers are only accessible when you have reached your “preservation age” and are retired. The preservation age, which is set by the law, ranges from 55 to 60 years depending on your birth date. For example, those born before July 1960 have a preservation age of 55 years. Meanwhile, the preservation age for people born after June 1964 is 60 years. Once you have reached the eligible age and retired permanently, you can withdraw your super in full or as the rules of your fund allow. If you prefer to reduce your working hours gradually, you can also use the “transition to retirement” strategy to transfer some of your super to a pension account. If you are 65 or older, you can access your super without retiring. Need to get the super before preservation age? According to the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/">Australian Taxation Office</a> (ATO), there are a few scenarios that allow for early access to super: financial hardship, compassionate grounds, terminal medical condition and incapacity. With financial hardship, you are permitted to withdraw up to $10,000 of your super benefit. Keep in mind that you are only eligible for this if you have received government income support payments continuously for 26 weeks and are unable to meet reasonable and immediate family living expenses. You can also access your super early on compassionate grounds – that is, if you have difficulties paying for expenses related to medical treatments, housing, special needs or death and funeral. However, the ATO will generally only approve the release of the amount needed to pay the expense in question. Requests for early access on the grounds of terminal condition or permanent incapacity generally have to be complemented with a certification from at least two medical professionals that vouches for the seriousness of your physical or mental condition. The request should be directed to your fund. If you have any ATO-held super accounts, you can claim them directly from the agency. How can you access your super? You can access your super as an income stream or a lump sum, depending on what your super fund allows. An income stream, also known as pension, is a series of regular payments (e.g. $800 fortnightly). Many Aussies find this option more convenient for managing income and spending. On the other hand, you can also take all your super in a single payment or withdraw as needed through several lump sums. Keep in mind that once you take your super as a lump sum, the money will no longer be considered as super, and any investment returns you make with the money will be taxable. Another option is to combine lump sum and pension – that is, to withdraw some cash and convert the rest into an income stream. Talk to your super fund or seek professional advice to discuss the best way to access your super. Have you accessed your super? Let us know in the comments.

Retirement Income

Warning: WhatsApp voicemail scam gives hackers access to your account

A worrying new WhatsApp hack allows cyber criminals to access victim’s accounts via their voicemail inbox. According to <a href="https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2018/10/08/attackers-use-voicemail-hack-to-steal-whatsapp-accounts/">Naked Security</a>, a blog run by British security company Sophos, scammers are attempting the attacks at night so they can take advantage of the app’s six-digit verification code. The attacks have become so prevalent that Israel’s National Cyber Security Authority issued a nationwide warning. Hackers start the scam by installing WhatsApp on their own phone using a legitimate user’s phone number. To verify the login attempt, WhatsApp sends a six-digit verification code via text message to the victim’s telephone. However, hackers are carrying out this scam at night, so victims are most likely sleeping rather than checking their phones. WhatsApp then allows the hacker to send the six-digit verification code via phone call with an automated message. As the victim is not on their phone, the message ideally goes to voicemail. The cyber criminal then exploits a security flaw in many telecommunication networks which allows customers to use a generic phone number to call and retrieve their voicemails. For many mobile phone owners, only a four-digit pin is required to access their voicemails – which if they haven’t changed is commonly 0000 or 1234 by default. Hackers will then enter the password and gain access to the victim’s voicemail inbox, allowing them to retrieve the WhatsApp message containing the six-digit code. Once the scammer enters the code into their own phone, they have complete access to the victim’s WhatsApp account. To avoid being hacked, it is recommended that users turn on two-factor authentication on their account, adding an extra layer of security. “Using application-based 2FA ... mitigates a lot of the risk, because these mobile authentication apps don’t rely on communications tied to phone numbers,” Sophos researchers explained. This can be done by navigating to Settings in WhatsApp, then tapping ‘Account’. Users must then press on ‘Two-step verification’ and tap ‘Enable’. Experts also encourage users to have a strong PIN on their voicemail inbox. Have you encountered this WhatsApp scam? Let us know in the comments below.

Technology

The controversial new way to access welfare benefits

A new controversial myGOV ID pilot program will ask Aussies to access their welfare benefits, pension, Medicare, childcare subsidies and pay tax using a face scan. According to the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/big-brother-is-here-as-the-government-links-your-face-scan-to-tax-health-and-welfare-benefits/news-story/f2868e2bf7c4830e99de0149468d2da2" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph</a>, the trial will be rolled out in October and will require the biometric data of users. Similar to how SmartGates works at airports to check passports, this new technology will allow someone to take a photo on a computer or phone to create a myGov ID. The photo will then be analysed and checked against passports and driver’s licences. The technology will help Australians who struggle to remember different passwords for various government services, but privacy experts are worried the information could be misused. “I would say the real concern is whether if this information leaks it could be used by somebody nasty to open a bank account or get access to your health records,” says Dr Vanessa Teague from Melbourne University’s School of Computing and Information systems. Australian Privacy Foundation’s Bernard Robertson-Dunn said people need to be reassured the government “doesn’t use the technology to do things it didn’t say it was going to do.” In May, Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said the misuse of data which could be used to “impinge on people’s privacy” was a concern for many Australians. The new ID will be voluntary, but the government will use nudge tactics to encourage people to comply. Those who do not want to supply their biometric information to access government services, will have to go to Centrelink offices and speak to someone in person. This new system follows various personal data breaches overseas, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal where Facebook failed to protect the privacy of more than 87 million users. “The problem with using biometrics is you can replace a stolen password but you can’t replace your biometrics if they are stolen,” says chair of the Privacy Foundation’s health committee Dr Bernard Robertson-Dunn. Dr Robertson-Dunn said the government also needs to have measures in place to deal with situations where a person’s face may be altered due to medical illness or an accident. The Australian government said it will protect people’s privacy by using “double-blind” architecture. A person’s biometric data will not be stored centrally and the Australian Taxation Office which will be the identity provider won’t know which services users are accessing. “Once an identity is verified, only the essential information will be retained, the rest will be discarded. This minimises security threats and limits ‘function creep’ (widening of the use of a system beyond the purpose for which it was originally intended),” the government claimed in documents outlining how the new technology will work. “Under our digital identity solution, citizens will only need to establish their identity once, and can then use it multiple times to access multiple government services,” Mr Keenan said. What are your thoughts on this new technology? Let us know in the comments below.

Money & Banking

Accessing the wealth locked in your home

Life doesn’t always go to plan. Medical emergencies, legal difficulties and other unexpected costs can throw off your grand retirement plans and leave you struggling to pay the bills, let alone maintaining your lifestyle as you age. And when this happens, what can you do? Downsizing isn’t always a solution and going back to work may not be an option. Thankfully, there’s a way to access the wealth locked in your home when you need it most – with a home equity release solution. There are two types of equity release products – reverse mortgages, which involve borrowing money using the equity in your home, and home reversion schemes, which involve selling a portion of the equity in your home. It may sound like a daunting prospect, but a home equity release product shouldn’t be seen as the last resort. Here are four reasons why: 1. Your home is your best asset More and more Aussies consider themselves as asset-rich but cash-poor, although this doesn’t need to be the case. A home equity release can provide you with the funds to supplement your current retirement income, cover home maintenance or renovations, pay for medical treatments or secure an aged care accommodation loan. 2. Downsizing isn’t always an option The solution for some retirees’ financial woes may be downsizing, but for others, this simply isn’t an option. Whether it’s the mere thought of selling the family home, the inconvenience of moving to an unfamiliar area (potentially away from loved ones, transport links and medical facilities) or difficulty finding alternative accommodation, sometimes it’s best to stay home. A home equity release solution can provide you with the necessary funds to do just that. 3. You want to age in your home It’s generally a lot cheaper – and a lot more comfortable – to remain in your own home as you age. With the money gained from a home equity release product, you can make all the necessary alterations (e.g. safety handles, ramps, stair climbers) to your home to make it suitable and safe as you become older, or perhaps even hire a carer to make life a little easier. 4. You want to remain independent As we age, the dream is to be self-reliant and completely financially independent. Borrowing money from friends or family might seem like a good short-term solution, but further down the road, it can cause serious tension in your relationships and may leave you in even more debt than you had to begin with. A home equity release solution takes away any financial burden from your loved ones and simply gives you access to the wealth you already have. Homesafe Wealth Release is the only debt-free solution to allow older Australian homeowners access to the wealth they already have, by selling a share of the future sales proceeds of their home while still remaining as the owner on the Title and retaining full use of their home. “The Homesafe equity release product was designed to enable senior homeowners to access the wealth tied up in their homes by selling a share of the future sale proceeds of their home,” explains Homesafe General Manager Dianne Shepherd. “In essence, rather than down-sizing and selling their home today as a whole asset, with Homesafe the homeowner can sell a part of their home today, and stay living in the family home until they choose to sell and move.” To find out how Homesafe Wealth Release can help you, <a href="http://oversixtyedm.homesafe.com.au/fourreasonsforequityrelease/" target="_blank">click here. </a> THIS IS SPONSORED CONTENT BROUGHT TO YOU IN CONJUNCTION WITH <a href="http://oversixtyedm.homesafe.com.au/fourreasonsforequityrelease/" target="_blank">HOMESAFE.</a>

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