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2021 was a critical year for climate. 2022 will be even bigger - 360 Emma Shortis Published on December 13, 2021 Even if the promises made at COP26 were implemented, it won’t be enough to stop catastrophic warming. 2022 is a chance to take climate action a step further. By Emma Shortis, RMIT University 2021 was a critical year for climate policy and diplomacy. Some of the world’s biggest emitters announced new, ambitious climate targets: the European Union, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Canada, India and the United States built on commitments already made by China and Japan. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) flagged a ‘code red for humanity’, focussing hope for genuine, concerted action on the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow in November. Despite all that invested hope, COP26 is not likely to solve the ‘wicked problem’ of climate change. Glasgow produced important outcomes, such as an agreement to curb methane emissions, but leaders didn’t do the job they had set themselves in Paris in 2015: they didn’t ensure that global warming would be limited to ‘well below’ 1.5 degrees. They did make more promises to cooperate. In the dying days of the summit, the world’s biggest emitters — the US and China — made the surprise declaration that they would work together to try and achieve that 1.5 degree goal, through regular meetings of a new joint working group. That agreement is an important step, but more so for diplomacy than for the climate. Some analysts suggest climate could still become yet another arena of tension in an already rocky relationship, as the US and China compete over ‘green’ markets and technology. Questions remain, too, over US President Joe Biden’s commitment to renewed global leadership on climate. At COP26, American negotiators may have talked big about climate action, but behind closed doors, some claim their long tradition of recalcitrance and the pursuit of calculated self-interest continued. When it comes to the role of the US, the future looks much the same. The administration’s continued willingness to support the extraction and burning of fossil fuels makes it extremely unlikely that American ‘leadership’ will come to the rescue of the climate. The far-reaching influence of the US makes concerted global action on climate much less likely. In turn, that means the global geopolitics of climate and energy transition will not be straightforward. If the transition is not carefully planned and managed, it is likely to be extremely disruptive. Current attempts to manage that transition look familiar: they are overwhelmingly dominated by Western commitment to current global economic and power structures. The complex, technocratic maze of pledges, schemes and mechanisms represent, as some political ecologists have recently argued, “the corporate-friendly, market-based regime that has dominated climate politics for decades”. It means that 2022 is shaping up to be an even more important year for climate than the last. Next year, all eyes will be on Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for COP27. Every nation is tasked with bringing more ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets. They will do so in the shadow of not one, but three new IPCC reports. The signs so far are that COP27, just like COP26, will further expose the power imbalance in climate diplomacy, and continue to sideline and ignore Indigenous voices. Changes will be incremental. Pace will be glacial. Despite the frustrations, the COP meetings are, at least for now, the only global mechanism that we have to act on climate, and they are achieving something — even if that is only creating space for action rather than compelling it. Hope isn’t, and can’t, be lost. 2022 is a milestone year in the history of climate politics. It will mark 50 years since the first ever global conference on the environment: the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden. It will have been 30 years since the Rio Summit, which adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and 25 years since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding emissions reduction agreement. Critical hope, not naïve hope, is to be found in the efforts being built upon in 2022. In the European Union, they are using the considerable economic and diplomatic influence of the 27 member states to reshape trading relationships and supply chains. Voices from other regional and civil society organisations, especially in the Pacific and Caribbean, are becoming louder and more insistent. In Australia, states and regional authorities are leading the way, picking up slack where the federal government has failed. South Africa’s world-leading transition away from reliance on coal-fired power is already underway, and may well become a model for the rest of the world. Globally, finance is shifting as the monetary incentives for investing in clean energy transition increase. Although that approach comes with significant risk, too: if fattening the wallets of climate billionaires becomes the focus, it may be harder to ensure the transition is done right. The commitment of climate activists will only increase, as will global scrutiny of the gap between climate pledges and actual policy. The narrative battle around the “energy crisis” will heat up, because more will be at stake. Looking towards 2030, the end of this most critical decade, it will become increasingly obvious that COP meetings are part of a much bigger architecture; of action at the local and regional levels, continued efforts to centre First Nations voices, and the overarching transformational agenda of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We can find hope not in feel-good stories of individuals taking their own isolated actions. Not in ‘technology not taxes’ or in billionaire investors. But in communities, big and small, acting together in pursuit of a liveable planet for all. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Dr Emma Shortis is a Research Fellow at the European Union Centre of Excellence in the Social and Global Studies Centre at RMIT University. She declared no conflicts of interest. Emma Shortis’ research draws on a project funded by a Jean Monnet Award from the European Union’s Erasmus Plus program.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 13, 2021

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Seven ways to stop a species wipeout - 360 Charis Palmer, Chris Bartlett Published on December 16, 2022 Biodiversity is at a crucial point and pressure is growing on the international community to commit to new goals to protect it. There is mounting evidence the world is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs. One million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction. “We’ve already degraded 75 per cent of the Earth’s surface and more than 60 per cent of the marine environment,” the UN’s biodiversity chief Elizabeth Maruma Mrema told the BBC. Corey Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders professor of global ecology at Flinders University, says if the current rate of extinction continues we could lose most species by 2200. The implication for human health and wellbeing is dire, but not inevitable. Preserving biodiversity is crucial to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees, say the architects of the Paris climate agreement. A healthy planet also ensures resilient economies. More than half of global GDP – equal to US$41.7 trillion – is reliant on healthy ecosystems. Researchers and scientists have explored what’s already working to protect biodiversity. Evidence in these seven areas shows there are simple measures that work, and others that will require global collaboration. Expanding agricultural land is pushing biodiversity past a safe limit, says Quentin Read, data scientist and ecologist at North Carolina State University. “Some species may already be ‘walking dead’, doomed to extinction because they no longer have a habitat large enough to avoid a population crash.” An important part of the solution is helping consumers better understand how their diets and food waste behaviours influence global biodiversity. “Animal products need large amounts of land to grow feed and pasture livestock. “A smart plant-based diet is a major way to reduce land demand and biodiversity impact relative to a diet high in meat and dairy.” But even for those unwilling or unable to change their diet, Read says reducing pre-consumer and consumer food waste by 50 percent has almost as much positive impact on reducing land demand in high-biodiversity areas. Cities can be hostile places for plants and animals, say Sarah Bekessy, sustainability and urban planning teacher at RMIT University and Georgia Garrard, senior lecturer in sustainability at the University of Melbourne. But with “policy rethink and clever designs, cities could be safe havens for species to thrive and recover”. “New solutions, like biodiverse green roofs, habitat boxes and insect hotels can also provide food and shelter for a range of animals in cities. “Stormwater runoff which can negatively impact native plants and animals such as frogs can be mitigated by vegetated swales and rain gardens.” Worldwide, domestic cats are responsible for over a quarter of modern mammal, bird and reptile extinctions, says Sarah Legge, ecologist and invasive species expert at the Australian National University. The urgency has forced scientists to innovate. “Fenced enclosures, cat eradications from islands, new poison delivery systems, smart fire and grazing management are just some of the tools keeping native species from extinction. “Reducing the impacts of pet cats is much simpler than controlling feral cats – just keep them contained, as almost a third of cat owners already do.” Investing in people to carry out conservation would have far reaching benefits, says Euan Ritchie, professor in wildlife ecology and conservation at Deakin University. Ritchie says it would cost around A$1.7 billion a year to bring all the species on Australia’s threatened list back to health. Australia currently spends around A$120 million a year on targeted threatened species conservation and recovery. “Australian governments and society seemingly don’t see the environment as a priority investment. The question we must confront is why?” Early action to prevent decline and critical endangerment would be a more cost-effective approach to prevent species loss than captive breeding programs and reintroduction, says Philip McGowan, professor of conservation science and policy at Newcastle University. “The strategies to save species are available and … effective. What remains lacking is the widespread support for and adoption of these and emerging approaches. “Extinction is not inevitable.” Learning from previous and current management by local and Indigenous people and fostering shared fire management are invaluable steps in promoting fires that benefit people and biodiversity, say wildfire researchers. Research in New Zealand, for example, has identified low-flammable vegetable crops, pastures and traditional Māori food and medicine species, such as the kawakawa tree, that could moderate fire while enhancing biodiversity. Most of the damage to the Earth’s life-support system has happened over the last century, says Corey Bradshaw. “The global human population has tripled since 1950, and there are now approximately one million species threatened with imminent extinction due to massive population declines. To reverse that we could abolish the goal of perpetual economic growth, and force companies to restore the environment using established mechanisms such as carbon pricing. “We could limit undue corporate influence on political decision-making, and end corporate lobbying of politicians. Educating and empowering women, including providing greater self-determination in family planning, would help stem environmental destruction.” 360info is a newswire with a difference: we source content from the research community offering solutions to the world’s biggest problems. To request access to our news feed so you can republish our articles visit newshub.360info.org This article has been republished for World Wildlife Day 2023. It was first published on December 16, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Biodiversity” sent at: 09/12/2022 09:50. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 16, 2022

A bad wrap? Using packaging well to reduce food waste - 360 Tammara Soma Published on June 15, 2022 Vast amounts of food are sent to landfill. But the jury’s out on whether packaging is friend or foe in the fight against the problem. Sown, watered, raised, harvested – and dumped. Food wasted in the agricultural powerhouse of Indonesia over the last two decades could have fed up to 125 million people. In recognition of the growing worldwide problem, the agricultural chief scientists from the G20 nations will meet at a food loss and waste prevention workshop in Bali in July 2022. Solving the problem means going beyond agriculture and understanding the role of food packaging. There are many controversies around the environmental impact of packaging, and while no packaging at all is sometimes best, packaging can still play a role in solving the food-waste puzzle. From 2000 to 2019, as much as 184 kilograms of food per person per year was wasted, accounting for 7.29 percent of Indonesia’s greenhouse-gas emissions. Wasted food costs Indonesia up to 551 trillion rupiah (US$38 billion) each year. Some studies show packaging may extend shelf life and reduce loss and waste by protecting food during transportation from farm to retail. In Indonesia, poor-quality packaging has been identified as a driver of food loss. Unhusked rice, for example, spoils and spills when it is not packaged properly. But single-use packaging has been blamed for interfering with household food-waste management: plastic waste contaminates rubbish and hinders composting initiatives. Packaging needs to be removed from wasted food if the food is to be disposed of properly — removing it to extract the food waste at an industrial scale can be expensive and energy intensive. An audit in Australia found 32 percent of plastic food packaging in the rubbish stream contained food. Other studies have found 20 to 25 percent of household food waste is directly or indirectly related to packaging issues. Packaging designs can make it difficult to use all the contents, and best-before dates can confuse consumers. If food is past its best-before date, it is often still safe to eat, but consumers may think it must be thrown away. The date just refers to whether the food is at its best in terms of taste or texture. Packaging can also be a source of food waste when it prompts food recalls. In the United States, 36,000 cases of thin-sliced cheese were recalled in 2015 because the plastic film covering the cheese was a choking hazard. In 2017 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled yoghurt because there were plastics in the product. Zero-packaging grocery stores are emerging around the world, especially in Europe and North America. They encourage reusable packaging in sizes that allow consumers to buy only what they need, and they demonstrate the role that more durable reusable packaging could play in  supporting a short food supply chain. This model could be applied in both traditional and modern markets in Indonesia. A 2022 study by leading UK sustainability charity WRAP found that selling just five products (apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber and potatoes) without packaging would save more than 10,300 tonnes of plastic and 100,000 tonnes of food from being wasted annually. Consumers often waste packaged foods because it forces them to buy more than what they need. The role of packaging in food waste reduction and prevention  is an important topic for research and is still up for debate, but what is non-debatable are the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of food waste. Single-use food packaging is a potential source of pollution, particularly because there are infrastructural gaps in waste management in Indonesia, so a systematic approach to understanding the pros and cons of packaging is needed. Dr Tammara Soma (ORCID 0000-0002-4273-1165) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Her research in Indonesia was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship, the Dr David Chu Asia Pacific Scholarship and the International Development Research Council. During her fieldwork in Indonesia she was affiliated with the Bogor Agricultural University (Institut Pertanian Bogor). The author has declared no conflict of interest in relation to this article. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 15, 2022

A bricks and mortar approach to fighting modern slavery - 360 Tracey Dodd, James Guthrie, John Dumay Published on November 21, 2022 The nature of the construction industry makes it very vulnerable to modern slavery. Addressing the problem will take more than just legislation. Issues seen with the construction of stadiums in Qatar for the FIFA Men’s World Cup has highlighted the industry’s vulnerability to modern slavery. But it’s not just Qatar. Countries all over the world — including Australia — are grappling with systemic exploitation in the supply chain. Due to a reliance on low-skilled labour and raw materials (such as bricks) that are produced in countries notorious for human rights violations, 18 percent of all reported modern slavery cases occur in the building industry. Modern slavery breaches the human right of freedom and is a fundamental risk for organisations worldwide. Almost 50 million people worldwide are in modern slavery, including 27.6 million in forced labour conditions. It is a highly profitable crime and the risk to building companies is in their supply chains. The transparency and traceability of these chains become opaque as the number of tiers increases, making it difficult for many organisations to identify where violations are taking place. To reduce that risk, several G20 nations have introduced legislation. Australia passed the Modern Slavery Act 2018, which requires large businesses (with turnover above AUD$100 million) to assess and report the risk of modern slavery. Given opposition from large companies to the legislation, it’s unsurprising reporting from organisations has been uneven, with many not even meeting minimum disclosure expectations. The government is currently reviewing the legislation and may impose tighter controls on organisations operating in Australia. However, even before regulation, all organisations should consider whether modern slavery risks apply to them. Because large and small organisations are exposed. Research by a team from Macquarie University and the University of Adelaide examined a small non-government organisation in Australia’s social housing sector to show how exposure to modern slavery risks can be reduced. Social housing includes organisations that construct and rent accommodation to people who would otherwise be excluded from the private housing market due to their income or social status, such as people with disabilities. As a not-for-profit NGO, this organisation would be appalled if it were unwittingly supporting modern slavery. But it operates in a competitive building and construction market where the practice is rampant. The organisation worked with suppliers to develop audits to identify and reduce modern slavery risks. But audits are not a silver bullet. The organisation’s culture needed to change from audit compliance to one of compassion. Employees and contractors were trained to understand what modern slavery is and how to identify subtle signs that it might be in the supply chain, such as employees being escorted to work by others (a van dropping multiple employees to the worksite), guards on site that appear to monitor employees, employees reporting limited access to external communication (no mobile phones), and employees showing reluctance to ask for first aid if injured. It also encouraged and empowered staff to report the signs to management so they could act to remediate the risk. Through this case and ongoing research, it has become clear that greater action and cooperation is needed to eliminate modern slavery.  Australia’s legislation focuses on organisations to reduce modern slavey risks in the supply chain but to have a better chance of success that onus should be shared across all pillars of the community. Tracey Dodd  is a Senior Lecturer in the Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide, and Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Exeter. Her research interests intersect responsible management and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). She actively engages with industry regarding strategies to manage ESG risks, including modern slavery. James Guthrie AM is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University. James has held positions at various Australian and Italian universities, in a career in accounting education that spans more than 35 years. He is editor of the highly regarded interdisciplinary accounting journal, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability. John Dumay is a Professor of Accounting and Finance at Macquarie University Business School in Sydney, Australia, who researches modern slavery, sustainability, intellectual capital, and corporate disclosure. He is an Associate Editor of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Meditari Accountancy Research, and a Deputy Editor of Accounting & Finance. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 21, 2022

A cat in the house saves the birds in the bush - 360 Sarah Legge Published on March 7, 2022 Cats are skillful hunters. In Australia, public campaigning and local government regulation are helping to keep wildlife and domestic cats safer. In suburban Australia, a cat sits in a window, gazing indolently through the glass at fairy-wrens and thornbills popping about in the shrubs. Domesticated in the temples of Egypt around 4,000 years ago, cats were so popular that people transported them around the globe, including Australia. However, these beloved pets also rank as one of the most potent hunters, able to wipe out entire species when arriving in lands whose native inhabitants are unfamiliar with feline hunters. Worldwide, domestic cats are responsible for over a quarter of modern mammal, bird and reptile extinctions. Australia is now leading the world in finding ways to reduce their impact. When cats arrived in Australia with European settlers, they soon left their domestic roles and spread across the continent. Within a human lifetime (around 70 years), they had occupied rainforests, deserts and every habitat in between, eventually covering the entire mainland and larger islands. In that wave, more than 20 mammal species unique to Australia were driven to extinction mainly due to hungry cats. These included creatures such as lesser bilbies, pig-footed bandicoots, rabbit-rats, and hopping mice. Today, the pressure continues unabated: feral cats kill nearly two billion Australian mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs every year; many native species continue to dwindle, and some are close to extinction, thanks partly or wholly to cat predation. The urgency of addressing cat impacts in Australia has forced local scientists to innovate. Mainland fenced exclosures, cat eradications from islands, new poison delivery systems, smart fire and grazing management are just some of the tools keeping native species from extinction. It’s not just feral cats that menace Australian wildlife; that indolent cat in the window is looking at the fairy-wrens and thornbills with murder in its heart. Even though pet cats are fed by their owners, they will still hunt when outside. Pet cats hunt at a lower rate than feral cats, but since they live at high densities, the overall predation toll per square kilometre is actually higher in towns than it is in the bush, and there are documented examples of situations where just one or two cats have wiped out local populations of mammals, birds or reptiles. Just as Australia leads the world in the management of feral cats, it is also a global leader in the management of pet cats. Surveys consistently show the Australian public is more aware of cat impacts, and more supportive of managing pet cats, than the public in other countries. Almost a third of Australian pet cats are already kept contained 24/7 indoors or in a secure outdoor area, by their aware owners. Not only is cat containment the simplest and most effective way of stopping cats from killing wildlife, contained cats live much longer than roaming cats, because they aren’t exposed to hurtling cars, mauling dogs, and various diseases. The regulation and management of pet cats, and feral cats that live in towns, falls to local governments. A recent survey asked local governments across Australia what actions they had in place to manage cats, and what they needed to do that job better. The survey showed that local governments view the management of feral and pet cats as interlinked. For example, around half of local governments cap the number of pet cats allowed per household, and require pet cats to be desexed (unless the owner has a breeder licence). Local governments felt these measures were important not just for limiting the numbers of pet cats, but also to prevent pet cats from joining the feral cat population. Most local governments viewed feral cats as a serious problem, and have programs in place to reduce their numbers, usually through trapping. Often, these trapping programs are not regular and intensive enough to make a dint in the feral cat population, but there are exceptions. For example, Brisbane City Council has established an intensive trapping program that is successfully reducing feral cat numbers, after residents complained about the impacts of feral cats on ground-nesting birds including bush stone-curlews, and small mammals such as brown bandicoots. More Australian governments are setting regulations to curb cat presence and movements: almost a third of local governments impose night-time cat curfews, 24/7 cat containment, or even prohibit cats from some suburbs. Some local governments have all three types of regulations. For example, Tweed Shire has cat curfews, cat containment, and cat prohibition zones in different parts of the shire, and has set up monitoring programs in adjacent bushland areas to see if the regulations are successfully reducing the incidence of roaming cats. Tweed Shire Council has coupled these regulations with a “Love Cats, Love Wildlife” program to promote responsible pet cat ownership. In another example, the Australian Capital Territory currently has 17 suburbs where 24/7 cat containment is required, and the government plans to extend compulsory containment over the whole territory in coming years. Cat containment and prohibition regulations are most common in metropolitan areas, and also on populated islands with high wildlife values, because island communities are increasingly supporting initiatives to reduce the impacts of cats on their wildlife. On Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, all pet cats are desexed and ‘new’ cats cannot be imported to the island. Over time, the pet cat population will dwindle to zero, and at the same time feral cats are being eradicated from the island. On Kangaroo Island and Bruny Island, pet cats must be contained 24/7, and programs to reduce feral cat populations are underway. The progression to being cat-free is complete on Rottnest Island, where feral cats were eradicated 20 years ago and pet cats are prohibited. The quokkas that make Rottnest Island famous are thriving, making nature-based tourism a viable living for many island people. The support of the Australian public and local governments for better cat management is unusual. Promoting responsible pet cat management, and reducing feral cat populations, is a more vexed issue in most other countries. But even in Australia there is still a long way to go. Local governments in the survey had a range of suggestions for improvements to legislation, policy and practice that would help contain cats better. Pet cat management measures vary across local, state and federal governments, resulting in a patchwork of regulations that are confusing and hard to enforce. Whatever the regulations in place, a recurring theme was how important it was for cat owners to take responsibility for their cats. Cats may be lovely pets, but the Australian public increasingly agrees there’s no place for them in the bush. Reducing the impacts of pet cats is much simpler than controlling feral cats – just keep them contained, as almost a third of cat owners already do. The indolent cat on the window sill will live longer and healthier, and so will the fairy-wrens in the garden. Sarah Legge is an ecologist and invasive species expert at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University and the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Science, University of Queensland. This article is based on work Sarah carried out with several colleagues, including Tida Nou, Jaana Dielenberg, Georgia Garrard and John Woinarski. The reserach on cat impacts and cat management by local governments was funded by the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program’s through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. This article has been republished for World Wildlife Day 2023. It was first published on February 28, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 7, 2022

A changing climate is changing the Micronesian way of life - 360 Lauren Hodgson, Nina Lansbury, Gabriela Fernando Published on July 11, 2022 As Pacific Islanders struggle to survive in the face of climate change, they will need to adapt their traditional ways of fishing to the new reality. For Micronesian people, seafarers down the ages, the Pacific Ocean is their playground, their livelihood and their source of sustenance. They contributed almost nothing to the climate crisis, but their island way of life means they have been among the first to suffer its devastating effects. At the Pacific Islands Forum, beginning July 12, Micronesian governments will be looking to climate solutions to support their communities. The sea provides up to 90 percent of Micronesians’ dietary protein and represents a crucial source of essential micronutrients, so a conversation about sustainable climate adaptations for fishing will be vitally important. The sea’s bounty is deteriorating at an unprecedented rate. Some 70 percent of reef fish species are expected to be locally extinct by the end of the century. The average size of fish is also projected to decrease by 20 percent by 2050, and many fishers are already beginning to notice changes. Researchers quoted one fisher from Poland village, Kiribatias saying, “In the past, we catch Koinawa [surgeonfish] that were larger, now they are much smaller. In the past, we could only cook two fish in the frying pan. Now we can fit almost six in the pan”. The shrinking size of fish is widening the gap between the amount of fish required for good nutrition (35 kilograms per person per year) and what fishing expeditions are likely to bring back, with health implications such as undernutrition and impaired growth for households who rely on reef fish for food. “We depend heavily on fish, so really not sure what we would do if fish resources declined. The supply from the store is so expensive,” said a fisher from London village, Kiribati Fishers may need to switch from reef fish to ocean species such as tuna. Tuna numbers are projected to increase around several of the Micronesian islands. Diversifying fish catch may also help preserve traditional fishing practices and enable subsistence fishing communities to maintain their healthy high levels of fish consumption. Tuna contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and promote brain health. Tuna also contains high amounts of micronutrients, which are particularly important for expectant mothers for foetal and child development. Governments may assist in the switch to more ocean-going fish by increasing the number of fish-aggregating devices – large buoys anchored roughly 1 kilometre from shore that attract fish. Because the buoys are moored close to shore, subsistence fishers may be able to reach tuna using traditional paddling canoes, and not motorised boats. But the buoys’ allure to fish can be very powerful; they will require careful implementation to prevent overfishing of juvenile fish and causing harm to sensitive marine habitats. At the community level, revival of traditional preservation methods, such as salting, drying, and smoking, can extend the shelf life of marine resources. Community-led initiatives are particularly important given that traditional fishing often follows a gender divide, with men fishing and canoeing, and women preserving and gathering from rock pools during low tide. Programmes targeted at women could encourage stockpiling for when the weather is unsuitable for fishing. For example, octopus harvested at low tide may be dried and stored for several months. As catch surpluses tend to be shared among the community, this strategy may also support vulnerable community members who do not engage in subsistence fishing or are unable to stockpile food. Micronesian fishing communities have used preservation methods for thousands of years, so it is important that traditional practices are revived and encouraged through a community-led approach. As climate change bites, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather is likely to restrict the number of fishing days. The Cash+ programme from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization provides no-strings cash injections at a household level. It can provide fishers with financial relief to purchase essential food items until they can get back to sea or funds for boats for when they can. It is important to provide nutritional education at the same time, given an unhealthy shift in Micronesian diets in recent years to spam, mutton flaps, turkey tails and other processed foods. These strategies – at the government, community and household level – may help fishing communities adapt to the negative effects of climate change. The climate crisis is happening now and it will extend into the foreseeable future. But strategies that limit global emissions to 1.5°C remain the priority. Preventing the climate from changing extends benefits beyond Micronesia to other regions vulnerable to climate variability. For example, the residents of low-income countries and island states on the eastern side of Africa, such as Comoros and Madagascar, are also suffering deteriorating health in response to climate change and degrading oceans. Some 30 to 60 million people in these countries rely on fishing for their food. Adaptation strategies in the Pacific might benefit low-income coastal communities worldwide. Lauren Hodgson is a Master of Public Health student at the University of Queensland. She has a particular interest in the relationship between ocean conservation and human health. The authors declare no conflict of interest. This article has been republished for World Fisheries Day. It was first published on July 8, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on July 11, 2022

A city's hope, despair and anger on big screen - 360 Kaustubh Mani Sengupta Published on January 12, 2023 Leading Indian filmmakers Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen directed their trilogies on Calcutta during the early 1970s (Ray: Pratidwandi, Seemabaddha, Jana Aranya; Sen: Interview, Calcutta 71, Padatik). Distinct in their treatment and ideological standpoints, the films are acute and astute observation of the city in turmoil. Poverty, political unrest, corruption, violence, moral dilemma, and often hopeless anger of the youth are depicted with sensitivity. In terms of cinematic technique, Ray — though distinct from his earlier approach — seemed to be an observer from the outside. Sen instead plunged headlong into the action, speaking directly to the audience, with the use of newspaper headlines, still images, newsreels, episodic story-telling and disjointed narratives. The city life, though present intermittently in the early works of these masters, became much more prominent during the late 1960s and ’70s. Calcutta changed rapidly after 1947. The city started to burst at its seams with the rapid population increase with the influx of refugees from eastern Bengal (East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). The early years after independence were marked by severe cholera outbreaks. The public health system virtually collapsed. Sealdah Railway Station, where refugees took shelter in the absence of alternatives, was described in Amritabazar Patrika as ‘a veritable hell on earth’ (April 21, 1950). Newspaper reports invoked images of the 1943 famine. The city also became the theatre of a keen political contest, with the Congress Party in power and the left parties in opposition. The Communists initiated a distinct form of politics of agitation that shaped the urban political milieu of the state. Within the next two decades, radical politics would erupt and Calcutta was the battleground. Indian cinema also gained global recognition around this time. Bengali films played a pioneering role in this with the release of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1955). The famous trio of film directors — Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen — would change the contours of Bengali (and Indian) cinema. Realism became a hallmark of these films. Intense debates and discussions in film society circles as well as newspapers and popular magazines marked the emergence of serious engagement with cinema as an art form in the postcolonial milieu. Sen was particularly attentive to worldwide currents of left politics and his films put Calcutta centrally within that global context. As film historian Rochona Majumdar said: “All three films [Sen’s trilogy] have shots featuring important landmarks of Calcutta — Calcutta University, High Court, Dalhousie Square, All India Radio, the Victoria Memorial, the racecourse — as well as documentary and still footage of local and global events. Shots of popular Hindi and Bengali film posters, newspaper headlines, statues of imperial and nationalist leaders, processions and picketing, police firings on political protesters, images of Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, the Vietcong and African soldiers are also common to all three films. They situate postcolonial Calcutta against a background of global protest movements in other parts of Afro-Asia and Latin America.” Along with that, Sen was also commenting on the structural inequities of Indian society, on poverty, exploitation, and hunger that plagued India from the colonial times and was still prevailing two decades after independence. Before the trilogy, Sen had directed Akash Kusum (Up in the Clouds) in 1965. The film can be read as a precursor to the city films in some particular aspects. Akash Kusum tells the story of a lower middle-class ambitious young man who pretends to be successful and rich when he meets a beautiful young girl—“a day dreaming youth’s bungling attempts to cross the wealth barrier into a world of ease and sophistication”, as the reviewer in The Statesman noted at the time. The mood of the film is mostly light. The denouement, however, comes with the shattering of his veil. In the pages of the Statesman, the film caused fierce debates regarding the idea of ‘topicality’ of the subject among Ashish Barman (the film’s co-writer), Satyajit Ray, Sen and other readers, with Ray sarcastically commenting that, “May I point out that the topicality of the theme in question stretches well back into antiquity, when it found expression in that touching fable about the poor deluded crow with a fatal weakness for status symbols?” For Ray, any contemporary attitude reflected in the film was restricted to the surface only, “in its modish narrative devices and in some lively details of city life.” Interview follows the central character, Ranjit, throughout the city when he tries to get hold of a western suit for an interview for a job with a business firm. Innovative in filmic technique, the narrative, like Akash Kusum, again starts on a lighter note and portrays middle-class youth aspiring to break free of class barriers. But towards the end of the film, the tone shifts, and we see Ranjit, having failed to acquire the desired suit, bursting out in anger, breaking the glass window of a shop and tearing the clothes off a mannequin. This sequence was accompanied by images of political protests of students and workers as well as those of Vietnamese peasants and adivasis (tribals). The narrative, then, does not only remain about acquiring the suit. It becomes the metaphor for the imperial legacy still shaping the society in erstwhile colonies. From the naïve optimism and self-delusion of Akash Kusum to the initial hope of Ranjit in Interview, Sen finally moves to the revolutionary street protests of Calcutta and other parts of the world. The shift in the political mood of the city found an expression in his middle-class protagonist. Sen’s next film, Calcutta 71, angrier in tone, would bring to life the lower echelons of the society much more centrally. The last one in the trilogy, Padatik, takes a self-introspective tone where the protagonist, a political fugitive, starts questioning the methods and programme of the party. But in Akash Kusum and Interview we find the vestiges of the colonial mind where the middle-class pursues the dream of secure jobs and a bourgeois life. As historian Sumit Sarkar has analysed, a salaried job—chakri—was central to the identity of the colonial middle-class in Bengal. The drudgery of the time-bound routine life of a clerk in a government office or some foreign mercantile firm was despised by them and yet, it was a sought-after occupation. The job situation in Calcutta worsened after independence. For the middle-class aspirants, the search for a salaried job became a nightmare. The interview sequences in Ray’s Pratidwandi memorably captured the agony of these youth. In repeated interviews, Sen has mentioned that he wanted to portray the persistence of class exploitation, poverty, hunger, and social inequalities in India from the colonial period to his times. Perhaps Calcutta 71, with its episodic depictions of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and the immediate context of the late 1960s, presents a neat visual understanding of Sen’s reading of Indian history. In Akash Kusum and Interview, however, we find a nuanced reading of middle-class hopes and aspirations in the early decades of postcolonial India—expectations and dreams which would soon turn into bitter realisations and violent actions. teaches at the Department of History, Bankura University, India. He studied history at Presidency College, Kolkata and the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research focuses on urban history of South Asia with particular focus on Calcutta/Kolkata, early colonial state in India, and film and cinema studies. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 12, 2023

A creative identity crisis in the making - 360 Oliver Bown Published on April 3, 2024 Generative AI doesn’t like to credit its sources. For artists, that’s a problem. In a few short years, generative AI techniques have suddenly exploded into a revolutionary new type of creative tool. Using mere text descriptions, it’s now possible to conjure creative works into existence, as if by magic. People have rightly been quick to compare this revolution to the invention of photography, the phonograph, synthesisers or the internet. Like earlier creative technologies, AI is disrupting existing creative practices. But more than just competing with traditional creative methods, leading generative AI tools also exploit the creative labour and talent of previous creative work used to train them. Thus, a fierce debate is underway about how rights relating to the material employed to train generative AI tools should be treated. One camp, including the emerging AI giants OpenAI and StabilityAI, argues that it is “fair use” to scrape the world’s creative archive to train generative AI models. Are these AI models not, after all, just like people, learning about art and aesthetics from history and the world around them? Others with a stake in the issue tend to be artists and other copyright holders. Even if they might appreciate this view philosophically (and many do not), they still understand their existing intellectual property rights to include the right to refuse the use of their creative work as AI training data. In their view, companies need their permission. At heart, this division is confounded by the nature of generative AI: generated outputs do not directly reference training data inputs, but digest and regurgitate them. There is no given means of attributing individual sources. Even for creative industries accustomed to disruption, the situation is a genuine crisis – in part because it unsettles an established socioeconomic consensus, albeit one that is far from perfect. Creative attribution is itself a social construct. The existing means we have at our disposal to discern and honour the value of individual creative works are the products of collisions and compromise between technology, law and creative practice. Musical artists know that the economics of a single track break down into distinct intellectual property components, beginning with songwriting. Long before the advent of audio recording, a song, encoded on paper as sheet music, enjoyed copyright protection. Well over a century later, performances and audio recordings are now, in turn, robust copyrightable entities. For example, if you were to listen on Spotify to Sinead O’Connor’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U, a song written by Prince, then 15 percent of some fraction of a cent goes in the direction of Prince’s estate or representatives for the songwriting part, the rest in the direction of O’Connor’s estate, or her label, performers, and so on, for the rendering of that song as recorded sound. This 15 percent of a track’s value lying in the ‘song’ is a social construct, the outcome of negotiations between recording companies, publishers, streaming services and artists. When generative AI creates outputs, there is no clear line of attribution back to specific training sources. The alternative is to pay a fixed fee for the data. AI machine learning works by using enormous amounts of training data. If an AI company were to pay a fixed fee for the use of that data, then any individual artist’s remuneration would be a miniscule slice of a very big pie. Would you accept a fraction of $1 for your music composition or oil painting to be used in a product that might then churn out endless imitations of your creative style without credit? This is why many have now turned their attention to solving the problem of solving AI attribution, analysing datasets or generative networks to discern the relative weights of influence of traditional IP concepts such as songwriting, recording and performing – just as techniques of AI generation lay claim to being able to discern and extract ‘style’ and ‘content’ from creative materials. So imagine someone used AI to generate a piece of guitar music, and the resulting piece of music sounded a little like Eddie Van Halen (whether intended or not). Putting a figure on that association, say it scored 10 percent in its ‘Van-Halen-ness’, with the remainder going to 10,000 other potential micro-influences (a bit of Beatles, a smidge of John Lee Hooker). It is entirely conceivable, technically, to do something like this. And with the huge focus currently on generative AI and the means of training that AI, there are a lot of people looking at it. As well as potential pathways for remuneration, AI generation that afforded attribution would offer the basic respect of recognition – about which not just professionals but also amateur artists care deeply. If handled appropriately, such attribution techniques could provide new insights into our own individual and cultural understanding of creativity as a social phenomenon – but only if those measures and techniques can be properly unpacked and debated. At worst, artists would be forced to simply accept a dominant attribution engine, much as we accept the automated decisions of recommender engines – the algorithm-driven mystery machines that ‘suggest’ what we want to watch and listen to on any number of digital platforms. There’s a danger that the forward momentum behind generative AI, combined with this expectation of achievable attribution, forces an ill-considered and inequitable outcome. Such attribution of indirect influences opens a very serious can of worms, where what is perceived as an influence, and measured as such by an opaque process, becomes taken as authoritative. In any such process, the emphasis should be the idea that the musical and artistic styles of the world are more a part of our cultural commons than anyone’s private possessions. And while artists may simply want to opt out of AI and ignore it, there’s a plausible scenario in which ‘big AI’ becomes a fragmented world where the only cultural data used is what has already been accumulated by large corporations, presenting new issues of access and inclusion. It is impossible to tell whether automated attribution will become a significant part of our future. But it is essential that where it is used, it should not only be challenged itself through informed open debate, but also have the potential to drive forward concepts of copyright for the public good. Oliver Bown is Associate Professor at the School of Art & Design, UNSW Sydney. He is author of Beyond the Creative Species: Making Machines that Make Art & Music (MIT Press, 2021), now available as a free ePub from the MIT Press website. His research was funded by an ERC Advanced Grant: “Music and Artificial Intelligence: Building Critical Interdisciplinary Studies”. Oliver Bown’s research is supported by a European Research Council Advanced Grant and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “AI and the arts” sent at: 28/03/2024 09:14. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 3, 2024

A crucial G20 leaders' summit in Delhi - 360 Bharat Bhushan Published on September 8, 2023 India is hosting its inaugural G20 leaders’ summit at a time when the world’s economy is facing many challenges. The G20 leaders’ summit in Indian capital New Delhi across 9-10 September comes as the global economy faces major challenges. The world is barely emerging from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict has decreased the global food supply, resulting in a steep price increase. Inflation is rising. The G20 summit provides world leaders an opportunity to develop a consensus on addressing these challenges. The G20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union — the 20 largest economies in the world, which account for approximately 90 percent of global GDP and 80 percent of global trade. Since forming in 1999, the G20 has positioned itself as the premier forum of global economic cooperation. The presidency of G20 is rotational, with 2022 president Indonesia hosting the leaders’ summit in Bali. The host country has very little manoeuvrability to modify the core agenda of the G20, which focuses on discussing key issues of the global economy and ensuring international financial stability. India is hosting the G20 Summit for the first time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is projecting this as a major diplomatic achievement by his government. Playing the host provides India an opportunity to showcase its economic potential to the world and position itself as a major player. Domestically, it is expected to show Indian voters the global adulation for Modi’s leadership, as he prepares to seek a third term in six months’ time. In New Delhi, world leaders are expected to discuss issues of green development, climate finance, resilient and inclusive economic growth, progress on Sustainable Development Goals, technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, reforming multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development. The New Delhi summit may also see the inclusion of the African Union as a full member of the G20. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are skipping the summit, sending their representatives instead. This may have to do with the apparently irreconcilable differences within the G20 on the Russia-Ukraine war. 360info goes to the experts to examine the effectiveness of G20 in key areas of the global economy. Editors Note: In the story “G20 primer” sent at: 07/09/2023 09:33. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on September 8, 2023

A cure for cancer? Making sense of RNA vaccines - 360 Samrat Choudhury Published on May 22, 2024 New vaccines for cancer and flu are among a host of promising RNA therapeutics currently in human clinical trials. Potential cures for certain types of cancer. A universal vaccine against the myriad strains of influenza. New drugs to treat cystic fibrosis. Such is the promise of RNA-based therapeutics. Since a key technical challenge was overcome with the advent of lipid nanoparticles to more precisely deliver the treatments, and research interest revived during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the success of mRNA COVID vaccines, the field is now rapidly growing. In terms of messenger RNA treatments alone, as of late 2023 there were more than 80 mRNA therapeutics in human trials, with at least five new clinically approved mRNA drugs coming to market and many more in the registration process. 360info asked scientists in Australia, India and Malaysia to help us, and readers everywhere, make sense of this new technology and what we should expect from it. Editors Note: In the story “RNA therapeutics” sent at: 20/05/2024 07:51. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 22, 2024

A deep dive into the reality of radioactive water - 360 David Krofcheck Published on April 14, 2023 Japan faced three options with disposing of radioactive wastewater. All were problematic. When people go for a swim in an ocean they are literally bathing in a sea of natural radiation. The predominant component of the radiation comes from potassium-40 which is a natural part of the earth’s environment. Tritium, a heavy cousin of hydrogen, and carbon-14 are also sources produced when high-energy protons from space smash into oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the air. This atmospheric source of ocean radioactivity has worked on Earth for almost three billion years. Along with uranium radioactive decay products, humans live within this natural radioactive background. From August 24, the Japanese government plans to release into the Pacific Ocean 1.3 million tonnes of water which was used to cool the damaged reactor cores from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Between 2011-2013, approximately 300,000 tonnes of untreated wastewater had already flowed into the ocean off Fukushima. These first two years were the most dangerous time because long-lived heavy nuclei, like cesium-137, strontium-90 and shorter-lived iodine-131, from nuclear fission in the reactors ended up in the ocean. Since 2013 the stored water has accumulated from seawater flushed through and from groundwater which leaked into the three damaged reactor cores. The big challenge is how to manage 1.3 million tonnes of unsafe radioactively-tainted water. One of three options was to filter out the nuclear fission nuclei, then dump the filtered water into the ocean to dilute any remaining amount of tritium or carbon-14.  Japan has chosen this complex way from all the fraught options. Disposing of untreated wastewater into the ocean would release nuclear fission products in an uncontrolled manner. The danger of indiscriminately releasing nuclear fission products into the ocean is that the products can find their way into the food chain. Once in the food chain the nuclear fission heavy nuclei like cesium-137, strontium-90 and iodine-131 tend to concentrate in human muscle, bones, and thyroid. Cancers can be the result. This is why Japan planned to remove as much of these radioactive nuclei as possible from the Fukushima water before its release. Some cesium-137 and strontium-90  nuclei already exist on the ocean floor due to nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 60s. A good guide for having confidence in the safe release of radiation is to reduce human radiation exposure by making it “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” or ALARA. Filtering out the nuclear fission nuclei from the stored wastewater may be the best that can be done.The ALARA approach to reduce nuclear fission nuclei released resulted in a 2013 effort to develop and employ an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS. A series of filters was designed to remove 62 fission nuclei leaving both tritium and carbon-14 in the water.  It only partially worked. The Tokyo Electric Power company (TEPCO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agree that about 70 percent of the stored Fukushima water may still carry some of the original nuclear fission nuclei. Potentially, this water could be run through more cycles of the ALPS before extra dilution and later release into the ocean. The other 30 percent of treated water could also be diluted with seawater by factors of several hundred to one thousand and then released into the ocean. Any remaining tritium from the Fukushima reactor may find its way into the food chain as organically bound tritium via build-up in underwater plants and organisms. Organically bound tritium will still keep its 12.4-year half-life, but these nuclei stay in the human body for roughly 10 days before half of their number is excreted. The 10 days is known as the biological half-life of tritium. The process for excreting carbon-14 has a biological half-life of about 40 days, which is negligible compared to its 5,730-year radioactive decay half-life. These short biological half-lives contrast sharply with the decades-long residence time of cesium-137 and strontium-90 inside the human body. The second option for managing the Fukushima water was to hold it on site in an ever-increasing number of tanks. If the water is properly filtered to leave only tritium and carbon-14, then the natural decay of tritium can be used to reduce overall radioactivity.  Since the radioactive half-life of tritium is 12.4 years, holding the water in tanks for seven half-lives, about 85 years, would reduce the tritium content to less than 1 percent of its current value. This option leaves the carbon-14 which would still roughly have the same radioactivity due to its 5,730-year half-life. However, storing a tremendous volume of water for an entire human lifespan has never been tried. Even more water and storage tanks would need to be added to the ever-accumulating total as decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor cores proceeds. This was problematic. A third option was to evaporate the water on land near Fukushima. A 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station in the United States resulted in a similar radioactive water storage problem. About 9,300 tonnes of tritiated water, about 140 times less than that currently held in the Fukushima storage tanks, was electrically evaporated over two years. The tritium was released into the atmosphere, resulting in a radiation dose to people in the surrounding area of about one-hundredth of the natural background radiation. Japan and TEPCO would need to deal with even larger amounts of water and tritium emitted into the atmosphere if the 30-year timeline for the reactor core clean-up is followed. Again, this option was too problematic. It is crucial to distinguish natural background radiation from that of nuclear fission nuclei when seeking to understand the choice made by Japan and supported by the IAEA. Nobody wants to add additional radiation to the oceans, if only because of sympathy with local Fukushima fishers. But with proper ALPS filtering, people who go out to swim in the ocean should still have radiation exposure as the least of their concerns. Dr David Krofcheck is a Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Auckland. He declares no conflict of interest. This article has been republished ahead of Japan’s plan to release nuclear wastewater from August 24, 2023. It originally appeared on April 14, 2023. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Fukushima water” sent at: 12/07/2023 13:02. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 14, 2023

A job in a warzone or unemployment at home - 360 Manjari Singh Published on April 29, 2024 Indian diplomatic missions need to closely monitor the security situation and assess the threat perceptions to its communities. Nation-making is a tough business. Israel should know. In response to growing labour demand in Israel and to deepen their political relationship, India and Israel signed an agreement in May 2023 for 42,000 Indians to head to the Jewish state to work in construction and nursing. The move was widely reported by Indian and international media as one that didn’t account for the safety and security of its workers. And that was before October 7. The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that exploded in October resulted in Israel banning more than 90,000 Palestinians workers — who formed the backbone of Israel’s construction industry — to be replaced by workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. India signed a deal a month after the outbreak of hostilities to allow the emigration of Indian workers to an active conflict zone. Against the backdrop of an ongoing war, with tens of thousands of civilian deaths, there are well-founded fears that India’s agreement with Israel may come at a heavy price. As Israel finds itself in the middle of another crisis after Iran’s missile attack, an increasingly urgent question for India to consider is the safety of its migrant workers. The agreement seems to be a case of putting the cart before the horse: a knee-jerk response to maintain bilateral relations and an opportunity to ameliorate India’s ongoing unemployment crisis. Government schemes such as Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan and other schemes to address the unemployability in the country have generated only meagre wages. The statistics are worrying: the India Employment Report 2024 revealed that the number of educated unemployed youth had nearly doubled to 65.7 percent in 2022 from 35.2 percent in 2000. The report also noted an increase in self-employment and widespread livelihood insecurity, marked by a skills deficit which reduced chances of employability. More than 10 percent of Indians between 15 and 29 years were unemployed during 2022-23. In contrast, lucrative job opportunities, skill development and payment packages offered abroad, including the conflict-prone Middle East nations and the oil-rich states of the Gulf, compels workers to migrate. This makes it all the more imperative to institute safeguards to secure the welfare and well-being of workers going to conflict zones. The agreement between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), India and Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) was signed in November. A few weeks later, PIBA had conducted a meeting with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to streamline the process of recruitment. The NSDC worked with the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to initiate recruitment processes, especially in the construction industry. Among India’s various agreements is listed the protocol agreements between India’s MSDE and Israel regarding mobility frameworks between the two countries to facilitate worker movement under the NSDC, but these remain unspecified by the latter. The question of accountability for the safety of Indian migrant workers remains one of passing the buck. India has already issued a no-travel advisory to Israel and Iran as both nations are in an active military standoff. Indian expatriates play a formidable role in the country’s global supply chain aspirations which is driven by demand, demography, and drive. Labour migration has been one of the significant features of the last few decades. Workers who move to countries requiring emigration clearance due to their unconducive labour laws are required to register themselves under the Indian government’s e-Migrate portal, instituted since 2015 by the Ministry of External Affairs, which offers insurance under the Pravasi Bharatiya Bhim Yojana and other protections. Indian labour unions have raised concerns over the India-Israel agreement as a violation of India’s emigration rules that may endanger worker safety and be a potential threat to life in any active conflict or conflict-prone region such as Israel. According to India’s Emigration Act of 1983, no Indian can migrate for work unless they obtain Emigration Check Required (ECR) status from the Indian authorities. However, as the number of conflicts reduced over the years after the signing of peace treaties between some Arab states and Israel, to avoid inconvenience for the migrants, the GoI exempted certain countries from ECR list by October 1, 2007, including Israel. Israel’s membership to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) protocol is more binding and protective of foreign worker’s rights, their safety and security. Israel is already bound by OECD’s Employment Protection Act regarding labour rights and provides them protection, social security and health insurance. Around 14,000 Indian nurses and caregivers employed in Israel have not returned to India or requested government agencies for assistance despite the active conflict since October 2023. This was confirmed by the Kerala government agency responsible for expat affairs. Most nurses in the caregiving sector are hired from Kerala. Workers continue to face issues such as inadequate social safety nets and are vulnerable to employer exploitation, escalation of violence and lack of legal protection. Some of these aspects were exposed when Qatar was preparing to host the FIFA World Cup 2022. Workers’ rights were severely violated and the emirate was criticised the world over. Around 8.5-9 million Indian expatriates are working in the Gulf countries, of which the majority are employed as support staff and caregivers in hospitality industries, oil refineries, construction and service sectors such as drivers. The roles of Indian migrants have been diversified in the wake of the Gulf economies choosing to move beyond their oil dependence. This has been made possible with India’s strategic partnership with some of the regional powers in the Gulf. By the same standards, owing to India bolstering its relations with Israel to strategic partnership level in July 2017, the decision to send labour to that country stems from the need to increase New Delhi’s engagement with Tel Aviv. Domestic workers, for instance, in most of the Gulf Arab countries are not included under the foreign labour laws and thus are vulnerable to exploitation by employers. Likewise, in the event of exacerbation of conflict, evacuation of huge worker populations becomes a daunting task for the government. It is time that the government invests in proper streamlined evacuation policies and must continuously monitor the situations in these countries. There have been many instances when India’s evacuation drive has been successful yet done hastily and the government has been caught off-guard such as during the Kuwait Crisis of 1990s, Lebanon in 2006, Syria and Libya in 2011, South Sudan in 2013, the Yemen and Iraq crisis of 2015, and Congo crisis of 2006 and 2017. Despite many efforts, Indian diplomatic missions need to closely monitor the security situation and assess the threat perceptions to its communities. India already uses its diplomatic channels, consular assistance, logistical planning, coordinates with international agencies and countries, and communicates with its citizens. This was seen most recently during the Afghanistan and Ukraine crisis. However, given the scale of work-related outmigration, more effective and dedicated means need to be employed to safeguard the workers in such regions. Coordinated usage of technology and digital means under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to monitor its workers can be a step forward in this regard. Dr. Manjari Singh is Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of International Studies, Amity University, Noida. Her interests include contemporary Middle East, India-Middle East relations, India-Gulf relations, India’s national security and sustainable development. She is author of India and the Gulf: A Security Perspective (New Delhi: KW Publishers) and co-authored Persian Gulf 2018: India’s Relations with the Region (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan). Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 29, 2024

A new wave of research in the Southern Ocean - 360 Helen Phillips Published on January 24, 2024 To understand climate change and the Antarctic, scientists need to spend weeks at sea studying the depths. This is what it looks like. At the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart, there is a saying that to protect Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is to protect our future on this planet. This may sound like an overstatement, but in reality we are in the critical decade to cut carbon emissions to avoid tipping points in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and bring us back to a safe climate. The Southern Ocean controls the uptake of human-generated heat and carbon into the ocean and helps keep Earth habitable. It also influences global ocean circulation and climate, and contributes to melting of the Antarctic ice sheet – the greatest uncertainty in projecting future sea level rise. The waters of the Southern Ocean have a significant effect on the ice at Antarctica’s fringes. However, despite its importance, the Southern Ocean is one of the most under-observed regions on the planet. Ocean observations in such an extreme environment require collaboration between nations and disciplines and, of course, time at sea. This was exactly the approach we took to putting together the FOCUS voyage, led by CSIRO and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership. As a physical oceanographer I have spent my career observing and interpreting the Southern Ocean, to help answer urgent questions about its role in the climate system. In November 2023, I co-led a 34-strong interdisciplinary team on a five week voyage aboard CSIRO research vessel RV Investigator to build on this work. The ship set sail from Hobart, travelling more than 850 nautical miles south to the pulsing heart of the Southern Ocean – the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This current circles Antarctica and is like a big dam holding back the heat from the north and helping the waters around the icy continent stay cold. It is leaky in a few places, and has always been leaky, but we have observed more heat seeping through in recent times. Changing winds are expected to accelerate this heat transport, melting sea ice and ice shelves that hold Antarctic glaciers back from contributing to further sea level rise. Our aim was to zoom in on one likely culprit of this increased leaking – an eddy hotspot about half way between Tasmania and Antarctica – and build our understanding of the small-scale processes that control heat transport across the Southern Ocean. Armed with a state-of-the-art toolkit, we were able to observe the ocean in high definition above and below the waves. NASA and CNES’ recently-launched SWOT satellite measured the height of the ocean’s surface in fine detail from space, while the science team onboard the Investigator measured the properties of the water in the current all the way down to the seafloor. Our conductivity, temperature and depth sensor — the workhorse of the expedition — provided beautiful vertical profiles of the ocean in fine detail, while the box-shaped Triaxus provided rapid sampling closer to the ocean’s surface. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_6"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_6"} We also deployed a suite of autonomous instruments, some contributed by international collaborators, like gliders, floats and drifters, which move around the ocean at various depths and report back through mobile phone networks. These autonomous instruments will continue to collect data at sea for many months to come. There is a real rhythm to science at sea. You turn up at a ridiculous time of the day – for me that was 2am – and greet the team looking bright and cheery, ready to start work. In my role as co-chief scientist, my primary focus is ensuring the voyage achieves its scientific objectives. However, as I’ve learned over many years, it doesn’t matter how well planned the voyage is, an effective voyage relies on adaptability and collaboration. Conditions are constantly changing, equipment fails, and you have to work within the constraints of the ship. This means it’s not always possible to follow the original voyage plan. Instead, it’s about finding a way to compromise, and work towards objectives with a slightly different approach within the bounds of safety and wellbeing. The other key part of my role is providing encouragement and support for the team to work like a well-oiled machine. We all like to be recognised for doing our job well and that is particularly true when the conditions are rough and cold. One of the things I love most about voyages is the opportunity to work with the next generation of scientists, equipping them with the skills needed to be seagoing oceanographers, to gather data that is vital for understanding our oceans and the broader climate system. The team on FOCUS were an amazing bunch of enthusiastic, kind and generous people who did everything that was asked of them and made the voyage a success. Ultimately, tackling the world’s greatest challenges like climate change takes many careers, and fostering an environment where new careers can flourish is vital. Conducting science at sea builds an appreciation of every little piece of observational data we have access to. If there’s a gap in the data, something has likely gone horribly wrong – a piece of equipment has broken or the weather has turned sour. This appreciation built throughout the FOCUS voyage. One of my PhD students James Wyatt put it into perspective: “Out in the Southern Ocean, it’s rough, it’s cold, and it’s a long way from civilisation. It really makes me value the measurements we have access to.” Even if these emerging scientists never end up coming to sea again, it is important for them to understand what’s involved in gathering the data used in their research. While the at-sea part of the FOCUS voyage has finished, the Antarctic region remains in a state of unprecedented change. Our team of students and researchers in Australia, France and the US are working on the data collected from the voyage and from the satellite. Our results will underpin improved projections of Antarctic melt and sea level rise by delivering new knowledge of the influence of small-scale currents on heat movement across the Southern Ocean. We have a window of opportunity to use our data to help inform government and community plans to adapt to our rapidly changing world and to track the response of the ocean to reductions in carbon emissions and the return to a safer climate. The faster each one of us reduces our emissions, or carbon footprint, the more likely we are to keep Earth habitable. The research of the FOCUS voyage is supported by a grant of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility which is supported by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). is a Physical Oceanographer at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. Her work contributes to the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science and the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program Climate Systems Hub. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 24, 2024

A new way to fight sexual violence in conflict zones - 360 Zhi Ming Sim Published on November 29, 2023 The UN has tried tackling conflict-related sexual violence for more than two decades, but its “add-women-and-stir” approach doesn’t go far enough. Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, Yemen,  South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The world is witnessing the highest number of active conflicts since World War Two. Where there is conflict, there is often sexual violence — which can include rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, and forced marriage. More than two decades after the UN Security Council passed the landmark Women, Security, and Peace Resolution 1325 — which explicitly calls for women and girls to be protected in conflict situations and affirms the significance of women’s participation in peacebuilding — conflict-related sexual violence remains rife. The UN reported 2455 verified cases across 20 conflicts in 2022 alone. The real number is likely to be much higher: the vast majority of cases are never reported, partly because of the sensitivities and stigmas surrounding sexual violence. Women and girls made up 94 percent of cases in 2022. Rape has been reported in the Russian-Ukraine war, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had 701 verified cases, the  most reported by the UN. In one nine-day period in November 2022, 66 women were raped  at Kisu by M23 militias to warn and punish civilians supporting rival armed groups. Rape also happens in detention settings. Survivors of the civil war in Myanmar have testified that rapes as torture were common tactics deployed on activists in state custody. In Syria, sexual violence has been perpetrated against detained women, men, girls and boys, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic found. Alarmingly, children made up one-third (32 percent) of all verified cases. In Sudan, RSF militias  have targeted girls and women leaving places of refuge for school, work, or seeking medical help. In Iraq, among the Yazidi survivors who returned from ISIS captivity and forced marriage, hundreds remain in displacement sites grappling with significant mental health challenges. Some have children born of rape. In Gaza, Human Rights Watch and the  United Nations have flagged that women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual violence. As  Human Rights Watch has explained, the Israel government’s blockade of medical supplies, clean water,and electricity to Gaza will likely leave any such survivors of sexual violence untreated — at risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases, infections, and severely unhygienic conditions. Conflict-related sexual violence is not always committed by national armies directly: As my research has explored, state-sponsored militias also commit these acts, alongside non-state entities such as armed rebel groups, and guerrillas. While conflict-related sexual violence has been promoted as policy and strategy in extreme cases of ethnic cleansing and genocide, it is much more common for that sexual violence to occur due to “commander’s tolerance”, where acts are neither prohibited nor an explicit policy. Critical feminist perspectives suggest practical measures to address sexual violence in conflict. Some argue the “add-women-and-stir” framework of Women, Peace and Security resolutions has failed to address the fundamental structures of masculine militarism at the crux of pervading sexual violence in conflict. Contrary to the UN-popularised  “weapon of war” narrative, sexual violence rarely unfolds under explicit military directives. Instead, armed groups, national governments, and institutions – characterised by toughness, aggression and domination – underpin implicit tolerance for sexual violence and its proliferation in conflict. This means unless there are purposeful steps to disrupt and change gender and social relations, sexual violence in conflict will persist. So too, will relations of domination that sustain conditions for conflict such as exaggerated ideals of manhood that have often justified military action, and allowed military personnel to dehumanise women and minority communities. Resolving conflict-related sexual violence, therefore, should involve moving beyond merely centering gender within international security dialogues, but to rethink and address meanings of security that often necessitate the use of violence. This will be no small feat. The traditional view of security has been state-based and state-centric, defining security on the basis of national defence, border protection and military strength. But as Cynthia Cockburn has argued, this definition of security is “ill-designed to recognise civilian insecurities, and in particular women’s physical, sexual, and reproductive vulnerabilities in war”. New definitions of “security”, as Arun Kundnani writes, should focus on “the building of institutions  that foster social and ecological relationships needed to live dignified  lives”. This means a progressive defunding of military and intelligence  institutions, as well as border infrastructures and the construction of  alternative institutions that  ensure women’s safety. Policymakers could focus on anti-war  collectives built around  solidarity rather than threats, and  reparations rather than militarised retribution and  vengeance. For this to become reality, grassroot voices and communities need to be centered in policy-making. Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence  could not only be consulted, but become decision-makers in domestic and international processes, as they work towards more comprehensive state accountability and social justice for a more humane world. This would require a paradigm shift in the way the international community treats conflict-related sexual violence – and the ways it values militarism and defines security. Zhi Ming Sim is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at York University. Their research examines the political ecologies of clean sustainability projects in Southeast Asia. They also write broadly on conflict-related sexual violence and anti-imperialist movements across Asia. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 29, 2023

A night-time ban in Atlanta showed just how much e-scooters prevent traffic jams - 360 Omar Isaac Asensio Published on February 16, 2023 Shared e-scooters look set to stay in urban centres, with research showing they help alleviate traffic congestion. They are the latest urban sensation. Shared e-scooters and e-bikes have sprung up in cities around the world. While some have embraced them as a transport option, others have railed against them on safety grounds. But a study from Atlanta, USA published in Nature Energy suggests e-scooters and e-bikes may help reduce traffic congestion, especially after major events. Shared micromobility rides such as e-scooters and e-bikes are expected to become a US$300 billion market globally by 2030. The availability of these zippy little transports is expected to displace some trips made in traditional cars or motorbikes and contribute to the electrification of the global transport fleet. Particularly for ‘last mile’ trips, micromobility rides may fundamentally change urban transport. When the US city of Atlanta decided to ban e-scooters and e-bikes between 9pm and 4am, it delivered a perfect natural experiment to understand the effects of micromobility on traffic congestion. The ban was enforced with mobile geofencing and remote shutdown, resulting in near perfect compliance. Using data from Uber Movement, researchers could compare travel time before and after 9pm and before and after the ban. During the ban, travel-time in the city centre increased by 0.241 minutes per mile. This translates to an estimated increase in evening commute times of 2.3 to 4.2 minutes per trip or between 373,000 and 679,000 additional hours combined for Atlanta commuters per year. For transport to and from metro train stations, the ban increased travel by 0.255 minutes per mile, a 10.5 percent average increase in travel time. The researchers showed that because traffic got worse following the policy intervention when micromobility options were suddenly not available, users were largely substituting their scooters for private vehicles. Where the researchers found the greatest effect was at one of Atlanta’s big soccer stadiums. The timing of the ban coincided with the Major League Soccer season. Travel time increased 0.886 minutes per mile on match days. A suburban resident who lives 20 kilometres away from the city, had an increase in travel time of 11.9 minutes returning home from the soccer game, a substantial 36.5 percent increase in travel time. The ban snarled traffic most severely in the first days after it was implemented. Within the first five days of the ban, congestion reached a crawl of 0.80 minutes per mile. However, after about a week, commuters seemed to adapt in their travel planning and the congestion effect stabilised to an average of 0.25 minutes per mile after five weeks. Although a two to five-minute delay in travel time does not seem huge, if extrapolated out to the whole of the USA, an e-scooter ban could mean lost productivity amounting to US$536 million in congestion-related costs. It’s a figure that may feed into debates about the economic cost of scooter-related injuries and the effects of micromobility regulation. The Atlanta case study shows that cities’ decisions on shared micromobility, such as e-scooters and e-bikes, have unintended consequences. The Atlanta ban led to a rise in traffic congestion as many riders switched back to cars. Meanwhile micromobility has the potential to displace cars and reduce emissions, making investments in the necessary physical and digital infrastructure justifiable. Cities like Milan, Brussels, Seattle, and Montreal, as well as smaller cities, are already seeing the benefits of such micromobility investment. It’s likely e-scooters are here to stay in many urban centres, with their ease of use and overall reduction in congestion and emissions arguing in their favour. is a professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on electrification and micromobility strategies. He directs the Data Science & Policy Lab, where he collaborates with the private sector and city governments on data innovation in policy analysis and research evaluation. He is a recipient of the US National Science Foundation CAREER award and is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine New Voices 2021 cohort. Funding for this research was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation Award 1945332 and Award 2125390 Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 16, 2023

A one-sided election risks Bangladesh's future - 360 Ali Riaz Published on January 4, 2024 With the distinction between the state, government and party obliterated, Bangladesh is heading towards a personalised autocracy. The January 7 Bangladesh general election is set to deliver a victory to Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. It might also turn out to be a watershed moment in the country’s history. Despite some similarities with the past two elections of 2014 and 2018, the post-election scenario in 2024 is likely to be different. Formidable challenges, both domestic and international, will stare Hasina in the face in her fourth consecutive term in office, with serious implications for the country’s economic, political and diplomatic trajectories. The road to the 2024 election is littered with intrigue, machination, crackdown on the opposition, mass arrests, violence and misuse of the state apparatus Even the judiciary has been mobilised to keep the main opposition political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, out of the contest. And yet the election is packaged as participatory. The question is whether the voters will show up to cast their ballot. When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the election in 2014 there was low voter turnout, which undermined the Awami League’s (AL) claim of gaining a popular mandate. The election of more than half of the parliament members unopposed in 2014 made that claim untenable. To avoid a repeat of 2014, this time around the AL has filed ‘dummy’ candidates — allowing its own party members to contest as ‘independents’ against the official candidates — hoping that these candidates will bring their supporters to the polling booth. However, the Hasina government is not banking on dummy candidates alone. It has also targeted the most vulnerable segments of society with the threat of losing welfare benefits if they don’t cast their vote. This is quite a sizeable number: 12.8 million Bangladeshis are recipients of social benefits and an additional 19.7 million receive stipends to support enrolment of primary and secondary school children. In many places, recipients’ beneficiary ID cards have been confiscated  by the local AL leaders with the promise that they will be returned after the cardholder casts their vote. Whether these tactics will bear fruit remains to be seen. Unlike the previous elections, however,  voter turnout will not tell the whole story. Sheikh Hasina and her party are already under a moral cloud of being non-participatory. The legitimacy of Hasina’s impending victory is further undermined by several other factors such as the setting up of three ‘King’s’ Parties, the timing of the crackdown against the opposition, the failed attempt to split the BNP, the use of state machinery to cajole and coerce individuals and organisations to join the election and continued violence involving the ruling party’s supported candidates and independents. In the past  year, experts have raised questions about the constitutionality of the 15th Amendment to the Bangladesh Constitution, which repealed the caretaker  government provision. Given the multitude of factors that undermine  the legitimacy of Hasina’s forthcoming victory, the 2024 election will further exacerbate the political crisis in the country. The catchphrase of US elections since 1992 — ‘it’s the economy, stupid’ — applies to Bangladesh as well. The AL’s claim of delivering economic development at the expense of democracy has started coming apart at the seams. Bangladesh’s economy continues to spiral towards a crisis. Foreign exchange reserves have shrunk to less than USD$20bn and are dwindling and external debt has reached almost USD$100bn with a debt servicing payment figure that will hit USD$3.56bn in the current fiscal year. The banking sector is in disarray with non-performing loans constituting 10.11 percent of the total. The liquidity crisis has led to the risk of halting of bank transactions on several occasions. Inflation is over 9 percent according to official figures, while market price suggests a far higher rate. And the Bangladeshi currency (Taka) has depreciated about 28 percent over the past year. In the past months the remittance flow, as well as export earnings (including from the readymade garments sector), have been declining. These problems have led to three rating companies — S&P, Moody’s and Fitch — downgrading Bangladesh’s sovereign credit rating. Crony capitalism, rampant corruption and a high rate of capital flight have also contributed to the economic crisis and benefited a small coterie close to the regime. These members of the civil services, police and law enforcement agencies, military and business elites, are key to the continuation of the regime. As the economic crisis exacerbates, those milking the system of spoils will demand even more concessions for their support. The new government will neither have the political will nor the public mandate to deliver them. The downturn in the economy is already causing serious hardships to the middle and lower-middle classes, while the poor are barely surviving. The dry tinder only needs a spark to unleash popular unrest. There will also be a geopolitical fallout of the one-sided polls. Bangladesh’s election has  drawn international attention as the United States and the European Union have repeatedly called for a free, fair and inclusive election, while Russia, China and India have stood by Sheikh Hasina. Russia and China have accused the US of interfering in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. Hasina has claimed that the US intends to depose her. Although the US has maintained silence since the crackdown on the opposition began and the election schedule was announced, speculation is rife that it may impose punitive measures after the election. If the US and the Western nations, Bangladesh’s major trade partners and sources of investments, opt for a punitive policy, the economic crisis will deepen further. This crisis could drive the new government more towards China which has the deep pockets to help the government with the goal of having more influence. Recent overtures from China send a clear signal in this regard. A combination of these factors points to a dramatic shift in Bangladesh’s foreign policy orientation. An immediate and key issue after the election will be how the government intends to deal with the opposition, particularly the BNP. Recent statements by AL leaders suggest the option of banning the BNP. This could result in further violence and chaos. The opposition is more likely to feel an existential threat as the space for dissent and political activism may well disappear. Bangladesh’s post-election political scene may then soon become akin to Cambodia under Hun Sen and China under the Communist Party where only parties with cooperative relations with the incumbent can exist. The country is heading into uncharted territory as the distinction between the state, government, and party is obliterated. The general election could well put a seal on a personalised autocracy. Ali Riaz is a Distinguished Professor of political science at Illinois State University, a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council and the President of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS). His recent publication is titled Pathways of autocratization: The tumultuous journey of Bangladeshi politics (Routledge, 2024). Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: Prof. Ali Riaz, Illinois State University, USA

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 4, 2024

A place to breathe in jam-packed Jakarta - 360 Eka Permanasari Published on May 30, 2022 Jakarta’s high-rise settlements are the most crowded places in Southeast Asia. New community centres provide vital outdoor space for a hemmed-in population. Older Jakartans would remember the 1963 Lilis Suryani song ‘Gang Kelinci’ (Rabbit Alley): people are multiplying in the city like rabbits, she sings. Jakarta has always been crowded, but now hundreds of child-friendly community centres are giving people a healthy, outdoor place to go and providing vital support for their physical and mental well-being. A megacity, Jakarta faces traffic congestion, housing, waste collection, water supply, and drainage and flooding problems. The metropolitan area, home to   30 million people, has large pockets of informal settlements and extremely high population density. Tambora district (Kecamatan) in West Jakarta is the most densely populated area in Southeast Asia. In 2021 it squeezed 50,627 people into every square kilometre. The area is filled with high-rise settlements where public space is non-existent. In the tiny dwellings the same areas are used for various activities from cooking to sleeping. Most residents need to take turns to sleep and sometimes have to sleep with their legs crossed due to the very limited space. Keeping apart from others to help manage COVID-19 is impossible here. Tambora residents simply do not have the luxury of staying indoors for 24 hours a day in their two-storey, 6-by-12-metre houses shared with 23 other people. Venus Alley in Tambora never sees daylight: it is dark and overcrowded, and the people who live here have limited access to clean water and fresh air. These living conditions, meeting none of the nine foundations of a healthy building, have profound effects on people’s mental health. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_14"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_14"} The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building. Source: Harvard T.H. Chan School for Public Health: forhealth.org Poor ventilation leads to low air quality, which reduces well-being. It also means a house is unlikely to be at a comfortable temperature. This leads to sick building syndrome, which is linked to low mood. Lack of natural light causes sleep problems and symptoms of depression. To combat these problems, the Jakarta government has established a series of public Child-Friendly Community Centres (RPTRAs). The centres support Jakartans’ mental health by providing open space and an alternative place to go. This alternative is especially important for residents of crowded high-rise communities such as Tambora. There are 289 centres across the city, most located in very crowded areas. They have become places for different age groups to gather and pursue healthy activities. Some centres have communal gardens, providing the many benefits of urban agriculture. Local people can grow their own vegetables and enjoy beautiful views and healthier surroundings. The centres green the city and empower the community to improve their physical and mental health. In Tambora, the 2.692 square-metre RPTRA Krendang centre has futsal and basketball fields, a community centre, a communal garden and a children’s playground. People use the space for urban farming, community gatherings and sport. The centre has become a retreat for fostering mental health. During the worst of the pandemic, this public area was the only breathable space away from the crowded houses. Studies tend to show a link between green-space exposure, physical activity and improved mental well-being in women. Access to green space has also been found to improve mental well-being in men. A city is not sustainable unless its residents are resilient and healthy. Jakarta faces many challenges in making all its buildings healthy places to live, but in the meantime easier access to open space is helping to improve community mental health. Eka Permanasari is an adjunct Associate Professor at Monash Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University Australia. She has led international research such as Cross-cultural Community-based Strategies for Sustainable Urban Streams in Des moines and Jakarta, as well as the impact of the new Indonesian capital to the communities and surrounding cities. Apart from being a researcher she also led several strategic national projects for the Jakarta government, such as the Giant Sea Wall Jakarta coastal development, six community-centre pilot projects (RPTRA), as well as the revitalization of public housings in Kemayoran and Klender. Dr Permanasari declared that she has no conflict of interest and is not receiving specific funding in any form. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 30, 2022

A potential debt trap in Nepal - 360 Ramesh Paudel Published on February 27, 2023 If the government of Nepal is not too careful with debt diplomacy, it might face a similar fate to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The deadly plane crash in Pokhara which killed all 72 people on board put the spotlight on the nearby international airport. The airport was built with assistance from China through the Belt and Road Initiative and has been controversial due to confusion over its financing. It is alleged that through the Initiative, China’s debt diplomacy could be converted into ‘debt trap diplomacy, which involves sponsoring significant infrastructure projects in developing countries with unsustainable loans and then exploiting the debt to exert influence over those governments. Aside from the Pokhara International Airport, Nepal has just completed the construction of two major projects Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa and Chobhar Dry Port in the capital, Kathmandu. None of these expensive projects have been operating effectively. If a project’s business strategy is ineffective or established without rigorous preparation, it conveys a very negative message to the international community and future generations. This is why extreme caution is required when funding such projects with borrowed money. The quality of governance is another issue to be seriously considered while racking up debt. The risk here is that a country’s national debt could become too high when Nepal needs heavy investment in quality infrastructure. When that happens, spending without proper calculation of income or direct contribution to the national output can be disastrous. As a result, increased interest payments can divert funds from other much-needed government projects, or there is a less private investment because of high-interest rates. Budgets are tightened and confidence in the economy weakens. For the fiscal year 2022–2023, Nepal’s government is only permitted to raise a maximum of 256 billion Nepalese Rupees (about  USD$ 2 billion) in internal loans. The decision to limit external borrowing comes at a time when several countries, including Sri Lanka, were facing debt distress. Despite Nepal’s debt level, which has doubled to 2 trillion Nepalese Rupees (from USD$7 billion to USD$15 billion) in 2018-19, it still has room to increase foreign debt acceptance by around 12 per cent. This has tripled in almost six years. Nepali officials have also become more cautious in accepting loans from China, requesting grants instead of loans for projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. Governments often face uncontrolled government debt due to factors such as recessions, high military spending, social spending and a fall in tax revenue. There are various ways to deal with this, usually by reducing government spending which means cutting programs or raising taxes. Nepal’s main source of revenue is import duties which means it’s forced to take on debt to finance development.  The risk, as research suggests, is that debt spent with poor governance can further inhibit economic growth. On top of this, high debt can lead to inflation as the government may be tempted to print more money to pay off its debts, decreasing the value of its currency. This can hurt exports and decrease the standard of living for citizens, who are now facing higher prices for goods and services. In extreme cases, the country may even face a debt crisis and require a bailout from the international community, further eroding its economic and political independence. The government’s capacity to respond to upcoming economic shocks, such as a national and international recession or natural disaster like the 2015 Gorkha earthquake is also hampered by a high national debt level because it may lack the resources to finance a stimulus package or necessary investments to maintain daily lives of the people. Rational and responsible spending and borrowing strategies are essential while the national economy is still recovering from two global shocks — the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war. If the quality of governance and political instability remain the same, any additional debt burden should be avoided, or proper spending capacity and the quality of governance improved. Otherwise, Nepal could fall off a debt cliff. Dr Ramesh Paudel is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Central Department of Economics, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Ramesh’s interest in research includes but does not limit to macroeconomic variables’ impact on the economy, issues of landlocked economies, structural transformation, foreign direct investment, human development issues and other aspects of development economics. Additional reporting and contribution by Subin K.C. Subin is a postgraduate student at the Central Department of Economics, Tribhuvan University. An earlier version of this article had the term ‘debt trap diplomacy’ in the abstract. This has been altered to ‘debt diplomacy’. Editors Note: In the story “Governments in the red” sent at: 27/02/2023 14:11. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 27, 2023

A potential digital lifesaver for diabetes patients - 360 Srinivasan Ramachandran, Anandhi Ramachandran Published on January 17, 2024 India is especially well-placed to take up digital therapeutics in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Digital technologies and data-driven provision of care are enabling a transformation in many kinds of medical treatment. How nations choose to take advantage of these innovations will influence the future of medicine and public health. Diabetes is a growing chronic condition in developed economies, as well as in low- and middle-income countries. Two decades from now, one in eight adults could be living with diabetes. Given the high prevalence of diabetes in India  — making it the “diabetes capital” of the world — and the widespread uptake of digital technologies in healthcare, the country is especially well-placed to take up digital therapeutics in diabetes prevention and treatment. Many studies on diabetes have found that self-management is critical for improving outcomes. The skyrocketing costs of diabetes care has also pushed preventive care to the fore. Digital therapeutics can provide new possibilities for people with diabetes to manage the condition on their own, and better identify warning signs in individuals at risk of diabetes. The ability to self-manage health is rooted in self-efficacy — a person’s belief in their ability to control their behaviour and achieve specific goals. The advantages of high self-efficacy in medical treatment are many, including behaviour changes, reducing depression and perceived pain, isolation and loss of cognitive abilities — including remembering, reasoning and learning — along with increased healthcare participation. Digital therapeutics is a new branch of health that uses digital tools and data to offer effective health treatments. The goal is to deliver medical interventions directly to patients for treating, managing and preventing various disorders, usually chronic illnesses requiring constant, long-term management. The distinguishing element in digital therapeutics is the use of evidence-based intervention and clinical evaluation. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, artificial reality and virtual reality technologies are increasingly contributing to the provision of more personalised care. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 percent of cases worldwide. Within any given population, management of diabetes includes lifestyle changes and therapies, as well as consideration of multiple factors. These include genetics, physical stature, cultural practices, historical trajectories of the population and evolutionary history, combined with general risk factors common to any population — urbanisation, high body mass index, ageing, reduced physical activity, and excessive alcohol and tobacco use. Within India’s population, additional population-specific risk factors are mapped, such as low birthweight, short physical stature and low lean mass. These factors are believed to have accumulated over many years as adaptations to growing population density, vegetarian diets, monsoon-related famines, and reduced agricultural security during the colonial period. The onset of diabetes, if not managed, can bring about many other complications — nerve damage, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis and cancer. It can be deadly. Fortunately, several treatment options are available. Several investigations, including those using ‘omic’ technologies providing complex molecular analysis from many populations, have revealed that type 2 diabetes involves multiple genetic factors. The conditions for onset of diabetes-associated complications may arise in the diabetes stage itself, given that there are several genes common among the associated conditions, including nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. At the same time, several genes have been identified that can protect against the development of diabetic complications, but it might take a long time before new therapies are developed from omics data. Reducing obesity and unhealthy lifestyles through a diet considering poverty, undernutrition and food insecurity while targeting sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles is a recommended approach to diabetes control. Digital therapeutics can help target obesity and eating-related disorders. Several digital platforms are available for diabetes management, and several companies are developing digital therapeutics for various disorders. The AI-powered Whole Body Digital Twin technology, which provides precision nutrition, claims a marked remission rate of type 2 diabetes, compared to standard diabetic care. A digital diabetes management program with real-time blood glucose monitoring offered financial savings in medical expenses during a one-year study. Some participants reported a one percent reduction in HbA1c — the blood glucose levels that are indicative of diabetes — and improved self-efficacy with the use of the Bluestar Web application. The US Food and Drug Administration has also approved some prescriptions requiring digital therapeutics. Several digital therapeutics are in clinical trials, and some have been published with positive outcomes. Implementing digital therapeutics through reliance on the internet and associated technologies in an Indian context requires facing the digital divide that occurs along various fault lines: between the young and the old, the wealthy and the disadvantaged, and rural and urban populations. The adoption of digital therapeutics will also be influenced by local regulations and insurance reimbursements. Diabetes care would benefit from the lessons learned from several facets of investigations about populations and consider digital therapeutics to overcome the challenges facing implementation of healthcare. An open and transparent deliberation on the ethics of digital therapeutics requires attention from experts. National health programmes could consider diabetes prevention and treatment by including digital therapeutics as one of the top items in their agenda. Disclaimer: The authors are not medical doctors. People who wish to learn more about the therapeutic options discussed in this article should consult a medical professional. Dr. S. Ramachandran is an Emeritus Professor at Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, Haryana. His interests include data analytics, software development, computer text mining, machine learning and experimental molecular biology. Dr. A Ramachandran is a Professor at the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), New Delhi. Her interests include healthcare technology implementation (telemedicine & mobile apps), healthcare data science, healthcare technology evaluation, and utilising the knowledge and experience gained to build digital health skill among healthcare professionals and students. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 17, 2024

A revolutionary new weapon in the battle against influenza - 360 Vinod RMT Balasubramaniam Published on May 22, 2024 Clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine have begun and researchers expect broadly positive outcomes in the battle against the widespread illness. Influenza kills up to 650,000 people around the world each year. Ninety-nine percent of deaths in children under five years of age in developing countries are due to influenza-related infections, according to the World Health Organization. The current crop of influenza vaccines has limitations in effectively combating the billion cases of seasonal influenza each year as they provide immunity against only one specific existing strain or mutation. The propensity of flu viruses to mutate into new strains means vaccines must be continuously monitored and reformulated each year. But a universal influenza vaccine, using mRNA technology — which was used with success during the COVID pandemic —  has the potential to provide broader and longer-lasting immunity against diverse influenza strains. The technology allows for rapid development and deployment and offers versatility in targeting multiple regions of the influenza virus. New or mutated influenza variants are always a threat, particularly those originating from animal sources. Pandemics such as the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed 50 million people, and recent outbreaks of the avian influenza (“bird flu”) viruses underscore the persistent threat posed by influenza. It also underscores the urgent need for a universal influenza vaccine capable of safeguarding against all subtypes of the virus. In recent years, lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (‘mRNA-LNP’) vaccines have emerged as a potent tool in combating influenza and other infectious diseases. These vaccines use mRNA created in a laboratory to teach our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein — that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. The limited efficacy of current vaccines can be attributed to their focus on only generating strain-specific antibodies against the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA). This is a protein within the virus which causes infection. To broaden protective immunity, novel vaccine strategies aim to elicit responses against more proteins (fragments of a virus). One promising avenue involves triggering T-cell responses. T-cells are a type of white blood cell and are part of the body’s immune system. T-cell-mediated immunity not only eliminates infected cells but also correlates with improved outcomes in individuals affected by influenza. Animal studies have demonstrated the protective role of T-cells against various influenza virus strains. These vaccines, exemplified by the successful development and global deployment of mRNA-LNP-based COVID-19 vaccines, elicit robust T-cell and antibody responses.  These vaccines also offer the advantage of rapid production and adaptation to target emerging viral variants. While several mRNA-LNP influenza vaccines are in development, most prioritise stimulating antibody responses and under-exploit the potential of T-cell immunity. The development of a universal influenza mRNA vaccine requires careful consideration of several pivotal factors to optimise its effectiveness and suitability. Initially, the vaccine should target regions within the influenza virus responsible for viral replication but are less susceptible to mutation. By concentrating on these regions, the vaccine can elicit broad and enduring immune responses, offering protection against an array of virus strains. Encapsulating nucleoside-modified mRNA within lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) has emerged as a promising strategy to bolster vaccine effectiveness. These LNPs shield the mRNA from degradation and facilitate its delivery to target cells, where it can be translated into viral proteins, triggering immune responses in the human body. Additionally, optimising the mRNA sequence can boost protein reaction, ensuring robust and persistent immune responses post-vaccination. Another crucial aspect of designing a universal influenza mRNA vaccine is incorporating adjuvants or ‘agents’ to amplify vaccine efficacy. An adjuvant is an ingredient used in some vaccines that helps create a stronger immune response in people. Integrating adjuvants into the vaccine formulation improves vaccine efficacy, especially in individuals with compromised immune systems. The design of a universal influenza mRNA vaccine should thus prioritise triggering T-cell responses, enhancing mRNA delivery and expression, incorporating adjuvants to boost efficacy and addressing practical considerations for global distribution. By tackling these critical aspects, a universal influenza mRNA vaccine holds the potential to revolutionise influenza prevention and control efforts, offering comprehensive and enduring protection against seasonal and pandemic influenza strains. As shown by COVID-19, mRNA vaccines have demonstrated safety and efficacy in clinical trials for various infectious diseases. This instils confidence in the feasibility of developing a universal influenza mRNA vaccine that is safe and effective. Ongoing advancements in mRNA technology, such as improved delivery systems and stabilisation methods, further enhance the prospects of creating a universal influenza vaccine that ticks all the boxes. The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has started enrolling volunteers at Duke University in North Carolina to test its experimental mRNA-LNP vaccine against seasonal influenza, one of several universal influenza vaccine candidates now in the pipeline. Another clinical trial has begun at the US National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Centre in Maryland. The mRNA vaccine technology offers several advantages, including rapid development, scalability, and precise design. Two categories of mRNA vaccines exist, conventional and self-amplifying and both are being explored for their potential to confer broad protection against influenza viruses. Despite their promise, challenges remain in effectively delivering mRNA molecules into a vaccine due to their inherent instability. Overcoming these challenges is essential for the successful development of universal mRNA vaccines for influenza. This aside, the advancements in mRNA vaccine technology have paved the way for innovative approaches to crystallising universal influenza vaccination, offering hope for broad protection against this ever-changing virus. Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam is Associate Professor (Molecular Virology) at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 22, 2024

A rose by any other name would be as endangered - 360 Giovanni Strona Published on March 7, 2022 Without good data and good science, it is not clear how many species we are losing to extinction. Young scientists dream of discovering and naming a new animal or plant species. Imagining themselves, Indiana Jones-like, sketching a colourful bird in a leather notebook in the heart of the jungle. But most often, the process is about being the first person to look at, let’s say, a tiny parasitic flatworm through a microscope lens. The discovery comes of long hours taking measurements from hundreds of specimens, and scrolling through thousands of photocopied pages of almost-forgotten literature to double-check if someone, at a small university, maybe in Russia, had been looking at the same worm half a century earlier. A vital scientic task, describing and cataloguing new species is technical, challenging and yet poorly rewarded. Most of the undescribed species are invertebrates – such as insects and parasites. But even a discovery of a new mammal species does not end up in a top ranked scientific journal, let alone the front page of the news. Records of new species end up in highly specialised journals. Precisely because of their specialisation, such journals have very low scores in the competitive world of scientific publishing. Scientists are constantly evaluated on the basis of such scores, so even an excellent taxonomist has much slimmer chances of being promoted or of landing a grant than a mediocre scientist working across disciplines. Some taxonomists have even put the right to name new species for sale on Ebay to finance their research and give it more attention. Now, taxonomists’ work is about to get a lot easier – for all the wrong reasons. Animals are going extinct faster than taxonomists can describe them. A conservative estimate is that there are around nine million species on Earth. Our current knowledge is likely less than 20 percent of that. It is estimated taxonomists catalogue about 8,000 new species each year. However, knowing that a species exists is not the same as having a clear picture of whether the species is endangered. For the majority of known species, we have no information on their conservation status. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature keeps a record of how endangered species are, known as the ‘Red List’. But the IUCN has only assessed the conservation status of less than 150,000 species – that’s less than 5 percent of known species. Around 40,000 of those are threatened. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_5"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_5"} Some claim that we are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction, exactly as it happened to dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. Looking at the number of extinctions ever documented in the present day fauna — a non impressive 900 species — the situation does not seem so dramatic. But let us take a few steps back. If we focus on extinction rate instead of on number of documented extinctions, a totally different picture emerges. Scientists do not agree on what fraction of global diversity we are losing every year. But even looking at the most conservative estimates is not encouraging, showing that up to 0.01 percent of species might go extinct every year, or more than one species an hour. Other estimates are much gloomier than this, with yearly extinction rate going up to almost 0.8 percent. Advances in molecular and artificial intelligence techniques can detect the presence of species by scanning soil or water samples for tell-tale DNA fragments, or by analysing sound recordings. These new technologies offer unprecedented opportunity to map diversity at the global scale and accelerate taxonomic efforts. They will also help refine current estimates of species numbers, getting closer to the true value. However, such techniques cannot be considered a replacement for formal species descriptions. DNA sequences retrieved from environmental samples need to be compared with available reference datasets, which are still far from covering the known diversity of life. Finding a DNA sequence which has no match in genetic databases does not necessarily equal the discovery of a new species. And, a DNA sequence without any specimen doesn’t count towards filling the gaps of undescribed species. Putting all these factors together suggests the time when all life on Earth will be described might come somewhere in the middle of next century. But this catalogue will be a critically impoverished 30 percent of the present-day diversity. A mass extinction is considered to have occurred when three-quarters of species have gone extinct. This is predicted to occur just a few decades later. The possibility that a conspicuous portion of global diversity will be snuffed out before ever being recorded is real. But while taxonomists may clarify which species we are losing in the mass extinction that is already underway, the fact remains it will occur regardless of whether the species extinguished had a name. Thanks to some of the new tools for species detection, scientists have an increasing availability of data on global patterns of species diversity and rarity, which they can combine with climatic and ecological models to both predict future trajectories of species loss and inform conservation planning. In the foreseeable future, the new molecular techniques will be able to assess changes in abundances of known species. Natural communities are extremely complex, and gaining a better understanding of such complexity is key to tackle at least some of the many challenges our planet is currently facing. Umberto Eco finishes his novel The Name of the Rose with the Latin sentence “Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus”. A rose exists, regardless of the name we give it. Taxonomists’ work is essential and deserves a renewed recognition from the scientific community. But, perhaps, we don’t need the identity of all the parts of the intricate architecture underlying ecological systems. Species exist, regardless of how we name them. It is a vital scientific task to name them, but taxonomic gaps need not not hinder conservation efforts and do not necessarily limit our ability to understand how the natural world works. Giovanni Strona is associate professor of the organismal and Evolutionary biology research programme at the University of Helsinki. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “World Wildlife Day” sent at: 24/02/2022 16:05. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 7, 2022

A spoonful of sugar can stop the (fake) medicine going down - 360 William H. Grover Published on July 27, 2022 The key ingredient in detecting a counterfeit medicine could be in your kitchen. Pantries everywhere could hold the key to identifying fake medicines. If you’ve ever taken the time to look closely at a chocolate freckle (or nonpareil candy) you will have noticed no two are alike. That same randomness is now being applied to help identify fake medicines. Adding multi-coloured candy sprinkles at random during the manufacturing process could create distinct patterns and help fight fraudulent products. Unlike Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, this spoonful of sugar could prevent people from taking medicines that might harm them. Fake or substandard medicines often seem to be the genuine article, but they may not have the right active ingredients, or they could contain potentially harmful additives. The problem costs about US$200 million every year, and affects around one in every 10 medical products in developing economies, according to the World Health Organization. A recent study at the University of California shows candy sprinkles (also known as hundreds and thousands, or nonpareils) can be effective drug identifiers, as they create unique patterns when randomly affixed to a pill or capsule during the production process. These patterns are easy to make but difficult and time-consuming to duplicate, which makes them useful for proving the authenticity of a medication. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_2"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_2"} These on-pill patterns — dubbed “CandyCodes”— would be a permanent part of the drug from manufacturing all the way to the consumer. The CandyCode pattern on each pill would be photographed before leaving the manufacturer and the photos stored in a searchable database of known-good pills. A consumer could then simply photograph their pill with their camera phone and upload the image to the manufacturer’s website, which would search for a matching CandyCode in the database. No match would mean the drug had not been produced by that manufacturer and the quality is not guaranteed. The study showed that a drug manufacturer could produce at least 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 quadrillion) CandyCoded pills — about 40 million for every person on earth — and still be able to uniquely identify each CandyCode and confirm the authenticity of each pill. The experiment to test the effectiveness of CandyCodes used edible adhesive to attach candy sprinkles to acetaminophen/paracetamol caplets. Commercially produced chocolate freckles were also used as convenient substitutes for large-scale manufactured CandyCoded medicines, as they are inexpensive, already mass produced and roughly the same size as pills and capsules. The study also included computer simulations of much larger numbers of CandyCodes. It found computer algorithms can be used to convert a photo of a CandyCode into binary data for more efficient storage and searching in a database. Unlike traditional barcodes, which have regularly spaced lines or grids of pixels that help with decoding the information they contain, CandyCode sprinkles are placed at random on each pill and have no well-defined structure. The algorithms developed in the study take advantage of the tendency of sprinkles to pack together into hexagons on the surface of a pill.  And by converting the order of the colours of the sprinkles in each hexagon into binary data, the algorithms can store each CandyCode in a conventional database. Unlike existing anti-counterfeiting techniques, CandyCodes require minimal modifications of the existing manufacturing process and no specialised equipment to read their patterns. Since many manufacturers already take photographs of their products for quality-control purposes, obtaining CandyCodes from these existing photographs should also require minimal extra effort. Other researchers have proposed various medicine identifiers, but many have shortcomings that stop them being widely used. For example, a suggestion to mark a drug capsule’s surface with encoded ID requires a specialised reader. Another technique requires printing a unique QR code on each pill, but reading the code requires a microscope. Printing IDs on film-based formulations of a product, and using fluorescent ink or mouldings for on-pill QR codes that could be read by smartphones, have also been suggested, but these all require significant changes to the manufacturing process. But more work needs to be done before CandyCodes can be widely rolled out on pharmaceuticals. For example, to avoid adding sugar (and calories) to a medication, CandyCodes may need to be developed that use edible colored particles that do not contain sugar. Also, since different regions have different regulations on food colourants, the colours used in CandyCodes must be approved for food and drug use in all relevant markets. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_10"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_10"} CandyCodes will also need to maintain their integrity once shipped from the manufacturers. Sprinkles that are not firmly attached could fall off during shipping and distribution, creating problems if the pills’ appearance no longer matches the images on file. The study tested this by tumbling a bottle containing CandyCoded medications nonstop for one week (after which the CandyCodes were still decodable), but testing under additional conditions is needed. The principle behind CandyCodes could be used to authenticate more than just pharmaceuticals. In 2019 alone, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency confiscated over US$1.5 billion worth of counterfeit cosmetics, perfumes, wine, spirits, apparel, accessories and other high-value goods. Legitimate manufacturers of these goods could protect their genuine products by applying a drop of glue to a bottlecap or tag and then dusting the glue with multicoloured particles or glitter, forming a unique CandyCode-like identifier on the product. William H. Grover is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside. The original research described in this article was supported by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1191214). The author declares no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on July 27, 2022

A staged election could result in political instability - 360 Bharat Bhushan Published on January 4, 2024 Democracy is in peril in Bangladesh with elections widely perceived as flawed. Combined with economic woes and social unrest, the country is on the brink. The Bangladesh general election on January 7 is widely expected to be neither inclusive nor competitive. The main Opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is boycotting the elections along with another 14 of the nation’s 44 registered political parties. Political observers believe the electoral field has been deliberately curtailed to ensure a fourth consecutive term for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who leads the ruling Awami League (AL). The BNP and other Opposition parties have demanded a return to the practice of holding elections under a caretaker government. Bangladesh witnessed robust and representative elections between 1991 and 2008 – with the exception of the elections of February 1996 when the BNP was in power and the then-opposition Awami League boycotted the elections demanding they be held by a neutral caretaker government. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The caretaker government system for holding elections came about because the one-sided election in February 1996 led to the BNP winning 300 out of 300 seats, resulting in widespread political turmoil. Parliament then passed the 13th amendment to the Constitution to allow a neutral caretaker government to assume power and oversee fresh elections on June 12 1996. That led to the AL coming to power. However, the AL, which has been in power since 2008, after a Supreme Court judgement holding the system illegal, decided to do away with the caretaker government system in 2011. Coincidentally, the two general elections held under the aegis of the AL government – in 2014 and 2018 – were widely considered to be less than fair. In 2014 more than half the constituencies were won by the AL uncontested and in 2018, there were allegations of ballot-stuffing on the eve of polling. The 2024 election is also turning out to be one-sided. There have been allegations that the state’s security machinery is working in cahoots with the activists of the ruling party to attack Opposition political gatherings. A recent report by Human Rights Watch found evidence that “security forces are responsible for using excessive force, mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and extra-judicial killings in a spate of recent election related violence’’. BNP leaders claim that more than 20,000 party supporters have been arrested on “fictitious and concocted” charges. Those detained are half that number and the police cases against them go as far back as 2001, the government has countered. The big issue before the ruling dispensation is to ensure that the election appears as inclusive, competitive and participatory. As attempts to split the main Opposition party, the BNP, have failed, three new “King’s parties” have been set up – the Trinamool (Grassroots) Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Movement and the Bangladesh Supreme Party. Their participation will give the appearance of an inclusive and competitive election. Of the 2,712 candidates, 747 are “independents”.  A large number of them are “rebel” candidates from the AL who were denied party nomination. They have now been co-opted with official endorsement as “independents” by the AL. The attempt once again is to package the election as inclusive and competitive. Independent candidates endorsed by the AL are expected to corral their supporters and increase polling percentage. In addition, beneficiaries of the government’s welfare schemes are being told that unless they vote on the polling day, financial payments to them would cease. A higher polling percentage will showcase the elections as participatory. Bangladesh has also become a battleground for geopolitical competition between the US and China. The United States seems worried by the growing Chinese strategic influence in Bangladesh under the Hasina government. The US is apprehensive that this general election too may be stolen like the previous ones by the ruling regime. It has threatened visa sanctions against those (and their immediate family) who prevent a free and fair election. However, it has not escalated the sanctions, perhaps fearing that excessive arm-twisting could push Dhaka further towards Beijing. India, despite being a strategic partner of the US and an integral part of its Asia-Pacific strategy, appears to have thrown its weight behind long-term ally Sheikh Hasina. So has its arch-rival China, which has massive infrastructure investments in Bangladesh, and Russia. India is not unhappy being in the same camp as China perhaps because it thinks that being friendly with both China and India, Russia will provide the necessary balance between the two. The consequences of an election that is not acceptable to the political class could throw Bangladesh into political turmoil. Unrest may also be fuelled by a deteriorating economy with the public suffering because of escalating cost of living, fuelled largely by the rising cost of food and energy. While Bangladesh’s foreign debt has doubled since 2016, forex reserves have dropped from USD$48billion in August 2021 to less than half at about USD$20bn now. The government received an IMF bailout package of USD$4.7bn in January 2023, of which the two tranches have already been disbursed. As the IMF’s proposed structural reforms tend to impose strict austerity measures, along with a weakening currency, Sheikh Hasina’s almost certain fourth consecutive term in office may face considerable public anger. Some political observers have speculated that if Hasina is unable to control political unrest and fails to co-opt the army elite, conditions may be created for a military intervention.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 4, 2024

A united front in fight against the 'silent pandemic' - 360 Gerald Bloom Published on November 14, 2022 Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, and we’re at a crossroads on how to combat it. It’s called the “silent pandemic” and kills more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human health. Already it has had a hand in the deaths of millions, and the numbers could get worse. How countries take on this threat has wide-ranging repercussions. It will require a new kind of health diplomacy in which nations negotiate rules for cooperation and agree on their responsibilities and entitlements. In 2019, antimicrobial resistance was directly linked to the death of 1.2 million people and associated with another 5 million. That same year, HIV/AIDS killed around 860,000 people and malaria 640,000. The overuse of antibiotics means they have become less effective against serious infections. Drugs no longer work because the bacteria causing infections — such as pneumonia — have become resistant to treatment. There has been relatively little investment in the development of new antibiotics, partly because the use of any new products need to be limited to delay the development of resistance. This means companies cannot generate revenue. Many people in low- and middle-income countries still do not have access to antibiotic treatment for common infections. They often rely on local drug sellers who may supply sub-standard products. The same countries face an increasing problem with resistant organisms. According to a study published in UK medical journal The Lancet, antimicrobial resistance affects the poorest the hardest. Sub-Saharan African nations have the highest fatality rate, at 27.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Infections of the respiratory tract, bloodstream and stomach that were once treatable are now killing hundreds of thousands. The World Health Organization has identified some strategies to address the problem. It calls for measures to reduce the burden of infections through good hygiene, especially in health facilities, and by vaccinating people against some common infections. It also calls on governments to support research and development of new antibiotics. But successful implementation needs sufficient funds and participation by all governments. For example, the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System collates data on resistant bacteria around the world. Low- and middle-income countries should contribute to the system, since they are important sources of new resistant organisms. In exchange, they need to receive support in reducing avoidable deaths from common infections by strengthening preventive measures and ensuring everyone has access to treatment, including antibiotics. The effectiveness of the response to COVID-19 highlighted a new approach to mobilising science and technology to address urgent health problems. It involved early warning of the emergence of a new organism, rapid development of vaccines and the production and distribution of medicines. The rapid response was possible because of previous investments in cutting-edge research and collaborations between university scientists and private companies. This meant that rapid progress could be made when additional funds were provided during the crisis. There is a need for similar investments in understanding bacterial infections. Some progress is being made. The UK is piloting a new approach to encourage the development of new antibiotics by making a fixed annual payment to companies that bring new products to the market. The US is considering passing the Pasteur Act, which would take a similar approach. But we are yet to see other countries following suit. There are also no agreed rules for the use of new antibiotics and ways to preserve their efficacy. Incentives to increase the demand need to be complemented by measures that will encourage research. Biotechnology can be a strategic sector for governments. Building the capacity for rapid development and production of drug treatments and vaccines at scale can strengthen national security and contribute to economic growth. There are signs that some governments are funding new kinds of partnerships between academic laboratories and private companies to build expertise in biotechnology. For example, the US and China are committing substantial amounts of money to pursue leadership in this area. The UK has also identified this sector as strategically important. But there are dangers —  competition between countries may also impede cooperation. And any failure to cooperate could lead to duplication of efforts and hamper scientific progress. Worse, it could lead to rival nations withholding important information about resistant bacteria or novel treatments to gain a commercial or geopolitical advantage. To avoid this potentially dangerous outcome, it will be important to agree on basic rules about sharing information and enabling international cooperation between scientists. Low- and middle-income countries also need to have access to new antibiotics. One innovative approach to this challenge is an agreement between a Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shionogi, the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership and the Clinton Health Action Initiative. The agreement will allow local production and distribution of cefiderocol — used for treatment-resistant serious bacterial infections — in 135 low- and middle-income countries. This is a small step towards a more global approach to the development, production and use of new antibiotics. We are now approaching a crossroads on how to meet the challenges of future pandemics. Forthcoming meetings of the G7 and G20 will provide a test of whether countries can agree on how to enact real change and back this up with commitments of sufficient funds. There is hope for global cooperation. But a lack of trust and cooperation could substantially impair the ability to address these public health challenges. Dr Gerald Bloom is a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, at the University of Sussex, UK. His recent work includes studies of strategies for reducing overuse of antibiotics in rural India and for strengthening antibiotic discovery in the UK and China. The research was undertaken with financial assistance from the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. The author declares no conflict of interest. This article has been republished ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit starting on October 9, 2023. It was first published on November 14, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 14, 2022

A VR game to improve ADHD diagnosis for kids - 360 Thjin Wiguna Published on October 18, 2023 Diagnosing ADHD in children is difficult and often has to rely on subjective interviews. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence could help fix that. Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be life-altering for a child. There are factors that make such a diagnosis challenging for doctors. The creeping influence of subjective interviews makes it a lot harder for doctors to get the diagnosis right. Parents feel responsible to their child, which can trigger a bias that affects interview responses and ultimately the diagnosis itself. Now virtual reality (VR) and machine-learning technology linked to artificial intelligence (AI) offer a way past the obstacles to accurate diagnosis. A clinical diagnosis of ADHD in children and adolescents happens through observation, a series of interviews with the child and carers and — in some cases — brain-related psychiatric testing. Interactions with the child alone are sometimes difficult to interpret because so much hinges on how a child adapts to the unfamiliar setting of interviews and observation. The input of the child’s primary carers is often influential. The involvement of carers adds a subjective element to the process, especially when they can’t describe their child’s behaviour accurately, either because they can’t comprehend it or because they haven’t spent enough time around them. Some solutions to add objectivity to the diagnosis timeline are still developing: brain-imaging studies suggest some correlation between ADHD and tissue abnormalities, but biological marker testing is not yet sensitive enough to help. As the process is refined, more people are being diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD affects between 5 to 7.2 percent of children and 2.5 to 6.7 percent of adults globally. In the United States, it’s believed to be higher in children — around 8.7 percent. Up to 90 percent of children with ADHD might continue to experience symptoms into adulthood, even as some no longer fully meet the ADHD criteria. Adults can be diagnosed with ADHD without any previous diagnosis in childhood. Trends indicate that ADHD is being diagnosed more often. This might in part be because the medical definition of ADHD was broadened in 2013, allowing for people to be diagnosed with both autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, rather than one or the other. It is important to have an ADHD diagnostic tool that is highly sensitive and specific to ADHD clinical symptoms to justify the diagnosis and to create a non-threatening environment for children. Several studies have shown that virtual reality can be used as a diagnostic tool for ADHD. Virtual reality can create a safe digital environment that resembles the child’s daily living situation, allowing the collection of better behavioural data than ordinary brain-related psychiatric testing. Machine learning could be used to supercharge the power of virtual reality as an ADHD diagnostic tool. Machine learning, an application of artificial intelligence, enables a computer system to learn and improve its experience without explicit human programming, refining and improving the accuracy of its diagnoses. In the best case, machine learning produces an intelligent model that collects complex clinical data like ADHD behaviours or symptoms. It can then produce a model algorithm from the data  to make more accurate predictions about whether a patient has ADHD. In 2020, Universitas Indonesia and Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta established an ADHD virtual reality diagnostic tool that uses machine learning to support the diagnosis procedure. The embrace of VR was informed by several studies. In the Indonesian study, patients using the machine learning-supported diagnostic tool were placed in a virtual classroom. The classroom is one of the most challenging environments for children with ADHD, which can affect a student’s ability to focus, pay attention, listen, or put effort into schoolwork. It can also make a student fidgety, restless, talk too much or otherwise disruptive. Children with ADHD might also have learning disabilities that cause them to have problems in school. A virtual classroom can help: it creates a sensation and perception of being present. Replicating a real-life environment might trigger interactions from the child as if they were actually in the classroom. They need to sit still and listen to the teacher’s explanation. Meanwhile, there is also a lot of distraction — like sounds or lights — that happens during the teaching process. These experiences are important in ADHD virtual reality diagnostics. The more a child reacts as they would in an actual classroom, the more likely a doctor might be able to give an accurate diagnosis. This diagnostic tool is basically a virtual reality game that assesses whether a child’s behaviour  is consistent with an ADHD diagnosis or not. During the procedure, participants use a virtual reality headset with hand controllers to complete tasks. Children can grab, release, throw, and place objects using their virtual hands. The virtual classroom is a simplified environment, designed to help the child stay on track with the activity and follow instructions. As they play the game, children are instructed while objects and noises appear to serve as distractions. This arrangement helps detect problems with selective attention, self-organisation, attention spans and impulse control usually encountered in children with ADHD. The tasks were designed to objectively spot symptoms of ADHD in children — inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive symptoms. It’s too early to say whether the marriage of virtual reality and machine learning solves ADHD diagnosis in children, but there are early promising signs. Finding creative, compassionate ways to harness emerging technologies promises to unlock new avenues to provide better care. Tjhin Wiguna is a professor at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia – Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. This research was funded by a Hibah Q1Q2 grant from Universitas Indonesia Research Funding 2019. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on October 18, 2023

A way for new parents to get better sleep - 360 Meagan Crowther, Bei Bei Published on February 12, 2024 Interventions are available to help parents-to-be and new parents struggling with insomnia. Ask the parents of newborns what they crave more than anything and they will usually answer: “A good night’s sleep.” Yet despite the changes in sleep during pregnancy and parenthood being well known, sleep health is not a part of routine perinatal care in Australia. Research into what interventions are most effective in helping new parents get some quality shut-eye is hoping to change this. During pregnancy many people experience frequent waking at night and may find it difficult to fall asleep. These difficulties may be caused by changes in hormones, physical discomfort, or worries and stress. After birth, sleep can be impacted by waking during the night to care for the baby and daytime sleepiness and fatigue are common. Sleep disturbances and sleep deprivation due to night-time caregiving are common during the first few months after the baby’s arrival. But for some new parents these changes in sleep can bring about insomnia symptoms, which can first start in pregnancy and then continue for a long time after birth. Insomnia is different from the sleep disturbances and deprivation commonly experienced by new parents. Sleep disruptions refer to often external factors that lead to waking, like hearing your baby cry. Frequent sleep disruptions lead to sleep deprivation. While sleep disruptions and sleep deprivation are common in the perinatal period, many people can sleep well when the opportunity allows. For those experiencing insomnia, however, sleep does not come so easily — they often struggle to go to sleep or fall back to sleep even when they have the opportunity such as when their baby is sleeping. This is a sign that new parents may need outside support and treatment, particularly as insomnia is a distressing condition. About 43 percent of people will experience insomnia at least once between late pregnancy and two years after birth. Both sleep deprivation and insomnia during pregnancy and after birth are associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and may make it more difficult for parents to cope with the demands of parenthood. Although some degree of disrupted sleep is experienced by most new parents, it is always helpful to speak to a health practitioner if new parents find sleepiness, fatigue, and worries about sleep affect their daytime activities. And the good news is while treating insomnia in new parents has been previously overlooked, there are treatments available which can support parents to get better sleep. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is a drug-free treatment which supports those experiencing insomnia to overcome the challenges for their sleep. It works by changing what we do around sleep and how we think about sleep, and is more effective in treating insomnia long-term compared to medication. Cognitive behavioural therapy can start during pregnancy where it’s been shown to be associated with lower symptoms of insomnia, sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment. Another randomised controlled trial has found that therapist-assisted cognitive behavioural therapy was safe, feasible and effective at reducing postpartum insomnia symptoms in the year following a baby’s birth. It also found that light dark therapy — where research participants were asked to wear light glasses that provided blue-enriched light for 20 minutes each morning and seek out bright light in the morning and avoid it before bedtime — was also effective at reducing insomnia symptoms and sleep disturbances in the postpartum period. Cognitive behavioural therapy has also been shown to lead to better sleep outcomes overall, including reduced insomnia symptoms and improved sleep quality, two years postpartum and to be of most benefit to those with elevated insomnia symptoms at the outset of the trial. Now researchers are looking at whether it would be possible and useful to implement a sleep health program based on cognitive behavioural therapy in routine perinatal care. By understanding how to best implement this treatment for insomnia in perinatal care researchers are laying the groundwork to better support new parents to sleep and feel better. is a research fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University. Dr Crowther is the research lead on Sleep Health in Perinatal Care (SHINE) Project. Dr Crowther’s research work focuses on improving sleep to support health and mental health in special populations such as parents, shift workers and emergency services personnel. is an associate professor in psychology at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University. Associate Professor Bei’s research and clinical work focuses on the individual differences in sleep-wake behaviours, the relationship between sleep and mental health, and making evidence-based psychological interventions for better sleep more widely available to the community. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 12, 2024

Aborted revolutions cut across class lines - 360 Ajay Gudavarthy Published on January 24, 2022 The latest iteration of global protest transcends lines of class and race, but hasn’t always translated to concrete policy change. By Ajay Gudavarthy, Jawaharlal Nehru University The face of protest continues to evolve. The early 20th century was the ‘Age of Revolution’, producing a prototype for radical societal transformation aimed at large-scale change. The latter part of the century saw single-issue ‘New Social Movements’ grow, such as feminism and anti-racism. Since the turn of the millennium, contemporary protests have moved to a new era — global movements that transcend lines of class and race. The 2011 Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demonstrations in the United States, the 2011 Arab Spring in Egypt, the 2013 Brazilian Spring in Brazil and the 2012 anti-corruption movement in India are among the most visible turning points in this trend. Despite fizzling out well short of their revolutionary ambitions, these movements have helped define the changing nature of public protests. Alliances were forged that brought together class divides, shifting the focus of protests away from class and identity politics and towards alliances between people of different classes, castes, and races. OWS protesters included white middle-class professionals, Black Lives Matter activists, students who were unable to pay their college loans, the homeless, and the unemployed. Protests in Brazil brought together those from the favelas (slums), students and youth from lower-middle classes, as well as the members of the social elite and the white upper-middle classes. The urban poor, including auto-rickshaw taxi drivers and those employed in the unorganised sector were joined by film stars, intellectuals and business leaders in the India against Corruption (IAC) protest in New Delhi. Narratives around corruption, representation and nationalism allowed different sections of society to connect with the protests and come together, despite their social and economic differences. But despite their significance, the protests resulted in little tangible change in policy or conditions. OWS failed to change the behaviour of financial institutions, the Brazilian Spring never arrived, regimes changed broadly for the worse after the Arab Spring, and anti-corruption protests in Delhi did not see India’s officialdom turn over a new leaf. The protests were high on symbolism and symbolic communication. The slogans of OWS — “demand the impossible” and “We are the 99 percent” — were catchy, but the group presented no concrete demands. It remained a movement against corporations, with no platform to address student debt, homelessness or corporate misbehaviour. The protesters themselves have offered reasons why this was the case. Some felt the “consensus model” of decision-making made it difficult to formulate a concrete agenda. Many others felt OWS was not meant to achieve policy change, but create a dialogue and bring back ‘associational life’, a founding principle of American democracy. Some felt that OWS achieved something much larger than policy-oriented demands: it changed the ‘imagination’ of society, persuading people to ask questions about self-representation. OWS was imagined as a protest in symbolic communication, creating identification between social groups that knew little about each other. For instance, an organiser in Brooklyn who was an early career college lecturer, argued OWS was structured around categories of ‘shame’ and ‘dignity’, which created an equivalence between students suffering the shame of their debt with the indignity of the homeless and the unemployed. Black Lives Matter activists who participated in OWS said the movement helped a younger generation of white Americans witness black activism for the first time, developing their understanding of issues such as racial profiling. The Brazilian Spring began as a “free fare movement”, demanding lower public transport fares, but grew into a larger campaign for anti-corruption, welfare, public education and affirmative action. Later, the MTST movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto, or Homeless Workers Movement) for housing joined the free fare protesters. Eventually, the protest split between the lower echelons demanding action on welfare, while social elites focused on corruption and a narrative of nationalism, demanding the impeachment of the President Dilma Roussef. Many, mostly students who benefitted from former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s affirmative action policies, felt it was foolish to spend taxpayers funds on the 2014 FIFA World Cup while people suffered with basic needs, which had sparked the protests. Most students who felt this way articulated their ideas along ideological lines, but agreed there was a need to think afresh about the organisational forms of the protest. In the end, Brazil too saw no policy-related change from the protests. This was mostly attributed to the fact that the protests could not hold people from different segments of society together. IAC began in Delhi, demanding new anti-corruption legislation and a statutory body referred to as the Lok Pal or Ombudsman. Corruption and democratic representation were the key framing narratives of the protest. It began with the issue of the “coal scam” (discretionary allocation of coal deposits to public and private companies by the government) and then moved onto calls for electoral reform. In particular, the bribing of voters with cash and liquor during campaigns. It invoked ideas of direct democracy, and the “right to recall” elected representatives if they under-performed. Nationalism was a framing narrative, invoking national symbols. While none of the demands led to any concrete outcome, IAC did facilitate the formation of a new political party in Delhi called the Aam Admi Party (meaning the Common Man’s Party), which went on to win the legislative elections in Delhi. The Aam Admi Party formulated social democratic policies that included Mohalla (neighbourhood) clinics, supply of free electricity and water in slums and the introduction of new infrastructure in government-run public schools. Following all three movements, each country elected a pro-corporate, right-wing government — Donald Trump in the US, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Narendra Modi in India. Each leader elected in the wake of the protests pursued neoliberalism much more aggressively than the preceding regimes. How global protest movements next evolve may play a role in determining what happens afterwards. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His recent publications include India after Modi (2018) and edited Secular Sectarianism (2019). He is currently Associate Member, Institute for Humanities, Simon Fraser University, Canada. This article is based on the fieldwork by the writer as part of an international project titled `Democracy and Post-Civil Society in Global Politics. The project was funded by the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi. Sajjan Singh in India and Ulisses Terto in Brazil assisted in field interviews.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 24, 2022

Absent Putin and Ukraine war cast long shadow over G20 - 360 Tom Chodor Published on September 8, 2023 The leaders of Russia and China are skipping the G20 summit, but their absence — and rifts over the Ukraine war — will have a big influence on the proceedings. Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t be at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, but he and the Russia-Ukraine war are likely to have a bigger effect on outcomes than even the lack of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Days before world leaders prepared to gather in New Delhi for the summit on 9-10 September, news emerged that China’s leader had decided not to attend. Xi’s absence will undoubtedly stifle progress on the many issues plaguing the global economy. However, it’s Putin and the war in Ukraine that is likely to dominate proceedings and hamper progress on urgent matters before the G20. With Russia a member, this is not surprising. But the G20’s make-up — consisting of Western states and leading nations from the Global South — has made it even more difficult for the organisation to function effectively. The G20 is much more than just an annual two-day Leaders’ Summit. Most of its work happens in the background, through networks of technocrats and policymakers, who can find ways to resolve problems, even when relations between their leaders deteriorate. Beside the issue of an ongoing conflict, the ‘in’ tray is full this year. Global inflation remains high, and growth is slowing and below historical trends. China is experiencing its own economic challenges of slowing growth, deflation and a housing market crisis, which could have significant knock-on effects for the rest of the world. Many economies are struggling with debt. Nearly half of the world’s developing countries need urgent financial assistance as the financial consequences of the pandemic have finally caught up with them. All this is before considering long-term issues like climate change or sustainable development. Progress on both fronts is falling further behind schedule. But this is exactly why the G20 was created. It brings together the world’s 20 largest economies, which account for 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population. To the extent that the world has a government, the G20 is it. On the issue of Russia and Ukraine, there are three distinct factions within the G20. There is Russia, which has rejected the validity of discussing the war at the G20, arguing that as an economic body it has no business considering security matters. Increasingly, as the war has dragged on, this has been China’s position, too, as it draws closer to Russia. Then there are the Western states, which initially pushed for the G20 to expel Russia — something for which there is no provision — and, failing that, have insisted that it condemns Russia and the invasion in the strongest terms. Finally, there is the majority of the membership from the Global South, which has tried to stay neutral in the conflict. They are more concerned about the war’s consequences, including its effect on food and energy prices, which particularly affect developing economies. With such divisions, the G20 has struggled to reach consensus. None of the ministerial-level meetings hosted by this year’s chair India have ended with the usual communique that summarises the consensus of the group on the topics discussed. Instead, India has issued ‘chair’s summary and outcome’ documents that merely summarise discussions and note the disagreements. Ahead of the New Delhi summit, diplomats are again scrambling to devise a form of wording for the final communique that would be accepted by all parties, facing the possibility of failing to do so for the first time in G20 history. Despite these disagreements, the G20 has managed to make progress on some issues. G20 meetings have been one of the main forums through which reform of the Multilateral Development Banks has been discussed. The proposals include reforming the internal policies of the World Bank and other development banks to allow them to borrow more capital and lend it at concessional rates — especially for climate projects — as well as increases of funding from leading states. The US recently promised to increase its contributions by USD$50 billion, calling on its allies to do likewise to increase the total to $200 billion. Campaigners have called for the reforms to go further, but they still offer the prospect of a significant increase to development bank funds. The focus on climate financing also reflects the growing importance of the issue in developing economies. While reforms won’t be finalised at the summit, the G20 has proved itself a useful forum to maintain and progress negotiations. Another G20 initiative has been the Common Framework for Debt Treatments, agreed in 2020, which is the first multilateral mechanism for forgiving and restructuring the sovereign debt of low-income countries. The Common Framework is notable for involving both the traditional lenders from the Paris Club and new ones like China. It has already allowed Zambia to restructure USD$6.3 billion of its debt, a large part of which is owed to China. While the framework has shortcomings — for one, it doesn’t include private creditors — it does at least represent a lifeline to many developing economies on the verge of defaulting on their debts. The framework’s continuation illustrates that the G20 functions, even in the face of very public disagreements. This persistence can be explained by more than just the technocrats working and cooperating behind the scenes. Over the past two years, the G20 has been chaired by developing economies: Indonesia and India. Because of their neutrality, these countries have greater credibility when they try to manage the stand-off between the West and Russia, so the G20 can function in some way. With the next two hosts, South Africa and Brazil, sharing a similar inclination, the G20 might continue to function, even if the thornier global problems prove beyond its capacity to address. In an era of fragmenting global governance, that might be the best that can be achieved. Tom Chodor is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the School of Social Sciences, Monash University. His research focuses on the global governance of the global political economy, and the role of private actors in contributing to and contesting global policy agendas. His forthcoming book, with Shahar Hameiri, is The Locked-Up Country: Learning the Lessons from Australia’s Covid-19 Response (University of Queensland Press, 2023). Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on September 8, 2023

Abused, abandoned, neglected: the plight of India’s older women - 360 Deblina Dey Published on March 8, 2024 Restoring dignity in women’s labour can give older women the care and respect they deserve in late life. Amrit Kaur was in her 80s when she arrived in Delhi from Punjab with her son to visit a relative. Her son abandoned her at the railway station. After a few months, she was moved to a homeless shelter by police. The staff at the shelter said initially she was in shock and incoherent. When interviewed by this researcher, not once did she blame her son for anything. She just repeated: “I was destined to be here.” In another case, a man confessed to throwing his 64-year-old mother off the terrace of their home as she was ill and a burden. His mother later died. Such abandonment and disregard for older women is all too common in a country like India where filial piety is upheld as a virtue. Age compounds the hardships of many older women in a society marked by gender inequality. Older women face additional challenges of financial insecurity, destitution and health challenges related to ageing. In a neoliberal society, people are valued for their economic contribution. A similar logic operates in many Indian families. If an older family member is not earning an income, they are deemed to be dependents and a ‘burden’. Patriarchal cultural norms relegate women to domestic duties. Many women remain unemployed throughout their lives, and a majority do not own assets. This creates economic hardships in late life. According to a 2015 study, older women have a diminished status in the family because they do not earn even though they contribute to their children’s families by being caregivers for grandchildren. However, care work in the family remains highly devalued. Along with this, the ‘feminisation of ageing‘ as evidenced by the increased life expectancy of women (compared to men) implies that older women will continue to be dependent on others for prolonged periods. Being dependent on kin can exacerbate vulnerabilities. My research shows that older women could be easy targets of coercion and manipulation. In the case of propertied older women, many experience abuse after transferring property to their adult children. However, many women in the country do not own property despite there being laws which grant property rights to women. Such women are sometimes driven to destitution, and many are abandoned by family members. Older women can claim maintenance from family members under existing legal provisions in India. Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 allows a widow (who does not remarry) to claim maintenance from the legal heirs of the deceased who share the property of the deceased. Widows can also claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure from their children, unconditionally. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, or MW Act, was formulated especially for senior citizens’ welfare. Section 4 obligates sons, daughters, grandchildren who are not minors and any legal heir of her property to provide maintenance. This law defines maintenance as food, clothing, shelter and medical treatment. Legal safeguards against abandonment, usurpation of property and abuse exist in the MW Act and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The existing laws, however, do not particularly address the discrimination faced by some older women such as childless, unmarried or trans women. The Protection of Rights of Widows and Single Women and Abolishment of Widowhood Practices Bill was introduced in 2022 but nothing came of it. Destigmatising widowhood and singlehood and restoring dignity to those belonging to sexual minorities is crucial for empowering older women. While laws undoubtedly safeguard the rights of older women, it is impractical to conjure a law for every situation of harm done to older women; rather there is a need to proactively implement existing laws. As political theorist Wendy Brown argues, ‘…rights…serve as a mitigation — but not a resolution — of subordinating powers.’ Patriarchal ideas that prevent women from pursuing a life of one’s own choice must be questioned. Many women remain engaged in care work throughout their lives. A woman at a charitable care home in Kolkata said ‘she found herself’ after relocating to the care home after her spouse’s death. She was relieved of the care work and now she was ‘free.’ Care work must be accorded due importance in the political discourse. Restoring dignity in women’s labour and building a supportive environment for women to perform their caring duties often determines their wellbeing in late life. Many women combat loneliness. More recreation facilities in the neighbourhood can be made available. Age-appropriate occupations can be considered for women to enhance financial security. Ensuring safety, access to helplines and counselling support, access to inexpensive medical care, palliative care, dementia care, affordable permanent housing, and financial security through pension schemes are areas where attention needs to be given. A common concern of many older women living in cities, as per my research, has been sourcing essentials and recruiting reliable care workers for themselves. Crimes against older women in cities such as murder, robbery and assault are often reported especially in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Some of the older women interviewed mentioned how they would prefer shifting to institutional care rather than relying on paid domestic workers and ayahs. This also highlights the need to have more care homes in the country. The state, community, as well as regulated market intervention in the above domains, is key to providing a conducive environment for older women. ‘Older women’ is not a homogenous category. Therefore, identifying unique needs based on their context is also crucial to meet the goals of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). Dr. Deblina Dey is Associate Professor of Sociology & Assistant Director of the Centre for Law & Humanities at the Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University. She is pursuing her postdoctoral research on care interventions for older people in urban India. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 8, 2024

Access to water is a crisis for the powerless - 360 Prakash Kashwan Published on March 21, 2024 Fair access to water is an issue for millions of people in India. Who controls access and how this is governed needs fixing. Almost 100 years ago around 3,000 Dalits, or “untouchables”, dared to drink from a public water tank in Mahad, Maharashtra, that was forbidden to them. The Mahad Satyagraha — referred to as India’s first civil rights movement — was led by noted lawyer, social reformer, and Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar who then took on the upper-caste people of the area who claimed the tank was private property. The ensuing legal battle lasted a decade. Dr Ambedkar won the case. The fight for access to water resources, however, continues today across India. The right to safe drinking water is recognised as a fundamental human right. In India, it is customary to greet a guest or passerby with a glass of water, though the way water is offered depends on your caste. More importantly, though, how water is allocated and distributed comes down to a question of policy and governance, where it tends to follow the contours of socially-determined inequalities. A 2018 NITI Aayog report states that India ranks 120 of 122 countries in the Global Water Quality Index. India has the largest reported groundwater usage in the world. Social inequities in India and other parts of South Asia directly impact access to water, how it is allocated, distributed and consumed. Climate change, along with oppressive and discriminatory social practices, makes a bad situation worse. Marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by lack of attention to the social dimensions of water policy, its use and allocation that often perpetuate practices of untouchability and gender-based discrimination. Who owns land and resources becomes critical to who can access water. This question is determined along lines of caste, class and gender inequalities. Community movements working towards equitable access to water have been stymied by a lack of support by gram panchayats (village-level governance institutions) or by private investments which benefit wealthier farming communities with bigger landholdings. North Gujarat, a semi-arid region in western India that relies on groundwater use, faces water scarcity due to the proliferation of tubewells. Groundwater access becomes the preserve of the upper castes through the building of tubewells on private land, a form of access based on casteist social structures that limit land ownership among the lower castes. This socio-economic status determines access to water and who uses more of the groundwater commons. Tubewells have resulted in the drying out of shallow wells, giving rise to “water lords” who dominate consumption of water. This, in turn, forces poor farmers to rely further on them for water supply in an already exploitative relationship. Alongside caste, gender also becomes a determinant of communities’ relationships with water. Women are the face of water poverty in India. The responsibility of meeting families’ water needs in rural India falls squarely on them, exacerbated by dropping water levels and the perils of a changing climate. Women are responsible for collecting, storing, and managing the water needs of households for cooking, bathing, washing, leaving them with little time to participate in the labour force. It also prevents young girls from pursuing education. A 2019 study found that villages affected by water scarcity in Gujarat’s Bhuj district — a Muslim-dominated area – received less than five litres of water per person per day, falling significantly short of the UN-mandated minimum water requirement of 20 litres of water per person per day. Erratic rainfall and negligence of the state Water Supply and Sewerage Board both produced this failure. This water is often saline and unfit to drink. Where state supply of water is erratic, lower-caste villagers are forced to depend on tubewells owned by upper-castes or walk great distances to access public water supply. About 71 per cent of Dalit settlements in villages have no access to public water supplies. Discriminatory water practices in Gujarat’s villages disproportionately affect lower-caste women, subjecting them to extreme precarity and vulnerability to sexual abuse by upper-caste men. This becomes more alarming because groundwater levels in South Asia are heavily impacted by salinity in coastal areas. Gujarat has the longest coastline in India and water from wells is already undrinkable like some villages in Jafrabad district where women are forced to walk miles to access safe drinking water. Climate change inflicts disproportionate burdens on marginalised groups. Discriminatory practices in access to water continue through concerns of caste pollution — a belief among the upper castes that their ‘purity’ will be defiled if they come into contact with lower-caste people. Efforts to decentralise water governance in Gujarat continue to meet resistance from upper-caste people for whom equity of access disrupts their monopoly over irrigation and agricultural uses. Maintaining control of water access gives upper castes an advantage over lower-caste people. Such injustices remain marginal considerations for intervention by NGOs and state governments. The problem of access to public resources based on social difference thus needs to be addressed urgently by policy-makers. Governments have failed to acknowledge social discrimination in the provision of basic amenities to marginalised communities which will grow increasingly vulnerable as climate change intensifies long-standing social disparities in wealth and resource use. Improving public accountability in governance requires an understanding of the effects of the numerous disadvantages faced by marginalised communities. With India’s summer approaching and water stress becoming a reality, poor and marginalised women bear the brunt of heat stress in the collection of water, a fact unrecognised by policymakers and insufficiently addressed in India’s Heat Action Plans. Water scarcity and water insecurity are created through socio-economic and political inequalities. Socially just climate adaptation for water management can go hand-in-hand with an acknowledgement of the social power vested in local elites. Generating institutional change from both above and below requires addressing the various barriers that prevent achieving human rights for the most vulnerable communities. It also demands political mobilisation towards overcoming social barriers in the same vein as the Mahad Satyagraha of 1927. Giving everyone a say in decision-making and removing unequal administrative measures that prevent fair access to water — such as making tubewells a public good with parameters of equal access — can be pursued. Legal provisions towards supporting water equality need to be made enforceable. Otherwise the idea of water justice remains a mere tokenism. Prakash Kashwan is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Chair, Environmental Justice Concentration, MPP, at the Heller School for Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University. He is the author of Democracy in the Woods: Environmental Conservation and Social Justice in India, Tanzania, and Mexico (Oxford University Press, 2017) and the Editor of Climate Justice in India (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 21, 2024

Accounting for microfinance’s flaws - 360 Farzana Aman Tanima Published on October 18, 2022 Microfinance doesn’t always empower the women reliant on it, but a different form of accounting could help level the playing field. Microfinance, the poverty reduction tool of choice for the World Bank and many donor organisations, is not without its flaws. Lenders, for example, often put intense pressure on borrowers to repay loans, leading to new forms of dominance, particularly over women. Many argue that microfinance does not, despite claims to the contrary, empower women. Donors place pressure on the organisations running microfinance programmes, leading to financial reports showcasing performance in terms of their ability to collect repayments from the poor. These practices have shifted the focus of microfinance organisations from social justice to financial sustainability. Measures to address the needs and concerns of marginalised communities through ‘participatory reviews’ and stakeholder engagement have been largely tokenistic. A pertinent factor here is the power imbalance between those who provide finances versus those who receive finances. Poor women often do not have sufficient power or resources to raise concerns without fear of repercussions. Shifting the accounting approach used by microfinance organisations could help. Researchers have dubbed it ‘dialogic accounting’ – an alternative way to bring in information that traditional accounting, with its primary focus on serving investors, often ignores. Supporters of dialogic accounting point out that while pressure for companies to account for social and environmental measures has led to increased reporting, it hasn’t actually led to greater accountability. The aim of dialogic accounting is to bring players with less power into the discussion on what to report on. In the microfinance context, this would involve identifying relevant groups, such as poor women and feminist activists, and gaining perspectives into their needs, concerns and struggles. This moves beyond conventional stakeholder engagement, in that it would not be controlled by microfinance organisations but facilitated by an external group, such as a political action committee. It gives participants the opportunity to push for new types of reporting that factor in structural barriers to women’s empowerment, such as oppressive cultural practices, corruption and regulatory failures, and inadequate social services. The aim is to facilitate processes where women can feel empowered to demand change. Access to finance is a key milestone on the path to eradicating poverty. But women’s empowerment in the microfinance context is a complex issue and cannot be simplistically articulated in terms of transfer of money and/or information. Accounting is very much part of this problem. If the language of business is accounting then challenging accounting as a construct can help transform everyday business practices that are currently failing many communities. Farzana Aman Tanima is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong. She declares no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on October 18, 2022

Accusations may catch World Cup hosts offside - 360 Simon Chadwick Published on August 9, 2023 Many in the west accuse Gulf nations of sportswashing when they spend big on major events — so, what will they say about World Cup host Australia? The FIFA women’s World Cup is breaking new ground in first-time host nations Australia and New Zealand, much like the men’s counterpart did  in Qatar last year. But despite both breaking new ground, there has been a different mood leading up to this tournament — namely, the complete absence of sportswashing accusations. Sportswashing is the attempt by a country and its institutions to cleanse its image and reputation by investing in and drawing attention to their activities in sport. The common belief is this will distract audiences, and shift their attitudes and perceptions of it. But this may be more subjective than objective, more about  power relations between an accuser and the accused. The Qatar World Cup was marked by intense sportswashing scrutiny throughout, indeed the country was repeatedly accused of sportswashing its treatment of migrant workers and LGBTQ+ groups. The Australian men’s national team released a video denouncing the suffering inflicted upon some sections of the population by the Gulf nation. Few have raised objections to Australia’s hosting of the World Cup, despite facing human rights issues of its own. Australia’s high rate of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody has drawn criticism at home and abroad. As of October 2022, almost every child in Australia’s Northern Territory youth jails is Indigenous. Australia has also been condemned for its indefinite detention of asylum seekers and immigrants, which the UN’s torture watchdog labelled “inhumane” in May 2023. These issues are set against the backdrop of Australia being the only (British) Commonwealth nation that doesn’t formally recognise Indigenous people in its constitution. Although there is a referendum on this topic later in 2023. In the three years since Australia and New Zealand won the right to host the World Cup, organisers have had a relatively sedate journey. The biggest scandal, a brief blip in January 2023, arose  when FIFA announced that Visit Saudi, Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority, would be a sponsor of the event. FIFA was widely condemned by rights groups, activists and others for this. Football’s global governing body was accused of closing its eyes to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and treatment of women, with many claiming the Gulf nation was attempting to sportswash by associating itself with the tournament. FIFA and Visit Saudi Arabia eventually stepped back from the deal. Perhaps the Australian government might face similar accusations as the tournament progresses , though one imagines officials would deny it. Sportswashing has emerged over the last decade, first used by rights groups and later appropriated by journalists, fans and governments to condemn certain nations. It is not a term that has been universally or retrospectively applied. Sport delivers image and reputational benefits to countries that enjoy some form of sporting prominence: Britain’s killing and persecution of people across the empire was often sanitised through deployment of, for instance, cricket teams to India. It can be argued that sportswashing is a form of othering used by people in the Global North — it’s what other people in other countries do, not something we ourselves engage in. It perhaps explains why Qatar’s World Cup was condemned, whereas Australia and New Zealand have avoided sportswashing criticism, as might the United States, Canada, and Mexico when they host the 2026 men’s World Cup. But times are changing. There is a major pivot underway from the Global North to the Global South, influencing how ‘we’ see ‘them’. New centres of power are emerging — in places such as Beijing and Riyadh — that are challenging the Global North’s dominance, specifically in sport. Some in the Global North may not like what they are encountering;  labelling certain acts as sportswashing may help them deal with changes taking place which are being driven by people who don’t look, think or behave like them. This doesn’t mean that the Chinese, or the Saudis are innocent of sportswashing. But many who view these countries and Qatar through the lens of sportswashing would no doubt be horrified if they viewed Australia in the same way. As the women’s World Cup draws close to its finale, the hope is that people around the world have spared a thought for Australia’s Indigenous citizens and their treatment. One also hopes every country that engages in sportswashing will be called out during the competition, no matter who or what they are. One suspects this won’t be the case, as our political and cultural viewing lens will ultimately determine how we watch the tournament. Simon Chadwick is Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at Skema Business School in Paris. He has been researching, writing about, and teaching sport for nearly 30 years, having worked with numerous organisations in the sector across the world. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 9, 2023

Adjusting to more frequent and severe fires - 360 Suzannah Lyons, James Goldie Published on December 6, 2023 Fires are worse than ever. What can communities and governments do to cope with the increasing impacts? It’s only the start of summer in Australia, but already fires have destroyed over 70 homes in Queensland and Western Australia. With the return of El Niño, it promises to be a long, hot and dry season ahead. Today’s fire seasons are also longer and more intense thanks to climate change. The effort of fighting fiercer fires for longer puts strain on firefighters with now less time to prepare outside of the fire season. And Australian fireys can no longer rely on backup from less affected countries, as northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons begin to overlap. Indeed Canadians and Americans are still recovering from the impacts of summer wildfires there. As the world’s leaders gather in Dubai for COP28 to work on reducing greenhouse gases, communities and governments are looking at what else they can do to better live with fire. The solutions reach across every part of society, from the way homes are built to how we keep our firefighters cool and the very words people use to talk about fire.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 6, 2023

Afghan crisis is a migration crisis - 360 Mujib Ahmad Azizi Published on June 20, 2022 Afghanistan is facing a perfect storm of threats, and climate change is pushing it to breaking point. The world seems unaware of the coming catastrophe. Afghanistan is on a precipice. The effects of severe famine and starvation, as well as the adverse impact of climate change, poor governance and rampant unemployment, point to a coming humanitarian catastrophe. The end result: more people displaced and forced to migrate. Since the beginning of 2021, some 550,000 Afghans have fled their homes, bringing the number of internally displaced people to at least 4.2 million. The COVID-19 pandemic, the spring drought of 2021, persisting political insecurities and increased violence have made the crisis more acute. Import restrictions due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis have worsened food security, with close to 22 million people critically food insecure, further fuelling displacement. Despite playing almost no negative or destructive role in global warming, Afghanistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. It is also among the least equipped to handle its impact. Temperatures are on the rise and mean rainfall has been decreasing in Afghanistan, adding conflict over scarce resources to the country’s many existing challenges. The consequences of climate change such as drought, flood, avalanches, landslides, earthquakes and extreme weather are causing mass displacement, conflict and child marriage, and have even seen people resort to selling their children. Only around 12 percent of Afghanistan’s land is arable, and the southern, eastern and central parts of the country are vulnerable to droughts; the northern and north-western provinces witness seasonal floods. These droughts and floods have increased in frequency in recent years, driving people from their homes. Nearly 80 percent of conflict in rural areas is over land, water and resources. Agriculture is a vital part of the country’s economy and, according to the World Bank, used to account for roughly 26 percent of gross domestic product. But Afghanistan’s water resources are the most vulnerable to climate change, adversely affecting agriculture productivity. A reduction in rainfall has caused a decrease in the capacities of pastures, impacting livestock production. Climate change is exacerbating the threats already posed by poverty, weak institutional structures, mistrust between communities, and inadequate access to information and resources. It has become increasingly difficult to find work and create employment in agriculture. Many of the young generation who worked in the sector have either migrated to neighbouring countries in search of work or joined the insurgency or the military. When the Taliban took over in August 2021, large sections of the young population migrated to other countries. Meanwhile, conflict among people over natural resources such as sharing of canal water for irrigation is growing. Conflicts, violence and human rights violations are human-made crises threatening lives and influencing people’s decisions to leave their birthplace in search of sanctuary. Climate change, also a human-made crisis, threatens to do the same In Afghanistan. In 2018, 41.3 million people were displaced inside their own countries around the world. By 2020 this number had increased to 55 million. Afghanistan has already seen some of the fastest-growing displacement numbers in the world. After four decades of brutal war, the link between climate change and conflict is not as clear in any other country as it is in Afghanistan. The issues of climate change, conflict and growing numbers of displaced people have been raised in many UN meetings. There have been several warnings that these are interconnected problems. But neither the Taliban and government in Afghanistan nor the UN appear to have considered the magnitude of the coming storm. Mujib Ahmad Azizi has been a Senior Research Officer at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit since 2011. From 2001 he has worked with national and international NGOs on community development projects and natural disaster projects through community mobilisation programs, and on issues relating to migration and internally displaced persons through research projects and programmes in Afghanistan. He holds a masters degree in international relations from Avicenna University and has co-authored a number of publications relating to internally displaced persons, climate change, conflict and natural disaster. This article is part of a Special Report on the ‘Changing face of migration’,  produced in collaboration with the Calcutta Research Group. It was first published in June 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 20, 2022

Africa offers answers for small-scale fisheries - 360 Antaya March, Pierre Failler Published on June 8, 2022 Artisanal fisheries are the lifeblood of coastal African communities, but they have largely been neglected. Small changes can make sure they don’t disappear. Feeding more than 200 million people across the continent, small-scale fisheries are intrinsic to African traditions, identity and economies. But they are under immense threat. Compared to the industrial fishing sector, the small-scale industry is marginalised, poorly planned and underfunded. Targeted solutions can ensure these vital fisheries survive as development marches on. The small-scale fisheries sector makes up 85 percent of harvesters in Africa and employs 5.2 million people – a significant number for communities with few other ways to make a living. Fish represents 19 percent of protein consumption, providing essential vitamins and minerals, as well as omega-3 fatty acids crucial in ending malnutrition. In West Africa alone, 47 percent of fish caughtin the region comes from small fisheries, with regional catches exceeding 1.8 million tonnes and generating more than US$2 billion per year. Even so, small fisheries in Africa are a low priority in national economic policies. Catch amounts have been declining since 2004 despite an increase in fishing effort, such as from longer trips, more advanced equipment and industrial catches. Stocks have become overfished. The costs of fishing have increased, making it too expensive for many African coastal communities to continue. Fish depletion leads to poverty, but poverty also leads to fish depletion because of destructive fishing practices and mismanaged resources. Fishing communities and local fisheries are interdependent. Ecosystems damaged by extractive industries such as mining, industrial fishing and climate change cannot support fish populations big enough to regenerate unless significant steps are taken. And small fisheries are urgently needed to provide for local communities in the meantime. Diversifying fish products, reducing waste, increasing community awareness and sharing knowledge between local communities are small but powerful ways to support small fisheries. Bycatch – fish too small to sell, or other species unintentionally caught alongside targeted fish – can be very high and often go to waste. As much as 70 percent of targeted fish can also be wasted: often only the flesh is eaten and the skin, carcass, bones and scales are removed in processing — a huge missed opportunity, especially in communities where healthy food is not always available and starch-based staples decrease iron and zinc absorption. Affordable and innovative methods to transform byproducts into edible nutrient-rich powders using local hammer mills have been trialled in Uganda with the support of the EU-funded project SmartFish. The powders enrich local diets and school meals, and are an emergency food supplement for refugees. They could also be replicated in other regions. Poor hygiene and handling of fish cause spoilage, threaten livelihoods and generate more waste. The SmartFish ‘Clean Fish, Better Life’ campaign involved the community in creating their own educational videos on post-harvest hygiene and good practices along the shores of Lake Victoria, which borders Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The campaign provided an opportunity for communities to exchange information, work together on pressing issues and solve their own problems. The first SmartFish video, Usafi Ni Pesa (Hygiene Saves Money), was screened in 44 landing sites and fishing communities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Open discussions allowed the audience to establish the important link between established practices and new practices proposed by the videos. The program’s videos can reach people of different ages who may otherwise not have had access to the information because of illiteracy or limited financial means. The videos deliver educational messages in local contexts at low cost and can cover topics including illegal fishing, fishery laws, good environmental management and diversification of livelihoods. In 2004 the Vezo community of fishers in the village of Andavadoaka, Madagascar, created the Velondriake locally managed marine area, with octopus-fishing closures, after catches continued to decline. Government policies allowed traditional laws and indigenous knowledge to inform ways of governing local resources, including periodic closures to let stocks recover. In turn, the octopus closures significantly boosted individual catches and fishers’ income. The management practices have since evolved to include two mangrove reserves and five coral reserves, with significant support from the international community and not-for-profit organisations. The coral reserves have seen a 189 percent increase in fish, relative to the size of the area, within six years. Increased income has supported better access to health services, in turn leading to improved community health and smaller families. Community members say the livelihood interventions associated with the marine area have led to more small businesses and reduced reliance on fishing, decreasing pressure on the ecosystem. The successes of the Velondriake marine area led many other communities to take similar action through Fishermen Learning Exchanges – gatherings where people from different communities exchange information and experiences. Quiwia village in coastal Mozambique was the first to implement its premier octopus closure based on learnings from Velondriak. Today, delegations from other parts of Mozambique travel to Quiwia to learn about the closure model. Around 200 locally managed marine areas have since been established, many with octopus closures, and these have also spread to Mauritius and Tanzania – and as far away as Mexico. Giving communities the tools to manage their own resources empowers them and improves environmental stewardship. Even more importantly, bringing different fishing communities together yields powerful results. Deepened understanding leads to more successful management systems that prioritise healthy environments and encourage communities to manage fishery resources cooperatively. Antaya March is a senior researcher at the Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth. Pierre Failler is a director at the Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth. The Centre is the home of the UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance. It focuses on supporting and delivering sustainable and equitable governance mechanisms for the ocean and aquatic resources, with a strong emphasis on enhancing the synergies between nature conservation and economic development. The research was undertaken with financial assistance from the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). All views represented in this article are those of the author and do not reflect those of AU-IBAR. This article has been republished for World Fisheries Day. It was first published on June 6, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 8, 2022

Age-friendly Taipei brings people together - 360 Siew-Imm Ng, Putra Malaysia Published on November 24, 2021 The people of Taiwan are living longer than they used to, and not because they’ve discovered the ideal diet. They are happier and more satisfied with their lives in general. The elixir can be found in Taiwan’s quest to make its cities age-friendly, providing a physical and social environment for older people to thrive. Taiwan’s capital Taipei, has been working within the World Health Organization’s Age-friendly Cities Framework since 2012. That framework proposes eight interconnected domains covering the social and built environment in which people live and interact with their cities. The WHO has identified community support and health services; outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; and communication and information as the key areas to focus on to make cities fit for the elderly. By taking older people into account in these domains,  policymakers can help them retain their way of life and social roles  longer, which in turn helps them  maintain dignity and self-respect. And it appears to be working. Taiwan’s increased life satisfaction is due to older citizens feeling part of a community that respects and believes in their contribution to society. For the budget conscious, all this support for  the elderly to live “younger” isn’t all red ink – it  has improved government budget bottom lines. Healthier older people living independently for longer, reduces the cost of geriatric healthcare, for example. The statistics suggest it has also led to greater life expectancy, which rose from  79.0 in 2009 to 80.9 in 2019. Women were living on average to 84.2 years and men 77.7, exceeding the global average by 7.5 and 9.2 years respectively. The WHO determines a city’s age friendliness against  a long list of factors, including: being able to follow a routine such as a morning walk to buy the newspaper, shop for groceries, bake and cook at home, run errands, or take part in a community group where they can share their wisdom and act as a mentor. Age-friendly cities help older people maintain these activities for longer by providing  appropriate  public transport, with clear signage and adequate lighting, accessible walkways, ample seating in parks and public rest spots, and communities where older people can seek assistance without discrimination. Taipei’s Department of Social Welfare (DOSW) is key to the city’s initiatives. It facilitates community services, welfare resources, care visitations, , referral services, catering services and health promotion. It even provides a system of  telephone calls to keep in touch with older people and make sure they are OK. All of this encourages socialisation, promotes mutual care and peer support. The city has 325 places where older people can have a meal together. The DOSW auto credits 480 New Taiwan Dollars (about US$17.50) every month into the “Senior Easy Card” for public transport: enough to cover daily return trips for a month. Seniors service centres in 14 districts in Taipei provide educational and recreational programs, including welfare consultation, social activities and free courses. The city’s housing policy also ensures older people are not isolated by bringing different generations together as part of a co-living scheme. The young and old can rent rooms and share a large common area 20 per cent cheaper than the market. This model not only provides city housing to older people, but fosters interaction and knowledge sharing between generations. Other achievements in Taiwan’s age-friendly cities include sidewalk maintenance, improved park facilities and accessibility, pedestrian-safe traffic environments, an increased number of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in areas frequented by older people, better city accessibility, and clean, accessible toilets. Spending quality time with family and friends, volunteering, paid part-time or seasonal work, and religious activities also contribute to the life satisfaction of Taiwan’s older people. Despite the success of the policies, factors such as personal resources, health, finances and education still play a role and older women tend to fare better than older men. The benefits of age-friendly cities don’t stop at maintaining citizens physically and mentally, they also provide opportunities to foster continual intellectual development, such as collaboration with universities to curate age-friendly educational programs for those who missed the opportunity earlier in life. Volunteer groups, seasonal employers and community organisations could consider providing free transport for older people to prevent access being a barrier to ongoing work activity. Geriatric clinics can factor in mental health checkups alongside the physical. While Taiwan’s experience is an exemplar for policymakers around the world, it is important that governments around the world respect and consult with their own ageing populations. That way, age-friendly cities could become the lens for governments to view ageing populations as the asset they are, rather than an economic problem to be solved. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Siew-Imm Ng is an associate professor in the School of Business and Economics, University Putra Malaysia. Her background is in management, her research areas are consumer/tourist behaviour, values, well-being and successful ageing. Xin-Jean Lim is a senior lecturer in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her background is in marketing. Her research interests include consumer behaviour, social media marketing, technology management and customer relationship management. Hui-Chuan Hsu is a professor in School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, and the director of Research Center of Health Equity, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University. Her background is in health policy and administration, and her research focuses on successful aging, active aging, and long-term care policy. The authors decalred no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 24, 2021

Ageing Singapore offers a blueprint for action - 360 Rahul Malhotra Published on October 1, 2023 Singapore started tackling its ageing population early and yet is facing challenges. That does not mean others should not be learning from it. Singapore’s population is ageing at an unprecedented rate. While it has not solved the whole puzzle associated with that issue, it has taken concrete steps that might offer a blueprint for other countries. Singapore’s early policy action and holistic approach towards population ageing are key lessons. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in April that in 2020 one out of every six Singaporeans were aged above 65 — a jump from one out of every ten in 2010. By 2030, it is projected that one in every four residents in Singapore will be over 65. According to estimates from the United Nations, Singapore is poised to transition from being an “aged country” —  one with at least 14 percent of the population aged 65 or older—  to a “super-aged country”, with at least 21 percent 65 or older, from 2021 to 2028. The swift pace of ageing in Singapore can be attributed to two primary factors: a dramatic decline in the total fertility rate and a rapid increase in life expectancy. Despite being dubbed a “blue zone” where people are claimed to live longer, in a recent Netflix documentary, Singapore faces challenges in addressing its ageing population. Singapore experienced a steep decline in its fertility rate, from 5 children per couple to below the 2.1 replacement level in just 14 years. By contrast, Japan took roughly 30 years to reach this point, the United States 60 years and Australia a century. While Japan and the US saw fluctuations in their fertility rates, Singapore has consistently remained below 2.1 since 1977, despite implementing several child-friendly policies, otherwise known as pro-natalist policies. These include financial support initiatives like direct cash payments, housing subsidies and tax relief, and initiatives promoting work-family balance like childcare services and parental leave provisions. In 2022, Singapore reported its lowest-ever fertility rate at 1.04, one of the lowest in the world. But pro-natalist policies are known to help increase fertility rate and Singapore could boost that by providing more financial support for child rearing and extending paternity and maternity leave. It could also push for stronger support for parents in the workplace, such as encouraging flexible work arrangements. While Singapore’s Parliament has just passed a bill enhancing some of these policies, notably doubling government-paid paternity leave to four weeks, some Members of Parliament suggested more improvements to childcare arrangements to promote a healthy work-family balance. Another challenge is finding skilled labour for quality care services. Hiring trained personnel from abroad offers a short-term fix, but long-term solutions require building local capacity and making “care” careers appealing. Singapore has started adopting technology-driven solutions to improve patient care and address its shortage of skilled labour. These initiatives include promoting the use of smartphone apps by older adults for managing their health and integrating robots into the healthcare process. Paying for pro-natalist policies and expanding care services is a significant challenge. Singapore raised the Goods and Service Tax from 7 percent to 8 percent in 2023 and plans another 1 percent rise in 2024 to cover the increased spending on an ageing population. Singapore’s life expectancy at birth has surged, rising from 50.7 years in 1950 to 82.8 in 2021. This life expectancy increase has far-reaching implications for Singapore’s care system. With age comes a higher likelihood of chronic diseases and difficulties living independently day-to-day. For example, data from the first wave of THE SIGNS Study — a broad-based national study of older Singaporeans that was launched between 2016 and 2017 — showed the proportion of people with two or more chronic diseases was 53.6 percent among those aged between 60 and 69, rising to 72.6 percent among those aged 80 and older. Those experiencing difficulties in performing basic daily activities like walking, bathing, dressing or using the toilet increased from 3.4 percent among those aged between 60 and 69 to 30.3 percent among those aged 80 and older. Singapore’s declining fertility rate itself feeds into the care challenges, leading to smaller families with less capacity to help care for older adults. As Singapore’s older adult population grows, so too will the demand for healthcare, social services and long-term care. An ageing population mandates adaptation of the care system from one that mostly addresses acute care needs to one that additionally focuses on preventative care, chronic disease management, long-term care and palliative care. Singapore has adopted a “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approach to address the challenges of population ageing comprehensively. The nation recognised the need for coordinated planning and policymaking early, forming its first inter-ministerial committee for ageing-related issues in 1982, when only 5 percent of the population was aged 65 or older. In 2007, this holistic approach continued through the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, comprising multiple ministries, unions and community stakeholders. Singapore’s latest ageing-related policies and initiatives are detailed in two Action Plans for Successful Ageing, released in 2015 and 2023. The 2023 action plan focuses on three key themes: care, contribution and connectedness. This plan emphasises preventative health, community-based “Active Ageing Centres”, older adult learning, employment opportunities, intergenerational interactions and digital connectivity. Singapore’s policymaking is deeply rooted in evidence-based approaches, using data from national surveys, evaluations of community-based programs, qualitative research and cost analyses. Both action plans were developed using a consultative process allowing for public input, including older adults and other key stakeholders. The government also supports the collection of data on older adults, such as through THE SIGNS Study, to help cater to their diverse needs. The Singaporean public’s trust in government also drives the successful uptake of its programs and initiatives. That trust in the government is considered key to its successful management of COVID-19, with the coverage of COVID-19 vaccines happening faster and at higher levels in Singapore than in other high-income countries. Singapore’s response to an ageing population could be a blueprint for a global challenge. It has shown it helps to start developing age-friendly societies early instead of waiting for the country to significantly age. Policymaking should emphasise inclusivity rather than top-down planning, having evidence-based fixes to address real-world needs and relying on regular, detailed data about older adults. It’s also critical to build trust in all corners of society — but especially among older adults and their caregivers and families — in government and policies. Assistant Professor Rahul Malhotra is a physician researcher whose primary area of research is ageing. His research focuses on the development of evidence that enables understanding, measurement, and alleviation of vulnerability among older adults and their caregivers. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on October 1, 2023

Agriculture 4.0 is helping farmers do more with less - 360 Rabiya Abbasi Published on June 29, 2022 The fourth agricultural revolution promises to grow more food on less land while feeding more people. With cornstalks swaying on a gentle breeze and cattle in quiet contemplation of the cud, a farm would not seem to be a hotbed of revolution. But make no mistake, agriculture is squarely in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. Emergent, game-changing technologies are driving economic, environmental, and social change in the global food system. And in the face of rising hunger, populations and a changing climate, everyone from policy-makers to billionaires is paying attention. The US Association of Equipment Manufacturers published a study in February 2022 investigating how new technologies might help farmers do more with less. On average, new technology triallers achieved a 4 percent increase in crop production, 7 percent reduction in fertiliser use, 9 percent reduction in herbicide use, 6 percent reduction in fossil fuel use, and 4 percent reduction in water use. Farmers are applying Internet of Things (IoT) technology to track crops remotely, using sensors to detect weed growth, water levels and pest invasion. And we’re not only seeing this on traditional farmlands. Farm66, located inside a Hong-Kong skyscraper, is using IoT to help manage a 2,000-square-metre indoor farm. The IoT-enabled agricultural industry is estimated to reach US$4.5 billion by 2025. In China, drones are being used to survey 20 million hectares of cotton, providing insights into pest protection, fertiliser and herbicide application, irrigation, and harvest timing to drive productivity. Meanwhile, AI and machine learning are being deployed across Australia’s changeable environment to predict weather conditions, temperature, water usage and soil conditions. Big Data has enormous potential to radicalise the industry by reducing future variables and uncertainty. Relying on cloud computing to analyse massive data sets, farmers are able to closely monitor environmental conditions in real-time. By 2025, the agricultural Big Data market alone is estimated to hit US$1.4 billion. The promise of enhanced profitability is causing quite a stir in the private sector. Agritech startups have grown by more than 80 percent since 2012. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and tech billionaire Eric Schmidt are getting on board. Along with the world’s largest technology-focused investment fund, they’re injecting around US$200 million into vertical indoor farming startup ‘Plenty’. Bill Gates and Richard Branson, along with food conglomerate Cargill, are also making a play. But is the ‘promise of precision’ being over-hyped in the rush towards ever-more sophisticated technologies? The history of agricultural modernisation strongly suggests that increased productivity carries potential risks, including intensifying social inequality and ecological degradation. Either way, a pursuit of high-tech farming futures will lead to a unique set of both positive and negative consequences. Challenges include rising digital inequality, access to energy and other resources, varying laws and regulations, data interoperability and security concerns – smart farms are hackable farms. And with big corporations collecting and selling data from farmers, escalating tensions over data misuse is a considerable threat. Agriculture globally faces a “perfect storm” of a rapidly growing population demanding more kilojoules per day, amid considerable environmental challenges, whilst needing to maintain livelihoods on 570 million farms worldwide, the bulk of them family enterprises. If integrated correctly, new technologies can enhance crop yields, reduce production costs, improve the traceability of food, eliminate unnecessary waste and detect diseases in advance. But harnessing Agriculture 4.0’s full value won’t be easy. Industry, research, government and commercial groups must work together to remove legal barriers, improve digital literacy and access, and enable platforms to better exchange secure data. Agriculture may have been some of human’s earliest technological steps, but it will take the full suite of human ingenuity to ensure they continue. is an AI researcher, data scientist, mechatronics engineer and entrepreneur. She is currently developing an Industry 4.0 based Indoor Aquaponics System and establishing a startup to provide smart solutions for indoor farming methods. This article is part of a Special Report coinciding with Covering Climate Now’s joint coverage week on Food & Water. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 29, 2022

AI a jolt of energy for Indonesian medical research - 360 Mauridhi Hery Purnomo, Akhmad Musafa, Ardyono Priyadi Published on August 8, 2022 Indonesia’s growth as a medical research hub will only go as far as its capacity to power its public health facilities. AI could speed up the process. The numbers don’t lie: Indonesia’s public health and medical research is in need of help. On the Human Development Index, Indonesia ranks 107 of 185. To lift its ranking and deliver better health outcomes for the population, Indonesia would have to better provide preventative, curative and rehabilitative healthcare to its population — and that work has to begin with the research community. Medical research in Indonesia is limited by a variety of factors, but one that looms large is the issue of access. A country of 17,508 islands, Indonesia has just 10,205 Community Health Centres (known as puskemas) with only 4,119 offering in-patient facilities. This would average out to one in four islands having an on-shore puskesmas if centres were evenly distributed, which they are not (on account of Indonesia’s complicated geography and harder-to-access terrain on some islands). This leads to a host of issues. Most immediately, many Indonesians lack accessible healthcare. Medical research, the backbone of public health development, is also greatly underserved, as it becomes much harder to access and study in the most at-risk, in-need regions. A fundamental component to any research project is access to electricity — it is difficult to make groundbreaking medical discoveries if it’s a struggle to keep the lights on and computers running. For puskesmas and medical research facilities in remote areas with limited energy supply, the availability of electricity is a serious problem. The limited supply has a major impact on the capacity to conduct research, which leads to poorer outcomes for public health at large. Solar power is the logical choice as an alternative energy source to meet Indonesia’s energy needs in remote areas, based on the country’s high potential for renewable energy. Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral says the total potential of renewable energy for the country could reach 400,000 MW. As a country located on the equator and receiving sunlight all year round, solar energy is a renewable energy source with the greatest potential reaching 200,000 MW. In addition to solar energy, the next renewable energy options are water energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, marine energy, and biomass energy. Solar energy can be combined with other alternative energy sources, adjusted to the potential of renewable energy in the area. In this case, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is valuable, starting at the planning stage, and factoring into decision-making, implementation and operation of renewable energy systems for electricity systems. During the planning stage of a renewable energy rollout, AI has a proven aptitude in predicting or forecasting an area’s potential yields for renewable energy. It is also capable of forecasting solar energy loads or the energy storage capacity of the area. And when it comes time to make decisions, AI’s ability to gather and process information at scale informs choices around energy management, distributed energy storage solutions, fault detection, and risk management. And once alternative energy sources are in place in the area, AI can potentially be an asset in managing demand response calculations, stability analysis, power quality control, generation coordination control, and determination of the size and location of energy storage systems. As an example, the electricity system in a medical research facility  in a remote area can be designed using photovoltaic panels in combination with a small-scale pumped hydro-system for energy storage. For research that requires access to water sources such as rivers or lakes nearby, it can be used as the bottom reservoir of the small-scale pumped hydro system. The upper reservoir of the system is made using a water tank. Meanwhile, if there is no water source nearby, the lower reservoir can be made in the form of a water pool or can also use a water tank like the upper reservoir. To determine the optimal size and capacity of photovoltaic and power hydro system panels, machine learning optimisation methods can be used to consider photovoltaic power forecasting, rainfall forecasting and load demand forecasting. Prediction or forecasting can use simple AI methods such as Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), or more modern AI methods such as Deep Learning. AI also plays a role in optimising the design and operation of the hybrid renewable energy system. Power produced by solar panels is intermittent, so health research facilities in remote areas need to be equipped with energy storage solutions, such as batteries, ultracapacitors and pumped hydro-storage. AI-based optimisation algorithms are able to uncover in real-time the optimal configuration of a renewable energy system, meaning no power goes to waste and can be distributed properly by need. With the proper application of AI methods, the potential of different renewable energy sources for different areas can be utilised appropriately, made feasible technically and economically. With that, it can encourage the use of renewable energy towards an independent society. Akhmad Musafa is a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Budi Luhur, Jakarta, Indonesia, and also a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology (F-ELECTICS), Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. Ardyono Priyadi is a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology (F-ELECTICS), Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. Mauridhi Hery Purnomo is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology (F-ELECTICS), Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. He is the Chair of the Laboratory of Multimedia Computing and Machine Intelligence All contributors state that they have no conflict of interest and do not receive special funds in any form. Image published under Creative Commons. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “AI in medical research” sent at: 01/08/2022 11:12. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 8, 2022

AI and the gig economy deliver an opportunity - 360 Sedigheh Moghavvemi, Lee Su Teng Published on February 29, 2024 Developing nations have a real opportunity to cash in on knowledge-based work which allows flexibility. New tech such as generative AI is reshaping how we live and work. Young professionals with digital skills stand to cash in on the inevitable changes AI will bring to the job market. Emerging nations, which can recognise these changes and arm their workforce with those same skills, can ride the wave too. Researchers forecast a shift towards knowledge-intensive activities, with jobs such as statisticians and software engineers, critical to the development of artificial intelligence systems, being the ones in demand. They anticipate that employment prospects will increasingly revolve around computing, research, system management, law, engineering, health, architecture and education. The people doing these jobs are evolving as well. The idea of a graduate leaving university with one set of skills and relying on those skills to stay relevant for 40 years is over. No longer tied to an office desk in the city, they are gig workers, freelancers and digital nomads, working from home, the local cafe or wherever there is a reliable internet connection. Although all types of independent workers share elements of independence and flexibility in their working arrangements, they differ in terms of lifestyle, the nature of their work and their relationship with employers or clients. Gig workers typically perform short-term tasks or projects, and their work is not necessarily location-independent. Freelancers are self-employed and offer their services to clients. They may work remotely, but can also work on-site if required. Digital nomads use technology to work remotely and live a location-independent lifestyle. The digital nomad visa is new because of this lifestyle. Emerging economies are beginning to cash in on these styles of work. The growing gig economy offers chances for individuals in numerous developing nations to make money, develop fresh skills and connect with professional networks. A proliferation of new platforms worldwide catering to specialised industries, along with local platforms addressing country-specific demands for both skilled and low-skilled workers, are transforming the global workforce. Around 12 percent of the global labour market consists of gig workers. There are 545 online gig work platforms worldwide (three-quarters are regional or local), with clients and workers from 186 countries. Forty percent of traffic to gig platforms comes from low- and middle-income countries. Asian nations are seizing the chance offered by online outsourcing and remote gig work to generate millions of job opportunities for their people. The pool of professional gig workers predominantly hails from lower-income countries. India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, for example, are home to millions of professionals who offer services in web and software development, graphic design, content writing and digital marketing. India alone has around 15 million gig workers in human resources, IT and design. Meanwhile, the number of freelancers worldwide has reached 1.57 billion (47 percent of the global workforce). The freelance industry in the United States has grown by 78 percent to 73.3 million. This is expected to rise to 76.4 million by 2024, with AI creating new opportunities. One study shows that 84 percent of freelancers live their preferred lifestyle and 70 percent claim that they choose to work as freelancers to improve work-life balance. The United States, India and the Philippines stand out as major contributors to the freelance workforce, with Japan emerging as one of the top 10 countries experiencing freelancer growth. While freelancers in the US primarily secure gig work from local clients, those in developing nations like India, Pakistan and the Philippines rely heavily on overseas clients, accounting for approximately 90 percent of their assignments. This dynamic presents significant opportunities for job creation, reduced unemployment, and economic advancement in these countries. Digital nomads now number around 17 million in the US. Indeed, the US accounts for about half of the digital nomad community worldwide. It is predicted that by 2027, more than half the US workforce will participate in the gig economy. This growth offers an array of opportunities for gig workers and employers alike. The number of online communities and professional networks providing support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community for gig workers is on the rise. Having access to the external workforce is important for finding rare skills such as blockchain development, quantum computing, sustainable fashion design, machine learning, statistical modelling, data visualisation, ethical hacking, and threat detection. An increasingly AI-reliant economy underscores the importance of continual reskilling and upskilling for the workforce to remain relevant. With strategic investments in infrastructure and training, emerging and developing countries can harness AI to compete in the global market and attract employers. AI-driven platforms have the potential to provide tailored training designed specifically for individuals. These platforms can deliver personalised learning experiences and recommend relevant courses, tutorials, or resources to strengthen candidates’ abilities and improve their chances of securing employment. Additionally, AI will empower individuals with disabilities to utilise their professional skills, integrating them into the country’s talent pools and expanding their opportunities for accessing professional jobs through online platforms. Future employees will need diverse skills, including problem-solving, data analysis, collaboration, communication, relationship-building, and judgment. The education system needs to adapt to produce these workers. For developing economies, the key lies in establishing a solid foundation through investment in digital infrastructure and nurturing a digitally proficient workforce that can leverage AI for optimum productivity. As for income inequality, job polarisation and unemployment, they are intricately linked to the impact of AI on labour economics. How AI will cause unemployment depends on how quickly people learn the needed new skills (upskilling and reskilling). The faster markets adapt, the less unemployment there’ll be. There is concern about the potential job displacement caused by generative AI, raising questions about its impact, especially in high-skilled sectors. However, despite this, high-skill workers have seen improved employment opportunities post-AI emergence. AI exposure correlates with increased job growth in occupations requiring extensive computer use, indicating higher skill levels. There is also a growing concern that AI benefits may disproportionately favour a select few individuals or businesses, exacerbating income disparities. Skilled professionals proficient in building, implementing, and managing AI systems may witness increased demand and higher wages, while low-skilled workers may face stagnant pay and reduced job prospects. Sedigheh Moghavvemi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Decision Science, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Lee Su Teng is attached to the Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 29, 2024

AI helps scientists keep up in COVID-19 mutation race - 360 Mauridhi Hery Purnomo, Berlian Al Kindhi Published on August 8, 2022 Artificial intelligence can help predict mutations in COVID-19. Some have achieved a perfect strike rate. Mutations of COVID-19 are continuing to plague the world. For medical scientists, getting the earliest possible look at when and how the virus changes is critical – it gives them a head start in developing the latest and strongest batch of vaccinations and medicines, and the most time to consider which health directives might need to be issued. When speed and accuracy are vital, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) come to the fore. AI can analyse data with a pace and precision unmatched by humans. And it’s starting to help out in the fights against COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a trio of viral infections that can be fatal. DNA analysis of viruses has long been used to uncover similarities between diseases, helping draw links that unlock greater knowledge about each one. COVID-19, SARS and MERS share very similar nucleotide sequences, making them prime candidates to cross-reference and study together. Effectively, they’re from the same family. But research conducted without machine learning or AI couldn’t make the breakthrough needed to crack the code and understand how COVID-19 might mutate. In trials, researchers studied 30 DNA samples each of COVID-19, MERS and SARS, compared against a ‘primer’ of COVID-19. A primer is a DNA sequence used to test whether a DNA sample is positive for certain viruses or bacteria by analysing similarities between the sample and the primer. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing clarified the distinction between the nucleotide structures of the three viruses, but the results could not definitively differentiate between COVID-19 and the other two viruses. Adding machine learning to the equation increased the success rate drastically. It allowed researchers to study the distance pattern of each DNA sample, so the precise location of the DNA infected with COVID-19 could be known and predicted. Researchers used four machine-learning methods, each optimised with a different combination of parameter settings. The diversification allowed researchers to focus on the best prediction results for each case study. The similarity of the DNA structure of COVID-19, MERS and SARS is one of the obstacles in predicting samples that are actually infected with COVID-19. The DNA-alignment method with COVID-19 primary samples resulted in positive values ​​in all samples, including both MERS and SARS. But with the assistance of AI, it has become much clearer where the distinctions between the viruses lie. Machine learning could differentiate between the three closely related viruses in a way DNA testing could not. The prediction results were strong, showing two machine learning optimisation approaches were able to observe changes in DNA alignment patterns and predict shifts with 100 percent accuracy. The two less successful optimisations still produced 98.3 percent accuracy, with errors occurring in the COVID-19 sample data. This shows the DNA composition in COVID-19 samples is still diverse and there is a possibility that mutations will continue to occur. This data is incredibly helpful for researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The results of this analysis give the clearest indication yet of how COVID-19 will mutate, allowing optimal planning on important resourcing decisions, such as vaccine manufacturing and production of antivirals. As the pandemic rages on, the research community needs to stay on the cutting edge to give the world a fighting chance against the coronavirus. AI in the research process is helping do that. is Head of the CyPIRAL Laboratory at the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. is Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Computer Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. He is the Chair of the Laboratory of Multimedia Computing and Machine Intelligence. All contributors state that they have no conflict of interest and do not receive special funds in any form. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 8, 2022

AI in the pharmaceutical industry promises cheaper, faster, better drugs - 360 Feby Artwodini Muqtadiroh, Mauridhi Hery Purnomo, I Ketut Eddy Purnama Published on August 8, 2022 Finding potential new drugs is becoming faster and cheaper, thanks to artificial intelligence, but challenges remain. AI was the hottest ticket in town for predictions during the pandemic. Highly sensitive and specific in identifying objects, quick to summarise information, and consistent in producing results, it seemed to be a panacea for our medical research troubles. However, COVID-19 also exposed the limitations of modelling. Computer models for virus spread are either very complex or, conversely, simplified to be practical on available computers. The truth, as ever, is somewhere in the middle: while it’s not a solution in itself, AI can assist in diagnosis, treatment, prediction, and drug and treatment discovery, and can increase human ability to fight this and future pandemics. Long before AI technology evolved, drug discovery and development was the work of medicinal chemists working together in a laboratory, testing and validating their syntheses. The process was long, expensive and slow; estimates are US$2.6 billion and 10 years on average for a new drug. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), both machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), have helped accelerate the drug discovery and development process. The massive biological datasets around the world have become the raw material for drug manufacturing processing with an ML/DL-based approach. ML/DL can identify biologically active molecules with less time, effort, cost and more effectively. Drug discovery requires a long and complex process which can be broadly divided into three main stages: object selection; compound screening; preclinical studies and clinical trials. Those stages must be able to be transcribed and tested in an AI-based intelligent computing systems. If the drug candidate passes the safety phase and the efficacy has been confirmed in the clinical phase, then the compound is reviewed by agencies such as the United States Federal and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval and commercialisation. AI-based drug discovery generally involves the computer in the first two of those stages, through drug design; automated synthesis; or drug screening – predictions on its bioactivity, toxicity, or chemical properties. Most diseases are associated with dysfunction of proteins in the body. The three-dimensional structure of proteins is hugely important and it is here that computer-assisted techniques can play an important role in the simulation and evaluation of protein structures. Neural network-based algorithms to synthesise drug component molecules is expected to help scientists avoid failure and predict bad reactions. Meanwhile, virtual drug screening is an advantageous computational approach to screen for molecules containing inappropriate ingredients in the early stages of drug development and efficiently find new hits. But artificial intelligence faces some significant challenges, such as data diversity and uncertainty. The datasets available for drug development and discovery can involve millions of compounds. Traditional machine learning approaches may not be able to handle this amount of data. Deep learning with its neural network is considered a model that is much more sensitive to the prediction of complex biological or medical properties on random and huge time-series data sets. However, the intelligent computational models also face the problem of experimental data errors when performing training sets and lack of experimental validation. That’s why, in some recent trends, many experts around the world are trying to develop adaptive learning approaches and hybrid methods that are enhanced by big data analytics. Several aspects of the drug discovery process have not been well explored. Drug manufacturing requires close observations of the binding between potential drug molecules and their target proteins. Often it’s a challenging matter because the amount and quality of data to feed into the AI ​​model may sometimes be insufficient. Sometimes a compound is tested using different methods which can produce completely different results, upsetting the algorithms. Consequently, before carrying out AI-based approaches, filtering input from raw data is an essential step to obtain high-quality data. AI technologies, especially DL algorithms, have proven to be of great support in the development and discovery of promising drugs in the big data era. DL is able to extract key features from large and massive pharmaceutical datasets. In addition, DL-based intelligent computing techniques can handle complex problems without human interference. The sophistication of computerisation and brilliant synthesis technology in development and drug discovery could turn the impossible into the possible to bring solutions to society at low prices, small failure rates, and short cycles in drug development. Integrating ML, DL, and human skills and experience from government, the private sector, universities, and the community can lead to pharmaceutical strength and medical resilience. Feby Artwodini Muqtadiroh is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia Mauridhi Hery Purnomo is a senior researcher at the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. He is the Chair of the Laboratory of Multimedia Computing and Machine Intelligence I Ketut Eddy Purnama is a dean of Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia The authors declare no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 8, 2022

AI is set to change fertility treatment forever - 360 Vijayetta Sharma Published on November 6, 2023 From robotic nannies for embryos to algorithms that determine the prime time for conception, AI is changing how we make babies. In late 2021, Chinese scientists crafted AI systems or robotic nannies for embryos growing into fetuses in artificial womb environments. The technology could reportedly monitor embryos, detect movements or changes in the womb and accordingly make adjustments in their artificial environment. These AI systems possess trained algorithmic combinations to report embryonic defect or abnormality. AI has the potential to investigate and expedite fertility treatments through algorithmic decision-making by effectively linking data science to finding solutions to barriers in fertility, which is ignored in most countries. Technology has kept up with innovations to combat falling birth rates across the world. Bloom IVF group, one of the oldest IVF chains in India, uses AI led matrices to assess embryo quality and deciphers the likelihood of a woman to get pregnant. Robotic technology and nanobots are increasingly becoming part of fertility treatment in India using AI algorithms to provide real time analysis of oocyte penetration which allow doctors to select suitable sperm cells for development of healthy embryos. AI technology can predict unknown patterns and enable early interventions to identify and limit preterm birth rates, stillbirths, birth defects, and provide viable interventions for primary infertility. It lends diagnostic accuracy to fertility treatment and offers detailed analysis by accounting various variables fed into AI tools. These use advanced algorithms which consider factors such as a woman’s age, geographical details, previous pregnancies, medical records, lifestyle issues and stress factors to identify women at high risk. The success rates of AI techniques in treating infertility vary from 35 to 42 years of age per individual life cycle. Overall, women conceive within the first six cycles. AI is being used to enhance the accuracy of embryo selection, gamete selection, development of new drugs, customised treatments, and automation of tasks involved to improve fertility in India aided by AI technology companies such as Life Whisperer and Presagen. The Asia-Pacific region has some of the highest fertility variables. In 2023, with the highest population in the world, India’s fertility rate stood at 2.13 which almost coincides with the replacement rate of 2.1 percent. As per a recent WHO report, the estimated prevalence of primary infertility  among women in the reproductive age group (15 to 49 years)  is 11.8 percent in India. China’s fertility rate is already one of the lowest in the world, at 1.705 births per woman in 2023, a 0.18 percent increase from 2022 when the nation’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.09. The average cost of an IVF treatment session, which includes egg retrieval and transplant in China, is between $USD4,500 to $USD5,000. In India, a single IVF cycle’s cost can range from $USD2,000 to $USD6,000 or more, depending on the hospital value addition factors. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is one of the most affordable fertility treatments in India. The cost of IUI in India ranges from $USD120 to $USD180. China and India are leading players in AI technology. China is advanced in applying technology in healthcare while India is among one of the leading countries experiencing the fastest rate of AI skills diffusion in terms of acquiring AI skills by the workforce to enrich their work and improve productivity and innovation. The AI in healthcare market is projected to grow from $14.6 billion USD in 2023 to $102.7 billion USD by 2028 in India. China’s fertility rate has been lower than India’s for years because of China’s One-Child Policy. Since 2016, however,  Chinese couples have been  allowed to have two children. But policymakers are increasingly concerned about the impact of China’s growing demographic crisis of an ageing population on economic growth. The National Healthcare Security Administration in China offered  free fertility treatment under its national insurance scheme in a bid to reverse falling birth rates. Most of the national insurance schemes in India do not cover fertility treatments under the category of medically necessary treatments. The high treatment cost in controlling the fertility crisis calls for concerted policy measures by the Indian government with strategic action plans and targets to improve healthcare access for both India’s rural and urban population. The national strategy for AI by the Niti Aayog in India in 2018 and 2021 does not explicitly cover fertility under the focus areas for AI implementation in healthcare. Artificial intelligence is set to reinvent healthcare with far-reaching technological breakthroughs and ever-increasing medico-technical integration of AI in healthcare, particularly addressing primary and secondary concerns of female and male fertility. The important question is how will providers and patients benefit from enriched AI tools in revolutionising fertility treatments using algorithmic decision-making. A set of comprehensive, universally accepted guidelines for AI technology use in fertility treatments addressing patients’ privacy concerns and medico-legal regulations are the principal areas to be addressed by policymakers. Ethical concerns in determining the sex of the fetus can arise again. In this context, the government would need to make policy changes in other women-centric policies revolving around the fetus. If AI is a boon in treating fertility issues in the economies with largest populations and technology adoption such as India and China, then factors determining AI readiness with respect to the prevalence, need, culture, governmental interventions and citizen awareness needs to be evaluated and strengthened. The government and private sector’s willingness to have robust collaborations to facilitate, regulate, measure and evaluate the use of AI in fertility treatments can  significantly improve the fertility conundrum. Dr. Vijayetta Sharma is Associate Professor of Public Policy at Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies. She has been a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Information Science at Indian School of Business (ISB). Her research areas are maternal and child health, artificial intelligence, and governance. She specialises in public policy and management and has worked in management courses with academicians across the globe. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “The fertility industry” sent at: 02/11/2023 15:04. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 6, 2023

AI minefield in the misinformation battle - 360 Jaspal Kaur Sadhu Singh Published on November 20, 2023 After legislative stumbles on fake news, the Malaysian government needs to take on an even more complex challenge. The rapid advancement of generative AI has sparked concerns about its potential to fuel the spread of misinformation. Since the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022, there has been a slew of generative AI platforms, such as ChatGPT-4 and other similar tools such as Google’s Bard and, most recently, Grok by Elon Musk. Generative AI‘s ability to create convincing content blurs the line between human and machine-generated, highlighting the importance of restoring trust in news production. Current global discussions about AI governance and standards for trustworthy and responsible AI intersect with concerns about preserving journalistic integrity and ensuring the reliability of information accessible to the public. These powerful technologies bring a new level of complexity to the challenge of fighting false information in the media, which Malaysia has grappled with for years. Malaysia is considering regulating AI applications and platforms, covering crucial aspects such as data privacy and public awareness of AI use. The legislation wouldn’t hinder the progress of AI technology. It’s about balancing risk management and fostering innovation to ensure AI’s continued positive impact on the economy and society. In 2018, the Malaysian government enacted the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 to combat the rise of fake news, but critics said the act was designed to stifle dissent ahead of the 2018 general election. The law was repealed after a year. Then, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new law to tackle fake news was introduced. The Emergency (Essential Powers) (No 2) Ordinance Bill came into force in March 2021 but was revoked in the same year. Its stated target was to counter misinformation about COVID and emergency lockdown orders. Malaysia introduced the National Artificial Intelligence Roadmap 2021-2025, emphasising AI governance. The first iteration of principles for responsible AI includes seven points, focusing on fairness, reliability, safety and control, privacy and security, inclusiveness, the pursuit of human benefits and happiness, accountability, and transparency. The document suggests continuous updates, aligning with the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara (National Principles). The aim of these principles is for developers and deployers of AI tools to use them when, for example, training the system with large data sets. Their intent is to avoid bias and ensure that predictive outcomes of AI systems do not clash with the values in the constitution and the Rukun Negara. Plans to work on AI governance mechanisms will begin in 2024, particularly on the responsible AI ethical framework, addressing generative AI tools in news production. These guidelines will extend to various sectors such as government agencies, traditional media, online portals and social media, emphasising education and awareness of AI’s ethical implications in journalism. Open AI’s DALL∙E and Midjourney use AI to generate art and visuals. These models are capable of producing text and images in developing news content and information. This is not to say that news organisations have not used AI tools before generative AI models and chatbots. Take, for instance, the Associated Press using AI tools for news gathering, news production and news distribution. The JournalismAI Report published in 2019 highlighted ethical issues around using AI tools in journalism. However, several news outlets such as Wired and The Guardian have published their own guidelines on using AI tools in producing their content. They cite a variety of risks that may have harmful consequences for readers — including the generation of inaccurate, fabricated, outdated or offensive content. These risks can be exacerbated when generative AI tools are used by non-media entities. There have been concerns in Europe and the US about the use of deepfakes to threaten democratic processes. The risk of misinformation and its consequences on society also raises the question of accountability. The need to put up guardrails takes centre stage in the debate, notably when generative AI models approach a more human-like level, such as Grok, which Musk claims can respond with humour. At this early stage of developing AI governance, involving developers, governments and regulators, media entities and civil society is required. Developers of tools such as OpenAI are aware of the potential for ‘disinformation’, investigating how large language models could be misused for disinformation purposes and looking at steps to mitigate the risks. Unfortunately, there have been cases of abuse, such as an anonymous user mass-producing AI-generated disinformation. Governments and industry leaders have a role to play in addressing the risks of generative AI. The AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK government in November recognised the need to test the safety of AI tools, but participants also emphasised that over-regulation may stifle AI’s growth. Significantly, 28 nations, including the UK, China and the US, agreed to the Bletchley Declaration on AI Safety, with both the UK and the US announcing the establishment of AI Safety Institutes. The signatories shared common views of the transformative potential of AI while noting its ability to amplify threats, such as disinformation, hence the need for AI to be designed, developed and deployed based on a set of standards. Generative AI tools producing misinformation leading to harm — such as discrimination as a result of bias, or viewed as harmful speech affecting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender or disability — could face the ire of the impending EU AI Act, which would be the first legislation of its kind. As policymakers and legislators consider the next step, there is some disagreement on whether generative AI will lead to an onslaught of misinformation. Researchers argue that “current concerns about the effects of generative AI on the misinformation landscape are overblown”. While contrary views emerge on this subject, there is a growing body of guidance for journalists when using AI in all aspects of their work, including minimising the risk of misinformation. One example is the World Association of News Publishers’ Global Principles for Artificial Intelligence and the most recent publication by Reporters without Borders’ Paris Charter on AI and Journalism. As journalists train themselves in using AI tools responsibly, one value stands firm — the respect for freedom of speech and expression and the right to information. The trustworthiness of news is the cornerstone of these rights. To ensure this is the case, mainstream media outlets and journalists in Malaysia must consider new guardrails with the emergence of a new era. is a senior lecturer in law at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. She specialises in the intersection of technology law with a focus on freedom of expression, and AI law and ethics. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 20, 2023

AI shows its worth in making sense of online health - 360 Safitri Juanita, Mauridhi Hery Purnomo, Diana Purwitasari Published on August 8, 2022 Natural language processing is an emerging, complex form of analysis. But a study from Indonesia showed computers can draw sense from doctors’ chats. An Indonesian analysis of doctors’ chat records in online health forums has revealed that some kinds of artificial intelligence tools are better than others in deriving meaning. The findings could assist researchers around the world to process complex text and draw conclusions. One of the rapidly growing health services today is telemedicine, after a surge precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has proven to be invaluable in diverting patients from long waits in the emergency room and has changed the practices of thousands of healthcare providers. One type of telemedicine is online health consulting, a text-based chat appointment between patient and doctor. Such chats take place on social media, health websites or mobile applications. Patients send images and/or questions and doctors assess the severity of the disease and make an early diagnosis. However, whether doctors are providing appropriate precautionary advice, especially for high-risk diseases, is unknown. Artificial intelligence and natural language processing were employed to explore doctors’ messaging from 2014-2021. Natural language processing refers to the use of AI to help computers understand text and spoken language with comparable complexity to humans. Topic modelling is an approach where computers scan a body of text, find word and phrase patterns within them, and automatically create clusters of related expressions. Topic modelling algorithms can be applied to many different kinds of text, and hold promise for summarising and understanding the ever-evolving archive of digital information. The study in Indonesia used one of the most common techniques for modelling topics named Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). This assigns topics based on the probability that a word or section of text has similarities. For example, the computer will not know that dog, pooch and puppy are related words in English, but given the frequency of their occurrence in similar settings, it will assume they are somehow related and assign them to the same topic.  For comparison, the same test was run using a hybrid LDA, combining the LDA method and the inference engine. The inference engine helps solve the LDA algorithm’s accuracy problems by estimating if words are related to two topics. The dataset was sourced from three online health consultation sites: www.sehatq.com, www.klikdokter.com, and www.alodokter.com, with 18,737 entries. All data was cleaned up following previous work on Indonesian text. The results showed that topic modelling using Hybrid LDA was better than the LDA model. The number of times a word was assigned to the topic also provided insight. For example, “drink” might be mentioned in a doctor’s answer to a question about kidney disease. However, topic modelling with hybrid LDA might assign “drink” to diarrheal disease because it occurs there more frequently. Analysis can also be tripped up by the same words being used in both precautionary advice and symptom descriptions. The hybrid LDA grouped the text into four domains: symptoms/diagnosis, treatment, precautionary measures and general text, which contained words unrelated to disease. Medical experts then checked the accuracy of the AI. For example for kidney disease, symptoms/diagnosis words included: kidney, stones, large, channel, urinary, failure, function, infection, urine, pain, waist, urinate, liquid, sick, chronic, disorder, cysts, and veins. Treatment words involved: discard, bladder, water, USG, measure, wash. Precautionary words included: measure, condition, channel, and urinary. The work showed that hybrid LDA is the better tool for this kind of analysis and that it made sensible conclusions about groupings for doctors’ terms. The analysis also managed to find precautionary terms that were relevant to the disease among the doctors’ responses. The results may inform other kinds of natural language processing tests elsewhere in the world. Safitri Juanita is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia and a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology, Universitas Budi Luhur, Jakarta, Indonesia. Mauridhi Hery Purnomo is a senior researcher at the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia.  He is the Chair of the Laboratory of Multimedia Computing and Machine Intelligence. Diana Purwitasari is an associate professor from Department of Informatics, Faculty of Intelligent Electrical and Informatics Technology, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 8, 2022

Aid for Ukraine held hostage by US politics - 360 Tetiana Hranchak Published on February 23, 2024 The possibility of Donald Trump returning to the White House and enacting his ‘America First’ policy could be ‘catastrophic’ for Ukraine. Uncertainty about US support for Ukraine is heightened by the US presidential elections later this year and the intentions of the future occupant of the White House. The potential Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, is against any further assistance to Ukraine, saying that any more aid should be extended as a loan. He also once declared his readiness to end the war in 24 hours and emphasised the need to quickly achieve peace, even if Ukraine is forced to cede territory to Moscow. Trump’s opponent for the Republican nomination, former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, supports the continuation of no-strings-attached aid. A Vladimir Putin victory would lead to the spread of the war to other countries in Europe, primarily the Baltic states and Poland, she said. According to the results of ongoing voting in three US states for the Republican nominee – Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada – the advantage is with Trump, but the intrigue remains. In particular, because Trump is involved in four criminal indictments – two state and two federal – and thecourt hearings could influence the election campaign. The question of aid for Ukraine remains crucial for the country’s continued resistance against Russian forces. As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, the absence of American aid could lead to a “redistribution of power” in the world, as Europe alone will not be able to provide the necessary level of assistance. On February 13, after lengthy deliberations, the US Senate approved a USD$95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, USD$60 billion of which is intended to support Kyiv. Its support by the Democrat-majority Senate is only half of the story, as the bill needs to be passed by the House of Representatives, which is under Republican control. The House is in recess until February 28. From the beginning of the conflict until December 2023, US financial and humanitarian support for Ukraine amounted to USD$71.4 billion in aid and ranked second in size after the European Union (USD$84.9 billion). Next to the US, the most significant aid pledges were from Germany, the UK and Norway. At the same time, data over the past six months shows a sharp reduction in the volume of American aid to Ukraine: the cost of aid packages in the second half of 2023 decreased to USD$2.25 billion – the lowest amount since January 2022. The prospects for overcoming this negative trend and returning to the previous levels of aid are rather vague, as reflected in the rhetoric of the White House. If at the beginning it was about the support of Ukraine by the US for as long as necessary, now there has been clarification that the support will continue only as long as the US can provide it. Zelenskyy expressed hope that if Trump were to be elected in November, the general line of assistance to Ukraine from the US would continue, as otherwise it might lead to “catastrophic” consequences. Several factors will influence the dynamics of American aid to Ukraine and its volume in the future. Primary is the attitude towards the war in the US itself. The strategic priorities of the US and its willingness to provide financial aid will depend on whether this war is defined by its policymakers and the American public as just a local or regional matter or part of a global conflict. The former would see less support, as it would not be seen as an immediate threat to America. The latter, however, may cause a significant increase in investments geared towards ending such a conflict. The presidential candidates themselves will set the tone. It is already becoming clear that the Ukrainian issue has acquired an internal political tone in the US and become the subject of inter-party discussions. Against the background of debates provoked by Republicans in Congress, Trump’s previous statements about his ability to quickly end it and return to domestic issues are understandable to the average voter. This will strengthen his position and make it difficult for his opponents to form a positive image. This approach will remain relevant as long as the war is considered – or at least presented in such a way to voters – as local or regional. If American attitude changes and the significance of the war in Ukraine acquires a global dimension, there is high probability the conflict will escape the boundaries of inter-party struggle to become one of consensus. In this case, we can be sure that both the volume and the structure of aid to Ukraine will expand. This is also possible in case of positive changes nearer the front lines. European countries, in particular the so-called Weimar Triangle of Germany, France and Poland, are determined to continue supporting Ukraine and have agreed to the creation of the Ukrainian fund. In the past six months, the EU countries surpassed the US in terms of aid to Ukraine. This assistance used by the Ukrainian side to achieve military success at the front can also positively influence American support. Such aid being seen as an investment rather than a lost cause will make it easier for the Democrats to find compelling arguments to sway Republican leaders and voters to their side. But the continuation of positional war and the lack of wins by Ukraine’s armed forces will encourage more funding for the US’s own defence capabilities and the strengthening of NATO military power rather than aid for Ukraine. Not the last in determining the fate of American aid to Ukraine will be the general state of affairs on the world stage. The aggravation of the Gaza conflict has led to a decrease in attention to Ukraine and taken away some of the resources. If new hot spots appear, it is possible to predict a reduction in the amount of aid and the complication of its passage in both houses of the US Congress. This concerns Taiwan, which remains under a potential military threat from China. If the US is forced to divert its attention to the Far East, the issue of Ukraine aid will lose its priority. The prospect of US aid to Ukraine remains an equation with many unknowns. The configuration of a solution will largely determine the fate of not only Ukraine and the US but also the world. Tetiana Hranchak is Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, New York. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Ukraine two years on” sent at: 22/02/2024 06:00. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 23, 2024

Airbnb has driven up rents in India - 360 Kala Seetharam Sridhar Published on May 31, 2023 The rise in short-term rentals has put pressure on rentals in India to such a degree, it might be time for authorities to step in. Airbnb bookings have taken off in India since the end of the COVID pandemic. There are at least 70,000 properties listed on the site in India, as per The Economic Times (July 7, 2021). Domestic bookings rose 80 percent in the third quarter of 2022 over pre-pandemic levels, while hosts collectively made over $12 million from bookings with families in 2022. But there are serious questions about the effect this explosion in short-term rentals might have on housing and rents across the country. This is because there are already many affordable housing problems in Indian cities, as pointed out by the India Infrastructure Report which documents that approximately 19 million urban households face a housing shortfall, despite 11.1 million houses being vacant in cities. Further, fewer than 1.8 million houses have been constructed as a result of various programs initiated by the government. Some studies estimate that more than two-thirds of the urban housing shortage is due to overcrowding in households. Indian cities are also experiencing a severe affordable rental housing crisis, with a steady decline of the market share of rental housing from 54 percent in 1961 to 28 percent in 2011, as per the Census of India. Based on the Airbnb website the nightly price of an Airbnb stay in an Indian city is about Rs 4,800 (USD$58). The most popular places for short stay rentals are Goa, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Pune, Hyderabad, Dehradun, Jaipur, Raigarh, Ernakulam, New Delhi and Nainital. The natural assumption is that in cities where Airbnb is active, rental accommodation and housing would be relatively more expensive. This is because we assume such units are withdrawn from the housing market. It logically follows that the price of housing will also be pushed up, since the return from renting out properties on Airbnb makes it more attractive to invest in real estate, increasing competition. Recent research found that Airbnb density has significant effects on the rent of all sizes of apartments and housing prices in Indian cities. Prices and rents for three bedroom apartments showed the greatest effects. These results are quite pronounced, given that the extent of Airbnb penetration in Indian cities (measured by Airbnb density) has been quite limited in the emerging market. The results are also quite striking considering the data on active rentals were obtained during a pandemic, which means the impact could be even more prominent under normal circumstances. The homestay market is estimated to be about $15 billion globally. Studies from the United States have found Airbnb increased the price of rental housing there. Rents in New York City rose by 1.4 percent, or $384 per year. Research also found that Airbnb removed anywhere between 7,000 and 13,500 long-term rental units from the market. One study found that the sale price of a house in New York City increased by 6–9 percent if the number of Airbnb properties 300m away were doubled. The effect of Airbnb increasing rents in India leads to the question of whether Airbnb should be regulated, and if so, how. It might be a good idea for local governments to regulate Airbnb properties, such as requiring hosts to not overcharge. This could limit incentives to list properties on the platform in the first place, as opposed to placing them on the rental market. This, in turn, could mean more properties available for long-term rentals and make housing more affordable. Airbnb hosts could also be made liable to pay taxes on the income of the property. Currently, India exempts all Airbnb hosts who earn less than Rs 2 million (USD$24,178) income from reporting for Goods and Services Tax. Airbnb itself has come up with certain policy tools to guarantee their hosts and guests respect the communities in which they share space and agree on guidelines and norms to be used for the same. Quite similar to the mandate by New York City, Airbnb could also encourage the sharing of data by hosts and guests with city governments, without sacrificing user privacy. The outcome of all such regulation is that it eventually becomes more restrictive for a potential host to list their property on Airbnb, which would likely lead to housing becoming more affordable, although there is no guarantee these policies will solve the housing affordability problem. This piece is derived in part from an article published in Housing Policy Debate – Sridhar, Kala S. (2022). Understanding the digital platform economy: Effect of Airbnb on housing in Indian cities, Housing Policy Debate, 32 (4-5) (July): 713-729, available online at Taylor & Francis Online: Peer-reviewed Journals(tandfonline.com)/https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1929389 Kala Seetharam Sridhar is Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru, India. She has been a visiting Fulbright Nehru Fellow at the University of California Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning during 2021 and 2022 and a visiting scholar at UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland, multiple times. She has authored or edited 10 books, written several journal articles and is on the Editorial board of journals such as Area Development and Policy, Urban Science, Urban India and is frequently consulted by the Asian Development Bank for research on urbanisation. She is among the top 10 percent of authors globally on the Social Science Research Network. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 31, 2023

AIs could predict dementia, humans can ensure it’s done ethically - 360 Alexaner Merkin Published on August 8, 2022 AI could mean early intervention for dementia but raises ethical issues about patient privacy. A new case of dementia is diagnosed somewhere in the world every three seconds. Research shows as many as 40 percent of cases could be prevented or delayed, but doing so requires collecting and analysing vast amounts of data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support clinicians in diagnosing and predicting dementia with up to 90 percent accuracy, though care is needed to manage the ethical issues surrounding patient privacy, data security and the introduction of human bias. Although the cause and risk factors for 60 percent of dementia cases remain unknown, a recent study has identified that 12 modifiable risk factors together account for about 40 percent of dementia cases worldwide. Earlier identification of these recognised risks and efforts to determine those which are still not known could pave the way for the prevention and improved care of dementia. The potential benefits of AI, including reducing the risks of dementia by analysing vast amounts of health data and offering patient-tailored recommendations, are substantial. Machine learning — a division of AI that automates analysis and computations by learning from data to identify patterns — can analyse large sets of patient information to detect patterns of dementia warning signs with minimal (or without) human involvement. These include subtle signs such as difficulties in thinking and understanding daily tasks, emotional lability and memory loss which could otherwise be missed by clinicians. AI could assess potential complications, such as delirium, psychological and behavioural symptoms of dementia, accurately predict health outcomes and support decision-making. For example, a machine learning algorithms could analyse how a person conducts different daily tasks and detect dementia warning signs with 95 percent accuracy, through a home automation system. To complicate things, symptoms of depression are sometimes mistaken for symptoms of dementia. Machine-learning models could also help differentiate between the conditions, prescribe tailored treatment and offer reliable solutions in a timely manner, leading to better prospects for patients and reduced suffering and death. But there is still limited dementia-related data available to train machine learning models.Researchers have exploited the same datasets and studies have been conducted in limited populations. Big datasets representative of local populations are still needed to train these machines so they can work at their best and provide trustworthy information. The medical principle: “First, do no harm” makes for tight regulation. For the technology to have regulatory approval and be permitted in clinical practices clinicians, who will be the ultimate users of these technologies, need to first understand the process of decision-making done by the machine. Applying digital technologies in the mental-health field also requires caution and careful selection of analysis tools to prevent ethical challenges. These include securing patients’ data and legal assurance of data ownership — a serious concern as more than 29 million patients’ data has been compromised in breaches since 2009 in the United States. Data in the mental-health area is particularly challenging to collect due to many reasons, including stigma and privacy issues. Compromising patient data, particularly with mental illnesses, can have a significant impact on patients’ well-being. The use of AI in making medical decisions is still new and many barriers need to be overcome before it is used widely in clinical practice. For it to reach its full capacity, wider research and more rigorous approaches are needed to grapple with the ethical issues it raises. This is an ideal time for medical professionals, stakeholders, governments as well as individuals and their families to work together and seek a balance between the benefits and risks of the new technologies. Dr Alexander Merkin is a psychiatrist by training. He is a lecturer and a researcher at the National Institute for stroke and applied neuroscience at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, and at the University of Konstanz (Germany). The author declares no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 8, 2022

All-English education in India neither desirable nor doable - 360 T. Vijay Kumar, A. Giridhar Rao Published on August 22, 2022 Converting classrooms into an all English-speaking environment takes away children’s opportunities to develop crucial skills in their home languages. All government schools in the Indian state of Gujarat have begun mandatorily teaching English to six-year-olds at the start of primary school, from June. “We are doing this so that students start learning the language at an early stage and don’t face problems in the future,” said Gujarat’s education minister. The policy is based on two assumptions: English is unavoidable in children’s future and the earlier it’s taught, the more prepared they will be. Several other Indian states — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, for example — are taking the policy even further. All schooling will be in English. But an English-only education is not a viable solution in India as it’s neither desirable for children, nor doable — it diminishes benefits from learning in their own languages and teaching resources are already thin. A multilingual or bilingual nationally enforced education policy could instead adapt the best of both worlds for future generations, despite some push from parents for an all-English education. Children who are discouraged from using any language other than English in schools grow up either ignorant of or disdainful towards their home languages. Mother tongue education provides many benefits to children. It helps with the development of their cognitive and academic skills, builds creativity as well as pride and self-esteem. This is especially important for children of Indigenous backgrounds and linguistic minorities. Mother tongue education also fosters “critical thinking” emphasised in India’s latest national education policy, NEP 2020. There is currently an acute shortage of teachers across the country, let alone those who are trained in teaching English. Teachers who use little or no English outside of classrooms will find it hard to transfer complex concepts to students in English. The result is likely to be a return to rote learning, or memorising and repetition. India’s poorly resourced education system, with “a deficit of over 1 million teachers”, adds yet another layer of inequality — those privileged with English skills, and those who are not. Gandhi, originally from Gujarat, wanted English to be available as “a second, optional language, not in the school but in the university course”. A century earlier, Macaulay’s Minute on Indian Education (1835) also emphasised that English education was not meant to be the language of schooling. The Indian Constitution lays a similar emphasis on mother tongue education, saying  “every local authority within the State [needs] to provide adequate facilities for instruction[s] in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children,” according to Article 350A. The latest national education policy focuses on multilingualism and bilingual education, offering a possible strategy There are also strong frameworks for multilingualism in India, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), UNESCO’s monograph The Use of Vernacular Languages in Education (1953), the Child Rights Convention (1992), and the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), which have all been ratified by the government. However, a great deal of material to support these policies still needs to be developed. The national education policy recommends setting up an “Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation”, which will be attractive to those who have access to such high quality services, such as the private-school system and for-profit educational start-ups. But the bilingual material will need to be both ‘from-below’ (school textbooks and supplementary material for students) as well as ‘from-above’ (teacher training material and university-level material) to be accessible for all. In a country with multiple inequalities, it is not surprising there are linguistic hierarchies. In the global hierarchy of languages, English is at the top, mirrored at the national level with Hindi in India. In the 2011 Indian Census, more than 50 distinct “mother tongues” (several with more than a million native speakers) are clubbed under “Hindi”. A functioning democracy is unsustainable without the participation of all citizens as equals. But an equitable dialogue is not possible when a few languages are elevated and all others devalued. Moving forward, actions will depend on the strategies states develop in alignment with the national education policy. Converting the entire education system to English yields short-term political gains; but is not in the interest of a nation that believes in swaraj, or self-rule. As India celebrates 75 years of independence this August, a reminder from Gandhi: “To get rid of the infatuation for English is one of the essentials of swaraj”. T. Vijay Kumar is a visiting professor and teaches postcolonial literatures in English at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), Hyderabad Campus. He occasionally translates Telugu into English. A. Giridhar Rao teaches courses on language and literature pedagogy, Esperanto, and science fiction at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 22, 2022

Alternatives to dumping Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific - 360 Robert Richmond Published on April 14, 2023 Japan plans to dump treated, radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific but it could be used in other ways instead. When the earthquake and resulting tsunami hit Fukushima, Japan in 2011, it killed thousands and caused severe damage to a nuclear power plant, which required a constant flow of cooling water to prevent further catastrophe. Over the past 12 years, more than 1.3 million tonnes of radionuclide-contaminated water have now been retained on-site. The Fukushima plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), with the approval of the Japanese Government and backing from the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to begin releasing this water into the Pacific Ocean from August 24. But compelling data-backed reasons to examine alternative approaches to ocean dumping over the next 40-plus years have not been adequately explored. The apparent rush to treat, dilute and dump should be postponed until further due diligence can be performed, and alternative approaches seriously considered. During a visit to the Fukushima site in February 2023, it was apparent that large amounts of concrete will need to be used to expand the seawall, stabilise large amounts of contaminated soil and fortify the ice barrier presently in place to reduce groundwater flow into the damaged reactors. Using the treated cooling water onsite to mix concrete that can be used to expand the seawall  should be given more consideration if the water is truly safe, as it removes the  issue of ocean release and would substantially reduce the volume of stored cooling water. The present situation arose from a classic type II statistical error: accepting a false hypothesis (of safety of the nuclear power plant siting, with inadequate safety measures). A more detailed set of analyses that includes problematic scenarios can help prevent another calamity. Claims of total safety are not supported by the available information. The world’s oceans are shared among all, providing over 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe, and a diversity of resources of economic, ecological and cultural value for present and future generations. Within the Pacific Islands in particular, the ocean is viewed as connecting, rather than separating, widely distributed populations. Releasing radioactive contaminated water into the Pacific is an irreversible action with transboundary and transgenerational implications. As such, it should not be unilaterally undertaken by any country. The Pacific Islands Forum has had the foresight to ask the relevant questions on how this activity could affect the lives and livelihoods of their peoples now and into the future. It has drawn on a panel of five independent experts to provide it with the critical information it needs to perform its due diligence. No one is questioning the integrity of Japanese or International Atomic Energy Agency scientists, but the belief that our oceans’ capacity to receive limitless quantities of pollutants without detrimental effects is demonstrably false. For example, tuna and other large ocean fish contain enough mercury from land-based sources to require people, especially pregnant women and young children, to limit their consumption. Tuna have also been found to transport radionuclides from Fukushima across the Pacific to California. Phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that float free in the ocean, can capture and accumulate a variety of radioactive elements found in the Fukushima cooling water, including tritium and carbon-14. Phytoplankton is the base for all marine food webs. When they are eaten, the contaminants would not be broken down, but stay in the cells of organisms, accumulating in a variety of invertebrates, fish, marine mammals and humans. Marine sediments can also be a repository for radionuclides, and provide a means of transfer to bottom-feeding organisms. The justification for dumping is primarily based on the chemistry of radionuclides and the modelling of concentrations and ocean circulation. But the assumptions that underpin this modelling may not be correct. It also largely ignores the biological uptake and accumulation in marine organisms and the associated concern of transfer to people eating affected seafood. Many of the 62-plus radionuclides present in the Fukushima water have long periods over which they can cause harmful effects, called half-lives, of decades to millennia. For example, cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years, and carbon-14, more than 5,700 years. Issues like this really do matter, as once radioactive materials enter the human body, including those that release relatively low-energy radiation (beta particles), they can cause damage and increase the risk of cancers, damage to cells, to the central nervous system and other health problems. The Fukushima nuclear disaster is not the first such event, and undoubtedly won’t be the last. The challenge of cleaning-up, treating and containing contaminated cooling water is also an opportunity to find and implement safer and more sensible options and setting a better precedent to deal with future catastrophes. The Pacific region and its people have already suffered from the devastation caused by United States, British and French nuclear testing programmes.  Documented problems have led to international agreements to curtail such testing. In this case, the members of the Pacific Islands Forum are key stakeholders that are finding a unified voice against the planned dumping of radionuclides and other pollutants into the ocean that surrounds their homes and holds their children’s futures. The world’s oceans are in trouble and experiencing mounting stress from human-induced impacts tied to global climate change, overfishing and pollution, with consequential cumulative effects on living resources and the people who depend on them. Pollution, particularly from land-based sources, is one of the greatest threats to ocean resource sustainability and associated elements of human health. Instead of dumping this water now, a more deliberative and prudent approach would adhere to the precautionary principle – that if we are not sure no harm will be caused, then we should not proceed. Respect for the health of our shared ocean and the well-being of the people of Japan and the Pacific region requires sound scientific practices, a more careful consideration of the alternative more data, deliberation, and a more comprehensive Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment. It is hoped the commitment made during the recent meetings in Japan to pursue further open discussions and information exchanges among the Pacific Island Forum expert panel and Japanese and IAEA scientists will result in a consensus on the best way forward, and provide the best available science to guide decision makers in their critical deliberations. Robert H. Richmond, PhD is a Research Professor and Director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is also a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, Aldo Leopold Fellow in Environmental Leadership and Fellow of the International Coral Reef Society. The author is one of five independent scientists engaged by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to review the plans for Japan to release the treated, accumulated cooling water from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.  He gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the other panel members, Dr Arjun Makhijani, Dr Ken Buesseler, Dr Ferenc Dalnoki Veress, and Dr Tony Hooker. This article has been republished ahead of Japan’s plan to release nuclear wastewater from August 24, 2023. It originally appeared on April 14, 2023. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Fukushima water” sent at: 12/07/2023 13:03. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 14, 2023

Always look up: Earth’s top 7 asteroid defences - 360 Andrew S. Rivkin Published on June 30, 2022 If an asteroid threat emerged, Earth would need to be ready. Scientists are continually working to give the planet the best range of defensive strategies. One day we might scan the skies and see it coming: an asteroid heading straight for Earth. Our response would depend on how far away the asteroid was when we saw it, how big it was and where exactly it was going to land. Four strategies are most likely, but many others are being explored to give us the best chance of deflecting a fast-travelling visitor from space. Or, in formal terms, civil defence – the response used for natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes where there is a short-term warning. People would evacuate from the affected area if possible, and then hunker down and take cover. This would be the obvious choice for smaller objects, like those 1 metre across that enter Earth’s atmosphere a few times a year but don’t reach the ground intact. It would also likely be the response to objects as big as the 20-metre asteroid that exploded over the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013, injuring more than 1500 people. Residents were caught unawares and had not taken cover, so these injuries were mostly caused by flying glass smashed in the impact shockwave. Even a small amount of warning would probably have kept everyone safe. For a relatively small, contained impact like this, the resources needed to prepare the city would be far less than the resources needed to try to deflect the asteroid. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_2"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_2"} The impact of a larger asteroid would be a catastrophe to a region, a continent or the entire world depending on its size. Even a smaller visitor like the one over Chelyabinsk would be more of a threat if it were on course for a large city – making evacuation harder and risking the loss of far more homes and infrastructure – or were going to land in the ocean and cause a tsunami. In these cases, there might be pressure to prevent the impact if possible. The most powerful tool humankind has for deflecting asteroids is also the most controversial one. Nuclear explosive devices are the go-to choice in movies, though scenarios for their use in planetary defence do not involve plucky astronauts setting charges and then escaping. It’s best to keep asteroids intact and move them as an easily tracked single body rather than blast them into numerous small pieces – some of which might still be heading for Earth. Instead of burying the device near the centre of the threatening object, nuclear deflection scenarios involve stand-off bursts: the blast energy vaporises part of the asteroid and propels the space rock onto a new and safer path, far enough away from Earth that radiation and fallout wouldn’t be a problem. Last-ditch scenarios involving nuclear devices could also be considered, though the side effects of using them for mitigation very close to Earth might be as bad as the consequences of an impact itself. And there is no way to try them out ahead of an actual threat: nuclear devices have been tested on Earth for close to 80 years, but it is against international law to test them in space. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_4"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_4"} The kinetic impactor (KI) technique could provide a third option – and it can be (and is being) tested. The KI technique is very simple: ram a spacecraft into the asteroid of concern and use the spacecraft’s momentum to change the momentum (and orbit) of the asteroid. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), launched in November 2021, will attempt this technique. DART will target Dimorphos, a 160-metre moon of the 780-metre asteroid Didymos, and aim to change Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos in late September 2022. The change will be small, but measurable from Earth. KI missions would provide a non-nuclear option for deflecting objects up to a few hundred metres across, especially if a series of KIs are sent and each gives the asteroid a small tap that together add up to a larger shove. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_6"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_6"} The gravity tractor is an elegant concept that uses a law of physics: even small masses can have a strong gravitational pull if they are very close by. The technique would involve operating a spacecraft of very large mass very near the asteroid of concern, and using the mass of the spacecraft to attract the asteroid. Because the spacecraft position could be controlled it could tug the asteroid in any direction and change its orbit so it misses the Earth. Unlike nuclear devices or kinetic impactors, which make the change all at once, the gravity tractor is a slow-acting approach that could take decades to do the job. It is best suited for smaller objects and – of course – objects discovered a very long time before they are likely to reach Earth. The gravity tractor also allows a much more precise result than the other approaches. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_8"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_8"} Planetary defenders have come up with other options for deflecting asteroids, but these need more study to see how realistic they are. A passive option involves partly or wholly changing the brightness of the threatening asteroid and allowing a non-gravitational force (known as the Yarkovsky effect) to change the asteroid’s orbit. This would be a very long-term undertaking. Another option would be to station a spacecraft with a powerful laser near the asteroid and vaporise the surface below, which would both reduce the mass of the asteroid and serve as a tiny rocket to change its orbit. But this would require a very powerful laser indeed, and an appropriately large power source and/or set of solar panels. Another approach would be to attach a tether many kilometres long to the asteroid, which would effectively change its centre of mass and lead to a change in orbit. Asteroid impacts are unique disaster scenarios because they can be prevented altogether if we have enough warning. Thousands upon thousands of asteroids orbit near Earth, and scientists are continually cataloguing them to try to ensure anything on a collision course is found as early as possible. Should an actual threat emerge, the approach we take will also depend on the response from the specific country (or countries) affected, and how well the international community can cooperate via committees at the United Nations. In the meantime, scientists will keep watching the skies and working on techniques to send space visitors on their way before they land on Earth’s doorstep. is a planetary astronomer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. This article was originally published in June 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Deflecting asteroids” sent at: 29/06/2022 11:07. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 30, 2022

An early warning system to keep police honest - 360 Louise Porter Published on June 14, 2023 Early intervention and external oversight are two effective ways to keep police behaviour in check and nip problems in the bud. From the killing of George Floyd in the United States to a serial rapist in the ranks in the United Kingdom and endemic misogyny, sexism and racism in Australia, police misbehaviour has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. The nature of policing means it is bound to attract a large number of complaints. Officers are also vulnerable to misconduct and corruption, by the nature of their occupation. Increased police powers during the global pandemic and post-COVID recruitment drives have also resulted in closer scrutiny and more criticism of police behaviour. The US has grappled with cases of police abuse of force for decades. In the UK, public confidence in police in England and Wales has fallen, particularly in the wake of gross misconduct and criminal behaviour by officers, including murder, rape, bullying, misogyny, aggressive behaviour and failures to properly investigate alleged crimes. In Queensland, Australia, recent inquiries have identified widespread police failings and criticisms of the police complaints system, particularly regarding the need for increased independence in investigations of complaints. The public expects complaints to be listened to seriously and investigated impartially. For this to occur, most complainants agree an external agency is needed. Police departments also need to take responsibility for selecting, training and disciplining their officers. But time and again across jurisdictions, these ‘minimal’ integrity strategies are shown to be inadequate. Better methods of maintaining the integrity of police, including more advanced oversight, are often needed. ‘Advanced’ strategies are so called because they may be inventive, sometimes controversial, techniques. They are strategies that go beyond simply reacting to problems, instead seeking to predict or pre-empt problems by stopping them from occurring in the first place or from getting worse. There are things police departments can do. They can collect and monitor information from a range of sources (complaints, employee surveys, public surveys, statistics of police activity including use of force) to understand and assess possible problems over time. This can be useful to understand the impact of any efforts to improve policing by seeing ‘what works’. Police departments can run drug and alcohol testing programs for officers to prevent impaired performance and associated corruption risks. Evidence from NSW Police showed that randomly testing officers deterred them from using alcohol/drugs on duty, with very few positive tests returned. Overt surveillance can also have a ‘civilising effect’ and deter poor behaviour. Cameras have been standard practice for some time in police cells, interview rooms and police vehicles. The use of body worn cameras is becoming more widespread with positive impacts on police and citizen behaviour. For example, body cameras reduce complaints against police in the US by up to 93 percent. Early intervention systems can target problems before they escalate, so officers can be ‘set on the right path’ through training or counselling. They are typically computerised and systematically identify ‘problem’ officers based on indicators such as the number of complaints, use of force, accidents or sick leave. Once identified, responses can vary depending on the seriousness of the issue and could involve discipline or even criminal charges. Early intervention systems in the US, Australia and New Zealand have been promising, substantially reducing the number of complaints against profiled officers. Their success relies on identifying the best indicators for flagging problems and the best ‘fix’. One of the most pervasive and enduring strategies for improving police accountability has been the introduction of external bodies to provide independent scrutiny, or oversight, over complaint processes and integrity issues. Not all oversight agencies have equal powers. Some cast an independent eye over a police investigation into a complaint. These ’review’ agencies have limited powers and limited public support. A more advanced model has been termed the ‘Civilian-Control’ model, where agencies independently investigate matters, including complaints against police. Some of these bodies have immense powers for evidence-gathering if the matter is serious enough. They also have input into disciplinary outcomes and can refer criminal matters to public prosecutors, as well as engage in research and prevention activities. The leading example is the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, which has received greater satisfaction than other agencies operating under less independent oversight models. The Ombudsman worked in collaboration with the Police Service of Northern Ireland so well that allegations against police were reduced by 40 percent between 2009-2010 and 2019-2020. External investigations are viewed as fairer and more thorough by increasing public trust, as police are often accused of bias when investigating their officers. More thorough investigations also mean corruption or misconduct is more likely to be uncovered and dealt with. Officers may then be less likely to break rules if they think they will be discovered. Research has also shown police departments more frequently implement recommendations made by oversight agencies which actively monitor and investigate police, compared to oversight agencies that only have review powers. There may be challenges in jurisdictions adopting advanced integrity strategies, including resourcing, legislative changes and challenges to police autonomy. Strategies also need to be tailored to the types and scale of problems in a department. Ultimately adopting a proactive approach to identifying and rectifying misconduct issues should provide wins for officers, police leadership and the public — reducing complaints, improving public trust and aiding officer performance. is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Deputy Director of the Griffith Criminology Institute. Her research focuses on police misconduct and police use of force. She has worked with law enforcement agencies both in Australia and overseas on a range of projects for more than a decade and has published in journals in the fields of psychology, criminology and policing. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 14, 2023

An invisible killer hangs in the air of Asia's cities - 360 Karn Vohra Published on January 10, 2024 Air pollution deaths increase by 150,000 in rapidly growing South and Southeast Asian cities. Millions of people in cities in South and Southeast Asia face the threat of dying prematurely due to air pollution. Eighteen cities in Asia’s tropical region are growing fast and are expected to be home to more than 10 million people each by 2100. Most have limited to no routine ground monitoring of air pollution making it challenging to work out how bad the air has become resulting from this rapid expansion. The challenges increase due to insufficient control of air pollution and inadequate funding for monitoring pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and ammonia that also form harmful fine particles (PM). The most hazardous pollutant of them all is PM, which penetrates deep into the lungs and has been shown to impact just about every organ in the human body. Long-term exposure to PM was linked to 149,000 early deaths in South Asian cities and 53,000 in Southeast Asian cities in 2005. This increased by 126,000 to 275,000 in South Asian cities and by 26,000 to 80,000 in Southeast Asian cities in 2018. Dhaka in Bangladesh and Mumbai and Bangalore in India had the largest increase in early deaths from long-term exposure to PM. The large increase in early deaths in South Asian cities is the combined result of both increasing populations and PM levels from 2005 to 2018. For cities in Southeast Asia, population increase played a much larger role in the increase than change in PM levels. These findings of the study, which focused only on the tropical region, suggest that even if the air pollution levels remain the same, the increase in urban population in these fast-growing cities will lead to an increase in exposure to harmful pollutants leading to an increase in early deaths. With the anticipated rapid urban expansion throughout this century, the issue could be exacerbated unless new measures are implemented to mitigate air pollution. While there is increased interest in low-cost sensors, these are prone to biases and are relatively recent and so do not provide information about the changes in air pollution over the past two decades. Instruments on board satellites are the eyes in the skies which provide a long record and an extensive coverage of air pollution. Data from space-based instruments is publicly available for a suite of pollutants. How effective these satellite observations are for monitoring air pollution in cities has been well evaluated against ground-based monitors where these are available, prompting greater use of satellites where ground-based monitoring is lacking. Satellite observations collected between 2005 and 2018 by NASA and the European Space Agency show increasing levels of most air pollutants across the 18 cities. In this study, the cities analysed were Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Chittagong, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Karachi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Surat in South Asia and Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, Phnom Penh and Yangon in Southeast Asia. Almost all cities in South and Southeast Asia show a significant increase in nitrogen dioxide that directly impacts health, along with forming health-hazardous ozone and PM. Nitrogen dioxide levels tripled in Chittagong (Bangladesh) and doubled in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Hanoi (Vietnam) over the 14-year period. These are linked to the increase in emissions from vehicular traffic and power plants. Jakarta in Indonesia is the only city with a decline in nitrogen dioxide, demonstrating the success of air quality measures introduced in 2005. Agricultural emissions linked to livestock and fertilisers are typically unregulated and are the dominant sources of ammonia, a respiratory irritant which is also a precursor of PM. There has also been a significant increase in ammonia from urban sources. Increases in nitrogen dioxide and ammonia levels drive the increases in PM. There is a large and significant increase of up to 8 percent each year in PM levels in Indian cities with PM increasing to more than double in Bangalore and Hyderabad from 2005 to 2018. Satellite observations are at a very coarse resolution of about tens of kilometres and with limited ground monitoring, air pollution sources can only be speculated. For centuries, South and Southeast Asia have grappled with air pollution primarily stemming from the widespread practice of open burning of agricultural material. Farmers commonly burn vegetation during the dry season to clear land and prepare for the upcoming sowing season. The smoke from these fires is laden with pollutants, posing risks to both human health and the environment. However, when looking at cities, where most people live, there is a shift from rural to urban sources of pollution such as road traffic and burning of waste and household fuels. Air pollution mitigation measures are one of the challenges facing Asian cities. These measures encompass enhanced ground monitoring capabilities to pinpoint local sources of air pollution, as well as regulating uncontrolled emissions such as those from agriculture, which contribute to the formation of more harmful pollutants. The accessibility of emission control technologies has become more affordable and easier than ever. It is crucial to learn from past mistakes and take action now to prevent an imminent health crisis in these rapidly growing cities. Dr Karn Vohra is a Research Fellow at University College London. He has a PhD in Environmental Health and Risk Management from the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on the application of ground-based and satellite observations, chemical transport models and health risk assessment models to improve the understanding of air pollution and its sources on public health. He received funding for his research from the University of Birmingham Global Challenges Studentship. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 10, 2024

Anchored by debt: When cancer holds families hostage - 360 Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy, Yek-Ching Kong Published on February 5, 2024 Cancer puts a huge financial burden on families. Programmes to help cope with the cost can only help patients and their loved ones. Around one in two households in Southeast Asia with a cancer patient will spend more than a third of their income on treatment. The ASEAN Costs in Oncology (ACTION) study, involving almost 10,000 cancer-stricken households in eight low- and middle-income countries, showed 48 percent of patients and their families made catastrophic out-of-pocket cancer-related expenditures within a year after a cancer diagnosis. Apart from the direct medical expenses incurred from diagnostic scans, anticancer therapies, hospital stays and clinical follow-ups, the study found that non-health expenditures such as transport, childcare and household help were important cost drivers that pushed families into debt. Traditional and complementary therapies are prevalent and deeply rooted in cultural and religious beliefs in Southeast Asia, meaning spending on complementary medicine by people with cancer was associated with the worst financial outcomes, including a higher risk of poverty. The indirect costs of cancer, such as loss of household income, attributed to pay cuts, job loss and reduced workplace productivity exacerbate the financial burden of cancer. Cancer patients have also reported experiencing discrimination and stigma, such as being overlooked for a promotion or when applying for a new job, because of their diagnosis. It’s not only patients. Caregivers reported disruptions to their employment, including having to quit their job or take unpaid time off to care for their loved ones. Adequate paid sick leave during treatment, flexible work arrangements and time off to attend hospital appointments would help protect the financial wellbeing of patients and their families, as well as facilitate a smooth transition in returning to work. In Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country with a mix of public and private health providers, the study revealed several important and actionable themes. Besides the costs of anticancer therapies, it’s apparent that the long-term financial burden must also be addressed. For instance, women with breast cancer who had undergone a mastectomy would require special bras, which can cost from USD$20 to well over USD$100 for custom-fitted pieces. People with colorectal cancer would usually need colostomy or stoma bags after surgery. Simple one-piece systems might cost below USD$10, while ones with advanced features like leak-proof designs can be as high as USD$50 or more. These supportive care items, and others such as diapers, are often costly and not reimbursable by health insurance. This places a heavy financial burden on patients, particularly those from lower income groups. Follow-up care is also crucial to monitor and detect a recurrence of cancer, while supportive cancer care enables patients to live and thrive. The costs of these can have serious financial implications and require investigation, including in health insurance reimbursement. This includes countries that have made good progress towards achieving universal health coverage. While the financial distress following cancer varied largely depending on patients’ socioeconomic status and cancer site, the study found higher-income households and those with private health insurance were also financially affected and had unmet financial needs. Irrespective of economic status, there was a need for assistance in understanding the costs of cancer care, filing health insurance claims and navigating the complex system in accessing financial resources. A lack of awareness and the tedious paperwork involved in applying for financial assistance were repeatedly highlighted as major barriers. Families also need more than just help with insurance claims and getting charity assistance. Financial navigation programmes differ from the traditional and more limited financial counselling programmes by proactively reaching out and developing comprehensive plans to meet each patient’s unique financial needs. Financial navigation includes assessing risk of financial toxicity — when the cost of cancer care starts to harm a person’s well-being — along with optimising the use of health insurance for medical therapies; connecting patients to available financial resources and helping with paperwork to apply for financial assistance. Besides reducing financial toxicity due to treatment costs, financial navigators may also help alleviate non-medical financial stressors such as childcare, food and mortgages by connecting patients with available community services and resources. Such programmes, however, are scarce in the low- and middle-income countries, where the financial burden of cancer may be exacerbated by poorer social welfare services. To this end, financial navigation programmes may serve as a bridge to not only connect patients to financial resources, but also facilitate these connections by streamlining application processes and paperwork. Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy is a professor at Universiti Malaya, who strives to improve life after cancer, particularly for families in low- and middle-income countries. Leading major studies like ACTION, she equips policymakers with evidence to reduce cancer’s financial burden and save lives. Dr. Bhoo-Pathy’s dedication extends beyond research, as she actively champions the needs of cancer patients through influential global roles. Yek-Ching Kong, an epidemiologist and Research Associate with Well with Cancer @ Malaysia (WeCan@MY) research group at Universiti Malaya, delves into the financial and economic complexities of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Her research aims to unlock solutions for improving patient-centered outcomes after cancer, focusing on areas like financial toxicity and healthcare access in these resource-limited settings. NB-P reports receiving grants or contracts from Novartis, Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia, Pfizer, Roche and Zuellig Pharma and, outside of the submitted work. NB-P also reports receiving payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and Zuellig Pharma; receives support for attending meetings or travel from Novartis, Roche and the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia; reports participating on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board with Zuellig-Pharma, Malaysia; reports leadership or a fiduciary role in other board, society, committee, or advocacy groups, paid or unpaid with the National Cancer Society Malaysia, and eCancer and is the Associate Editor of the Psycho-Oncology journal outside of the submitted work.; and reports receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts, or other services from Roche Diagnostics, all outside of the submitted work. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 5, 2024

'Angry, hopeless, depressed' - Rohingya voices from Cox's Bazar - 360 Monira Ahsan Published on March 27, 2024 The poor conditions at the world’s largest refugee camps have affected both the physical and mental health of the one million occupants. Despair and hopelessness envelop the 13 square kilometre space in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh which makes up the world’s largest refugee camps housing nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, 51 percent women and 49 percent men, spread across 33 camps. Conditions are poor with a lack of the most basic of human needs such as clean water, sanitation, proper food and shelter and medical support. There are also major issues with safety and security. But notable is the depression that is prevalent throughout the Bazar mirroring the pessimism with which the refugees view their situation. “We do not see any hope in our life,” said one Rohingya while another added, “ We are agitated, angry, hopeless, and fearful.” Various factors, including congested shelters, reduced food aid and nutrition, degrading water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and environmental degradation contribute to the poor health of these Rohingya refugees. There is also a gap in investigating the gendered dimensions of health among Rohingya refugees. Existing studies focus on various aspects of physical and mental health with a limited focus on sexual and reproductive health. Studies show that the vast majority, 72 percent of the studied Rohingya women, have experienced various forms of gender-based violence. More than half of the studied Rohingya women (56.6 percent) had experienced unwanted sexual intercourse with their husbands, resulting in unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Rohingya refugees survive in countries throughout Asia-Pacific. Apart from this, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people in Cox’s Bazar have been suffering from severe skin diseases which led the World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out a large-scale Ivermectin-based mass drug administration (MDA) campaign. A WHO survey in May 2023 revealed 39 percent of the camps’ population suffered from scabies. NGO Doctors Without Borders made similar findings, backing the WHO report, which also suggested the prevalence of scabies was as high as 70 percent in some camps. Congested living conditions and poor water and sanitation facilities are the root causes. A lack of functioning latrines exacerbates the poor health conditions. The situation is worse for women as they are mostly confined to the shelter with restricted access to the already poor water and sanitation facilities. Majhi, the leader of Camp Six said, “Our women stay at the shelter most of the time, and also cannot use the toilets as and when needed that are away from the shelter and in public spaces. This causes various health problems.” Drawing on findings from a recent scoping review, Rohingya refugees also suffer from various mental health symptoms. The prevalence of depression ranged from 12 percent to as high as 89 percent among the 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar. Similarly, post-traumatic stress disorder ranged from 3.7 percent to 61.2 percent. Anxiety prevalence was recorded from 9 percent to 70 percent. Other psychological symptoms included persistent complex bereavement disorder (7 percent), feeling bad (50.4 percent), feeling afraid (14 percent) and feeling angry (9 percent). Anxiety and depression were more prevalent among female refugees compared to men, who suffered more from post-traumatic stress. However, both females and males highlighted their deteriorating mental health conditions in statements like this one by a female refugee in Camp 3: “We do not see any hope in our life. There is no possibility of integration or repatriation. Being trapped in this camp life makes us depressed.” A male refugee in Camp 1E said: “In the early years of our arrival, we were quite optimistic that we would have a life choice. But as time passes, we become disillusioned. Our people have started embarking on the risky journey to a better life, whereas many others are getting involved in drug trafficking and drug addiction. “Some of us must spend sleepless nights maintaining security in the camps. Such a situation makes us agitated, angry, hopeless, depressed, and fearful for our existence.” UN agencies and NGOs have only limited mental health initiatives in the camps. Sexual and reproductive health is also a major challenge for Rohingya women and girls. An absence of clear abortion policies, a lack of knowledge and understanding of abortion laws and policies, coupled with a lack of privacy in health centres, limited cultural safety, personal belief, and differences in knowledge of menstrual regulation among healthcare providers reduce the access and utilisation of comprehensive abortion care among Rohingya women and girls. As one sexual and reproductive health practitioner in one clinic at Lambashia Camp explained: “The Rohingya women and girls are concerned if anyone has seen them visiting the health centres and receiving sexual and reproductive health services. Moreover, those who have received these services tend not to visit health centres for follow-up treatment. “Our health centre employs community health workers and a few of these male and female workers are from the Rohingya community. However, the very infrastructure of the health centres lacks privacy. “Besides, there is a strong religious belief and sentiment among Rohingya people not to opt for family planning. Besides, women and young girls suffer from inconsistent supply of menstrual hygiene kits and poor hygiene facilities causing various sexual and reproductive health problems.” Dwindling humanitarian aid, coupled with social norms and beliefs, has resulted in poor health among Rohingya refugees, particularly for women, children, people with disabilities and gender-diverse populations. The engagement of national, regional and international actors to impact policies, practices and research can be considered to solve this protracted humanitarian crisis of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Dr Monira Ahsan is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre on Gender and Forced Displacement (CGFD) in the Department of Development and Sustainability at the Asian Institute of Technology. This article is part of a Special Report on the Rohingya refugees produced in collaboration with the Calcutta Research Group and the Asian Broadcasting Union. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 27, 2024

Answers to fire management in the machine - 360 Published on January 18, 2022 Big data and clever algorithms can offer new solutions for the management of wildfires. By Piyush Jain, University of Alberta On May 1st 2016, with the spring weather unusually warm and dry, two wildfires ignited near the township of Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. One fire started inside the town’s boundary; the other started seven kilometres outside town. Air tankers were immediately deployed on the fire that threatened the town, and while it was successfully extinguished, the other fire evaded suppression attempts, jumping the Athabasca River two days later. This fire, named the Horse River fire, ultimately became one of the costliest disasters in Canadian history, leading to the evacuation of the entire population of 80,000 Fort McMurray residents, destroying 2,400 structures, and burning through almost 600,000 hectares by the time it was declared under control some two months later on July 4th. The Horse River fire illustrated perhaps the two greatest challenges of wildfire management: decision making when information is imperfect and the prioritisation of limited resources. Despite numerous decision-support tools now available to fire managers, tools are still needed that can model the complex – sometimes unintuitive – relationship between fire and the environment in which fires occur; and that can also provide predictions from incomplete and noisy data. The problem-solving power of artificial intelligence offers promise in this area. AI – and its subset of machine learning algorithms – has considerable potential to improve or complement existing decision-support systems. A recent review of where machine learning could assist in wildfire science and management found three hundred studies spanning a diverse range of problems. The majority focused on estimating fire risk, detecting fires, mapping forests and other flammable vegetation and mapping burned areas, tasks now made easier by an abundance of high-resolution satellite data and sophisticated weather models. Other applications included forecasting fire weather, fire risk under climate change, predicting fire ignitions, determining fire risk, predicting fire behaviour, predicting fire effects (for example, forecasting smoke movement), and other questions related to decision making for fire management (for example, allocating resources). Despite the breadth of wildfire science problems machine learning has been applied to, it has largely  been used to answer questions such as “what has happened?” or “what is happening now?”. What needs more work are predictive tools to answer the question: “What is going to happen?”. Specifically, when and where are fires going to ignite? Which fires are likely to threaten communities or industry? Which of these fires should be acted on first? Fire managers need to anticipate actions that might be required days or even weeks later. If additional firefighting resources are needed for large fires, it can take days to bring in more air tankers and helicopters or weeks to arrange for firefighters from other jurisdictions to arrive. The reality of limited firefighting resources combined with extreme fire seasons creates not only a prediction problem, but a prioritisation problem – both occurring in the context of incomplete information. Predictive tools based on machine learning have potential to greatly aid fire management. Looking at how machine learning has been applied in other areas of the environmental sciences can reveal new opportunities for fire management. For example, already used to expand the coverage of weather stations, machine learning could be used to improve local monitoring of fire danger. It has the potential to improve current weather forecasting systems and extend fire risk forecasting for up to two weeks or even longer, aiding long term planning. Usually, models are developed using computer science in tandem with observations and physics. Machine learning algorithms might be able to replace the parts of the model that represent various physical processes (such as cloud formation or rainfall), improving the accuracy of not only weather forecasts, but predictions of future fire risk under various climate change scenarios. Similar hybrid approaches may also be helpful for predicting the spread of fires, currently based on complex physics-based simulations that are time consuming to run, even on the fastest computers. Two of the more recently developed machine learning methods show great promise. The first of these, deep learning, uses so-called neural networks to simulate the complex processing of the human brain. Deep learning has been used for a range of visual processing tasks, from automatically tagging cats in social media apps to detecting cancerous growths. It may be useful for predicting fire growth or forecasting fire risk. The second method, reinforcement learning, involves the use of programmed “agents” that learn to maximise some reward. Reinforcement learning can be seen in self-driving cars and financial trading, but may also be useful in developing decision support tools around resource allocation during challenging wildfire seasons. As immense as the promise of machine learning in fire management is, challenges remain. A data-driven science is only as good as the data it uses. And machine learning needs a lot of data — the collection of which is often compromised by the immediate need to respond to wildfires. For the promise of machine learning to be realised, data collection would need to be fully integrated into the fire management process. Developing decision support systems for fire management also requires machine learning expertise not generally available within fire management agencies. The development of interpretable models and actionable tools requires closer interaction between the fire management and machine learning communities. Helpfully, machine learning tools from Google, Microsoft, IBM and others are becoming easier for non-experts to use. However, ease of use is not enough. A cultural shift would be required in fire management for these tools to be adopted. Machine learning is the science of probability – it can’t remove uncertainty from decision making, but it can help quantify the uncertainty. In the coming years, rapid advancements are likely to occur at the intersection of machine learning and wildfire management. Linking these two branches of science could provide new solutions to protect communities and infrastructure. Dr Piyush Jain is a forest fire research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta. His main area of research is how weather and climate affect fire risk at multiple scales. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 18, 2022

Antarctica's possible new world order - 360 Yelena Yermakova, of Oslo and Germana Nicklin Published on January 31, 2022 A group of scientists and other interested parties are asking: Should the Antarctic have its own rights? By Yelena Yermakova, University of Oslo and Germana Nicklin, Massey University COVID-19 has not only disrupted our individual lives. It has disrupted the global order, challenging our assumptions about how things work, and how they should work. Even with only small numbers of cases in Antarctica, COVID will change the way the frozen continent faces its future. COVID has led to the functioning of global systems such as the World Health Organization to be scrutinised; unprecedented global collaborations have resulted in the extraordinarily rapid development of vaccines; global trade and travel mobilities have been severely curtailed; state restrictions on human movement have been severe and controversial. The pandemic has given us insights into any number of globally connected endeavours. It provides an indicator of how other global stressors, such as climate change, might play out. And it allows us to re-examine Antarctica. Antarctica is in itself a global imaginary, where short-term and long-term horizons co-exist, along with international cooperation and sovereign interests. It is a place where early signs of change can be detected and is therefore a useful predictor of change elsewhere. Five cities: Cape Town, South Africa; Christchurch, New Zealand; Hobart, Australia; Punta Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina are known as “the gateway cities” where Antarctic governance, logistics and science converge. But how they cope with COVID-19, recover economically and engage geopolitically in coming years is likely to significantly shape the governance of the Antarctic. More pandemics, an escalating climate emergency and an increasingly fragmented geopolitical backdrop all lay the path for some troubling scenarios to play out. In one scenario the gateway cities could become gatekeepers, operating in a world where issue-based alliances driven by narrowly defined national interests dominate geopolitics. States could take longer than anticipated to recover from the pandemic, their citizens unwilling to support ongoing costly scientific endeavours. Global norms and international legal bodies could cease to be effective, failing to reform or gain the support of major powers. The existing tension between China and the US could escalate, driving alliances of a military over scientific nature. The gateway cities, distracted by their own national security issues and geopolitics, are unable to protect the Antarctic. In this world, Antarctica of 2035 could be beset by illegal mining, states could portray Antarctic stations as sovereign outposts. Antarctica of 2050 could be dominated by elite tourism and elite science. Geoengineering to stabilise ice sheets and iron seeding in the Southern ocean could be underway by private actors. Protesters could begin blocking visiting icebreakers, the Antarctic reduced to a loosely regulated “wilderness” park. In an alternative scenario, the gateway cities work towards protecting global common interests over narrowly conceived national interests. Attention would be on the Antarctic due to increased access. In this scenario, Antarctica of 2035 faces climate-change induced extreme weather and another pandemic hits. Science programs could continue to be disrupted, Antarctica effectively ‘closed’ until things return to ‘normal’. Gateway cities could work with the private sector to support National Antarctic Programs, the private actors growing their influence over time. In the Antarctica of 2050 in this scenario, space exploration has trumped Antarctica as the place where states compete; the US, China and Russian satellite stations at the South Pole managed as an international station, a hub for global communication. Some Antarctic spaces effectively become privatised. While extreme, these scenarios point to the need for a rethink of Antarctic governance. Doing nothing is not an option. There are forces at play right now that could either undermine or fundamentally change humans’ relationship with Antarctica. Some rethinking has begun, though not within Antarctica’s formal governance mechanisms. It taps into a growing global zeitgeist that argues humans need to rebalance our relationship with nature. Indigenous peoples in Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere are succeeding in getting legal personhood for sacred rivers; the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature spearheaded the development of a Universal Declaration for the Rights of Mother Earth and continues to advocate for the rights of nature. The latest move in this vein is the Declaration for the Rights of Antarctica. The aim of the Declaration is to “establish a new eco-centric vision to guide people’s interaction with – and responsibilities toward – Antarctica for centuries to come.” Despite the Cold War period and subsequent geopolitical tensions, the Antarctic has remained a place of international cooperation and peace over the last 60 years. But the Antarctic Treaty operates as a ‘closed shop’, governance agendas controlled by 29 states. The drafting of the Declaration for the Rights of Antarctica is a process open to all. It could be one way to help rebalance human interests in the region, and work outside geopolitical interests that risk irrevocably damaging the world’s last wilderness continent. Dr.Yermakova works in political philosophy. She is interested in the governance of international spaces such as the Polar regions, the deep seabed, atmosphere, and outer space. Specifically, her research focuses on which institutions should govern these spaces and what makes these institutions legitimate. Dr Germana Nicklin is a senior lecturer at Massey University, New Zealand’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies. Her research focuses on the effects of borders on humans’ interactions with different political environments, with a particular focus on the Antarctic. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: By Yelena Yermakova, Norway and Germana Nicklin, New Zealand

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 31, 2022

Anti-abortion laws are an attack on religious freedom - 360 Samira Mehta, Tisa Wenger Published on July 11, 2022 If religious freedom is a true American right, then it must apply to all, not just the conservative Christians arguing against the right to abortion. When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing the right for all citizens to an abortion, Twitter exploded. Among the many declaiming against the decision were numerous tweets from Jewish Amercians announcing that, in stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion, the Court also stripped away religious freedom for American Jews. A press release from the Unitarian Universalist Association likewise asserted: “Access to abortion and the right to choose is an issue of gender equality, bodily autonomy, and religious liberty, all of which are long held Unitarian Universalist religious teachings.” We would encourage the Orthodox people and organizations that are cheering the overturning of Roe v. Wade to reckon with the loss of religious freedom for Orthodox Jews, when rabbis permit or require abortion and the secular state will not allow it. 6 — Chochmat Nashim (@ChochmatNashim) June 29, 2022 These statements turn the tables on religious freedom debates from recent years, in which religious freedom has been cast as a right that mostly involves conservative Christians. The statements instead hark back to religious freedom arguments from the twentieth century. Broadly accessible legal abortion, the argument went, allowed pregnant women to make their own decisions about abortion, in the context of their own religious beliefs (or lack thereof), and potentially in consultation with their clergy. (Pregnancy and abortion rights, then and now, can affect trans men as well as women. But the conversation at the time was entirely about women.) Ever since the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent, conservative Christians have used religious freedom to argue that they — as individuals, churches, or the businesses and organisations they operate — must not be required to participate in or pay for any health services that might include abortion. This stance puts the rights of conservative Christians above the rights and freedoms of anyone whose religious beliefs permit abortion, and whose access might be affected by these refusals. Republicans, animated by conservative Christian ideas, have already enacted bans on abortion in states like Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri. They have made no secret of their desire to push for more such bans, which are pending in many other states. They will also be proposed at the federal level. These advocates seek to impose a very particular Christian view onto the entire country. Religious freedom then becomes a valuable tool to reinstate reproductive freedom in states where abortion is outlawed. Central to the argument is the sheer diversity of religious attitudes to abortion. The stereotype is that religious people are opposed to abortion, but in fact, religious groups and individuals have held — and continue to hold — a wide range of views on the issues involved. In the US today, opposition to abortion is spearheaded by conservative Christians, especially Catholics and evangelical Protestants. But this alignment took shape only in the 1980s, and it has never been shared by more liberal Christians or by most other religious traditions active in the US. For much of US history, abortion was fairly common in the early stages of pregnancy. A broad cultural consensus held that life began at the “quickening”, when a woman began to feel fetal movement sometime in the fourth month of pregnancy. Newspapers advertised a variety of methods — indirectly and delicately phrased — to prevent or end unwanted pregnancies. These practices were relatively uncontroversial, not matters of ethical or religious concern. They only came under attack in the late 19th century as medicine became more professionalised. White male physicians, informed by the scientific racism of the time, warned against abortion as a form of white “race suicide”. Many states began to pass anti-abortion laws, and many religious leaders began to consider the issue anew. In the 20th century, American Christians differed widely on the questions involved. Only the Catholic Church advocated consistently for abortion to be outlawed. Protestants were far more divided. With ‘people of good conscience’ disagreeing on when in a pregnancy human life began, many concluded that the state had no right to make this decision. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), for example, was pro-choice until the early 1980s because of the Baptist commitment to “soul liberty” — that each individual must be free to follow God, and accountable only to God — and the accompanying ideal of church-state separation. Despite growing anti-abortion sentiment within the denomination, most Baptists viewed laws against abortion as a violation of these theological principles. Some Baptists today, especially outside of the SBC, continue to hold these views. Many liberal Protestant denominations now are actively and conscientiously pro-choice. They note that the Bible does not directly mention abortion. One of the few biblical texts that mentions miscarriage, Exodus 21: 22-23, very clearly assigns a lower value to the fetus than to the life of a woman. This passage, among others, leads some Christians to conclude that abortion is permissible, at least in some circumstances. Pro-choice Christians further ground their support for abortion rights in core theological principles. They hold that all people are equally beloved by God and so must enjoy the same rights to bodily autonomy and the freedom of conscience. And despite the formal position of the Catholic Church, many Catholics too support abortion rights, sometimes for reasons that they connect to their Catholic faith — specifically, their Catholic commitments to social justice and the right of conscience. Christian traditions, then, do not speak with one voice on the subject of abortion. The United States, of course, is not a Christian nation but a religiously pluralistic one. And non-Christian traditions have even more diverse responses to abortion. Broadly speaking, Islam permits abortion until about 120 days, and to save the mother’s life it is permitted always. Judaism goes so far as to mandate abortion to save a mother’s life. Liberal forms of Judaism support abortion rights as a feminist issue. More traditional forms of Judaism permit abortion to protect maternal health, and debate which health threats render abortion permissible, with some allowing for threats to mental health. Buddhism has a similarly broad range of responses to abortion, and since the Supreme Court decision, Buddhist leaders have publicly declared their support for abortion rights, with comments like this one, from Shin Buddhist minister Blayne Higa, who wrote, “I will continue to support the spiritual and bodily autonomy of women and others to make informed decisions about their own reproductive health. I believe complex and difficult decisions should be held with compassion and empathy free from prejudice and interference.” As clergy, I will continue to support the spiritual and bodily autonomy of women and others to make informed decisions about their own reproductive health. I believe complex and difficult decisions should be held with compassion and empathy free from prejudice and interference. — Blayne Higa (@blaynehiga) June 25, 2022 Hinduism too is internally diverse, even more so than Christianity or Islam, but one study shows that 68 percent of Americans who identify as Hindus say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In India, which is majority Hindu, abortion is legal in most circumstances. Americans have become accustomed to a conservative Christian monopoly on the language of religious freedom. As a powerful religious minority, it has used this ideal, ironically, to subject the rest of the country to its own religious values. The conservative Christian claim that life begins at conception is theological, rather than biological. For many other people of faith, access to abortion is itself a religious value. Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans do not identify with any religion at all. If religious freedom is a fundamental principle of the United States, as conservative Christians claim, it holds opens the door for others to argue that the right must be available to all people, not just to some, and not just to those in power. It remains to be seen whether the position held by one strand of Christianity — the belief that abortion is murder — will be the final word for all Americans. Samira K. Mehta is Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies and Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is writing a book titled God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in Tri-Faith America, under contract with the University of North Carolina Press. Tisa Wenger is Professor of American Religious History in the Divinity School at Yale University. She is the author of Religious Freedom: The Contested History of an American Ideal. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on July 11, 2022

Ants show the way to beating traffic jams - 360 Tanya Latty Published on February 16, 2023 Ants can teach us a lot about dealing with traffic congestion but there is one stumbling block. Being stuck in traffic is stressful, wastes time and resources and ends up costing the world’s economies triillions of dollars a year. Jams happen daily and authorities have spent decades trying to fix the problem with little success. Yet a solution may be literally under our feet. Ants. There are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. That’s more than the number of stars in the Milky Way (and possibly more than the number of stars in the entire observable universe). These ants — which can live in colonies that contain billions of individuals and can span thousands of kilometres — are nearly always moving yet somehow they never get stuck. Like humans, ants have sophisticated transportation systems to ensure the efficient movement of individuals, resources and information. Some ant species create systems using chemical signals called ‘pheromones’. If an ant finds an attractive food source, she returns to the nest dropping invisible droplets of pheromone behind her as she walks. This is the basis of many ant transportation systems and enables ants to quickly gather workers to new food sources, allocate workers based on the quality of the food, and find the shortest path between points. In the early 1990s, the trail-laying behaviour of ants inspired the incredibly successful ‘ant colony optimisation algorithm’ which is now used to tackle tough traffic problems such as determining the most efficient route for a fleet of delivery vehicles. Ants excel at managing traffic on their trails. On human-built roads the average speed of cars decreases as the number of cars on the road increases: you simply can’t go fast when the road is crowded. Ants moving on their trails, however, do not slow down even when more ants join the trail. How? In some cases, traffic congestion is prevented because ants switch from using a single trail when traffic is light, to using two trails when traffic is heavy. By dividing themselves across multiple routes, ants maintain traffic speeds and prevent congestion, effectively stopping traffic jams before they start. Some ants also respond to increased traffic by leaving less pheromone, which decreases the attractiveness of a trail and may encourage ants to find alternate routes. Other ants appear to adjust their walking speed to avoid time-consuming collisions when ant trails become crowded. Some ants manage traffic by travelling along their trails in small groups called ‘platoons’. Platooning is thought to increase the efficiency of ant trail systems by reducing the gaps between individuals. This concept is being investigated for self-driving cars as it reduces the need for sudden braking and helps prevent congestion. It’s clear ants are masters at managing traffic on their trails but the billion-dollar question is whether we can apply what we learn from ants to our own traffic management systems. There is one issue: humans are not ants. Where ants on a trail share a common goal, human drivers are motivated by individual goals that may conflict with other road users. Ants communicate to one another through their trails systems, whereas communication between human drivers is limited. However, as we move toward the adoption of self-driving vehicles, the opportunities for ants to inspire traffic technologies will increase. Self-driving cars can communicate with each other to find the best route and avoid congestion, similar to ants using chemical signals to communicate and navigate their trail systems. Like ants in a colony, self-driving vehicles may be able to work together to minimise traffic times for everyone. In essence, our traffic systems may be becoming more ant like. And as our traffic systems continue to adapt, we would be wise to look to the animals whose traffic management prowess has been shaped by millions of years of evolution. Tanya Latty is an associate professor at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses broadly on insect behaviour and ecology with particular interest in the intersections between entomology, agriculture and technology. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Gridlock unlocked” sent at: 13/02/2023 09:14. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 16, 2023

Anwar Ibrahim has been slow to protect press freedom - 360 Kwan Yee Kow Published on May 3, 2023 Amid growing concerns over the state of press freedom and freedom of expression in Malaysia, the current administration is taking its time for reform. Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim is known as the face of freedom fighters for his ‘reformasi’ (reform) movement during the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the late 90s. He was jailed twice in 1999 and 2015 for sodomy and corruption charges which were aimed to end his political career. After more than two decades of repression, he was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister in 2022 but civil society groups and opposition parties are keeping a close eye on how he and the Pakatan Harapan coalition he leads is honouring press freedom while maintaining national security. So far, the signs are not promising. In March, Anwar said he and his government would not tolerate any attempts to incite religious and racial sentiments that would disrupt national security. This came after a programme organised by the youth ministry to allow people to visit places of worship and learn about other religions stirred controversy. In Malaysia, freedom of speech under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution is not absolute and may be restricted by laws in the interest of preserving national security, public order or morality and international relations. However, the notion of national security is a broad and diverse concept that can be subject to rhetorical interpretation and potentially misused by those in power to suppress dissent. To protect national security, Malaysian authorities have been utilising laws with broadly-worded terms, including the colonial-era Sedition Act 1948, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. Recent efforts by the Communications and Digital Ministry to strengthen some laws have raised concerns about curtailing freedom of speech. The proposed amendments to Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, also known as the ‘Akta Sakit Hati’ or ‘Hurt Feelings Act‘, could increase penalties for offences. There were nearly 100 arrests and investigations made under the act last year including against activist Fahmi Reza during the Perikatan Nasional administration. Communication and Digital Minister, Fahmi Fadzil has justified that the proposed amendments to the Act could help curb sensitive issues relating to race, religion and the royal institution, also known as the ‘3Rs’. Even Malaysia’s police have established a special team to investigate cases involving the 3Rs. Since March, seven investigations have commenced involving insults to the royal institution (four cases), religion (two) and racial elements (one). On press freedom, the government had also recently backtracked on its pledge to review and repeal draconian laws that restrict journalists, including the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 which grants the authorities the power to suspend any publication or prevent its importation if the minister is satisfied it potentially is “likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, or which is likely to alarm public opinion, or which is likely to be contrary to any law or is otherwise prejudicial or is likely to be prejudicial to the public interest or national interest”. Journalists and news organisations have criticised the decision, saying it contradicts the ongoing commitment to set up a Malaysian Media Council towards media self-regulation and liberalisation of media and publications licensing. Civil society organisations such as Lawyers for Liberty and Suara Rakyat Malaysia are concerned about the state of freedom of expression and press freedom, as the government continues to use sedition laws to investigate citizens for participating in public rallies and online criticism. The sedition law makes it an offence for any act, speech, text, publication or other things that are defined as having “seditious tendencies” which are imprecise and without clear boundaries. The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 also contain broad terms such as “obscene”, “indecent”, “false”, “menacing”, and “offensive”, which give authorities wide discretion to prosecute anyone they deem to violate these provisions, resulting in blanket bans on anonymous speech. In Malaysia, conversations around safeguarding national security have focused on maintaining peace and harmony within its diverse, multiracial society. Citizens are told to be aware of sensitive issues that could pose a threat to the social fabric of the nation. This has continued even after Pakatan Harapan assumed power for the second time in 2022. Amid calls for speedy reform, a Pakatan Harapan representative said the government is committed to a reform but it will take a “staggered” approach. But how fast these reforms happen is open to debate. Some argue that rapid change is necessary to address urgent social and political issues. They say real change can only be achieved through immediate and sweeping action and that Pakatan Harapan leaders missed their chance for much-needed media reforms when they first took over the government in 2018. In contrast, others argue that slow and steady reform is more effective in achieving sustainable change. They believe that rapid change can be destabilising, leading to unintended consequences such as public disorder or racial tension. In Malaysia especially, it is crucial to carefully consider the pace and extent of reforms to avoid such consequences. As a coalition that promises greater civil liberties, the Pakatan Harapan administration is facing the difficult task of balancing national security and press freedom and achieving this balance will require careful consideration and tactful strategy. Kow Kwan Yee is a lecturer at the School of Communication & Creative Arts, UOW Malaysia KDU University College. She has worked as a journalist covering a range of topics, including crime, the courts and politics, for several media organisations. Her research interests include press freedom, media reform, communication policies, critical discourse analysis and media literacy education. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Press freedom” sent at: 01/05/2023 12:38. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 3, 2023

Anwar Ibrahim’s challenge to tackle Malaysia’s money politics - 360 Khairul Saidah Abas Azmi, Rozaimah Zainudin Published on December 1, 2022 Ensuring Malaysia’s political system is free of corruption and cronyism will be an uphill battle for the new government. When Anwar Ibrahim was finally sworn in as Malaysia’s latest prime minister this month he was quick to repeat the promise which helped him win office in the first place: to drive corruption out of politics. “We will never compromise on good governance, the anti-corruption drive, judicial independence and the welfare of ordinary Malaysians,” he said hours after he was sworn in, before leading chants of “Reformasi” — his rallying cry for reform during years of opposition. Cases such as former deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s graft trial and the controversial 1MDB case have shone a spotlight on the darker side of Malaysia’s political financing. The cases have tarnished the country’s reputation and highlighted poor governance and the lack of political will to tackle corruption. While political donations are legal, there is a risk they can lead to the misappropriation of funds, cronyism and conflicts of interest. In Malaysia, donations and kickbacks are handed out in exchange for political support. This is how money politics contributes to corruption.  The practice ramps up during election campaigns although Malaysia’s Election Offences Act (1954) was enacted to police and prosecute any unethical and illegal activities during elections. Stamping out corruption will be a major challenge to the new government. The relationship between politics and business is a major source of illicit political funds. Businesses have the desire to build monopolies by offering contributions to politicians who will support their interests.  Cronyism is common with some MPs and public officials providing businesses with access to free or subsidised public goods, tax reductions and/or licensing. In a bid to stop the practice, Malaysia is set to implement a Political Funding Bill to ensure accountability through transparency of political financing or donations. In 2021, the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) released a report revealing some worrying evidence of unauthorised transfers of cash into foundations created by political elites (from both ruling and opposition political parties) under the guise of political donations. The new law— if passed —  is expected to enhance transparency by requiring politicians to disclose the source of their donations and how the funds are channelled to, and managed by,  the political party. At the moment, political parties and candidates are under no obligation to reveal where their funding comes from. This transparency is a key plank of political finance regulation which also includes limits on contributions and campaign spending. In addition, the election also saw the anti-hopping party law finally take effect, preventing politicians from switching parties. The Malaysian Bar has called for urgent action on political financing laws as there is currently no legislative framework addressing how political financing is managed. Without strong legislation to govern the financing of political parties and candidates, a ‘clean’ political system will be hard to implement. In August 2022, there were plans to table the political funding bill in October, but the general elections halted the process.  Now it is hoped the new PM will push ahead with the legislation.  The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM), which was formed to look into all aspects of political financing, recommends having a  parliamentary select committee made up of members from across the political spectrum to draft the funding bill. Although it is nearly impossible to have a comprehensive political funding law, the main idea is to have transparent funding that aligns with voters’ expectations of a level playing field. A holistic and integrated system can combat money politics and sustain the quality of democracy. Four stakeholders play a significant role:  public officials, political parties and candidates, people or organisations with oversight (such as an Ombudsman), and donors. These all need to collaborate and provide opportunities to strengthen the accountability and effectiveness of systems and governance. Understanding how political and economic processes work is crucial — in particular the incentives, relationships, and distribution and power dynamics between different groups and individuals. Before the election, many of the then-opposition members of parliament declared their assets and net worth. While this initiative looks good for transparency, the same effort can be seen as having a political agenda. There are calls for politicians’ assets to be made public every year, or when they acquire new assets. Especially politicians in influential positions (such as cabinet ministers). After all, public officials in Malaysia are obliged to make asset declarations whenever they acquire anything new or dispose of their assets, including their spouses’ assets as instructed by government circular. Assett declaration could contribute to another layer of checks and balances in holding our politicians accountable. Dr Khairul Saidah Abas Azmi and Dr Rozaimah Zainudin are senior lecturers at the Faculty of Business & Economics, Universiti Malaya. Khairul’s research interests are in fraudulent and corrupt practices, public sector auditing, and forensic accounting. Meanwhile, Rozaimah’s areas of research include risk management, derivative markets, corporate finance, and international finance. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 1, 2022

APEC faces up to the China challenge - 360 Aravind Yelery Published on October 30, 2023 Superpower rivalry at APEC with China and the US vying for influence in the Pacific expected to put extra pressure on the alliance. November’s APEC summit in San Francisco comes at a crucial time. Not only do the leaders of the 21 member nations face rising challenges to keep their domestic economies in shape, but there is brewing turmoil in the region along with a growing list of global challenges in climate change, energy and security. To address these challenges, a shift is required. In San Francisco in November, it is tensions between the US and China that will likely put the greatest pressure on the forum. But APEC can be an avenue for discussions on trade policies and regional economic integration that can help alleviate trade disputes and promote economic stability. What has drastically transformed within APEC is the shift towards China’s Pacific century. Two damaging financial crises, the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, dented the standing of APEC as an institution. This left China to re-orient the narratives of cooperation and economic integration. Beijing projected itself to be the one to recognise the gravity of the crisis and to provide help, rendering APEC largely irrelevant or painting the American APEC as obsolete. China’s burgeoning economic prowess and the US’s anxieties about its influence in the Pacific aggravated this. The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most intricate and complex geographies on the planet. It  encompasses the apex economies of the world, hosts the economies with the largest populations, has witnessed an intense rise in high-net-worth individuals and their wealth, and stands as the focal point of the fastest-ever regional economic integration. However, the region suffers from fragile geopolitical relations. This means maintaining stability is one of the defining challenges. In addition, with China’s rise there comes a risk to the established liberal order as Beijing fosters an alternative way of doing things. Its presence is more visible in altering international trade and commerce. China not only exerts considerable control over the flow of goods and services but has also amplified its efforts to have its voice heard and to do things its way. China’s economic slowdown has created other  volatilities; it has become even more determined to exert its influence within APEC. Its endeavours to revive the global economy with Chinese characteristics of ‘shared dreams’ and ‘common prosperity’, indicate Beijing  is determined to pursue a ‘harmonious’ world order by positioning its interests above others. China has been devising ways to expand its Belt and Road initiatives, which are now amplified into three grand global initiatives for ‘security, development and civilisation’. China sees enormous economic and political benefits in rapidly transforming APEC and augmenting a new world order. The US and China have substantial economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region, which hosts almost 40 percent of the world’s population and accounts for nearly half of global trade. According to US government statistics, seven APEC countries are among its top 10 trading partners. The US exports 60 percent of its goods to the Asia-Pacific region. Similarly, the region accounts for more than 60 percent of China’s global trade and an even higher share of its foreign capital inflows in the region. The region’s economic vitality is under strain from competition between various multilateral economic frameworks that have emerged in recent years. APEC’s regional economic architecture is now entangled in geopolitical rivalries inflicted by newly created structures that merely offer utopian declarations for the developmental needs of the region, whether it’s the China-sponsored Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) established in 2012 or the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) founded in 2022. The energy supply crisis and price shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have created multiple constraints for energy trade in the Asia-Pacific region. With Europe’s access to Russian gas pipelines reduced significantly, it increased pressure on APEC’s major liquefied natural gas importing nations to meet domestic energy consumption demands. The APEC region currently consumes 60 percent of the world’s energy, which will increase to 80 percent by 2050, given rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. This is likely to lead to even greater dependence on fossil fuels if  clean energy alternatives are not found. While the clean energy transition is critical for addressing  climate change, geopolitical tensions may have an impact on clean energy cooperation. For instance, the US-China rivalry affects the critical minerals supply chain in the Asia Pacific as China dominates the sector with 60 percent of worldwide production and 85 percent of processing capacity. Consequently, with Australia’s lithium export capacity and Indonesia’s nickel production, the US seeks to build an alternative supply chain independent of China. Supply chain vulnerabilities have reinforced the greater use of coal for energy production, affecting decarbonisation efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. Security issues also linger. With Chinese revisionist tendencies ascending towards regional hegemony and the US efforts to contain it, the regional security architecture is now mostly influenced by the US-China rivalry. Freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Taiwan’s existence as an independent territory, and strategic manoeuvring in the Indian Ocean are all flashpoints. Given the rise of China as a competitor on the high seas, the US has been forced to readjust its strategic partnerships with countries like India that are actively integrated into Western strategies, such as the Quadrilateral Alliance. The US-China maritime rivalry is also manifested in significant new naval tonnage launched for the selected navies’ active in the Asia-Pacific, as China and the US are ranked 1 and 2 , respectively, since 2013. As China claims regional and global hegemony and the US seeks to avert Chinese challenges to its hegemony, APEC will be an integral aspect of their claims of holding global leadership. China and the US are both trying to develop trade ties which could hinder the prospects of APEC. Other APEC members are left with the question of global governance and accountability of the big powers towards developing and poor nations in the region. APEC nations understand protectionism and unfair trade practices are neither helping the two powers nor the region. Amid performing feats of acrobatics to avoid antagonising China and the US, sub-regional and mini-lateral combinations of ties hold promise for the region. The significantly smaller powers in APEC wish for a free Pacific Rim that pursues the economic benefits of integration. APEC members wonder where superpower rivalry is heading as China and the US vie for influence which may not serve the real intent of the forum. The super-region like the Pacific rim holds promise and needs a significant re-look at how it operates. Aravind Yelery, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Centre for East Asian studies in the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “APEC Summit” sent at: 26/10/2023 09:17. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on October 30, 2023

Arab states in difficult dance toward decarbonisation - 360 Jessie Moritz Published on November 14, 2022 Vulnerable to climate change but dependent on fossil fuels, countries in the Arabian Peninsula remain sandwiched should the G20 hasten their energy transitions. Of all the nations discussing the energy transition at the upcoming G20 summit in Bali, the oil and gas-rich countries in the Arabian Peninsula are among the most exposed to decarbonisation. Their economies remain dependent on continued global demand for fossil fuels, and although they have long been pursuing economic diversification strategies designed to build up non-oil and gas industries, decarbonisation has only recently become a key priority. But this G20 is the first in which all G20 nations have national low-carbon development targets. While the climate change and energy transition strategies announced in Arabian Peninsula oil and gas-producing countries have been dismissed by some as greenwashing, the stakes for these countries – of both climate change and the economic transformation required to prepare for a post-fossil-fuel era – are enormously high. Without successful action on climate change, these states face a future of more intense and extreme dust storms, heatwaves, and deadlier ‘wet bulb’ conditions, where humidity and heat overwhelm the human body’s capacity to cool. If climate action is successful, they face demand destruction of the fossil-fuels that have served as the foundation of their economy for much of the past century. Since 2017, there has been a flurry of climate change and net zero targets announced by Arab states as they have sought to brand themselves as international climate leaders, exemplified by the UAE’s pitch to host COP28. This has ranged from fully-fledged climate change strategies – such as the UAE’s National Climate Change Plan released in 2017 – to Kuwait’s more modest pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7.4 percent by 2035. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both announced circular economy policies since 2020, and in the last 18 months the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and most recently Kuwait have set net-zero emissions targets for 2050 (or 2060 for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait). Climate change and energy transition policies have extended rather than replaced existing economic diversification strategies and will face similar challenges in implementation. Reforming energy subsidies, a key element of diversification, has previously proved challenging. Attempts to reduce fuel and electricity subsidies in recent years have been met with popular outcries, as in Kuwait in 2015 and Oman and Saudi Arabia in 2017-2018. With the exception of the UAE, where fuel subsidies were phased out in 2015, subsidy reform has been implemented in a stop-start manner. A common strategy to address public discontent has been to reform subsidies while shielding citizens from cost of living increases — as with Saudi Arabia’s Citizen Account Program, established in 2017. This has meant that while migrant workers — who comprise over 80 percent of the population in Qatar and the UAE – are incentivised to reduce energy usage and their carbon footprint, citizens are not. Both economic diversification and climate change strategies in the Gulf are designed to prepare for the post-oil era. However, their economic diversification strategies rely on maximising oil and gas exports, increasing global carbon emissions. Through population growth and as a result of earlier efforts to diversify into energy-intensive heavy industries, domestic consumption of oil and gas has skyrocketed, reducing revenue that might otherwise be created by exporting these hydrocarbons. The decarbonisation strategies announced in the Gulf states thus focus on increasing renewables as a share of domestic electricity generation, freeing up oil and gas for exportation. It’s also why Gulf states are likely to emphasise the role of oil and gas in the renewable energy transition at the G20 leaders’ summit, particularly in the context of their heightened role in global energy security following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While they are investing in alternative energy production such as blue and green hydrogen, they remain, for the moment, reliant on continued global demand for oil and gas. Deadly heatwaves and extreme weather events have highlighted the very real impacts of climate change for the Gulf region. Gulf governments are clearly prioritising climate action to a much greater extent than in previous decades. However, their ultimate success depends on their capacity to overcome existing development challenges that have complicated previous diversification efforts, as well as reconciling their status as hydrocarbon producers with their efforts to appear climate progressive. Jessie Moritz is a Lecturer at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. She co-convenes the Energy and Climate Security research cluster at the Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions. The author declares no conflicts in relation to this article. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Energy transition” sent at: 11/11/2022 11:26. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 14, 2022

Are Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders still loyal to the British crown? - 360 Catherine Ouellet, Nadjim Fréchet, Yannick Dufresne Published on May 5, 2023 Support for the monarchy across Australia, Canada and New Zealand varies widely, and reveals a lot about how citizens view themselves. As the UK prepares for the coronation of King Charles III, questions regarding Commonwealth countries’ continued loyalty to the British crown are once again in the public mind. Support for the monarchy varies widely across Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The majority of Australians support a republic, while New Zealand retains ‘God Save the Queen’ (now ‘God Save the King’) as  its second national anthem. But research found support for or against the monarchy seems more based on affective, symbolic factors than rational or pragmatic concerns. For example, some people’s reluctance to break away from the monarchy could be seen as a nationalist response to growing ethnic diversity and the perception of a cultural threat. Citizens favouring the monarchy are more likely to display negative sentiments towards cultural groups they are not a part of — Asians and Indigenous Australians in Australia, and Quebecers and Indigenous peoples in Canada. Over decades, cultural diversity in Australia, Canada and New Zealand has de-emphasised the sense of a British heritage. Instead, all three countries have seen increased immigration through the second half of the 20th century, challenging a collective identity that had previously been articulated around Britishness. Those triggered by growing ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity in their country are therefore more likely to support the crown as a symbol of their British heritage. People displaying pro-immigration attitudes are generally less supportive of monarchy in Australia and Canada, although the immigration issue does not seem to be linked to the issue of monarchy in New Zealand. An analysis of national electoral studies in each country reveals changing levels of support for the monarchy. It found the majority of Australians support a republic, although support has softened since the failed 1999 referendum on the issue. In Canada, support for the monarchy is slightly higher, but has decreased drastically since the end of the 1980s. This drop in support coincided with a period of constitutional politics, marked by Canada’s patriation of the Constitution in 1982 — allowing for changes to the Constitution to be made in Canada rather than only through the parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, only a slight majority of Canadians favour retaining the monarch as the head of state. The story differs in New Zealand, where most citizens still prefer to retain their ties to the British monarch. In New Zealand whether or not the country should become a republic is less of a divisive issue, as shown by its more stable support for the monarchy over time. To better understand how growing cultural diversity can trigger a nationalist response and loyalty to the crown, it is helpful to understand the idea of ethnic versus civic nationalism. Ethnic nationalism is based on cultural unity, people are considered to be part of the same society on ethnic grounds, for example if they have a shared ancestry, language or culture. In civic nationalism inclusion is based on either birth or other legally established procedures. Under this definition anyone could potentially become an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand citizen. These concepts of the nation are often intertwined and all forms of nationalism lie somewhere along the ethnic-civic continuum. But for those who hold a more ethnic concept of their nation, increasing cultural diversity could make them feel threatened. This could explain in part how cultural diversity and support of the monarchy might interact. It is hard to predict what will happen in these Commonwealth realms from now on, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will likely continue to become more culturally diverse. Whether future generations will attach as much importance to the institution of the monarchy and what they see it symbolising as their forebears did also remains to be seen. Catherine Ouellet is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and upcoming Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal. She undertook her masters degree in Political Science at Université Laval. Her research focuses on Quebec and Canadian politics, lifestyle, political culture and public opinion. Nadjim Fréchet is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal. He earned his masters degree in Political Science at Université Laval. His research interests include public opinion, ideology, political parties and quantitative methods. Associate Professor Yannick Dufresne is in the Department of Political Science at Université Laval, and holder of the Teaching Leadership Chair (CLE) in Digital Social Sciences. His research interests include public opinion, electoral behaviour, quantitative methods, and Quebec and Canadian politics. They declared they have no conflict of interest and did not receive any specific funds. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: Are Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders still loyal to the British crown?

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 5, 2023

Are our homes burning the forest? - 360 Lawrence Herzog Published on January 18, 2022 With urban development where wildfires have raged, conflict seems inevitable. Is there a better way? By Lawrence Herzog, University of California, San Diego Californians probably never realised – perhaps even to this day – how close a 2007 wildfire came to destroying a significant portion of San Diego. Hot, dry ‘Santa Ana’ winds, combined with heightened seasonal drought conditions in the region, led to the outbreak of two powerful conflagrations: one in the suburban hills of northern San Diego county, the other to the south along the US-Mexico border near the town of Tecate. The event was unlike previous wildfires in the region – it was poised to become an ecological catastrophe.The state’s second most populous urban region might have been deeply wounded; powerful winds were thrusting the firestorm directly toward the city centre. Thick smoke and ash made it difficult to breathe; residents across a region with more than 3 million inhabitants were advised to stay indoors. City and county officials evacuated thousands of citizens. Tens of thousands more had their bags packed, valuables in their cars, ready to flee. On the Mexican side of the border, more than 60 square kilometres of land was burning near the cities of Tecate, Tijuana and Ensenada. This wildfire was now both a regional and international emergency, and was spreading south of the border. On the third day, by chance, winds shifted to the south and later toward the east, slowing the wildfire’s path toward the urban centre. Once the wind direction changed, it carried more humidity from the Pacific Ocean, giving firefighters a chance to control the crisis. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_2"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_2"} In the decade and a half since the 2007 San Diego wildfires, California has seen an alarming spike in wildfire outbreaks, directly tied to global warming. Ten of California’s most destructive wildfires have burned since 2015. These include the Camp Fire of 2018, in central California, which led to 85 deaths; the 2017 Thomas Fire which burned over 1,100 square kilometres of land in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties; and the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles, with a total of over 380 square kilometres burned and 1600 structures damaged or destroyed. The year 2020 was a frightening reminder, with a series of large-scale wildfires up and down the state, including the North Complex, August Complex, and LNU Lighting Complex fires in northern and central California; these burned over 4,000 square kilometres of land. Then, in July 2021, the Dixie, KNP Complex, Caldor and Monument fires burned thousands more square kilometres in northern and central California. The 2007 wildfires and the conflagrations since could have been a huge wake-up call about the dangers of San Diego’s emerging suburban settlement pattern, its connection to the natural ecosystem and to the ecology of wildfire. But, to this day, it seems the lessons are yet to be taken seriously. Southern California has continued to be one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in North America over the last four decades. Indeed, while most counties in the US saw their population shrink, between 2010 and 2020, southern California’s counties all experienced significant growth — as high as 10 percent in Riverside county, or seven percent in San Bernardino.The San Diego metropolitan area has kept pace. Even though land shortages and high housing costs have slowed growth, San Diego’s 2020 population of 3.4 million is expected to increase to 3.8 million by 2035. But for more than three decades, there has been almost no recognition among developers, or even government, of the risks of wildfires and the fragility of inland southern California’s arid ecosystem. Most of the urban growth will occur in the eastern fringes of the region, in an arc of suburban growth of inland cities and towns – what locals used to call the ‘back country’, and what ecologists now term the ‘wildland-urban interface’. The limited supply of land along the coast for development, especially within the city of San Diego, has added pressure to build inland. This trend has been further exacerbated by greater homebuyer interest in larger homes on larger lots. This suburban growth pattern has unfolded without considering the implications of poorly managed, low density sprawl-type growth in a semi-arid region where wildfires are part of the natural ecological cycle. Three out of four homes built in San Diego since 1990 are in the wildland danger zone that lies between coastal foothills and mountains further inland. Indeed, this pattern is symptomatic of a larger growth culture where super-sized metropolitan regions are being constructed over desert terrain and semi-arid regions along the southwestern US border with Mexico. The destruction of agriculture has been put forward as a partial explanation of the wildfire crisis in San Diego. In the past, orange, lemon and avocado groves were de facto firebreaks for seasonal wild conflagrations. But global warming poses more significant problems: rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall that create conditions for larger-scale wildfires than normal. The natural ecology of wildfires has been disturbed; wildfires in a climate changed San Diego interior will burn hotter and spread faster. Increasingly, higher temperatures combined with dry, hot Santa Ana winds are producing a landscape that is riper than ever for more devastating wildfires. Yet, perhaps the least noted part of changing wildfire ecology lies in the flammable nature of suburban sprawl in the southwestern United States. Mass-produced suburban developments are poorly adapted to the dry ecology and wildfire regime of the region. Buildings become the ‘fuel’ that causes wildfires to spread and burn in more intense ways than ever before. Both the scale and form of cookie-cutter suburbs work against wildfire safety. Wildfires burn intensely and are driven by high winds that make them spread in unpredictable ways. When tens of thousands of flammable homes are dispersed at consistent densities along the edges of cliffs precisely where the fire arrives when winds blow from the east, it creates the ingredients for much larger scale wildfires, and much more extensive damage. Fire ecologists believe an important factor in the proliferation of wildfires in the San Diego region is the way houses are sited, designed and built. Most homes lack what is called ‘defensible space’ – cleared swathes of land free from flammable vegetation. Not only are too many homes being built in the arc of wildfire country, but developers often don’t consider the way fire moves through natural landscape in creating site plans and community designs. Developers purchase blocks of land, then bring in giant earth-moving machines to level off the topography. They then plunk down cul-de-sac type subdivisions on top of the levelled-off hills and mesas, whose layout seeks to maximise views of the wilderness. Developers generally regard canyons as an open space amenity. But canyons can become wildfire heat funnels during the autumn Santa Ana conditions. When housing is constructed up against natural canyons, and even worse, along the edges of cliffs overlooking steep slopes below, the danger is even more pronounced. That’s because wildfires typically advance rapidly up hillsides, fed by flames that grow stronger as they reach the tops of hills. Houses sited at the top of sloped hills are immediately engulfed, and end up increasing wildfires’ heat level, causing them to spread with more power and volume. From a site planning perspective, homes in suburban developments should be located to avoid natural ‘fire chimneys’ such as canyons, saddles and slopes. Suburban building designs have often fed wildfires, too. For many decades, suburban homes were built with wooden shingle roofs, which easily ignite when wildfires shoot sparks into the air. Studies have shown that homes with wooden roofs are 21 times more likely to burn than a home with a non-wood roof; homes made of less flammable material, such as stone, brick or concrete block, always withstand wildfires better. Some fire experts note that in nearby Baja California, just south of the Mexican border (a region with the same ecology), considerably less damage occurs from wildfires. They believe this pattern is attributable to a culture that allows more natural burns than north of the border. It may also be the case that when wildfire enters urbanised areas, it encounters Mexican homes built from reinforced concrete, or pre-fabricated stone and tile, slowing down the spread of the fire. Rooflines, reduced eaves, double-glazed windows, non-flammable shutters, and even swimming pools are construction details that can further limit the spread of wildfires in urbanised zones. As noted above creation of a green belt of 30 metres around a home where fuel sources (shrubs, trees, grasses) are thinned out keeps the fire from burning hotter, from entering the home itself, or spreading faster to surrounding houses. Developers might believe that defensible space is the ‘magic bullet’ solution, freeing them to build low-density suburbs anywhere. In fact, defensible space designs will only work if combined with site planning, zoning that prevents dangerous developments along canyons and near east-facing slopes, and better coordination of local fire-fighting capability with land use and traffic circulation plans. Public policy makers and the media have often responded in a knee-jerk manner to wildfires in the suburbs. Lumping fire into the category of ‘natural disasters that are inevitable’ – like hurricanes or earthquakes – leads to the conclusion that wildfires must be addressed with better equipment and coordination between different government agencies, and efficient evacuation plans. Perhaps it is easier and safer to blame the problem on vegetation or equipment or even on the firefighters themselves, than it is to step back and question the pattern and scale of urban growth itself. The question we should be asking is whether the forest is burning our homes or our homes are burning the forest. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_13"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_13"} Here are a few policy suggestions for the future. Lawrence Herzog is a writer, and lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies & Planning, and Designer-in-Residence at the Design Lab, University of California, San Diego. He is also professor emeritus of city planning in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University. He is author/editor of 11 books on urban planning, including: Global Suburbs: Urban Sprawl from the Rio Grande to Rio de Janeiro; Return to the Center; and From Aztec to High Tech. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 18, 2022

Are we there yet? Indonesia's huge EV challenge - 360 Mailinda Eka Yuniza, Jonathan Abram Dewanto Published on November 22, 2023 Indonesia wants to increase its use of EVs but the cost of rolling out public charging stations is just one challenge. Indonesia has been ramping up its electric vehicle industry through a series of investments, but there is a lingering question over whether this will be enough. Growth in the EV market has so far been bumpy yet exciting, helped by steady investment from the ASEAN region since 2019. It is expected to have a market share of USD$20 billion by 2030. Tax incentives have had a fairly limited impact. And while there is a growing demand for EVs, the lack of supportive infrastructure is a significant roadblock. Similar to the rest of the world, ‘range anxiety’ — the concerns about how far an EV can travel on a single charge and the consequent fear of being left stranded during a journey — is a major concern in Indonesia. There are not enough public charging stations and the National Electricity Company, whose job it is to supply them, has been struggling to fulfill demand. It isn’t helped by higher charging costs relative to home charging. Consumers, however, are reluctant to install chargers at home because of the prohibitive cost of those. To install a charger means increasing electricity supply to a dwelling, adding more to the upfront cost of buying an EV. In a bid to get more public charging stations, the National Electricity Company has opened public-private partnership opportunities in the creation of the charging stations with an investment value of 342,000,000 rupiah ($USD21,859) per station. The Ministry of Energy on Mineral Regulation and Mineral Development has set a maximum value to service costs to ensure consumer affordability of electric charging, by imposing maximum service costs of Rp25,000 (USD$1.60) for fast charging facilities and Rp57,000 (USD$3.64) for ultra-fast charging facility. In 2023, the Ministry of Finance Regulation set a Value-Added Tax (VAT) of 11 percent on EVs, the bulk of which — 10 percent — is met by the government. That means consumers pay just 1 percent At the same time, it ruled that only EVs with a specific amount of the Local Content Requirement could apply for the incentives. Four-wheeled vehicles and buses are required to have local content requirements between 20-40 percent. These incentives follow on from a 2019 move to lower the Luxury-Goods Sales Tax on electric and hybrid vehicles relative to combustion engines. Both of these moves have sparked more interest in EVs and there has been an increase in sales in 2023. One lingering issue for Indonesia’s EV strategy is where the power comes from to keep them on the road. Coal-fired power plants make up 43 percent of Indonesia’s primary energy supply for electricity. The adoption of electric vehicles would not be more environmentally friendly as the electricity is still being generated by fossil fuels. But the government is committed to phasing out coal. The National Energy Policy has set coal to a minimum of 30 percent in 2025 and a minimum of 25 percent in 2050 with an increase of renewable energy contribution to a minimum of 23 percent in 2025 and 31 percent in 2050. The expectation is that renewables would replace coal in electricity generation over time. For now, though, more incentives might be the way to build the much-needed infrastructure Indonesia needs for greater EV use. Under current regulations, it seems that a lack of incentives for businesses to partner with the National Electricity Company means it bears a huge financial and technical burden in building charging stations. The question of who pays and how will need to be answered as Indonesia transitions from coal to renewables and encourages drivers to go electric. Mailinda Eka Yuniza is an associate professor at the Administrative Law Department, Faculty of Law and researcher at the Center for Energy Study Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta Indonesia. Her primary area of interest is administrative law, energy law, and health law. Twitter @mailinda_yusuf Linkedin @Mailinda Yuniza Jonathan Abram Dewanto is a legal research assistant in Gadjah Mada University Faculty of Law. His expertise ranges from business law, energy law, and commercial dispute. He also held research positions in Center for Energy Studies UGM, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Pelita Harapan University and University of Indonesia. Linkedin @Jonathan Abram Dewanto Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 22, 2023

Are 'zombie' cancer cells why the disease sometimes returns? - 360 Keefe Chan Published on February 5, 2024 Cancer treatments can put some cancer cells to sleep instead of killing them. Researchers are investigating if this is a reason the disease sometimes returns. For cancer survivors, their greatest fear may be that one day the cancer will come back. Researchers are trying to understand how cancer can return to be better able to help them. Many cancer treatments are designed to kill cancer cells. For the most part, they do a good job initially. But when cancer returns, the prevailing thought is that some cancer cells have eluded the treatment. An overlooked outcome is that instead of being killed by the treatment, the remaining cancer cells have been forced to stop growing, entering a sleeping state known as senescence. A cancer cell that isn’t growing may not sound very threatening, but senescent cancer cells have been changed dramatically. Unlike normal cells or cancer cells that haven’t been exposed to treatment, senescent cells produce chemicals that can encourage the growth of blood vessels or cause inflammation, providing conditions that are ripe for refuelling cancer development and spread. More concerning is that senescent cancer cells have the potential to resume growing as ‘zombie cancer cells’, often displaying heightened aggression and resistance to standard treatments. This unpredictability has spurred excitement for identifying senolytic drugs, or drugs that will selectively kill senescent cells without harming normal cells. The idea is that these drugs could provide a one-two knockout punch following initial cancer therapy. Many senolytic drugs are already being trialled to treat age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, pulmonary fibrosis and diabetic kidney disease, which arise from an accumulation of senescent non-cancerous cells that have lost their normal function. Such cells naturally accumulate as we age. But these drugs may also show promise in eliminating senescent cancer cells and preventing the re-emergence of cancer. Despite the enthusiasm regarding this possibility, researchers are faced with two key challenges. The first challenge is that there is currently no reliable way to distinguish a senescent cancer cell from other cells in the body that are not growing. This is a concern in the treatment of cancer in aged people, as there can be unintended adverse side effects in non-cancerous organs and cells. As a workaround, researchers are trying to develop strategies to measure metabolites specifically shed by senescent cancer cells into the blood. Another strategy takes advantage of a protein commonly present on the surface of senescent cells. In early studies, scientists have been able to engineer immune cells that recognise this protein to eliminate senescent cancer cells and delay the return of cancer. Alternatively, others are testing non-invasive imaging techniques in patients, such as positron-emission tomography–computed tomography, or PET-CT scanning, to assess the degree of senescence within tumours more accurately. This technique would inform whether a senolytic drug might be a viable therapeutic option for treating cancer. The second challenge is that not all senescent cancer cells are the same, and there is probably no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to eradicating them. One senescent cancer cell may be killed by a senolytic drug, while another may be completely unaffected. In the US, the Cellular Senescence Network is aiming to develop new tools and technologies to catalogue the differences between individual senescent cells. Complicating matters, those in favour of the senolytic approach assume that senescent cancer cells are detrimental, but this might not always be the case. Studies have shown that senescent cancer cells can stimulate stronger immune responses and enable immunotherapies to be more effective in recruiting immune cells to kill the senescent cancer cells to prevent cancer from coming back. Researchers are alternatively seeking ways to boost the beneficial aspect of the senescence brake on cell growth while preventing the production of the pro-cancer chemicals, rendering them in a state of perpetual sleep. In this case, killing a senescent cancer cell may not be needed. A critical challenge facing researchers today is to understand what causes some senescent cancer cells to remain asleep and others to reawaken. Of equal importance is understanding how senescence is presented in different cancer types, depending on different genetic backgrounds and treatment approaches. Potential therapies that kill senescent cancer cells, harness the immune system to kill them, or prevent them from re-awakening will need to be tested in animal models of cancer that faithfully mimic human disease. If these are then deemed effective and safe in clinical trials, they could be integrated into the arsenal of cancer treatments to ultimately achieve better outcomes for patients. is a senior research officer at the University of Melbourne and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He leads research on investigating cellular senescence, a type of cell growth arrest that occurs in response to many cancer therapies, with the goal of identifying approaches to harness it to treat breast and ovarian cancer. Dr Chan’s research is funded by the Snow Medical Research Foundation, Eli Lilly and the United States Department of Defense. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 5, 2024

Arms conference puts trillion-dollar industry under the spotlight - 360 Jadranka Petrovic Published on August 23, 2022 Australia is among the five largest importers of arms, globally. In 2021, Australia spent the equivalent of US$1.235 billion on the legal import of weaponry, according to an assessment by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, making the peaceful nation the world’s number one importer of deadly capability. In exercising its sovereign right and responsibility to provide security, Australia can legitimately acquire and employ a range of weaponry. These include weapons designed for warfare, such as submarines, battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers. They also include small arms and light weapons. Arms are traded around the world in eye-watering numbers. In 2021, world military expenditure reportedly reached US$2.113 trillion. The constant demand for weapons has resulted in a vast global arms economy. The United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia were the five largest spenders on their military in 2021, together accounting for 62 percent of expenditure. In the period 2017-21, the five largest exporters were the US, Russia, France, China and Germany, accounting together for 77 per cent of all arms exports. Apart from Australia, the five largest importers of arms during that period were India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and China, collectively responsible for 38 per cent of total global arms imports. In addition to the so-called ‘white market’ concerned with legitimate trade in arms, a large and profitable black market has developed for official and unofficial ‘non-state actors’ to avoid compliance with international and domestic weapons restrictions. The illicit trade in arms contributes to, amongst other things, armed conflict, destabilisation of governments, refugee crises, organised crime and terrorism, and it significantly impacts on civilians in war-troubled areas. Weapons enter the illicit realm through their ‘diversion’, that is, through their transfer from an authorised to an unauthorised user. Diversion can happen through weak inventory controls, weak or unenforced regulation, corruption, negligence, theft and so on, and it can occur at various points in the supply chain. Small arms and weapons, and their ammunition and parts, are particularly prone to diversion, largely due to their portability, ending up in the hands of terrorists, criminals, armed groups and other illegal users. Trade in small arms is the least transparent of all weapon systems.  Experts estimate that hundreds of millions of small weapons are held around the world, approximately three quarters of which are in civilian hands. In the 1990s, a process began towards creating an international treaty to regulate the arms trade culminating in the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) by the UN General Assembly on 2 April 2013. As of March 2022, 111 nations, including Australia, are party to this treaty, 30 are signatories (that are not yet States Parties), and 54 nations have not yet joined the Treaty. Notably, the United States and Russia (the world’s largest exporters of arms) and India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt (the world’s largest importers of arms) are among the absentees. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_9"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_9"} The main objective of the ATT is not to prohibit the legitimate trade in conventional arms, rather it is to establish standards for regulating the trade, and prevent and eradicate the illicit trade. It applies only to the arms mentioned above when they are exported, imported, in transit, trans-shipment or brokered, collectively known as ‘transfer’ in the treaty. The ATT assigns regulation of ammunition, munition and parts to individual nations. The ATT prohibits transfer of arms if it would violate a country’s obligations under the United Nations Security Council, or if the transfer would violate other international agreements, or if states know that the arms would be used in genocide, crimes against humanity, or other war crimes. Otherwise, countries must make their own assessment as to whether a transfer would undermine peace and security.  This risk assessment is consonant with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 16 concerning peace, justice and strong institutions, as the ATT is also concerned with promoting international peace, security and stability. Although the ATT represents a significant step in regulating arms trade, a number of factors leave an undesirable level of interpretative freedom to individual nations. For example, inadequate treatment of ammunition/munitions and parts, silence on non-commercial transfers, and largely soft, and at times “extremely broad”  language. Failure to address criminal responsibility and accountability of various actors involved in the arms trade, and elasticity of state self-regulation have the potential to further curtail the treaty’s effectiveness. To increase responsibility, accountability and transparency, parties must report to the secretariat on their measures to implement this treaty. They may exclude commercially sensitive or national security information. States parties’ reports are an essential tool for understanding, monitoring and evaluating the ATT’s implementation. However, the ATT reporting system has not lived up to its potential. The reporting exceptions create room to evade obligations. Reporting has been characterised by poor compliance and limited information. This week, the Conference of States Parties to the ATT is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland. The issue of ATT reporting, together with the issues of implementation and greater acceptance, is included in the agenda. Neither the Department of Foreign Affairs nor the Department of Defence could confirm whether Australia would be represented at a ministerial level at the conference. While there is the consensus within the majority of the UN membership that the ATT is useful and worth preserving, not all states approve of the content of the most substantive provisions of this treaty. What is undeniable is that the ATT’s success is subject to the universal adoption and implementation. It is debatable whether this will eventuate, given the legacy of many decades of inadequate control of arms, and instances of prevailing economic interests over human security. But unless universal adoption comes, the ATT is likely to be viewed merely as a noble idea and somewhat a paper tiger, or “much ado about nothing”, as German lawyer Marlitt Brandis has bluntly referred to it. Unless there is more political will, transparency and cooperation on the contentious, highly sensitive and extremely serious issues of the international arms trade, the foundation cannot be laid for effectively working towards a unified consensus about international regulation of trade in conventional arms. Jadranka Petrovic teaches and researches at the Monash Business School, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University. SHe declares no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 23, 2022

Arms Trade Treaty at risk of irrelevance - 360 Swaran Singh Published on August 23, 2022 Membership of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is on the up: 111 countries have ratified the agreement since it came into force in 2014, and a further 30 countries have signed it. The Philippines is the newest member, joining in March 2022. However, the treaty’s efforts to regulate the transfer of conventional weapons continue to be questioned, ignored and breached – by the ATT’s signatories as well as by other powerful nations. August 22-26 will see State Parties to the ATT holding their eighth annual conference in Geneva to discuss its future and its major challenges. All parties to the ATT are required to provide annual reports detailing their trade in conventional weapons in the preceding year. But, with its rising numbers of signatory states, the proportion who comply has fallen from 84 percent in 2015 to just 52 percent in 2021. This means nearly half the signatories are not submitting these reports or do not trade in conventional weapons, which means their actions have little import for the treaty’s aims and objectives. This apparently waning commitment makes the ATT’s growing number of state parties almost irrelevant. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_3"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_3"} No doubt most international conventions have similar limitations and, especially when not supported by major powers, they become vulnerable to breaches. But the ATT has failed to draw into its fold both world’s major importers and exporters of conventional arms. The world’s largest producer and exporter of conventional weapons, the United States, signed the ATT in 2013 but has never ratified it. In April 2019, President Donald Trump announced the US would be “revoking the effect of America’s signature” from the ATT. (The treaty has no such provisions other than withdrawal with advance notice.) President Joe Biden has not yet made any statement about President Trump’s ‘unsigning’. Russia, another major exporter has not signed it yet and remains outside its remit. China had joined it in July 2020 but the world’s largest importer, India, is also yet to sign it. It is not that powerful nations have had no interest in regulating arms trade. They have been especially effective in responding to the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that they believe threaten their own security. They have imposed strong regulatory regimes on transfers of WMD including ballistic missiles and even on proliferation of their technologies, materials and know-how. Likewise, thanks to major powers’ expensive WMD modernisation programs, their related arms-control seems to focus only on those weapons they were already planning to discard. This has allowed them to ban those WMDs that less powerful nations were still struggling to invent or acquire, thereby ensuring their security by widening the gap between less powerful nations’ inventories from these dominant nations’ own arsenals. Amongst major WMD-possessing nations, their mutual arms control has been aimed at ensuring robust deterrence through mutually assured destruction strategies disincentivising initiating an unwinnable nuclear conflict. But driven by major powers’ interests, regulations on conventional weapons bear no comparison with similar multilateral export-control mechanisms for WMDs and ballistic missiles. This is because the same dominant nations are the main exporters of conventional weapons. Indeed, reluctance to regulate conventional weapons trade can be seen amongst both major exporters (the United States, Russia, China) and major importers (India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China) of conventional weapons. The lure of financial and political windfalls from the conventional weapons trade has made the ATT’s task a difficult one. Therefore, states and non-state actors continue to fight each other with weapons on both sides supplied by the same manufacturers. The ATT indeed gets further circumscribed by the fact that it seeks to control weapons transfers, especially to state and non-state violators of humanitarian laws, while its remit remains limited only to its state parties’ voluntary actions. Even there, the treaty does not interfere with signatory states’ domestic production and distribution or discourage their exports or use of weapons for self-defence. The ATT depends on signatory states voluntarily enacting national laws to prevent their exports of what the ATT defines as lethal weapons to what it deems to be violators of international norms and conventions; organised-crime cartels and terrorists being easy examples. Following the framework of the UN Register of Conventional Arms, established in 1991, the ATT expects signatory states to submit annual reports on their imports and exports of conventional weapons. Collectively this can help ATT showcase data on broader trends and influence global public opinion against illegal and illegitimate weapons transfers. But as decades of debate has shown, these submissions have remained vulnerable to subjective national perceptions and priorities. States have subjectively interpreted definitions of illegitimate and illegal weapons transfers, which has limited their adherence to ATT’s objectives. It has been nearly impossible to build consensus on preferred guidelines for what constitutes illegal arms transfers and how these should be regulated. One country’s terrorists are another country’s freedom fighters. Nations are often seen supporting groups and nations that others see going against agreed norms and laws dealing with transnational crime and cross-border terrorism and insurgencies. New weapons technologies — even within the domain of conventional weapons — present another complex and constantly unfolding set of challenges for the interpretation of ATT provisions. While expanding the number of signatories to the ATT may have its merit, it is perhaps time to focus on strengthening its efficacy amongst its signatory parties. The eighth ATT conference must revisit their strategies and basic assumptions to explore why powerful states continue to defy its logic. That would be an important step towards ensuring greater control over the world’s increasing inter- and intra-state violence. Swaran Singh is Professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) and currently Visiting Professor at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). He declares no conflict of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 23, 2022

Arresting the decline in police trust - 360 Published on June 14, 2023 Incidents of police violence and misconduct are becoming far too common. The question is; who should do the investigating? And what should that look like? Video: Michael Joiner, 360info Australia’s latest Productivity Commission report released this month found perceptions of the honesty and fairness of police officers have reached a 10-year low, and Indigenous deaths in custody are at their highest in 15 years. In the United States, over 400 people have been killed by police so far in 2023, with numbers predicted to grow, according to not-for-profit organisation Mapping Police Violence. Incidents of police violence and misconduct are becoming far too common, sparking widespread outrage and calls for reforms. But police reforms are complex. And while Malaysia’s Independent Police Conduct Commission will be in force from next month, critics argue it lacks disciplinary powers. Change can still happen. As long as there is a commitment to transparency and accountability in the process. Trust in police forces has fallen since the pandemic in many of the countries surveyed by Ipsos. A few, like Spain and India, have seen trust improve.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 14, 2023

Artists can expose the reality behind AI - 360 Michelle Lazarus Published on April 8, 2024 Art is based on life, and AI doesn’t have one. That’s just one reason why the art community is uniquely well-positioned to show us the limitations of AI. There’s no need to read a lengthy academic paper to understand the shortcomings of Artificial Intelligence. You can just look to the work of Berlin performance artist Simon Weckert. In 2020, Weckert tricked Google Maps by creating a “virtual traffic jam”. He gathered 99 smartphones and piled them into a red wagon, then walked back and forth for hours on a street in Berlin, which falsely signalled gridlock. Within an hour, the typically bustling motorway became desolate — with Google re-routing commuters to other routes to avoid the “congestion”. Without tech-speak or algorithmic adjustments, the artist elegantly communicated the complex technological limitations of technology. Weckert’s work speaks to the long history of excellence in artists’ critique of society. The arts community has the ability to connect to the wider public in a way many academics and so-called tech experts struggle. Amid the AI revolution, artists are uniquely well-positioned to communicate the impacts and shortcomings of AI on our lives — just as Weckert did with his “Google Maps Hack”. What human-driven art does, and can do, is help us all better question and critically think about the limitations of AI. In Weckert’s example, it was his human observational skills of a protest that led him to make connections about an otherwise notoriously opaque technology: During the protest, a traffic jam was signalled. Weckert wondered whether it was the phones in the protester’s pockets that led to inaccuracy — and decided to make an artistic expression to illustrate this observation. The arts have a long history of doing this — from Pablo Picasso, who “viewed art as a powerful tool for societal reform and used his works to confront and challenge prevailing political and social conditions”; to Banksy who uses street art to challenge socio-political norms; to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, whose political critiques have led to social change in China and globally. What these artists do, which AI cannot, is integrate concepts, ideas and experiences — and draw together complexity and uncertainty — in order to challenge us to see a different perspective. AI is missing an important component of what many in the arts world consider vital: lived experience. In Ai Weiwei ‘s view, “life is art, art is life”. AI doesn’t have a life, which is a major limitation on its ability to truly create art through experience. In a recent New Yorker article, staff writer Kyle Chayka points out how AI fails at the ” classic exercise” of drawing hands typically assigned to beginners. While the average human also struggles to draw hands well, many of us can do better than the multi-number and dissociated hands we see in AI-generated images through observation and practice. Humans have an amazing feature where our brains fill in “gaps”. For example, those with macular degeneration, which impairs vision, experience what is known as “perceptual filling in” whereby the brain fills in the visual gaps. Our brains picture what a hand looks like in all sorts of contexts, even if we can only see one angle at a time. We understand that the part of the hand not visible from a single perspective is indeed still present in the real world, and our human brains account for this visual “gap” based on our lived experiences. But AI cannot. Instead, AI hallucinates — filling the gaps in with artificial nonsense. AI doesn’t manage “uncertainty” as we humans do because AI is disembodied from the world. What AI ‘art’ has done so far is generate homogenised and uniform images based on its programmed parameters. This has led to quite an impact in the advertising world. AI image renderings are regularly mocked — as was the case with the recent advertisement used to entice listeners to attend the Queensland Symphony orchestra. The ad, interestingly, caused quite a stir because of the unusual hands in the AI-generated image. Artists often make their work accessible — both in terms of the spaces in which they create their work, and the way in which the messages are communicated. Consider Banksy’s art: it occupies the streets that everyone walks on, and uses images that cut across language. On a single brick wall with only the words “Another world is possible“, Banksy uses imagery to challenge people to (re)consider the role of technology. In contrast, what AI image rendering appears to be doing exceptionally well is magnifying humans’ biases and faults. It has been demonstrated that the (human-generated) material on which the AI is trained perpetuates ageism, sexism, racial bias, and classism. It’s no surprise, then, that AI image generators have portrayed attractive people as young and light-skinned. AI’s skillset appears to be inadvertently shining a light on our prevailing human societal norms and prejudices. Human artists are uniquely placed to communicate the real implications of AI’s overhyped and non-existent understanding of the world, and inspire us to question and re-evaluate our own human blind spots. With growing evidence that the arts and humanities can support us to effectively engage our critical thinking and curiosity, the artistic community may be the inspiration that humanity needs to pull back the proverbial curtain on the reality of AI. Michelle D. Lazarus, SFHEA, PhD, is the Director of the Centre for Human Anatomy Education and Deputy Director of the Centre for Scholarship in Health Education at Monash University in Australia. She is an award-winning educator, having received the Australian Universities ‘Teaching Excellence’ award amongst others, and is the author of the “The Uncertainty Effect: How to Survive and Thrive through the Unexpected“. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 8, 2024

As arcade games died out, Asteroids lived on - 360 Mark J. P. Wolf Published on June 30, 2022 It was a few white lines on a black screen, but Asteroids became Atari’s most popular arcade game. The little wedge-shaped spaceship thrusts and drifts across the screen, firing at dangerous obstacles around it. The two-note soundtrack gradually increases its pace, growing more suspenseful. Despite firing at the objects around it, the spaceship is now surrounded by more objects than when it began. A button press sends the spaceship into hyperspace, narrowly avoiding a collision, but the spaceship randomly reappears somewhere just as dangerous, and is destroyed by a passing asteroid. Game over. Designed by Atari’s Lyle Rains and Ed Logg, the arcade game Asteroids was released in November 1979, and went on to become Atari’s most popular arcade game. The spaceship and the floating asteroids are all simple forms of a few white lines set on a background of black, but the thrilling gameplay was enough to get players to spend quarter after quarter; in 1981 alone, Americans put 20 billion quarters through arcade games, playing 75,000 man-hours on them. Two aspects of Asteroids – its wraparound screen and the way asteroids are destroyed – helped make the game a stunning success. The idea of a ‘wraparound’ screen had been around since Spacewar! (1962). Objects leaving the top of the screen re-entered from the bottom of the screen, and vice versa; likewise, objects passing out of the left side of the screen would re-enter on the right, and vice versa. Before Asteroids, however, player vehicles and missiles were the only things passing in and out of the screen boundaries. In Asteroids, the number of objects moving on-screen and off-screen is far greater, and can even be in the dozens. This is due to the way the asteroids are destroyed: players start the game with a handful of large asteroids floating around the screen, and shooting at them breaks the large asteroid into two medium-sized asteroids. When fired upon, each medium-sized asteroid explodes into two smaller ones. Only the smallest asteroids, when hit, will vanish completely and the smaller the asteroid, the harder it is to hit. Players needed to learn how to fly their spaceship (the only controls were thrust, turn and hyperspace), and they had to be aware of what was happening on all sides of the screen. Their attempts to rid the screen of asteroids created more asteroids and increased the number of floating objects that could collide with the player’s ship, making the gamespace ever more dangerous as it continued. Amid the high-pitched firing sounds, low-pitched explosions of asteroids, and ominous soundtrack with its ever-increasing pace, occasional sirens also indicated the arrival of flying saucers that fire on the player’s craft, giving the player yet more danger to avoid. Asteroids had simple, monochrome vector graphics (made up of lines) and a simple premise, but simplicity does not mean a game cannot be difficult – or fun – and Asteroids was both. In 1981, a sequel, Asteroids Deluxe, was released in arcades. The vector graphics were tinted blue, the asteroids spun, and new ‘killer satellites’ aimed for the player’s spaceship, breaking into smaller satellites when fired upon. Atari’s Space Duel (1982) and Blasteroids (1987) added further innovations and more detailed graphics, but the core idea remained the same. As time went on, video games evolved full-colour raster graphics and later, three-dimensional graphics, both of which are standard today. Vector-graphic arcade games, which used a different kind of monitor, would no longer be made. Later, during the 1990s, as home game console technology began catching up to arcade games, the decline of the arcades would begin, and most arcades would be closed by the end of the decade. But Asteroids lived on; Atari ported the game to its home console systems, to the Atari VCS 2600 in 1981, and to the Atari 7800 in 1986. As these versions had raster graphics, the asteroids were solid colours. Instead of just being line drawings, the asteroids of the 7800 version even had texture. Later, gaming company Activision would port the game to other consoles and platforms, including the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1998, the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color in 1999, and the Apple Macintosh computer in 2000. Playable online versions of Asteroids can also be found (for example, at https://freeasteroids.org/). And where did all the original arcade machines of Asteroids go? Into the homes of collectors. Sometimes they are put up for sale – arcade machines of Asteroids were recently selling for just over $2000 on eBay. Video games exploded onto a variety of platforms, and thousands of new games were released in a wide variety of styles from high budget, high profile ‘triple-A’ games to independent games and from photorealistic graphics to simple abstractions. Some were even deliberately designed to look like older games. Their worth once measured in quarters, video games are now a market worth US$173.7 billion in 2020 – and that is expected to grow to US$314.4 billion by 2026. Amid it all, Asteroids managed to stay in the public’s memory. It has appeared in the background of dozens of movies and television shows, from E.T.: The Extraterrestrial (1982) to Ready Player One (2018), and sometimes is even played by their characters or mentioned in their dialogue. The game is still available, and whatever version you may play, Asteroids, like its contemporaries Pac-Man (1980) and Battlezone (1980), remains a classic video game that will always be around in one form or another, making it available for new generations of players to try – and for older generations to play as they remember and reminisce. Dr Mark J. P. Wolf (ORCID 0000-0003-1608-5814) is a Professor at Concordia University Wisconsin. His books include The Medium of the Video Game (2001), The Video Game Theory Reader (2003), The Video Game Explosion (2007), The Video Game Theory Reader 2 (2008), Before the Crash: Early Video Game History (2012), The Encyclopedia of Video Games (1st edition 2012; 2nd edition 2021), The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies (2014), Video Games Around the World (2015) and Video Games FAQ (2017). Dr Wolf has declared no conflict of interest in relation to this article. This article was originally published in June 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 30, 2022

As bushfires increase under climate change, domestic violence will too - 360 Debra Parkinson Published on December 6, 2023 Domestic violence can increase amid bushfires. With fires only set to intensify under climate change, authorities must prepare. Beth’s* husband had never been violent before bushfires endangered their property in northern Victoria. But amid the Black Saturday fires of 2009, he threatened her life. “He stood up, put his hand on my neck … and he blocked my airways until I desperately lunged for air,” Beth says. “I landed on my knee on the slate tiles, breaking my kneecap in two.” When Beth, in her 50s, sought help, she was stunned to find her friends blamed her for the violence — and health professionals refused to believe her. A counsellor even told Beth she was “pretty well off” compared to many neighbours: “I know couples that are so badly damaged there’s no hope for them, and their kids are damaged and everything’s a total mess,” Beth recalls the counsellor saying. Beth is not alone. Domestic violence increases following disasters, as does society’s willingness to look the other way, as research into the Black Saturday bushfires — including interviews with 30 women — found. With many more bushfire seasons ahead of us as climate change leads to increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters, Australia needs to prepare for this gender-based violence. But despite mounting evidence linking natural hazards to domestic violence — and despite extreme weather events set to increase with climate change — Australian authorities, policymakers and emergency responders may be under-prepared for this risk. Australia has a poor track record of responding to domestic violence after disasters. Following the Black Saturday bushfires, domestic violence was neglected in planning, recovery and reconstruction operations. Like Beth, many others I interviewed for my research said legal, community and health professionals responded inadequately to their reports of violence. Most disaster recovery authorities didn’t even gather statistics on rates of domestic violence following the fires. This neglect may be partly because after a disaster, a culture of denial prevails to protect “good” men. Thirsty for stories of courage and resilience, the media, government and health sectors shine a spotlight on the concept of community in disaster-affected regions. Their focus remains on the great national ethos, the indomitable human spirit and the kindness of others. The notion of domestic violence after a disaster can evoke hostility towards those who speak of it. Many victims I interviewed with colleague, the late Claire Zara, said they felt enormous yet unspoken pressure not to be “disloyal” by speaking about men’s violence. They were told to think of what their men had been through, how heroic they had been, how they were acting out of character and “it was just the alcohol” causing the violence, or how the men were depressed or suicidal. Women were advised to “give him some time”. This extended to police, who, in a misplaced sense of sensitivity post-disaster, did not follow their own Code of Conduct. Instead, they too told women to wait it out because “he’s a good bloke”. Society’s legal institutions generally operate complicitly with men through capricious, ineffective, or indeed, no consequences for domestic violence perpetrators. This is exacerbated in disasters, which are often understood as either a catalyst for the men’s violence or an excuse for it. In either case, men who chose to use violence were largely forgiven for it by community members and the professionals alerted to it after Black Saturday. Traditional gender roles are harmful to men as well as women, and can play a part in excusing men’s violence and silencing women’s reports of it. In the aftermath of bushfires, men are likely to have a feeling of inadequacy because aspects of their socially-constructed gender role –protecting the family, fighting the fire and saving the house — are mostly unachievable in a catastrophic disaster. There are expectations of stoicism from men. Although discouraged from crying, society’s tolerance for anger and violence from men is higher as this fits the masculine script. Both in Australia and the US, researchers note the result is higher incidences of violence and abuse by men towards their female partners. In my research with Claira Zara, one interviewee described the intense and intrusive questioning he faced regularly in the aftermath of bushfire: “Why haven’t you got it together? Why haven’t you got your garden fixed? Why haven’t you got your house done yet? What are you doing with your life? Why haven’t you gone back to work?” In Australia, many of the responses from professionals working at the coalface of the Black Saturday fires tended to interpret men’s violence as unintentional violence, an anomaly, or a temporary lapse which given the right environment and appropriate support from the woman and the family, would right itself in time. The message to women was that to intervene as if this was domestic violence would be a disservice to suffering, good men. The willingness to overlook violence against women is exacerbated in post-disaster circumstances where the resources of support services are over-burdened with primary and fire-related needs. Whether the men were suffering because of the trauma of the day, the losses they endured, or their current difficulties, it does not excuse their violence against women and children (who frequently were struggling with their own disaster experiences). Disaster is no excuse for domestic violence. As gender and disaster experts have outlined, it is crucial violence against women be named, and the definition of domestic violence not altered to accommodate trauma after disaster. A critical first step is increasing authorities’ willingness to hear women when they speak of violence against them. The decades-long rebuttal from emergency managers of, “Don’t talk to me about gender, I’ve got an emergency on my hands” is challenged by the budding realisation that it is not only disaster that threatens lives. Last year, 64 women were killed in allegedly through male violence in Australia, and countless others injured. And 24 women have already died in 2024 due to alleged violence against women, according to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women project. Gender-based violence experts have repeatedly called for everyone — from members of the public to first responders — to refuse to be complicit with men’s violence. This can include learning how to ask and talk about domestic violence in disaster contexts, such as asking “are you safe at home?” and naming the violence (“what you’ve just described is violence and it’s a crime”). Naming the problem is a key step toward change, so the media could commit to naming who is committing the violence against women and children: It is men in the overwhelming majority of cases. By centering the man and his actions in hurting women and children, journalists have the power to make men visible when writing of domestic violence. Gender and disaster training for journalists could help ingrain this practice in newsrooms. National guidelines on gender and emergency management exist, but they’re not well embedded within the policies and operations of all emergency services. Gender and disaster training could be embedded into training calendars, and community advice about increased domestic violence accompanying disasters could be included in community meetings about disasters. Disaster-related organisations could ensure training for all disaster recovery workers, including volunteers, to identify domestic violence and refer. Nominated disaster recovery leads could allocate responsibility for monitoring domestic violence, and reporting on it. Finally, domestic violence agencies remain underfunded. If the national government better resourced these agencies, they could respond to referrals in disaster contexts, and take their rightful ‘seat at the table’ in disaster planning and recovery committees. *Name changed for privacy reasons. Dr Debra Parkinson is an Adjunct Research Fellow with Monash University Accident Research Centre, and is Executive Director of Gender and Disaster Australia. Her gratitude to the late Claire Zara and, Susie Reid, Helen Riseborough, Frank Archer and Denise Cuthbert. This article has been republished as part of a package on Climate and Health. It originally appeared on December 4, 2023. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 6, 2023

As India's population ages, family care is waning - 360 S Irudaya Rajan, International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), and Nelgyn Tennyson IIAMD Published on November 24, 2021 By S Irudaya Rajan, International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), and Nelgyn Tennyson IIAMD. Aged care and the nature of the family unit is undergoing a seismic shift in India. Families are smaller, and many children depart for education or careers. Eventually the children settle abroad or in another city, leaving behind their elders. Second only to China, India is already home to a sizable aged population. By 2050 one in five Indians will be aged over 60: some 319 million people. Who will care for them? Higher life expectancy, migration and declining fertility are all driving the ageing population, and with it increased demand for aged care facilities. Sweeping changes are needed to deal with the resulting societal and economic impact on everything from employment to asset values. India’s people may be living longer, but as with ageing populations elsewhere, they’re living with more disease and disability. On average, 30 percent of Indian seniors live with at least one chronic condition, while 20 percent live with at least two. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and eyesight conditions are all on the rise. Tobacco use, obesity, physical inactivity, mental illness and alcohol consumption fuel the growing burden of disease. Deaths from cardiovascular diseases alone cost India more in terms of years of healthy working life lost than any other country in the world. More long-term care is needed, but there’s a shortage of qualified caregivers; a lack of quality control systems encumbers regulation. Elder abuse is rife, complaints and lawsuits on the rise both at home and in formal aged care settings. India’s National Population Policy talks about providing aged care but stops short of detailing how to achieve it. The National Health Policy of India commits itself to culturally appropriate community-centred solutions to meet the health needs of the ageing. It also recognises the growing need for palliative and rehabilitative care and advocates for continuity of care across all levels. “Health and Wellness Centres” are emerging to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare along with training courses in palliative care, but other policies stress the need for more and better care at home. A national policy for senior citizens passed in 2011 recognises the need for long term care settings, but considers institutional care a last resort. It promises to strengthen the family system so that the aged remain a family responsibility. It recommends tax incentives for people caring for older family members at home. The policy also promised a cadre of geriatric healthcare specialists and professionally trained caregivers at affordable prices and expanding and scaling-up the current National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE), in partnership with civil society organisations. India’s social and economic policy needs to keep pace with its changing society, prioritising long-term care. Kerala, a state with the highest proportion of elderly in its population, is leading the way. It delivered the country’s first pain and palliative care policy with a focus on community-based home care initiatives under the leadership of Local Self Governments. The programme operates at three levels: home-based primary care; hospital-based secondary care; and major institutional based tertiary care. Today, the vast majority of palliative care services in India can be found in Kerala. A state that has acknowledged family care is no longer the sole solution to India’s ageing population. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. S Irudaya Rajan is Chairman at the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Kerala, India. Nelgyn Tennyson is Research Fellow at IIAMD. The authors declared no conflict of interest in relation to this article.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 24, 2021

As laws expand their reach in India, political freedoms shrink - 360 Anushka SIngh Published on August 30, 2023 Laws restricting basic freedoms may be made in the name of public order and national security, but they are often used against dissident voices. Three bills were tabled in the Indian Parliament in August, part of an overhaul of the entire criminal justice system. In a departure from the legacy of colonial law, they claim to replace ‘justice’ with ‘punishment’ as the aim and put citizens’ rights at the centre of the system. The substantive criminal law in India has long been governed by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, which dates back to the colonial era. The Bill to replace the IPC features 175 amended sections, eight new additions and the repeal of 22 sections, including the section on sedition. The proposed legislation raises questions about whether colonial laws alone are responsible for the shrinking of democratic freedoms in India, and whether new laws can restore fundamental freedoms of speech, association and dissent to the citizenry. The state of democratic freedoms in India can be assessed in three ways: comparing the space for civil liberties in colonial and post-colonial laws restricting fundamental freedoms, analysing how these laws have been implemented, and assessing the democratic rights afforded by the proposed legislation. The justification for laws restricting freedoms relates to concerns around public order and national security, but patterns of implementation suggest the possibility of their political use against dissident voices. This blurs the boundary between criminal offence and legitimate dissent, rendering dissenters as criminals. Only those laws and regulations with a tightly defined scope of criminality will pass the test of democracy. Dissent in India is an extension of the fundamental right to freedom guaranteed as part of Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, which includes the rights to speech and to peaceful assembly and association, among others. The Constitution imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of these rights in the name of protecting certain identified interests such as ‘public order’, ‘security of state’ and the ‘sovereignty and integrity of India’. These restrictions mark the threshold between legitimate dissent and criminal action. If a citizen’s action is perceived to be criminal, a charge is filed against them under a specific law. The adjudication process involves the judiciary deciding whether a citizen’s exercise of their freedom exceeds constitutional restrictions and whether the curtailment of liberty through the invocation of specific laws is reasonable. Hence, the determination is on the constitutional validity of laws in restricting freedoms – including the right to dissent. The colonial-era law which comes into conflict most obtrusively with the right to speech is the law against sedition, enacted in 1870 (Section 124A of the IPC), which has been used by all successive governments post-independence. In its original form, which still stands in the penal code, the law criminalises all forms of expression which incite ‘hatred, contempt or disaffection’ against the government. The Supreme Court in 1962, however, interpreted it to apply only to those that incite disorder or violence. According to the latest official figures for 2021, 76 initial police reports for sedition were registered across India. In May 2022, the law was suspended by the Supreme Court for re-examination – on the grounds of its glaring misuse in the hands of the executive. Some laws enacted after independence, such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), also have a bearing on political freedoms. The UAPA was enacted in 1967 but was given its contemporary form through subsequent amendments carried out in 2004 and 2008. It is an extraordinary law – meaning that it makes exceptions to the usual safeguards provided to an accused and lays out special conditions with regard to bail, investigation and trial. Among other things, the UAPA criminalises acts and expressions which ‘disrupt the territorial sovereignty and integrity of India’ or ’cause disaffection against India’. The UAPA also has provisions for banning organisations and criminalising association with banned organisations. Consequently, it has far-reaching consequences for the exercise of all possible fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Annual crime statistics reveal that both a colonial-era laws like sedition and post-colonial legislation like the UAPA are being used with equal readiness. Their use is marked by an increasing number of cases and an abysmally poor rate of conviction. The ratio makes clear that the laws have been misapplied in an overwhelming number of cases. There were 363 cases registered under the sedition law between 2017 and 2021. The number of convictions in the last five years is only six, against 51 cases of acquittal. The rest of the cases remain pending. In 2021 alone, the pendency rate – cases awaiting settlement – was 96.9 percent. Cases registered under sedition law have included instances of cheering for a rival cricket team, offensive social media posts, WhatsApp message forwards, the recital of Hanuman Chalisa and others, with no inherent element of incitement to violence. These facts were acknowledged by the court while suspending the law. More than 800 cases of sedition were filed between 2010 and 2021 against 13,000 people. There was a 28 percent annual rise in cases after 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power. According to annual crime statistics, 4,919 cases were registered under the UAPA between 2017 and 2021. The average conviction rate over the last five years stands at around 30 percent, but this is based on a miniscule figure – 95 percent of cases are waiting for trial to be completed. Around 1,621 people were arrested in 2021. According to one study, only 2.8 percent of arrests made between 2015 and 2020 resulted in conviction under the UAPA. Despite the poor conviction rate, the accused end up suffering long periods of incarceration because the UAPA sets conditions that make bail extremely difficult. The study showed that out of 4,690 persons arrested between 2018 and 2020, only 1,080 secured bail. Despite being a serious law invoked to counter threats to national security, it has been routinely used against students, journalists, human rights activists and in cases unrelated to national security, with inordinate delays by investigating agencies in completing investigation. One of the foremost issues with these laws is the ambiguity of their language – such as ‘disaffection’ and ‘sovereignty and integrity of India’ – which allows for all kinds of activities to be included in their scope. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill tabled in the Parliament in August cannot be seen to do away with the trend of overbroad and ambiguous legislation. It only replaces sedition with another section that criminalises acts and expressions endangering the sovereignty and integrity of India. In fact, it broadens its reach by removing the requirement of incitement of violence as a necessary factor. It also adds a new section on Offence of Terrorist Act (S. 111), which criminalises acts of provocation and intimidation likely to endanger public safety. The offences under UAPA are reproduced in the proposed Bill with no linguistic changes. Provisions which may come into conflict with political freedoms are effectively retained – and, in fact, enhanced. Anushka Singh teaches at the School of Law, Governance and Citizenship, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD), New Delhi, India and is the author of Sedition in Liberal Democracies. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 30, 2023

ASEAN: Everyone needs good neighbours - 360 Shahirah Hamid Published on March 5, 2024 Looking ahead to next 50 years of the ASEAN-Australia partnership. It’s been half a century since Australia became the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN’s first dialogue partner. This year is the second time Australia has hosted a special summit with the 10 ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste to commemorate this partnership. The special summit held from March 4-6 is particularly significant as it poses a unique challenge for Australian leaders and their ASEAN counterparts in seizing promising opportunities while navigating potential roadblocks. The summit is an opportunity to enhance cooperation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which was established in 2021. Under the partnership, Australia reiterated its cooperation with ASEAN through three new “Australia for ASEAN” initiatives. Last September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy To 2040 report in Jakarta, Indonesia highlighting Australia’s interest in deepening trade and investment ties with its nearest regional neighbours. Southeast Asia is projected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2040 after the United States, China and India. With a strong foundation, Australia and its ASEAN counterparts can leverage this partnership to foster economic growth, strengthen digital security, bolster trade, and navigate potential geopolitical tensions. Facing similar challenges in digitising their economies, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore need to collaborate more closely on digital security to combat the rise of sophisticated cyber threats. Building meaningful relationships with ASEAN requires Australia to address the language deficit. Australia must commit to understanding and respecting the languages of its neighbours. As Laos prepares to chair ASEAN in October, the summit serves as a crucial precursor, offering insights into the region’s upcoming year amidst potential challenges. The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit holds immense potential for solidifying regional ties and shaping the future of Southeast Asia. This special report will unpack the regional dynamics and leadership transitions to predict the summit’s outcomes and their impact on stability and cooperation in Southeast Asia.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 5, 2024

Asia and the Pacific stronger together - 360 Peter Brian Wang Published on July 11, 2022 Better opportunities will arise from ASEAN and Pacific island nations banding together. An opportunity has arisen. For small and middle powers, increasingly uncertain and aggressive geosecurity has provided a chance to influence global developments. For the Pacific Islands, their time in the sun may have just begun, and they could look to other regions of the world for clues on how to play their hand. Engaging with great and regional powers remains inevitable. They hold influential positions in global institutions and have the capacity to assist others to attain their respective goals. China has become a legitimate challenger to America’s influence in the Pacific. No longer just east and west, a multipolar world order is emerging as a result of growing power parity between the major powers. A more cautious approach towards international politics may ensue as major powers attempt to avoid costly entanglements. Direct interventions such as those we had seen in the 1990s and early 2000s such as the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan may be a thing of the past. But the negotiating leverage appears today to be shifting in the favour of small and middle powers. As exemplified in the Ukraine crisis, small and middle powers may need to learn to be less dependent on great and regional powers. This could result in them becoming more independent in their actions. Empowerment (sometimes not by choice) seems the order of the day. This perhaps best explains the rise in minilateral frameworks led by middle powers. It may also be time for small and middle powers in both Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific Island nations to consider forging and championing their own ideas and visions for the Indo-Pacific. Already, ASEAN is an observer in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). Likewise, PIF and ASEAN are present at Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation. As maritime nations, all of them have an interest and duty to ensure that the new regional architecture that emerges to manage the Indo-Pacific caters for their concerns, which are no less real or relevant to those of the great and regional powers. Interest in the Pacific Islands has intensified in recent weeks. An area that has previously been described as a ‘diplomatic backwater’ has now seen the visits of not one but two foreign ministers of regional powers – China and Australia. China’s Foreign Minister visit to the South Pacific was meant to further cement ties with a multilateral pact on security and development. This did not materialise. And at a time when the US had managed to get 12 other members to begin talks on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework on Prosperity (IPEF), this might be viewed by some quarters as a failure of sorts. The IPEF is an economic initiative led by the US which aims to strengthen economic relations with its partners in the Indo-Pacific. However China’s success in securing a security pact with the Solomon Islands is an indication that China is making inroads. Recently, the Australian government sent their foreign minister to make a similar round of visits, predictably to stem the growing influence of China in this sub-region. The recent episode has highlighted that while the Pacific Islands states may welcome greater engagement with China, they do not fancy the baggage that comes along with it – great power competition. It’s a dilemma not unique to this region. Other regions including Southeast Asia have long struggled to keep themselves free from such contests. The regions could learn from each other, for example, in how to balance bringing much-needed development through external engagements against keeping at bay the negatives. Like the Pacific Islands today, Southeast Asian countries attracted much attention during that last great power contest – the Cold War. As the US and Soviet Union vyed for supremacy on the global stage, it was in small theatres like Southeast Asia and Europe where the contest was played out. Freeing themselves from these machinations encouraged some Southeast Asian countries to establish ASEAN. While there are mixed views on the effectiveness of ASEAN as a tempering agent, its longevity and ability to shape the regional architecture in east Asia seem to indicate the opposite. Even today, as a new great power competition engulfs the Indo-Pacific region, ASEAN still manages to get a seat at the table; much of it due to its centrality in these developments, but also because it lends some legitimacy to the efforts of the protagonists. In the pursuit of their respective interests, the US and China may be tempted to divide in order to rule, thus, adding impetus for these regions to draw closer. Both ASEAN and the PIF offer good platforms to do just that, by strengthening economic ties and enhancing co-operation to address specific local concerns. Both regional groups can further improve inter-regional co-operation since they share many common concerns, such as maintaining regional peace and harmony, creating a sustainable and inclusive economy, and climate change. Co-operation is important among these developing nations as they lack the capacity to address the issues alone. Climate change is naturally a pressing concern for many, especially those dependent on primary industries to drive their economies. Certainly, climate change poses an additional existential threat to many communities in the Pacific. In the area of economics, these are relatively small economies that require a stable and open environment that will allow them to grow beyond what their domestic market permits; international economic co-operation thus becomes a necessity not an option. Many of these countries are also maritime nations, making it imperative to secure freedom of navigation; and making them more likely to defend the existing rules-based order. Can they be effective together? If there is an opportune time to prove it, it is now. Peter Brian M. Wang has held various portfolios in the Malaysian government, including at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He is currently with the National Institute of Public Administration and is working on his PhD at the Asia–Europe Institute University of Malaya. He tweets @PBMWang. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on July 11, 2022

Asia: Less brain drain more global consciousness - 360 Inaya Rakhmani Published on April 29, 2022 Internationalisation or intellectual colonialisation? A look into Asia. Universities, already encouraged to self-finance in the face of declining government funding, faced even more uncertainty when the pandemic hit. But few strayed from their strategy to monetise the growing global student market. In the Netherlands, there is one international student for every four domestic students. Canada’s Immigration Refugee and Citizenship data shows that in 2015 to 2016 and 2019 to 2020, the number of Indian students studying there increased by 350 percent. Meanwhile, the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reported a 220 percent annual increase of Indian students enrolling in UK universities. In Asia, many international programmes are provided by branches of UK universities. By 2021, there were 17 British universities in 27 countries around the world, providing education for approximately 60,000 students. The University of Nottingham Malaysia was opened in Selangor, Malaysia in 2000 catering to more than 5,000 students via the private university model. Newcastle University partnered with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and created the Newcastle University International Singapore (NUIS) to offer medical degrees in Malaysia through NUMed. In 2006, the Xi’an Jiaoting-Liverpool University (XJTLU) was founded in Suzhou, China reaching approximately 14,000 students in 2019. It’s a trend that Adam Habib, Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London says is accelerating the brain drain in Africa and Asia, weakening their intellectual and institutional capacity to deal with the pandemic, climate change, and inequalities. Habib cautions that UK universities are inadvertently taking away intellectual capacity from economically-developing countries as former students marry, find work abroad, and eventually stay. Such partnerships are, for Asian states, part of neoliberal aspirations to become ‘world class’.  What is deemed ‘world class’ is constructed through international university rankings agencies like Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education. These rankings, after all, are prerequisites for Asian universities to tap into regional student markets by opening up their own English-based undergraduate programmes. However, there is little ‘authentic’ intellectual and institutional capacity in Asia to begin with. For many countries in Southeast Asia, universities and hospitals were inherited from colonialist regimes. In Indonesia, independence movements of the early 20th century were mobilised by intellectuals and scientists who received a European education and were exposed to modern nation-state ideas. Historically, Asian societies have been dealing with contradictions relating to the formation and spread of intellectualism, including how it reproduces new kinds of social inequalities between English-speaking Asians and their local counterparts. In the meantime, at least in India and Indonesia, since the pandemic, governments and academic communities are increasingly realising the fundamental need to address these inequalities by leveraging on the science diaspora. These alliances between sojourners, who feel that they are very much Indian and Indonesian, and local intellectuals, encourage people to bridge more equal partnerships between science and technology. But this idea comes with new kinds of issues. Chinese diaspora and Confucius Institutes in Southeast Asia are viewed with suspicion, specifically as spreaders of the communist state’s propaganda through science collaborations seen as soft power. On one hand, the sense of belonging of diasporic communities can teach us new ways to imagine more equal partnerships. On the other, developing a global consciousness is crucial in order to respond to upcoming global crises such as climate change and current ones like the COVID-19 pandemic; where borders are transformative and problems go beyond nation-states. Perhaps it is less a question of whether “Northern” universities are draining Asia’s intellectual capacity than it is about deeper structural inequalities that have impinged on meaningful academic work and our ability to explain how all of us face fundamentally the same issues. Regardless of location, academics working in social sciences and humanities face less and less funding, their campuses led by notions of surplus value as advocated by university leaders who think like CEOs, managers and administrators. There’s a tension between the public meaning of their work and the market mechanisms that hinder it. So it is less a Wallersteinian issue of intellectualism, where the system between countries is hierarchical, led by former colonisers who dominate the world economy which translates into the stronger education capacity held by universities in developed countries over developing ones. And, it is more about the social reality that we live in an unequal world that exploits all kinds of labouring that tries to criticise and explain it, let alone undo it. A capitalist, social world that narrows the space to rethink our global future in meaningful ways. This space must be widened if we are to recuperate from the pandemic in ways that equalise power between the richest and poorest as well as between societies in environmentally-sound and long-lasting ways. Perhaps, a realistic expectation is to work within the conditions that exist while continually acknowledging and explaining how new kinds of colonialisations—such as those made worse by market imperatives—surface through the modes of production of intellectualism in the world and in Asia. Ironically, or maybe consistently, it is the disciplines so often viewed as not monetisable that are able to critically unpack and explain to us how to find a solution. So maybe we begin there. This article is part of a series entitled ‘Education brain drain’ on the ‘colonosation model’ of higher education where higher education institutions recruit the best and brightest from developing economies — with most never returning after graduation. To read the other articles visit 360info.org. Inaya Rakhmani is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social and Political Science, University of Indonesia and Secretary General of the UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences (UKICIS). She is the Director of the Asia Research Centre, Universitas Indonesia and the Deputy Director of the Science and Education working group for the Indonesian Young Academy of Sciences. Her research interest is in how culture can hinder and enable the redistribution of and access to wealth. Dr. Rakhmani declared that she has no conflict of interest. The research was undertaken with financial assistance from the Indonesian Education Endowment Fund’s PRIME SOCIAL grant. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 29, 2022

Asian democracies struggle under the weight of repression - 360 Lachlan Guselli Published on September 15, 2023 Don’t look now, but if you’re worried about the state of democracies now, just wait until next year. The International Day of Democracy — marked by the United Nations on September 15 — is a motivator for the importance of free and fair societies, but also stands as a glum reminder of its precarious state across the globe. 2024 will be a grand test for the health of global democracy, with the world’s three largest democracies — India, Indonesia and the US — all headed to the polls. Across Asia, democracy appears to swing between familiar traps and new potentials of the first quarter of the ‘Asian century’, as economic realities shift and expectations evolve. India and Indonesia have become regional powerhouses, but their paths differ. The contrasts in their economic development speak to a growing maturity across the region. Next year, Indonesia will elect a new president, following the two terms of Joko Widodo, a softly spoken global statesman who has just hosted the region’s leaders at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta. For whomever replaces the man they call ‘Jokowi’, youth politics will shape the agenda — 52 percent of Indonesia’s 270 million people are between 18 and 39 years old. Rachmah Ida writes that with Generation Z and Millennials largely of voting age, “there will be fierce competition for young voters ahead of the 2024 general election”. Much of this approach will come via social media, with TikTok the dominant social media platform among 15 to 24-year-olds. The use of data to shape political narratives looms large in India. Writing about the rise of digital authoritarianism, Pradip Thomas notes that as the country moves to a cashless, digital society, personal data could be weaponised against dissenting voices. Twenty-eight opposition parties are working to form a coalition that will run against Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Under Modi, India has slid down the global press freedom index rankings as the space for dissent narrows. In Bangladesh, elections are due by January, but the main opposition party could boycott the vote. Sheikh Hasina’s government has garnered praise from the West, but accusations of human rights abuses and official corruption continue to mount. In Thailand, a grand compromise has preserved the country’s veneer of democracy. New Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was appointed after the party that won the most seats in the May election was effectively banished from power. Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s deal with the royal family and the establishment brought his Pheu Thai party power, while drastically reducing his own prison sentence for historic corruption charges. Michael Connors of Monash University Malaysia writes that the deal “led to this most humiliating compromise for the post-coup generals, whose guiding rationale was the elimination of Thaksin”. His legacy and the compromised calm of Thailand’s swirling discontent will help to shape 2024 as another crucial year in democracy across the region. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on September 15, 2023

Asian innovation rests with scaling up - 360 Costas Markides Published on May 10, 2023 An economist’s century-old idea might be the key driver in the next iteration of Asia’s economic innovation. Since World War Two, Asia’s economic success has been driven by a business model that relies heavily on networks of businesses and influential families. But this model — which concentrates power in the hands of relatively few and relies on connections over education or effort — could slow Asia’s development through the next century unless it adapts and innovates. Short of a radical transformation to a more competitive and popular capitalism — a feature of the Western world — Asia’s scope to innovate within its existing  business model depends on how one defines innovation. If, by innovation, we mean the discoveryof something new, such as a new technology, product or business model, then Asia may not be well-placed to lead the next century.  But if we mean an economy driven by scaling up new discoveries into a big mass market — something that big, established firms do well — then there is no need to worry. Asian corporations are perfectly positioned to continue excelling at the scaling up stage of innovation: the region has plenty of big firms with strong brands and distribution pathways to mass markets. A century ago, economist Joseph Schumpeter pointed out that successful innovation is essentially a coupling process that requires the linking of two distinct activities: the discovery of a new product or service idea and its initial testing in the market that, if successful, creates a new market nicheand the scaling up of this discovery into a mass market. Chux created a new market niche when it invented the disposable diaper in 1935. In 1961, the idea transformed from a small niche to a mass market when Procter & Gamble entered the competition with its own disposable diaper called Pampers. Both of these activities are, in their own way, innovations. But in most cases the same firm cannot perform both activities well: one type of firm is good with discovery (in this case, Chux) and a different type of firm is good with scaling up (Procter & Gamble). Small start-up firms are good with discovery because this activity requires agility, flexibility, risk-taking and a culture of experimentation — traits that small firms possess in abundance. By contrast, big established firms are good with scaling up because they have the money, knowledge and influence to develop economies of scale, build trust with consumers and get legislative support from the government. With this playbook, big firms usually end up scaling up new markets. They allow small start-up firms to undertake new discoveries and, when the time is right, move in, acquire the discoveries of others, and use its considerable resources and connections to scale them up and create huge new markets. Through this model, big Asian firms can use their vast resources, political clout and monopoly positions to scale up ideas of pioneering firms, whether these pioneers are based in Asia or not. It is not a model that can produce many inventions or pioneering firms, but it is perfectly suited for firms aiming to scale up the ideas of others. Asia is well suited to this — just  look at the success of this model over the past 50 years. As long as Asian companies continue to focus on the scaling up portion of innovation, there is no reason to believe that this model will not continue to produce success. Costas Markides is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School where he holds the Robert Bauman Chair in Strategic Leadership. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Asian capitalism” sent at: 05/05/2023 13:51. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on May 10, 2023

Asian nations still hedging in global health diplomacy race - 360 Jati Satrio Published on November 14, 2022 Although health diplomacy is instrumental in gaining influence and traction, its international rivalry is not necessarily healthy. China and Japan are seen as two of Asia’s biggest political heavyweights competing for influence in Southeast Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the rivalry between these two countries. Both view health diplomacy as an essential tool to serve and strengthen their political interests in the region. A recent survey report revealed Japan remains the most trusted major power among Southeast Asians. A total of 1,677 respondents from ten Southeast Asian countries took part in the survey. More than half (54.2 percent) of the respondents expressed confidence in Japan’s trustworthiness to provide for the global public. However, 58.1 percent of the respondents expressed distrust towards China and nearly 50 percent feared it could use economic and military power to strengthen its interest and sovereignty. Great power rivalry in Southeast Asia has often resulted in hedging behaviour, astrategic move where smaller Southeast Asian countries balance relations with both sides in a diplomatic tussle to ensure whoever comes out on top remains a possible ally. The pandemic has ignited this behaviour. Southeast Asian countries have received vaccines from both China and the West. Some Southeast Asian countries even encourage China and Western countries to cooperate in developing locally produced vaccines. For example, Bio Farma, an Indonesian state-owned enterprise, conducted clinical trials and locally manufactured CoronaVac, a Chinese-made vaccine. Meanwhile, Bio Farma is also developing its own vaccine under the name of IndoVac, which was developed in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, in the United States. China has actively exercised health diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. China sent vaccine supplies to various countries, especially Southeast Asian countries. China also deployed health equipment, such as face-masks, test kits, and ventilators to fight the pandemic. Moreover,  Chinese state-owned media is running a PR campaign to try to improve the nation’s image. The messages portray China as a pioneer of health diplomacy measures while erasing the negative image of its early mismanagement of the pandemic. China exploited the opportunity created by the Western countries’ behaviour in stockpiling the vaccine supply during the early period of the pandemic. Japan is utilising health diplomacy in Southeast Asia differently. Japan is not only donating vaccines but improving the vaccine storage system through its Last One Mile Support programme, which ensures the safe delivery of vaccines to vaccination sites. Japan is also teaming up with other Quad members (the United States, India, and Australia) to provide vaccines and other health initiatives to Southeast Asian countries. Japan took a different health diplomacy strategy as it has relatively low resources in vaccine development and economic power compared to China. The Quad launched the Quad Vaccine Partnership which aims to provide and enhance access to safe and effective vaccines in the Indo-Pacific and globally. Each country has specific roles to perform. India will play a vital role in the partnership as the world’s largest vaccine-producing nation. The US is aiming to divert criticism against its ‘America First’ vaccine policy by distributing American vaccine brands. Australia will serve as a hub for delivering vaccines to Southeast Asia and Pacific Island countries. The reason behind this Quad Vaccine Partnership was derived on the assumption that Chinese-made vaccines are not safe. The Chinese health diplomacy effort proved to be a moderate success. Data show the number of Chinese-supplied vaccines lags behind its Western rival, and most Chinese-made vaccines are sold rather than donated. However, a survey by  ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute regards China as the most influential economic and political power, and support from China matters the most while Japan remains the most trusted major power. Nonetheless, the Chinese health diplomacy effort hasn’t changed the unfavourable view of Chinese influence in the region. The US and its allies, including Japan, are increasing their bilateral and multilateral efforts to counter China’s influence. However, concerted efforts by these nations still fell short as the vaccine produced through multilateral initiatives has delivered less than the initial commitment of one billion vaccine doses. Jati Satrio is a lecturer in international relations at Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta. Jati is interested in the intersection between politics and technological innovation. He tweets at Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 14, 2022

Asia's largest cities lack water security - 360 Kaushal Chapagain, Mukand S. Babel, Hassan Tolba Aboelnga Published on June 22, 2022 Urban water security in Asian cities is in decline, forcing them to find new ways to manage this prescious resource. Tokyo, Shanghai and Delhi: global cities, fast-paced and exciting, symbolic of the rise of the new Asian century. These cities are the three biggest in the world, engines of economic growth, producing billions in economic activity for their residents and the world. But they have a problem: there is not enough fresh water available per person for their daily needs. Freshwater availability is half that of the global average in Asia. Water efficiency is also among the lowest in the world and a low water productivity means crop yields are low despite the relatively large amount of water supplied in agriculture production. Being able to assess how resilient urban water supply is to changing conditions, like droughts or increasing demands, is key to being prepared for future crises. Many large cities are prone to water issues. Population and economic growth have led to environmental degradation. Existing water supplies simply can’t keep up with the growing needs. The issue is exacerbated by climate change where extreme weather events such as drought and floods are becoming more common. Water security — having enough water to meet all living, irrigation and industry needs as well as a healthy surplus to adapt to major disasters — is steeply in decline. For example, over-exploitation in Bangkok, Thailand, has severely reduced groundwater levels, causing land to subside. Water sources around the city are also polluted due to the direct discharge of domestic sewage into drains and canals. Similarly, Bangkok’s inadequate drainage capacity and its location in the Chao Phraya River floodplains make it susceptible to flooding. Hanoi, Vietnam, is one of the fastest-growing cities in terms of GDP growth, contributing  more than 19 percent of the country’s total GDP. The repercussions of this growth are felt directly in its polluted lakes and rivers due to wastewater from residential and industrial areas. Madaba in Jordan is a water-scarce city. Although 98 percent of the city’s population has access to water, residents are often forced to rely on alternative sources of storage such as large tanks or private water vendors to meet their needs due to inconsistent water supplies. Despite water being a prominent component of the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations warns we are off-track on most targets relevant to water, food, and agriculture. To bridge the gap between science and better support city planners and policymakers, practical interventions can help, like the integrated urban water security assessment framework. It can be used to assess the full spectrum of a city’s urban water security by taking into account the driving forces that can impact it. Researchers at Thailand’s Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) have developed WATSAT, a web-based water security assessment tool that can evaluate where cities stand by measuring five distinct aspects of urban water security: water supply, sanitation, water productivity, water environment and water governance. Cities that embrace new ways to manage water can improve the livelihoods of their populations and support continued growth. For example, Bangkok has adopted incentives for water management to include the treatment of wastewater at the household level before being released into public water sources. As a part of Bangkok Vision 2032, the program will also monitor the chemical properties of water in canals and improve cleanliness to prevent illnesses and safeguard the environment. The city also aims to construct large drainage tunnels for rainwater and strengthen flood defences through reinforced concrete along the Chao Phraya River. In a nature-based approach to water management, 40 percent of the city will be designated green open spaces to increase the conservation of forests and restore ecosystems as well as native species. Jordan’s water action plan includes building decentralised infrastructures such as rainwater harvesting or wastewater treatment to supplement water supplies. Financial or tax incentives to encourage businesses to reuse treated wastewater instead of freshwater are also managing demand and efficiency. Plans to prevent water supply losses through leaky pipes will also improve efficiency. These include monitoring tools, installing new metering units and making efforts to detect unauthorised usage in water pipelines, and improving financial sustainability through water tariffs. Again, nature-based solutions play a role: the plan also involves allocating water to restore critical ecosystems including forests, wetlands and rivers for greater conservation. These are all tangible solutions that can be considered and adapted to different cities across the continent. In order to have sustainable urban development, efficient and effective management of water resources plays a vital role. Improved understanding of specific city water-needs, innovative tools and technologies to forecast disasters will all be essential to the survival of our cities. Kaushal Chapagain is a doctoral student in the Water Engineering and Management (WEM) program at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. His research area of interest includes water security, urban water resource management and resource nexus. Dr Hassan Tolba Aboelnga is a researcher at TH Köln, University of Applied Sciences in Germany with a particular interest in urban water security issues and integrated water resources management.  He is the vice chair of the Middle East Water Forum and sits on the Management Committee of specialist groups at the International Water Association. He is Chair of the Urban Water Security working group and member of the Water Security Task Force at the International Water Resources Association. Professor Mukand S. Babel is a professor of Water Engineering and Management at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. He leads the Climate Change Asia (CCA) initiative at AIT for Catalysing Capacity for Action to address climate change issues in the region. The authors declare no conflict of interest. This article has been republished as part of a package on Science against the clock. It was first published on June 21, 2022. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on June 22, 2022

Athlete well-being in the spotlight at Olympics - 360 Published on February 9, 2022 The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics could be uniquely difficult athletes’ mental health unprecedented challenges — but there are tools to help. By Courtney C. Walton, University of Melbourne The conversation around mental health in sport is moving to Beijing, as the Winter Olympics takes centre stage. Last year in Tokyo, it was Olympic champion Simone Biles who led the way, stepping aside from competition to prioritise her well-being. While estimates vary, approximately one-third of elite athletes experience symptoms of depression or anxiety. Concerns around body image, substance use, and trauma are also common. COVID-19 makes for a uniquely difficult mental health challenge at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The pandemic has already created a host of challenges for athletes around the world. During the Winter Olympics, athletes will be constrained by incredibly strict rules and regulations, living within a bubble as China continues its zero-COVID strategy. For any athlete within this closed system, difficulties with mental health could be accentuated. Opportunities for distraction and socialising are less possible, meaning pressures around performance can build. Athletes will likely have fewer supports on the ground, and many will need to lean on virtual support from psychologists back home. There is also the ever-looming threat of a positive COVID-19 test leading up to competition, following years of careful preparation. All of these challenges become even more important when athletes are participating in high risk sports, common at the Winter Games. Being psychologically ready to perform has extra meaning and importance when you’re launching yourself off a ski ramp with little room for error. Snowboarding Gold medallist Chloe Kim has spoken about the validation that athletes like Simone Biles have provided others to put themselves first when it comes to performing these death-defying manoeuvres. Even without a pandemic to cope with, athletes are often vulnerable to significant stress and mental ill-health during the Olympics. Unlike those in professional leagues, many Olympians have limited financial security and are more likely to balance multiple roles alongside their training. While athletes in professional leagues cycle through annual seasons, offering more opportunity for resetting goals and moving on from disappointment, Olympic athletes typically work to quadrennial phases. This means a performance during these Winter Olympics (potentially, totalling just a few minutes or even seconds), can mark the primary measure of success following four years of preparation. Such focus brings pressure on the athletes from themselves, but also from coaches, fans, teammates, sponsors, friends and family. Female Olympic athletes in particular often face extra barriers relating to finances, discrimination, and abusive behaviours. There are things that can help support athletes, even in an Olympics affected by COVID-19. Firstly, significant planning must go into supporting mental health before, during, and after the games. Australian Olympians recently described their poor experiences of returning home, with a lack of clear direction following the games, and insufficient support systems contributing to worsened well-being. In a space where self-criticism often rules, learning to be compassionate to oneself about the immense pressures, challenges, or disappointments faced, is a valuable addition to the toolkit. Beyond individual strategies however, the systems and structures in which athletes compete and train in require major revision in order to maximise well-being. Finding ways to enhance these spaces is a critical step forward, and one which most sports organisations are now devoting significant time and resources to. In a recently published framework, researchers offer a playbook to maximise athlete well-being. Recommendations include an active promotion of mentally healthy environments, ongoing monitoring of athlete well-being, ensuring there is appropriate workforce capacity with sufficient understanding of mental health, preparation for key athlete transitions into and out of sport, as well as demonstrating visible diversity of under-represented groups throughout the organisation. While every organisation has different needs and abilities, many of these recommendations can be considered feasible across most environments. Athletes sharing their stories can also have transformative effects on discussion of mental health more broadly. It normalises all of our experiences of our own mental health. So as you sit back to enjoy the Winter Olympics this year, continue to remember the person behind the performer on your screen. Athletes are more than just our entertainers. Dr Courtney Walton is a Psychologist and McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Elite Sports and Mental Health team at Orygen and the University of Melbourne. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: Courtney Walton in Melbourne

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on February 9, 2022

Australia has no plan for climate change adaptation. Why? - 360 Johanna Nalau Published on January 31, 2024 Reducing emissions is only part of the story. We must also plan for adapting to the impacts of climate change. Most conversations about climate action in Australia centre on reducing emissions. Yet reducing emissions is only part of the climate story: we must also plan for how we adapt to the impacts of climate change. How we adjust to rising sea levels, prepare for heatwaves, and manage changing rainfall patterns is what makes nations resilient in the face of climate change. The floods that devastated north Queensland in December 2023, northern NSW in 2022, and 2020’s Black Summer bushfires show that Australia needs to step up its conversation how it plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change. But in Australia, where climate change has been a longstanding political issue, legislation on climate adaptation has been slow. As the Australian government prepares to release its Issues Paper for its first National Adaptation Plan in coming months, it’s a good time to reflect on why Australia has lagged on climate adaptation legislation — and what’s needed to make its plan a success. National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are a key tool for identifying country-level priorities for climate adaptation. They were developed as a mechanism to accelerate adaptation planning at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP16 in 2010. Since then, around 70 countries have developed one. While the most developed countries (including Finland, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and New Zealand) and around 40 developing countries (including Chad, Fiji and Sudan) have developed plans, Australia’s progress on climate adaptation has been slow. Under the Morrison Coalition government in 2021, Australia did submit a National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy to the UNFCCC. But it was never legislated, and consisted mainly of existing initiatives. The Albanese Labor Government made a major commitment to climate change adaptation in its 2023-2024 Budget, with a significant focus on completing a National Climate Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Plan. That plan is underway: With consultations in 2023, the government is set to release an Issues Paper in early 2024. This will support broad public consultation throughout 2024, and an anticipated NAP completion in time for the COP29 conference in Baku in November. Australia has lagged on climate adaptation because climate change, and climate science, have been longstanding political footballs. We got off to a good start with the 2007 National Climate Change Adaptation Framework agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) which was followed by significant investments in the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. Yet, with a change of government, climate change became a marginalised issue for years. When former Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed his 2021 climate adaptation strategy, he was criticised for engaging multinational consulting agency McKinsey — which has advised 43 of the 100 biggest corporate polluters — to do the modelling rather than Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO. Climate adaptation has not been a priority due to other policy issues . But Australia’s slow progress with developing a NAP rests partly on the myths that a focus on adaptation reduces any ambition to reduce emissions, and that adaptation is mainly a local issue, best dealt with at the local government level. These are both incorrect: adaptation and mitigation are both core climate actions, and all levels of government have a role in climate adaptation. These assumptions are now changing. There are plenty of opportunities for a range of stakeholders to lead in climate adaptation. Many state and local governments have, in fact, already developed climate adaptation plans and strategies, signalling an increasing understanding that urgent climate adaptation is needed. Critics of the NAP have questioned whether the Albanese government’s multimillion-dollar commitment is worth the investment. But there are several ways in which a truly national plan — as opposed to only local and state strategies — could benefit Australia. Without an adaptation plan, a country would have a hard time understanding its national risks, priorities, and progress. Making decisions and national policy without a comprehensive NAP is likely to sideline climate change’s impacts – skewing planning budgets by not incorporating damages in the costs. For example, Australia can lock itself into long-term infrastructure investments that seem economically viable but if the impacts of climate change on that infrastructure are overlooked, in reality, that plan would lock in increasing vulnerability. Building new roads in a changing climate, for example, means that building materials might have to withstand increased heat in the future, which requires a different consideration of current and future costs . Australia’s adaptation plan has the potential to shed light on how climate impacts can increase inequality and inequity across the nation due to the uneven distribution of vulnerability. Without a NAP, policies can project an inaccurate picture on the roots of inequality and the potential of current policies to fix it. Any increase in inequality can have dire consequences on people’s security and, potentially, political stability. NAPs are critical in assessing the progress in adapting to climate change, including tracking progress on how climate adaptation is reducing impacts on the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. NAPs often also signal key issues for researchers and industry, showing where more research is needed to enable evidence-based decisions, as well as the range of the most promising and scalable adaptation strategies and initiatives that could fast-track adaptation progress and implementation. Having a NAP does not guarantee progress in adapting to climate change. Key questions for Australia include how the plan is to be implemented and financed, and how priorities will be identified and scaled up to deliver the largest reductions in vulnerability. Answering these questions effectively will require a strong focus on innovation, bringing diverse knowledge and experience . Many countries have chosen to enshrine climate adaptation into law to ensure that efforts are not stalled due to changes in government. The UK, for example, has a Climate Change Act (2008) that created the Climate Change Committee and the National Adaptation Program, along with its regulatory reporting mechanisms and timeframes. This approach recognises that climate adaptation is not just a “nice to have” when a government feels like it but , a necessity with long-term backing as a policy issue. It is an approach Australia could certainly consider. Going forward, adaptation to the impacts of climate change must be considered across all sectors. Australia’s agriculture sector may need to plan for food insecurity issues which may mean changing or diversifying crops for more water-efficient farming. The energy sector has far to go to ensure climate adaptation. While there are advantages and opportunities to tap into — for example, Australia is the world’s largest exporter of lithium, which is used for batteries – the country is also a major emitter of, and source for fossil fuel resources. It’s not only the largest net exporter of coal, but also the world’s largest exporter of liquified gas — another source of greenhouse emissions. Direct mapping of Australia’s emissions and their impact on vulnerability further underline the need for energy sector reform. There are concerns about Australia’s unique biodiversity. The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef, is vulnerable and it’s the only developed country that is classified as a deforestation hotspot. Urban planning and emergency management must also adapt. From early warning systems, to not building in areas with high risks of bushfires or floods, change is needed. Australia must also reckon with how the changing nature of disasters and long-term trends, such as droughts, are putting Australian communities at increasing risk. For communities that have experienced extreme weather events first-hand, such as Lismore, these conversations are now critical. Climate resilience therefore includes planning for the future in a way that helps communities at at-risk locations to stay safe and well. Dr Johanna Nalau is an adaptation scientist and Associate Professor at Griffith University based on the Gold Coast. Her research is focused on understanding how, why and when people make decisions to adapt to climate change, and what role science can play in that process. She also leads the Adaptation Science Research Theme at Cities Research Institute at Griffith University. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Climate resilience” sent at: 31/01/2024 11:32. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 31, 2024

Australia hopes to change climate reputation at COP27 - 360 Robyn Eckersley Published on November 7, 2022 Australia has a long-standing reputation as a climate laggard. Over the past nine years of Liberal-National Coalition government, Australia has routinely appeared near the bottom of the Climate Change Performance Index, an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 60 countries and the EU. The election of a new Labor government in May 2022 raises the question: will Australia be reborn as a climate leader at the next United Nations climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt? At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, Australia was the only major developed country to resist the requirement to strengthen its 2030 target, set in 2015, to reduce emissions by 26-28 percent from 2005 levels. Nor did Australia sign the voluntary pledge to reduce methane emissions or the statement in support of the clean energy transition, which included an end to public finance for new fossil fuel projects. Instead, the Australian pavillion at COP26 became a talking point for hosting a major Australian gas company. In 2018, the Coalition government halted Australia’s contributions to the Green Climate Fund, a multilateral fund designed to assist developing countries with the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change. The US (under President Trump) is the only other OECD country to have suspended payments to this fund. The Biden administration has since reinstated them. The new Labor government, led by Anthony Albanese, is clearly seeking to repair Australia’s reputation at COP27. It has raised Australia’s 2030 emission reduction target to 43 percent and formally updated Australia’s national pledge, known as its nationally determined contributions (NDC). This target has also been enshrined in new legislation. The government has also stepped up its efforts to promote renewable energy and green manufacturing in its Powering Australia plan and announced it would sign onto the global methane pledge. The government is also making an audacious bid to co-host the COP in 2026 with its Pacific Island neighbours. A draft of this plan was strongly endorsed by Pacific island leaders at the Pacific Island Forum in July. Those states in competition with Australia to host the 2026 COP could argue Australia should not be allowed to upset the normal processes of selecting hosts, especially given its poor track record. The new 43 percent target still hovers well below the OECD average, including its key ally the US, which is aiming for 50-52 percent. Under the climate regime’s burden-sharing principles of equity and ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ and respective capacities, Australia should be shouldering a significantly larger share of emissions reductions and finance provision. Australia is the thirteenth highest historical emitter, the fifteenth highest aggregate emitter and the fourth highest cumulative per capita emitter in the world. Australia is also the world’s largest exporter of both coal and liquified natural gas. Yet successive Coalition and Labor governments, including the new Albanese government, have continued to support investment in new gas projects and fossil fuel export industries despite warnings in 2021 by the traditionally conservative International Energy Agency that there can be no new investment in coal, oil or gas if the energy sector is to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Indeed, analysis has  shown the new gas projects supported by the Albanese government are likely to make a mockery of its increased mitigation effort. At COP27, the key focus will be on implementation, since the Paris rule book is now finalised, save for some technical details on international carbon markets. Climate finance will yet again be a hot button issue. Despite promising to raise US$100 billion annually by 2020, developed countries are still around US$10 billion short of this mark. Many developed nations’ contributions are conditional on receiving financial assistance with mitigation and adaptation to climate change, so raising more contributions is crucial to implementing the Paris Agreement. COP27 will also include a new dialogue on loss and damage in response to growing pressure from states that are most vulnerable to the harmful impacts of climate change but the least responsible for emissions and the least capable of adapting.  The Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty group (V20), made up of 58 countries representing 1.5 billion people, have launched a ‘payment overdue’ campaign directed at the world’s biggest emitters. Eight Pacific Island nations are members of the V20. Yet so far there have been no announcements from the new Labor government relating to climate finance, or loss and damage. However, in its first budget the Labor government announced it would contribute an additional A$1 billion towards development aid and security assistance in the Pacific, which is also a response to China’s increasing presence in the region. It is not yet clear how much of this aid will be targeted at mitigation and adaption. Under previous governments, Australia had become an increasingly awkward partner in the Pacific Islands Forum because of climate change so this announcement, along with the bid to co-host the 2026 COP with the Pacific, signals a dovetailing of Australia’s climate action with its strategic priorities. Climate leadership and laggardship are relational. While the new government has improved Australia’s target relative to the previous one, it remains a laggard because other developed countries have strengthened theirs over the same period. It could be argued that allowing Australia to host the 2026 COP would give it the incentive to lift its performance much further. COP hosts are typically under intense pressure to set a positive example. Many previous hosts (though not all) have stepped up their national climate action and diplomacy under the glare of international publicity. The next Australian federal election must take place before or in 2025, which is the year the next round of climate targets for 2035 are due. If selected to host the 2026 COP,  if it signals a dramatically higher target for 2035, if it reinstates contributions to the Green Climate Fund by COP27, and if it puts an end to new fossil fuel projects, Australia can be reborn as a climate leader. Robyn Eckersley is the Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor in Political Science in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She has published widely on climate politics, policy and governance and has followed the climate negotiations for three decades. She declares no conflict of interest Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “COP27” sent at: 31/10/2022 09:58. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 7, 2022

Australia swift to cash in on new era of trade with ASEAN - 360 Radhika Lahiri Published on March 6, 2024 Australia’s relationship with the ASEAN bloc is growing. Here’s why that’s important. Notwithstanding pop culture skirmishes and discord over Taylor Swift’s anticipated Eras tour in Singapore, the regional cooperation fostered since ASEAN’s formation in 1967 has been viewed as a success. As Australia marks the 50th anniversary of its relationship with the 10-nation Southeast Asian trade bloc, however, it is worthwhile tuning out the noise to focus on the potential harmonies arising from this strategic partnership. While Swift delivers a short-term economic boost to the cities where she performs, ASEAN promises to deliver much more in both economic and geopolitical terms. This two-way trade between Australia and ASEAN —  which in 2022 was worth around AUD$178 billion — has been growing steadily over the years, facilitated by various trade agreements such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). Projections based on the 2022 baseline volume of trade suggest another AUD$287 billion could be added by 2040. These agreements aim to reduce trade barriers and promote economic cooperation between the parties. The growing consumer market in ASEAN has fuelled the growth of Australian investment opportunities as well.  Two-way investment with ASEAN in 2022 was AUD$289.7 billion. Southeast Asia is relatively young with a growing middle class that can provide demand for goods and services such as education, health, infrastructure and financial services, as well as a large base of productive working-age population as the requisite labour force for business expansion. Similarly, ASEAN countries have also been investing in Australia, particularly in sectors such as real estate, manufacturing and natural resources. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Reflected in its motto of “One vision, one identity, one community”, its primary objectives include promoting regional peace and stability, and economic growth, social progress, and cultural development among its members. The bloc has evolved from a political and security-focused organisation to one with a strong economic agenda. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), established in 2015, aims to create a single market and production base, facilitating the free flow of goods, services, investment, and skilled labour within the region and aiming towards equitable development and competitiveness. The size of the ASEAN Bloc has grown over time estimated in 2023 at USD$10.9 trillion in GDP Purchasing Power Parity. Only three other economies rank above ASEAN based on this metric, with China, US and India having GDP purchasing power parity of USD$33 trillion, USD$26.8 trillion and USD$13.1 trillion respectively. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to ASEAN constituted 17.1 percent of global inflows in 2022. The geopolitical landscape has evolved considerably since 1974, when Australia became ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner. As such Australia’s ties with ASEAN have been growing in significance over the last 50 years. Australia views ASEAN as a strategic partner in navigating the complex geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific region. ASEAN’s leadership in regional forums such as the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum provides Australia with platforms for engagement and cooperation with key stakeholders in the region, including China. It also serves as a forum for Australia to engage with Southeast Asian nations collectively, offering opportunities to counterbalance China’s growing influence in the region. By strengthening ties with ASEAN member states and supporting ASEAN-led initiatives, Australia aims to promote a rules-based order, uphold international norms, and safeguard its interests in the face of China’s expanding influence. Australia recognises the importance of soft power and diplomacy in shaping regional dynamics. Active engagement with ASEAN allows Australia to demonstrate its commitment to multilateralism, regional cooperation, and shared values such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. This engagement enhances Australia’s reputation and influence in the region, complementing its strategic objectives. While ASEAN-Australia economic relations present numerous opportunities, there are also challenges. These include differences in regulatory frameworks, infrastructure gaps, and geopolitical tensions. Perspectives and interests of ASEAN members regarding China differ from those of Australia, creating a strategic divergence that could constrain the potential for coordinated action to counterbalance China’s growing geopolitical influence in the region. Strengthening the Australia-ASEAN connection has become increasingly difficult due to competition from other countries for economic opportunities in ASEAN. China, South Korea and Japan remain more important to ASEAN as trading partners and investors. However, efforts to deepen economic integration through initiatives like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) present opportunities for further collaboration and economic growth. As both regions continue to deepen their economic integration and strengthen their partnerships, they are poised to benefit from increased cooperation and collaboration in the years to come. Dr Radhika Lahiri is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Finance at Queensland University of Technology. She received a PhD in Economics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and had academic appointments with Southern Methodist University and the University of Western Australia. Her research interests include macroeconomics and monetary economics, business cycles and economic growth, public economics and development economics. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Australia and ASEAN” sent at: 04/03/2024 06:00. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 6, 2024

Australian law enables state-authorised hacking and surveillance - 360 Monique Mann Published on November 29, 2021 By Monique Mann, Deakin University, and Angus Murray, University of Southern Queensland Introduced into law in the face of widespread criticism, Australia’s new ID Act gives policing and intelligence agencies reach beyond their borders. Legislators have granted three new powers: data disruption warrants, network activity warrants and account takeover warrants. These powers add to the digital arsenal of federal authorities. Data disruption warrants allow the Australian Federal Police or the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to “modify, add, copy or delete data to frustrate the commission of serious offences online”. A network activity warrant enables the monitoring of the computer-related activities of criminal groups, such as covertly monitoring WhatsApp chats or iMessage texts. And, if there is suspicion that a serious crime is taking place, agencies can take control of someone’s online accounts using an account takeover warrant, locking a user out of services such as email and social media, and operating the accounts themselves. These three powers have been coupled with assistance orders which serve to force businesses and individuals to help facilitate warrants. Refusing or failing to assist law enforcement can lead to up to ten years jail. Not only are these new abilities intrusive, they are a shift in the focus of federal law enforcement agencies. Traditionally, the remit of the AFP and the ACIC has been to collect admissible evidence of specific crimes. Now, with the assistance of the Australian Signals Directorate, federal law enforcement authorities are going on the offensive. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_1"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_1"} It would be expected that federal police could only hack or surveil people suspected of very serious crimes. In reality, practically anyone can be surveilled as part of an “electronically linked group” under the ID Act. Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre says the ID Act defines the group so “absurdly” broadly that any WhatsApp user or iPhone owner could be monitored as a result of one person committing a crime over WhatsApp on an iPhone. Even the threshold of a suspected act to be considered a ‘serious crime’ has attracted criticism. The rationale for introducing these powers was to prevent and disrupt the worst crimes in society, such as child exploitation, human trafficking and terrorism. With the Act’s definition of ‘serious crime’, many other offences that are unrelated to the rationale of introducing these powers also meet the test. While these crimes ought to be investigated and prosecuted, these new powers bring the proverbial sledgehammer to walnuts. Network activity warrants can be issued irrespective of whether the identities (or, indeed, location) of the individuals in the electronically linked group can be ascertained. Warrants can be issued even where details of the relevant offences cannot be clearly made out, or where it’s unclear whether group composition has changed over time. This means Australian agencies may not only surveil and disrupt the online activities of Australian citizens, but internet users overseas, effectively extending their reach beyond borders. And requiring judicial officers to authorise operations outside of their lawful jurisdiction to do so. All of these concerns were raised prior to the ID Act passing as law. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) also made many substantive recommendations, many of which were dismissed. With the parliamentary oversight process largely sidelined, it raises the question: who is watching to ensure responsible use of these powers? The more secret the use of a power is, the harder it is to ensure it is being used responsibly. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_4"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_4"} There were many policy suggestions made by the PJCIS that could have improved the ID Act. It is not too late for policymakers to bring these recommendations back. Policing agencies require specific oversight and monitoring, and should transparently report on offences for which warrants were sought under the ID Act. Such warrants should only be issued by Federal or Supreme courts. And the Act should be subject to an early review by Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. A “public interest advocate” could be appointed to review warrants being sought in relation to a journalist or media organisation. Australia only recently reviewed its national intelligence laws and is yet to undertake much of the reform required to put its recommendations into action. A recommendation that the Australian Signal Directorate’s cybercrime function not be extended to apply onshore has been ignored in the introduction of the ID Act. The powers granted under the ID Act are expansive, and are only one addition in the ever-growing arsenal of power being conferred onto Australian law enforcement agencies. It will be important to monitor how, and for what purpose, these new powers are used. There should also be proper consideration as to whether these powers should remain after their sunset period lapses. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Monique Mann is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and a member of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University. She is Vice-Chair of the Australian Privacy Foundation and Vice-President of Liberty Victoria. Angus Murray is a Partner and Trade Marks Attorney at Irish Bentley Lawyers, an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland and a Vice-President of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties. Monique Mann and Angus Murray declared no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on November 29, 2021

Australian politics set for shakeup after Labor's 2023 slide - 360 Zareh Ghazarian Published on December 18, 2023 In less than two years, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has gone from clear choice to fighting for majority support in the polls. What happened? Opportunities and renewal made up the theme of Australian politics in 2023: the country took further strides away from its COVID-19 restrictions, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government began its first full year in power. Albanese set the course for 2023 back in May 2022, when, just hours after leading Labor to a federal election victory, he said that he wanted to “change the country and change the way that politics operates in this country”. Despite these lofty ambitions, persistent policy and political challenges remain. Looking at the year ahead, the Labor government faces economic headwinds and a housing crisis that has provided political ammunition for rival parties across the spectrum. After an overwhelming ‘no’ vote on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum – rejecting the prime minister’s high hopes and heavy campaigning – Albanese has his work cut out for him if he is to regain enough public support to win another election, which could come as soon as August. In early 2023, the government appeared optimistic about tackling concerns about the rising cost of living. Inflation was trending downwards in Australia, with data from each quarter throughout the year lower than the previous quarter. Nonetheless, prices for items such as food and petrol remained prominent issues. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to increase interest rates also had a major effect on housing affordability for owner-occupiers, as well as renters. Despite some hope that rate rises would be avoided, the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate throughout the year by a total of 1.25 percent. This gave minor parties new opportunities to advance their policy programmes. The Australian Greens, for example, have campaigned strongly on housing affordability during this term of parliament. Arguing that existing policies are failing, the Greens have said that one million new homes need to be built. The Greens’ campaign messaging may resonate with many voters who are frustrated with the costs and availability of housing. The Prime Minister was also optimistic about changing the Australian Constitution. In his election victory speech in May 2022, Albanese spoke about responding to the Uluru Statement from the Heart by enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament through a referendum. The initial signs were positive. At the start of 2023, some opinion polls had support for the Voice at over 60 percent. But as the year progressed, that number fell. By late August, when Albanese announced a date for the referendum, many polls had support slipping beneath 50 percent. The final result for the 14 October referendum saw a national ‘no’ vote of 60 percent. None of the states had a majority vote for ‘yes’. The closest, Victoria, was 46 percent, while in Queensland, a national high of 68 percent voted against the referendum question. For a Labor government that campaigned vigorously for changing the constitution, the result was crushing. The referendum also became a double-edged sword for the government, especially during the final weeks of campaigning, as its own policy agenda was overshadowed by the referendum. The Albanese Government faces significant economic and policy challenges as the new year arrives. Throughout 2023, opinion polls showed Labor comfortably ahead in the all-important two-party preferred measure. In the Newspoll in March 2023, Labor led the Coalition 54 to 46 percent. For perspective, that’s a two-point improvement on the election result, which awarded Labor 77 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives. By November 2023, that lead had evaporated, and Labor and the Coalition were each at 50 percent. The 2022 results are also a reminder that many voters are open to supporting non-major party candidates. At the last federal election, the Greens won four seats, alongside 12 independents. The next few months will be crucial for the Albanese government in resetting its policy agenda and gaining the support of voters. The fact that the next general election can be held from August 2024 will mean that the government will not have much time to waste. While the Albanese government sought to change the country and the way in which politics operates in Australia, it appears that there is still much work to be done to convince the electorate to support the government once more in 2024. Zareh Ghazarian is a political scientist in Monash University’s School of Social Sciences and co-author of Australian Politics for Dummies. His latest book is Gender Politics: Navigating Political Leadership in Australia, co-edited with Professor Katrina Lee-Koo. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 18, 2023

Australian wildfires: is the term 'bushfire' out of date? - 360 Helen Bromhead Published on December 6, 2023 Fires are changing so does that mean the way we refer to them should too? It could soon be a hot topic. Huge, fast-moving fires which rip through communities destroying all in their path are becoming more common around the globe. Canada, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Greece and even Hawaii have all suffered in 2023. Australia, of course, has never been immune to fire. Indeed, there is an acceptance that bushfires are part of Australian life. But as climate change causes these fires to become more frequent, more widespread and more destructive, the way we talk about them might need to change as well. Australia is heading into what is predicted to be a very dry, hot summer with increased fire risk, partly due to El Niño. Spring has already brought serious fires to several Australian states, providing an early warning sign. There are questions whether the term bushfire is still an apt description of the fires which threaten Australians each summer and whether a change in the words we use to describe fires might increase community safety. Australia dubs bushfires with names as memorials, like 2009’s Black Saturday and Black Summer of 2019–2020. It is the only English-speaking country to do so. To create these Australian memorial names, a product of fire — think ‘black’ or ‘red’ — is added to a day or, in the case of Black Summer, an entire season. Black Tuesday, Red Tuesday and Black Christmas spring to mind. Australians often don’t realise these names are unique, including at one time, me, and I study the language of disasters. But a few years ago, a Danish colleague asked: “These names are remarkable, what’s their story?” Black Thursday of 1851 was the first bushfire memorial name. It comes from a pattern of ‘black’ plus a day to mark a disaster, like a military defeat or a stock market crash. More recently, then Australian prime minister Scott Morrison played a key role in cementing the name Black Summer for the 2019–2020 bushfires. At the time, some wanted to call these bushfires “the forever fires” to capture the trend they set worldwide and their connection with climate change. Yet Australia fell back on the habitual name of ‘black’. Unlike past fires, the disturbing difference here is that the name referred to an entire season, not just one day. “Bushfire” is a resonant Australian word dating from at least 1832. It builds on the culturally important Australian word “bush”. The most relevant meaning of “bush” to “bushfire” is a mass of dry vegetation, mostly eucalypts. But the word “bush” can also be used to denote a cultural style, like a “bush dance”, or a catch-all for areas outside the city. A lot of species found in Australian bush vegetation need fire to reproduce, so Australians expect and accept some bush to burn. Before colonisation, First Nations people burned country to manage the land and still do today through cultural burning. A vast web of words surrounds the word “bushfire”. These words range from the scientific like “fuel load”, to community safety terms like “bushfire survival plan”, to the informal like “firies” for firefighters, to names like “Sam, the koala” who was rescued during 2009’s Black Saturday fires. So, “bush”, “bushfire”, and all the associated concepts, especially the country’s volunteer firies, sit close to the hearts of many Australians. Yet some of these concepts may need revision due to the more severe fires brought by climate change. “Wildfire” implies a fire that is “out of control” and may be more accurate. In North America, “forest fires” became “wildfires” to take in a broader context. In Australia, fire more and more threatens the suburban fringe. Residents there don’t see themselves as living in “the bush” but rather in a city. So, they may lack readiness for a fire emergency if they don’t think bushfire warnings apply to them. More recent fires have not only ravaged the typical dry Australian bush vegetation. In 2019–2020, fire ripped through rainforest in areas that had never burned before. There is another dimension. Recent migrants can face a steep learning curve when it comes to Australian disasters. Maybe being introduced to the pan-English “wildfire” is simpler than getting to grips with the specifics of Australian cultural history. If we are going to update our language to better reflect the realities of climate change, language reformers need to remember that change is hard to impose. Alterations are easier if people think that an older term might hurt someone. Yet, no one could say that “bushfire” is offensive exactly. Some people dislike “wildfire” because Americans say it. Perhaps they are being unfair. But they may be attached to the rich concept of the Australian bushfire. Igniting controversy with a wholesale change could be counterproductive. More recently, we have seen the rise of the novel word “megafire” for the new, large fires brought by climate change, so speakers can move with the times. Language is wild itself, so it is hard to predict whether we will stick mostly with “bushfire”, move to “wildfire”, or have the two sit side by side. Helen Bromhead is a linguist of meanings and messages. A research fellow in the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, her areas of interest include disasters, climate change, public communication, and public health. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 6, 2023

Australians are worried about govt corruption: here are three ways to help fix it - 360 Charis Palmer Published on December 7, 2022 Every year the global economy loses billions to corruption. Measures to combat it have a mixed track record. Australia will roll out a new national anti-corruption body after legislation promised at the country’s last federal election passed parliament. It paves the way for investigations of corruption on a Commonwealth level, including by ministers and parliamentarians.The legislation comes after Australia recorded its worst ever score on an index that ranks anti-corruption measures worldwide.Every year the global economy loses at least five percent of gross domestic product to corruption. It’s a problem that hampers every continent. At its worst it hinders development, takes money away from public health and plunders humanitarian aid. In less obvious ways it taints democracy when people lose faith in elected officials. The UN marks International Anti-corruption Day every year on December 9 in an effort to encourage global collaboration on tackling corruption. Meanwhile, researchers around the world continue to test anti-corruption efforts to better understand what works and what doesn’t. Evidence in three areas shows those seeking to combat corruption are sometimes investing in the wrong things. Janet Ransley, professor and director of the Griffith Criminology Institute, says while much of the public discussion about Australia’s new National Anti-Corruption Commission has been about its scope and powers to detect and investigate bad behaviour, corruption is notoriously hard to detect and harder still to investigate and prosecute. Ransley says a different approach could prevent corruption from happening in the first place but few anti-corruption agencies spell out their corruption prevention strategy, “The Australian approach to corruption prevention is ad hoc and fragmented, with a lower profile and resourcing than that for investigations.” There is evidence to support five prevention strategies: increase the effort required to commit corruption by improving physical and digital controls or safeguards; increase the risk of detection  by regular audits and integrity testing and better whistleblower protection; reduce rewards by imposing contract or authority limits on staff; and promote integrity by having clear and unambiguous rules and support; and better awareness of consequences. Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham and Caryn Peiffer, lecturer in international public Policy and governance at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, say while almost all programmes designed to reduce graft in high corruption countries include an ‘awareness raising’ component, such campaigns can backfire. “The idea is that through raising awareness about an issue, citizens will become more willing to reject requests for bribes and act against corruption. “But until the last five years, no one had systematically tested whether these messages were effective. When researchers started to look into this, they got a nasty surprise: in most cases anti-corruption messages don’t make citizens more likely to reject or condemn graft.” Worse still, the effect of the messaging was the opposite of what was intended. One study in Costa Rica found those who received an anti-corruption message were on average more likely to pay a bribe. The researchers say before embarking on awareness-raising campaigns policymakers could try and design less problematic messages. “One way to do this may be by focusing on those who behave ‘appropriately’, and the negative feelings people hold about those who do not, rather than highlighting the extent of the problem.” They could also emphasise “the strength of feeling within society and the number of people who want to see change” to “inspire and motivate rather than depress and discourage”. Zareh Ghazarian, political scientist in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, says publishing the diaries of government ministers; requiring cabinet documents be released immediately; and enacting truth in political advertising laws are three measures that can improve integrity in politics. In some jurisdictions, for example, records such as minutes of Cabinet meetings may be withheld for up to 30 years. “On the one hand, this is understandable,” says Ghazarian. “Cabinet meetings are where ministers often have frank debates in order to determine policies that may have significant impact on the direction of the state. But locking these insights into government decision-making away for decades is a hindrance on transparency.” New Zealand introduced a proactive release policy in 2019 to overcome these challenges, requiring government bodies to release “material being considered by Cabinet” within 30 days. — Read and republish the articles covered in this report: Australia’s fight against corruption risks failureJanet Ransley, Griffith University To change corrupt behaviour, change the messageNic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham and Caryn Peiffer, University of Bristol Telling people not to do something because everybody’s doing it will often backfire. Political integrity doesn’t require a radical shakeup Zareh Ghazarian, Monash University Victoria’s newly-elected parliament will have a mandate to address growing concerns of integrity and transparency. Here’s what it could do immediately. 360info is a newswire with a difference: we source content from the research community offering solutions to the world’s biggest problems. To request access to our news feed so you can republish our articles visit newshub.360info.org Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 7, 2022

Australia's bid to navigate troubled waters in Red Sea - 360 Ferry Jie Published on March 13, 2024 Attacks from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have jeopardised Australia’s already-vulnerable dependency on maritime time. Finding new ways forward will be vital. As Houthi rebels continue attacks on ships in the Red Sea, companies the world over are feeling the pain, with Australia no exception. An Australian livestock shipment bound for Israel in January was ordered back by its government due to the threat of Houthi attacks, only re-embarking in March after the Australian army stepped up strike actions in the area. Australia’s economy depends heavily on maritime trade and, as geopolitical and environmental threats ramp up, is facing a time of heightened vulnerability. So far, these disruptions haven’t caused any drastic price rises for consumers but as ships face delays and rerouting, essential goods like food, toiletries and household items may experience shortages. Supermarkets could see bare shelves, especially for imported goods. Fresh produce, packaged foods, and other essentials might be affected. The worst case could be reminiscent of pandemic-related shortages, but with a very different set of causes. Whereas COVID-related shortages were brought about by panic buying and production disruptions, geopolitics and attacks by the Houthis are driving supply challenges this time around. Shipping disruptions create bottlenecks and strain capacity. Re-routing vessels from one pathway to another has a cascading effect throughout the network, changing the way goods flow around the world. Already, goods inflation has surged (estimates say up to 2 percent is due to the Houthi raids). The Suez Canal-Red Sea pathway is a critical trade pipeline, accounting for roughly 30 percent of global container traffic. Since the first attacks in November 2023, several companies including oil giant BP have either halted or redirected their ships. The attacks, believed to be backed by Iran, has led to over USD$80 billion worth of cargo being diverted. A common route is around the Cape of Good Hope — a detour of more than 1000 nautical miles. This avoids conflict, but leads to higher transport costs and longer delivery times. Meanwhile, retaliatory attacks from the US and the UK have done little to curb the Houthis. While the security of the Red Sea is out of the hands of businesses, they have other options to deal with the disruptions. Businesses can expand their shipping routes to reduce reliance on individual channels, boosting their resilience — whether it be pirate attacks or a freighter simply getting stuck, as we saw in the Suez Canal in 2021. And while the window to preempt violence in the Red Sea has well and truly passed, there remains a lesson for supply chain professionals: regular risk assessments are crucial. Closely monitoring the changing winds of geopolitics gives businesses the information and agility they require to ensure the smooth flow of goods through critical maritime corridors during times of turbulence. Improving this network is an industry-wide effort. All those involved, from shipping lines to ports, associations to government, must team up and communicate. Improving the ways the global community shares real-time information and strategies can help deal with disruptions. Although shipping is a free market competition, like all areas of commerce, more collaboration could save everyone from bottlenecks, delays and disappointment. At a higher level, the economic upheaval in the Red Sea is just another pressure point on world leaders and diplomats to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As more Palestinians die from Israel attacks, international pressure rises. Adding an economic dimension to an already contentious situation will be another push for world leaders to intervene. There’s a role for blockchain technology as well as it enhances transparency and traceability. It can secure supply chains against fraud and disruptions. By creating an immutable and transparent ledger, blockchain technology allows better real-time tracking of cargo movements, verifies authenticity and ensures secure transactions. Beyond that, smart contracts within the blockchain ecosystem can automate processes, streamline documentation and boost trust within supply chains. AI technologies also offer solutions to some of the issues posed by a disrupted global supply chain. Developments in AI gives businesses the opportunity to assess the myriad data points they have at new speeds and scales. Factors such as weather conditions, traffic congestion, port availability and the cost of fuel can be plugged in to generate guidance on the most efficient routes, reducing transit times and cutting costs. Integrating AI also increases capacity for companies to make real-time adjustments based on emerging disruptions or changing market dynamics. Even if the global economy escapes from the Red Sea attacks without financial catastrophe, it should still serve as a wake-up call. Geopolitical instability is likely to persist, as too will increasing environmental challenges as the climate crisis deepens. There are ways the entire sector can work smarter and faster, helping not only their businesses but the consumers who rely on their services. Ferry Jie is an Associate Professor in Supply Chain and Logistics Management in the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on March 13, 2024

Australia’s disadvantaged students excel in post-COVID test - 360 Jennifer Gore Published on January 27, 2023 Students around the world suffered from learning loss due to COVID-19 but disadvantaged children in Australian schools bucked the trend. A global study on the impact of COVID-19 on schools in 35 countries has found students in Australia and Denmark avoided learning loss. The World Bank survey found students in other countries suffered, on average, up to half a year’s learning loss. It also found students from disadvantaged schools were more likely to fall behind. But in Australia, new research found students at disadvantaged schools improved in certain areas of study. This was partly due to extra government funding and a keener focus on literacy in the wake of school closures. In one of the world’s first empirical studies on the impact of COVID-19 on student learning, researchers at the University of Newcastle found students at disadvantaged schools – with an Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage (ICSEA) value of less than 950 – achieved greater growth in mathematics and equivalent growth in reading in 2021 compared with similar students in 2019. ICSEA is a measure of school-level advantage that accounts for school location, parent education and percentage of Indigenous students. An ICSEA of 950-1050 is considered mid-range, and an ICSEA above 1050 indicates relative advantage. The soon-to-be-published research collected data from randomised controlled trials between 2019 and 2021. The first year of the study measured the impact of COVID-19 on student learning between 2019 and 2020. Researchers found no significant differences between 2019 and 2020 cohorts for year 3 or year 4 students, between the ages of eight and ten, in maths or reading. However, when the data was analysed by school socio-economic status, children in disadvantaged schools achieved less growth in maths while those in mid-range schools achieved slightly more. In the total sample, these differences cancelled one another out to produce no difference overall. In 2021, students in disadvantaged schools achieved three months of additional growth in maths and the same rate of growth in reading compared to their respective 2019 peers. Students in mid-range and advantaged schools maintained the same level of achievement growth in2021 as in 2019. When the pandemic first forced lockdowns and much about the future was unknown, governments and education departments around Australia found hundreds of millions of dollars to put toward preventing students from falling behind. The NSW Department of Education’s tutoring scheme, launched in 2021, may have contributed to the positive academic results. Its COVID-intensive learning support program provided funding for schools to employ additional educators to deliver small group literacy and numeracy support for students identified as needing it most. Funding was made available to extend the program until June 2023. However, it has been criticised for not being well targeted. It was also difficult to implement amid a nationwide teacher shortage. Hard-to-staff schools in disadvantaged, rural and remote areas, where tutoring is needed most, struggled to hire classroom teachers, let alone additional educators for the tutoring program. Positive academic results for Australian students during the pandemic could also be attributed to the strict focus on literacy and numeracy in primary schools when students returned after periods of remote learning. This “back to basics” focus to the exclusion of sports, assemblies, excursions and other extracurricular activities had detrimental effects on student and teacher wellbeing. Overall, major concerns about declining academic achievement did not materialise for Australian students in the same way it has overseas. Researchers at Harvard University found remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic contributed to significantly widening achievement gaps for disadvantaged students across the US.In this global context, the academic achievement of students in New South Wales studies is cause for celebration. But the challenge to ensure better equity in Australia’s education system remains — there is always more to the picture. Equity in Australian education remains an ongoing challenge. The achievement gap between students from target equity groups and their more advantaged peers is significant. Despite improving in 2021, disadvantaged school students in the Newcastle University study started and ended the year well behind their more advantaged peers. In fact, their achievement at the end of 2021 was still below where students in mid-range schools began their school year. Individual variability is a complicating factor. In a related University of Newcastle study, teachers reported student engagement with learning varied depending on a myriad of factors, including access to technology, family circumstances and individual motivation. And, as has been widely reported, both student and teacher wellbeing suffered significantly during the pandemic and will likely be a long term concern. There are clear lessons to be learned from the pandemic. Governments were able to find significant funding for programs and initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes. Some of these initiatives may have had a positive impact. The question now is whether special funding can be sustained to stem ongoing inequities in Australian schooling. Importantly, policymakers need to better understand what worked and why. Funding large-scale, high-quality education research is crucial to underpin policy reform. As well as funding for implementing programs and initiatives that evidently make a difference in student outcomes. Improvement in academic achievement for disadvantaged students in Australia is a silver lining from the past three seriously challenging years. But there is still a long way to go to remove pervasive and structural inequities and narrow achievement gaps in this country. Laureate Professor Jenny Gore is Director of the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre at the University of Newcastle. Her research was undertaken with financial assistance from the NSW Department of Education and the Paul Ramsay Foundation. She declares no conflict of interest.Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Gap years: Learning loss and COVID” sent at: 23/01/2023 09:05. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 27, 2023

Australia’s fight against corruption risks failure - 360 Janet Ransley Published on December 1, 2022 When fighting official corruption, prevention can be the cure. But what does that look like? Corruption is costly, difficult to detect and it can take years to bring the perpetrators to justice — if they face court at all. Efforts to combat it have focused on catching the corrupt, but a focus chasing individuals can be futile and see opportunities for prevention overlooked. In Australia, perceptions of corruption have been worsening since 2012 with one estimate that it costs AUD$10 billion a year in lost government revenue. Much of the public discussion about Australia’s new National Anti-Corruption Commission, which is about to become signed into law, has been about its scope and powers to detect and investigate bad behaviour. This is important, but corruption is notoriously hard to detect and harder still to investigate and prosecute. Corrupt acts are hidden, often without direct victims, and often unreported. Investigations tend to be protracted and struggle to produce evidence robust enough for criminal or disciplinary charges. Those suspected of corruption often have the resources to defend themselves in court cases which can take years to finalise. While prosecutions are important for accountability, they cannot be relied on to deter more misbehaviour. There is clear research evidence that deterrence is only likely when consequences are swift and certain, neither of which is common with corruption cases. A different approach could prevent corruption from happening in the first place. Indeed, the UN Convention Against Corruption requires member states to have a prevention strategy (Article 5). All existing state-based Australian anti-corruption agencies have a prevention function, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill includes an objective to prevent corrupt conduct. But there is no detail on what constitutes prevention. In introducing the Bill, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus talked about guidance, support and information, stressing the Commission’s education role, but gave no hint of an overall prevention strategy. This is unsurprising given that even among each state’s long-established agency (such as New South Wales’s Independent Commission Against Corruption or Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission) there is no clear understanding of what a corruption prevention strategy looks like. Internationally, there is remarkably little evidence on effective corruption prevention. There is also very limited evidence on the effectiveness of education or publicity campaigns on topics like crime and corruption. Research by Griffith University explored this topic as part of a review of Australia’s National Integrity System, a project funded by the Australian Research Council. Three possible frameworks used in other fields were looked at for prevention. The first rests on law enforcement with detection and punishment in the hope of deterring wrongdoing. This approach is expensive and there is no evidence it works in many areas of criminal justice, much less corruption. The second draws on research about regulatory compliance particularly among corporations. Like corruption, corporate misbehaviour can be hard to detect. An alternative approach is to focus on improving compliance using education and persuasion, along with escalation of penalties for repeated non-compliance. Audits, monitoring and surveillance are used to ensure enforcement where necessary. There is evidence this approach can succeed in improving compliance in areas like taxation and corporate regulation. The third is to prevent crime by modifying situations where it frequently occurs to reduce offending opportunities. This assumes most people will choose not to offend where to do so is difficult or risky, crime can be reduced by increasing the effort needed or the risks of detection, or reducing the potential rewards. A significant body of research points to the effectiveness of this approach. Some writers suggest this approach can be applied to corruption. This involves five main prevention strategies: increase the effort required to commit corruption by improving physical and digital controls or safeguards; increase the risk of detection  by regular audits and integrity testing and better whistleblower protection; reduce rewards by imposing contract or authority limits on staff; and promote integrity by having clear and unambiguous rules and support; and better awareness of consequences. The Griffith study assessed what approaches and strategies were being used by the then-10 major Australian state and territory anti-corruption commissions. None had a clear prevention framework. For most of the agencies, prevention efforts focused on education, awareness and public engagement, including training and capacity building. They also highlighted prevention opportunities in agency investigations and reports, and produced guides on high-risk areas such as procurement processes. Some focused on analysing intelligence about corruption risks and conducting audits or integrity testing. A recurrent theme was that resources for prevention work are limited and that generally investigations are prioritised and consume most of the agency budget. There was also recognition of the need for better measures by which to evaluate prevention success. The Australian approach to corruption prevention is ad hoc and fragmented, with a lower profile and resourcing than that for investigations. There is huge scope for the new National Anti-Corruption Commission to provide national leadership in developing and implementing an integrated corruption prevention framework that draws on the extensive evidence of what works well in other prevention domains. Janet Ransley is a Professor and Director of the Griffith Criminology Institute (GCI) at Griffith University. Her research focuses on criminal justice policy and integrity. Previously she held policy positions in the Queensland government, including with the Legislative Assembly and Criminal Justice Commission. The research was funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP160100267. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Combatting corruption in democracies” sent at: 28/11/2022 11:46. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on December 1, 2022

Australia's hydrogen hour has arrived - 360 Tyra Horngren Published on October 25, 2023 Green hydrogen could be a fossil fuels replacement in some sectors if Australia takes the immediate steps to embrace it. In a world grappling with the complex problem of reducing carbon emissions to limit global warming, the universe’s most-abundant element has the potential to unlock part of the puzzle. Hydrogen might provide an effective decarbonisation solution for some industries — but only if it is made in a way that does not release emissions. Australia is ideally placed to help make that happen if it is prepared to seize the opportunity. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) begins in November — a critical event in the effort to reduce carbon emissions to help limit global warming to the internationally agreed target of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Zero-emissions hydrogen, produced using renewable energy and known as ‘green’ hydrogen, could replace fossil fuels in sectors where renewable electricity is not a feasible substitute, like heavy industries, shipping and aviation. It could also provide countries with new export opportunities. Many countries have begun developing hydrogen strategies, but more work is needed to ensure global hydrogen supply chains are developed at the scale and pace needed. With some of the world’s best renewable energy resources and located near large energy users in Asia, Australia is well placed to make the most of green hydrogen trade opportunities. At the same time, ensuring the country has enough supply to achieve its own domestic decarbonisation is vital — to achieve emission reduction targets, and to safeguard Australian industries in a decarbonising global economy. While hydrogen is already used today in refineries and as a chemical feedstock in industrial processes, almost all of it is ‘‘brown or “grey’’ hydrogen derived from emissions-producing coal or natural gas. For hydrogen to be effective in decarbonisation, countries need to produce and use zero-emissions hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made by using renewable electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The process, known as electrolysis, is currently more expensive than producing brown or grey hydrogen and requires an electrolyser, a source of water and large amounts of renewable electricity. The price is driven by electrolyser costs and the price of renewable electricity. Countries with good renewable energy resources might have a competitive advantage in producing green hydrogen, providing them with a new, green export opportunity. Shipping hydrogen is also expensive and inefficient compared with other fuels. It first has to be compressed or liquefied by cooling it to minus-253 degrees Celsius. Converting the hydrogen to a different fuel, such as ammonia or methanol, could make export easier because ammonia and methanol are easier to store and transport and are already traded globally. Green hydrogen can be converted to “green” methanol by reacting it with carbon dioxide captured from biomass sources, while ammonia can be produced in a process using green hydrogen and nitrogen. Ammonia can be used directly or can be converted back to hydrogen once it reaches its destination, although with additional energy and processing requirements. To develop large-scale green hydrogen production and trade, action is required at a global level to build demand for green hydrogen, preventing locked-in fossil fuel-based hydrogen production. This, along with reducing the cost of green hydrogen production and ensuring supply-chain transparency across borders, can unlock growth opportunities. Countries rich in renewable energy resources, or looking to diversify their energy exports, have focused on developing hydrogen export capabilities. The International Energy Agency estimates that 16 million tonnes of hydrogen could be exported by 2030, including hydrogen exported as different hydrogen-based fuels. There are 41 countries with national hydrogen strategies. In 2020, Japan developed the world’s first liquid-hydrogen import terminal and other countries are following suit. Australia is reviewing its National Hydrogen Strategy, aiming to become a global leader in hydrogen by 2030. The Australian government has announced funding for clean hydrogen development through the Hydrogen Headstart program and is developing the Guarantee of Origin scheme, which could require hydrogen producers to prove the emissions intensity of their operations, ensuring that hydrogen produced is zero-emissions. It has also established international partnerships to advance the development of a global clean hydrogen industry. In 2022, Australia exported the world’s first shipment of liquid hydrogen to Japan, using hydrogen produced from coal and biomass, meaning it was not emissions-free. Domestic supply is also an important consideration. Analysis by Climateworks Centre and CSIRO as part of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative shows that Australia could need as much as 2.2 million tonnes of hydrogen each year by 2050 to decarbonise its domestic industries. Getting there will mean moving from pilot studies to large-scale production. And it will require a lot of renewable energy. To keep the cost of hydrogen low, the country will need to ensure renewable electricity generation, transmission and storage costs are low. Robust system planning will be needed for an efficient energy system that considers demand for electricity and hydrogen. It will also need a workforce equipped with the right skills. By 2050, at least 168,000 workers could require training in skills specific to the renewable energy industry, including hydrogen. Current vocational education training offerings in renewable energy generation and storage are not meeting demand. These actions need to start now if Australia is to seize the economic opportunities provided by hydrogen, while also playing its part in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Tyra Horngren is a Senior Analyst at Climateworks Centre, where she worked as part of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative. Tyra holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Melbourne. The Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Editors Note: In the story “Road to COP28” sent at: 23/10/2023 06:00. This is a corrected repeat.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on October 25, 2023

Australia’s language challenges limit national potential - 360 Ingrid Piller Published on August 22, 2022 Australians who primarily speak a language other than English are being locked out and left behind in the communication of important information. When Yu Qi (not her real name) discovered her son was falling behind in school, she had no way of finding out why or how she could support him. After getting injured at work, Venus (not her real name) was asked by her supervisor to delay seeking medical attention until she had finished her shift. She was unaware of her rights. Yu Qi and Venus are both victims of a language barrier in Australia that seriously affects their wellbeing. Language barriers can make public communication inaccessible and exclude people from equitable participation in education, employment, healthcare, welfare, and all aspects of social life. The number of people who suffer from linguistic exclusion is high. UNESCO estimates that 40 percent of students worldwide experience a mismatch between their language repertoires and the language of instruction. Even within OECD countries, the literacy skills of over 30 percent of the adult population are insufficient to cope with complex bureaucratic demands. Language barriers can relate to language choice, medium, and platform. Language choice barriers exist where institutions privilege one particular language in communication with multilingual populations. These barriers mostly affect migrant and indigenous minorities. The mismatch between the language of the institution and that of stakeholders can be egregious. Australian research, for instance, found that schools communicated enrollment information exclusively in English, even if up to 98 percent of families in the catchment area spoke a language other than English. Even people who speak the language of the institution well may be confronted with language barriers because institutions usually preference the written medium. Written communication is often mismatched to the audience’s level of education. The readability of COVID-19 restrictions published by the NSW Health Department, for instance, was found to be pitched at readers with a tertiary education. This means many people did not have a fair chance to understand what was required of them. Even so, children as young as 13 and people with an intellectual disability were fined for not abiding by these restrictions. These two forms of language barriers increasingly combine with a third, where an institution’s communication platform may not be equally accessible. As more and more communication has become digitised, people without computer access or with low levels of computer literacy may be excluded from vital information. For example, the health authorities in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province provided information about how to stop the spread of COVID-19 mostly on the web. Yet only 20 percent of the population use digital technologies to access written materials. Yu Qi’s problem was a language choice barrier: her dominant language is Chinese, and she feels overwhelmed by the written English information she receives from her son’s school. At the same time, she lacks the linguistic confidence to request or attend a parent-teacher interview. Therefore, she relies on information she can glean from her son, from other Chinese parents, and she seeks extracurricular tutoring from commercial Chinese-language services. She is not aware that government-sponsored interpreting services exist in Australia, which could help mediate her communication with her son’s school. Venus experienced a different sort of language barrier: having grown up in West Africa, she is a fluent English speaker. However, her literacy level is low, and she has hardly any knowledge of Australian occupational health and safety legislation, leave entitlements, and workers’ compensation provisions. Therefore, all she could do was “argue” with her supervisor. She could not set in motion the written bureaucratic process of documenting her injury and making a claim that would have secured proper care and mitigated any long-term health consequences. Supporting language diversity is a matter of social justice. It is a starting point to making institutions more accessible and inclusive. Australia put a plan in place at the national level in the 1980s with the National Policy on Languages. However, having since fallen into disuse, the National Policy on Languages would require an update to adequately serve the changing communication needs of the times. A comprehensive, effective language access plan includes the provision of translated materials and interpreting services as necessary. It also includes robust communication chains, where low-literacy people have the chance to talk things over as needed. And a needs assessment of the platforms best suited to communicate with the target population would help the plan be accessible and inclusive. There is no one size fits all but providing information in the languages of key stakeholders, and adjusting the communication medium and platform to their capacities is key to reaching everyone in the community. In a linguistically diverse world, institutions are likely to already have people with the right linguistic skills among their ranks. Harnessing and rewarding those linguistic skills unlocks potential and allows institutions and individuals to thrive. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, communication is a vital aspect of disaster preparedness and response. As we take lessons in a post-pandemic world, every institution could benefit from having a language and communication task force embedded. Ingrid Piller is Distinguished Professor of Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. She is the author of Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice. Her research in intercultural communication, language learning, and multilingualism is available through Language on the Move and she tweets about linguistic diversity at @lg_on_the_move. Professor Piller’s research has received funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Humboldt Foundation. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on August 22, 2022

Australia's offshore pharma conundrum - 360 Bruce Baer Arnold Published on July 27, 2022 Australia is reliant on imports for the majority of its medicines – in this age of global epidemics regulatory vigilance has never been more important. COVID, Smallpox, Monkeypox and Foot-and-mouth disease are all reminders of the new  ‘age of epidemics’ we’re living in. And that’s just in Australia. Vaccine availability and affordability are top of the list in navigating through epidemics. The Health Department has recognised concerns about the supply of other therapeutics through a Medicines Supply Security Guarantee. Given Australia’s reliance on vaccines and other medications coming from offshore, we should also consider drug quality. Australia imports the majority of its medicines, and while most come from Europe and the US, they in turn source a lot of active pharmaceutical ingredients from India and China. Overseas manufacturers must be certified by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), an Australian regulator, or “another medicine regulator that applies the same requirements and standards as the TGA”. Certification reflects the global Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) framework. The picture for developing economies is not as clear — in 2018 the World Health Organization said fewer than 30 percent of the world’s medicines regulatory authorities had the capacity to perform the functions required to ensure medicines, vaccines and other health products actually worked and did not harm patients. This is worrying because resistance to some antibiotics is increasing and the development of new medications is declining despite major investment by leading pharmaceutical groups. For many of Australia’s regional neighbours, pharmaceutical ‘phakes’ — counterfeit medications that look authentic but are bogus — are rampant. Those phakes are not necessarily cheaper than the genuine product and may appear in trusted distribution chains or from vendors such as licensed pharmacies. They are harmful to individual and community health because they often contain little or no therapeutically active content. An antipsychotic that does not work might only harm one consumer. A phake antimalarial or antiretroviral might harm much larger numbers. Phakes exist because they are an easy way of making money and because regulation is inadequate. That they are prevalent in our region is important to Australia given our respect for human rights and the reality that disease outbreaks in one part of the world often flow across our borders. There are also issues with the quality of ‘genuine’ medications, those that come from a reputable source rather than being the pharmaceutical equivalent of the $50 Rolex or $100 Hermes bag. To protect against substandard medicines Australia relies on a mix of quality reporting by health practitioners and official supervision of manufacturer compliance with detailed quality standards regarding production and sourcing of material used in production. We trust that manufacturers care for their reputation and bodies such as the TGA are adequately resourced for quality control. Globally that regime is imperfect, which means there are challenges with imports by individual consumers and agents. Imports are an inconvenient fact of life, given Australia isn’t large enough to manufacture every patent-protected medication. There are acknowledged problems with manufacture and oversight in much of the world, with evidence of serious disregard of quality standards (including product contamination and fraud in reporting) alongside bribery and underperformance by regulators in India and elsewhere. In 2021 the Food & Drug Administration (US counterpart of the TGA) condemned 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Emergent BioSolutions over a failure to “adequately train personnel involved in manufacturing operations, quality control sampling, weigh and dispense, and engineering operations to prevent cross-contamination of bulk drug substances”. In Australia there have been a handful of regulatory interventions over quality failures, most notably action by the TGA against Sydney-based Pan Pharmaceuticals over what were characterised as manufacturing problems. Product recalls by other companies such as Sigma have received significantly less publicity. Overall there don’t appear to be systemic problems with domestic production and news coverage has typically centred on product tampering somewhere in the distribution chain to extort money from the manufacturer. One conclusion is that consumers should be wary about trusting private imports of herbal and other products: the source may be inadequately regulated. Another, more challenging conclusion is that Australia is unlikely to persuade overseas governments such as China and India to strengthen their regulation of medications and substances for manufacture of those drugs. That is an issue because defective products will foster epidemics in those countries and in parts of the world, such as Africa, to which the products are exported. Dr Bruce Baer Arnold is an Associate Professor (Law) at University of Canberra. His research encompasses questions about patent law and regulatory failure in health and high technology. The author declared no conflicts of interest. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on July 27, 2022

Australia’s rights of nature push flows from the Yarra River - 360 Katie O'Bryan Published on January 6, 2023 Australia hasn’t embraced the rights of nature movement with the same enthusiasm as some overseas jurisdictions, but a law setting out to protect Victoria’s Yarra River (Birrarung, as it’s known to Traditional Owners) offers a case for more buy-in from legislators. The Yarra River (Birrarung) law has been identified by the United Nations as a legislative example of the rights of nature. Comparable laws abroad might go further, but the law signifies a shift in the way governments think about protecting natural environments. The law covers the river and “certain public land in its vicinity for the purpose of protecting it as one living and integrated natural entity”, a holistic view that is consistent with the Traditional Owners’ understanding. The preamble, which has been written in both English and the Traditional Owners’ language of Woi-wurrung, states that “the Birrarung is alive, has a heart, a spirit and is part of our Dreaming.” The law also looks into the future, requiring a long-term (50 year) community vision and a strategic plan to guide future decision-making about the Yarra River (Birrarung). But Victoria’s law differs from many global rights of nature cases in not granting the Yarra River (Birrarung) legal status, meaning it has no enforceable legal rights. Contrast this with New Zealand’s Whanganui River, which has all the rights, powers, duties and liabilities of a legal person, with an entity to act in its name. This means that, if waste were to be dumped in the Whanganui River, a representative of the river can take action in court. Were this to happen in the Yarra River (Birrarung), the pathway to accountability is more convoluted. However, what the Yarra River (Birrarung) law does is set out a number of principles to guide decision-making about the river which emphasise environmental, social, recreational and cultural values rather than economic values. Importantly for Traditional Owners, the emphasis is on Traditional Owners’ cultural values. The law also establishes the Birrarung Council, an independent statutory body which advises the Victorian Minister for Water on the Act’s operation and can advocate on behalf of the Yarra River (Birrarung). It has been referred to by the Victorian state government as the ‘voice’ of the river. There are also two mandated positions on the council for Traditional Owners, another way that their values can be given a voice. However, the council can’t make decisions on behalf of the Yarra River (Birrarung) as it is only advisory. Victoria produced similar legislation in 2020, protecting the Great Ocean Road region, a local tourist landmark. In addition, It has incorporated the “living and integrated natural entity” concept into an action plan for the Waterways of the West with a view to enshrining it into legislation. And whereas the ‘voice’ of the Yarra River (Birrarung) in the Yarra River (Birrarung) law is the Birrarung Council, the Waterways of the West action plan recognises the Traditional Owners as the voice of the living entities (that is, waterways). Despite it being only a tentative step towards the rights of nature in Australia, some valuable lessons could still be learned from the Yarra River (Birrarung) law. It recognises the holistic nature of a natural entity, one that is more than just a resource to be exploited. It also contains an example of a statutory body which gives an independent ‘voice’ to the natural landscape (waterway), even if that voice is only advisory. Traditional Owner cultural values and voices are emphasised. And, as the Yarra River (Birrarung) flows through both rural and urban Victoria, there is scope to assess how the legislation operates in different settings. Katie O’Bryan is a lecturer in the Law Faculty at Monash University. She researches and publishes in the areas of Indigenous water rights, rights of nature and native title. Ms O’Bryan discloses that she is a member of the National Environmental Law Association, the Environment Defenders Office, Environmental Justice Australia and the Australian Conservation Foundation. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on January 6, 2023

Australia's universities the gateway to regional climate cooperation - 360 Trang Nguyen, Luke Brown Published on April 16, 2024 The Indo-Pacific is facing a steep climate change challenge and Australia’s strong education sector seems ready to do more in the fight. Climate change remains the most urgent and complex challenge the Indo-Pacific region faces. Nowhere on Earth is more vulnerable to the impacts of human-induced warming and yet, climate action is the only area in our region where progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) went backwards over the past decade. Despite challenges to Australia’s progress, the country’s strong education sector has a critical role to drive decarbonisation in the region. At the ASEAN special summit in Melbourne this March, the leaders’ declaration made it clear that tackling climate change is an area where Australia’s interests converge with its neighbours. Australia has obvious reasons to decarbonise, as a country which has felt the wrath of extreme weather, but also is becoming more reliant on green exports from Southeast Asia’s manufacturing powerhouses for technology such as solar panels and batteries. But collaboration across borders is tough and to do it well, Australia would be well served to look to its strengths — such as its education sector. Since the 1950s, generations of Southeast Asian leaders have studied at Australian universities. In its Southeast Asia Economic Strategy, released in September 2023, the Australian government cites the need to develop strategy and science that works with “regional counterparts on technical challenges to meet net zero” and to “support industry and education and training providers to develop and promote green qualifications for the Southeast Asian market.” Climateworks Centre and Asialink, operating out of Monash University and The University of Melbourne respectively, are working together to demonstrate how Australia’s education sector could help enable the low carbon economic transition in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is emerging as a vital producer of the decarbonisation technologies that will power the transition. But Vietnam also faces the complex task of decarbonising its own energy generation amid rapid economic growth. Despite this, just six of Vietnam’s 460 universities offer specialised programs in renewable energy systems, highlighting a demand mismatch which Australia could help resolve. Vietnam has already experienced the highest level of renewable jobs growth in the region, following the boom period of solar in 2020. It has the highest level of renewable uptake in Southeast Asia. Yet Vietnam’s green economy transition necessitates a workforce equipped with specialised skills tailored to emerging industries. The ASEAN Centre for Energy forecasts 50 percent of the 5.5 million newly created renewable jobs in the region by 2050 will be in Indonesia and Vietnam, citing a strong correlation between renewable uptake and potential, job creation opportunities and skill demands. Monash University has committed to a strategic impact goal by 2030 to encourage understanding and ability to contribute to the ideas and debates surrounding climate change, and the objectives of the UN SDGs. This will be an ongoing transformation. Monash offers 75 units directly relating to sustainability and sustainable development across its courses. But Australia’s collaboration with Vietnam can go beyond education and training. Sharing expertise, technical assistance and infrastructure can make a big difference in Vietnam’s energy transition. Universities play an important role in this, too. Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy notes that, while global investment into the region has almost doubled recently, Australia’s has fallen. A Climateworks Centre report on green investment in Vietnam echoes this sentiment. Universities can bridge this gap. Initiatives like the Australia-Vietnam Green Economy Academy, which aims to help Australian companies understand green economy opportunities in Vietnam, can unlock networks between the two countries. Organised in conjunction with Asialink and Climateworks, with support from the Australian government, the program sends delegates from 30 Australian companies to Vietnam in April to meet with 100 Vietnamese counterparts. As Australia and Southeast Asia work together towards a greener regional economy, Australian universities can be catalysts for progress. Increasing demand from both domestic and overseas markets provides an economy of scale for the education sector to transform and grasp these opportunities. Trang Nguyen is the Southeast Asia Lead at Climateworks Centre, an independent and non-profit organisation within Monash University. Trang is also a non-executive Director for the Asian Australians for Climate Solutions, a non-profit organisation working to increase climate change awareness and engagement among Asian Australian communities. The authors disclose that the article refers to activities and research as part of the Australia Vietnam Green Economy Programme, a joint initiative by Climateworks Centre and Asialink, supported by Australian Government. This article has been republished. It was first published on April 16, 2024. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 16, 2024

Australia’s world-class democracy has a trust issue - 360 Mark Evans Published on April 5, 2022 Australia is considered great, young democracy, but fluctuating public trust in government is an issue threatening to take the shine off its world-class status. Australia is considered on the international stage to be a great, young democracy that punches well above its weight. Yet there are growing fracture lines suggesting Australia can’t rest on its democratic laurels. At US President Joe Biden’s online ‘Summit for Democracy’, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will look to move on from recent diplomatic incidents and re-assert his country as a regional leader in democracy. On many key measures, Australia is a world-class model of what democracies should aspire to be:  its citizens are free, its parliament is a strong custodian of democratic values, and it has a robust justice system supported by security services that rank among the nation’s most trusted institutions. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_4"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_4"} Australia has a world-ranked public service that is an impartial steward of the public interest and a government that up until recently was widely viewed as having successfully managed the pandemic, especially when compared to the USA, the United Kingdom and other European countries. Indeed, public trust in government almost doubled in a year, from a low point at 29 percent in 2019 to 54 percent in 2020. The early groundswell of public support during the pandemic is partly explained by what is called the ‘rally-round-the-flag’ patriotic effect. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval rating soared on the back of effective handling of the initial threat of the pandemic, including judicious decision-making on early closure of international borders and atypical coordination of state and federal governments via the new National Cabinet. These beliefs and practices are now increasingly threatened. There is mounting evidence of increasing integrity problems at the heart of Australia’s democracy, a disconnect between government and citizen, a weakening of the protective powers of democracy and erosion of public confidence in the capacity of government. Australia is also reported to perform less well on measures for safeguarding democracy against authoritarianism such as civil society participation and the use of direct democratic arrangements. Although it should be noted that Australia has struggled far less than the USA, the United Kingdom and other European countries with issues of populism and ideological polarisation between left and right. EMBED START Image {id: "editor_10"} EMBED END Image {id: "editor_10"} In the eyes of the US, Australia, as  the most mature democracy in the Asia-Pacific region, is well-regarded.  But the Democratic Audit of Australia, which reports early next year, identifies democratic risks emerging in two areas of concern at US President Joe Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ — fighting corruption and promoting respect for human rights. Australia is not free from corruption, maladministration and illegal parliamentary behaviour.  Rorting and misconduct from both sides of politics at the Commonwealth and state levels has demonstrated a lack of integrity in public office has become culturally embedded in democratic governance. Public cynicism has been fuelled by habitual examples of poor parliamentary conduct and misogyny — not to mention allegations from the French President Emmanuel Macron, that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lied to him over the scrapping of the A$90 billion (US$63.7 billion) submarine contract and broke the trust between the two countries. Morrison denies the allegation. Although Australia’s elections are ‘free’ and independently administered by the Australian Electoral Commission, the Electoral Integrity Project found Australia’s claim to ‘fair’ elections undermined by: uncontrolled government advertising in the run-up to the 2019 election, problems with the  political funding and disclosure scheme, and growing concern about political donations made by parties with vested interests. These factors place governments at a significant advantage at election time. Nor do all Australian citizens have their fundamental rights protected effectively through the rule of law: Australia was subject to a damning critique of its human rights record by the United Nations Human Rights Committee with regard to the rights of children, the treatment of refugees, domestic violence, transgender rights, the sterilisation of intellectually disabled women and girls, and the impact of anti-terrorism laws on civil liberties. It is also difficult to ensure equal rights protection when the composition of the Commonwealth Parliament is not representative of the community it serves, either in gender (31 percent) or ethnic terms. And this is much broader than the highly visible case of the under representation of Indigenous Australians (3.3 percent of the population represented by 6 out of 227 members). Contrast the representation of British-Australians (10 members for 3.8 percent of the population) with Chinese Australians (2.5 percent), and Indian Australians (2.8 percent) both of which are not represented in Australia’s Parliament. Surveys show strong Australian support for representative democracy, but with a focus on making the system of government more representative and responsive to the people it serves underpinned by a ‘cleaner’, ‘collaborative’ and ‘evidence based’ politics. Australians are uncertain about how well their democratic arrangements work. In a recent survey, close to half (47 percent) felt ‘fairly’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the way democracy works in Australia, approximately a quarter (26 percent) felt ‘dissatisfied’ to some degree (‘fairly’ or ‘very’), and the remainder were neither ‘satisfied’ or ‘dissatisfied’. Most dramatically, trust in people in government has declined 12 points in a matter of months, from 54 percent  to 42 percent. Two-thirds of Australians think that corruption is present in the wider society and economy, but short of a quarter think that public authorities are involved — the integrity problem is most closely associated with the behaviour of the political class. Government and opposition in Australia have remained silent on questions of democratic renewal in response to these sources of democratic deficit. The government’s 2019 election promise to deliver a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption to tackle integrity problems remains in limbo. Australia could reinvigorate its democracy by taking on reforms already growing in popularity. A majority (61 percent) of 1,511 Australians recently surveyed support a constitutional voice for Indigenous Australians. There is also emphatic support for a document that sets out the rights and responsibilities of Australian citizens (83 percent, an increase from 66 percent in 2019).  Almost three quarters agree a Charter of Human Rights would “help people and communities to make sure the government does the right thing”, compared to 56 percent two years earlier. The biggest increases in support were from young Australians suggesting an intergenerational attitudinal shift that promises reform in the long-term. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™. Mark Evans is Director of the Democracy 2025 – strengthening democratic practice initiative at the Museum of Australian Democracy and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Engagement at Charles Sturt University. Mark Evans declared no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.

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2024-05-27T18:22:32.821463

Published on April 5, 2022