tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/resilience-8881/articlesResilience – The Conversation2024-03-25T12:34:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246512024-03-25T12:34:09Z2024-03-25T12:34:09ZRural schools in South Africa can produce good exam results too: study shows what’s behind one success story<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580094/original/file-20240306-18-8y5hh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child walking to school in the rural village of Qunu in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jennifer Bruce/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each weekday, hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers in South Africa’s rural areas (which make up <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/South-Africa/rural_population_percent/">just over 31%</a> of the country’s total area) make the journey to school. It’s often difficult. Poor road networks and a lack of easy access to transport make just <a href="https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/7b3fd97c-b13b-4d4c-bcf8-491d8b53c63f/content">getting to and from school a challenge</a>.</p>
<p>Many rural schools are dilapidated and poorly equipped. It’s very unusual for these schools to have <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002023000400011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en">libraries, computer rooms or science laboratories</a>.</p>
<p>There has been some improvement in matric (school-leaving) exam results in the largely rural provinces. In 2016 the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces, which are home to <a href="http://childrencount.uct.ac.za/indicator.php?domain=3&indicator=13">about 72% of rural South African children</a>, were <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/148871/2016-matric-pass-rate-climbs-to-72-5/">ranked last</a> among all nine provinces. The most recent results, for the matric class of 2023, show progress in these underperforming areas: KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, <a href="https://schoolclick.co.za/matric-results-percentage/">was ranked second</a> out of the three rural provinces, with 86.3% of its matric candidates passing the final exam. </p>
<p>But despite some bright spots, there is a sense among experts and pundits that rural education needs to be <a href="https://www.investec.com/en_za/focus/future-impact/reimagining-education-in-rural-SA.html">entirely re-imagined</a>.</p>
<p>I am an education researcher with a particular interest in rural schooling. In <a href="https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/real/issue/80017/1264412">a recent research paper</a> I focused on a rural South African high school, interviewing the principal, a deputy principal, three heads of department (academic subjects) and one non-academic staff member.</p>
<p>Today the school consistently performs well in the annual matric exams. From 2020 to 2023, the percentage of the school’s matric pupils who passed the final exams was 66.7%, 92.1%, 81.3% and 88.6%, respectively. This is significantly higher than other schools in the same area. </p>
<p>The school is as poorly equipped as its nearby counterparts. It does not have good infrastructure. The pupils still have to travel, as others do, a long way on bad roads to get to school. Yet it is a star performer. </p>
<p>The secret to its success, my research found, is the resilience of its leadership team. Resilience in this instance relates to how the teachers and other staff are able to withstand the difficult challenges of lack of infrastructure and its learners’ poor socio-economic background to ensure academic success.</p>
<p>My findings suggest that rural school leaders must develop resilience in their pursuit for learners’ success. They must also strive to avoid total reliance on the government for support. The government must, by law, fund and maintain the education sector. But the reality is that this support isn’t always forthcoming.</p>
<p>This means that rural school leaders must be proactive and – as the school in my study has done – consider other possible avenues to solve their problems.</p>
<h2>The case study</h2>
<p>The school I studied <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-no-fee-school-system-cant-undo-inequality-178559">does not charge fees</a>. Its 737 learners come from various villages in the vicinity. (Though, as a result of the impressive matric pass rate, more people from other towns are also enrolling their children.) </p>
<p>Some years ago the principal, tired of constant delays in receiving government support, opted to explore alternative means of support. He began travelling to businesses in nearby towns to ask for assistance and found that the school’s remote location made it a tough sell. However, he persisted and was able to get some financial support from various businesses. This was used to buy textbooks and mathematical sets; some was set aside for maintaining or even restructuring school buildings. </p>
<p>The principal’s persistence and belief in the school’s ability to thrive was echoed by the teachers. He and the teachers began buying school uniforms and shoes, with their own money, to help pupils who couldn’t afford these basic essentials feel more comfortable and committed to their schooling. The staff also organised extra classes after school hours and on weekends to help pupils stay on top of the curriculum.</p>
<p>A few years ago teachers also began travelling to and from the school together in one minibus taxi. The road is terrible, and even the few teachers who owned cars didn’t want to risk the drive. The shared transport fostered harmony among the staff: they got to know each other, chatted about their lives and their pupils, and were able to ask their colleagues for advice in a relatively informal setting.</p>
<p>This shows that what ordinarily could be a form of disadvantage – a long, difficult commute to school – can be turned into an advantage. </p>
<p>All this illustrates what is possible when school leaders and teachers explore all possible means of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334569987_Successful_Leadership_in_Rural_Schools_Cultivating_Collaboration">collaborating</a> with one another to achieve success in their schools.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-rural-schools-reveal-the-rewards-of-getting-the-basics-right-53320">Poor rural schools reveal the rewards of getting 'the basics' right</a>
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<h2>Building resilience</h2>
<p>My findings echo those of <a href="https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/small-school-rural-community-study-study-report">a 2022 study</a> which found that leadership is especially critical to rural schools’ success – even in wealthier countries with decent infrastructure.</p>
<p>And this latest study underscores a point I and a colleague made in a 2019 <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-16eb6f6e92">research paper</a>: that, with or without the desired infrastructure, having the right leadership in place can still ensure success for rural schools.</p>
<p>To do this, deserving rural school leaders must be recognised by the government and their peers, perhaps with awards for good performance. Platforms should be created where those rural school leaders who have turned their schools around for the better can share their successes, failures and lessons, as well as offering encouragement to others.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/resilience-gives-students-an-edge-in-rural-african-universities-164885">Resilience gives students an edge in rural African universities</a>
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<p>It is easy for rural teachers working in tough circumstances to focus on the immediate challenges and to become disheartened. By focusing on the bigger picture – their learners’ futures and potential to succeed – they will be able to build resilience and create the best possible learning environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chinaza Uleanya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rural school leaders must develop resilience in their pursuit for learners’ success.Chinaza Uleanya, Associate professor, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2241472024-02-27T23:22:27Z2024-02-27T23:22:27ZWar in Ukraine affected wellbeing worldwide, but people’s speed of recovery depended on their personality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578119/original/file-20240227-26-lc1e5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=240%2C457%2C4935%2C2855&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-with-head-resting-on-hand-Pe4gh8a8mBY">Nicklas Hammann/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The war in Ukraine has had impacts around the world. <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/ripple-effects-russia-ukraine-war-test-global-economies">Supply chains</a> have been disrupted, the <a href="https://news.un.org/pages/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GCRG_2nd-Brief_Jun8_2022_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=United+Nations&utm_medium=Brief&utm_campaign=Global+Crisis+Response">cost of living</a> has soared and we’ve seen the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/hk/en/73141-ukraine-fastest-growing-refugee-crisis-in-europe-since-wwii.html">fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II</a>. All of these are in addition to the devastating humanitarian and economic impacts within Ukraine.</p>
<p>Our international team was conducting a global study on wellbeing in the lead up to and after the Russian invasion. This provided a unique opportunity to examine the psychological impact of the outbreak of war. </p>
<p>As we explain in a new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44693-6">Nature Communications</a>, we learned the toll on people’s wellbeing was evident across nations, not just <a href="https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-023-00598-3">in Ukraine</a>. These effects appear to have been temporary – at least for the average person.</p>
<p>But people with certain psychological vulnerabilities struggled to recover from the shock of the war.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-shortages-millions-of-refugees-and-global-price-spikes-the-knock-on-effects-of-russias-ukraine-invasion-180559">Food shortages, millions of refugees, and global price spikes: the knock-on effects of Russia’s Ukraine invasion</a>
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<h2>Tracking wellbeing during the outbreak of war</h2>
<p>People who took part in our study completed a rigorous “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773515/">experience-sampling</a>” protocol. Specifically, we asked them to report their momentary wellbeing four times per day for a whole month. </p>
<p>Data collection began in October 2021 and continued throughout 2022. So we had been tracking wellbeing around the world during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war in February 2022. </p>
<p>We also collected measures of personality, along with various sociodemographic variables (including age, gender, political views). This enabled us to assess whether different people responded differently to the crisis. We could also compare these effects across countries. </p>
<p>Our analyses focused primarily on 1,341 participants living in 17 European countries, excluding Ukraine itself (44,894 experience-sampling reports in total). We also expanded these analyses to capture the experiences of 1,735 people living in 43 countries around the world (54,851 experience-sampling reports) – including in Australia.</p>
<h2>A global dip in wellbeing</h2>
<p>On February 24 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a sharp decline in wellbeing around the world. There was no decline in the month leading up to the outbreak of war, suggesting the change in wellbeing was not already occurring for some other reason. </p>
<p>However, there was a gradual increase in wellbeing during the month <em>after</em> the Russian invasion, suggestive of a “return to baseline” effect. Such effects are commonly reported in psychological research: situations and events that impact our wellbeing often (<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237535630_Adaptation_and_the_Set-Point_Model_of_Subjective_Well-BeingDoes_Happiness_Change_After_Major_Life_Events">though not always</a>) do so <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7062343_Beyond_the_Hedonic_Treadmill_Revising_the_Adaptation_Theory_of_Well-Being">temporarily</a>.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, people in Europe experienced a sharper dip in wellbeing compared to people living elsewhere around the world. Presumably the war was much more salient for those closest to the conflict, compared to those living on an entirely different continent. </p>
<p>Interestingly, day-to-day fluctuations in wellbeing mirrored the salience of the war on social media as events unfolded. Specifically, wellbeing was lower on days when there were more tweets mentioning Ukraine on Twitter/X. </p>
<p>Our results indicate that, on average, it took around two months for people to return to their baseline levels of wellbeing after the invasion.</p>
<h2>Different people, different recoveries</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31944795/">strong links</a> between our wellbeing and our individual personalities. </p>
<p>However, the dip in wellbeing following the Russian invasion was fairly uniform across individuals. None of the individual factors assessed in our study, including personality and sociodemographic factors, predicted people’s response to the outbreak of war.</p>
<p>On the other hand, personality did play a role in how quickly people recovered. Individual differences in people’s recovery were linked to a personality trait called “stability”. Stability is a broad dimension of personality that combines low neuroticism with high agreeableness and conscientiousness (three traits from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/big-five">Big Five</a> personality framework). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-conflict-related-ptsd-is-putting-strain-on-an-already-underfunded-mental-health-system-199629">Ukraine war: conflict-related PTSD is putting strain on an already underfunded mental health system</a>
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<p>Stability is so named because it reflects the stability of one’s overall psychological functioning. This can be illustrated by breaking stability down into its three components: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>low neuroticism describes <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2212154120">emotional stability</a>. People low in this trait experience less intense negative emotions such as anxiety, fear or anger, in response to negative events</p></li>
<li><p>high agreeableness describes <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-63285-010">social stability</a>. People high in this trait are generally more cooperative, kind, and motivated to maintain social harmony</p></li>
<li><p>high conscientiousness describes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112331">motivational stability</a>. People high in this trait show more effective patterns of goal-directed self-regulation. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, our data show that people with less stable personalities fared worse in terms of recovering from the impact the war in Ukraine had on wellbeing. </p>
<p>In a supplementary analysis, we found the effect of stability was driven specifically by neuroticism and agreeableness. The fact that people higher in neuroticism recovered more slowly accords with a wealth of research linking this trait with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10573882/">coping difficulties</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428182/">poor mental health</a>. </p>
<p>These effects of personality on recovery were stronger than those of sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender or political views, which were not statistically significant.</p>
<p>Overall, our findings suggest that people with certain psychological vulnerabilities will often struggle to recover from the shock of global events such as the outbreak of war in Ukraine.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Smillie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The toll of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on people’s wellbeing was felt worldwide. The effects were temporary for most. But those high on certain psychological traits struggled for longer.Luke Smillie, Professor in Personality Psychology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230652024-02-14T16:56:22Z2024-02-14T16:56:22ZFrom crop to cup – a new genetic map could make your morning coffee more climate resilient<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575043/original/file-20240212-20-hq1506.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New insight from the genetic mapping of Arabica coffee plants could help breeders develop climate-resilient varieties of coffee. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coffee-picker-show-red-cherries-on-1707181633">PixieMe/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new genetic map of the arabica coffee plant, <em>coffea arabica</em>, could help breeders develop to more <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44449-8">climate-proof brews</a>. </p>
<p>Coffee is the second most consumed beverage on earth with over <a href="https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/coffee-survey/#:%7E:text=66%25%20of%20American%20coffee%20drinkers,consumed%20in%20the%20world%20daily.">2 billion cups</a> being enjoyed every day. It’s also a valuable commodity and in 2023 the global market was worth over USD<a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/hot-drinks/coffee/worldwide">$93 billion</a> (£74 billion). </p>
<p>With their superior smooth taste and many fine varieties, arabica coffee beans make up around 60%-70% of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/1/international-coffee-day-where-does-your-caffeine-fix-come-from">global coffee production</a>. Coffee cultivation also directly supports the livelihoods of <a href="https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/farmers-and-workers/coffee/#:%7E:text=Coffee%20is%20one%20of%20the,on%20coffee%20for%20their%20livelihoods">25 million family farmers</a> with another 100 million people involved in coffee processing and retailing.</p>
<p>But coffee crops are also threatened by climate change in many parts of the world and we need to use breeding to help the crops adapt to new conditions as well as growing them in areas that are less susceptible to factors such as drought. </p>
<p>This study could help produce coffee varieties with higher yields and more resilience to climate change. These new insights could not have come at a more important time for coffee crops. </p>
<h2>Secrets of coffee genetics</h2>
<p>A landmark study by an international group of scientists has uncovered the surprising genetic factors that underpin the diversity of the hundreds of arabica <a href="https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org">coffee varieties</a> grown around the world. The new work, led by a team from the University of Udine, Italy, also reveals surprising similarities between the genetics of coffee and other important crops, including potatoes, brassicas and wheats. </p>
<p>These crops are known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/tetraploidy">tetraploids</a> because they have four copies of each gene, instead of the two copies (one from each parent) found in humans and nearly all other animals. As shown below, the Arabica genome contains eleven groups of chromosomes each containing two copies from each of its respective parents, <em>coffea canephora</em> in blue and <em>coffea eugenioides</em> in green. In some cases parts of the blue and green chromosome segments have become mixed up. </p>
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<img alt="Blue and green graphical lines that show four of each chromosome" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=143&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=143&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=143&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=179&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=179&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575031/original/file-20240212-24-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=179&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Graphical representation of a c. arabica genome. Blue and green vertical bars represent chromosomes derived from c. canephora and c. eugenioides, respectively.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44449-8/figures/4">Scalabrin et al, 2024, Nature Communications</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Unlike edible crops such as wheat or potato, which have been highly bred over decades or centuries to create varieties that are <a href="https://www.croptrust.org/resources/new-drought-tolerant-durum-wheat-could-transform-farming-in-dry-regions/">drought-tolerant</a> or <a href="https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/international-potato-study-helps-create-new-pathogen-resilient-varieties">pest-resistant</a> – coffee has lagged behind in the application of modern breeding methods. </p>
<p>This includes the use of more precise DNA-based techniques such as <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/people-plants-and-genes-9780199207145?cc=us&lang=en&#">genome editing</a> that involves making changes to DNA. These methods, which are also <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/human-genome-editing#tab=tab_1">used in medicine</a>, enable us to identify and precisely manipulate the parts of a crop’s genome or genetic code to improve many aspects of performance. </p>
<p>With more detailed information about the genetic makeup of coffee, researchers can begin to use these methods to improve coffee varieties. One of the problems with arabica coffee is that our current varieties are not very diverse. </p>
<p>However, there are many wild species of coffee that are highly diverse and one goal will be to generate more resilient hybrids between the wild and cultivated species. This will allow breeders to produce a wider range of coffee varieties that could thrive in many different regions of the world.</p>
<h2>Climate-proof coffee?</h2>
<p>In 2022, a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261976">Swiss study</a> showed that arabica coffee crops are facing unprecedented threats from climate change that could severely affect major growing regions such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/coffee-may-become-more-scarce-and-expensive-thanks-to-climate-change-new-research-175766">Brazil and Ethiopia</a>. Parts of these regions might become unsuitable for coffee cultivation due to increased drought incidence and threats from new pests or diseases. </p>
<p>Breeders are already applying advanced methods to develop other <a href="https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/35/1/162/6825320">drought-tolerant crops</a>. In the future, these could be applied to coffee. Indeed, earlier work in Portugal and Latin America has already shown that novel hybrid varieties from East Timor had useful disease resistance and a form of increased vigour called <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s001220050019">heterosis</a>. </p>
<p>This new knowledge will expand the ability to produce novel coffee hybrids that suit locations such as India and New Caledonia where they could be a new crop for farmers. </p>
<p>While coffee crops face significant threats from climate change, it is heartening that we are now able to understand the wonderful genetic complexity of coffee plants in unprecedented detail. The new genetic knowledge could also lead to development of novel flavours that would further diversify the appeal of coffees in different regions of the world. </p>
<p>With the development of more precise breeding tools to produce more resilient varieties, coffee could be on the cusp of a new era for both farmers and consumers.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis J Murphy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With new insight into the genetic complexity of coffee crops, new, more climate-resilient varieties could be bred in the future.Denis J Murphy, Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2204552024-01-17T21:52:45Z2024-01-17T21:52:45ZRipple effect: How public attitudes can shift governments toward sustainable, and resilient, water systems<p>With all the negative news coming out about climate change, its impacts and its possible trajectory in the not-so-distant future, it can be difficult to maintain hope for a brighter future.</p>
<p>The last few years have been challenging, even for optimists, with international climate meetings like the recent COP28 in Dubai emphasizing <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/explaining-global-stocktake-paris-agreement">how far we are from where we need to be in terms of climate action</a>. Meanwhile, reports like IPBES’ global biodiversity report provide <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/global-assessment">strong evidence for the accelerating deterioration of nature and its benefits</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/2023-was-the-hottest-year-in-history-and-canada-is-warming-faster-than-anywhere-else-on-earth-220997">2023 was the hottest year in history — and Canada is warming faster than anywhere else on earth</a>
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<p>It can feel like there is not enough momentum to move quickly enough to slow climate change and stave off its worst impacts. However, our recent work provides a point of hope and evidence for optimism.</p>
<h2>Understanding resilience</h2>
<p>We are researchers with expertise in psychology, sustainability and environmental governance. Our study assessed the attitudes of the general public towards a resilience-based approach to environmental decision-making, with a special focus on water. </p>
<p>Resilience is the ability to respond to disturbances (like climate change impacts) by resisting change, adapting or transforming, if needed, for the well-being of humans and ecosystems. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-051211-123836">seven principles that support resilience</a> that range from promoting connectivity of human and natural systems, to creating inclusive decision-making processes, to being willing to experiment with new approaches and learn from them, even if they are not entirely successful.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of the basic principles of climate change adaptation and resilience produced by the IPCC in 2022.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2023.100249">assess these principles</a> and each of them contributes to resilience in unique and critically important ways. How we <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-meaning-of-environmental-words-matters-in-the-age-of-fake-news-106050">understand what resilience means matters</a>. </p>
<p>Some understand it to be only the ability to resist change, which is not sufficient for what the world needs in this moment. Beyond resisting, we must also adapt, and potentially, transform. However, resilience can also be used as a tool to deflect blame and responsibility for supporting disproportionately affected groups.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-unfairness-of-the-climate-crisis-podcast-192469">The unfairness of the climate crisis — Podcast</a>
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<p>Many organizations and international bodies, including the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/">IPCC</a>, <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34780">the World Bank</a> and the <a href="https://unfccc.int/topics/adaptation-and-resilience/the-big-picture/introduction">United Nations Climate Change Secretariat</a>, argue that we need to integrate resilience — including adaptation and transformation — into how we govern, make strategic decisions and take action moving forward.</p>
<p>We need resilience because we are dealing with unprecedented environmental change and the drivers and impacts of this change are highly intertwined, making governance a complex task. Resilience can meet the challenge of complexity. In our work, we focus on resilience in surface freshwater governance, specifically. </p>
<h2>Public attitudes</h2>
<p>How we govern is determined by many factors, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290305600103">including public attitudes</a>. </p>
<p>As members of the public, we can vote, protest, communicate directly with elected officials, write opinion pieces for news outlets, talk to our neighbours and friends, and educate our children. We have multiple ways to influence decision-making, and our attitudes play an important role in the messages we send through those spheres of influence.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/court-decision-in-youth-climate-lawsuit-against-ontario-government-ignites-hope-206275">Court decision in youth climate lawsuit against Ontario government ignites hope</a>
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<p>We measured the attitudes of the general public in six countries representing the Global North and South with a study focused on resilience and water governance. We offered participants in our survey a vignette, or short scenario, about a water issue. </p>
<p>Participants answered a series of questions about the vignette. For each question, they had four options, representing a spectrum of support for resilience, from no support to full support.</p>
<p>Across six countries (Canada, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and South Africa) there was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2023.23">moderate to strong support for a resilience-based approach to water governance</a>. These findings suggest a positive outlook on public attitudes towards resilience-centred water governance, both now and especially for the future.</p>
<p>The best news from the study was that more than half of the participants across all countries showed the potential for strengthening their support for a more resilient approach to water governance. </p>
<p>We measured potential for growth by asking participants to select all of the options they considered acceptable for each question, before choosing their most preferred option. If participants selected an option that demonstrated stronger support for resilience than the one they most preferred, this signalled room for improving their support.</p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>We are encouraged by these results and how consistent they were across multiple countries that have different water issues, cultures and political leadership. We accounted for some of these differences by providing vignettes that dealt with a range of water issues, from flooding to drought to infrastructure concerns. </p>
<p>Even with differing water issues and cultures factored in, attitudes were consistent, and so was the potential to strengthen support for water resilience.</p>
<p>We feel that these results serve as a hopeful message to those who might be feeling discouraged or pessimistic about our shared future. There are many whose attitudes support resilience-based approaches to governance, and this is a fact worth celebrating.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadians-are-unprepared-for-natural-hazards-heres-what-we-can-do-about-it-201863">Canadians are unprepared for natural hazards. Here's what we can do about it</a>
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<p>We also share this message with those in policy leadership positions, like the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/water-overview/canada-water-agency.html">Canada Water Agency</a>.</p>
<p>The public is supportive of approaches that will improve the resilience of water systems and strengthen the well-being of humans and the ecosystems upon which we all depend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220455/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Baird receives funding from SSHRC and the Canada Research Chairs program. She is affiliated with the Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters as an academic advisor.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Pickering receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gillian Dale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The results of a new study are clear: resilient water governance systems are effective and enjoy strong public support. The time is now to build resilience into our global water systems.Julia Baird, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, Brock UniversityGary Pickering, Professor, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Brock UniversityGillian Dale, Research fellow, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192602024-01-09T14:03:23Z2024-01-09T14:03:23ZStudying engineering is tough: 6 insights to help university students succeed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565126/original/file-20231212-21-n9sczs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Support and a sense of community are among the ways that students build academic resilience.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ASphotowed/iStock/Getty Plus</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Engineering courses are a <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/bi-archive/what-popular-degrees-at-top-sa-universities-now-cost-with-some-degrees-varying-by-up-to-r30000-2023-1">popular</a> choice <a href="https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/news/news-details/view/85-per-cent-of-south-african-students-aspire-to-go-onto-university-and-follow-traditional-careers-according-to-new-global-research-20nov2018/">among</a> South African university students. But these courses are also gruelling and the attrition rates are high. The Council on Higher Education reports that half of the engineering students enrolled at South African universities <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2018-05-26-joint-effort-needed-to-fix-university-dropout-rate/">do not complete their studies</a>. That figure <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014001rev.pdf">is similar</a> in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>Yet, some students weather the storms of an engineering degree with a remarkable resilience, ensuring not just survival but success. How do they do it? I am a senior lecturer and trained academic advisor, registered as a clinical psychologist, with a primary focus on well-being in the higher education sector. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374925429_Academic_resilience_of_engineering_students_A_case_study">For my PhD</a> I examined engineering students’ experiences at one South African university to try to answer this question. </p>
<p>The study is particularly timely given the introduction, in 2017, of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372622522_Bachelor_of_Engineering_Technology_and_Diploma_students'_perceptions_of_success_influences_and_potential_retention">Bachelor of Engineering Technology (BEngTech) degree</a>. It replaced the National Diploma in Engineering. The BEngTech degree is more academically centred than its predecessor. It requires less practical in-service and work-integrated learning in industry, and is designed to better prepare students for postgraduate degrees in engineering. The shift is designed to raise academic standards and align South African qualifications with global benchmarks. This may make things even tougher for students.</p>
<p>My research delved into what’s known as academic resilience. With my supervisors, I defined this as accomplishing academic success in the face of academic challenges. Six key themes emerged. Understanding the dynamics of each theme will help universities to develop strategies for student support. This is especially crucial for courses with high drop-out rates like engineering. </p>
<h2>Key themes</h2>
<p>As my research took place during the COVID pandemic, all my interviews were conducted online. I interviewed 13 final-year engineering students, six lecturers and six support staff from one institution. A separate group of 66 final-year students participated in the study by completing a series of four standardised psychometric instruments.</p>
<p>Six key themes emerged.</p>
<p><strong>1. Personal character strengths and wellbeing.</strong> This theme emphasises the importance of internal qualities like hope, gratitude, spirituality, forgiveness, persistence, and perseverance. These are critical in overcoming academic challenges. For instance one participant, Lucien, told me he hoped to get a better job through further study. Another, Jack, was grateful for the effort he himself had put into his studies. </p>
<p>This finding challenges the traditional focus, in research about academic resilience, on <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-0586-3_2">socio-ecological</a> factors alone. It highlights the significance of individual character in forming resilience.</p>
<p><strong>2. Enabling vs constraining factors.</strong> This theme explores the dual nature of factors influencing academic resilience. On one hand, the ability to reflect, seek help and persevere enabled students to overcome academic challenges. This was evidenced by students attending additional support programmes and workshops. On the other, students faced adversities like adapting to new countries, language barriers and personal commitments which hindered their academic journey. </p>
<p>Students had a more positive outlook on their ability to grow and overcome challenges than staff did. This discrepancy in perceptions highlights the need for tailored support systems that acknowledge both the struggles and the strengths of students in their academic pursuits.</p>
<p><strong>3. Relational and socio-ecological support.</strong> The study showed that university-provided support, like curricular and extra-curricular workshops, reduced psychological distress and promoted a sense of belonging. But both students and staff thought that more personalised support was needed to cater to students’ unique circumstances and availability. Both groups recognised that the earlier appropriate and personalised support systems are introduced by the institution, the higher the likelihood of students’ academic resilience. Timely, tailored support is crucial in nurturing student success and resilience.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-lecturers-need-to-know-all-about-their-students-lives-fears-and-hopes-55580">Why lecturers need to know all about their students' lives, fears and hopes</a>
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<p><strong>4. The transition to university.</strong> The transition to university, predominantly from school but with an increasing number from the working world, represents a critical period for developing resilience. Orientation programmes and support workshops were found to play a significant role in building resilience, especially for students new to the university environment. </p>
<p>I also found that younger students might adapt more easily than older students, suggesting a need for varied support approaches based on age groups. Moreover, students’ past experiences, such as previous work or educational transitions, contributed to a smoother adaptation to university life, emphasising the value of drawing on past experiences for future success.</p>
<p><strong>5. A sense of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372622534_You_don%27t_necessarily_feel_like_you_belong_there_Understanding_belonging_and_social_connectedness_among_engineering_students_in_South_Africa">belonging</a> and social connection.</strong> This theme aligns with the African philosophy of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HED4h00xPPA">ubuntu</a>, emphasising <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344351024_You_Can't_Solve_a_Problem_Until_You_Ask_the_Right_Question_Positioning_Afrocentric_Learning_Communities_in_the_Post_FeesMustFall_Context">relational</a> resilience. </p>
<p>Students who felt a strong sense of belonging were more motivated and likely to succeed academically. It was clear that resilient students often forged empowering connections, helping them to overcome academic challenges. However, it’s important to note that the study may reflect a bias towards students who are adept at forming social bonds; further research may be needed to explore the experiences of those less skilled in this area.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/student-hunger-at-south-african-universities-needs-more-attention-123378">Student hunger at South African universities needs more attention</a>
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<p><strong>6. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366308508_I_would_help_the_lecturer_with_marking_Entrepreneurial_Education_Insights_on_Academic_Resilience_from_the_Perspectives_of_Engineering_Students_in_South_Africa">Assistance and resources</a></strong>: Access to adequate resources, including food support, specialised facilities and relational networks, is essential for student success. The study found that students utilising resources such as initiatives providing free daily meals to under resourced students showed better academic performance. This underscores the importance of addressing students’ basic needs. </p>
<h2>Real-world implications</h2>
<p>My hope is that these findings might guide institutions to better equip their students with the necessary tools to promote resilience. It’s important that such strategies acknowledge both the struggles and the strengths of students in their academic pursuits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219260/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Curwyn Mapaling received a PhD scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the East and South African-German Centre of Excellence in Educational Research Methodologies and Management (CERM-ESA). </span></em></p>Understanding the dynamics of each theme from the research will help universities to develop strategies for student support.Curwyn Mapaling, Senior Lecturer, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183232024-01-05T13:46:25Z2024-01-05T13:46:25ZWhat is resilience? A psychologist explains the main ingredients that help people manage stress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567625/original/file-20240103-23-nc7cu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4290%2C2196&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much like learning the skills to climb a mountain – or any other form of physical activity – resilience can be developed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/climber-royalty-free-image/466418386?phrase=mountain+climber">mihtiander/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The word <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience">resilience</a> can be perplexing. Does it mean remaining calm when faced with stress? Bouncing back quickly? Growing from adversity? Is resilience an attitude, a character trait or a skill set? And can misperceptions about resilience hurt people, rather than help?</p>
<p>To sum it up in a sentence: Resilience is the ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972">manage stress in effective ways</a>. It’s not a static quality or attribute you’re born with, or a choice of attitude. Instead, it’s a set of skills that can be developed by repeating specific behaviors. <a href="https://www.rachelturow.com/home/about-rachel">As a clinical psychologist</a>, <a href="https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/about/directory/profile/rachel-turow.html">researcher and educator</a> specializing in training people to cope with stress more effectively, I know that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017858">resilience can be developed</a>. </p>
<p>But as with physical fitness, you can’t get stronger abs by just wanting them. Instead, you have to repeat specific exercises that make your abs stronger; intention alone just won’t do it. </p>
<p>Cultivating resilience is much the same. Like physical fitness, resilience is not a single quality but rather many ingredients that contribute differently to a range of strengths and situations. For instance, one may handle relationship issues rather well but be unable to cope with the stress of a traffic jam. </p>
<p>Some building blocks of resilience are factors that are largely beyond one’s control, such as greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-022-04480-6">income and education</a> and having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12184">supportive environments</a>. Some are things you can do in your daily life, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2023.100505">exercise</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025602">hobbies and activities</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101593">getting adequate sleep</a>. Other facets might take more time to develop, such as nourishing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02703140802145870">supportive relationships</a>, building skills for <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/distress-tolerance-2797294">tolerating distress</a> and <a href="https://dbt.tools/emotional_regulation/index.php">regulating emotions</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00101">meditation</a>, incorporating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320984537">spirituality or religion</a> and practicing <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706228/the-self-talk-workout-by-rachel-goldsmith-turow-phd/">less self-criticism</a> and more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9774-0">self-compassion</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">You can start building resilience immediately. Here are some tips.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Resilience can be cultivated</h2>
<p>Confusing connotations about resilience pervade not only the scientific literature and mental health approaches but also popular culture. The idea that difficult experiences make someone resilient is incorrect, or at least incomplete. </p>
<p>During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I heard people claim that “children are resilient.” However, one of the largest research investigations about difficult childhood experiences, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html#">Adverse Childhood Experiences</a> study, conducted in the 1990s at Kaiser Permanente with over 17,000 adults, established that cumulative stressors experienced in childhood <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.8.1453">impair both mental</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226134">physical health</a>. It also found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.03.016">more stress predicts worse outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>What actually helped people be more resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic? </p>
<p>Studies show that the same building blocks mentioned above helped people navigate the pandemic with greater well-being. Many of these same building blocks also improve people’s outcomes following other stressful experiences, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-014-0172-6">unemployment</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000839">cancer</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611429466">divorce</a> and exposure to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00293-1">violence</a>.</p>
<p>All of this says that resilience can flourish by incorporating specific behaviors and creating healthy environments. People often assume it’s optimal to remain relatively unaffected by stress – that is, to “get over it” quickly. In many cases, that might be the case. If you forget an important meeting, for example, a response of “Oh no! I need to apologize right away and reschedule” is probably healthier than punching a wall or concluding that you’re a terrible person. </p>
<p>But what if a relationship ends? Is it always best to get over it quickly, or could a longer reflection and healing process lead to deeper learning and growth? What looks like resilience could instead be suppressing, numbing or hiding feelings. Those tendencies are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800802179860">linked with worse mental health</a>. </p>
<p>This is why the concept of resilience is somewhat nuanced; some people who seem resilient are just covering up, or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106557">coping in an unhealthy way</a> – such as using alcohol to cope with difficult feelings. </p>
<p>Sometimes painful feelings or experiences contribute to personal development. Post-traumatic growth <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-05098-001">refers to the positive changes</a> that some people report after trauma, especially when they incorporate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2019.1578360">some of the resilience “building blocks”</a> listed above. This includes better relationships, a greater appreciation of life and enhanced spiritual or philosophical understanding. Rather than expecting yourself to always feel good or to bounce back quickly, in some situations it may be wise to allow yourself to experience deeply challenging feelings and the personal growth that can ensue.</p>
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<h2>Resilience isn’t always the answer</h2>
<p>Resilience is more complex than being mentally tough or not letting things get to you. Pressuring yourself to appear OK when you’re not – also known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2022.02.004">emotional perfection</a> – could make things worse and prevent you from seeking support. Sometimes, changing stressful environments, such as a job or living situation, rather than just adapting to them <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/08/the-dark-side-of-resilience">is a healthier choice</a>.</p>
<p>This is why resilience can be a loaded term. Although coping with challenges has its place, for <a href="https://medium.com/invisible-illness/we-need-to-stop-calling-trauma-survivors-resilient-heres-why-c2d547e9d21d#">trauma survivors</a>, people <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/">who have experienced racism</a> or <a href="https://xtramagazine.com/culture/books/queer-trans-more-than-resilience-245357">homophobia</a>, or those living in regions especially <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/juan-declet-barreto/puerto-ricans-we-wont-become-resilient-until-we-have-an-equitable-and-just-recovery/">affected by climate change</a>, and <a href="https://www.welcometothejungle.com/fr/articles/resilience-buzz-word-at-work">many others</a>, resilience falls flat. The word comes across as tacitly accepting the status quo rather than demanding accountability from those who caused harm or working to reduce the sources of stress. </p>
<p>Overemphasizing resilience <a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-dont-call-me-resilient-our-podcast-about-race-149692">can reinforce racial injustice</a> by suggesting that people who are subjected to it are resilient enough to handle it. Having to wear a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/maya_b_galathe_the_mask_of_resilience?language=en">mask of resilience</a> or <a href="http://www.thelostdaughters.com/2020/07/round-table-black-people-shouldnt-have.html">put on a smile</a> can add to the burden of racism, making resilience exhausting. Having to continually adapt to microagressions and other forms of racism takes a <a href="https://theconversation.com/racism-produces-subtle-brain-changes-that-lead-to-increased-disease-risk-in-black-populations-214053">mental and physical toll</a>, such that resilience to racism comes at a cost.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/racism-produces-subtle-brain-changes-that-lead-to-increased-disease-risk-in-black-populations-214053">Racism produces subtle brain changes that lead to increased disease risk in Black populations</a>
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<p>A one-sized-fits-all approach to resilience doesn’t work for every person and problem. But most of us can benefit from nourishing some of the building blocks of resilience, such as cultivating supportive relationships, physical exercise and self-compassion.</p>
<p>Becoming more resilient is a process. We can benefit from working on the building blocks of our own individual resilience, and from initiatives in schools, workplaces and other environments that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2020.1734125">promote resilience more broadly</a>. </p>
<p>The number of factors affecting resilience may seem daunting. The upside is that you can choose from many effective ways of building resilience to determine the most suitable approach for you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Goldsmith Turow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Supportive relationships, economic stability and exercise are among the building blocks that develop resilience.Rachel Goldsmith Turow, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Population Health Science and Policy, Seattle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201712024-01-03T17:41:29Z2024-01-03T17:41:29ZUK urged to get ready for disaster with new national crises plan – but our research reveals the dark side of prepping<p>What would you do if everyday life was suddenly turned upside down? Thanks to recent <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231122-leave-the-world-behind-review-julia-roberts-stars-in-a-timely-and-chilling-thriller">Hollywood blockbusters</a>, the increasing popularity of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038521997763">everyday survivalism</a> and a climate of volatile, uncertain times (war, weather, accelerating technology), visions of the apocalypse seem to be having a moment.</p>
<p>Preppers – those who store food, water and supplies to survive impending disaster – have a bit of an image problem. Ridiculed for their delusional end-of-the world outlook, they are caricatured as “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">tin foil hat-wearing loons</a>”. But is their approach to self-sufficiency so extreme? Recently, we’ve seen <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rolling-blackouts-energy-crisis-life-death-disability-b2272741.html">energy companies</a> warn about blackouts, urging people to plan for when the lights go out.</p>
<p>In this context, looming (and actual) threats from climate disruption, extreme weather, global pandemics, cyberattacks and AI have led the UK government to launch its ambitious <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-government-resilience-framework">resilience framework</a>.</p>
<p>This framework is based on three core principles: a shared understanding of risk, a greater emphasis on preparation and prevention, and establishing resilience as a “whole of society” endeavour. Everyone is encouraged to be prepared.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/living-with-bunker-builders-doomsday-prepping-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-136635">Living with bunker builders: doomsday prepping in the age of coronavirus</a>
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<p>In the new guidance, households are urged to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/05/britons-should-stock-up-on-torches-and-candles-in-case-of-power-cuts-says-oliver-dowden">stockpile items</a> such as radios and candles, and have ample food in case disaster strikes. But this blanket whole of society call to preparedness rings hollow for many people who feel burned by past <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/we-have-a-brexit-shelf-readers-prepping-for-the-no-deal-scenario">vague government directives</a>.</p>
<p>In the run up to Britain’s exit from the EU, for example, fears arose surrounding the collapse of supply chains. The ongoing availability of everyday consumer goods was questioned. Despite officials dismissing stockpiling as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55293595">unnecessary</a>, the fact is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/we-have-a-brexit-shelf-readers-prepping-for-the-no-deal-scenario">one-in-five Britons began prepping</a>.</p>
<p>Many consumers secretly stashed essential items – tinned food, toilet paper, batteries – driven by stigma surrounding “tin foil hat” preppers (more usually associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7151311/">bunker-culture</a>, calamity and doomsday scenarios). However, the government has seemingly reversed its stance, and is now sounding the alarm about imminent crises, and – more importantly – how we are all individually responsible for being prepared.</p>
<p>As a group of academics researching shifts in prepping, covering Brexit, COVID-19, and now the cost of living crisis, our collective work explores how consumers practise everyday resilience and preparedness. </p>
<h2>Women, responsibility and division</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/i-dont-trust-the-government-to-look-after-me-or-my-dog-meet-the-brexit-stockpilers">Newspaper articles</a> and our own <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038521997763">research</a> on UK Brexit preppers suggest that women disproportionately bear the weight of home-based preparedness.</p>
<p>Domestic and emotional issues fall squarely on mothers who are tasked with keeping households running, no matter the circumstances. Whether ensuring everyone eats during shortages or soothing worries when the lights go out, women carry an outsized caretaking burden pivotal to family survival. All while navigating their own stresses and anxieties.</p>
<p>Recommendations around resilience underestimate the invisible and emotional labour needed to implement contingency planning, scanning the horizon for the next crisis. Rather than empowering households, the push toward self-sufficient readiness fuels deeper anxiety around loved ones’ safety. And if disaster strikes, support beyond immediate family remains essential.</p>
<p>Despite the resilience framework promoting a whole of society approach, preparedness inevitably develops into a scenario of haves and have-nots (meaning, those with the spare cash, space and time to prepare, and those who do not). This lays the foundations for inequality, resentment and the erosion of communal ties.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">research</a> on Brexit-prepping mothers highlights the stigma that they directed towards the unprepared (who they vilified as lazy and feckless for failing to shield children from risk). What resulted was families taking individual action to preserve their own resilience, which we believe has two implications for the resilience framework.</p>
<p>First, focus on individual resilience risks fuelling an “everyone for themselves” mentality. The prepared will put their own families’ needs above others. In our research with Brexit preppers, envisaged disruption led mothers to anticipate difficult decisions surrounding who they would and would not offer help should disaster strike.</p>
<p>In our research study ordinary, upstanding community members (such as teachers and parish councillors) imagined allowing children of the unprepared to go hungry, or considered exploiting others’ unpreparedness on the black market (selling surplus food and supplies at extortionate prices).</p>
<p>Pushed to the edge, they fortified their homes and armed themselves to fend off potential looters who lacked the foresight to prep. Anna, for example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.13086">discussed using her archery skills</a> to fend off possible looters: “I’m actually an archer, so I have a bow and arrow in the garage. And I’m a bloody good shot, I’m not kidding. I’d need to protect the family.”</p>
<p>Second, the ability to be “prepared” risks becoming tightly bound up with dominant norms of privilege and “good”, middle-class motherhood. These are the mothers mostly likely to possess the wealth, time, skills and physical space to prep.</p>
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<h2>Those left out</h2>
<p>Conversely, the less privileged, such as those experiencing housing issues and precarious employment, who often live hand to mouth, will be less able to prepare. Their survival is likely focused on the everyday, rather than planning for a possible eventuality. Inevitably, they will need wider support from the community, which the resilience framework, given its individualised approach to risk, does not fully consider.</p>
<p>While secrecy around prepping aims to safeguard accumulated assets from prospective thieves, it also isolates at-risk groups who lack equal means to stockpile for themselves. What duty do neighbours have to share with others if catastrophe (or even a temporary glitch) occurs? The line between rational self interest and morality blurs when survival instincts kick in, yet interconnected resilience may suffer when social cohesion frays beyond repair.</p>
<p>The government may encourage readiness across the whole of society, but this rings hollow if resilience is pursued through the stigma and separation of haves versus have-nots. Promoting preparedness without addressing inequalities, communal ties, emotional resilience and the gendered nature of caretaking labour undermines social cohesion critical for weathering crises.</p>
<p>Real security arises not from isolated stockpiles and individual action, but the establishment of more community-wide plans for preparedness in the event of disaster.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prepping is fast becoming mainstream, but new government advice fails to address inequality, and could cause division between the haves and have-nots.Ben Kerrane, Professor of Marketing, School of Busines, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDavid Rowe, Lecturer in Marketing, University of YorkKaty Kerrane, Lecturer in Marketing, University of LiverpoolShona Bettany, Professor of Marketing, School of Business, Education and Law, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203172023-12-22T18:38:28Z2023-12-22T18:38:28ZLift your spirits with our musical playlist: Don’t Call Me Resilient’s year in review<p>It’s been quite a year. The last few months especially have been particularly heavy for just about everyone. Amid the intensity of it all, my team and I on the <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> podcast produced another two seasons — in our new, newsier format. </p>
<p>Individually, each episode stands as an intimate exploration of some of the most pressing issues of our time. Collectively, our <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/">back catalogue</a> serves as a library of critical conversations around systemic racism that can be revisited as similar issues continue to unfold in the world.</p>
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<p>Each week, we also worked towards creating a new type of newsroom culture — one that centres the need for compassion internally, but also one that asks both journalist and listener: what can we do to help make change? </p>
<p>This season has been our most successful yet. With the number of downloads we now get, <a href="https://www.thepodcasthost.com/planning/whats-a-good-number-of-downloads-for-a-podcast/">we are among the world’s top five per cent of podcasts</a> and we even made it to <a href="https://chartable.com/charts/itunes/ca-news-commentary-podcasts">Apple Podcasts’ chart for top News Commentary in Canada</a>.</p>
<p>And we covered a wide range of topics. We looked at how <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-brown-and-black-people-supporting-the-far-right-214800">right-wing nationalist values are growing among Black and brown candidates in the Republican party</a> as well as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-school-aged-boys-so-attracted-to-hateful-ideologies-218700">school-aged boys in Canada</a>. We also tackled pressing socio-economic issues, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-landlords-are-eroding-affordable-housing-and-prioritizing-profits-over-human-rights-215582">the erosion of affordable housing</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-politicians-to-solve-our-food-bank-crisis-curb-corporate-greed-and-implement-a-basic-income-219086">our crisis of food insecurity</a>. We spoke to Indigenous scholars about <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-search-for-the-unmarked-graves-of-children-lost-to-indian-residential-schools-214437">the ongoing search for the unmarked graves of children lost to Indian Residential Schools</a>, as well as the headline-making <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-journalists-tell-buffy-sainte-maries-story-matters-explained-by-a-60s-scoop-survivor-216805">exposé questioning the Indigenous roots of music legend Buffy Sainte-Marie</a>. </p>
<p>Our most listened-to episodes, those replayed and used to help communities delve into challenging conversations, were those in which we attempted to add meaningful perspectives to the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. We spoke to two scholars with both expertise and personal ties to the region <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/why-the-israel-gaza-conflict-is-so-hard-to-talk-about">to understand why the conflict is so hard to talk about</a>. We also sought to understand <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/palestine-was-never-a-land-without-people">the long history of Palestinian ties to the land.</a></p>
<p>Our efforts, of course, would have been impossible without the brilliant scholars and guests who joined us each week — not to mention our listeners, who have now been with us through more than 50 episodes!</p>
<p>As we head into the New Year, we are sharing our <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tzGPnRhkAFXeccciOFJdf?si=d20060c289664c63"><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> playlist</a>. It’s a collection of songs on the theme of resilience, reflection and revolution, inspired by the topics we cover and co-created by our production team and podcast guests from this season and beyond.</p>
<p>Collectively, these are songs that help get us through tough moments, and light us up when we’re depleted. We hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed putting it together; and we hope it might bring you some strength and solidarity, or maybe even a little joy as we head into 2024. </p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/6tzGPnRhkAFXeccciOFJdf?utm_source=generator&theme=0" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Our playlist is a collection of songs on the theme of resilience, reflection and revolution, inspired by the topics we cover on our Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188092023-11-30T23:07:06Z2023-11-30T23:07:06ZCOP28: the climate summit’s first Health Day points to what needs to change in NZ<p>Climate change has many effects, but one of the most significant will feature for the first time at COP28 – its impact on human health.</p>
<p>Now under way in Dubai, the latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change includes a <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/schedule">day dedicated to human health and climate action</a>, Taking place on December 3, it will be attended by a record number of health ministers from many governments.</p>
<p>Health Day is a big deal. Health is – or should be – at the centre of climate policy. Nations do not progress if the health of their population fails. We also know climate change is a serious threat to good health.</p>
<p>In the past 20 years, for example, the number of heat-related deaths among people aged 65 and over has <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/27-11-2023-global-health-community-calls-for-urgent-action-on-climate-and-health-at-cop28#:%7E:text=Health%20Day%20and%20Ministerial%20session,ministers%20will%20be%20attending%20COP28">increased by 70%</a> worldwide. Rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns and the displacement of millions of people by floods and fires may <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01426-1">amplify the spread</a> of significant infectious diseases, such as dengue and cholera.</p>
<p>In New Zealand, <a href="https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/superheated-storms-climate-drivers-health-effects-and-responses">extreme flooding</a> in Hawkes Bay and Tairawhiti in early 2023 meant thousands were cut off from essential supplies. Many were trapped in homes that could not be repaired. There were 11 deaths from drowning and injury. </p>
<p>How probable is it that these extraordinarily heavy rains were due to climate change? According to a <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/the-role-of-climate-change-in-extreme-rainfall-associated-with-cyclone-gabrielle-over-aotearoa-new-zealands-east-coast/">study led by Luke Harrington</a> from the University of Waikato, 75% probable. With extreme weather events more likely in future, addressing the consequences for human health becomes more urgent.</p>
<h2>Healthy adaptations</h2>
<p>Health has long been on the margin of climate negotiations. The focus has been on loss and damage to property and land.</p>
<p>Health programmes have seldom been at the front of the queue when global climate funds are distributed. It’s <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/27-11-2023-global-health-community-calls-for-urgent-action-on-climate-and-health-at-cop28#:%7E:text=Health%20Day%20and%20Ministerial%20session,ministers%20will%20be%20attending%20COP28.">estimated</a> less than one cent in every dollar spent by international development agencies on adaptation to climate change has gone to health projects.</p>
<p>And yet we know reducing the risks of climate change in the long term can also provide opportunities to lift the health of populations rapidly.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-disasters-and-heat-intensify-can-the-world-meet-the-urgency-of-the-moment-at-the-cop28-climate-talks-217063">As disasters and heat intensify, can the world meet the urgency of the moment at the COP28 climate talks?</a>
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<p>These so-called “co-benefits” to human health may be <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/05-12-2018-health-benefits-far-outweigh-the-costs-of-meeting-climate-change-goals#:%7E:text=The%20latest%20estimates%20from%20leading,such%20as%20China%20and%20India">greater than the cost</a> of the climate interventions that enable them. One <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30029-9/fulltext">study of project options</a> to reduce global air pollution, for example, found the median value of health co-benefits was roughly double the median cost of the project.</p>
<p>Closer to home, <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1307250">research has estimated</a> best-practice bike infrastructure in Auckland would return health benefits 10-25 times greater than the costs involved. </p>
<p>Meat farming and production have significant climate impacts, whereas plant-based and flexitarian diets are typically healthier for people, environments and the climate. They can also cut food bills by up to a third, according to an <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-11-11-sustainable-eating-cheaper-and-healthier-oxford-study">Oxford University study</a>.</p>
<h2>A climate and health strategy</h2>
<p>Health Day at COP28 is a significant opportunity to raise the profile of these interconnections and co-benefits. It will attract many senior politicians who might not otherwise attend the negotiations. </p>
<p>It also provides a platform for governments, international agencies, global funding bodies and the private sector to highlight initiatives and gather support.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-earths-frozen-zones-are-in-trouble-were-already-seeing-the-consequences-218119">COP28: Earth's frozen zones are in trouble – we're already seeing the consequences</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/schedule">programme</a> includes presentations on green healthcare, case studies in building health resilience, best-practice approaches to measuring the burden of disease due to climate change, and health funding priorities for agencies such as the Global Climate Fund. </p>
<p>One session will “showcase progress and new commitments to capture the vast health benefits of climate mitigation policies”. The closing session will “set out a roadmap and opportunities for action”.</p>
<p>The programme also suggests the basis for a New Zealand national climate and health strategy, so it is a pity Health Minister Shane Reti will not be attending. The new government is also repealing climate-related policies introduced by the previous administration, but it is not clear what will replace them.</p>
<p>Without the Three Waters infrastructure project, for instance, how will local governments be funded to sustain safe water supplies? Remember, the outbreak of campylobacteriosis in Havelock North in 2016, the largest mass poisoning in the country’s history, was caused by heavy rain washing sheep faeces into an unprotected water supply.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-burning-too-much-fossil-fuel-to-fix-by-planting-trees-making-net-zero-emissions-impossible-with-offsets-217437">We're burning too much fossil fuel to fix by planting trees – making 'net zero' emissions impossible with offsets</a>
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<p>Painstaking reforms to the Resource Management Act (which everyone agrees is cumbersome and out of time) will be shelved under the National-Act <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nationalparty/pages/18466/attachments/original/1700778592/National_ACT_Agreement.pdf?1700778592">coalition agreement</a>. This has serious climate-health implications. </p>
<p>Urban density done well, for example, saves commuting time and cuts greenhouse emissions, and improves health with cleaner air and more physical activity. But large-scale changes in land use like this require legislation fit for purpose.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, according to a <a href="https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/11/29/majority-say-nz-will-see-severe-climate-impacts-in-next-decade/">recent poll</a>, two-thirds of New Zealanders expect to see severe climate impacts in their region in the next decade, mostly floods and fires. How will New Zealand manage when these impacts mount up? </p>
<p>The Health Day at COP28 points to what is required. Health must be brought to the centre of climate policy. As the director-general of the World Health Organization, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/27-11-2023-global-health-community-calls-for-urgent-action-on-climate-and-health-at-cop28">Tedros Ghebreyesus, has put it</a>:</p>
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<p>Prioritising health is not just a choice, it is the foundation of resilient societies.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Woodward has received funding from the Health Research Council for environmental health studies. He is affiliated with Bike Auckland.</span></em></p>Nations struggle if the health of their population fails. But good health is seriously threatened by climate change. So putting health at the centre of climate action makes sense.Alistair Woodward, Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140712023-10-19T19:03:31Z2023-10-19T19:03:31ZThe dams are full for now – but Sydney will need new water supplies as rainfall becomes less reliable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554636/original/file-20231018-25-7qn0od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C25%2C5555%2C3720&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Australia last went into El Niño, we had water supply issues in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.</p>
<p>Are we better placed now, after three wet La Niña years? Yes and no. Take Sydney as an example. After the big wet, Greater Sydney’s dams are <a href="https://waterinsights.waternsw.com.au/12964-sydney-drinking-water-catchment/storage">around 90% full</a>, holding more than four times the volume we use in a year. But hot, dry weather can drain them surprisingly rapidly through increased demand, increased evaporation and environmental flows in rivers such as the Nepean.</p>
<p>Hot weather also dries out the soil in water catchments. When it rains, dry soils soak up water like a sponge, preventing it from running off to waterways. This means there’s little runoff to replenish the dams. You need very intense rainfall to overcome this. </p>
<p>So despite Sydney’s full dams, it will inevitably face water supply shortages if El Niño returns for several years. That’s because the city of five million is highly dependent on rainfall, which isn’t always plentiful and doesn’t always produce runoff. </p>
<p>To fix this problem and future-proof supplies as climate change makes rainfall less reliable, we must draw more water from desalination plants and recycling schemes. </p>
<h2>Desalination</h2>
<p>The combined effects of a growing population and future periods of drought will increasingly challenge our ability to meet water demand from Sydney’s dams.</p>
<p>In 2010, Sydney’s first <a href="https://sydneydesal.com.au">large seawater desalination plant</a> came on line. At maximum production, it can provide 90 gigalitres of drinking water per year. This is about 15% of Sydney’s annual demand. </p>
<p>In the past, the desal plant has been turned off and on depending on rainfall. After the Millennium Drought broke in 2009, dams began refilling. Once Sydney’s dams were 90% full in 2012, the plant was switched off. In 2019, it was turned back on as drought intensified. One problem is that it takes months to restart a mothballed desalination plant. </p>
<p>If the desalination plant had been operating continuously at a low rate, it could have more quickly shored up supply shortages when the drought started in 2017.</p>
<p>To achieve full benefit, desal plants must be used to provide ongoing service, rather than just as an emergency drought-response solution. Keeping the plant running is also an effective way of maintaining the workforce and skills required to operate the plant when it’s needed.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="room full of reverse osmosis tubes in a desalination plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554676/original/file-20231019-29-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Desalination plants often rely on reverse osmosis to remove the salt and other impurities from seawater.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Water recycling</h2>
<p>Many cities around Australia now have desal plants. Fewer have explored <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/purified-recycled-water">purified water recycling</a> from wastewater treatment plants due to unwarranted public scepticism. </p>
<p>Australia’s most significant purified recycled water project is Perth’s <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/Our-water/Groundwater/Groundwater-replenishment">groundwater replenishment scheme</a>, built to refill the aquifers on which the city draws much of its water. </p>
<p>Beginning in 2017, wastewater was purified and injected below ground into an important aquifer used for drinking water. The project was recently doubled in size, and now puts around 10% of Perth’s drinking water demand (28 gigalitres) back below ground annually.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drought-is-affecting-water-supply-in-australias-capital-cities-127909">How drought is affecting water supply in Australia’s capital cities</a>
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<p>By 2035, <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/About-us/Media-releases/2022/August-2022/Stage-Two-Groundwater-Replenishment-Scheme">Water Corporation aims</a> to recycle more than a third (35%) of treated wastewater. </p>
<p>Queensland has built but not fully used a far larger water recycling scheme, the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme. If it was used for drinking water as well as industrial use, it could add 80 GL a year to supply – more than a quarter of the water used by South East Queensland’s 3.8 million residents. That would be enough to <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/water-security">replenish supplies</a> in the region’s largest surface water storage, Lake Wivenhoe. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fountain in Kings Park Perth, green grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554633/original/file-20231018-17-hr0obp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perth has had to shift from dams to groundwater to desalination and water recycling as climate change makes rainfall less reliable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what should Sydney do?</h2>
<p>Sydney relies on rainfall-dependent sources for about 80% of its drinking water supply.</p>
<p>If dry conditions continue, the city could be running short of water within three years, according to the <a href="https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/plans-and-programs/greater-sydney-water-strategy">Greater Sydney Water Strategy</a>. </p>
<p>To make sure that shortfall never arrives, Sydney needs to start building more rainfall-independent water supplies. This would help ensure full dams at the start of future droughts, allow more time to respond, and slow dam depletion rates during the drought. </p>
<p>Authorities could expand the desal plant. They could build a new desal plant. Or they could develop purified recycled water as an option. Each of these has costs and benefits which must be considered. </p>
<p>In reality, the city is likely to need all of the above. This is because there are limits to how much water can be delivered to any specific location in the supply network, so several water sources will be needed in different areas of Sydney.</p>
<p>The real question isn’t which one to choose. It’s which order to construct them in. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sydneys-dams-may-be-almost-full-but-dont-relax-because-drought-will-come-again-170523">Sydney's dams may be almost full – but don't relax, because drought will come again</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Khan was a member of the Independent Metropolitan Water Advisory Panel appointed by previous NSW Minister for Water, Melinda Pavey MP to advise on the development and implementation of water plans for the Lower Hunter and Greater Sydney regions (2021-2023). He has previously received funding from Sydney Water. He is affiliated with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.</span></em></p>To build drought resilence, Sydney must invest in rainfall-independent water supplies.Stuart Khan, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143152023-10-05T13:58:09Z2023-10-05T13:58:09ZPolar bears may struggle to produce milk for their cubs as climate change melts sea ice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551721/original/file-20231003-21-thp3d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5324%2C3543&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">During their time onshore, polar bear mothers may risk their survival by continuing to nurse when food is not available.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/polar-bears-may-struggle-to-produce-milk-for-their-cubs-as-climate-change-melts-sea-ice" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When sea ice melts, polar bears must move onto land for several months without access to food. This fasting period is challenging for all bears, but particularly for polar bear mothers who are nursing cubs. </p>
<p>Our research, published in <em>Marine Ecology Progress Series</em>, found that polar bear lactation is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14382">negatively affected by increased time spent on land when sea ice melts</a>. </p>
<p>Impaired lactation has likely played a role in the recent decline of several polar bear populations. This research also indicates how polar bear families might be impacted in the future by continued sea-ice loss caused by climate warming. </p>
<h2>Challenges of rearing cubs</h2>
<p>While sea ice might appear as a vast and perhaps vacant ecosystem, the frozen Arctic waters provide an essential platform for polar bears to hunt energy-rich seals — the bread and butter of their diet. </p>
<p>Sea ice is a dynamic environment that can vary through time and in different regions of the Arctic. Polar bears in Canada’s <a href="https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/sea-ice-arctic-habitat-ecoregions">western Hudson Bay area experience seasonal sea ice</a>, which melts in the warmer summer months, forcing the polar bears to move onto land until cooler winter temperatures cause the sea ice to refreeze.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a polar bear carrying a seal followed by two cubs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551724/original/file-20231003-17-du9bfi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">On shore, polar bears often remain in a fasting state, using their body stores of fat for fuel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>While on shore, hunting opportunities are rare and polar bears generally spend their time in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/687988">fasting state</a>. Polar bears rely on their immense body fat stores to fuel them during these leaner months, with some individuals measuring <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2390145">almost 50 per cent body fat</a> when they come onshore in early summer.</p>
<p>While on land, polar bears can lose around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/687988">a kilogram of body mass per day</a>, so making it to the end of the ice-free season requires them to carefully manage their energy. For most polar bears, this means reducing activity levels and conserving energy until the sea ice returns and seal hunting can resume. </p>
<p>Females with cubs must also factor in the additional burden of lactation. Polar bears produce high-energy milk, which — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-077">at up to 35 per cent fat</a> — is like whipping cream. This high-fat milk allows cubs to grow quickly, increasing from just 600 grams at birth to well over 100 kilograms by the time they are around two-and-a-half years old and leave their mothers to become independent. </p>
<p>During the onshore fasting period, polar bear mothers face a difficult trade-off: Stop lactating and risk the health of her growing cubs or continue nursing and risk her own survival as her energy reserves are depleted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C4500%2C2755&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a mother polar bear and cub on ice, surrounded by water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C4500%2C2755&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551719/original/file-20231003-15-kgks1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Polar bear cubs remain with their mothers for up to two-and-a-half years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Moderating lactation</h2>
<p>Although lactation is important to both mothers and cubs, studies on polar bear lactation are relatively rare.</p>
<p>To better understand how females manage their lactation investment, our research team revisited a data set of polar bear milk samples collected in the late 1980s and early 1990s from polar bears on land during the ice-free period. </p>
<p>We estimated how long each polar bear mom had been fasting based on annual sea-ice breakup dates and found that the energy content of their milk declined the more days spent onshore. Some bears had stopped producing milk entirely. Both milk energy content and lactation probability were negatively related to the mother’s body condition, meaning females in poor body condition had to prioritize their own energetic needs over their cubs. </p>
<p>The bears who reduced their investment in lactation benefited by using up less of their body reserves, meaning they could fast for longer. Yet the cubs who received lower energy milk grew more slowly than offspring of females that maintained their lactation effort. In the long term, this may reduce cub survival and, ultimately, negatively affect population dynamics.</p>
<h2>Climate change and population declines</h2>
<p>After around three months on land, the probability of a female with cubs lactating was 53 per cent. This dropped to 35 per cent for a female with yearlings (older cubs from the previous year). </p>
<p>The data in our study were collected around three decades ago. Since then, climate warming has meant that the ice-free season in western Hudson Bay has been extending by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/15-1256">around seven days per decade</a>. Polar bears are now regularly forced to spend more than four months on land. </p>
<p>As the ice-free season has increased and polar bears must go for longer without food, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02753.x">their average body condition has declined</a>. The ability of female polar bears to nurse their cubs has probably also become increasingly impaired. </p>
<p>This may have contributed to the <a href="https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/steep-decline-in-western-hudson-bay-polar-bears">50 per cent decline</a> in the population size of the western Hudson Bay population over the last four decades, and is likely to contribute to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0818-9">further declines if climate warming and sea-ice declines continue as projected without mitigation.</a> </p>
<p>This research adds another piece to our understanding of polar bear resilience to climate change. Without action to halt climate warming and sea-ice loss, survival of cubs will be at risk across the Arctic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Archer receives funding from Mitacs Canada and Polar Bears International. She is affiliated with University of Toronto Scarborough and Polar Bears International. </span></em></p>Climate change has affected food availability for polar bears, which can impact polar bear mothers’ ability to lactate.Louise Archer, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Sciences, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141422023-09-25T20:07:05Z2023-09-25T20:07:05ZTake risks, embrace failure and be comfortable with uncertainty: 3 activities to help your child think like an artist<p>As a visual artist and educator, I know how important it is to encourage your child to think and behave like an artist. But this is not necessarily about drawing or painting in a particular way. </p>
<p>The habits of an artist include the ability to generate ideas, trust in creative processes, be comfortable with ambiguity, take risks and embrace failure.</p>
<p>All this helps children embrace “failures” as a learning experience. In doing so, you are <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/resilience-how-to-build-it-in-children-3-8-years">building their resilience</a>. </p>
<p>These are all transferable skills kids can use in other areas of learning and life. As the late UK education expert <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en">Ken Robinson</a> said:</p>
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<p>If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original.</p>
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<h2>How to think and behave like an artist</h2>
<p>You can encourage children to develop the habits of an artist by providing opportunities for them to take <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603124.2021.1969040">creative risks</a> and use <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1421841">problem finding</a> skills. Problem finding skills are identifying unforeseen problems using critical and analytic thinking. </p>
<p>Here are three art activities to try in the holidays – or any time – to build these skills. </p>
<p>These activities work for kids from five and up. Some children will need help but parents should try to be the “guide on the side”. This means helping children make their own discoveries and not jumping in and taking over. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/holiday-help-an-art-expert-suggests-screen-free-things-to-do-in-every-room-of-the-house-202947">Holiday help! An art expert suggests screen-free things to do in every room of the house</a>
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<h2>1. Blind contour drawing</h2>
<p>In blind contour drawing you don’t look at the paper while you draw and once your drawing implement touches the paper, you don’t lift it off until you are done. </p>
<p>You can draw anything, but portraits are a lot of fun. Look closely at your subject and slowly draw what you see, looking for lines and contours to draw in and around them. </p>
<p>This is a gentle way of extending creative potential of drawing. It also stops your inner critic telling you you “can’t draw” (because you can’t see what you’re doing, so you can’t criticise yourself). It also connects your <a href="https://www.drawright.com/theory">hand to your brain</a> and allows you to draw what you see, not what you think you see. </p>
<p>The lines are always lovely. They are free flowing and fluid as opposed to what I call “furry lines” that show all insecurities, second thoughts and apprehensions.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-set-up-a-kids-art-studio-at-home-and-learn-to-love-the-mess-196026">How to set up a kids' art studio at home (and learn to love the mess)</a>
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<h2>2. Make your own brushes</h2>
<p>In a previous article, I talked about <a href="https://theconversation.com/holiday-help-an-art-expert-suggests-screen-free-things-to-do-in-every-room-of-the-house-202947">how to make paint</a>. </p>
<p>Another similar activity is making brushes or “mark-making tools” as I like to call them. You can use a range of materials from outside or even the recycling bin: a few sticks, masking tape and some string. Tie a bunch of twigs and leaves or feathers together and bind them to the top of a stick. </p>
<p>Why use not the bottom of the stick to make a double-ended tool? Or cut up an old sponge and tie it to a stick. </p>
<p>Try really long sticks or short stubby sticks. The size and shape of the stick will change the way you use it and affect the marks you will make. </p>
<p>Dip your tools in ink and try them out on reams of butcher’s paper rolled out in a space where children feel free to move around and put their body into it. You can use paint too, though you might want to add water to make it runnier. </p>
<p>This encourages becoming comfortable with uncertainty (who knows what marks these new tools will make?). </p>
<p>In this context “failure” might look like the tool not making the mark the child had in their mind. This forces the child to either go with the mark it makes or go back and redesign their tool. </p>
<p>This helps children to become comfortable with that idea of testing, experimenting and creating your way through an issue.</p>
<h2>3. Change your medium and your size</h2>
<p>Willow charcoal – made from burnt willow branches – is an excellent medium for experimenting with and enables children to “draw big”. </p>
<p>It can be crumbly and smudges easily (it’s also extremely messy) so it can make some unexpected marks and children can explore a range of tones from black to light grey. </p>
<p>Children can use the tip of it to draw lines, or use the side of the stick to create wide shapes and shades. </p>
<p>Get some large pieces of paper and encourage your child to draw as big as they can to create huge gestural drawings with the charcoal. This encourages kids to move out of their comfort zone (and beyond A4 paper).</p>
<p>Challenge them to upscale what they see, such as flowers or their favourite <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20419112.2020.1819095">object</a>. Or put on some music and suggest to your child they draw what they hear and feel. </p>
<p>If you don’t have charcoal, you could also use jumbo chalk and draw on the footpath. </p>
<p>Another approach is to sit on a piece of paper and get them to trace their bodies, move, trace themselves and again, like Australian artist <a href="https://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/exhibition/the-dust-of-history/xshf9">Julie Rrap</a>. </p>
<p>If the page gets covered in charcoal just keep going, cover the paper completely with charcoal and then use a eraser to draw “in reverse”. </p>
<p>As I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-set-up-a-kids-art-studio-at-home-and-learn-to-love-the-mess-196026">said before</a>, try not to worry about the mess. This is also part of being an artist – and learning to think like one, too. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stand-back-and-avoid-saying-be-careful-how-to-help-your-child-take-risks-at-the-park-212969">Stand back and avoid saying 'be careful!': how to help your child take risks at the park</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Zouwer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Encourage your child to make their own paintbrushes or draw everyday objects in huge sizes. Or try a portrait without taking their marker off the page.Naomi Zouwer, Visual Artist and Lecturer in Teacher Education, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2130912023-09-14T16:15:15Z2023-09-14T16:15:15ZAsymmetrical bridges, timber towers and a repurposed gas platform: awards hail 2023’s best structures<p>The 2023 Structural Awards, hosted by the Institution of Structural Engineers, has unveiled <a href="https://www.istructe.org/structural-awards/shortlist/2023-shortlist/">its shortlist</a> of the world’s 35 most outstanding building projects. </p>
<p>Aimed at highlighting technical innovation, the featured structures comprise seven bridges, two footbridges, three stadiums and one football stadium stand, redevelopments, new builds, malls, museums, community hubs, a college and a school. They also include a retired gas platform transformed into an art installation and Stufish Entertainment Architects’ <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/983752/abba-arena-stufish-entertainment-architects">Abba Arena</a>, a venue custom-built in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to house the Swedish band’s Voyage concert. </p>
<p>The prize has a global remit, featuring entrants from Canada and China to New Zealand, Niger and the Netherlands. Of the 35 shortlisted structures, however, 16 are in London. These include <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/big-ben-is-back-telling-the-time-and-the-bongs-will-soon-ring-out-again-12618628">the £80 million renovation</a> of Big Ben and the redevelopment of the grade-II listed <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/05/battersea-power-station-opens-wilkinson-eyre/">Battersea power station</a> by the WilkinsonEyre architecture studio. </p>
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<p>Since 2022, the judging process has put ever greater emphasis on the environmental impact of the buildings, the social value they provide and the effect they have on the people who use them. </p>
<p>The need to promote sustainability within architecture and construction is gaining ground, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/lacaton-and-vassal-how-this-years-pritzker-prize-could-spark-an-architectural-revolution-157636">recent</a> Pritzker prize <a href="https://theconversation.com/diebedo-francis-kere-how-first-black-winner-of-architectures-top-prize-is-committed-to-building-peaceful-cities-179483">laureates</a>, among other international accolades, show. </p>
<p>I have spent 20 years <a href="https://eng.ox.ac.uk/people/barbara-rossi/">researching</a> sustainability and resilience within the construction sector. Here are four highlights from the shortlist that show why this matters.</p>
<h2>Battersea power station</h2>
<p>To preserve this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0957-1272(91)90048-J">cultural icon</a>, engineering firm Buro Happold deployed structural engineering prowess and creative solutions. The <a href="https://www.burohappold.com/projects/battersea-power-station-building-works/#">2,495,000 sq ft</a> building has been refurbished to include more than 250 apartments, restaurants, shops, cinemas, offices, and an entertainment venue. </p>
<p>The building posed significant challenges. First, at foundation level, there were obstructions and deep geological scour hollows that created significant risk when combining the new structures with those already in place. The firm also worked hard to restore the external fabric of the building to maximise its reuse. Fire risk management also posed a big challenge – it is always highly complex in this kind of mixed-use building, especially since the Grenfell Tower fire.</p>
<p>Of particular note are the elegant tree structures used to carry an unprecedented load. They are composed of four curved, V-shaped branches. Each weighs 43 tonnes and supports six column lines from the commercial space above, transferring their load into the foundation. This minimises the footprint of the structure, ensuring the impressive space of the north atrium remains open. </p>
<h2>The Black and White Building</h2>
<p>Located in Shoreditch, London, this multi-storey new-build office block is designed by the engineering firm Eckersley O'Callaghan. It is central London’s tallest mass timber office structure and has already netted the firm the Architectural Review Future Projects Award for Best Office in 2022 and been shortlisted for the Construction News Awards low carbon project of the year in 2023. </p>
<p>The building is comprised of a reinforced concrete substructure (below ground level) beneath a timber superstructure. The latter includes the staircases and, most unusually, the core, which enable the designers to achieve a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109320">lower embodied carbon</a> score. Most massive timber buildings have a concrete core, which increases their embodied carbon, thereby defeating the purpose of using timber in the first place. </p>
<p>Eckersley O'Callaghan also created unusually long spans (up to 10 metres between internal columns) and, in the facade, used steel cross-bracing to provide support against what construction specialists term <a href="http://web.mit.edu/4.441/1_lectures/1_lecture18/1_lecture18.html">“lateral loads”</a> (the horizontal forces applied to a structure, by things like wind).</p>
<h2>The Youshui Bridge</h2>
<p>Designed by architect Wen Wanqing and structural designer Yan Aiguo for the China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group, this is an awe-inspiring railway bridge in Furong Town, China. It is essentially a giant, <a href="https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jbren.19.00016">asymmetrical</a> arch, the north foundation of which sits 48.4m higher than the south foundation. </p>
<p>The structure is made of a concrete-filled steel tubular truss and spans 292 meters across the Youshui river valley. This is very rare, especially over a gorge, which only makes construction harder. </p>
<p>Concrete arches will typically span over anything up to 200m. Above that, steel (or concrete combined with steel) has to be employed. The construction process was a feat of engineering: it involved building a 865m highline to transport elements of the truss. </p>
<h2>The Marisfrolg Fashion Apparel Campus</h2>
<p>Designed by the Architecture Van Brandenburg studio for a fashion company in Shenzen, China, this curved building has already garnered awards for lighting design, among other things. It uses a notable mix of materials in an intricate composition of concrete shells, covered with a carapace of bricks, stone and ceramics. It really looks like the feather of a cretaceous bird just landing on the ground. </p>
<p>Structurally speaking, concrete shells are extremely challenging structures, both to calculate and to build. The designers must have used extensive <a href="https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/book/10.1680/fedcs.41899#:%7E:text=Finite%2Delement%20Design%20of%20Concrete%20Structures%2C%20Second%20edition%2C%20is,with%20the%20aid%20of%20computers.">finite element modelling</a> (a numerical approach that involves breaking down a problem into many smaller parts). And they would have needed complex <a href="https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/research/rethinking-concrete-formwork">“formwork”</a>, that is, moulds, as well as high-quality concrete. </p>
<p>In terms of sustainability, however, despite the studio’s claims that the roof of the pavilion is clad in recycled materials and that bamboo was used for the concrete formwork, in the concrete structure itself, it appears that only Portland cement was used. It is difficult to rule, therefore, on the project’s actual sustainability credentials.</p>
<p>Winners will be announced on November 10 2023. The hope for such awards, of course, is that they will continue to promote sustainability within structural engineering. </p>
<p>The question, though, is whether even more stringent criteria should not be considered. The Institution of Structural Engineers offers a course to design net-zero structures. Imagine the impact this institution might have if it were to restrict the award to net-zero projects only.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Rossi receives funding from The European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions). </span></em></p>The 35 shortlisted structures from around the world showcase engineering ingenuity and big ideas for making construction more sustainable.Barbara Rossi, Associate Professor and Tutorial Fellow in Engineering Science (Structures & Mechanics), University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093882023-08-10T19:59:25Z2023-08-10T19:59:25ZAccelerated evolution and automated aquaculture could help coral weather the heat<p>Coral on the Great Barrier Reef has regrown strongly after the big losses of 2016 and 2017, when <a href="https://www2.gbrmpa.gov.au/learn/threats/sea-temperature">water temperatures</a> were significantly above the long-term average. While this is good news, it’s largely luck. The reef experienced mass bleaching in 2020 and 2022, but temperatures cooled just in time to prevent extensive coral deaths. </p>
<p>But the reef’s luck may be about to run out. Hotter El Niño conditions are returning to the Pacific, driving <a href="https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/data_current/5km/v3.1_op/daily/png/ct5km_baa-max-7d_v3.1_nwcl_current.png">warmer ocean temperatures</a>. The past few months have seen global temperature records smashed. Already, reefs in Florida, the Caribbean and parts of the Pacific are bleaching. The looming southern summer is a significant concern. </p>
<p>Can anything be done? Keeping emissions under control is obviously vital. But we can also support the Great Barrier Reef’s resilience by speeding up natural adaptation processes. </p>
<p>In our paper <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi3023">published today</a> in Science, we describe methods of accelerating the natural evolution of heat-tolerant corals, next-generation aquaculture to rear large numbers of baby corals, and collaborative decision-making with First Nations groups to place these corals onto the Great Barrier Reef at meaningful scale.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="national sea simulator corals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542086/original/file-20230810-23-ax7kkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A scientist examines baby coral at our National Sea Simulator, where we research heat tolerant corals and large scale coral aquaculture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AIMS</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>How to breed heat-tolerant coral</h2>
<p>Corals are very different in how they tolerate heat. Some can put up with hot water for longer, whereas others bleach at lower temperatures. </p>
<p>Globally, bleaching thresholds have increased by 0.5°C in a decade. That is, reefs are actually becoming more tolerant of heat. This is likely because more sensitive species and colonies have died off or become less abundant. </p>
<p>Within species, we know individual corals in warmer waters are typically more tolerant than those in cooler waters. </p>
<p>Understanding why some corals have better heat tolerance, and how these attributes can be passed on, means we can figure out which corals are best placed to adapt. Then we can start selectively breeding them.</p>
<p>Coral reefs support a huge diversity of lifeforms, from fish to shrimp to rays and sharks. But on a tiny scale, coral polyps have their own microbial ecosystems, ranging from symbiotic algae which give coral its colour – and much of its food, from photosynthesis – through to the rest of the <a href="https://www.barrierreef.org/news/explainers/coral-microbiome">coral microbiome</a>. </p>
<p>To breed coral better able to adapt to the heat, we have to understand how their microbiome works. One group of symbiotic algae (<em>Durusdinium</em>) living inside coral can actually give their host the gift of increased heat tolerance, though often at the cost of reduced growth. </p>
<p>But if we assist the evolution of other coral-associated algae (<em>Cladocopium</em>), we find heat tolerance of both coral and algae improves, usually without compromising other survival traits. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="coral scientist" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542088/original/file-20230810-29-ellk87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An AIMS coral scientist examining young coral on a seeding device.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">T.Whitman/AIMS</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>This means we can inoculate the offspring of selectively bred corals with these algae to achieve greater heat tolerance. These methods have now been tested in the laboratory and should scale for mass production.</p>
<p>By interbreeding wild colonies of the same species of coral, we’ve found heat tolerance can be passed to the next generation. </p>
<p>Our researchers are developing tools to pick out these naturally more resilient individuals, during bleaching events or with rapid heat stress experiments. We are also analysing corals’ DNA to identify genetic markers.</p>
<p>Then we measure how heat tolerance and genetic diversity is maintained in the aquaculture facility and back in field conditions. </p>
<p>So while assisted evolution is still very new, our results are encouraging. There is real potential to increase coral heat tolerance to improve survival in hotter seas.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="coral spawning" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542077/original/file-20230810-28-7n4kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Coral spawning is an event on the reef. Can selective breeding of coral keep them healthy?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Accelerate aquaculture to achieve scale</h2>
<p>This year’s marine heatwaves are breaking records. To boost our chances of preserving the Great Barrier Reef, we’ll need to be able to scale up these techniques. </p>
<p>To date, coral restoration and adaptation has been done at relatively small scale and high cost. Coral breeding has largely been done by hand, in small laboratory aquarium facilities, which is slow and expensive. </p>
<p>But this is changing. At our site in Townsville, we’ve made advances in coral aquaculture with the potential to significantly boost production rates while cutting costs. </p>
<p>How do you produce heat-tolerant corals at scale? Settle selected baby corals on small tabs in modular sheets. Separate the individual tabs, each now home to a thriving baby coral, and attach them to special fist-sized structures designed to protect the babies in the ocean. This greatly increases their survival rate once on the reef. </p>
<p>We’re trialling these technologies by depositing these structures in carefully chosen places along the reef where they can grow and, eventually, reproduce. As we scale up production, we will be able to deliver large numbers of structures without requiring divers, by using boats or robots. </p>
<p>These technologies mean we can increasingly automate coral rearing. At present, these techniques are available for around 50 coral species on the Great Barrier Reef. </p>
<p>Making sure human systems work well is also vital. To ensure heat-resistant baby coral thrive, we have to have good ecological models and decision-making processes which take economic, social, and environmental factors into account. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woppaburra Traditional Custodians" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542087/original/file-20230810-19-i6hwim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Science and traditional knowledge can complement each other.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AIMS</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Success will also depend on meaningful partnerships with Traditional Owners. Combining conventional science and traditional knowledge can bring fresh insights. Marine management of Groote Eylandt in Australia’s north now uses <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00716/full">maps produced</a> by scientists working with Anindilyakwa people to combine local knowledge, in-water surveys and satellite data. </p>
<p>As we move towards large-scale restoration and adaptation, Australia’s First Nations rangers could provide a vital community-based workforce to deliver a new suite of management and conservation activities, especially in remote regions. Traditional Owners could also play important roles in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1232310#:%7E:text=Coral%20reef%20recovery%20from%20major,highly%20vulnerable%20to%20catastrophic%20disturbance.">monitoring progress</a>. </p>
<p>Until recently, conservation efforts were aimed at protecting ecosystems from damage and limiting access, allowing natural systems to bounce back. But in the era of global heating, this is no longer enough. Disruptions are coming faster, challenging nature’s resilience. </p>
<p>We have to help. Time is short and there is much to do.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-great-barrier-reef-reviving-or-dying-heres-whats-happening-beyond-the-headlines-210558">Is the Great Barrier Reef reviving – or dying? Here's what's happening beyond the headlines</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Line K Bay receives research funding from the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, the Paul G Allen Family Foundation, BHP and Revive & Restore</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Hardisty does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We used to focus just on protection of vital ecosystems like the reef. But as climate change and other threats accelerate, we need to actively help nature get ready for the heat.Paul Hardisty, CEO, Australian Institute of Marine ScienceLine K Bay, Research Program Director, Australian Institute of Marine ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082682023-07-10T12:32:26Z2023-07-10T12:32:26ZPositive parenting can help protect against the effects of stress in childhood and adolescence, new study shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535596/original/file-20230704-15-b8u8ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6359%2C4280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Warm, supportive caregiving can help counteract the effects of stress during childhood and development.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/little-children-bonding-with-parents-on-sofa-at-royalty-free-image/1397105932?phrase=happy+parents+and+children&adppopup=true">Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Warm and supportive parenting may buffer against the effects of stress during childhood and adolescence. That is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad145">key takeaway</a> of our recent study, published in the journal PNAS Nexus.</p>
<p>Some children and adolescents who experience stressful events such as physical abuse or neglect have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.020">less tissue in a brain region called the hippocampus</a>. The hippocampus plays a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-1047(93)90664-4">critical role in learning and memory</a> and is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.171">highly susceptible to stress</a>.</p>
<p>However, in our study, we did not find a link between increased stress and reduced brain tissue in the hippocampus for young people who reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad145">more warmth from their caregivers</a>. </p>
<p>Positive parenting includes a range of warm and supportive techniques such as providing praise for doing something well, emotional support and affection. Contrast this with harsh parenting techniques, such as shouting and physical punishments. </p>
<p>As a first step, we explored whether positive parenting protected against a connection between childhood stress and behavioral problems in children. </p>
<p>We analyzed brain scans of almost 500 children between 10 and 17 years old using data from a project called the <a href="https://healthybrainnetwork.org/">Healthy Brain Network</a>. We measured brain tissue using structural magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, a technique that allows us to look at the size of brain regions. To measure stress, we asked children about the number of negative life events they had experienced across family, community and school contexts and how distressed each of those events made them. </p>
<p>Results showed that positive parenting had protective effects against the connection between stress and behavior; in other words, children who had experienced more distress from negative events, but who also perceived their parents as being warm and supportive, exhibited less challenging behavior such as rule-breaking or aggression. We next examined how parenting buffered against a known biomarker of stress in the brain: less tissue in the hippocampus. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.020">Consistent with prior research</a>, we found that more childhood stress correlated with smaller hippocampal volumes. However, we found that children’s perception of having received positive, supportive parenting served as a buffer against the biological effects of stress. Even when young people reported high levels of distress from negative life events, those who perceived their parents as more supportive did not have reduced brain tissue in the hippocampus. </p>
<p>In contrast, we did not find this same protective effect when we looked at what caregivers thought of their parenting. In other words, if parents said they were supportive and positive in their parenting but the child didn’t see them that way, we did not see this protective effect. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xC4wSO3IDYg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Positive reinforcement can work in many situations and with people of all ages.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Past research has found that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084950">hippocampus is smaller in children and adults</a> <a href="https://biolmoodanxietydisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2045-5380-4-12">exposed to high levels of stress in childhood</a>. These smaller volumes are in turn <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.020">associated with behavioral problems</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0406344101">learning and memory challenges</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn958">increased vulnerability to future stress</a>. </p>
<p>Our study highlights the importance of nurturing parenting in promoting healthy brain development and resilience in children. By fostering an environment of warmth and support, caregivers can help children cope with stress more effectively. Dozens of studies have found that positive parenting practices – such as helping children name emotions and providing a space for them to disclose feelings without judgment – can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00293-1">help kids get through difficult events</a>.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Our team’s work and that of others underscores that stressful experiences can have a detrimental impact on development. Many researchers are trying to understand which aspects of stress matter and how. </p>
<p>For example, experiences that are threatening, like violence, may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.012">influence the brain and behavior differently</a> from experiences of deprivation, like not having enough food. </p>
<p>At the same time, while researchers think that certain types of stress have particular characteristics, the person experiencing the stress may not feel that way. That is, not having enough food might feel very threatening to the person going through it. Our study indicates that it is critical to center the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620920725">perspectives of those directly affected by the stress</a> in this area of research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Hanson receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. He is affiliated with Project Destiny, a youth development non-profit located in Pittsburgh. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabella Kahhalé does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Without supportive parents, children already under stress may experience a shrinkage in brain volume in an area of the brain that is important for learning and memory.Jamie Hanson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of PittsburghIsabella Kahhalé, PhD student in Clinical and Developmental Psychology, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067372023-06-20T12:29:12Z2023-06-20T12:29:12ZSaving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531486/original/file-20230612-248839-sft9gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C17%2C3918%2C2598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers pick up water to deliver to homeless people during a 2021 heat wave.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NorthwestHeatWave/5811cb2415d048d584b0162ec7011a61/photo">AP Photo/Nathan Howard</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it.</p>
<p>Almost <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/western-heat-wave.html">two-thirds of households earning US$50,000 or less</a> and <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-is-a-lot-more-air-conditioned-than-it-used-to-be/">70% of rented houses</a> in Washington’s King, Pierce and Snohomish counties had no air conditioning. In Spokane, <a href="https://www.gonzaga.edu/center-for-climate-society-environment/our-work/climate-resilience-project/beat-the-heat/survey">nearly one-quarter of survey respondents</a> didn’t have in-home air conditioning, and among those who did, 1 in 5 faced significant, often financial, barriers to using it.</p>
<p>Imagine having no way to cool your home as temperatures spiked to <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/monitoring-content/extremes/scec/reports/20220210-Washington-Maximum-Temperature.pdf">108 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), and 120 F (49 C) in some places</a>. People in <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands">urban heat islands</a> – areas with few trees and lots of asphalt and concrete that can absorb and radiate heat – saw temperatures as much as <a href="https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ccsereach/2/">14 F (7.8 C) higher</a> than that. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/10/world/canada/canadian-wildfire-british-columbia.html">Extreme heat disasters</a> like this are becoming <a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-urban-heat-exposure-has-tripled-since-the-1980s-with-the-poor-most-at-risk-169153">increasingly common</a> in regions where high heat used to be rare. Blackouts during severe heat waves can also leave residents who believe they are protected because they have in home air conditioners at unexpected risk. To prepare, cities, neighborhoods, companies and individuals can take steps now that can reduce the harm.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and two women sit in the shade while kids play in a fountain. The man has cool cloth on his head and cold soda in his hand. June is nicknamed 'Juneuary' in Seattle for its clouds and usual chill, but that isn't what residents endured in June 2021." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531491/original/file-20230612-16-c47rc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Designing shady spots for sitting and public fountains for kids to play in, like these people found in Seattle on June 27, 2021, can provide some relief from extreme heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PacificNorthwestHeatWave/176e2e948dea47efbc9753259e0d27f4/photo">AP Photo/John Froschauer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a <a href="https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/in-the-hot-seat-saving-lives-from-extreme-heat-in-washington-state/">new report</a>, written with colleagues at universities and the Washington State Department of Health and released ahead of the two-year anniversary of the heat wave, we show how municipal planning agencies, parks departments, local health agencies, community-based organizations like churches and nonprofits, multiple state agencies, hospitals, public health professionals and emergency response personnel, as well as individuals and families, can play a vital role in reducing risk.</p>
<p>The 2021 heat dome was Washington’s deadliest weather disaster on record. It contributed to <a href="https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/in-the-hot-seat-saving-lives-from-extreme-heat-in-washington-state/">441 deaths in the state between June 27 and July 3</a>, our research shows. Medical systems were overwhelmed. </p>
<p>There are numerous ways to avoid this deadly of an outcome in the future. Many emerge from thinking about extreme heat as long-term risk reduction, not just short-term emergency response.</p>
<h2>Designing environments for cooling</h2>
<p>Greening the urban environment can reduce heat exposure and save lives. For example, planting trees and building shade structures where people are most exposed to heat can provide local relief from extreme temperatures. That includes providing shade at buildings without air conditioning and exposed public spaces, such as bus stops and parks.</p>
<p>Planting rooftops with vegetation, known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038092X12002447">green roofs</a>, or painting them white so they reflect heat rather than absorb it, can also <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-green-roofs-reduce-heat-islands">lower roof temperatures by tens of degrees</a>. Used widely, they can reduce an entire neighborhood’s heat island effect by several degrees.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration showing a cross-section of a region, with a city and rural areas, and two chart lines showing day and night temperatures. The temps rise over areas with lots of concrete and asphalt, particularly dense areas that hold the heat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531162/original/file-20230609-21291-onib7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Developed areas tend to heat up more than natural landscapes, such as parks. That can increase heat stress on humans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/in-the-hot-seat-saving-lives-from-extreme-heat-in-washington-state/">Climate Impacts Group/University of Washington, adapted from EPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Efforts like these, along with tree planting campaigns in public parks and rights of way, and ordinances requiring shade trees for parking lots and private development projects, can transform the urban heat landscape.</p>
<h2>Reaching vulnerable people</h2>
<p>When heat waves are coming, culturally nuanced outreach efforts focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101392">the most vulnerable populations</a> – and involving sources they trust – can save lives.</p>
<p>Government heat advisories in traditional media like radio, newspapers, TV and the internet have been shown to have limited success in changing people’s behavior. In the <a href="https://www.gonzaga.edu/center-for-climate-society-environment/our-work/climate-resilience-project/beat-the-heat/survey">2022 Spokane survey</a>, 88% of respondents indicated they were unlikely to leave their home during an extreme heat event to go to a cooling center, for example. The reasons varied, including misperception of personal risk, fear of leaving homes unoccupied, not wanting to leave pets behind and mistrust of government. </p>
<p>Culturally specific resources led by community-based organizations can get around the government trust issue and can be tailored to the local population. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a wheel chair leans back with cooling clothes on her forehead and chest during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave. The heat wave killed hundreds of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531487/original/file-20230612-29-i0013b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman puts cold cloths on her forehead at a cooling center in Portland, Ore., on June 27, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tracy-wallace-puts-ice-cold-cloths-on-her-forehead-and-news-photo/1233728368">Alisha Jucevic for The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That might mean opening cooling centers in churches or common community gathering places and launching heat awareness campaigns driven by trusted community messengers. New York City developed a door-to-door wellness check program that <a href="https://climate.cityofnewyork.us/initiatives/be-a-buddy/">uses neighborhood volunteers</a> to check on elderly and other at-risk residents.</p>
<p>Under this model, churches, libraries, community centers and community nonprofits take center stage, supported with resources from local and state governments. Baltimore developed more than a dozen “<a href="https://www.baltimoresustainability.org/baltimore-resiliency-hub-program/">resiliency hubs</a>” using this model to provide water, cooling, power for charging devices and other support.</p>
<p>Community-based organizations can also direct energy assistance to lower-income community members. In Spokane, one community organization created a “<a href="https://www.snapwa.org/cool">cooling fund</a>” to provide portable air conditioners to those who cannot afford one. </p>
<p>Our report lays out <a href="https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/in-the-hot-seat-saving-lives-from-extreme-heat-in-washington-state/">many other strategies</a> to achieve long-term heat risk reduction.</p>
<h2>Landlords, employers and utilities have a role</h2>
<p>Addressing extreme heat over the long term requires the participation of many other groups not tasked with protecting public health.</p>
<p>For example, landlords of multifamily housing and rental homes have an important role to play. After the 2021 heat wave, <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2022R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1536/Enrolled">Oregon passed a law</a> prohibiting landlords from restricting tenants’ ability to install window air conditioners.</p>
<p>Employers of people who work outdoors, or indoors in buildings without air conditioning, can protect workers by allowing more breaks, providing shade and water and adjusting work hours to avoid heat exposure – although concerns persist about rule enforcement and reduced pay. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A worker standing in shade holds a " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531488/original/file-20230612-23-wcvsxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Outdoor workers may face extreme heat for hours on end. More frequent breaks and providing shade can help when work can’t stop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/construction-workers-guide-traffic-along-hot-pavement-on-news-photo/1227714772">Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Utilities can make a difference by ensuring the power stays on during high-demand periods, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods, and working with communities to reduce costs for vulnerable people that may prevent them from using air conditioning.</p>
<p>Ultimately, reducing extreme heat vulnerability through multiple strategies is crucial because lives are at stake.</p>
<h2>Coordination is essential</h2>
<p>Extreme heat waves are forecast to <a href="https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/6/">occur more frequently</a> across the globe as greenhouse gas emissions continue to warm the climate. Between 1971 and 2021, Washington state experienced an average of three extreme heat days per year. By the 2050s, climate models project that will rise to between 17 and 30 extreme heat days per year – <a href="https://cig.uw.edu/resources/special-reports/in-the-hot-seat-saving-lives-from-extreme-heat-in-washington-state/">a fivefold increase</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Five maps show observed temperature change and much higher changes by mid and late century, particularly with high-emissions scenarios." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531244/original/file-20230611-23-w48erd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annual average temperatures are projected to increase, with proportionally greater changes at higher latitudes. The top map shows observed temperature changes from 1986-2016 relative to 1901-1960. The lower maps show projected changes for mid-century (2036–2065) and late century (2070–2099) depending on high and low greenhouse gas emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/image/515">Fourth National Climate Assessment/NOAA NCEI/CICS-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the end, saving lives from extreme heat is a complicated challenge requiring coordination across multiple levels of government, agencies and the civic and private sectors.</p>
<p>Some cities, including Phoenix, are <a href="https://www.phoenix.gov/heat">experimenting with heat offices</a> tasked with this coordination. But individuals have an important role to play as well. </p>
<p>In addition to knowing how to protect themselves, their loved ones and their neighbors, individuals can add their voices to the rising chorus calling on all levels of government and the private and civic sectors to take urgent steps to reduce heat risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Vogel receives funding from Washington state that supports the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group to conduct data modeling and provide technical assistance on climate impact analysis to Washington communities, businesses, and governments.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian G. Henning receives funding from Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment to support teaching, scholarship, consulting, and capacity building. </span></em></p>A new report lays out steps communities can take to help their residents survive heat waves as the risk of dangerous temperatures rises.Jason Vogel, Interim Director, Climate Impacts Group, University of WashingtonBrian G. Henning, Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies, Gonzaga UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2079822023-06-19T20:00:49Z2023-06-19T20:00:49ZSupermarket shelves were empty for months after the Lismore floods. Here’s how to make supply chains more resilient<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532504/original/file-20230618-24-mqj76o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C14%2C956%2C643&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brendan Beirne</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From the outside, the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales seems idyllic. Rainforests, mountains, beaches and Byron Bay. But the past few years have made life harder for many who live there, with Black Summer bushfires, the COVID pandemic and intense flooding. </p>
<p>These disasters have exposed a key vulnerability: food. While it’s often assumed Australia’s strong agricultural sector means we are secure, these successive disasters show the danger of this assumption. </p>
<p>Much of this region’s food is trucked in from cities and food grown in the region transported out. The 2022 flood crisis damaged farms, cut off roads and freight lines, and inundated cool storage facilities. This, in turn, led to empty supermarket shelves. And not just for a day. In Lismore, they were empty for weeks or up to four months for <a href="https://www.lismorecitynews.com.au/story/7801762/date-set-for-lismore-supermarket-return/">major supermarkets</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.planc.org.au/foodsecurity">new research</a> found that shortening supply chains will be vital to make regions more resilient to these shocks – as well as drawing on community efforts such as farmers’ markets. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="lismore flood 2022" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532561/original/file-20230619-23-9jwyr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lismore and the Northern Rivers region was hard-hit by floods in 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shorter supply chains are stronger supply chains</h2>
<p>During the floods, food supply chains bent or broke. Food simply couldn’t get into some towns in the Northern Rivers. You could see the evidence: <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-02/shoppers-strip-shelves-bare-as-floods-strand-truckies-in-nsw/100874048">empty supermarket shelves</a> and <a href="https://nrcf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NCRF_Flood_Report_2023-A-Year-On-From-Disaster.pdf">major impacts</a> on food-based livelihoods including grocers, cafes and other local businesses. </p>
<p>As a local food business owner told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are not making any money at the moment, just working to maintain customers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>What’s the solution? First, we must think of <a href="https://ruaf.org/focus-area/city-region-food-systems/#:%7E:text=A%20City%20Region%20Food%20Systems,by%20strengthening%20rural%2Durban%20linkages.">food as a local system</a> rather than a linear supply chain. </p>
<h2>Communities move fast while government often moves slowly</h2>
<p>In the wake of the floods, <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/floodinquiry">an inquiry</a> found a worrying lack of preparedness or ability to respond by the state government. The community had to respond as best it could. </p>
<p>Local farmers’ markets reopened in a week after the major Lismore flood in February 2022, thanks to the work of managers, farmers and volunteers who worked to clean up muddy sites and supply food. As one helper <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-07/flooded-farmers-pull-together-to-feed-lismore-community/100887576">told the ABC</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everywhere is closed – that’s why we wanted to open the farmers’ market, because everyone’s out of supplies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Without trucks, supplies came from local farmer networks, existing stocks and supplies, people’s own pantries and, when the floodwaters receded, from unaffected food outlets south and north of the region. As a farmers’ market manager told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Supermarket shelves were completely empty [but] we had all this produce. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The people running local food exchanges and <a href="https://lismoreapp.com.au/news-sport/news/trees-not-bombs-tent-becomes-lismores-community-cafe?id=62328e9d238f6a002ce2d217">pop-up kitchens</a> served and delivered food to those who couldn’t access food on their own. They could do this thanks to the town’s <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/nitv-radio/en/podcast-episode/koori-kitchen-lismore-from-hot-meals-to-comfort-and-social-support/4f2mf4emq">strong community networks</a>. As a resident put it, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was more a case of community coming together, rather than it come from anywhere else.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>During and before the disasters, local food champions have been testing and sharing resilient farming approaches, diversifying food production and ensuring equipment is flood-resilient and easily repairable. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="farmer's market yamba" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532563/original/file-20230619-27-fd1gqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmer’s markets are one way to localise food supply chains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Food insecurity is on the rise – and worsened by disasters</h2>
<p>Food insecurity was already a major problem across Australia before these successive shocks. But it’s surged even higher as the nation weathers the economic fallout from the pandemic and rising living costs. </p>
<p>In 2022, <a href="https://reports.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-hunger-report-2022/">Foodbank reported</a> that one-third of Australian households had problems with finding enough to eat. </p>
<p>Our study found food charities in the Northern Rivers were also disrupted by the floods. A year on, the sector is still require funding and resources to meet ongoing demand. </p>
<p>We also found there was hidden demand for even more food assistance. For instance, one remarkable Lismore resident cooked more than 1,400 meals a week in their home kitchen to donate to people who didn’t feel comfortable or able to go to food charities. They carried on doing so for 10 months afterwards. As the resident said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Most days I could have given meals out twice over as there was just so much need.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-australians-are-going-hungry-we-dont-know-for-sure-and-thats-a-big-part-of-the-problem-195360">How many Australians are going hungry? We don't know for sure, and that's a big part of the problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We should build up community food networks and regional circular economies</h2>
<p>Even before the floods, Lismore was one of the most disaster-prone areas in Australia. This won’t be the last major shock the region faces. </p>
<p>So what can we do? Our recommendations to boost food resilience include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>creating a regional food plan and food policy council, as recommended in last year’s state government inquiry into <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/inquiries/2841/Report%20-%20food%20production%20and%20supply%20in%20NSW.pdf">food production and supply</a></p></li>
<li><p>finding ways to respond rapidly across the food supply chain during disasters</p></li>
<li><p>strengthening food system connections and collaboration</p></li>
<li><p>supporting local food champions and community food efforts. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>While Lismore’s plight drew huge attention, other parts of Australia have been suffering food shortages too. April’s enormous Cyclone Ilsa cut roads and broke bridges in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-06/flooding-logistics-freight-issues-nt-wa-food-supplies-rail-road/102057556">causing food shortages</a>. And last year’s floods in South Australia cut the vital Trans-Australian railway, which transports 80% of WA’s food. That left <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-supermarket-shelves-stripped-bare-after-extreme-weather/a80e8d16-f3b5-4124-94a7-74b02636510e">supermarket shelves empty</a>. </p>
<p>We must make the vital food systems supporting our regions more resilient. What does that look like? Picture better funding and support for food charities, building <a href="https://melbournefoodhub.org.au/">food hubs</a>, and preventing high value arable land from being <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-sprawl-is-threatening-sydneys-foodbowl-55156">turned into suburbs</a>, particularly <a href="https://lismoreapp.com.au/news-sport/news/nrrc-release-draft-resilient-lands-strategy?id=647946beb45beb0028715d41">those slated</a> for relocating flood-affected residential housing out of the floodplain. </p>
<p>Our recommendations are in line with the CSIRO’s <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/News/2023/June/CSIRO-roadmap-charts-Australias-food-and-nutrition-security-by-2050">2050 roadmap</a> for the future of our food supplies, as well as important work being done elsewhere in Australia by the <a href="https://www.agrifood-hub.com/">Canberra Region Food Collaborative</a>, <a href="http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net/">Sydney Food Futures</a>, <a href="https://regionalinnovationdatalab.shinyapps.io/Logan_Food_Mapping/">Logan Local Food Map</a>, <a href="https://www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/info/20031/liveability_health_and_wellbeing/645/cardinia_food_circles_project">Cardinia Food Circles</a> and <a href="https://begacircularvalley.com.au/projects/local-food-and-logistics-program/">Bega Circular Valley</a>.</p>
<p>Crises brings a chance to think differently. We should seize it to rebuild and strengthen our food systems so we can weather these shocks. </p>
<p>If we harness community networks, innovative solutions and drive policy change, we can build a more resilient and secure food system for the Northern Rivers – and beyond.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-food-insecurity-152746">What is food insecurity?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p><em>This report was produced by researchers from Plan C, the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney and Wild Community. It was funded by the Northern Rivers Community Foundation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Berry receives funding from various government and non-government organisations. In 2023 this includes the Northern Rivers Community Foundation and Plan C. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean Renouf receives funding from Plan C and the Northern Rivers Community Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheriden Keegan receives funding from Plan C and Northern Rivers Community Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Somayeh Sadegh Koohestani works for Institute for Sustainable Futures and received funding in 2023 from Northern Rivers Community Foundation and Plan C. </span></em></p>When the roads flooded around Lismore, it left supermarket shelves empty for months. Keeping everyone fed took a huge community effort. Now we need to make food supply secure.Fiona Berry, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyJean S. Renouf, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Southern Cross UniversitySheriden Keegan, PhD Scholar, Griffith UniversitySomayeh Sadegh Koohestani, PhD student, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078722023-06-16T13:27:24Z2023-06-16T13:27:24ZThe secret of Novak Djokovic’s record-breaking tennis success is his mental resilience – expert explains<p>It comes as no surprise to anyone who follows tennis that Novak Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam at the French Open this month, making him the most successful men’s tennis player in history. The Serbian player is consistently hard to beat, even when he is playing poorly. But what is it that sets him apart?</p>
<p>There are a few answers. Djokovic has superb technical skills and has been called <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/7-best-returners-all-time-men-s-tennis-ft-novak-djokovic-andre-agassi">the best “returner”</a> in the sport’s history. He has <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/tennis/933042/novak-djokovic-us-open-final-diet-transformed-federer-nadal/">worked on his diet and fitness</a> to ensure he is consistently in optimal health. And his tactical understanding and execution of tennis are second to none. </p>
<p>What remains? The controller of all these three elements: the mental side. In the past 20 years, Djokovic is perhaps the tennis player who has most openly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aRKHy_0w28">spoken about and advocated for</a> mental training – and resilience has been a key focus.</p>
<p>Djokovic has dedicated a significant amount of time and planning to his mental training and has worked with experts to incorporate mindfulness. Talking of this in his 2013 cookbook, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Serve_To_Win/cX8pAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">Serve to Win</a>, Djokovic said: “I do it for about 15 minutes and it is as important to me as my physical training.”</p>
<p>Mindfulness is a mental skill that allows people to experience their conscious thoughts and emotions with the goal of changing their focus of awareness. For example, if the player misses a serve, the brain will probably catastrophise: <em>You missed a serve. You will double fault, and then they will break your serve</em>. In tennis, where every point is a win or a loss, this triggers self-doubt.</p>
<p>Mindfulness allows players to be conscious of this and avoid a negative response. Djokovic goes on to say: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve done so much mindfulness that my brain functions better now automatically … I used to freeze up whenever I made a mistake. Now when I blow a serve or shank a backhand, I still get those flashes of self-doubt, but I know how to handle them.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Why resilience is so important</h2>
<p>Even Djokovic makes mistakes. Resilience is not about error-free performance. That is impossible in elite sports. Resilience is the ability to adapt after adversity. In elite sports, this adversity may be small (such as losing a set in a match) or big (such as a major injury). </p>
<p>Resilience is something <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjpwPma2sT_AhUEgFwKHcDrBUkQFnoECA8QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Farticles%2F10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2022.1003053%2Ffull&usg=AOvVaw2hCO-RJq3pELKWx1WqWqPc">athletes develop over time</a>, putting effort in to building mental and social skills that act as a shield against the negative effects of adversity and failure.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rfcfzh2ujVE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights of Djokovic winning the 2023 French Open, his 23rd Grand Slam title.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Athletes engage in this process through a learning cycle based on their experiences. The psychological skills of emotional control are important for developing resilience. This includes focusing on the process, not the outcome and challenge appraisal, which enables the athlete to look at areas of action they can take to improve their performance, rather than dwelling on threats of failure.</p>
<p>When faced with adversity, the athlete does the best they can. Whatever the outcome, they then reflect on how these psychological skills played out and resilient athletes start repeating what worked for them more. </p>
<p>Djokovic developed his resilience by regularly competing against three great champions of tennis: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. He reflected (for both his successes and failures) on what worked mentally, physically and tactically and then developed himself further. He still uses mindfulness. In his book, Djokovic states how he accepts his thoughts “as they come … they do bounce around like crazy, but they’re supposed to, your job is to let them come and go”.</p>
<p>The main element of Djokovic’s resilience learning process has been his openness to adapt. He has <a href="https://www.tennismajors.com/others-news/the-desire-is-still-there-but-things-can-change-quickly-i-am-36-guys-djokovic-doesnt-avoid-the-age-factor-anymore-683321.html">spoken publicly</a> about how he now understands and treats his physical preparation differently. On a mental level, he has accepted that he cannot play every tournament and <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/tennis/news/novak-djokovic-warns-still-motivated-notch-grand-slams">his motivation has changed slightly</a>.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Djokovic discusses his mindfulness techniques.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Djokovic’s motivation has adapted to target grand slams and prepare for them. This is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200590907568?casa_token=GOjoeODZJRYAAAAA%3AViTDnTtuc7mHPalqA29vwsWpXdSTkNv7JyO03mtgqwwHOSTIulzr04Gvnpm2CJFq3iwdZNn6AlY">achievement motivation</a>. In sport psychology, this refers to how people are motivated to work towards their highest performance level because they thrive off the satisfaction of the difficulty in the process. They are not afraid of failure but rather are accepting of it in the course of achieving goals.</p>
<p>This has added to Djokovic’s resilience because it has allowed him to accept everything that has come his way, be it the injuries, the ban from tournaments for being unvaccinated, the toughest of competitions, or even emotional outbursts.</p>
<p>So, what does Djokovic himself attribute his remarkable success to? Speaking to ESPN, the player explained: “I stopped thinking too much about what could happen and relied on my physical and mental strength to play the right shots at the right time.” And play the right shots at the right time, he has done. What an incredible achievement in the history of tennis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sahen Gupta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Athletes develop resilience over time, building mental and social skills that act as a shield against the negative effects of adversity and failure.Sahen Gupta, Lecturer in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1946912023-06-15T12:37:48Z2023-06-15T12:37:48ZAmerican Indians forced to attend boarding schools as children are more likely to be in poor health as adults<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503911/original/file-20230110-24-749og5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C19%2C4341%2C2883&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research reveals what generations of tribes know firsthand: that forced assimilation and unhealthy conditions at compulsory boarding schools takes a permanent toll.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-healthcare-assistance-in-a-home-royalty-free-image/1397246903?adppopup=true">RichLegg/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many American Indians attended compulsory boarding schools in the 1900s or have relatives who did. My family is no different. Three generations of Running Bears – my grandparents, parents and those from my own generation – attended these residential schools over a period stretching from approximately 1907 to the mid-1970s. </p>
<p>American Indians are very resilient, given the harsh history we have endured. Drawing upon the strengths of our spirituality, cultural practices and family and community interconnections, we continue to persevere. </p>
<p>Even so, as a young adult I recognized that – compared with the broader society – my community experienced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1494-1">higher rates of mental</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242934">physical health problems</a>: depression, anxiety, suicide, diabetes and cancer, to name just a few. I wondered whether attending compulsory boarding school – an experience that sets American Indians apart from other minority groups – contributed to these health disparities. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://und.edu/directory/ursula.runningbear">scholar who studies public health</a>, so this question – and the fact that little quantitative scientific inquiry into it had been undertaken – was at the forefront of my thoughts when I had the opportunity to investigate the health effects of boarding schools on American Indians. </p>
<h2>Truth in the data</h2>
<p>When I embarked on this research in 2014, I began by analyzing a portion of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.9.1723">data collected from</a> the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project. That project focused on the prevalence of mental health disorders and service utilization among Northern Plains and Southwest tribes and collected some data on boarding school attendance and experiences. </p>
<p>For my study, I used the Northern Plains sample that included more than 1,600 randomly selected tribal-enrolled members from the Northern Plains and assessed quality of life – specifically overall physical functioning and well-being. I found that those who attended boarding school had on average <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-017-9549-0">statistically significantly lower scores</a> than those who did not attend. </p>
<p>As a researcher, I felt vindicated to find a statistically significant relationship between boarding school attendance and poor physical health – quantitative evidence of what I and many other American Indians already knew instinctively. Yet this finding was also deeply painful. Throughout my life I have sensed the unspoken pain and emotion of my family’s boarding school experiences. </p>
<p>These results made their devastation undeniable and much more tangible. </p>
<h2>Forced assimilation takes a physical toll</h2>
<p>American Indian boarding schools used brutal methods to assimilate their students into the dominant culture and inculcate Christian beliefs and practices. Although <a href="https://theconversation.com/truth-and-healing-commission-could-help-native-american-communities-traumatized-by-government-run-boarding-schools-that-tried-to-destroy-indian-culture-169240">those practices are well documented</a>, quantitative research into whether they had an effect on the long-term physical health of American Indian people who were subjected to them was hard to come by. </p>
<p>Using a subset of the Northern Plains sample, which included more than 700 American Indians who had attended boarding school, I examined the effects of five well-established aspects of boarding school experience. They included an age of first attendance of 7 or younger, rare or nonexistent visits with family, forced church attendance, punishment for use of their native language and a prohibition on the practice of American Indian cultural traditions.</p>
<p>I found that those who endured these experiences during boarding school had worse physical health status than those who did not. </p>
<p>However, the poorest physical health status occurred <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1742-y">among people who had been older than 7</a> when they entered boarding school and had also experienced punishment for speaking their tribal language. I am not sure why this is the case, but one possibility is that older children were more proficient in their first, tribal, language, making it more difficult to transition to English, which led, in turn, to more punishment for failure to speak the colonizing language.</p>
<p>Again, although the findings hit me deeply, I was not surprised. Fortunately, today there are efforts to revitalize and restore American Indian languages and culture, such as the <a href="https://sicangucdc.org/wakanyeja-tokeyahci">Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Lakota Immersion School</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In this 2021 MSNBC report, former attendees of American Indian boarding schools recount experiences of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Chronic health issues</h2>
<p>Recognizing the seriousness of all of this, and its potential effect on my immediate family, I examined whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097%2FFCH.0000000000000205">15 chronic health conditions</a> were statistically associated with having attended boarding school. These conditions include diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and kidney disease, among others. I found that former boarding school attendees were 44% more likely to have chronic physical health conditions, with seven out of the 15 chronic conditions statistically related to boarding school attendance. </p>
<p>For example, those who had attended boarding schools were more than twice as likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12092">report tuberculosis</a>. This, too, was not surprising, since historical accounts and health reports have <a href="https://narf.org/nill/resources/meriam.html">documented the overcrowded conditions</a>. In addition, windows were often boarded to prevent students from running away, which led to inadequate ventilation. </p>
<p>Boarding school attendees likewise had nearly four times the risk of any type of cancer as those who were not subjected to boarding school. One reason for this could be <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/DDT_FactSheet.html#">exposure to the pesticide DDT</a>, which was banned in the U.S. in 1972. Upon arriving for the school year, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/17/1129402172/interior-secretary-haaland-is-documenting-abuse-in-federal-indian-boarding-schoo">students were often coated in DDT powder</a> to target disease-bearing insects like mosquitoes. </p>
<p>I also found higher rates of diabetes, high cholesterol, anemia and gallbladder issues – diseases that can be associated with changing from a whole food diet to one higher in sugars, starches and fats. Given that this shift has been widely reported throughout the American Indian population in recent decades, it is worth noting that these effects appear to be even more pronounced in former boarding school students than in their peers who did not attend.</p>
<h2>Generational effects</h2>
<p>Finally, I examined whether a participant’s mother’s and father’s attendance was related to the number of chronic physical health conditions the person experienced. </p>
<p>I found that someone whose father attended boarding school had, on average, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/fch.0000000000000205">36% more chronic physical health conditions</a> than someone whose father did not attend. Notably, I did not find this effect from a mother’s boarding school attendance, although the reasons for that aren’t yet clear.</p>
<p>Although this study did not specifically look at epigenetics – shifts in gene expression that are heritable – <a href="https://doi.org/10.4161/epi.6.7.16222">it points to the possibility of epigenetic effects</a> that can produce biological changes that span generations.</p>
<p>All of this is to say that compulsory residential boarding school education has had profound consequences for several generations of American Indians. As troubling as that is, I have faith that, as evidence mounts on the impacts of boarding school attendance on American Indians, our communities and their allies will develop solutions that improve health and healing for all of our people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ursula Running Bear receives funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.. </span></em></p>Native Americans sent to government-funded schools now experience significantly higher rates of mental and physical health problems than those who did not.Ursula Running Bear, Assistant Professor of Population Health, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2013622023-05-24T16:20:24Z2023-05-24T16:20:24ZThe future is uncertain for our last old-growth boreal forests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514949/original/file-20230313-16-8uiv5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C3876%2C2560&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Old spruce and fir forest, over 300 years old.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maxence Martin)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Driving along the Trans-Canada Highway, with its endless succession of spruce, aspen, fir and birch trees, it’s easy to assume that our country is bursting with forests. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>This article is part of <em>La Conversation Canada’s</em> series <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr/topics/foret-boreale-138017">The boreal forest: A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers</a></strong></p>
<p><br><em>La Conversation Canada invites you to take a virtual walk in the heart of the boreal forest. In this series, our experts focus on management and sustainable development issues, natural disturbances, the ecology of terrestrial wildlife and aquatic ecosystems, northern agriculture and the cultural and economic importance of the boreal forest for Indigenous peoples. We hope you have a pleasant — and informative — walk through the forest!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Although we might see a few logging operations and traces of forest fires here and there, we probably wouldn’t imagine that our forests could some day disappear from the landscape. Yet the reality may be quite different. </p>
<p>The issue at stake is not so much the loss of forests, but rather, the loss of intact forests, i.e. forests where no harvesting activities have ever taken place. This is a major issue that was <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2021-2022/cop-15/documents">emphasized</a> once again at the UN Biodiversity Conference, held in Montréal in 2022. Canada ranks <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-boreal-deforestation-lobbying-1.6773789">third in the world</a> for the rate of loss of its intact forests. Not a very good record.</p>
<p>However, our research in recent years on boreal forest ecology and the impact of forest management shows that we must pay special attention to protecting old-growth forests within intact forests. </p>
<h2>Old-growth forests, a rule ignored in favour of the exception</h2>
<p>Fires are the main natural disturbance in the boreal forest. Yet while they look impressive, because of the vastness of the territory affected, their impact is relatively moderate. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, much of Canada’s intact boreal landscape consisted of forests <a href="https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.72">that had not burned for centuries</a>. These are often referred to as “old growth” forests. The adjective “old” creates a bias, however, since it suggests that the trees are dying or declining. This is actually far from the case: old-growth boreal forests have remained very dynamic and resilient <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02332.x">over the centuries</a>. An old forest is actually no more tired or fragile than a forest that we would describe as either “young” or “mature.” So be careful not to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/anthropomorphism">anthropomorphize</a>!</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="conifer forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510920/original/file-20230217-361-darzns.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old spruce forest, 200 years old.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maxence Martin)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As far as the forester — whose main objective is to harvest wood — is concerned, allowing a forest to age amounts to a loss of wood. That’s because it is more efficient to cut forests early and frequently in order to take advantage of the strong growth of young trees. As a result, since the beginning of the industrial era, most harvesting of intact boreal forests has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-018-0148-9">targeted old-growth forests</a> with the objective of replacing them with younger forests. This drastically reduces the surface area and connectivity of old-growth forests. While they originally formed large continuous clumps, the old-growth forests that remain in managed areas now form small clusters separated from each other.</p>
<h2>Massive degradation of forest landscapes, not deforestation</h2>
<p>Regularly harvesting young forests makes sense in forests that are already being managed (i.e. forests that have been modified by previous harvesting) because this optimizes the harvesting of a material with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.107">many benefits</a>. Cutting in intact forests, on the other hand, leads to a degradation of the landscape through the loss of old-growth forests. Old forests offer very different habitats and ecological services than young, managed forests. For example, dead wood is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139025843">critical habitat</a> for many forest species. However, it is in old forests that dead wood is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107813">most abundant and diverse</a> in terms of its size or stage of degradation. </p>
<p>In Sweden, the loss of old-growth forests has led to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08030718.x">population collapse</a> of many forest species. In Canada, the decline of the woodland caribou is considered a “<a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/manitoba-government-caribou-agreement/">canary in the coal mine</a>,” a harbinger of a much larger ecological crisis that could result, in part, from the loss of old-growth forests. </p>
<p>However, it is inaccurate to speak of deforestation in the boreal forests, as the forest grows back after cutting. What’s happening should actually be called <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00634-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2590332222006340%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">degradation</a>. By replacing old-growth forests with younger forests that will not be allowed to age, we are degrading forest habitats. </p>
<p>So, talking about the low rate of deforestation of Canada’s boreal forests has become a way to avoid addressing the question of the degradation of these forests, which has been widely <a href="https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/before-and-after-photos-show-devastating-effects-of-intensive-logging-on-b-c-s-old-growth-forests/">documented</a> now for decades. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="dead tree stump" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510921/original/file-20230217-411-ga9m2c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dead wood is an essential habitat for many species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maxence Martin)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Do we know what we are losing?</h2>
<p>Stopping the degradation of old-growth boreal forests constitutes a major environmental challenge in Canada, and a policy of restoring already degraded landscapes must be added to this. Fortunately, these goals are not <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2022/0222/How-Canadian-families-are-saving-the-country-s-old-growth-forests">incompatible</a> with timber production. The latter should focus on forests that are managed for this purpose, rather than on intact forests. </p>
<p>Still, we must recognize our lack of knowledge about old-growth forests and the issues that arise from them. These forests show a high degree of heterogeneity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107813">of histories, dynamics and habitats</a> that can be very difficult to identify and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2019-0177">map</a>. Even today, it appears to be impossible to provide a full picture of the state of Canada’s old-growth forests. </p>
<p>Boreal biodiversity also remains poorly understood, partly because it is dominated by species that are less visible and much less attractive than large mammals, like the caribou. These include <a href="https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.82">mosses</a>, lichens, insects, fungi or even bacteria. </p>
<p>An effective conservation policy must be both quantitative and qualitative, protecting natural habitats in all their diversity. Current protection targets are mainly quantitative. They are, for example, based on percentages of areas to be protected. However, logging is mainly concentrated in old-growth forests that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.639397">richer in wood</a>. </p>
<p>More globally, the recent decision by the province of Québec to cancel <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/06/07/quebec-misses-17-per-cent-protected-areas-target.html">83 protected area projects</a> in commercial forests, and to replace them with protected areas in the north that have no impact on the forest industry, demonstrates the risk of using simple accounting criteria that do not take ecological factors into consideration.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="logging" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510922/original/file-20230217-22-mwbasv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Logging within a multi-hundred-year-old boreal forest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Maxence Martin)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Talk about the urgent need to protect the last remaining intact forests is good news. However, to ensure that any conservation policy is really effective, we must proceed with caution, using critical skills. In Québec, for example, a degradation rate of 75 per cent of old-growth commercial forests is unfortunately still seen as, “<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwisiuao5pz9AhU8FVkFHS3YCkkQFnoECAsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-contenu.quebec.ca%2Fcdn-contenu%2Fforets%2Fdocuments%2Fplanification%2FAbitibi-Temiscamingue%2FPL_PAFIT_Abitibi_UA082-51_MFFP.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0S9feRbECqSLBqK2eJhOXd">acceptable</a>.” </p>
<p>Given the urgency of our current climate and environmental crisis, we can certainly do better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201362/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maxence Martin has received funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec, the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Fenton has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies (FRQNT), the Plan Nord du Québec, Environment Canada, in discovery and in partnership with forestry and mining companies.</span></em></p>The remoteness and small size of old-growth boreal trees should not make us forget their high ecological importance and the many threats they face.Maxence Martin, Écologie et aménagement forestiers, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)Nicole Fenton, Professeure, écologie végétale/Professor, plant ecology, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2059252023-05-18T04:58:58Z2023-05-18T04:58:58ZFor a no-frills New Zealand budget it was ‘surprisingly frilly’: 5 experts on Labour’s big pre-election calls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526941/original/file-20230518-21-oi4z5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C16%2C5375%2C3573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Minister of Finance Grant Robertson delivers his fifth Wellbeing Budget.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Grant Robertson’s <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2023/wellbeing/index.htm">sixth budget</a> was an exercise in threading various needles. Much of its substance had already been foreshadowed, and to begin with the mood music was suitably sober. </p>
<p>But by the time the finance minister had finished speaking, a surprising number of variously-sized rabbits had been pulled from the budget hat – some intended to have an immediate impact (the expansion of support for early childhood education and public transport) and others with a longer time horizon (investments in rail and other forms of infrastructure). </p>
<p>For a “no frills” budget, it was surprisingly frilly. </p>
<p>Today was also about drawing a narrative line under the kind of recent events – not least the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/486012/stuart-nash-has-resigned-as-police-minister-pm-hipkins-says">Stuart Nash</a> and <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/live-updates/03-05-2023/meka-whaitiri-quits-labour-will-join-te-pati-maori-effective-immediately">Meka Whaitiri</a> imbroglios – that have allowed the National Party to play the phrase “<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/the-front-page-is-labour-facing-a-coalition-of-chaos-amid-developments-at-te-pati-maori-and-the-greens/VC5RBUT77NH5DL2IEYWJ7BO6YQ/">coalition of chaos</a>” on high rotate.</p>
<p>It was also an important milestone on the road to the October 14 general election in Aotearoa New Zealand. Robertson’s job today was to convey the sense of a government which, following a challenging three years, still has focus, energy, competence and new policies. </p>
<p>His policy rhetoric may not have soared quite as high as some would have liked. But the announcements regarding new science hubs, support for the game development industry and the extension of electric vehicle (and other forms of) infrastructure will have placated at least some of those who like their governments to have ideas.</p>
<p>Robertson’s speech also contained a clear message for Māori voters (and Te Paati Māori). With additional support for Whānau Ora, Māori medium schools, Māori housing, repairs to whānau-owned homes in cyclone effected areas (read Meka Whaitiri’s seat of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti), and new spending on te reo revitalisation and Te Matatini, the finance minister made the case for Māori to stick with (or come over to) Labour.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526944/original/file-20230518-17-jkyrps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prime Minister Chris Hipkins congratulates Minister of Finance Grant Robertson after the budget address.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images</span></span>
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<p>The budget continues the incremental, pragmatic tack taken since Chris Hipkins moved into the ninth floor of the Beehive. But this comes with risks for Labour. </p>
<p>The collapse of the electoral alliance Jacinda Ardern constructed in 2020 means there are fewer voters in the centre than there were three years ago. The combined projected support for parties other than Labour and National hovered around 30% in <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/489891/new-political-poll-main-parties-in-a-tight-race-but-luxon-s-popularity-drops">one recent poll</a>.</p>
<p>The general election will be won or lost in the margins. Labour strategists will be happy enough if today’s budget helps pull a few percentage points of support their way, and strengthens the party’s hand should it be part of discussions over the formation of the next government. Robertson will be hoping he released just enough rabbits today to get them there.</p>
<p><strong>– <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-shaw-118987">Richard Shaw</a></strong></p>
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<h2>Conservative and non-inflationary</h2>
<p>Many people were looking for three things from a budget focused on “<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/budget-2023-chis-hipkins-make-or-break-bread-and-butter-budget/TT3JHPHABRGNJCMQAPUGSSFUBI/">bread and butter issues</a>”: infrastructure investment, cost of living assistance, and changes in taxes and benefits.</p>
<p>The government recently announced <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/government-to-splash-941m-in-budget-to-rebuild-communities-after-floods-and-cyclone/7AW7KXMBSNCDTNTC7EMZ4PMAKU/">$941 million in funding</a> for rebuilding after Cyclone Gabrielle. This was bolstered in the budget by a $6 billion commitment over three years for a National Resilience Plan.</p>
<p>But the government has faced a delicate balancing act between addressing the acute effects of a rising cost of living, and ensuring that any additional support is not overly inflationary. The budget included relatively modest moves to reduce cost-of-living pressures, including an extension and increase of childcare subsidies. Prescription co-payments have also been scrapped.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-vs-new-zealand-you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-country-by-the-way-it-budgets-160766">Australia vs New Zealand. You can tell a lot about a country by the way it budgets</a>
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<p>The government had already ruled out <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/488777/no-cyclone-levy-capital-gains-or-wealth-tax-in-budget-pm-chris-hipkins">significant tax changes</a>, including new taxes on wealth or capital gains. Instead, it chose to align the trustee tax rate to the top personal tax rate. This alignment tidies up the tax system a little, but is unlikely to make a huge difference to most taxpayers, or to the government’s coffers. </p>
<p>Perhaps most surprisingly, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/budget-2023-thomas-coughlan-whats-in-the-budget-my-picks/OMNBLMFSMJBGPNMABTSWCBDJM4/">anticipated changes</a> to Working for Families were not announced – these may instead be an election sweetener later this year.</p>
<p>From an economic perspective, the “<a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-rules-out-cyclone-levy-no-frills-budget">no-frills budget</a>” was definitely as advertised. It was conservative and non-inflationary. We can take comfort that means little risk of further increases in the price of bread or butter.</p>
<p><strong>– <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-p-cameron-388880">Michael Cameron</a></strong></p>
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<h2>Slow-acting medicine for health</h2>
<p>With each budget we can expect a boost in support for health. This year is no exception. There is <a href="https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/budget-2023-government-tackles-winter-waitlists-and-workforce">significant new spending</a>, with $2.6 billion allocated over two years to respond to inflationary and other cost pressures on the health system – the costs of meeting ever increasing demand, for example.</p>
<p>This new funding should account for some of the inflationary pressures but it’s unlikely to be adequate. Too many people are missing out on treatment and there is a significant level of unmet need in the community for secondary healthcare and other health services. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-one-is-mourning-the-end-of-district-health-boards-but-rebuilding-trust-in-the-system-wont-be-easy-159545">No one is mourning the end of district health boards, but rebuilding trust in the system won't be easy</a>
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<p>There has been no measurement of this in any systematic way and we really don’t know how many people suffering in the community are in need of an elective procedure and have been denied access or are being treated by their GP instead. </p>
<p>Today’s budget includes $1 billion allocated to health sector staffing and wages. This is very important but it is coming very late in the day. Funding for 500 new nurses has also been provided. This will take time to deliver on. </p>
<p>The big win is $618 million to eradicate pharmacy co-payments. No one should face a financial barrier to accessing prescribed medicines. It is very good that the government has followed the evidence showing <a href="https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-022-09011-0">cost barriers are prohibitive for many</a>. That said, a bold government would also have allocated funds to scrap patient charges to see a GP as well.</p>
<p><strong>– <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robin-gauld-141578">Robin Gauld</a></strong></p>
<h2>Money back in family pockets</h2>
<p>When the government set its second set of short-term child poverty targets in 2021, it did so with an assumption of a steady year-on-year march towards its long-term ten-year targets. The child poverty projections for two key targets that can be measured show little progress. </p>
<p>Indeed, this is one of the first budgets since reporting began to show a short-term projected increase in one of those key measures – the proportion of children living in households with disposable income below 50% of the median income (before housing costs).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-childcare-is-among-the-most-expensive-in-the-world-but-tax-rebates-are-not-the-answer-201382">New Zealand's childcare is among the most expensive in the world. But tax rebates are not the answer</a>
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<p>The big policy announcements in this budget, however, are ones that are likely to decrease material hardship – the third key poverty indicator, and one where projections aren’t modelled – by putting money back into the pockets of families.</p>
<p>The extension of 20 “free” early childhood education (ECE) hours to include children aged two is a welcome and greatly needed extension of family policy supports. So is the raised income eligibility threshold for childcare assistance for lower-income families with young children announced at the end of last year. Both bring New Zealand closer to “gold standard” approaches to early childcare policy in other developed countries.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526942/original/file-20230518-15-ga14df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The 2023 budget includes an extra year of subsidised childcare for two-year-olds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
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<p>Not only is access to high-quality and affordable ECE important for child development and wellbeing, it has the potential extra impact of increasing incomes – by helping parents who want to work, but for whom high ECE costs were a barrier.</p>
<p>While a welcome and needed extension to policy supports for families, this is not a targeted policy aimed at the lowest income families. It will, however, still help relieve hardship for middle- and low-income families. We should expect this to show up in lower rates of material hardship in the future, as families put money previously spent on childcare into meeting their other everyday needs. </p>
<p><strong>– <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-c-prickett-683019">Kate Prickett</a></strong></p>
<h2>Back to the future on resilience</h2>
<p>The budget reflects a highly constrained spending model that focuses almost entirely on addressing our infrastructure needs in a reactive rather than proactive way. </p>
<p>Our infrastructure is rapidly ageing while we face the threat of more frequent and intense storms brought on by the effects of climate change. Over the past year, major weather events have shown the cracks in many systems and the extreme costs of <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/19/cyclone-will-have-multi-billion-dollar-price-tag-robertson/">repairing our infrastructure</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flood-warning-nzs-critical-infrastructure-is-too-important-to-fail-greater-resilience-is-urgently-needed-198872">Flood warning: NZ's critical infrastructure is too important to fail – greater resilience is urgently needed</a>
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<p>While a “no frills” budget may sound good at a time of high inflation, many of those “frills” are likely to be necessary investments in urban services and infrastructure. The government has been clear that spending on infrastructure would focus on rebuilding and restoring infrastructure hit hard by recent extreme weather events.</p>
<p>To that end, the budget allocates $71 billion over the next five years towards new and existing infrastructure programmes, an additional $1 billion flood and cyclone recovery package, and $6 billion for a National Resilience Plan. But this focuses almost entirely on getting us <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/489866/flood-cyclone-recovery-govt-to-spend-1b-on-education-transport-projects-mental-health">back to where we were</a> before the storms. It doesn’t seem to ask whether that was ever the smart place to be to begin with.</p>
<p>By only focusing on repairing our existing infrastructure, we’re falling behind on doing what’s necessary to ensure we’re less vulnerable to the next big storm. These measures should include: investments in innovative stormwater systems and green infrastructure, alternative local transport modes like dedicated bus lanes and busways, expanding existing rail services, and making our power network less vulnerable by burying power lines and investing in microgrids.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526946/original/file-20230518-25-i7ruzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The budget contains $6 billion in resilience funding, targeted at the kind of infrastructure vulnerabilities exposed by cyclones Gabriel and Hale earlier this year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
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<p>While the budget doesn’t make any bold leaps towards infrastructure resiliency, there is some good news, especially for those struggling most with the cost of living: free public transport fares for children aged five to 12, and permanent half-price fares for people under 25. </p>
<p>Additional funding is going to maintain public transport services and boost bus driver wages, to the Clean Car Discount Scheme, and for expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure. All good news, as is the $100 million allocated to a new infrastructure delivery agency.</p>
<p>In many ways, however, the budget is an exercise in kicking the can down the road. Recent events have shown that our infrastructure faces new and unprecedented pressure. We can either spend the money now to improve it, or continue to pay <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/NNt4CK1Do5H7m5xGTMNfZq?domain=rnz.co.nz">increasing repair bills</a> into the future.</p>
<p><strong>– <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-welch-1252494">Timothy Welch</a></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate C. Prickett is the Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, which has previously received research funding from the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael P. Cameron, Richard Shaw, Robin Gauld, and Timothy Welch do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Incremental and pragmatic, New Zealand’s fifth Wellbeing Budget tries to balance cost-of-living support with huge long-term investment challenges – all without frightening the inflation horses.Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey UniversityKate C. Prickett, Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonMichael P. Cameron, Professor of Economics, University of WaikatoRobin Gauld, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean, University of OtagoTimothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056532023-05-18T00:04:01Z2023-05-18T00:04:01ZFixing broken flood gauges is important. But most of us don’t evacuate even when we know the water is coming<p>Devastating floods have hit community after community on Australia’s eastern seaboard over the last three years. Weather systems were dynamic and difficult to forecast. </p>
<p>What made the impact worse still was the fact that many of our flood gauges were unreliable or broken. In some cases, residents simply didn’t know the extent of the floodwaters rushing toward them.</p>
<p>As a resident of a flood-hit New South Wales town told us: </p>
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<p>During that second flood we knew that gauge was wrong. It was wrong by metres. On the night of the February flood, very few people could sleep […] I remember looking at [warnings] and I’m thinking ‘What? How can that be?’</p>
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<p>New <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/MurrayWatt/Pages/building-reliable-national-flood-warning-infrastructure-network-15052023.aspx">federal funding</a> for a better flood warning network is wise. But flood gauges are only one part of a total warning system. Social factors also require consideration. </p>
<h2>Gathering better data to improve flood warnings</h2>
<p>Public money (A$236 million) will be used to upgrade or purchase flood gauges for high priority catchments, replacing infrastructure found to be unreliable or broken. </p>
<p>We’ve known there were problems with our flood warning infrastructure <a href="https://www.igem.qld.gov.au/callide-creek-flood-review">for years</a>. </p>
<p>But these issues came to a head during the widespread flooding in the first half of 2022 when communities were misled, confused or wrong-footed by unreliable information. Subsequent inquiries in <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/floodinquiry">New South Wales</a> and <a href="http://www.igem.qld.gov.au/node/183">Queensland</a> found major issues and recommended the federal government take responsibility for building and maintaining the flood warning network.</p>
<p>We’ve <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901117301818">long known</a> that early warning systems boost public safety and reduce deaths. They cut financial losses and make possible earlier planning and responses by emergency services. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-new-south-wales-reels-many-are-asking-why-its-flooding-in-places-where-its-never-flooded-before-190912">As New South Wales reels, many are asking why it's flooding in places where it's never flooded before</a>
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<p>But by themselves, they are not enough. Some people will leave when warned, but others due to a range of social and economic factors, are either unable to leave or choose to stay. That’s why we need social supports alongside warning systems. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.naturalhazards.com.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/Community%20experiences%20Jan%20July%202022%20floods%20NSW%20QLD_final%20report.pdf">recent research</a>, we interviewed almost 200 NSW and Queensland residents affected by floods in early to mid 2022 and surveyed 430 others. </p>
<p>People told us they relied heavily on river gauge data – when it was available and working. But when the gauges were broken or giving incorrect data, residents were left worried and confused. </p>
<p>Longtime residents in low-lying rural areas and in some upper catchment areas often had a good understanding of how rain and stormwater behaved in their landscape and how that translated to flooding. When they shared this knowledge on community social media pages, it was highly valued by many other residents, who used it to help interpret gauge data and river heights.</p>
<h2>What matters is how people respond to warnings</h2>
<p>It’s clearly important to give people warning about the size and timing of a flood which may affect them. Successful warnings are those which are accurate and timely, relevant to the specific area, motivate people to evacuate, if need be, and lead to reduced loss of life and property. </p>
<p>But even when warnings are received in time, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101476">research shows</a> they’re unlikely to actually motivate safe, timely evacuation by most of the people at risk. </p>
<p>Our own research found over 60% of surveyed residents did not evacuate. </p>
<p>Why did people stay? It wasn’t for lack of timely warnings, for the most part. </p>
<p>For some, staying was the plan. Many had stayed in previous floods and had been safe. Others stayed to lift up their belongings, protect against looting and start the clean-up quickly after the waters receded. Some stayed to look after less mobile dependants, care for pets and livestock, or because they had nowhere else to go. </p>
<p>After the 2017 NSW floods, <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/motivations-and-experiences-of-sheltering-in-place-during-floods-">researchers found</a> a similar approach of sheltering in place in some locations. </p>
<p>The problem is, previous floods are now no longer a reliable guide. Climate change is <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-making-flooding-worse-3-reasons-the-world-is-seeing-more-record-breaking-deluges-and-flash-floods-185364">leading to</a> more intense rain and more extreme floods. Choosing to stay because you were safe last time is no guarantee. </p>
<h2>We need better supports</h2>
<p>Given that many people choose to stay, we must do more to help people make the decision to evacuate and ensure those who are determined to shelter, or have no other choice, are better prepared to do so safely. </p>
<p>Each of us has a social context which greatly shapes our ability to act on information. Life might be complex or chaotic due to precarious housing, limited finances, poor health, caring responsibilities, or a lack of community connections. These social factors may make any of us reluctant – or simply unable – to act on warnings and prepare or evacuate. </p>
<p>For instance, one interviewee told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am reliant on support workers to access the community, and due to the rising waters in outer suburbs the supports I had were unable to physically get to me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was pregnant at the time and couldn’t do the heavy lifting required. [I] didn’t have the vehicle space to load things to remove from the property.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Warnings are not a guarantee of safety</h2>
<p>Yes, it’s good the federal government is introducing a better way to monitor floods and warn people who live near affected creeks and rivers. But providing a warning is only part of the puzzle. We need many solutions that work together. </p>
<p>Sometimes warnings don’t get through. Sometimes disasters escalate rapidly. Sometimes people can’t or won’t take action. Warnings alone do not produce community resilience, but they can help. </p>
<p>As we brace for a future where natural hazards intensify, we need more resilience. </p>
<p>For floods, that means focusing on community connections, education, health and livelihoods, as well as land use planning and building design that reduces exposure to flood risk in the first place. We also need technical solutions like warning systems. Together, this will lead to a more resilient future. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lismore-faced-monster-floods-all-but-alone-we-must-get-better-at-climate-adaptation-and-fast-182766">Lismore faced monster floods all but alone. We must get better at climate adaptation, and fast</a>
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<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge their fellow researchers on this project: Professor Kim Johnston, Associate Professor Anne Lane, Dr Barbara Ryan, Dr Harriet Narwal, Madeleine Miller, Helga Simon, and Dipika Dabas.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205653/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mel Taylor receives funding from Natural Hazards Research Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Miller receives funding from Natural Hazards Research Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kat Haynes has received funding from the Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC. Kat is the Natural Hazards Research Australia Node Research for NSW, ACT and SA. </span></em></p>Yes, we need better flood warnings. But most of us don’t or can’t evacuate from floods. Safety means focusing on community resilience as well as warningsMel Taylor, Associate Professor, Macquarie UniversityFiona Miller, Associate professor, Macquarie UniversityKat Haynes, Hononary Fellow, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051842023-05-15T15:01:07Z2023-05-15T15:01:07ZThriving in the face of adversity: Resilient gorillas reveal clues about overcoming childhood misfortune<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525949/original/file-20230512-23918-udbd4r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=837%2C1234%2C5222%2C3305&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A lot of bad things can happen to young mountain gorillas in the wild.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1974, an infant mountain gorilla was born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Researchers named him Titus. As is typical for young gorillas in the wild, Titus spent the first years of his life surrounded by his mother, father and siblings, as well as more distant relatives and unrelated gorillas that made up his social group.</p>
<p>In 1978, however, tragedy struck. Poachers killed Titus’ father and brother. In the chaos that followed, his younger sister was killed by another gorilla, and his mother and older sister fled the group. Juvenile Titus, who was at a developmental stage similar to that of an 8- or 9-year-old human, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1922764/">experienced more tragedy</a> in his first four years of life than many animals do in a lifetime.</p>
<p>In people, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.09.027">a rough start in life</a> is often associated with significant problems later on. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean">Early life adversity</a> can take a wide variety of forms, including malnutrition, war and abuse. People who experience these kinds of traumas, assuming they survive the initial event, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2663">more likely to suffer health problems</a> and social dysfunction in adulthood and to have shorter life spans. Often, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13928">these outcomes trace back at least in part</a> to what public health researchers call health risk behaviors – things like smoking, poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle.</p>
<p>But researchers have documented the same kinds of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1205340109">problems in adulthood in nonhuman animals</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.006">that experienced early life adversity</a>. For example, female baboons who have the hardest childhoods have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11181">life spans that are on average only half as long</a> as their peers that have the easiest. Activities like smoking and unhealthy food choices can’t be the whole story, then, since animals don’t engage in typical human health risk behaviors.</p>
<p>Given the connection between adverse events while young and poor health later in life, one might expect that Titus’ unlucky early years would predict a short, unhealthy adulthood for him. However, there are interesting hints that things <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.051">might work differently in mountain gorillas</a>, which are one of humans’ closest living relatives.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="juvenile gorilla seated" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525945/original/file-20230512-23-8omdyq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers analyzed decades of observational data to determine how life turned out for young gorillas that had faced adversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Decades of gorilla observations</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GxpHf-AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As scientists who have spent</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1I9_QM0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">many years studying wild gorillas</a>, we have observed a wide variety of early life experiences and an equally wide variety of adult health outcomes in these great apes. Unlike other primates, mountain gorillas don’t appear to suffer any long-term negative effects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62939">losing their mothers at an early age</a>, provided that they reach the age at which they are old enough to have finished nursing.</p>
<p>Losing your mother is only one of many bad things that can happen to a young gorilla, though. We wanted to investigate whether a pattern of resilience was more generalized. If so, could we gather any insight into the fundamental question of how early life experiences can have long-lasting effects?</p>
<p>To do this, we needed exceptionally detailed long-term data on wild gorillas across their lifetimes. This is no mean feat, given <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.6">gorillas’ long life spans</a>. Primatologists know that males can survive into their late 30s and females into their mid-40s.</p>
<p>The best data in the world to conduct such a study comes from the <a href="https://gorillafund.org/">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</a>, which has been following individual mountain gorillas in Rwanda almost daily for 55 years. We conducted doctoral and postdoctoral research with the Fossey Fund and have collaborated with other scientists there for more than 20 years.</p>
<p>From their database, which stretches back to 1967, we extracted information on more than 250 gorillas tracked from the day they were born to the day they died or left the study area.</p>
<p>We used this data to identify six adverse events that gorillas younger than age 6 can endure: maternal loss, paternal loss, extreme violence, social isolation, social instability and sibling competition. These experiences are the gorilla equivalent of some kinds of adversity that are linked with long-term negative effects in humans and other animals.</p>
<p>Many young gorillas didn’t survive these challenges. This is a strong indication that these experiences were indeed adverse from the perspective of a gorilla.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Adult female gorilla seated tightly together with two young gorillas" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525946/original/file-20230512-15-ldzmn2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ubufatanye experienced the loss of her mother and father and the disintegration of her family group before the age of 5. Now 20, she has become a successful mother, raising three offspring.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.051">We were surprised to discover</a>, however, that most of the repercussions of these hardships were confined to early life: animals that survived past the age of 6 did not have the shorter life spans commonly associated with early life adversity in other species.</p>
<p>In fact, gorillas that experienced three or more forms of adversity actually had better survival outcomes, with a 70% reduction in the risk of death across their adult years. Part of this hardiness, especially for males, may be due to a phenomenon called <a href="https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/viability#:%7E:text=Viability%20selection%20can%20be%20defined,on%20the%20road%20for%20it.">viability selection</a>: Only the strongest animals survive early adversity, and thus they are also the animals with the longest life spans.</p>
<p>While viability selection may be part of the story, the patterns in our data strongly suggest that as a species, mountain gorillas are also remarkably resilient to early adversity.</p>
<h2>Where do gorillas get their resilience?</h2>
<p>Although our findings corroborate previous research on maternal loss in gorillas, they contrast with other studies on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000394">early adversity in humans</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13785">other long-lived mammals</a>. Our study indicates that the negative later-life consequences of early adversity are not universal.</p>
<p>The absence of this connection in one of our closest relatives suggests there might be protective mechanisms that help build resiliency to early-life knocks. Gorillas may provide valuable clues to understand how early life experiences have such far-reaching effects and how people can potentially overcome them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two adult and one young gorilla seated together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525944/original/file-20230512-20526-7wom64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young gorillas live with their parents as part of larger social groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there is still much left to explore, we suspect that gorillas’ food-rich habitat and cohesive social groups could underpin their resiliency. When young gorillas lose their mothers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62939">other social group members fill in</a> the companionship hole she leaves behind. Something similar may happen for other types of early adversity as well. A supportive social network combined with plentiful food may help a young gorilla push through challenges.</p>
<p>This possibility underscores the importance of ensuring that human children who experience early adversity are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1559">supported in multiple ways</a>: socially, but also economically, especially since early adversity is particularly prevalent among children living in poverty – itself a form of adversity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=436%2C0%2C3845%2C2702&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="large adult male gorilla against leafy background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=436%2C0%2C3845%2C2702&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525223/original/file-20230509-25-vqm6q4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Titus, pictured here as an adult, survived more adversity before age 4 than many animals confront in a lifetime.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1922764/">And what became of Titus</a>? Despite his difficult start in life, Titus went on to lead his group for two decades, siring at least 13 offspring and surviving to his 35th birthday, making him one of the most successful gorillas the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has ever studied.</p>
<p>Though Titus’ story is only a single anecdote, it turns out that his resilience is not so unusual for a member of his species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacy Rosenbaum receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Michigan. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Morrison receives funding from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Swiss National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>In many animals, including humans, adverse events in youth have lasting negative health effects over the life span. But new research suggests something different is going on in mountain gorillas.Stacy Rosenbaum, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of MichiganRobin Morrison, Postdoctoral Fellow in Animal Behavior, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044332023-05-12T12:19:43Z2023-05-12T12:19:43ZLessons from ‘Star Trek: Picard’ – a cybersecurity expert explains how a sci-fi series illuminates today’s threats<p><em>Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers.</em></p>
<p>Society’s understanding of technology and cybersecurity often is based on simple stereotypes and sensational portrayals in the entertainment media. I’ve written about how certain scenarios <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3121113.3132158">are entertaining but misleading</a>. Think of black-clad teenage hackers prowling megacities challenging corporate villains. Or think of counterintelligence specialists repositioning a satellite from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2000/07/02/a-look-at-spy-satellites-38/ea4e1779-da97-4081-94a7-14bb3993e5df/">back of a surveillance van</a> via a phone call.</p>
<p>But sometimes Hollywood gets it right by depicting reality in ways that both entertain and educate. And that’s important, because whether it’s a large company, government or your personal information, we all share many of the same cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. As a former cybersecurity industry practitioner and current <a href="http://www.csee.umbc.edu/%7Erforno/">cybersecurity researcher</a>, I believe the final season of “<a href="https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-picard/">Star Trek: Picard</a>” is the latest example of entertainment media providing useful lessons about cybersecurity and the nature of the modern world.</p>
<p>So how does “Star Trek: Picard” relate to cybersecurity?</p>
<h2>The nature of the threat</h2>
<p>The show’s protagonist is Jean-Luc Picard, a retired Starfleet admiral who commanded the starship Enterprise-D in a previous series. Starfleet is the military wing of the United Federation of Planets, of which Earth is a member. In Season 3, the final season, Picard’s ultimate enemy, the Borg, returns to try conquering humanity again. The <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Borg">Borg</a> is a cybernetic collective of half-human, half-machine “drones” led by a cyborg queen. </p>
<p>The Borg has partnered with other villains and worked for over a decade to deploy hidden agents able to compromise the DNA data contained in the software underpinning the transporter – a teleportation device used regularly by Starfleet personnel. Over many years, a certain subgroup of Starfleet personnel had their DNA altered by using the transporter. </p>
<p>Thus, in launching their final attack, the Borg is able to instantly activate thousands of “drones” to do its bidding in the form of altered, compromised Starfleet personnel. As Geordi La Forge, the Enterprise-D’s engineer, notes, “They’ve been assimilating the entire fleet this whole time, without anyone ever knowing it.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9v1GTS82OhM?wmode=transparent&start=81" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Instead of malicious software taking over computers, the plot involves malicious genetic code taking over humans.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Borg’s prolonged, stealthy infiltration of the federation is indicative of how today’s most effective cyberattackers work. While it’s relatively easy to detect when hackers attempt to breach a system from the outside, experts worry about the effects of an enemy infiltrating critical systems <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/solarwinds-hack-supply-chain-threats-improvements/">from within</a>. Attackers can put malicious code in software during manufacturing or in software updates, both of which are avenues of attack that do not arouse suspicion until the compromised systems are activated or targeted. </p>
<p>This underscores the importance of ensuring the security and integrity of digital supply chains from <a href="https://www.mxdusa.org/">product development</a> at the vendor through product deployment at client sites to ensure no silent “drones,” such as malware, are <a href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/advanced-persistent-threat-apt/">waiting to be activated</a> by an adversary. </p>
<p>Equally important, “Star Trek: Picard” presents the very real and insidious nature of the insider threat faced by today’s organizations. While not infected with a cybernetic virus, recently arrested Massachusetts Air National Guard airman Jack Teixeira shows the damage that can occur when a <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security/insider-threat-mitigation/defining-insider-threats">trusted employee has malicious intent or becomes co-opted and inflicts significant damage</a> on an employer.</p>
<p>In some cases, these compromised or malicious individuals can remain undiscovered for years. And some global adversaries of the U.S., such as China and Russia, are known for taking a long-term perspective when it comes to planning and conducting espionage activities – or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/27/chinese-russian-hackers-are-making-moves-heres-how-nsa-is-trying-counter-them/">cyberattacks</a>.</p>
<h2>Humans remain the weakest link</h2>
<p>“Synchronistic technology that allows every ship in Starfleet to operate as one. An impenetrable armada. Unity and defense. The ultimate safeguard.”</p>
<p>With these words, humanity’s military defenders activated a feature that linked every Starfleet vessel together under one unified automated command system. While intended to serve as an emergency capability, this system – called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkkj4myTukY">Fleet Formation</a> – was quickly hijacked by the Borg as part of its attack on Earth. In essence, Starfleet created a Borg-like defense system that the Borg itself used to attack the federation. </p>
<p>Here, the most well-intentioned plans for security were thwarted by enemies who used humanity’s own technologies against them. In the real world, capabilities such as on-demand real-time software updates, ChatGPT and centrally administered systems sound enticing and offer conveniences, cost savings or new capabilities. However, the lesson here is that organizations should not put them into <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/25/1070275/chatgpt-revolutionize-economy-decide-what-looks-like/">widespread use</a> without carefully considering as many of the potential risks or vulnerabilities as practical.</p>
<p>But even then, technology alone can’t protect humans from ourselves – after all, it’s people who develop, design, select, administer and use technology, which means human flaws are <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-twitter-ignore-basic-security-measures-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-a-whistleblowers-claims-189668">present in these systems</a>, too. Such failings frequently lead to a stream of <a href="https://www.csis.org/programs/strategic-technologies-program/significant-cyber-incidents">high-profile cybersecurity incidents</a>. </p>
<h2>Resiliency is not futile</h2>
<p>To counter the Borg’s final assault on Earth, Picard’s crew borrows its old starship, Enterprise-D, from a fleet museum. The rationale is that its ship is the only major combat vessel not connected to the Borg collective via Starfleet’s compromised Fleet Formation protocol and therefore is able to operate independently during the crisis. As La Forge notes, “Something older, analog. Offline from the others.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BtTBjxOow2Q?wmode=transparent&start=21" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">When a network has been compromised, it’s important to be able to use systems that aren’t connected to the network.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From a cybersecurity perspective, ensuring the <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/availability">availability</a> of information resources is one of the industry’s guiding principles. Here, the Enterprise-D represents defenders in response to a cyber incident using assets that are <a href="https://cygnvs.com/resources/learning-from-experience-why-you-need-an-out-of-band-network-for-incident-response">outside of an adversary’s reach</a>. Perhaps more important, the vessel symbolizes the need to think carefully before embracing a completely networked computing environment or relying on any single company or provider of services and connectivity for daily operations. </p>
<p>From natural disasters to cyberattack, what’s your plan if your IT environment becomes corrupted or inaccessible? Can your organization stay operational and still provide necessary services? For critical public messaging, do governments and corporations have their own uncorruptible Enterprise-D capabilities to fall back on, such as the <a href="https://fediverse.party/">fediverse</a>, the decentralized microblogging platform that is immune to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/2/23708739/twitter-transportation-emergency-alerts-api-free">the impulsive manipulations</a> of Twitter’s ownership?</p>
<h2>Prepare for the unknown</h2>
<p>The “Star Trek” universe explores the unknown in both the universe and contemporary society. How the crews deal with these experiences relies on their training, the appreciation of broad perspectives and ability to devise innovative solutions to the crisis of the week. Often, such solutions are derived from characters’ interests in music, painting, archaeology, history, sports and other nontechnical areas of study, recreation or expertise.</p>
<p>Similarly, as modern digital defenders, to successfully confront our own cyber unknowns we need a broad appreciation of things beyond just cybersecurity and technology. It’s one thing to understand at a technical level how a cyberattack occurs and how to respond. But it’s another thing to understand the broader, perhaps more systemic, nuanced, organizational or international factors that may be causes or solutions, too. </p>
<p>Lessons from literature, history, psychology, philosophy, law, management and other nontechnical disciplines can inform how organizations plan for and respond to cybersecurity challenges of all types. Balancing solid technical knowledge with foundations in the liberal arts and humanities allows people to adapt comfortably to constantly evolving technologies and shifting threats.</p>
<p><a href="https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2016/08/17/1970s-colossus-the-forbin-project-is-more-relevant-than-ever/">Dystopic metaphors</a> in fiction often reflect <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wlsd9mljiU">current social concerns</a>, and the “Star Trek” universe is no different. Although rooted in a science fiction fantasy, “Star Trek: Picard” provides some accurate, practical and understandable cybersecurity reminders for today. </p>
<p>Season 3, in particular, offers viewers both entertainment and education – indeed, the best of both worlds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Forno has received research funding related to cybersecurity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) during his academic career.</span></em></p>‘Star Trek: Picard’ is set 400 years in the future, but, like most science fiction, it deals with issues in the here and now. The show’s third and final season provides a lens on cybersecurity.Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2037272023-04-30T13:12:16Z2023-04-30T13:12:16ZThe power of cultural identity on psychological well-being: Singing, trauma and the resilience of the Yazidi population of northern Iraq<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520700/original/file-20230413-20-8ypkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C84%2C3748%2C2230&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mourners preparing to bury the remains of 104 Yazidi victims in a cemetery in Sinjar, Iraq on Feb. 6, 2021. The Yazidis were killed by the Islamic State group in 2014, and were given a proper burial after the bodies were exhumed from mass graves and identified through DNA tests.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Behind each door and gate in Sinuni, Iraq, there is a different story of trauma and resilience. The Yazidi community is still coping with the trauma and mental health burden following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-year-after-massacre-by-islamic-state-iraqs-yazidis-are-clinging-on-44494">ISIS genocide of 2014</a>, where thousands of men, women and children were killed, tortured and kidnapped for sexual slavery. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/81-mass-graves-of-yazidis-found-in-iraqs-sinjar-since-2014-official/2538307#:%7E:text=A%20total%20of%2081%20mass,the%20Daesh%2FISIS%20terrorist%20group">Eighty-one mass graves</a> have been discovered, the most recent of which was found in June 2022.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A collage of nine different ornamental gates" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520732/original/file-20230413-26-483g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ornamental property gates from random houses in the Sinuni region of Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Mylène Ratelle)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Yazidi community is based in Sinjar region, which is located in Nineveh Governorate, in northern Iraq. For thousands of years, this Mesopotamian-based population was <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iraq-s-yazidi-minority-has-long-been-singled-out-for-hatred-1.2732115">persecuted for their unique ethno-cultural and religious beliefs</a>, which promote harmony and peace. </p>
<p>After the genocide of 2014, members of the Yazidi community <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/CIMM/Brief/BR9342569/br-external/Yazda-e.pdf">looked for safety</a> in countries all over the world. However, a community core still stands with resolution on the land where their ancestors were born, around the Sinjar Mount. Some by choice, some because they were not able to leave.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002297">A study from 2015</a> estimated that 2.5 per cent of the Yazidi population was either killed or kidnapped over the course of a few days in August 2014. Thousands were kept as sexual slaves. As such, it is not surprising that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764021994145">a study published in 2022</a> investigating the traumatic experience of displaced Yazidis living in a Kurdistan camp estimated that about four out of five respondents had PTSD symptoms, and that women had a higher rate and score of trauma and PTSD symptoms. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/nmd.0000000000001400">Resilience strengthening</a> is a key for the treatment of those survivors, especially for the Yazidi individual, collective and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12916-017-0965-7">transgenerational traumatization</a>.</p>
<h2>Link between mental health and cultural identity</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764003494001">Research has indicated</a> that a positive cultural identity contributes to better mental health. Cultural identity is a concept that encompasses <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11013-016-9514-7">personal, ethnic and social self-identity</a>, which is critical for self-esteem.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029329">longitudinal study with Asian and Latino youth</a>, cultural identity was associated with lower levels of depression symptoms. In addition, for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1424-7">Syrian refugees</a>, the sense of belonging to a social or cultural community was a predictor of lower levels of depression symptoms, as well as greater life satisfaction.</p>
<p>Historical colonialism, oppression and marginalization have contributed to poor mental health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Australia. However, cultural identity seems to have a role to play in health and well-being. </p>
<p>For example, for Australian Indigenous people in custody, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4603-2">their cultural engagement was associated with non-recidivism</a>. Cultural continuity helped Indigenous communities of Canada to thrive, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370004500702">promoting the sense of collective pride</a> might contribute to positive mental health.</p>
<p>As such, the idea was suggested recently that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22827">mental health programs should support the development of cultural identities</a>, with the potential to improve psychological well-being.</p>
<p>Since the genocide, some <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-years-after-islamic-state-massacre-an-iraqi-minority-is-transformed-by-trauma-126917">Yazidis report a renewed interest in their Yazidi cultural and political identity</a>. They have a stronger will than before to protect Yazidi holy sites, preserve oral traditions and hymns and their unique cultural practices.</p>
<h2>Humanitarian intervention</h2>
<p>My work is usually done in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples in North America, who deal with systematic racism, exclusion and stigma, generational trauma, awful abuses from residential schools and thousands of unmarked graves of children. </p>
<p>The Yazidi issues are a different type of deliberate horror, and are still very recent in the memory of survivors. <a href="https://www.msf.org/msf-warns-mental-health-crisis-among-yazidis-iraq">Médecins Sans Frontières warned the world in 2019 of the mental health crisis</a> and of increasing suicide rates in the region.</p>
<p>I was recruited by Médecins Sans Frontières in summer 2022 to support a health promotion program in Sinuni, Iraq. The role of our health promotion team was to provide a bridge between the local hospital services and the population, as well as to implement preventive initiatives to improve physical and mental health in the community. In parallel, mental health professionals were offering support to the residents.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photo of a mountain landscape" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520735/original/file-20230413-22-uny1dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sinjar Mount is the core of the Yazidi community location in Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Mylène Ratelle)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During our outreach activities, we often got a glimpse of the depth of the trauma of some community members, and witnessed their mental challenges. These included expressions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li> How can I be stress-free while there are 21 members of my family who are still missing?</li>
<li> My father’s house was destroyed years ago. Every time I see it, next to my house, it makes me sad.</li>
<li> I think about killing myself, day after day. We don’t have skills, hobbies, hope.</li>
<li> Many of us have someone we don’t let alone in the house because we fear they might kill themselves.</li>
</ul>
<p>As part of the mental health activities, I developed the content of a series of workshops, with the aim to: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>destigmatize mental health issues, </p></li>
<li><p>improve individual resiliency to stress by learning techniques to decrease anxiety at home,</p></li>
<li><p>increase community support, social capital and cultural identity to prevent and cope with mental health issues. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Those workshops were implemented by the team in homes and schools. As part of the last workshop, there were participatory activities on the importance of peer groups, on the role of cooking and traditional practices. One key activity was to invite participants to sing traditional songs together. </p>
<p>The aim of those activities was to bring awareness on the positive impact of cultural identity, and strengthen social relations between neighbours. Those activities were evaluated, with participants reporting immediate and lasting positive impacts. </p>
<p>Assessment of the workshops indicated increased happiness index: 58 per cent were above the threshold for depressive symptoms before the workshop while 92 per cent of participants were above the threshold immediately after. In addition, after two weeks post workshop, there were fewer participants self-isolating and meeting socially once a month or less (30 per cent versus 10 per cent post-workshop), and there was an increased average number of social activities. </p>
<p>Our team observed that the Yazidi are collectively strong, resilient and hopeful. However, the trauma is still acute, and the extent of the mental health issues is such that it could pass on a <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/intergenerational-trauma">generational trauma</a>. </p>
<p>As several <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/03/20/un-united-nations-shift-away-emergency-aid-iraq">NGOs cease their activities in the region</a>, there are fewer organizations offering mental health care for the Yazidis, on the south and north side of Sinjar Mount. </p>
<p>However, more work needs to be done to improve mental health in the region via health promotion, counselling, therapy and psychiatry. There is also an opportunity to support cultural identity to reinforce mental health resilience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mylene Ratelle worked on a health promotion program for Doctors without Borders in 2022-2023 in Iraq, but her views are not those of Doctors Without Borders.</span></em></p>For the Yazidi communities in northern Iraq, there is a need to improve mental health. The sense of cultural identity has the potential to improve psychological well-being.Mylène Ratelle, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health Sciences, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.