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Don’t give mum chocolates for Mother’s Day. Take on more housework, share the mental load and advocate for equality instead

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leah-ruppanner-106371">Leah Ruppanner</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> With Mother’s Day right around the corner, many grateful and loving families are thinking about what to give mum to show their appreciation. Should you give her chocolate? Nope. Fancy soaps? Nope. Fuzzy slippers, pyjamas, scented candles? No, no and no. On this Mother’s Day, keep your cash and give your wonderful mother gifts that will actually have a long-term impact on her health and well-being. <h2>1. Do a chore that mum hates and hold onto it … forever</h2> Research <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13545701.2020.1831039">shows</a> men have increased the amount of time spent on housework and childcare and that mothers, over time, are doing less (hooray!). But, women <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00479.x">still do more housework</a> than men, especially when <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12497?fbclid=IwAR2dp04p2sFqbDqdehXmXgDSfTYwX3GRzP7ScMJhSOrMePTGQVErR2TTX88">kids are in the home</a>. Further, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205285212">men tend to pick up the more desirable tasks</a>, like <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3598304">cooking and playing with the kids</a>, leaving mothers to do the less pleasurable chores (think cleaning toilets and clearing out fridges). The chore divide in same-sex relationships is generally found to be more equal, but some critique suggests equality may suffer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/upshot/same-sex-couples-divide-chores-much-more-evenly-until-they-become-parents.html">once kids are involved</a>. This year give your mum (or mums) the gift of equal housework and childcare sharing – start by taking the most-hated tasks and then hold onto them… forever. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12727">Research</a> shows housework inequality is bad for women’s mental health. Undervaluing women’s housework and unequal sharing of the chores deteriorates <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01282-5">relationship quality</a>, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038516674664">leads to divorce</a>. Housework and childcare take up valuable time to keep the family happy, harmonious and thriving, often at the expense of mum’s health and well-being. So, skip the chocolates and show mum love by doing the worst, most drudgerous and constant household chores (hello, cleaning mouldy showers!) and keep doing these… forever. <h2>2. Initiate a mental unload</h2> The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-09-14/the-mental-load-and-what-to-do-about-it/8942032">mental load</a> is all of the planning, organising and management work necessary to keep the family running. The mental load is often perceived as list making or allocating tasks to family members. But, it’s so much more – it is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/planning-stress-and-worry-put-the-mental-load-on-mothers-will-2022-be-the-year-they-share-the-burden-172599">emotional work</a> that goes with this thinking work. The mental load is the worry work that never ends and can be done <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668803.2021.2002813">anywhere, anytime and with anyone</a> (in, for example, said mouldy shower). Because the mental load is performed inside our heads, it is invisible. That means we don’t know when we or others are performing this labour unless we really tune in. In fact, it is often when we tune in through quiet time, relaxation or meditation that the mental load rears its ugly head. Suddenly you remind yourself to buy oranges for the weekend soccer game, organise a family movie night and don’t forget to check in on nanna. Women in heterosexual relationships are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122419859007">shown to do more</a> of the mental load with serious consequences for their mental health. But we don’t have a comprehensive measurement of how much women do it nor how it is allocated in same-sex couples. So, on this mothers’ day spend some time talking about, cataloguing, and equalising the family’s mental load. This isn’t just making a list about what has to be done but also understanding <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-09-14/the-mental-load-and-what-to-do-about-it/8942032">how the mental load</a> connects to the emotional health of the family, and the person carrying this <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/blog/making-the-mental-load-visible/">invisible labour, worry and stress</a>. <h2>3. Speak up for your mum and all caregivers</h2> Families alone cannot bear the brunt of the caregiving necessary to keep us thriving. Governments, workplaces and local communities also play a critical role. For this mothers’ day, pick an issue impacting mothers (for example, equal pay, affordable childcare or paid family leave) and do one thing to help move the needle. Write a letter to your boss, your local MP, or donate money to an advocacy organisation advancing gender equality. Or, role model these behaviours yourself – normalise caregiving as a critical piece of being an effective worker, create policies and practices that support junior staff to care for themselves, their families and their communities and use these policies. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243216649946">Research</a> shows men want to be equal carers and sharers but often fear what taking time off for caregiving will signal to their employer despite evidence that fathers who request flexible work are perceived more <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/94/4/1567/2461609?login=false">favourably</a>. Appearing to be singularly devoted to work was shown to be impossible during the pandemic with kids, spouses, partners, and pets home all day long. Learning to create more care-inclusive workplaces and communities is critical. Paid parental leave, affordable and accessible high-quality childcare, flexibility in how, when and where we work and greater investments in paid sick leave, long-term disability support and aged care are just a few policies that would strengthen the care safety net. We will all be called upon to care at some point in our lives – let’s create the environments that support caregiving for all, not just mum.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182330/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leah-ruppanner-106371">Leah Ruppanner</a>, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-give-mum-chocolates-for-mothers-day-take-on-more-housework-share-the-mental-load-and-advocate-for-equality-instead-182330">original article</a>. </div>

Family & Pets

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carol-t-kulik-150471">Carol T Kulik</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay systems fairer and more effective. With more information on how much certain tasks and roles are valued, employees can better understand and interpret pay differences, and advocate for themselves. When pay is weakly aligned with employee contributions, pay transparency can be embarrassing for firms. As the government continues to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/think-your-male-colleagues-earn-more-than-you-soon-you-ll-know-for-sure-20240104-p5ev7i.html">legislate for pay transparency</a>, wise employers should move to identify – and correct – both real and perceived inequities. <h2>The salary taboo</h2> At one extreme, imagine that you work for California-based tech company Buffer, which develops social media tools. Buffer lists the salary of every company employee, in descending order, on its <a href="https://buffer.com/salaries">website</a>. Salaries are non-negotiable and all Buffer employees receive a standard pay raise each year. Prospective job applicants can use Buffer’s online <a href="https://buffer.com/salary-calculator/senior-data-engineer/intermediate">salary calculator</a> to estimate their pay. Does Buffer’s pay system make you cheer – “yay, no uncomfortable salary negotiations!”, or squirm – “what, my salary is on the website?” Most probably, both. There is a persistent social norm researchers call the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272723000725">salary taboo</a>. We want to know, but we don’t like to ask, and we definitely don’t want anyone to know that we’re asking. In Norway, an app that enabled users to <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20160256">access neighbors’ tax-reported income</a> was enormously popular – but only while the user could remain anonymous. <h2>The problem with not knowing</h2> Historically, companies have given employees only minimal information about their pay systems, and some have even prohibited them from sharing their own pay information. Such non-transparency creates two big problems. First, managers place <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/achieving-meritocracy-in-the-workplace/">too much trust</a> in organisational systems. The more managers become convinced that pay decisions accurately reflect employee contributions, the less diligent they become about monitoring their own personal biases. Without accountability, it’s easy for an organisation’s pay system to drift into inequity. Second, in the absence of comparative information, employees often suspect they are being underpaid – even if they aren’t. In a <a href="https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/fair-pay-impact/">survey</a> of over 380,000 employees by data firm Payscale, 57% of employees paid at the market rate and 42% of people paid above the market rate all believed they were being underpaid. However, unfounded it might be, a nagging sense of inequity can drive people out the door. Payscale estimates that people who think they are underpaid are 50% more likely than other employees to seek a new job in the next six months. <h2>Pay transparency is trending</h2> Broadly speaking, pay transparency policies see companies report their pay levels or ranges, explain their pay-setting processes, or encourage their employees to share pay information. Some companies voluntarily share pay information in response to workforce demand, but there’s also a trend toward mandating pay transparency. In Australia, pay secrecy terms are <a href="https://theconversation.com/pay-secrecy-clauses-are-now-banned-in-australia-heres-how-that-could-benefit-you-195814">banned</a> from employment contracts and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency is <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/about/our-legislation/publishing-employer-gender-pay-gaps">publishing employers’ gender pay gaps</a>. The European Union’s <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/ip_22_7739">Pay Transparency Directive</a> already publishes gender pay gaps and requires employers to provide comparative pay data to employees upon request. Several US states and cities now require employers to <a href="https://www.govdocs.com/pay-transparency-laws/">include salary ranges</a> in their recruitment materials. <h2>Pay transparency usually has positive effects</h2> In equitable pay systems, pay differences align with the differential values employees bring to the business. When pay systems are transparent, it’s easy for employees to recognise when they – and their coworkers – are being appropriately rewarded for their contributions. Evidence is building that such transparency is often a good thing. For one, it can increase employee <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002224377801500204">performance and job satisfaction</a>. People also generally <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/717891">underestimate their bosses’ salaries</a>, so pay transparency can inspire employees to aspire to higher-paid senior positions. And pay transparency identifies staff with unique expertise, so <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-01521-001">employees seek help</a> from the right coworkers. Pay transparency has also been shown to help narrow gender pay gaps. As pay transparency rules spread across public academic institutions in the US, the pay gap between male and female academics <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01288-9">dramatically narrowed</a> (in some states, it was even eliminated). In Denmark, where firms are now required to provide pay statistics that compare men and women, the national gender pay gap has <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jofi.13136">declined by 13%</a> relative to the pre-legislation average. <h2>But it can still be risky</h2> Every pay system has pockets of unfairness, where managers have made <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-01537-002">special arrangements</a> to attract or retain talent. Pay transparency exposes these exceptions, so they can be immediately explained or corrected. But if there are too many such pockets, managers need to brace for a productivity downturn. When pay transparency reveals systematic inequities – for example, disparities based on gender – overall organisational <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4341804">productivity declines</a>. Over the long run, pay transparency leads to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jofi.13136">flatter and narrower</a> pay distributions, but distributions can also be too flat and too narrow. Managers making pay decisions are aware that their decisions will be directly scrutinised and may <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2020.1831">become reluctant</a> to assign high wages even for high performance. If pay <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01288-9">loses its motivating potential</a>, employees can become disheartened, especially <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/peps.12054">star performers</a>. <h2>Proceed with caution</h2> As stakeholders on this issue demand more transparency, employers would be wise to stay ahead of legislative moves. Independently making the first move is a show of good faith and can unfold in stages. A good first step is to reveal the pay ranges associated with groups of related roles, giving employers time to conduct internal audits, communicate with employees and systematically correct inequities as they surface. In contrast, having to reveal pay data because of a government mandate can publicly expose patterns of inequity and cause permanent damage to a company’s reputation.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224067/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carol-t-kulik-150471">Carol T Kulik</a>, Research Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-dont-australians-talk-about-their-salaries-pay-transparency-and-fairness-go-hand-in-hand-224067">original article</a>. </div>

Money & Banking

The dos and don’ts of caring for your hearing aids

Proper care and maintenance of your hearing aids is important. It will ensure you to get the most out of your aids, prevent problems and maintain optimum hearing conditions. Here are some guidelines to help you care for them. DO: clean your hearing aids regularly with a dry cloth or tissue. DON’T: get your hearing aids wet. That means no wearing them in the shower or when swimming. If they happen to get wet, dry it off immediately. DO: put your hearing aids in their case when you’re not using them DON’T: wear your aids when using aftershave, hairspray, perfume, sunscreen, insect repellent and so on. They contain chemicals that could damage it. Allow time for drying before putting back on hearing aids. DO: use a moisture protection kit/anti-humidity kit. They help with moisture problems (which can affect performance of hearing aids) and extend life of hearing aids. DO: keep out of reach of pets and visiting grandkids. Dogs have been known to chew them up and if swallowed by either pet or grandkid, can be very dangerous. DON’T: expose your device to extreme heats. Don’t leave them in a parked car, near a heater or wear while using a hairdryer. DO: Store your hearing aid in a safe place that's dry and cool. DON’T: leave your hearing aids switched on when you’re not using them. DO: change batteries often so you won’t be stuck with aids that have suddenly run out of power. DON’T: ever insert anything into the sound outlet as it could damage the receiver. If you can’t clean it properly, ask your hearing professional. DO: remove any earwax that gets into your hearing aid. It could cause permanent damage. Image credits: Getty Images

Hearing

6 kitchen mistakes you don’t know you're making

The kitchen is the heart of the home, but it can also be an area where we make the most mistakes in the way we use it. Check out our top tips to help keep your kitchen ship-shape. Clean the inside of the dishwasher You may not realise that the appliance that keeps everything clean can in fact be quite dirty. The inside of the dishwasher can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Run a hot cycle with nothing but a cup of white vinegar in the top and bottom shelves. Then simply wipe clean the sides and seams of the dishwasher. Don’t wash your chicken You may think this is necessary, but in fact washing your chicken can spread bacteria across your work surface, towels, cloths, and your hands. You can avoid it altogether as cooking will get rid of anything harmful on your meat. Change your kitchen towel The towel can be harbouring many kinds of bacteria, so it’s best to change them daily. Don’t rely on the sniff test to see if it needs a wash. A dirty towel used to dry your clean dishes can quickly spread germs that can make you sick. Avoid putting wooden items in the dishwasher The heat from the appliance can cause wooden items to warp and crack. That means wooden chopping boards, salad servers, or pots and pans with wooden handles need to be hand washed. Never wipe up floor spills with the dishcloth or tea towel If you wipe up some spilled milk off the floor and then use that same cloth to wipe your bench, germs can quickly spread. Same goes with a tea towel. Always use paper towel for cleaning mess from the floor. Fix leaking taps It’s too easy to ignore the drip drip of a leaky tap. But did you know a leaking tap could use over 6,000L of water in a month? Save the Earth (and reduce your water bill) by staying on top of any leaks around the home. Have a separate chopping board for meat Cross contamination can occur if you chop raw meat on a chopping board and then use it later (even after cleaning) for chopping fruit or vegetables. It’s best to have a board designated just for meat – it’s great if it’s a different colour to your everyday boards. Wash in hot soapy water after each use. Image credits: Getty Images

Home & Garden

Stay or go? Most older Australians want to retire where they are, but renters don’t always get a choice

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-phelps-378137">Christopher Phelps</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-ong-viforj-113482">Rachel Ong ViforJ</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/william-clark-1488932">William Clark</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-los-angeles-1301">University of California, Los Angeles</a> As Australia’s population gets older, more people are confronted with a choice: retire where they are or seek new horizons elsewhere. Choosing to grow old in your existing home or neighbourhood is known as “ageing in place”. It enables older people to stay connected to their community and maintain familiarity with their surroundings. For many, the decision to “age in place” will be tied to their connection to the family home. But for many, secure and affordable housing is increasingly <a href="https://theconversation.com/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-growing-numbers-of-older-australians-are-facing-a-bleak-future-209237">beyond reach</a>. This choice may then be impeded by a lack of suitable accommodation in their current or desired neighbourhoods. Our recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275231209683">study</a> asks what motivates older homeowners and renters to age in place or relocate, and what factors disrupt these preferences. It suggests older renters are often not given a fair choice. <h2>Most older Australians want to age in place</h2> Having the option to age in place enables older people to retain autonomy over their lifestyles and identity, promoting emotional wellbeing. Using 20 years of data from the government-funded Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we tracked the preferences of Australians aged 55 and over. Encouragingly, most older Australians are already where they want to be. Two-thirds (67%) of respondents strongly preferred to stay in their current neighbourhood, and an additional one-fifth (19%) had a moderate preference to stay. Only 6% showed a moderate or strong desire to leave. Ageing in place is then the natural choice for a vast majority of older Australians. <iframe id="s3LTM" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/s3LTM/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> Our study highlights several motivations for people to stay put as they retire. For homeowners, family ties matter. Owners with children residing nearby were around one and a half times more likely to have a higher preference to stay. Older owners might then have a reason to call on their substantial <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-housing-wealth-gap-between-older-and-younger-australians-has-widened-alarmingly-in-the-past-30-years-heres-why-197027">housing wealth</a> and keep their children nearby via the <a href="https://360info.org/how-to-help-the-young-buy-a-home/">“bank of mum and dad”</a>. For renters, how long they stay is important. Those renting their home for 10 years or more were 1.7 times more likely to have a higher preference to stay than short-term renters. <h2>Renters face the most disruption</h2> The survey enabled us to follow where older people lived a year after they provided their preferences. This helped us gauge how often they turned their desires into reality. The chart below indicates that private renters face greater obstacles to ageing in place. Around one in 10 private renters that desired to age in place were disrupted – they wanted to stay in their neighbourhood but didn’t. This suggests they moved out of their neighbourhood involuntarily. Only 2% of homeowners and social renters experienced the same disruption. However, for those in these tenures that did not desire to age in place, involuntary immobility was a greater concern. Only 15% of those that wanted to leave succeeded, leaving the vast majority “stuck in place”. <iframe id="IlliV" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/IlliV/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> The private rental market is the least secure of tenures, and so private tenants are often exposed to involuntary moves. Australia’s private rental system is lightly regulated compared to many other countries, creating tenure insecurity concerns. On the other hand, social renters were particularly susceptible to involuntary immobility. Social housing is scarce in Australia and subject to <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-housing-wait-list-of-175-000-describe-their-years-of-waiting-210705">lengthy waiting lists</a>. A neighbourhood move often requires transferring to the less affordable and less secure private rental housing. Even after considering financial status, social renters were four times as likely to be stuck as compared to private renters. Social tenants are strongly deterred from moving in the current system. <h2>How can we support older Australians’ preferences?</h2> Our study exposes some barriers in the housing system that hinder people from being able to age in place, or move when they want to. Clearly, older renters enjoy fewer protections against disruptions to their preferences to age in place than older owners. For private renters, tenure insecurity in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/insecure-renting-ages-you-faster-than-owning-a-home-unemployment-or-obesity-better-housing-policy-can-change-this-216364">private rental sector</a> is a key reform priority. This can be achieved through stronger regulation that improves tenants’ rights. For example, more states could adopt <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton">recent regulatory rental reforms</a> that support the rights of pet owners and protect against no-grounds evictions. Large numbers of older private renters also face severe <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/publications/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-older-peoples-housing-insecurity-homelessness-in-australia">rental stress</a>, which may force them to move from their preferred neighbourhood. <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-billion-per-year-or-less-could-halve-rental-housing-stress-146397">Commonwealth rent assistance reform</a> would alleviate some of this stress through an increase in rates and better targeting. An increase in the supply of social housing would play an important role in improving both tenure security and housing affordability. Older social renters enjoy fewer obstacles to ageing in place than older private renters. However, if social renters want to move into the private rental market to relocate, they face difficulty securing accommodation. This will likely discourage moves as it would require sacrificing the tenure security offered by social housing. However, policy initiatives that improve the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/migration/documents/PES-358-Lessons-from-public-housing-urban-renewal-evaluation.pdf">quality of the public housing stock</a> can reduce feelings of being stuck. As <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/home-ownership-and-housing-tenure">homeownership rates decline</a> both among young people and those nearing retirement, we can expect the population of older renters to grow. Overall, our findings support a strong case for policy reform in the rental sectors to address the needs and preferences of older renters.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218024/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-phelps-378137">Christopher Phelps</a>, Research Fellow, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-ong-viforj-113482">Rachel Ong ViforJ</a>, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/william-clark-1488932">William Clark</a>, Research Professor of Geography, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-los-angeles-1301">University of California, Los Angeles</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stay-or-go-most-older-australians-want-to-retire-where-they-are-but-renters-dont-always-get-a-choice-218024">original article</a>.

Retirement Income

Marcia Hines returns as Australian Idol fans cry foul over upset win

The Australian Idol 2024 grand finale left viewers stunned and divided as Dylan Wright emerged victorious, leaving many fans feeling that Amy Reeves had been unjustly denied the crown. The electrifying finale aired on Monday evening, showcasing the talents of Denvah Baker-Moller, Dylan Wright and Amy Reeves as they vied for the coveted title. However, it was Wright who clinched the top spot, much to the disappointment of numerous fans who had rallied behind Reeves. Throughout the season, Wright had consistently impressed both judges and audiences alike with his remarkable performances. His emotional reaction upon winning the recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment Australia and a $100,000 cash prize was palpable: “I’m about to cry!" he told the cheering crowd. "So, thanks!” The finale kicked off with hosts Ricki Lee and Scott Tweedie addressing the absence of judge Marcia Hines, who <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/marcia-hines-rushed-to-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had been hospitalised</a> due to health issues potentially related to her Type 1 diabetes. The void left by Hines was temporarily filled by guest judge Guy Sebastian, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/guy-sebastian-reveals-what-happened-when-marcia-hines-collapsed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who stepped in</a> to ensure the show's continuity. Despite her absence, Hines' spirit remained present as she conveyed her apologies via Instagram, assuring fans of her eagerness to return. “I feel fine,” she said on Monday night's show in response to Ricki Lee and Scott Tweedie. “I want to thank everybody who reached out towards me, you know. I do appreciate it. And you guys need to know – I couldn’t have missed this for the world. I couldn’t have.” Hines admitted to having had stitches after collapsing backstage, and briefly lifted her hair to show the stitches on her forehead. “It is all good," she explained. "I’m good. I go back to the hospital tonight,” she added jokingly. As the finalists delivered their last performances, Reeves' rendition of Jessie J's "Bang Bang" stood out, earning praise from judge Kyle Sandilands and igniting a wave of support from viewers. However, despite her standout performance, it was Wright who ultimately clinched the title after a tense battle with Reeves. The decision sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with many expressing disbelief and frustration over Reeves' loss. Some fans proclaimed Reeves as the most deserving contestant in Idol history. “Call the police!" they wrote. "A robbery has taken place on #AustralianIdol. Amy has been absolutely shafted. Easily the best performer in idol history.” Amidst the chorus of disappointment, there were voices of congratulations for Wright, acknowledging his talent and triumph in the competition. Despite the divided opinions, one thing remained certain – the passion and fervour of Australian Idol fans, who eagerly await the next chapter in the musical journeys of all the finalists. Images: Channel Seven

"If you cry, I cry!": Pink's emotional visit to children's hospital

In a world often overshadowed by turmoil and strife, moments of pure compassion and kindness help to remind us of the inherent goodness that resides within humanity. Recently, one such instance unfolded at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, courtesy of the incomparable American singer, Pink. Known for her powerhouse vocals and unwavering commitment to making a difference, Pink, or Alecia Beth Moore, as she's known offstage, graced the hospital corridors with her presence, accompanied by her 12-year-old daughter, Willow. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Pink expressed gratitude for the opportunity to revisit the Royal Children’s Hospital, reflecting on a 22-year journey of shared moments and profound connections. "It’s been 22 years since I first visited families at the Royal Children’s Hospital, and it was a privilege to return to @rchmelbourne this week," she wrote. "Thank you to everyone who spent time with Willow and me. Thank you for sharing your stories and letting us play you a couple of songs. We won’t forget this day 💜 "Please visit @rchmelbourne to learn more about the vital work they’re doing to help create a world where all kids thrive 💕🙏" The emotional resonance of Pink's visit reverberated through the hospital wards, as she serenaded patients with her soul-stirring melodies and shared intimate moments with families, nurses and staff alike. An incredible rendition of her song "Cover Me in Sunshine" echoed through the rooms, offering comfort and joy to those who have found solace in her music during their darkest hours. Yet, beyond the melodies and harmonies, it was the genuine moments of human connection that truly illuminated the hospital corridors. From tender embraces to shared laughter, Pink's interactions with the children radiated warmth and compassion, leaving an indelible mark on hearts young and old. In the comments, fans and followers alike marvelled at the depth of Pink's compassion. "As a mom who has lost a child to pediatric brain cancer, I can’t tell you how much those moments of sunshine mean, both to the child and to the family," wrote one fan. "Willow was born the year I lost my daughter, and I’ve watched her grow up from afar, wondering what my daughter would have become. It’s obvious the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Thank you for being such gracious, and giving human beings." "If you cry, I cry," wrote another. "Now we we all are crying." <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4ZMmK8S6Uv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4ZMmK8S6Uv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by P!NK (@pink)</a> </div> </blockquote> In a world that often seems fraught with division and discord, Pink's visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital serves as a reminder of the profound impact one individual can have when they choose to lead with love and compassion. Images: Instagram

Caring

“Don’t be alarmed”: Better Homes and Gardens star makes shock announcement

Better Homes and Gardens star Karen Martini has announced she will be “stepping back” from her role on the program. After almost two decades on the show, the 52-year-old admitted she has “so much on my plate” this year as she balances a range of different projects. The chef and restaurateur will be taking a break from the show to focus on work, while also making more time for her teenage daughters, Stella, 17, and Amber, 15. She told <a href="https://7news.com.au/entertainment/tv/better-homes-and-garden-star-karen-martini-makes-shock-announcement-stepping-back-c-13310981">7News</a>, “With my two new restaurants— Johnny’s Green Room already open and Saint George set to launch soon — as well as so many other projects on the go, 2024 is shaping up to be my busiest year ever.” “My daughters are in their last teenage years too — it’s quite daunting as Stella is in year 12 and also on her Ls.” “With so much on my plate, I’ve made the decision to step back from Better Homes and Gardens (BHAG) this year while I focus on some of my other exciting projects.” “So don’t be alarmed if I’m not in your living room every Friday night.” Karen will continue to make the occasional guest appearance on the show, but will not feature in every episode. After the news of Karen’s departure was announced on the Better Homes & Gardens Instagram account, longtime viewers shared their messages of support to the chef in her next ventures. One person wrote, “Been watching since you joined in 2007 and I’ve loved watching you in the kitchen. All the best.” The 52-year-old also shared her excitement over the newest addition to the Better Homes line-up: chef and MKR judge Colin Fassnidge. “I’m so excited that my mate Colin Fassnidge is entering the Better Homes kitchen,” she went on. “I think his cheeky flavour is sure to spice up the show and I can’t wait to see him on air when we are back on Friday, February 2.” Image credits: Instagram

More than a third of people with dementia don’t know they have it – what to do if you suspect your partner has the condition

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-irving-1493654">Kate Irving</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/dublin-city-university-1528">Dublin City University</a> Around <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-67613465">36% of people</a> in England with dementia are unaware they have the condition, according to a new report from the Dementia Commission. <a href="https://chamberuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/231127-Dementia-Commission-Report-Embargoed.pdf">The report</a> suggests things health and care professionals can do to improve spotting early signs of dementia. But what can you do if you think your partner has the condition? And how can you broach the topic with them? If you are worried about your partner having dementia, here are some useful things to know. Dementia is a term for a range of diseases (for example, Alzheimer’s) which develop over time (months and years) and cause problems with memory and reasoning, communication, changes in personality and a reduction in a person’s ability to carry out daily activities, such as shopping, washing, paying bills or cooking. Dementia can present very differently in each person, so it’s about knowing what’s normal for your loved one. A person who has always been conscientious and organised starting to unravel is very different from a scatterbrained person just being slightly more scatterbrained. Grief and stress can affect memory yet not be the start of dementia. But they can also mask the start of dementia: we call this “diagnostic over-shadowing”. There are also age-related changes to cognition. For example, we take longer to learn when we get older. But a one-off event – no matter how dramatic – is not necessarily dementia. It’s about looking for a pattern of decline. If you see these changes happen in a short space of time (weeks or days) it is unlikely to be dementia and could be something more serious. This requires urgent investigation by a doctor. <h2>Greatest fear</h2> Dementia is one of the greatest fears of our age. The horror of perceived loss of self can cause people to avoid discussing the issue, discussing it in an unhelpful way (such as criticising or inadvertently humiliating) or discussing it with other relatives, but not the person they are noticing changes in. Over time, this can cause a lack of trust to develop. Discussing memory problems openly with the person at the point of a memory failure or if they raise the concern is best. Of course, it takes courage and makes us face our own vulnerability. Sometimes the person will be in denial or lack insight into the memory problems (this can be a symptom of dementia, but isn’t always). If someone raises a concern about their memory issues, I would urge you not to minimise this, as it probably took courage to admit their concerns. I heard a relative say to my mother: “Oh, you left the pot on the stove. I lost the car in the multistory the other day.” My mother had dementia – the relative did not. If they are adamant that they do not have concerns, this is harder to deal with. One approach is to say: “I know you are not concerned, but I am concerned and I wonder if you would see a doctor to ease my worries?” Also explaining that memory problems can at least to some extent have reversible causes means a visit to the doctor to at least rule these out is an important step. It may also be encouraging to say to the person: “If there is something with your memory that will get worse over time, would you want to know?” (Most people <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2408568/">answer yes</a> to this). <h2>Seeing a GP</h2> If your partner agrees to visit a GP, it is helpful to prepare by filling in a diary for a week with the kind of memory (or other) problems experienced, what was happening at the time and the effect of the memory failure. This can be shared with a GP to help them to understand the issues. When people hear even the suggestion of the word dementia, they are faced with the uncertainties of what will become of them, of what they will lose, what they can keep up and where they will end up. These uncertainties are often shared with family members. But research shows that positive aspects of timely diagnosis <a href="https://www.scie.org.uk/dementia/symptoms/diagnosis/early-diagnosis.asp">outweigh fears</a> over time. At the same time, there are often ongoing stresses to do with memory impairments or confusion. With these stresses, everyday life can be troublesome, family relationships can suffer, and people can find it difficult to be supportive of each other. Being honest and open is the best policy. Stating that we are in this together, I want to help, let’s meet whatever happens head on, can help. If a person becomes resistant, it may be there is another family member who might better assist the person.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219172/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-irving-1493654">Kate Irving</a>, Professor of Clinical Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/dublin-city-university-1528">Dublin City University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-third-of-people-with-dementia-dont-know-they-have-it-what-to-do-if-you-suspect-your-partner-has-the-condition-219172">original article</a>.

Mind

"You don’t know why they’re filming or what they’ll do with it": flight attendants on being unwilling stars of viral videos

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liz-simmons-1376255">Liz Simmons</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gui-lohmann-1476773">Gui Lohmann</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rawan-nimri-1482182">Rawan Nimri</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> As any frequent social media user knows, airline passengers often record and post in-flight incidents – from frightening turbulence to unruly members of the public. Often, these viral videos feature flight attendants just trying to do their duties, while being filmed without their consent. These videos usually portray flight attendants either as heroes effortlessly managing difficult passengers or “villains” accused of being rude and unprofessional. Either way, the trend is emerging as an industrial issue, with unions arcing up about it and airlines bringing in new rules aimed at curbing the practice. <h2>Unkind comments about appearance and age</h2> Going to work knowing that at any moment you may become the unwilling star of a viral video can exact a considerable toll on the wellbeing of flight attendants. I (Liz Simmons) speak daily with flight attendants in Australia and abroad as part of my PhD research. From these discussions, I’ve heard from attendants who worry often about discovering videos of themselves featuring unkind comments about their appearance, age or employer. One flight attendant, Kate*, described the disconcerting feeling of someone aiming a smartphone camera at her while she was simply trying to do her job, saying: "You don’t know why they’re filming or what they’ll do with it." Marie spoke of being featured in a TikTok video during a safety demonstration, with viewers making fun of her appearance. Charlotte, after refusing to serve more alcohol to an intoxicated passenger, had a camera thrust in her face, accompanied by threats to her job. Mark told of how uncomfortable he felt having to ask a passenger to stop taking photos of the crew during service. These personal accounts illustrate the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/health-safety/flight-attendant-reveals-creepy-passenger-behaviour/news-story/3b2b1ad25f758e24ef37b74794684ea6">distress</a> flight attendants can experience when being filmed or photographed without their knowledge. <h2>A broader industrial issue</h2> This issue is drawing the attention of policymakers, airlines and the unions that represent flight attendants. Japan recently introduced <a href="https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/crime-courts/20230408-102309/">laws</a> aimed at curbing sneak photography in a range of settings, which may be used to prevent passengers voyeuristically filming flight attendants. <a href="https://mondortiz.com/japan-flight-attendants-call-for-action-versus-stolen-photo-taking/">Research</a> by Japan’s aviation workers union found that about 70% of the 1,573 flight attendants surveyed believed they’d had their pictures taken surreptitiously while they were working. Passengers have been arrested in <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/crime-in-israel/article-748799">Turkey</a> and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3554181/IndiGo-passenger-arrested-recording-video-flight-attendants.html">India</a> after unauthorised filming. And flight attendant unions in <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/09/national/crime-legal/flight-attendant-photo/">Japan</a>, <a href="https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/204104/Union-says-flight-attendants-can-ask-passengers-to-delete-photos-and-videos-taken-without-consent">Hong Kong</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300750512/why-you-shouldnt-film-your-cabin-crew">Australia</a> have voiced concerns about the issue. Of course, videos can occasionally play a crucial role in understanding what transpired during an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/passenger-assault-attendant-detained-fbi-american-airlines-mexico-cabo-rcna48884">in-flight incident</a>, and flight attendants themselves can also be found on social media sharing their stories, consenting to the video. But many videos still feature airline staff simply going about their job (while being filmed, without their consent). <h2>Unclear rules</h2> News <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/why-you-shouldnt-film-your-cabin-crew-20221122-h2813d.html">reports</a> suggest staff aboard Dutch carrier KLM “now commonly make an announcement during the safety briefing asking passengers not to take photos of any crew members.” The <a href="https://www.klm.com.au/information/legal/conditions-carriage">rules</a> on the KLM website are less clear, saying only that, "Recording videos and/or taking photographs other than personal videos and photographs is prohibited on board the aircraft." Virgin Australia’s rules state anyone travelling on their planes must "use cameras or photographic devices (including mobile phones) for personal use only. You must comply with the directions of flight crew when using cameras or photographic devices while on board. In November 2023, Qantas introduced new <a href="https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/conditions-of-carriage.html#conduct-during-flight">rules</a> requiring passengers to "seek consent before filming or photographing Qantas Group staff, contractors or other customers." This is a start. For most airlines, however, there is a notable absence of clear guidelines against recording and publishing footage of flight attendants in their workplace. The existing rules are often buried in the fine print of terms and conditions, which few passengers take the time to read. This underscores the necessity for airlines to reconsider how these restrictions are communicated to passengers. Looking ahead, it may be timely for more airlines to establish clearer rules on filming cabin crew while they work. There should be an acknowledgement that unsolicited filming is frequently unfair, invasive and distressing. Developing a framework to enforce these provisions and enhancing communication about these rules would help inform passengers about how to respect the privacy and comfort of flight attendants in their workplace. * All names have been changed to protect identities.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217089/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liz-simmons-1376255">Liz Simmons</a>, PhD Candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gui-lohmann-1476773">Gui Lohmann</a>, Professor in Air Transport and Tourism Management, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rawan-nimri-1482182">Rawan Nimri</a>, Lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-dont-know-why-theyre-filming-or-what-theyll-do-with-it-flight-attendants-on-being-unwilling-stars-of-viral-videos-217089">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

Readers respond: What is your go-to movie when you need a good cry?

There's an abundance of movies out there, but not many that can bring you to tears. While The Notebook and Beaches are clearly the fan favourites for our readers, here are a few other recommendations that you can watch this holiday season. Get those tissues ready! Carol Wardley - Its a wonderful life Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLR3gZrU2Xo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, and stream the movie on Stan. Denyse Galle - Me Before You and A Walk to Remember Watch the trailer for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh993__rOxA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Me Before you</a> and stream it on YouTube, Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video. Watch the trailer for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3B2XBcp7vA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Walk to Remember</a> and stream it on Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video Kerrie Anne - The Remains of the Day Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jALmEb72beg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on Netflix. Ken Smyth - Dancer in the Dark. That ending... Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53vr9EiOH7g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on Apple TV. Michael Kopp - Bambi Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDGv4GIR7A4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on Disney+. Anne Connolly Finnegan - The Bridges of Madison county Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up-oN4NtvbM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on YouTube. Leone Mitchell - Love Story with Ryan O’Neal and Allie MacGraw beautiful Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYhS8q66L38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on Foxtel Go, Binge or YouTube Julie B - The Colour Purple Watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFMCW5-jdqM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and stream it on Netflix. Are there any other movies that make you cry? Let us know. Image: Getty

Movies

"I just don't like old skin": Jane Fonda's bizarre confession

Jane Fonda has made an unusual confession about her dating life, explaining why she would only date people of a certain age. The Hollywood legend, 85, has been married three times throughout her life: first to director Roger Vadim from 1965 to 1973, then to activist Tom Hayden from 1973 to 1990, and finally to CNN founder Ted Turner from 1991 to 2001. Fonda is currently single, but doesn't plan on staying that way. Despite being open to finding love, the actress has a very specific criteria for potential suitors to meet before agreeing to a date. On the Absolutely Not podcast, the Oscar winner initially suggested she was done with men for good, saying, “I’m done, I’m over, I’m [almost] 86 years old, even in the dark I wouldn’t want to be naked in front of anybody.” But she then went on to confess that there’s still a chance she could fall for a man, but they would just have to be substantially younger. “And here’s another thing, I’m ashamed to say this, if I were to take a lover, he’d have to be 20. Because I don’t like old skin,” said Fonda. She continued, “And consequently, I don’t want to foist that on anybody else. I assume other people are like me, I just don’t like old skin.” “I disapprove of 86-year-old men with 20-year-old women, so I’m not going to repeat it. I can ogle them, and I can’t pretend that I don’t get turned on if I see a certain kind of a person, but no, no, no, I don’t want to force that on anybody.” Her confession has been criticised on social media, with some suggesting the star would be “cancelled” if it was a man that had said the same about young women. “This is seriously weird,” tweeted one fan, while another said: “But an 85 year old man wanting to date a 20 year old woman is disgusting? Am I right?” Image credits: Getty Images

Relationships

Drinking alcohol this Christmas and New Year? These medicines really don’t mix

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> A glass or two of champagne with Christmas lunch. A cool crisp beer at the beach. Some cheeky cocktails with friends to see in the New Year. There seem to be so many occasions to unwind with an alcoholic drink this summer. But if you’re taking certain medications while drinking alcohol, this can affect your body in a number of ways. Drinking alcohol with some medicines means they may not work so well. With others, you risk a life-threatening overdose. Here’s what you need to know if you’re taking medication over summer and plan to drink. <h2>Why is this a big deal?</h2> After you take a medicine, it travels to the stomach. From there, your body shuttles it to the liver where the drug is metabolised and broken down before it goes into your blood stream. Every medicine you take is provided at a dose that takes into account the amount of metabolism that occurs in the liver. When you drink alcohol, this is also broken down in the liver, and it can affect how much of the drug is metabolised. Some medicines are metabolised more, which can mean not enough reaches your blood stream to be effective. Some medicines are metabolised less. This means you get a much higher dose than intended, which could lead to an overdose. The effects of alcohol (such as sleepiness) can act in addition to similar effects of a medicine. Whether or not you will have an interaction, and what interaction you have, depends on many factors. These include the medicine you are taking, the dose, how much alcohol you drink, your age, genes, sex and overall health. Women, older people and people with liver issues are more likely to have a drug interaction with alcohol. <h2>Which medicines don’t mix well with alcohol?</h2> Many medicines interact with alcohol regardless of whether they are prescribed by your doctor or bought over the counter, such as <a href="https://www.drugs.com/article/herbal-supplements-alcohol.html">herbal medicines</a>. 1. Medicines + alcohol = drowsiness, coma, death Drinking alcohol and taking a medicine that depresses the <a href="https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/depressants/">central nervous system</a> to reduce arousal and stimulation can have additive effects. Together, these can make you extra drowsy, slow your breathing and heart rate and, in extreme cases, lead to coma and death. These effects are more likely if you use more than one of this type of medicine. Medicines to look out for include those for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain (except <a href="https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/alcohol-and-paracetamol">paracetamol</a>), sleep disturbances (such as insomnia), allergies, and colds and flu. It’s best not to drink alcohol with these medicines, or to keep your alcohol intake to a minimum. 2. Medicines + alcohol = more effects Mixing alcohol with some medicines increases the effect of those medicines. One example is with the sleeping tablet zolpidem, which is <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/news/product-recalls/zolpidem-stilnox">not to be taken with alcohol</a>. Rare, but serious, side effects are strange behaviour while asleep, such as sleep-eating, sleep-driving or sleep-walking, which are more likely with alcohol. 3. Medicines + craft beer or home brew = high blood pressure Some types of medicines only interact with some types of alcohol. Examples include some medicines for depression, such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine and moclobemide, the antibiotic linezolid, the Parkinson’s drug selegiline, and the cancer drug procarbazine. These so-called <a href="https://www.mydr.com.au/medicine/monoamine-oxidase-inhibitors-maois-for-depression/">monoamine oxidase inhibitors</a> <a href="https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/145802/oncol_maoi.pdf">only interact with</a> some types of boutique and artisan beers, beers with visible sediment, Belgian, Korean, European and African beers, and home-made beers and wine. These types of alcohol contain high levels of tyramine, a naturally occurring substance usually broken down by your body that doesn’t ordinarily cause any harm. However, monoamine oxidase inhibitors prevent your body from breaking down tyramine. This increases levels in your body and can cause your blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels. 4. Medicines + alcohol = effects even after you stop drinking Other medicines interact because they affect the way your body breaks down alcohol. If you drink alcohol while using such medicines you may you feel nauseous, vomit, become flushed in the face and neck, feel breathless or dizzy, your heart may beat faster than usual, or your blood pressure may drop. This can occur even after you stop treatment, then drink alcohol. For example, if you are taking metronidazole you should avoid alcohol both while using the medicine and for at least 24 hours after you stop taking it. An example of where alcohol changes the amount of the medicine or related substances in the body is acitretin. This medication is used to treat skin conditions such as severe psoriasis and to prevent skin cancer in people who have had an organ transplant. When you take acitretin, it changes into another substance – <a href="https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/picmi/picmirepository.nsf/pdf?OpenAgent&id=CP-2017-CMI-02034-1&d=20221221172310101">etretinate</a> – before it is removed from your body. Alcohol increases the amount of etretinate in your body. This is especially important as etretinate can cause birth defects. To prevent this, if you are a woman of child-bearing age you should avoid alcohol while using the medicine and for two months after you stop taking it. <h2>Myths about alcohol and medicines</h2> Alcohol and birth control One of the most common myths about medicines and alcohol is that you can’t drink while using <a href="https://youly.com.au/blog/sexual-reproductive-health/does-alcohol-make-the-pill-less-effective/">the contraceptive pill</a>. It is generally safe to use alcohol with the pill as it <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/birth-control-and-alcohol#:%7E:text=There's%20a%20bit%20of%20good,a%20less%20effective%20birth%20control.">doesn’t directly affect</a> how well birth control works. But the pill is most effective when taken at the same time each day. If you’re drinking heavily, you’re more likely to forget to do this the next day. Alcohol can also make some people nauseous and vomit. If you vomit within three hours of taking the pill, it will not work. This increases your risk of pregnancy. Contraceptive pills can also affect your response to alcohol as the hormones they contain can change the way your body <a href="https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/birth-control">removes alcohol</a>. This means you can get drunk faster, and stay drunk for longer, than you normally would. Alcohol and antibiotics Then there’s the myth about not mixing alcohol with any <a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-you-cant-mix-antibiotics-with-alcohol-4407">antibiotics</a>. This only applies to <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/medicines/medicinal-product/aht,21161/metronidazole">metronidazole</a> and <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/medicines/brand/amt,1011571000168100/linezolid-apo">linezolid</a>. Otherwise, it is generally safe to use alcohol with antibiotics, as alcohol does not affect how well they work. But if you can, it is best to avoid alcohol while taking antibiotics. Antibiotics and alcohol have similar side effects, such as an upset stomach, dizziness and drowsiness. Using the two together means you are more likely to have these side effects. Alcohol can also reduce your energy and increase how long it takes for you to recover. <h2>Where can I go for advice?</h2> If you plan on drinking alcohol these holidays and are concerned about any interaction with your medicines, don’t just stop taking your medicines. Your pharmacist can advise you on whether it is safe for you to drink based on the medicines you are taking, and if not, provide advice on alternatives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196646/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nial-wheate-96839">Nial Wheate</a>, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-pace-1401278">Jessica Pace</a>, Associate Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drinking-alcohol-this-christmas-and-new-year-these-medicines-really-dont-mix-196646">original article</a>.

Caring

Taste depends on nature and nurture. Here are 7 ways you can learn to enjoy foods you don’t like

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-archer-181464">Nicholas Archer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/astrid-poelman-1481227">Astrid Poelman</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a> You’re out for dinner with a bunch of friends, one of whom orders pizza with anchovies and olives to share, but you hate olives and anchovies! Do you pipe up with your preferred choice – Hawaiian – or stay quiet? This scene plays out every day around the world. Some people ferociously defend their personal tastes. But many would rather expand their palate, and not have to rock the boat the next time someone in their friend group orders pizza. Is it possible to train your tastebuds to enjoy foods you previously didn’t, like training a muscle at the gym? <h2>What determines ‘taste’?</h2> Taste is a complex system we evolved to help us navigate the environment. It helps us select foods with nutritional value and reject anything potentially harmful. Foods are made up of different compounds, including nutrients (such as proteins, sugars and fats) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P_0HGRWgXw">aromas</a> that are detected by sensors in the mouth and nose. These sensors create the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZn2PMUWO-Y">flavour of food</a>. While taste is what the tastebuds on your tongue pick up, flavour is the combination of how something smells and tastes. Together with texture, appearance and sound, these senses collectively influence your food preferences. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MZn2PMUWO-Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Flavour is the overall impression you get when eating.</figcaption></figure> Many factors influence food preferences, including age, genetics and environment. We each live in our own sensory world and no two people will have the same <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-some-people-find-some-foods-yummy-but-others-find-the-same-foods-yucky-77671">experience while eating</a>. Food preferences also change with age. Research has found young children have a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24452237/">natural preference</a> for sweet and salty tastes and a dislike of bitter tastes. As they grow older their ability to like bitter foods grows. Emerging evidence shows bacteria in saliva can also produce enzymes that influence the taste of foods. For instance, saliva has been shown to cause the release of sulphur aromas in cauliflower. The <a href="https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2021/acs-presspac-september-22-2021/childrens-dislike-of-cauliflower-broccoli-could-be-written-in-their-microbiome.html">more sulphur that is produced</a>, the less likely a kid is to enjoy the taste of cauliflower. <h2>Nature versus nurture</h2> Both genetics and the environment play a crucial role in determining food preferences. Twin studies estimate genetics have a moderate influence on food preferences (between 32% and 54%, depending on the food type) in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000291652305027X?via%3Dihub">children</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27385609/">adolescents</a> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twin-research-and-human-genetics/article/dietary-patterns-and-heritability-of-food-choice-in-a-uk-female-twin-cohort/8507AAF01330C599BAC62BCC0EF4CF06">adults</a>. However, since our cultural environment and the foods we’re exposed to also shape our preferences, these <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24452237/">preferences are learned</a> to a large degree. A lot of this learning takes place during childhood, at home and other places we eat. This isn’t textbook learning. <a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9780851990323.0093">It’s learning</a> by experiencing (eating), which typically leads to increased liking of the food – or by watching what others do (modelling), which can lead to both positive or negative associations. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000291652305027X?via%3Dihub">Research</a> has shown how environmental influences on food preferences change between childhood and adulthood. For children, the main factor is the home environment, which makes sense as kids are more likely to be influenced by foods prepared and eaten at home. Environmental factors influencing adults and adolescents are more varied. <h2>The process of ‘acquiring’ taste</h2> Coffee and beer are good examples of bitter foods people “acquire” a taste for as they grow up. The ability to overcome the dislike of these is largely due to: <ul> <li> the social context in which they’re consumed. For example, in many countries they may be associated with passage into adulthood. </li> <li> the physiological effects of the compounds they contain – caffeine in coffee and alcohol in beer. Many people find these effects desirable. </li> </ul> But what about acquiring a taste for foods that don’t provide such desirable feelings, but which are good for you, such as kale or fatty fish? Is it possible to gain an acceptance for these? Here are some strategies that can help you learn to enjoy foods you currently don’t: <ol> <li> eat, and keep eating. Only a small portion is needed to build a liking for a specific taste over time. It may take 10–15 attempts or more before you can say you “like” the food. </li> <li> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329302001106">mask bitterness</a> by eating it with other foods or ingredients that contain salt or sugar. For instance, you can pair bitter rocket with a sweet salad dressing. </li> <li> eat it repeatedly in a positive context. That could mean eating it after playing your favourite sport or with people you like. Alternatively, you could eat it with foods you already enjoy; if it’s a specific vegetable, try pairing it with your favourite protein. </li> <li> eat it when you’re hungry. In a hungry state you’ll be more willing to accept a taste you might not appreciate on a full stomach. </li> <li> remind yourself why you want to enjoy this food. You may be changing your diet for health reasons, or because you’ve moved countries and are struggling with the local cuisine. Your reason will help motivate you. </li> <li> start young (if possible). It’s easier for children to learn to like new foods as their tastes are less established. </li> <li> remember: the more foods you like, the easier it’ll become to learn to like others. </li> </ol> A balanced and varied diet is essential for good health. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666315003438?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=82a5fd5069821f63">Picky eating</a> can become a problem if it leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies – especially if you’re avoiding entire food groups, such as vegetables. At the same time, eating too many tasty but energy-dense foods can increase your risk of chronic disease, including obesity. Understanding how your food preferences have formed, and how they can evolve, is a first step to getting on the path of healthier eating.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215999/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-archer-181464">Nicholas Archer</a>, Research Scientist, Sensory, Flavour and Consumer Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/astrid-poelman-1481227">Astrid Poelman</a>, Principal Researcher, Public Health & Wellbeing Group, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/csiro-1035">CSIRO</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/taste-depends-on-nature-and-nurture-here-are-7-ways-you-can-learn-to-enjoy-foods-you-dont-like-215999">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

Aussie couple touched by neighbours kind response to crying baby

A Western Australia mum has shared the incredibly touching response her neighbour gave in response to her baby's crying. Amy Mark took to Facebook to share a photo of the note and a bundle of baby supplies that was left by her neighbour at her front door on Wednesday. "Hey, we are your neighbours from behind you," the note read. "We have heard your little bub crying a few times and thought we would drop off some nappies and wipes as we know how tough the early days are! "We hope this brightens your day," the note concluded. Amy captioned the photo: "Our neighbours left this note at our front door along with some nappies and wipes. Thank you for your kindness and being patient with the noise of a crying newborn." The mum told Daily Mail Australia that their newborn is often restless and night and struggles to fall asleep until 10pm. "We were worried about keeping the neighbours awake but it’s warming to know that some people understand the nighttime struggle," she told the publication. "A lot of parents have it harder than we do so we are grateful for the kind gesture and plan to pay it forward." Thousands of Aussies took to the comments to applaud the kind neighbours and also offered their sympathy for the new parents. "More people should be neighbours like this," one wrote. "What wonderful neighbours to have. That brought tears to my eyes," another commented. "Gifts and understanding, what more can you ask for?" a third added. A few other mum's took to the comments to share their experiences with thoughtful neighbours. One mum wrote: "I had a lovely neighbour who used to come hold and cuddle my twins while we chatted and it helped me get a few things done." Image: Facebook

Family & Pets

About 1 in 6 older Australians experiences elder abuse. Here are the reasons they don’t get help

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eileen-obrien-95332">Eileen O'Brien</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catriona-stevens-1455614">Catriona Stevens</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/loretta-virginia-baldassar-1485078">Loretta Virginia Baldassar</a> Each year, many older Australians experience abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, usually at the hands of their adult children or other close relatives. A recent <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-reports/national-elder-abuse-prevalence-study-final-report">national prevalence study</a> revealed one in six older Australians living at home experiences elder abuse. This may encompass various forms of abuse, such as emotional, financial, social, physical and sexual abuse, or neglect. Despite elder abuse being such a common problem, older people often don’t get the help they need. With the right responses, we can make it easier for those working with older people, and the wider community, to support them. Our <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2023-11/everyones_business_research_into_responses_to_the_abuse_of_older_in_wa_report.pdf">new research</a> reveals the key reasons older people experiencing harm do not receive the support they so desperately need. Our study included a survey of nearly 700 service providers throughout Western Australia. Respondents worked in diverse fields including healthcare, law, aged care, financial services and law enforcement. We found four key obstacles to people getting help with elder abuse. 1. Older people are too scared to report abuse. Older people are often afraid to report abuse because they fear repercussions both for themselves and for the perpetrator, usually an adult child or other close relative. These concerns can mean an older person endures abuse for a long time. They may only seek help when the situation escalates to an extreme level or when someone else notices the ongoing mistreatment. Equally important, they may fear other negative outcomes of reporting abuse. They may fear having to leave their home and enter residential care. They may fear increased isolation and loneliness, or that the abuse will get worse. All these fears combined create a formidable barrier to older people promptly reporting abuse and getting the help they need. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElderAbuse?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElderAbuse</a> is more common than people realize. It can happen: In their own homes In hospitals In nursing homes or other kinds of long-term care facilities Learn more, including how to prevent elder abuse: <a href="https://t.co/CAkBHQO4gm">https://t.co/CAkBHQO4gm</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Alzheimers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Alzheimers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dementia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dementia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/aging?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#aging</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/geriatrics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#geriatrics</a> <a href="https://t.co/gO3Dc6Dy3Z">pic.twitter.com/gO3Dc6Dy3Z</a> — Ian Kremer (@LEAD_Coalition) <a href="https://twitter.com/LEAD_Coalition/status/1720567529200918550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2023</a></blockquote> 2. Older people don’t know where to turn for help Elder abuse cases are often complex, involving long family histories and complicated relationships. Older people trying to improve their situation may need support from multiple service providers. The challenge of accessing the right services and acting on their advice can be daunting. Addressing complicated matters may require intensive support and advocacy for an extended time. In the words of one experienced advocate, <blockquote> People don’t need to know the next ten steps. They need to know one step, maybe two, and then see where they are at. </blockquote> Helping older people feel empowered to seek help requires simple, accessible channels of assistance, promoted through multiple formats and outreach efforts. 3. Government-funded responses to family violence are more focused on intimate partner violence and child protection, leaving elder abuse out of the picture Most programs targeting family violence prioritise intimate partner violence and child protection, inadvertently sidelining elder abuse. Services such as shelters and perpetrator programs are not always compatible with the distinct characteristics of elder abuse. Additionally, the gendered nature of family violence responses fails to address the diverse demographics of elder abuse, which includes older men. As a result, older people, regardless of gender, may struggle to access supports suited to their needs. A refuge manager explained: <blockquote> When a bed becomes available we have this awful job of deciding who’s more high-risk and who gets the bed. If an older person needs the bed, as opposed to a single mum with a newborn, unfortunately we would go with the mum. That really presents a barrier where there isn’t refuge accommodation specifically for older people. </blockquote> There is a pressing need for a shift in focus to better recognise elder abuse as a significant issue and tailor responses to meet the specific needs of older people. This includes creating safe and accessible refuge options and providing specialised support services to address the multifaceted nature of elder abuse. 4. There’s low public awareness about what elder abuse looks like or how to respond Awareness of elder abuse remains surprisingly low, hindering effective responses. Changing this requires clear public information campaigns and community-wide conversations about abuse. This includes greater awareness of the challenge for well-meaning adult children who might limit the choices of their older relatives, thinking they know best. This can result in unintended social isolation or even neglect. A society that speaks openly about elder abuse, without stigma, is better equipped to support victims and intervene. By building public knowledge and promoting a culture where such issues can be freely discussed, we lay the groundwork for reducing its incidence. We are living longer lives than ever before, meaning we can expect to spend more years in older age than previous generations. This is good news, but also means we need to do more work to support people to age well. Positive steps we can all take include tackling ageism when we see it and normalising conversations about abuse so older people can feel confident to seek help when it’s needed.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216827/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eileen-obrien-95332">Eileen O'Brien</a>, Professor of Law, Discipline of Law, Justice and Society, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catriona-stevens-1455614">Catriona Stevens</a>, Forrest Prospect Fellow in Sociology and Anthropology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/loretta-virginia-baldassar-1485078">Loretta Virginia Baldassar</a>, Vice Chancellor Professorial Research Fellow, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/about-1-in-6-older-australians-experiences-elder-abuse-here-are-the-reasons-they-dont-get-help-216827">original article</a>.

Legal

“People don’t understand boundaries”: Woman ruins couple’s romantic proposal

A young couple has been left devastated and mortified after their marriage proposal was crashed by an inconsiderate “Karen” on the beach. Zenicca Llanza, a 24-year-old from the Philippines, shared a video of her boyfriend getting down on one knee at the beach and asking her to marry him. Her partner had arranged a romantic set up on the beach, complete with a tent, picnic table, proposal sign, a cake and rose petals. However, when the time came for him to pop the question, a beach goer began to interfere and rearrange the set up, interrupting the romantic moment. In the video posted to TikTok, Zenicca’s partner got down on one knee and began to recite a speech, as the unnamed woman walked into shot. <div><iframe title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7269928964536192298&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40warngwarng%2Fvideo%2F7269928964536192298&image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2F80e87476646048bca323b002688ff427_1692662253%3Fx-expires%3D1692910800%26x-signature%3D2CX7o9uY0RsEB7creGyXnWP8mas%253D&key=5b465a7e134d4f09b4e6901220de11f0&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> She then moves the proposal sign before walking over to the couple to get a look at the ring, before Zenicca even got a chance to wear it. “How to quickly ruin a proposal,” Zenicca wrote on TikTok. “Please be mindful of other people's once in a lifetime event! You never know you're already ruining it,” she wrote. The video has racked up tens of thousands of views, with many people being outraged on Zenicca’s behalf. “You could excuse the first few seconds w good intentions but the rest I feel like we’re just really bad manners and not having any self awareness,” commented one person. “This made me physically ill. I'm so sorry omg,” added another. “Aw I could tell she had good intentions but was ignorant in the moment that she was slightly ruining something y’all would cherish forever,” commented a third. “Just tell her it’s a personal moment. Sometimes people don’t understand boundaries.” Image credits: TikTok

Relationships

The real reason we cry on aeroplanes

We’ve all been there: you’re buckled into your aeroplane seat, pull out your comfy travel pillow and turn on the movie screen. While the intro credits start rolling, you… burst into tears? Even the most stoic passenger can break out the waterworks for seemingly no reason. So what is it about flying at 30,000 feet that makes us so emotional? There are many theories, but to get to the bottom of it, travel expert Samantha Brown recently spoke to CNN. Here’s what she had to say. Why do we cry on aeroplanes? In her video, Brown explains one popular theory as to why we cry on aeroplanes. She claims that our “eyes are trying to create moisture” to combat the dry atmosphere of the plane. She continues, “The only way your eyes know how to create moisture is to cry. And so it becomes this physical response that the brain sends to release the tear ducts.” Why do we get emotional on aeroplanes? There is, however, an interesting caveat to this theory. Brown explains, “You have to be emotional to cry [so] your body acclimates to the dryness and creates the tears,” so you have to create the emotion first to create the tears.” In other words, your brain may create an unusually heightened emotional response to something that otherwise may not have moved you. For Brown, this was humorously a flashback scene from a German shepherd in the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua. While a movie can help your brain get into the crying mood, some passengers also experience this crying while reading, writing, reflecting or simply staring out the window. (This writer once cried at a particularly awe-inspiring cloud!) How do we avoid crying on an aeroplane There is no reason to be embarrassed about crying on aeroplane; it is, after all, a natural human response. But if you are searching for solutions, Brown jokes, “I would recommend [watching] all the Taken movies with Liam Neeson.” She says she chooses to steer clear of especially emotional movies, citing Terms of Endearment, and instead opts for “a rom-com starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (not as a chihuahua). “But I’ll probably still cry,” she adds. In addition to selecting appropriate in-flight entertainment, keep emotions at bay by minimising the stress of your trip. Bon voyage! Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/the-real-reason-we-cry-on-aeroplanes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Travel Tips

You don’t have to be an economist to know Australia is in a cost of living crisis. What are the signs and what needs to change

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-hawkins-746285">John Hawkins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining Australia’s cost of living crisis. <hr /> Every day the higher price of seemingly everything is mentioned in the news or in conversations with friends and acquaintances. The impact is clear as we are required to pay more for most things from our weekly shop and power bills, to filling the car and swimming lessons. So what is the cost of living and how is it measured? The “cost of living” refers to the prices people need to pay to meet their needs in their everyday lives. The most commonly cited measure is the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/Consumer+Price+Index+FAQs">Consumer Price Index</a> compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This represents the price of a fixed basket of goods and services. The items in the basket reflect the spending of metropolitan households. Each item is given a weight corresponding to its share in the spending of these households. The CPI does not include the price of land or financial assets such as shares. The rate of change of prices is known as <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/inflation-and-its-measurement.html">inflation</a>. <hr /> <iframe id="WV21a" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/WV21a/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> Inflation rose sharply in the 1970s, especially after the oil price shocks. It took a long while to get it down. The Reserve Bank adopted an <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/australias-inflation-target.html">inflation target of 2-3%</a> in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10370196.2019.1615401">early 1990s</a> to keep inflation low over the medium term. After a long period of low inflation, it rose sharply again during 2022. It is now declining. A similar pattern is seen in comparable economies such as the United States and New Zealand. The supply bottlenecks caused by COVID have eased and economic activity is slowing in response to the increases in interest rates in most economies. <hr /> <iframe id="XtUKa" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/XtUKa/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> <h2>Not all prices rise at the same rate</h2> Some prices rise fairly smoothly in line with the overall CPI. Others, such as petrol and fresh food, are much more volatile. <hr /> <iframe id="XKmuL" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/XKmuL/2/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> Since 1972 the price of the CPI basket has increased almost 12-fold. But some prices have increased much more. Cigarettes cost almost 60 times as much (reflecting increased taxes). Labour-intensive hairdressing costs 20 times as much. Prices of other goods have gone up much less, especially after Australia cut tariffs and started importing more from low-cost producers. Over the past decade the prices of clothing and computers have fallen. People often believe inflation is higher than the CPI reports. Big price rises are more noticeable. You seldom see headlines about prices that have not changed. And when was the last time you heard a discussion about how clothing has been getting cheaper? House prices are now more than 50 times as high as in 1972, a much larger increase than the CPI. Some of this, however, represents quality changes rather than pure price changes. The average Australian house has roughly doubled in size and may now be the <a href="https://theconversation.com/size-does-matter-australias-addiction-to-big-houses-is-blowing-the-energy-budget-70271">largest in the world</a>. <h2>My inflation is not the same as yours</h2> The CPI reflects the prices faced by an average household. About half of households will have experienced a higher increase in the prices they pay, and half will have seen a lower increase. Different households consume different goods and services. Retirees tend to spend more on health care and less on childminding. A higher proportion of the spending of lower income households goes on necessities rather than luxuries. For the “average” household, almost 4% of spending is on tobacco. But of course non-smokers spend nothing while heavy smokers spend much more. So that large rise in cigarette prices affects some people significantly and others not at all. The ABS publishes some separate <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/selected-living-cost-indexes-australia/jun-2023">living cost indices</a>. The data get much less attention, partly because they are released after the CPI. These differ from the CPI in that they <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6467.0Feature+Article1Mar+2017">include interest charges</a>. They are also prepared relating to different classes of people. Over the year to June 2023, the living costs of employees rose by 9.6% but those of self-funded retirees by 6.3% and age pensioners by 6.7%. The main reason for the difference was that interest rates increased and employees are more likely to have a mortgage than are retirees. <hr /> <iframe id="1OagU" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/1OagU/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> These compare to the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia/latest-release">6% increase in the CPI</a> over the same period. <h2>Cost of living problem</h2> The cost of living becomes an increasing problem when incomes, notably wages, fail to keep up with it. Over long periods of time, wages tend to grow faster than prices. The economy becomes more productive over time and the gains flow to both workers and companies. But over shorter periods, this may not be the case. Last week’s <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/wage-price-index-australia/jun-2023">data</a> show wages grew by only 3.6% over the year to the June quarter. This is well below the current inflation rate of 6%. But it is around the growth in prices <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/smp/2023/aug/pdf/05-economic-outlook.pdf">forecast</a> by the Reserve Bank for the coming year. As well as an income for workers, wages are a major cost for businesses. So if wages grow too fast, and particularly were they to accelerate, there is a risk of a wage-price spiral. The 3.6% annual wage increase for the June quarter is slightly less than the 3.7% recorded in the March quarter. The quarterly growth rate has been steady at 0.8% for the past three quarters. If labour productivity grows close to its medium-term average, this size of wage increase should not be a concern. If business starts to expect raw material and input prices, and prices charged by their competitors, to keep growing strongly, they will be likely to keep increasing their own prices a lot. This risks a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/18/once-a-fringe-theory-greedflation-gets-its-due">price-price spiral</a>. <hr /> <iframe id="dfh40" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dfh40/2/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <hr /> The Reserve Bank is trying to steer the economy along what it calls a narrow path. It hopes it has raised interest rates enough to slow the economy and return inflation to its 2-3% target within a reasonable time frame. But it hopes it has not raised them too far, which would push the economy into a recession and lead to a large rise in unemployment. The bank’s goal is to have the cost of living rising by around 2-3% per year and incomes a bit more than this, so living standards steadily improve for all Australians over time.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210373/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-hawkins-746285">John Hawkins</a>, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-dont-have-to-be-an-economist-to-know-australia-is-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis-what-are-the-signs-and-what-needs-to-change-210373">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

“You really don’t age!”: Michelle Pfeiffer stuns in make-up free update

Michelle Pfeiffer has stunned fans and celebrity pals alike as she shared a make-up free selfie to celebrate hitting 3 million followers on Instagram. The 65-year-old actress proved that she can look good with or without make up, as fans were obsessed with her ageless look in a casual photo of her relaxing on the lounge. “3M followers. Thank you all for hanging out with me here!!” she captioned the photo. The Scarface star's celebrity pals took to the comments to celebrate the follower milestone with her. "Authenticity is magnetic," commented her Ant-man and The Wasp co-star Evangeline Lilly. “I remember when you first showed up here … and it was like finding ruby slippers! You are solid gold,” the First Lady actress Selma Blair commented. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwEXzWVRjmK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwEXzWVRjmK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Michelle Pfeiffer (@michellepfeifferofficial)</a> </div> </blockquote> “You are SO beautiful. Always so jazzed that I once played your mother!” American actress Holland Taylor commented, in reference to their shared screen-time on One Fine Day. Christina Ricci, known for her role as Wednesday Addams in The Addam's Family called Pfeiffer an “Icon Queen,” while Chelsea Handler wrote “Yeah, girl yeah”. My Big Fat Greek Wedding actress Rita Wilson commented “love you.” Pfeiffer's fans also took to the comments to compliment her beauty both "inside and out". "I love when celebs do true makeup free selfies. Michelle is gorgeous - and lovely - at every age," wrote one fan. “You really don’t age!” commented another. "I love how natural and YOU you are! Absolutely refreshing and warm and beautiful," wrote a third. Image: Getty

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The real reason we cry on aeroplanes

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“You really don’t age!”: Michelle Pfeiffer stuns in make-up free update

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Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

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Compare

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Keep up to date

Search

Don’t give mum chocolates for Mother’s Day. Take on more housework, share the mental load and advocate for equality instead

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand

The dos and don’ts of caring for your hearing aids

6 kitchen mistakes you don’t know you're making

Stay or go? Most older Australians want to retire where they are, but renters don’t always get a choice

Marcia Hines returns as Australian Idol fans cry foul over upset win

"If you cry, I cry!": Pink's emotional visit to children's hospital

“Don’t be alarmed”: Better Homes and Gardens star makes shock announcement

More than a third of people with dementia don’t know they have it – what to do if you suspect your partner has the condition

"You don’t know why they’re filming or what they’ll do with it": flight attendants on being unwilling stars of viral videos

Readers respond: What is your go-to movie when you need a good cry?

"I just don't like old skin": Jane Fonda's bizarre confession

Drinking alcohol this Christmas and New Year? These medicines really don’t mix

Taste depends on nature and nurture. Here are 7 ways you can learn to enjoy foods you don’t like

Aussie couple touched by neighbours kind response to crying baby

About 1 in 6 older Australians experiences elder abuse. Here are the reasons they don’t get help

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