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7 ways to create realistic financial goals that you'll actually stick to

<p>Establishing robust financial habits not only fosters comfort but also alleviates anxieties about the road ahead. A positive change in our financial circumstances commences with a shift in our money mindset. When you shift to creating lasting change, you can achieve more than you believe is possible. </p> <p>When creating financial goals that you’ll actually stick to, parallels can be drawn between achieving physical and financial fitness. Let’s take a look.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Precision in Goal Setting</strong></li> </ol> <p>Just like any other endeavour, the path to financial well-being requires setting clear objectives that are both quantifiable and feasible. Whether it's building an emergency fund or saving for a major purchase, your goals need to be well-defined and measurable.</p> <p>Just as a fitness regimen consists of various exercises targeting different muscle groups, your financial goals should cover different aspects of your financial life.</p> <ol start="2"> <li><strong>The Inaugural Step</strong></li> </ol> <p>The hardest part is starting – there will always be competing priorities.   Think of it as taking one step at a time.  Starting your financial goals might feel overwhelming due to competing priorities and uncertainties.</p> <p>Start small and build momentum gradually. Establish a budget, track your expenses, and save a modest amount regularly. </p> <ol start="3"> <li><strong>Avoiding Extreme Measures</strong></li> </ol> <p>Remember, lasting change comes from sustainable actions. Financial quick fixes like waiting for bonuses or tax returns won't foster healthy habits and can lead to financial fatigue. Instead, embrace gradual progress; small efforts compound over time.</p> <p>The allure of crash diets can be tempting, but they rarely yield lasting results. Instead, opt for consistent, manageable actions. Focus on building sustainable habits, like making regular contributions to savings or investments.</p> <ol start="4"> <li><strong>The Power of Knowledge</strong></li> </ol> <p>Equip yourself with information. Education is a powerful tool in achieving financial well-being.  Understanding the options available is pivotal to making informed financial decisions. Gain a comprehensive understanding of your financial options.</p> <p>Research investment opportunities and strategies that align with your goals. Knowledge empowers you to navigate the complex landscape of personal finance confidently.</p> <ol start="5"> <li><strong>Exploration of Strategies</strong></li> </ol> <p>Just as someone might prefer running over cycling, finding financial strategies that resonate with you enhances your chances of long-term success. Experiment with diverse approaches to identify what resonates best, reducing stress and enhancing commitment.</p> <p>Opt for strategies that resonate with your values, minimise stress and amplifying commitment.</p> <ol start="6"> <li><strong>Consistency </strong></li> </ol> <p>Success lies in cultivating steady habits over time, ensuring enduring benefits. Just as regular workouts lead to improved physical health, cultivating small, consistent financial habits over time leads to enhanced financial well-being.</p> <p>Set up automated transfers to savings accounts, make incremental increases in contributions, and avoid overspending.</p> <ol start="7"> <li><strong>Intermittent Rewards</strong></li> </ol> <p>Occasionally treat yourself.  Sporadic indulgences can enhance well-being and acknowledge hard-earned victories. Rewarding yourself for achieving financial milestones enhances your commitment and prevents financial fatigue. It's essential to strike a balance between frugality and enjoyment.</p> <p>By embracing these principles, we not only engineer realistic financial objectives but also cement a commitment to achieving them. That’s the key to lasting financial prosperity.</p> <p><strong><em>Amanda Thompson, author of Financially Fit Women, is a sought-after speaker and qualified financial adviser.  As the founder of Endurance Financial, Amanda is driven to support women to have a great relationship with money and own their own financial success. For more information visit <a href="http://www.endurancefinancial.com.au">www.endurancefinancial.com.au</a></em></strong></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Kmart and Target join forces to create mega discount stores

<p dir="ltr">Two of Australia’s favourite retail giants are about to get better in a huge merger creating a $10 billion discount giant.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wesfarmers is set to fold Target into Kmart with hopes that it will improve sales, provide better value for customers, and allow both stores to share backend technology.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ian Bailey the Managing Director of Kmart Group has said that there will be “no impact” to stores, and that the move was an "internal reorganisation".</p> <p dir="ltr">"With customers now demanding value more than ever, this new operating model will unlock a new level of scale and productivity across both brands, so we can deliver even greater value to our customers in the future," he said in a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">"For store networks and 50,000 store team members – it's business as usual – as we continue to focus on providing the best value products to the thousands of customers in Australia and New Zealand who choose to shop at Kmart or Target every day."</p> <p dir="ltr">The move comes as the cost of living crisis is forcing more and more Aussies to be mindful of their spending habits.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement to the <em>The Australian Financial Review</em>, Bailey said that there would likely be “a handful of redundancies" but more jobs overall by next year.</p> <p dir="ltr">He added that one of the benefits of tighter integration and better technology is the ease in which the prices of products can be reduced.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said that the price drop on 1000 Kmart products this month was assisted by merchandise planning tools and a self-navigating inventory scanning robot.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Kmart and Target are both strong businesses. I don't see us doing this from a position of weakness. It's quite the opposite,” he told the publication.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I'd say we're strong, but I think there's an opportunity to really capitalise on this time and find ways to continue to deliver better value for customers."</p> <p dir="ltr">"What we found was that running two businesses it was very, very difficult to get the tech into Target, and to get those benefits. This is really why we decided to push the two businesses into one."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Money & Banking

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How scammers use psychology to create some of the most convincing internet cons – and what to watch out for

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stacey-wood-473147"><em>Stacey Wood</em></a><em>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/scripps-college-2153">Scripps College</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yaniv-hanoch-1341108">Yaniv Hanoch</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southampton-1093">University of Southampton</a></em></p> <p><a href="https://www.experian.co.uk/blogs/latest-thinking/fraud-prevention/cybercrime-fraud-most-common-crime-uk/">Online fraud is today’s most common crime</a>. Victims are often told they are foolish for falling for it, but fraudsters use psychological mechanisms to infiltrate the defences of their targets, regardless of how intelligent they are.</p> <p>So it’s important to keep up with the latest scams and understand how they work.</p> <p>Recently, consumer protection magazine Which? <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/the-4-most-convincing-scams-weve-seen-in-2023-so-far-a7bRP9s0KJvG">identified some of the most convincing scams of 2023</a>. These scams all have one thing in common – they insidiously take advantage of people’s cognitive biases and psychological blind spots.</p> <p>They included “pig butchering” a way of fattening up victims with affection, the missing person scam which involves posting fake content on social media pages, the traditional PayPal scam, and a new scam called the “fake app alert” in which malware is hidden on apps that look legitimate.</p> <h2>Pig butchering</h2> <p>In our work as fraud psychology researchers we have noticed a trend towards hybrid scams, which combine different types of fraud. Hybrid scams often involve crypto investments and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-fraud-crisis/202210/new-scams-committed-forced-trafficked-labor">sometimes use trafficked labour</a> In the US alone, <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/springfield/news/internet-crime-complaint-center-releases-2022-statistics">the FBI recently reported</a> that people lost US $3.3 billion (£2.6 billion) in 2023 to investment fraud.</p> <p>Pig butchering is a long-term deception. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/02/pig-butchering-scammers-make-billions-convincing-victims-of-love.html">This type of scam</a> combines elements of <a href="https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/romance-scams">romance scams</a> with an investment con. The name comes from the strategy of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/may/22/dating-cons-and-dodgy-apps-among-most-common-scams-says-uk-watchdog">“fattening up” a victim with affection before slaughter</a>.</p> <p>It will usually begin with <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/policy-and-insight/article/pig-butchering-among-most-convincing-scams-of-2023-so-far-which-warns-aDRtr4I1UT1R">standard scam approach like a text</a>, social media message, or an introduction at a job board site.</p> <p>Victims may have their guard up at first. However, these scams can unfold over months, with the scammer slowly gaining the victims’ trust and initiating a romantic relationship all the while learning about their vulnerabilities.</p> <p>For example, details of their financial situation, job stresses, and dreams about the life they want. Romance scammers often saturate their targets with affection and almost constant contact. Pig butchering sometimes involves several trafficked people working as a team to create a single persona.</p> <p>Once the victim depends on the scammer for their emotional connection, the scammer introduces the idea of making an investment and uses fake crypto platforms to demonstrate returns. The scammers may use legitimate sounding cryptocoins and platforms. Victims can invest and “see” strong returns online. In reality, their money is going directly to the scammer.</p> <p>Once a victim transfers a substantial amount of money to the con artist, they are less likely to pull out. This phenomenon is known as the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0749597885900494">“sunk cost fallacy”</a>. Research has shown people are likely to carry on investing money, time and effort in activities they have already invested in and ignore signs the endeavour isn’t in their best interests.</p> <p>When the victim runs out of money or tries to withdraw funds, they are blocked.</p> <p>The victim is left with not only financial devastation, but also the loss of what they may imagine to be their most intimate partnership. They are often <a href="https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/6/2021/12/VC-Who-Suffers-Fraud-Report-1.pdf">too embarrassed to discuss the experience</a> with friends and family or to report to the police.</p> <h2>PayPal scams</h2> <p>Fake payment requests are a common attack that works by volume rather than playing the long game. Payment requests appear to come from a genuine PayPal address. Fraudulent messages typically begin with a generic greeting, an urgent request and a fake link.</p> <p>For example, Dear User: You’ve received a payment, or you have paid too much. Please click link below for details. Users are directed to a spoofed website with a legitimate sounding name such as www.paypal.com/SpecialOffers and asked to enter their account information and password.</p> <p>Both of us have received these scam requests – and even we found them difficult to discern from legitimate PayPal request emails. These scams work through mimicry and play on the human tendency to trust authority. Legitimate PayPal correspondence is usually automatic bot language, so it is not difficult to imitate.</p> <p>But remember, genuine messages from PayPal <a href="https://www.paypal.com/ca/for-you/account/security/fraud-dangers#:%7E:text=Any%20email%20from%20PayPal%20will,bank%20account%2C%20or%20credit%20card.">will use your first and last name</a>.</p> <h2>The missing person scam</h2> <p>This seems to be a new scam that exploits a person’s kindness. In the past, charity scams involved posing as charitable organisation responding to a <a href="https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/charity.html">recent, real calamity</a>.</p> <p>The new missing person scam is more sophisticated. The initial plea is a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/20875699/facebook-fake-missing-child-scam-warning/">fake missing person post</a> that generates likes and shares, increasing its credibility and exposure. Then the fraudster edits the content to create an investment scheme which now has the veneer of legitimacy.</p> <p>This scam may work because the initial consumers are unaware that the content is fraudulent, and there is no obvious request. In psychology, this type of persuasion is known as “<a href="https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/social-proof">social proof</a>” – the tendency of individuals to follow and copy behaviour of others.</p> <h2>Fake app alerts</h2> <p>People post mobile apps, designed to steal users’ personal information, on the Google Play or Apple app store.</p> <p>The app often has a <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/another-person-comes-forward-after-banking-app-scam-3584340">legitimate function</a>, which gives it a cover. Consumers unknowingly jeopardise their private information by downloading these apps which use malware to access additional information.</p> <p>Although there has been <a href="https://tech.co/news/fake-android-apps-delete">media coverage of Android security issues</a>, many users assume malware <a href="https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2020/8/18/app-stores">cannot bypass app store screening</a>. Again, this scam plays on people’s <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0021-9010.92.3.639">trust in authority figures</a> to keep tjem safe.</p> <p>Discuss any investment opportunities with friends, family members or professionals. It’s much easier said than done, but exercising caution one of the best strategies to reduce the chance of becoming a fraud victim.</p> <p>Scammers count on people paying little to no attention to their emails or messages before clicking on them or providing valuable information. When it comes to scams, the devil is in the missing details.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/207759/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stacey-wood-473147">Stacey Wood</a>, Professor of Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/scripps-college-2153">Scripps College</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yaniv-hanoch-1341108">Yaniv Hanoch</a>, Professor in Decision Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southampton-1093">University of Southampton</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-scammers-use-psychology-to-create-some-of-the-most-convincing-internet-cons-and-what-to-watch-out-for-207759">original article</a>.</em></p>

Technology

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Live art exists only while it is being performed, and then it disappears. How do we create an archive of the ephemeral?

<p>Live performance exists only in the moment it is being performed. Its ephemeral nature means it is transient and impermanent, and cannot be experienced again in precisely the same way. </p> <p>How do artists hold on to the works that they make? What of the invisible labour that is rarely acknowledged or named? </p> <p>Over the last ten years, performance artist Leisa Shelton has completed a series of participatory artworks which focus on the mutability of the archive: gathering audience testimonies and mapping artistic lineages. </p> <p>Now her new show, Archiving the Ephemeral, brings five works together in a beautifully curated installation. </p> <p>Archiving the Ephemeral is a celebration of the artist, the artistic process and the audience experience. </p> <p>Shelton’s expansive career, built on collaboration, care and conversation, grounds the exhibition. The show reflects her focus on curating and re-framing interdisciplinary work to address the limited opportunities for recognition of contemporary independent Australian performance.</p> <h2>Meticulous design</h2> <p>Marked by a spare, distinctive design, Archiving the Ephemeral is located in the Magdalen Laundry at the Abbotsford Convent. </p> <p>Rich with a bright green wooden industrial interior and aged painted walls, the laundry is a perfect background for the specifically placed items, the carefully lit tables and the long lines of patterned artefacts. </p> <p>Fragile ideas are framed and held within a crafted, artisan aesthetic. Objects are carefully made and remnants are meticulously gathered.</p> <p>Along one side of the space, 132 brown paper packets are laid out in a continuous line on the floor. Each package contains a set of archival materials, burned to ash, which corresponds to an artistic project from Shelton’s career.</p> <p>An accompanying video depicts Shelton’s meticulous process of burning, piece by piece, her entire performance archive to ash. </p> <p>In a methodical and meditative process, the ash is sifted and packaged into the hand-crafted paper bags. The bags are then hand-punched and sewn with twine, typed, labelled and categorised: a kind of devotional honouring of the materials even as they are brought to dust. </p> <h2>A living archive</h2> <p>The exhibition includes an opportunity for each of us to become part of the living archive through conversations with two ground-breaking elders of Australia’s performance art scene, <a href="https://abbotsfordconvent.com.au/news/in-conversation-with-stelarc-and-jill-orr/">Jill Orr and Stelarc</a>. </p> <p>On the night I attend, I sit with Stelarc. We discuss Kantian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant">notions of time</a> as he tells me about his <a href="http://stelarc.org/?catID=20353">Re-Wired/Re-Mixed Event for Dismembered Body</a> (2015). It’s a delightful moment of personal connection with an artist I’ve admired for years.</p> <p>Across one wall are four large hanging papers listing the name of every artist on every <a href="https://www.artshouse.com.au/about-us/">Arts House</a> program from 2006-2016, laboriously typed. </p> <p>On the night I attend, these lists elicit lively conversations among the artists present as we study the names and dates (in my case, slightly desperately searching to see if my own name is there), and recall shows, people, events, stories and collaborations.</p> <p>Much of Shelton’s work is gathered from conversations with audience members about art and artists. </p> <p>In Mapping, a set of burnished stainless-steel canisters, beautifully marked with engraved identifications, sit on a bench underneath a suspended video screen on which artist names appear and disappear in an endless, floating loop. </p> <p>The canisters contain details of profoundly memorable artists and performances collected from 1,000 interviews, dated and stamped. They are hand-welded, sumptuous objects which hold the interview cards securely locked under fireproof glass designed to withstand cyclones, fires and floods.</p> <p>The many hand-written files of Scribe contain multiple documents which can be taken out and read. The sheer number of pages is overwhelming, and the breadth of audience commentary – joyful, moved, connected, inspired – is breathtaking.</p> <p>It’s a poignant reminder of the traces borne out beyond the artist’s own experience of performing a work: an often surreal and lonely moment once the audience has left the room.</p> <h2>A practice of care</h2> <p>Archiving the Ephemeral fosters a practice of care and acknowledgement which extends to the practical ways in which our trajectory through the room and engagement with the artworks is enabled. </p> <p>The Convent is an apt site for such a careful collection. Analogue processes and objects are foregrounded. Typewriters, brown paper, string, awls and aprons are part of the painstaking construction process. Attendants and scribes act as custodians in the space, facilitating a gentle holding of the material.</p> <p>We are given the opportunity to continue the archive as it evolves and devolves around us. As I make my way through the space, I notice my own embodied archival actions - taking notes, speaking to others - as I continue the trajectory of documenting the documents. We are not just witnessing one artist’s body of work. Archiving the Ephemeral focuses on the need for greater visibility, recognition and honouring of Australia’s experimental and independent artists, and speaks to the many collaborations, associations, and intricate connections that mark a significant – if unacknowledged – cultural legacy.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/live-art-exists-only-while-it-is-being-performed-and-then-it-disappears-how-do-we-create-an-archive-of-the-ephemeral-201939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

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Why loneliness is both an individual thing and a shared result of the cities we create

<p>If you’re feeling lonely, you’re not alone. Loneliness is an <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en/loneliness-increase-worldwide-increase-local-community-support">increasingly common experience</a>, and it can have severe consequences. People who feel lonely are at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8">higher risk of serious health issues</a>, including heart disease, immune deficiency and depression.</p> <p>Traditionally, loneliness has been viewed as an individual problem requiring individual solutions, such as psychological therapy or medication. Yet loneliness is caused by feeling disconnected from society. It therefore makes sense that treatments for loneliness should focus on the things that help us make these broader connections. </p> <p>The places where we live, work and play, for example, can promote meaningful social interactions and help us build a sense of connection. Careful planning and management of these places can create <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/loneliness-annual-report-the-third-year/tackling-loneliness-annual-report-february-2022-the-third-year">population-wide improvements in loneliness</a>.</p> <p>Our research team is investigating how the way we design and plan our cities impacts loneliness. We have just published a <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1gNq14pqpjtIuw">systematic review</a> of research from around the world. Overall, we found many aspects of the built environment affect loneliness. </p> <p>However, no single design attribute can protect everyone against loneliness. Places can provide opportunities for social interactions, or present barriers to them. Yet every individual responds differently to these opportunities and barriers.</p> <h2>What did the review look at?</h2> <p>Our review involved screening over 7,000 published studies covering fields such as psychology, public health and urban planning. We included 57 studies that directly examined the relationship between loneliness and the built environment. These studies covered wide-ranging aspects from neighbourhood design, housing conditions and public spaces to transport infrastructure and natural spaces.</p> <p>The research shows built environments can present people with options to do the things we know help reduce loneliness. Examples include chatting to the people in your street or neighbourhood or attending a community event.</p> <p>However, the link between the built environment and loneliness is complex. Our review found possibilities for social interaction depend on both structural and individual factors. In other words, individual outcomes depend on what the design of a space enables a person to do as well as on whether, and how, that person takes advantage of that design.</p> <p>Specifically, we identified some key aspects of the built environment that can help people make connections. These include housing design, transport systems and the distribution and design of open and natural spaces.</p> <h2>So what sort of situations are we talking about?</h2> <p>Living in small apartments, for example can increase loneliness. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10901-020-09816-7">For some people</a>, this is because the smaller space reduces their ability to have people over for dinner. Others who live in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X15000112">poorly maintained housing</a> report similar experiences.</p> <p>More universally, living in areas with good access to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X19001569">community centres</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab089">natural spaces</a> helps people make social connections. These spaces allow for both planned and unexpected social interactions.</p> <p>Living in environments with good access to destinations and transport options also protects against loneliness. In particular, it benefits individuals who are able to use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glu069">active transport (walking and cycling) and high-quality public transport</a>. </p> <p>This finding should make sense to anyone who walks or takes the bus. We are then more likely to interact in some way with those around us than when locked away in the privacy of a car.</p> <p>Similarly, built environments <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21711">designed to be safe</a> — from crime, traffic and pollution — also enable people to explore their neighbourhoods easily on foot. Once again, that gives them more opportunities for social interactions that can, potentially, reduce loneliness.</p> <p>Environments where people are able to express themselves were also found to protect against loneliness. For example, residents of housing they could personalise and “make home” reported feeling less lonely. So too did those who felt able to “<a href="https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2002-0010">fit in</a>”, or identify with the people living close by.</p> <h2>Other important factors are less obvious</h2> <p>These factors are fairly well defined, but we also found less tangible conditions could be significant. For example, studies consistently showed the importance of socio-economic status. The interplay between economic inequalities and the built environment can deny many the right to live a life without loneliness.</p> <p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2021.1940686">housing tenure</a> can be important because people who rent are less able to personalise their homes. People with lower incomes can’t always afford to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783320960527">live close to friends</a> or in a neighbourhood where they feel accepted. Lower-income areas are also notoriously under-serviced with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102869">reliable public transport</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-2458-14-292">well-maintained natural spaces</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.11.002">well-designed public spaces</a>.</p> <p>Our review reveals several aspects of the built environment that can enhance social interactions and minimise loneliness. Our key finding, though, is that there is no single built environment that is universally “good” or “bad” for loneliness. </p> <p>Yes, we can plan and build our cities to help us meet our innate need for social connection. But context matters, and different individuals will interpret built environments differently.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-loneliness-is-both-an-individual-thing-and-a-shared-result-of-the-cities-we-create-198069" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Caring

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How to create your own flower arrangements

<p>Flowers are a sure-fire way to make just about anyone’s day. Whether you’re giving them as a gift, using them to decorate you house or making a centrepiece for an occasion, flowers will instantly brighten with their beauty. Here are some tips for creating your own flower arrangements at home.</p> <p><strong>Look for inspiration</strong><br />With Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, inspiration for flower arrangements is now literally endless. Magazines and books are also a great source for ideas.</p> <p><strong>Select a colour scheme</strong><br />When deciding on a colour scheme for your flower arrangement, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, is it an arrangement to go in a vase in your home and if so, what are the colours of the room it is going in? Or perhaps it is a gift for a friend and if so, what’s the occasion? Lastly, what time of year is it? These factors will influence what you go for. If the arrangement is for a house then you’ll need to pick colours that suit the room. If it is for an occasion, you’ll want to consider if you need bright and happy colours, or something more subtle. Lastly, if it's summer, it’s best to opt for colours that celebrate that time of year.</p> <p><strong>Write up a recipe</strong><br />Prepare a recipe for your floral arrangements, just as you do when making a meal. Include tools and supplies needed, the amount of flowers and go from there. If you're making an arrangement for home, you’ll likely just need the bucket, vase, a couple of tools for grooming the flowers (see below). For a bouquet, you’ll need all of that minus the vase and add in some ribbon and string, or if you’re after a centrepiece, you will also need a block of floral foam and a votive to make your arrangement in. It’s always a good idea to buy a few more flowers than you think you’ll need. A standard flower arranging supply tool kit would include: clippers, floral tape, ribbons, floral moss, flower preservative, rose strippers if you have roses, and vases. Once you have your recipe, you'll know what you need.</p> <p><strong>Off to the market</strong><br />You have a few options when it comes to where to buy your blooms: you could start in your own garden if you’re on a budget, otherwise there are lots of wholesale flower markets, or grocery stores, store front florists, farmer’s markets and mail order. We recommend heading to wholesale markets. The produce comes straight from farms, the variety is amazing and you can generally get the best value for your money. Keep in mind that in order to get the best flowers from the markets, you’ll have to get there early and some markets open at 4 or 5am. Check what markets are closest to you.</p> <p><strong>Pick your flowers</strong><br />Peonies or gardenias, roses or carnations, orchids or irises? It is best to select flowers according to the time of year and what’s in season. Out-of-season flowers are likely to be harder to come by and expensive. There are some places in which you can pre-order, so it might be worth a phone call to discuss your options. Otherwise, just Google what you’re interested in and see what's in season where you live and make your plan around that. When you’re at the market or store, make sure the flowers you buy are not beginning to wilt. Ideally, there should be a few green buds in the mix and petals should feel firm and have no brown edges.</p> <p><strong>Grooming</strong><br />First you need to pick out any dead or broken blooms and petals. Next, you need to cut each stem by at least one inch at an angle using a sharp knife, scissors, or clippers. Then it is very important to get them into some water. Buckets work well to keep them in and a tall bucket in which the stems can gently rest on the sides will work best. The fewer leaves left below the waterline in the vase the better as leaves steal nutrients from blooms and can also cause the water to get nasty faster. Be sure to pull of the extra greenery. Most flowers (except tulips and hyacinths) do best in lukewarm water.</p> <p><strong>Caring for your flowers</strong><br />Keep the water fresh and change daily to keep the flowers healthy. It’s also good to trim the stems periodically to help them stay hydrated.</p> <p><strong>Step-by-step guide to flower arranging<br /></strong><br />1. Begin by placing two or three more branchy stems into the vase (or in your hand if you're making a bouquet) as this will help you get an idea of the overall shape you want your arrangement to take. You want to create a sense of width as well as height, so really work those angles.</p> <p>2. Now start adding the attention-grabbing blooms one at a time, again at different heights. Try placing one big bloom right on the edge of the vase, and one at least an inch or two higher. If it looks like your arrangement is growing a set of eyeballs, snip one of the stems.</p> <p>3. Turn your vase often and consider working from different angles. Even if you vase ends up in a corner or against a wall when you’re done, you want it looking good from all sides.</p> <p>4. Go slowly and don’t be afraid to take things out if it’s not working. Keep going, adding alternate colours, sizes and shapes. Mix foliage and greenery with vivid hues, ensuring you don’t damage them. When you feel like you’re done, try adding two or three longer gestural stems (ranunculus or anemones) at an unexpected height or angle to pump up the drama.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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“Can we find ways to create more unity?” Australia Day celebrations under review

<p dir="ltr">The way Australia Day is celebrated could majorly change in the city of Melbourne, as its council begins to assess how to mark the polarising holiday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Melbourne city council voted in favour of the motion to review how January 26 is celebrated, brought by Lord Mayor Sally Capp, on Tuesday night, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/politics/melbourne-city-council-reviewing-its-approach-to-australia-day/news-story/4219b7ec3eb4607fe2371a66f02a8883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The council will be looking to identify alternative options for events, communications and community engagement that could be introduced as soon as next year, seeking input from traditional owners, as well as state and federal governments.</p> <p dir="ltr">Councillor Capp acknowledged that Australia Day is a “polarising issue” and that “views are mixed” on celebrating it on January 26, and that consulting Indigenous people was important since their cultures are “essential” to Melbourne’s identity.</p> <p dir="ltr">“What are the ways we can celebrate being Australian and can we find ways to create more unity than division on 26 January?” she told <em>Sunrise </em>on Wednesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That is the process we are undertaking with options to come back on September 6.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She stated that, although local councils “cannot change” the date of Australia Day, she believed that it was important for local governments to be involved.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I believe it’s important for local governments, as the level of government closest to our people, to be active participants in this important debate,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know that celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is important to a lot of people, as much as it’s hurtful to a lot of people.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The debate is maturing and it is time for us to be more considered about what happens on January 26.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“What we can do is consider the views of our community, of traditional owners and the approaches of other levels of government.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We can incorporate the views of stakeholders and we can look to use that information to consider what we will do on January 26.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Tuesday night’s motion received strong support from council members, with Jason Cheng being the only member to abstain from voting.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My thoughts are it’s an issue for the federal government,” Cr Chang said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I understand the sentiment and respect my colleagues’ views on this, but I also feel we need to focus on what’s happening in the city of Melbourne right now.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Businesses are all struggling … myself included.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-882defce-7fff-8b59-dca9-c79ce5a33ca7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Now that the motion has passed, an options paper will be prepared and presented to the council’s Future Melbourne Committee on September 6, which will include details of how Australia Day could be managed from next year onwards.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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Musician sells artworks she created live on stage

<p dir="ltr">Grammy-nominated pop star Halsey is doing her bit to support reproductive rights in the US, as she enters the world of fine arts. </p> <p dir="ltr">Currently on tour around America, Halsey has created five artworks while performing live on stage, with the pieces now for sale at Sotheby’s. </p> <p dir="ltr">All proceeds from the sales will benefit the National Network of Abortion Funds. </p> <p dir="ltr">The drawings are included in the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/contemporary-discoveries-4?locale=en">Contemporary Discoveries</a> exhibition, which features artists such as David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and Os Gêmeos. </p> <p dir="ltr">Halsey’s works are expected to fetch around $7,000 each, with bids currently ranging </p> <p dir="ltr">between $5,500 and $6,500.</p> <p dir="ltr">She created each piece on different nights of her Love and Power Tour, while singing an untitled three-minute song. </p> <p dir="ltr">Hand moving in tandem with the melody, Halsey swiftly brought to life on white canvas androgynous faces punctuated by primary colours. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to the artist, the paintings are meant to symbolise the individual energies of each audience.</p> <p dir="ltr">Halsey has long been an outspoken advocate for women's rights and reproductive healthcare access. </p> <p dir="ltr">After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in July, she <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/my-abortion-saved-my-life-roe-v-wade-halsey">shared her personal experience</a> with a life-saving abortion procedure in an essay for Vogue. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I miscarried three times before my 24th birthday,” She wrote. “One of my miscarriages required ‘aftercare,’ a gentle way of saying that I would need an abortion, because my body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many people have asked me if, since carrying a child to term after years of struggling to do so, I have reconsidered my stance on abortion,” Halsey continued. “The answer is firmly no. In fact, I have never felt more strongly about it.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Sotheby’s</em></p>

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Past policies have created barriers to voting in remote First Nations communities

<p>The rate of voter participation in federal elections by people living in remote Indigenous communities has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lower than the national average</a> since First Nations people were granted the right to vote in 1962. In recent years, the rate has been in <a href="http://doi.org/10.22459/DAER.05.2012;%20http://doi.org/10.25911/5df209771dd57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decline</a>. Rates are lowest in the Northern Territory.</p> <p>The low rate of participation among First Nations people living in remote communities could affect the lower house election results in the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari. Warren Snowden has stepped down after 20 years holding the seat.</p> <p><strong>Determining rates of voter participation</strong></p> <p>Measuring the number of First Nations people (or any particular demographic group) who vote in federal elections is challenging. Electoral rolls do not include information about cultural identity. Census figures, which could be used as a basis for comparison against voter turnout rates, are imprecise.</p> <p>Data from the 2005 NT Assembly general election <a href="http://doi.org/10.22459/DAER.05.2012;%20https:/press.anu.edu.au/publications/directions-australian-electoral-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">show</a> voting rates were 20% lower in electorates with the highest Indigenous populations.</p> <p>In his study of the 2019 federal election, Australian National University researcher <a href="http://doi.org/10.25911/5df209771dd57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Sanders</a> found</p> <blockquote> <p>perhaps only half of eligible Aboriginal citizens […] may be utilising their right to vote.</p> </blockquote> <p>Reports from the Northern Territory’s most recent Assembly election also found <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/poor-indigenous-voter-turnout-at-nt-election/12580688" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record low</a><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-15/coronavirus-impacting-on-remote-voter-turnout-nt-election/12559066">turnout</a> across Indigenous communities.</p> <p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.25911/5df209771dd57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> rates of informal votes are also higher in remote Indigenous communities.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">NLC accuses the Australian Electoral Commission of 'failing' Aboriginal voters [Matt Garrick, ABC]<br />Northern Territory land council has accused the AEC of failing Aboriginal people by not engaging more bush voters to have their say at the federal election.<a href="https://t.co/fCKRluGaoD">https://t.co/fCKRluGaoD</a> <a href="https://t.co/J3a04DyJJB">pic.twitter.com/J3a04DyJJB</a></p> <p>— First Nations Tgraph (@FNTelegraph) <a href="https://twitter.com/FNTelegraph/status/1514025685521952770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p><strong>Barriers to First Nations people voting</strong></p> <p>Decisions made at the federal level over the last three decades appear to have provided significant obstacles to voting in some First Nations communities.</p> <p>First is the 1996 abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Election Education and Information Service.</p> <p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Two</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.22459/DAER.05.2012;%20https:/press.anu.edu.au/publications/directions-australian-electoral-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> point to this abolition as a potential reason for a decline in voting rates in remote Indigenous communities since the mid-nineties.</p> <p>Established in 1979, this service existed specifically to increase voter registration rates among First Nations people. This was done by, for example, providing voter education and election materials in Indigenous languages.</p> <p>The second decision was the 2005 abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.</p> <p>First Nations people participated in five of the Commission’s elections administered by the same Australian Electoral Commission responsible for federal elections. Although voting was voluntary, <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/41511/3/2003_DP252.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> shows participation was higher in northern and central Australia than in southern Australia.</p> <p>The third relevant policy change was the passage of the 2006 Electoral Integrity Bill. This introduced more stringent rules for the identification required to vote, making it more difficult for people in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least one remote community</a> to register to vote.</p> <p>The Morrison government’s unsuccessful 2021 proposal to introduce even tougher <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7488468/govt-accused-of-trumpist-move-to-suppress-voting/?cs=14264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voter identification laws</a> would likely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/27/proposed-voter-id-laws-real-threat-to-rights-of-indigenous-australians-and-people-without-homes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exacerbate this problem</a>.</p> <p>The fourth policy decision was a 2012 change to the Commonwealth Electoral Act, known as the “Federal Direct Enrolment and Update”.</p> <p>This enabled the Australian Electoral Commission to register eligible Australians to vote based on information available through several government agencies. These include Centrelink/the Department of Human Services, the Australian Taxation Office, and the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information Service.</p> <p>But the Electoral Commission has <a href="http://doi.org/10.25911/5df209771dd57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chosen not to use this mechanism for enrolment in parts of Australia</a> where mail is sent to a single community address (“mail exclusion areas”).</p> <p>This means people living in many remote communities are not automatically added to the electoral roll, unlike most of the rest of Australia.</p> <p>West Arnhem Regional Council mayor Matthew Ryan and Yalu Aboriginal Corporation chairman Ross Mandi launched an official complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commissioner over this issue in June last year.</p> <p>They <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-19/nt-voters-racial-discrimination-human-rights-commission/100227762" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> failure to apply the Federal Direct Enrolment and Update in remote communities represents a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act.</p> <p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> of residents in one remote community on South Australia’s APY lands found a lack of information contributed to low participation in elections.</p> <p>Obstacles included:</p> <ul> <li> <p>a lack of materials available in appropriate languages</p> </li> <li> <p>uncertainty about how to cast a formal vote</p> </li> <li> <p>problems related to literacy, and</p> </li> <li> <p>a lack of appropriate identification necessary to enrol.</p> </li> </ul> <p>In October last year, the Australian Electoral Commission announced new funding for its <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/media/2021/10-28.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indigenous Electoral Participation program</a> with the aim of increasing enrolment rates; the upcoming election will show if the program is working.</p> <p><strong>Lingiari</strong></p> <p>Given that voting is compulsory in Australia, non-participation is a concern in any election. But these issues are likely to be particularly relevant in the 2022 federal election, at least in the seat of Lingiari.</p> <p>Lingiari covers all of the Northern Territory outside the greater Darwin/Palmerston area. So it is the one House of Representatives division where Indigenous Australians (many of them living in remote communities) have clear electoral <a href="http://doi.org/10.25911/5df209771dd57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">power</a>.</p> <p>Providing more mobile polling booths could help make voting easier for people in remote Indigenous communities. Currently, these booths can be present for as little as two hours during an entire election period.</p> <p>There is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evidence</a> Indigenous people are more likely to vote in elections for Indigenous candidates, and for candidates who have visited their community.</p> <p>Warren Snowden has represented the electorate since its creation in 2001, but he is not contesting this election; the seat is up for grabs.</p> <p>Indigenous people will determine who takes Snowden’s place. But how many of them vote may be limited by their ability to enrol, the availability of information in an appropriate language, and access a polling booth.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/181194/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/morgan-harrington-1207111" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morgan Harrington</a>, Research Fellow, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/past-policies-have-created-barriers-to-voting-in-remote-first-nations-communities-181194" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: The Australian Electoral Commision (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/auselectoralcom/48720382352/in/album-72157710806573631/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flickr</a>)</em></p>

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Scientists creating inhalable Covid vaccine

<p dir="ltr">Scientists are a step closer to creating an inhalable “aerogel” vaccine that successfully induces an immune response against Covid.</p> <p dir="ltr">Researchers at Penn State University developed and patented a gel-like material, called an "aerogel," to deliver antimicrobials to the lungs to treat bacterial respiratory infections, particularly tuberculosis.</p> <p dir="ltr">Graduate student in biomedical engineering and a lead author of the <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/story/inhalable-aerogel-triggers-immunity-covid-19-mice-may-block-transmission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> Atip Lawanprasert said there was an advantage to the inhalable formulation for those who don’t like needles.</p> <p dir="ltr">“One is avoidance of needles. Inhalable vaccines might be able to help increase the rate of vaccination because so many people are afraid of injections,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No matter how high the efficacy of a vaccine, if people don’t get it, then it’s not useful.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Scott Medina, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the university, said the team started working on the inhalable vaccine when the pandemic began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“When the pandemic started, we decided to develop an inhalable formulation for COVID-19 by combining our aerogel with a nucleic acid-encoded antigen — specifically, DNA that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 proteins,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Their Covid formula, also known as CoMiP (coronavirus mimetic particle), was created to target alveolar macrophages, a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Alveolar macrophages represent attractive targets for inhalable vaccines because they are abundant within the lungs, and previous evidence has suggested that they may be important in early COVID-19 pathogenesis,” Medina explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Alveolar macrophages are one of our key defenders against viral infection because they serve to present antigens to the rest of the immune system.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The CoMips were tested on mice which were then given a booster dose two weeks later.</p> <p dir="ltr">The samples from the animals were collected 14 days after the vaccine, and day 28, after the booster, which found no significant change in the systemic antibody levels between mice who received CoMiP and those that didn't.</p> <p dir="ltr">The researchers also collected samples from immunised mice to assess differences in the total and spike-protein specific lung mucosal IgA antibodies - the predominant antibody isotype in the mucosal immune system</p> <p dir="ltr">They found a significant increase in the total IgA for mice vaccinated with CoMiPs, but IgA specifically targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was lower than expected for the vaccinated animals.</p> <p dir="ltr">Medina said data was “encouraging” but more will need to be done.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

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Readers respond: If you could create any law, what would it be?

<p dir="ltr">We asked you what laws you would create if you had the power to, and we were flooded with answers.</p> <p dir="ltr">From addressing issues with the pension to targeting roundabouts and the weather, here are some of the laws you would create if you could.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Daphne Gardinier</strong> - Make the pension the same as the minimum wage.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Gwen Friend</strong> - That people learn how to use roundabouts!! Especially in regional areas!</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Tony Beckett</strong> - To ban all fighting around the world and live in peace and quiet.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Kimberly Anne Taylor </strong>- Remove tax on food items. Politicians must pay for their own security after office. They also do not receive a pension until they are 65 or older.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Eileen Kennett</strong> - Make it harder to become a politician in this country.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Archie Kamaldien</strong> - Change the name of ‘Opposition Party’ to ‘Challenging Party’ so they don’t have to oppose everything the current party is doing BUT to challenge them to do a better job.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Geoff Little</strong> - One year compulsory imprisonment for illegal parking in a disabled parking space.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Alan Connelly</strong> - No feet hanging out your car when in traffic.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Frances Fitch</strong> - Well you can’t legislate against stupidity so I don’t think I’ll bother 😎</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Vera Rothwell</strong> - I’d ban winter!</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Ray Smetzer</strong> - Football is illegal.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Greg McCafferty</strong> - No more stupid questions.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-08754050-7fff-9db3-6625-80156830aaf0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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The quick and easy way to create an office in your living area

<p dir="ltr">Working from home is here to stay, but for many Australians the luxury of a home office isn’t always an option. Bunnings have teamed up with Better Homes and Gardens to bring you these handy hacks to create your own designated work space at home. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1. Find the perfect desk</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">First things first, you’ll need a sturdy desk. Whether you buy a ready-made desk or build one yourself, ensure it’s the ideal size (common dimensions range between 120 and 180cm wide and 60 to 90cm deep).  </p> <p dir="ltr">Select your countertop material to suit your interior style. A minimalist, timber design is the epitome of Scandinavian style, whereas a black metal desk evokes an industrial mood.</p> <h3>2. Add a feature wall</h3> <p dir="ltr">A bold feature wall creates a strong visual contrast and can liven up any lacklustre room. It’s also the key to dividing your study nook from an open-plan area — creating a separate space that’s truly your own.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here, the Bunnings team use premium paint to form a striking focal point. This rich black colour has a calming and powerful effect, perfect for creating focus in a working zone. What’s more, this simple DIY paint project can transform your home office in a matter of hours.        </p> <h3>3. Install floating shelves</h3> <p dir="ltr">Sufficient storage is key to an organised workstation, so you can sit down with a clear mind at the start of each working day. Floating shelves are the answer to decluttering your desk and keeping organised, as they can hold folders, stationery, and other office equipment.</p> <p dir="ltr">Open shelves are also a beautiful way to personalise your study and show off décor. Plus, installing shelving is a straightforward DIY task that any renovation novice with a power drill can tackle.        </p> <h3>4. Allow for ample lighting</h3> <p dir="ltr">Whether your home office is tucked around a corner or is a statement piece in your living room, it’s important to consider lighting. Poor lighting can induce eye fatigue and headaches, while negatively affecting your energy and productivity.</p> <p dir="ltr">Whilst we can’t all have an office with a view, it is worth considering a space with great natural light, which creates a warm, attractive environment and can enlarge a small space. If possible, position your desk near a window, and invest in a lamp to further brighten your desk.</p> <h3>5. Decorate with plants   </h3> <p dir="ltr">Bring the outdoors in with a burst of greenery on your desk. A leafy desk friend is proven to boost attention, reduce stress and increase creativity, not to mention plants also improve air quality.</p> <p dir="ltr">Decorate with indoor plants that are easy to care for and require little sunlight, such as a snake plant, peace lily or philodendron green.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Better Homes &amp; Gardens</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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How to create an eggless choc-caramel masterpiece

<p dir="ltr">This choc cake with creamy choc icing is topped with choc-caramel flakes and, when you cut into it, choc sauce oozes out. Here’s how to create this delicious treat.</p> <h2 dir="ltr">Ingredients</h2> <p dir="ltr">1¾ cups plain flour</p> <p dir="ltr">1 cup caster sugar</p> <p dir="ltr">¼ cup Dutch cocoa powder</p> <p dir="ltr">1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda</p> <p dir="ltr">½ tsp fine salt</p> <p dir="ltr">½ cup vegetable oil</p> <p dir="ltr">2 tsp vanilla extract</p> <p dir="ltr">1½ tsp white vinegar</p> <p dir="ltr">1 cup water</p> <p dir="ltr">Cadbury Flake and Flake Caramilk bars, roughly broken, to serve</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Icing</h3> <p dir="ltr">75g unsalted butter, at room temperature</p> <p dir="ltr">1 cup pure icing sugar</p> <p dir="ltr">¼ cup Dutch cocoa powder</p> <p dir="ltr">1 tsp vanilla extract</p> <p dir="ltr">1 Tbsp milk</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Chocolate sauce</h3> <p dir="ltr">200g dark chocolate, chopped</p> <p dir="ltr">300ml thickened cream</p> <p dir="ltr">2 Tbsp honey</p> <h2 dir="ltr">Method</h2> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced (180°C conventional). Grease and line a 22cm round cake pan with baking paper.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Sift flour, caster sugar, cocoa, bicarb and salt into a bowl. Whisk the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water in a second bowl, then stir into the flour mixture. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer can be inserted into the centre and removed cleanly. Stand in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto rack to cool completely.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">For icing, combine butter, icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla in a bowl and beat well. Add milk and beat until very smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Meanwhile, to make the chocolate sauce, melt chocolate gently in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Bring cream and honey to the boil in a small saucepan, whisking until smooth. Whisk into melted chocolate.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Use a melon baller to make holes in the top of the cake (reserving cake balls for another use), then pipe or spoon in the chocolate sauce, reserving leftover sauce. Top cake with icing and scatter with roughly broken Flakes. Served with reserved chocolate sauce.</p> </li> </ol> <p><em>Image: Better Homes &amp; Gardens</em></p>

Food & Wine

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COVID travel restrictions have created new borders for migrants who want to visit home

<p>In the early days of the pandemic, many countries closed their borders to stop the spread of COVID-19. International travel has continued to be limited with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52544307">changing caveats</a>, including “essential” travel only, restrictions on travellers from particular countries and vaccination “passports”.</p> <p>While a necessary public health measure, these restrictions have been especially disruptive to migrant families. For these families, travel is a necessary part of fulfilling <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15350770.2020.1787035">familial obligations</a> and maintaining a sense of “<a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/familyhood">familyhood</a>” and belonging across borders.</p> <p>These policies present a new layer of “everyday bordering” for transnational families. The term “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038517702599">everyday bordering</a>” describes how policy and media narratives around migration affect migrants’ everyday lives and define who “belongs” in a nation state. In the UK, these borders amplify the state’s “<a href="https://www.jcwi.org.uk/the-hostile-environment-explained">hostile environment</a>”, the Home Office’s immigration policy, aimed at making it as difficult as possible to stay in the UK without adequate documentation.</p> <p>For migrants, their country of origin represents <a href="https://www.movingpeoplechangingplaces.org/locations/home-and-away.html">home</a> and family. Visiting home is important to many people’s wellbeing and allows migrants to be part of <a href="https://www.expatica.com/living/family/family-rituals-442783/">family traditions</a> and religious and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/how-china-s-big-annual-migration-differs-this-year-quicktake">cultural festivals</a>. Travel may also be necessary to fulfil caring obligations for ageing, sick or young relatives.</p> <p>Pandemic aside, the ability to visit home and family has always been constrained by a number of factors, including migration status and travel costs. The impact of these everyday borders on some migrants’ lives has been <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Addressing-the-pain-of-separation-for-refugee-families.pdf">well-documented</a>.</p> <p>The introduction of COVID-19 travel restrictions has inhibited and added costly and complex border checks into the everyday lives of migrants. This is at a time when the need to maintain transnational family caring practices is particularly important.</p> <h2>Everyday borders</h2> <p>Our fieldwork for the study <a href="https://everydaybordering-familiesandsocialcare.group.shef.ac.uk/">“Everyday Bordering in the UK”</a> aims to understand how immigration legislation – including COVID-19 travel restrictions – has impacted social care practitioners and the migrant families they support.</p> <p>Through interviews, diary entries and ethnographic observations, we explored how families from diverse migratory backgrounds experience everyday bordering. While transnational family practices were not our primary focus, our work has revealed the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on transnational family life. This was also supported by our researcher’s own travel experiences when visiting family in Italy.</p> <p>Our research participants consistently discussed and wrote about their family members who do not live in the UK and expressed feeling responsible for their care. This demonstrates how important it is for family members to be able to travel in order to provide care.</p> <p>Some expressed remorse at being unable to travel historically, due to restrictive visa conditions or prohibitive flight costs. Interviews and ethnographic observations from online English language classes also reveal the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on fulfilling care practices.</p> <p>One couple from Poland –- whom we call Krystyna and Henryk –- now living in the UK, describe the disruption caused by such restrictions. In March 2020, Krystyna was visiting Poland to help her parents with her ageing grandparents, when travel was first inhibited. She was unable to return to her partner in the UK due to flight cancellations.</p> <p>During this time, Henryk described being “depressed” and alone, saying, "My family isn’t here because they are in Poland, so I spent a few days in bed […] it was a very bad experience in my life."</p> <p>While commercial flights were not available at that time, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52098067">chartered flights</a> returned many citizens back to their home countries from work or holiday. But these flights did not take into account those in Krystyna’s position – as a Polish citizen – and their transnational caring responsibilities, which are now divided between two countries.</p> <h2>Essential travel</h2> <p>Now that many countries have reopened their borders for travel, governments and airlines have implemented a series of measures and checks to contain the virus. Examples include <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en">the EU green pass</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk">the UK’s passenger locator form</a>, evidence of testing negative for COVID-19 and compulsory quarantine in hotels.</p> <p>These can be costly and hard to access, as our researcher noted in her own experience, "After not seeing my family for over one year, including my mum with a severe disability, we decided to fly to Italy. For the trip, we needed four tests, costing … £160 per person. Italy required a 48-hour test, and not a postal test. For a person living in London there were more, cheaper options but not for people in rural areas. In Italy, we also had to isolate for five days and get a further green pass to access public spaces."</p> <p>For two participants in the English language class, despite wanting to visit their mothers in Turkey and India, these measures were so costly and “complicated” that they said they “didn’t bother to ask for permission”. They realised it would be too difficult to travel, and they cancelled their plans to visit their families.</p> <p>The global emergency of COVID-19 has presented many challenges for governments, and has emphasised the differing needs of populations, including those who are marginalised.</p> <p>Since the initial peak of the crisis in early 2020, many countries, the UK included, permitted carers to move between different households to provide care. While international travel restrictions are an important feature of public health responses, in the context of this health crises, migrant families’ need to travel should also be recognised.</p> <p>Health-related boarding requirements should, we believe, be removed in a timely manner, but governments can do more to support migrant families in the short term. If we consider differing regulations between countries, the current system is too complex, costly and contradictory. There is a need for international agreements to standardise the documentation required to travel and make processes more streamlined and accessible.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This image originally appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/covid-travel-restrictions-have-created-new-borders-for-migrants-who-want-to-visit-home-171461" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Christmas wonderland created using thrifty crafting

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Sydney mum has taken her Christmas decorating to another level, using a clever Kmart hack.</span></p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/toni.getscreative/?hl=en" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toni Mackie</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> began a collection of miniature Christmas trees in 2016, which soon grew into an extensive pair of villages covering two kitchen benchtops.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She estimates that 90 percent of the villages - originally brightly coloured with red roofs and glitter - came from Kmart. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toni then spent three nights transforming them into pale pink and white homes dusted with pearl glitter (also sourced from Kmart).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Five years later, Toni is still creating her Christmas villages and has expanded to above her fireplace, as well as Christmas elves donned in a variety of pastel colours.</span></p> <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXOHBQ_JNZr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXOHBQ_JNZr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Toni Mackie (@toni.getscreative)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toni also sells the elves - which are pinkified Elf on the Shelf dolls - dressed in pastel pinks and blues, reds, emerald green, and sapphire blue, complete with lacy collars and pendants.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The buildings and characters in her villages now include figurines found in op-shops and incense waterfalls, “pinkified” as per usual.</span></p> <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjzXBJH5om/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjzXBJH5om/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Toni Mackie (@toni.getscreative)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the mini trees, they have been either bleached or painted white and surrounded by white feather boas used to replicate snow.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toni has also shared her top tips for people looking to replicate her Christmas wonderland without spending a fortune.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Always remember if the shape [of the house] is good, and the price is right, just get it,” she told </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bhg.com.au/christmas-village-kmart-hack?category=decorating" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Better Homes and Gardens</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You can always paint it to make it fit your colour scheme.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The wire lights are what brings it all together and give it that warm soft glow, especially at night. It is really magical.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: @toni.getscreative (Instagram)</span></em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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Royal florists make creating your own Christmas wreath look easy

<p dir="ltr">The Royal Household florists posted an informative video to the official Royal Family Instagram account on Monday, walking you through the steps to create your own elaborate and authentic Christmas wreath, just like the ones on display in royal residences across the UK.</p> <p dir="ltr">The caption provides a brief history of Christmas decorations in the UK, including the fact that Christmas trees were introduced in Britain in the late 1700s by Queen Charlotte, consort of George III.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fortunately, making your own wreath is far simpler than buying and wrangling and decorating an entire Christmas tree. To make a wreath that’s fit for a queen, all you’ll need is: a copper wreath ring, scissors, reel wire, long, thick, green florist wires, moss, foliage (pine, holly, ivy), dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, dried pine cones and lotus heads, Christmas ribbon, and string for hanging.</p> <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXJntt3NYCc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXJntt3NYCc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The wreath is built around the wreath ring, starting with moss before adding foliage and berries, and finishing up with cinnamon sticks, dried fruit slices, and a red bow.</p> <p dir="ltr">The result is a gorgeous Christmas wreath, although one that feels more appropriate for a white Christmas than the sunny ones we’re used to. What would a Southern Hemisphere Christmas wreath consist of? Mango peels and bindis, perhaps?</p> <p dir="ltr">You can also<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/beauty-style/take-a-sneak-peek-at-the-queen-s-palace-at-christmas-time" target="_blank">take a peek</a><span> </span>at one of the Queen’s royal residences decorated for Christmas. While the queen is not expected to celebrate the holidays at Holyroodhouse, most likely celebrating closer to home on her Sandringham Estate this year, that’s no reason to not deck the halls of the stunning Edinburgh palace.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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This man creates lifesize sculptures out of cat hair

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brisbane man Jason Sank has finally found a use for all of the fur our beloved feline companions leave around the house: lifesize wire sculptures. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sank has produced multiple sculptures, made from wire and then covered with felt and domestic cat hair. When it came to acquiring the fur, Sank struck up a deal with a local pet spa in Kenmore, telling </span><a href="https://boingboing.net/2021/10/27/marvel-at-these-astonishing-cat-people-made-from-actual-cat-hair.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BoingBoing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, "I asked a cat groomer – Aristocats Feline Day Spa – to save it for me each month. They brush, cut and vacuum it off. Over the 3 months I worked on the sculptures they supplied me with about a 60 litre tub’s worth of cat hair."</span></p> <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVUKLS8hMg-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVUKLS8hMg-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by sonson (@gravelblot)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">About his motivations for creating these unsettling sculptures, Sank’s biography on the </span><a href="https://www.sculptureontheedge.com.au/artists/jason-sank/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sculpture on the Edge website</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> says, “Both fearsome and alluring, I hope these fantastical creatures can reflect something of the strange relationship between humans, cats and nature.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Part of this strange relationship, particularly in Australia, is the fact that cats are an introduced species, and both feral and domestic cats can wreak havoc on wildlife, particularly native bird populations. Sank explains, “The destructive history of the feral cat in Australia stretches back hand in paw hundreds of years to early colonisers and even beyond. Sometimes intentionally introduced, sometimes not, feral cats still pose a major threat to native fauna in the Sunshine Coast. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They are bigger than their domestic counterparts that many of us know and love and devouring smaller animals at the rate of one hundred and fifty per year, perhaps they will just keep getting bigger…”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mythology surrounding the Cat Men themselves is shrouded in mystery: “No-one quite knows where these cat men came from. Some modern day outback mutation? Heralds from a brighter and more accepting transhuman future?.. Or maybe an ancient terror that has always been lurking just out of sight?..”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The response on Instagram has been overwhelmingly positive, with people commenting praise like, “I am obsessed with your work”, “I am so f****** mesmerized by these !!! Your mind is so expansive and incredible” and “Amazing and horrifying, so glad I’ve found your art”. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Cat Men are an impressive feat of creation and artistry, both fascinating in their uniqueness and unsettling in their resemblance to humans. They fall firmly within the </span><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-uncanny-valley-human-look-alikes-put-us-on-edge/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">uncanny valley</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">; the place beyond the comforting familiarity of human-like appearance and behaviour, where many things that give us the creeps reside.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Instagram</span></em></p>

Family & Pets

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How a great-grandmother is creating a new generation of warrior women

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meenakshi Amma has become a driving force in the world of traditional Indian martial arts, as she has fought to revive the art of Kalarippayattu.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kalarippayattu, also known as Kalari, is the oldest form of martial arts in India, and Amma has been working to encourage women and girls of all ages to take up the ancient practice. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I started Kalari when I was seven. I am still practising, learning and teaching,” said the matriarch of the Kadathanad Kalari Sangham school, founded by her late husband in 1949.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844633/meenakshi-amma-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/10c160409f9746e3b1c483857038d60e" /></p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty Images</em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When you open the newspapers, you only see news of violence against women.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When women learn this martial art, they feel physically and mentally strong and it makes them confident to work and travel alone.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kalari can involve the use of weapons such as staffs, swords and shields, and contains elements of yoga and dance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reputedly 3,000 years old and often mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures, the art remains infused with religion in the present day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British colonial rulers in India banned the sacred practice in 1804, but it survived underground before a revival in the early 20th century and after independence in 1947.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kalari is now recognised as a sport and is practiced by many all over India. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844634/meenakshi-amma-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/975d75a4a292444d993c21274e2810d1" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Getty Images</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Inside Meenakshi’s Kalari hall, her son Sanjeev Kumar puts barefoot pupils, boys and girls alike, through their paces on the ochre-red earth floor as he takes up his mother’s legacy. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a form of poetry,” said civil engineer Alaka S Kumar, 29, daughter of Sanjeev. “I am going to teach Kalari, with my brother. We have to take over. Otherwise, it is gone.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>

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How two Adelaide mates were inspired by their pets to create a multi-million dollar business

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2019, tradie Jye de Zylva noticed this pet kelpie was out of sorts. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His dog was significantly stressed, and sometimes even missing, when his owner would return home each day from the job site. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jye teamed up with his mate and entrepreneur Davie Fogarty, and the pair created an innovative line of dog beds aimed at calming anxiety and stress in their furry friends. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 26-year-olds founded Pupnaps, which is the first of its kind and is largely inspired by a unique circular design. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The first design we settled on was one that kind of emulates a dog curling up in their mother’s womb,” Jye told NCA NewsWire.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a really common way for dogs to sleep and it gives them comfort.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company saw a flood of success and regularly surpasses $1million in monthly sales from selling 4,000 beds a week. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jye said the success of the company took them both by surprise. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It took us probably six to seven months and we did our first million-dollar month, which was really exciting in terms of the success and what it meant.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, “It was something that I didn't really expect in my wildest dreams; coming from being a chippie only six or eight months before that.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Pupnaps line included four different dog beds: the original dog calming bed, as well as an orthopaedic memory foam bed, an orthopaedic floor rug and a calming furniture couch.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jye is a firm believer that the success of the company was aided by the pandemic, and pets having increased anxiety after their owners returned to offices for work. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Anxiety can really impact a dog’s quality of life, not to mention the guilt and fear that owners have whenever they need to leave their pets alone,” Mr de Zylva said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s really rewarding to create a product that has been successful but also one that is helping dogs and their owners to live better lives.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram @pupnapsofficial</span></em></p>

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