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From conditionality to weaponisation: the transformation of aid in Palestine post-October 2023
No full textThis article examines the shift from aid conditionality to aid weaponisation in Palestine in the aftermath of Hamas’s 7 October attack. It argues that donor actions following this event represent a transformation in their approach to Palestinian aid, moving from aid conditionality to aid weaponisation, where aid is utilised not just as a securitised tool for development and governance but as a mechanism of punishment and control. The article constructs the evolution of aid conditionality, showcasing various forms encompassing both explicit and implicit conditionalities. It then explores how aid weaponisation has manifested through aid suspensions and withdrawals, donors’ uncritical adoption of Israeli discourse, heightened surveillance of Palestinian organisations, and administrative measures that constrain autonomy. Thus, aid weaponisation serves as an active tool reinforcing conditions that perpetuate, rather than alleviate, settler colonial violence and, as in Gaza, ongoing genocide.Peer-reviewe
Decentring our appreciation of the association of factors and cities' mitigation patterns
No full textUrban climate governance literature has advanced in understanding how cities address climate change, but most quantitative studies focus disproportionately on large, globally prominent cities in the north, overlooking smaller and Global South cities. This gap limits our understanding of how diverse factors shape cities' mitigation actions and whether Global North and Global South cities follow distinct pathways. This study investigates how networking, political economy, sociocultural, and environmental factors are associated with cities' mitigation patterns-using sectoral and finance-implementation approaches as proxies for the advancement of climate governance. Drawing on a more representative dataset, we identify that cities with stronger environmental commitment (e.g., emission inventories, risk reporting) tend to implement cross-sectoral mitigation actions, particularly in building and energy systems. National-level wealth and institutional quality (GDP per capita, corruption) also influence sectoral priorities, while finance patterns remain less explained. We further find that C40 membership and globalisation are significantly associated with more ambitious actions in the Global South cities, but not in the Global North, underscoring asymmetric benefits of global networks. Our results reveal that no single factor explains urban climate governance patterns, highlighting how political, economic, and geographic co-dependencies produce divergent climate action pathways. By centering overlooked cities, this study contributes to a more inclusive and context-sensitive understanding of urban climate governance.We would also like to thank the reviewers for their constructive feedback. This work was supported by the University of Mel-bourne's Graduate Research Scholarship. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the funding body.Peer-reviewe
The LifeTrack Project: Baseline cohort characteristics and psychosocial factors associated with duration of suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempt
No full textIntroduction: Between 5 and 20% of adults with suicidal ideation make a suicide attempt, while many others remit. The LifeTrack Project is a three-year population-based cohort study that aims to identify factors associated with suicide attempt and remission of suicidal ideation. This paper reports the demographic characteristics of the LifeTrack cohort and associations of baseline psychosocial factors with time since onset of suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempts.
Method: Participants (923 Australian adults with suicidal ideation in the past 30 days) completed a baseline questionnaire about suicidality, health and sociodemographics.
Results: Over half of participants reported onset of suicidal ideation over 10 years ago.About half reported a prior suicide attempt. Long-term (>10 years) suicidal ideation was associated with older age, female gender, bisexuality, long-term relationship, mental illness diagnosis, pain interference, and PTSD symptoms. Prior suicide attempt was associated with nonbinary gender, bisexuality, fewer years of education, living alone, parenthood, mental illness diagnosis, depressive symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and financial worry.
Conclusion: Factors associated with duration of suicidal ideation were distinct from those associated with previous attempts. The LifeTrack cohort, one of the largest of its kind, will allow us to prospectively test and refine theoretical models of suicidal behaviour in coming years.This work is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [GNT2014841]. ALC is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship [GNT 1173146]. RB receives salary and research support from a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Investigator Grant [EL2; GNT2008073]. AWS is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship [GNT1197074]. The funder had no involvement in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, reporting, or decision to submit the article for publication.Peer-reviewe
Spatial transcriptomics reveals regionally altered gene expression that drives retinal degeneration
No full textPhotoreceptor cell death is a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration. Environmental, lifestyle and genetic risk factors are known contributors to disease progression, whilst at the molecular level, oxidative stress and inflammation are central pathogenetic drivers. However, the spatial and cellular origins of these molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We used spatial transcriptomics to investigate the spatio-temporal gene expression changes in the adult mouse retina in response to photo-oxidative stress. We identify regionally distinct transcriptomes, with higher expression of immunity related genes in the superior retina. Exposure to stress induced expression of genes involved in inflammatory processes, innate immune responses, and cytokine production in a highly localised manner. A distinct region ~800 µm superior from the optic nerve head seems a key driver of these molecular changes. Further, we show highly localised early molecular changes in the superior mouse retina during retinal stress and identify novel genes drivers. We provide evidence of angiogenic changes in response to photo-oxidative stress and suggest additional angiogenic signalling pathways within the retina including VEGF, pleiotrophin and midkine. These new insights into retinal angiogenesis pave the way to identify novel drivers of retinal neovascularisation with an opportunity for therapeutic development. (Figure presented.)The authors acknowledge the instruments and expertise of Microscopy Australia at the Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Australian National University, a facility enabled by NCRIS and university support. The authors would like to thank the ACRF Biomolecular Resource Facility (JCSMR, ANU) and the ANU Bioinformatics Consultancy for sequencing and support in integrating spatial transcriptomics sequencing data with the SpaceRanger software. This study was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (2020/GNT2002239, U.S., R.N.), the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (J.W.; CE230100001, L.L.), The Gretel and Gordon Bootes Medical Research and Education Foundation (U.S., R. A.-B., A.S.), the ANU Translational Fellowship (R.N.) and the NSW Health RNA Future Leader Program (U.S.). The funding bodies had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation.Peer-reviewe
Questions of trust: Are we looking at the problem the right way?
No full textFor a number of years now, public administration scholars and practitioners have been concerned with the declining trust in public institutions. Putnam (2000) mapped the decline in trust in America in his seminal work Bowling Alone. This was one of many problems, but this concern about declining trust has not abated – survey after survey pose questions to the public about their trust in various institutions. The context can often be telling, with some institutions well trusted in one setting, yet highly mistrusted in another setting. Both theoretical and empirical efforts have been turned to toward the problem of declining trust. But what if we are overlooking a crucial component of trust? This is the puzzle.
Public policy, such as the Robodebt debacle, is often built on a lack of government trust – the government and public sector agencies fundamentally did not trust welfare recipients. Three decades earlier, the Australian Taxation Office abandoned much of its non-trusting approach to enable taxpayers to self-assess their tax returns – an act of trust in the public that paid dividends in the long run. These diametrically opposed cases show that we simply do not know enough about the governments trust in people. So why are we only ever asking the public as to whether they trust institutions? Why not ask them how much do they think the government trusts them? And why are we not surveying government and the public sector about their trust in citizens or clients?
This paper reviews the literature on the trust relationship between governments and people before illustrating the limitations of current survey data. The paper will then turn to mounting an argument for a fresh research agenda backed by some case studies which illustrate the difference that can be made by a public institution, organisation or agency projecting trust, and being trusted in return. In essence, governments need new measures of trust
Traditional ecological knowledge is under threat in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta
No full textTraditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has long shaped how rural communities in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) live with floods and manage natural resources. But TEK is eroding as climate change, altered flood patterns, intensive farming and rural–urban migration disrupt knowledge transmission and weaken nature-based livelihoods. While some see this as a chance to replace outdated practices with innovative ones, preserving TEK as a living resource is vital. Integrating TEK into the delta’s ‘living with nature’ strategy can support resilience and ensure future generations inherit both knowledge and adaptive capacity.Peer-reviewe
Undersea cables: The official perspectives expressed in the Pacific region
No full textThis research project has investigated the standpoints of Pacific leaders in relation to undersea communication cables. It has examined key documents and statements of the Pacific Islands Forum, the regional grouping of Pacific governments, to determine how undersea cables are viewed. The paper seeks to foreground the positions formulated by Pacific leaders. The paper argues that the views of Pacific leaders, as articulated in official documents and public statements, differ from the views of others. These differing views are reflected in different approaches. Pacific leaders view cables as infrastructures that can enable and enhance digital connectivity and thus support social and economic development outcomes. While donors also view cables as infrastructures that can enable and enhance digital connectivity, they may make decisions about cable infrastructure projects with geopolitical considerations in mind in the current context. Geopolitical manoeuvring and geoeconomic activities receive a great deal of attention amongst the commentariat and some scholars suggest that they are influencing the design of cable systems. This research has found that Pacific leaders are primarily concerned with improving digital connectivity and enhancing cybersecurity. Nonetheless, Pacific leaders are working towards their development objectives strategically in the current geopolitical context. While the Pacific Islands Forum does acknowledge that it is operating within a context of heightened geopolitical competition, it is endeavouring to remain focused on achievement of its development objectives, which include digital connectivity.A first draft of this article was written for a workshop on “Undersea Cables, Geoeconomics, and Security in the Indo-Pacific: Risks and Resilience” that was convened at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa on October 26–27, 2023 with the support of a grant from the Japan Foundation. Helpful feedback was received from Dr Kristi Govella and other workshop participants and was used to revise the article. This research was supported by the Pacific Research Program, with funding from the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views represent those of the author only.Peer-reviewe
Digital transformation and the offshore outsourcing behavior of manufacturing MNEs
No full textThis study analyzes the impact of digital transformation on manufacturing multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) offshore outsourcing intensity. We distinguish two independent categories of digital transformation: information-centric (IDT) and manufacturing-centric (MDT). Applying transaction costs economics (TCE), we argue that IDT decreases offshore outsourcing intensity, while MDT increases it. These effects arise from their respective influences on the specificity of an MNE’s core value-adding transactional assets, the frequency and variability of its demand for complementary inputs, and uncertainty in market transactions. Additionally, we identify internal and external factors that provide regulatory and relational safeguards for market transactions, thereby moderating these effects. We empirically test our hypotheses using 3271 firm-year observations from 492 Korean manufacturing MNEs between 2011 and 2021. Our findings offer strong support for our hypotheses, underscoring TCE’s relevance to understanding MNEs’ global supply chain governance under digital transformation.Peer-reviewe
Taxation and Settler Colonialism: The Palestinian Case
No full textIn the context of settler colonialism, taxation and public revenue systems are integral to the political narratives surrounding indigenous nations and peoples. The fiscal arrangements established within these settings often manifest as asymmetrical budgetary structures and tax collection mechanisms. This paper critically examines the typology of public revenues in Palestine to elucidate the complexities of taxation and fiscal management under a settler colonial framework. Employing the theoretical lenses of critical fiscal sociology this analysis provides a nuanced understanding of the dynamics governing taxation, public revenue generation, and service provision in the occupied Palestinian territories. The study contends that external dependencies, Israeli tax control measures, and a fragmented network of service providers collectively undermine efforts to forge a socio-fiscal contract. This situation is exacerbated by declining international aid, necessitating a heightened reliance on domestic tax mobilization. The paper argues that these challenges reflect broader issues inherent in public revenue mobilization within a settler colonial setting. Furthermore, Israel’s settler colonial project is facilitated by the enforced taxation policies in the oPt, which not only impede development and economic liberation but also serve as sophisticated instruments for domination that advance the hegemon’s political objectives. Ultimately, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of fiscal operations within Israeli settler colonial structures and offers critical insights into the politics of taxation and revenue mobilization.Peer-reviewe