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The Greens’ policies are about to come crashing down
Get PDFSenator Hanson-Young’s inability to answer simple questions about Australia’s defence is representative of the Greens’ naïve worldview. In my opinion, Greens politicians are cultural Marxists propped up by the system of democracy and capitalism they hate. That same system effectively pays them to have a platform for talking nonsense. And it’s getting worse. As the realities of economics and global politics hit home, the Greens have not only been found wanting, but completely wrong
Efficacy of the FIFA cooling break heat policy during an intermittent treadmill football simulation in hot conditions in trained females
No full textOBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of the current FIFA cooling break heat policy against alternative cooling configurations in attenuating physiological strain during a football simulation in the heat.DESIGN: Five randomised counterbalanced experimental trials in 40 °C and 41 % relative humidity (32 °C wet-bulb globe temperature).METHODS: Twelve females (age 25 ± 5 y, V̇O 2peak 51 ± 5 mL·kg -1·min -1) completed five 90-min football simulations with different cooling configurations: regular match without cooling breaks (REG), 3-min breaks without cooling (BRK no-cool), 3-min breaks with cooling (BRK cool: current FIFA policy; chilled fluid and ice towel across neck/shoulders), 5-min extended half-time without cooling breaks (ExtHT only), and 5-min extended half-time with 3-min cooling breaks (ExtHT cool). Rectal (T re) and skin temperature (T sk), heart rate, whole-body sweat rate (WBSR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. Data are presented as means and 95 % confidence intervals [CI]. RESULTS: Final T re was lower in ExtHT cool (38.4 °C [38.1, 38.7], P < 0.001) than REG (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0]), ExtHT only (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0], P = 0.003) and BRK no-cool (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0], P = 0.006), whereas it was similar in BRK cool and REG (P = 0.062). Mean heart rate was lower in ExtHT cool than REG (3 beats·min -1 [2, 4], P < 0.001). WBSR was similar across trials (P > 0.133), whilst RPE was lower in ExtHT cool (0.6 [0.3, 0.9], P < 0.001) but not BRK cool (0.2 [-0.0, 0.5], P = 0.089), than REG. CONCLUSIONS: The FIFA heat policy offers minimal physiological or perceptual benefits to females performing a football simulation in the heat. However, combining the cooling breaks with an extended half-time, which is not currently part of the FIFA heat policy, attenuates thermal and cardiovascular strain.</p
In We Do Not Part, Han Kang faces unbearable historical traumas with sorrow and compassion
No full textWe Do Not Part tells the story of Kyungha, a writer of 20th-century South Korean history, and her longterm friend Inseon, a documentary filmmaker and photographer, both of whom have been traumatised by their professional research into institutionally authorised massacres. The novel is told in three parts. The long first section establishes the context in a comparatively linear narrative of past and present. The shorter middle part is a deep dive into the horrors of history. The ending is very short, told in fragments. The novel ends with what seems to be a dream, where the two women light a candle in the dark, in the depths of snow
GLOBALISATION, IDENTITY AND TRANSCULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE ART OF JOHN YOUNG
No full textThe role artists can play in cultural and social transformation has been shown to be a critical one: they witness, interpret and communicate through visual languages in a way that increases our cultural understanding of complex issues; reviving memory, confronting trauma, and potentially contributing to defining a shared sense of humanity. John Young has created art over many years that offers responses to dilemmas that are of critical concern to all humanity, including the ethics of human relations, especially in transcultural settings
Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ trumps ‘the science’
Get PDFBeing on the receiving end of a deal with the most powerful person in the world must be quite disarming. Trump was already the ultimate deal-maker. Now as the leader of the free world, his power to make deals is unsurpassed in history. When Trump offers a deal, he starts with an extreme position that drives the experts mad. This is not crazy; it is the art of the deal
“In-demand”: a qualitative inquiry on the demand for microinsurance in Zambia
No full textPurposeThe low formal insurance usage in Zambia, which exposes low-income earners to vulnerabilities, raises concerns about risk management across the Zambian population. To better understand the market segment and provide relevant products, it is imperative to understand consumers’ perspectives and their motivations for purchasing microinsurance. This paper explores the factors that affect the demand for general and life microinsurance.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a qualitative research approach to explore the drivers of microinsurance uptake in Zambia. A thematic data analysis technique was employed to analyse semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 15 consumers of microinsurance products in Zambia.FindingsFrom the thematic analysis, the paper extracted attitudes towards risk, insurance knowledge, customer expectations and exogenous factors as the drivers of microinsurance demand in Zambia. Positive drivers of demand include having simplified claims processes and greater insurance awareness by incorporating attitudes towards risk in the messaging about the products available. Microinsurance is also negatively impacted by changes in exogenous factors such as inflation which erodes income and consequently reduces insurance affordability. While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse effect on microinsurance demand as interactions between providers and consumers were restricted, it was also found to be an important driver of microinsurance demand because it highlighted the importance of adequate coverage under unforeseen circumstances.Practical implicationsThe findings provide important indicators for insurers in developing a microinsurance value proposition that suits the needs of consumers. Consumers use their past experiences and those of others to determine their attitude towards microinsurance. The paper outlines several implications for providers to improve microinsurance demand such as the use referral incentives to encourage more community members to purchase microinsurance, leveraging the use of testimonials from existing consumers to improve perceptions towards microinsurance and undertaking community-wide and in-person interventions in promoting the uptake of microinsurance. These interventions will positively strengthen attitudes towards insurance, build trust and improve demand.Originality/valueAs far as the authors are concerned, this paper presents novel insights to understand the consumer’s perspective on their demand for microinsurance in an emerging economy
Lawmakers worldwide want to talk to the Meta insider whose memoir is a US bestseller – after Zuckerberg took her to court
No full textImpossible business growth underpins house of cards Budget
No full textFrom Parliament House, Canberra: Last year Australia experienced record numbers of business failures. While the percentage of businesses was not as high as in 2013, the actual number of failed businesses was higher. Further, productivity growth, a key driver of living standards, has been negative and remains flat. Yet underpinning this election budget is a rebound in private sector growth that is difficult to justify
Removing smAll BaBies from incubators to coT (RABBIT):A quasi-experimental design study with comparison arm
No full textAim: To assess if small or premature neonates can maintain thermal stability during the first seven days, when weaned from incubator to open cots following a pre-specified weaning protocol, compared to a retrospective control weaned without pre-defined criteria. Methods: This quasi-experimental study included infants born at < 34 weeks gestational age or birthweight less than 1400 g and needing incubator care for at least 72 h. An infant was deemed suitable for weaning at 34 weeks corrected gestational age (or at 1400 g regardless of gestational age) provided the infant maintained an axillary temperature ≥36.70Celsius on a servo-control set at 36.00Celsius, and the incubator air temperature averaged ≤270Celsius for at least 48 h. Upon transferring to the cot, a pre-designed flow chart was placed next to the baby, with a view to maintain axillary temperature. The prospective intervention group was compared with the retrospective control group. Results: The study enrolled 63 babies in the intervention study group compared with 65 retrospective controls. There was no significant difference in axillary temperature between intervention and control groups. No baby was returned to the incubator due to failure to maintain temperature. However, there was an increased weight gain from birth weight to discharge and post one week transfer into the cot for the intervention study group of babies in comparison to the retrospective control group. Conclusion: Temperature maintenance in babies weaned using standardised protocol was similar to the control group. However, better weight gain was seen in the study group.</p
Deep Learning Framework Based on Generative AI for Medical Image Analysis
No full textApplication of deep machine learning algorithms for diagnosing and providing treatment plans is a considerably vital and hopeful domain of concern which can significantly help clinicians. Deep learning is heavily reliant on large amounts of data. Medical data sets are a bit complex to analyse as compared to natural images, as they are relatively of bad quality (as a result of multiple image acquisition artefacts) and infrequently public because of personal privacy restrictions relating to the sharing of patient data. The generation of substitute/synthetic images can save the day, where the synthetic images can have improved quality without any noisy artefacts, have zero privacy concerns as there are no individuals in such images, and synthetic images can be distributed publicly without any issues. This paper presents a novel computational framework based on generative artificial intelligence for creating synthetic or surrogate medical images for diverse downstream medical image analytics tasks, specific for analyzing a large corpus of radiology images across multimodality inputs, especially:diagnosis, tracking, and treatment of complex diseases, with an extensive focus on medical image analytics within the radiation oncology or cancer domain.</p