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The disability royal commission delivers its findings today. We must all listen to end violence, abuse and neglect

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Many people are waiting keenly to hear how the recommendations can make a difference to the lives of people with disability.

Key Points:

Many people are waiting keenly to hear how the recommendations can make a difference to the lives of people with disability.
While we wait for the report to be made public, we can learn from how government action from the previous child abuse royal commission helped improve people’s lives.

What was involved

Over four and half years, it held hearings, heard stories from witnesses, received submissions and conducted research.
High rates of violence and harm against people with disability have not improved very much over many decades.
Making changes to specialist systems such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – currently under review – will help those involved.

Ableism and ‘othering’

People with disability are often treated in ways that are not acceptable for any member of society.
An example of these types of discrimination is when a waiter asks a carer what a person with disability wants, instead of asking the person themselves.
Or when a person with disability is expected to live with strangers who hit them, because that is the only housing available.
Read more:
Ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better
You might think excluding people in these ways does not happen anymore or does not matter.

What we hope the commission will recommend

The disability royal commission listened to people with disability, family members and organisations about what they want to happen.
A consistent view is that it is not enough to focus on stopping violent acts where they are happening now.

The disability royal commission recommendations and government responses should follow the example set by the child abuse commission. The need for a voice, compliance and quality standards remains relevant to people affected by disability policy. And the responsibility for real change stretches beyond government. Change happens when the responsibility to listen and act is taken up by all organisations, communities and members of the public.

What happens next

Immediate action, as we saw in the child abuse commission, will demonstrate priority for the rights of people with disability.
Everyone’s contribution to changing attitudes, building belonging and recognising people’s shared humanity is needed to defeat exclusion and prevent violence.
Poet Andy Jackson recited his work Listen at the disability royal commission’s ceremonial closing sitting two weeks ago.

Do liposomes make food supplements more effective? A chemistry expert explains common myths about these products

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

There has been an explosion in nutritional supplements that promise a

Key Points:

There has been an explosion in nutritional supplements that promise a
superior product because they contain nanoparticles called liposomes.
But there’s a lot of misleading information and outright myths about these being shared online, so it’s important to understand how liposomes work before you spend money on an expensive new food supplement.
Liposomes can fuse together to form a similar structure to human cell membranes while retaining a liquid core.

Pharmaceutical vs food supplement liposomes

This means food supplement companies are having to work harder to convince people their products can overcome this problem.
It may seem logical that if liposomes work well for medicines, they could help your body absorb vitamins and other supplements too.
In the food supplement industry, there are a multitude of products on the market that are of poor quality or downright fake.
In contrast, the liposomes used in food supplements are often the most basic, delicate type.

Do liposomes enhance oral absorption?

There are conflicting reports about whether liposomes enhance gastrointestinal absorption.
Food supplement liposomes may enhance absorption by improving the ability of the nutrients they contain to fuse with other substances in your food.
The same goes for claims that conventional liposomes are absorbed into your bloodstream and remain intact.

Can liposomes be used with any type of nutrient?

Even in pharmaceutical research, where more advanced techniques are used, some drug molecules are difficult to fit inside liposomes.
Furthermore, liposomes are not an impervious plastic bag, but more akin to a cotton bag through which water can pass.
This means if you take a dose, only 10% of it will consist of the drug molecules encapsulated in liposomes.
While it might be possible to see larger liposomes using a quality light microscope, the smaller and more effective liposomes are measured in nanometres.

Driverless cars could be a revolution for people with disabilities – but they also have good reason to be worried

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

In theory, fully autonomous driverless vehicles will offer huge advantages to people with disabilities.

Key Points:

In theory, fully autonomous driverless vehicles will offer huge advantages to people with disabilities.
Too often, people with disabilities face multiple problems while using public transport.
They often need to rely on friends and relatives for lifts or spend too much of their limited budgets on taxis.

Gaining independence

Driverless cars should allow individuals with disabilities to travel independently, whenever they want and to wherever they want.
These studies have also looked into what might prevent individuals with disabilities from welcoming their introduction.
Disquiet has also been voiced regarding possible equipment failures, software malfunctions, and dangerous and irresponsible driving by other road users.

Prior knowledge

Our third major finding concerned the critical role of a disabled person’s prior knowledge of driverless cars.
We found that prior knowledge often made people with disabilities more confident around driverless cars.
But some of the group with prior knowledge had also decided that they disliked them.
Given the importance of prior knowledge when it comes to being happy about using an autonomous vehicle, favourable information about driverless cars will be crucial to convincing people with disabilities of the advantages of this new technology.

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Less talked about has been the party’s promise to index benefits to inflation to keep pace with the cost of living.

Key Points:

Less talked about has been the party’s promise to index benefits to inflation to keep pace with the cost of living.
In any case, this alone it is unlikely to break the cycle of poverty many find themselves in.
With rising costs, the situation is only getting worse for many of the 351,756 New Zealanders accessing one of the main benefits.

Our whittled down welfare state

The main benefits (such as jobseeker, sole parent and supported living payment) pay a fixed weekly amount.
The jobseeker benefit rate is set at NZ$337.74 and sole parents receive $472.79 a week.
The third level of support is one-off discretionary payments for specific essential needs.

Benefits have been too low for too long

But Ruth Richardson’s “mother of all budgets” in 1991 slashed benefits.
Rates never recovered and today’s benefits are not enough to live on.
The main benefits plus supplementary allowances did not meet the cost of the bare essentials, let alone minimal participation.

How ‘advances’ create debt traps

But in practice, Work and Income virtually never makes this type of grant for anything except food and some other specific items, such as some health travel costs or emergency dental treatment.
First, people on benefits are racking up thousands of dollars worth of debts to cover their essential needs.
And the Social Security Act 2018 doesn’t allow the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to waive debts.

Contradictory policies

MSD policy says repayments should not add up to more than $40 a week, but that is often ignored.
On the one hand the law says a payment should be made if not making it would cause serious hardship.
People receiving benefits and their case managers face the choice between more debt and higher repayments, or failing to meet an essential need.

Ways to start easing the burden

A great deal could be achieved by just changing the policies and practices followed by Work and Income.
These could and should be used when someone has an essential need, particularly when they already have significant debt.
When it comes to changing the law, the best solution would be to make weekly benefit rates adequate to live on.

Harassment and abuse perceived to harm poor women less − new research finds a 'thicker skin' bias

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

We asked them to read about either a low-income woman or a high-income woman who was dealing with workplace sexual harassment or intimate partner abuse.

Key Points:

We asked them to read about either a low-income woman or a high-income woman who was dealing with workplace sexual harassment or intimate partner abuse.
Our participants rated the harassment and abuse events as less upsetting for the lower-income woman than for the higher-income woman.
Women in poverty are more likely to experience sexual harassment and domestic abuse – and have more difficulty finding support after experiencing sexual misconduct.
Our findings show this kind of bias exists for low-income women – and highlight the need for strategies to counteract this biased belief.

FTC Action Leads U.S. Dept. of Education to Forgive Nearly $37 Million in Loans for Students Deceived by University of Phoenix

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

“Students deceived by the University of Phoenix deserve strong relief, and today’s action is an important step forward,” said Samuel Levine, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Key Points:

“Students deceived by the University of Phoenix deserve strong relief, and today’s action is an important step forward,” said Samuel Levine, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“Students who trusted the school and wanted to better their lives through education ended up with mounds of debt and useless degrees.
Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education builds on the FTC’s prior federal court order against the University of Phoenix.
In March 2021, the FTC sent payments to eligible University of Phoenix students, which resulted in more than $45.6 million in relief.

FTC Action Leads U.S. Dept. of Education to Forgive Nearly $37 Million in Loans for Students Deceived by University of Phoenix

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

“Students deceived by the University of Phoenix deserve strong relief, and today’s action is an important step forward,” said Samuel Levine, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Key Points:

“Students deceived by the University of Phoenix deserve strong relief, and today’s action is an important step forward,” said Samuel Levine, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
“Students who trusted the school and wanted to better their lives through education ended up with mounds of debt and useless degrees.
Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education builds on the FTC’s prior federal court order against the University of Phoenix.
In March 2021, the FTC sent payments to eligible University of Phoenix students, which resulted in more than $45.6 million in relief.

On Sukkot, the Jewish ‘Festival of booths,’ each sukkah is as unique as the person who builds it

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.

Key Points:

The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.
As a Jewish Studies scholar, much of my work looks at how diverse Jewish American identities are today.

Harvest holiday

Held during the autumn harvest, Sukkot likely has origins in huts that ancient farmers erected so they could sleep in the fields.
For Jews who observe the holiday, tradition says to start building the sukkah as soon as possible after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; some people even start building the structure are soon as they have broken their 25-hour fast.
The makeshift walls, of which there must be at least three, can be made out of anything one wants, from pre-made walls printed with blessings said during the holiday to tablecloths or rugs.
In the United States, many families decorate their sukkot with classic elements of the American harvest season: corn husks, colorful dried ears of corn, harvest gourds and even the occasional bale of hay.

Our yard, our holiday

Many people entertain guests there: I have been to many a meal – and one graduate seminar – in sukkot all over the country.
It is the fact that so much of Sukkot is held at home that accounts for the holiday’s immense flexibility.
Like at Passover, most Jews who celebrate Sukkot encounter it in spaces where people can honor their values, cultures or histories.
Accompanied by pungent cheeses and other nibbles, this festival of whiskey offered him a way to make the holiday his own.
Indeed, some Jews are finding ways to realize the social justice potential in the holiday.

Environmental disasters and climate change force people to cross borders, but they're not recognised as refugees – they should be

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

In response to these challenges, many individuals and communities have no choice but to abandon their homes and seek safety elsewhere.

Key Points:

In response to these challenges, many individuals and communities have no choice but to abandon their homes and seek safety elsewhere.
The challenge, however, is that people crossing borders due to weather don’t qualify as refugees under key laws and conventions.
It’s predicted that the number of people displaced due to weather shifts or disasters will reach as many as 1.2 million people by 2050.
I recommend that international laws and conventions be amended to explicitly include people forced by weather shocks to move across borders.

Lack of protection

Refugees in Africa are also protected by the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention.
These laws provide them with a safe haven, access to fair asylum procedures and protection from discrimination.
This means that people forcibly displaced only by environmental disasters are not entitled to refugee status, although deserving of temporary protection.
It has raised awareness of climate change as a driver of displacement and the need to address protection for people displaced in the context of disasters.

What needs to change

This Christian text you've never heard of, The Shepherd of Hermas, barely mentions Jesus − but it was a favorite of early Christians far and wide

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Writings that didn’t make it into the Bible, on the other hand, are often called “apocrypha,” a Greek term that refers to hidden or secret things.

Key Points:

Writings that didn’t make it into the Bible, on the other hand, are often called “apocrypha,” a Greek term that refers to hidden or secret things.
There are hundreds of apocryphal Jewish and Christian texts that, for one reason or another, were not included in different versions of the Bible.
Just because a text was deemed apocryphal, however, does not mean that it was unpopular or lacked influence.

Enslaved to God

The Shepherd urges self-control and fear of God, trying to instill obedience and avoid allowing emotions like fear or doubt to overcome believers.
My own research on the Shepherd focuses on how the text depicts believers as enslaved to God, as is true of some other early Christian literature as well.
The writer imagines that God’s holy spirit is able to enter loyal believers’ bodies and possess them, urging them to do what God wills.
Instead, readers find a story about an otherwise unknown enslaved man named Hermas experiencing visions and talking with divine beings in the Italian countryside.

‘Useful for the soul’

The Shepherd became one of the most popular texts among Christians for the first five centuries C.E.
The Shepherd is even included in what scholars consider one of the oldest and most complete Bibles in the world.
The Codex Sinaiticus, however, a fourth- or fifth-century manuscript now held at the British Library, ends with the Shepherd.
Even figures who did not include the Shepherd among New Testament texts thought it was too important to be discarded.

An open Bible

As the Shepherd helps demonstrate, whether a religious text is included or excluded from the Bible is not necessarily an indicator of its popularity or significance.
While scholars often lament that the Shepherd is boring, pedantic or too long, its style likely made it ideal teaching material for early Christians.
In religious communities, the idea of “canonical texts” can be especially limiting, determining what believers can or can’t read or believe.