The sexual abuse of adolescent boys in humanitarian emergencies: A qualitative study of how international humanitarian organisations are responding

Background: Over the last decade, public health research has increasingly shown that humanitarian emergencies can negatively impact the wellbeing of adolescents. However, recent studies have largely not addressed the differentiated impact on adolescent boys or how humanitarians are responding. Objective: We sought to understand how humanitarian organisations respond to child sexual abuse against adolescent boys in humanitarian emergencies. Participants and setting: Sixteen humanitarian staff based in Geneva, Switzerland, and 35 humanitarian staff and 52 child protection caseworkers from the Rohingya refugee crisis response in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Methods: We employed a critical ethnographic research design. Between September 2018 and October 2019, we conducted interviews with humanitarians in Geneva, as well as interviews, focus group discussions, and observation of the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh. Results: Sexual abuse of adolescent boys is present in numerous humanitarian emergencies and boys appear to be at risk in certain contexts, including workplaces, streets, and shelters. Humanitarian actors are responding through individualised casework but referrals to services are often limited by the operating environment. The most promising approaches to support survivors are specifically accessible to adolescent boys and provided by services that boys trust. Of note, humanitarian responsibility for adolescent boy survivors appears to be a context-specific negotiation between humanitarian sectors and this may be causing difficulties in the delivery of effective interventions. Conclusion: Humanitarian actors should employ a more systematic approach to supporting adolescent boys that experience child sexual abuse, as an important matter for adolescent rights and health equity

An exploratory study into the well-being of elderly Indian migrants living in the outer metropolitan areas of Melbourne

© 2025 Rukku Paramkulangara ThomasThe elderly Indian population living in the outer metropolitan areas of Melbourne has been increasing rapidly over the past decade. According to Blackberry and Morris (2023), outer suburbs of Australian cities, marked by considerably lower population density and considerable distances from the major business hubs, are usually selected by migrants because of relative affordability and the availability of more extensive living space. They can more easily accommodate extended families of the Indian population in regional areas of Australia. The ratio of the elderly Indian population to younger persons is invariably increasing due to the extended family dynamics that are part of the Indian culture and the Indian community in Victoria is one of the largest in Australia. About 3 percent of Melbourne’s population comprises of the Indian community including Indian-born migrants and since 2001, the number of Indian-born migrants in Melbourne has more than tripled. Elderly migrants face unique hurdles associated with their migration into a new country, including language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of same culture social groups which means a lack of social and financial support. social integration of the elderly migrants and the host country largely depends on each other’s acceptance. For better social support, the host country and the migrant community should have positive attitudes and acceptance towards each other. Although migration provides growth opportunities, it can also negatively impact the well-being of the older persons in a migrant community. Therefore, a study into the enablers and the barriers of these elderly Indian migrants in outer metropolitan areas of Melbourne in accessing social support and well-being is important. This qualitative study sampled of 25 participants in the age group 60-75, drawn from Indian community in regional outer metropolitan areas of Melbourne. Interviews with semi structured open ended questions were employed for data collection. All the meetings were recorded through the Zoom platform. Braun and Clarke’s Thematic Analysis was employed for data Analysis and NVIVO was the chosen method for data analysis. A narrative methodology was selected to present the findings. The findings of the study were classified into enablers and barriers. The identified barriers were Communication issues, Logistic issues, Cultural disagreement, Unawareness about social support services, Lack of technical skills, and experience of discrimination. The study also identified the following enablers that facilitated the elderly in getting access to social support. They were categorized as support from home country and support from religious organizations and communities, Engaging in Indian community events, knowing about Centrelink and responsibility of looking after their grandchildren and spending time with them. The implications of this study are that suggest that a significant number of elderly migrants face various problems because of language difficulties, geographical isolation, and cultural competence in service delivery while a number of them enjoy strong communal support, cultural programs, and family care. The cultural dimension also covers an important segment concerning the ready availability of services for this demographic in Melbourne. Most elderly Indian migrants have relatively poor command over English, and this hampers their ability to communicate with GPs, and other providers of health as well as those providing social services. Hence, they become more isolated. Thus, it specifies the necessity of employing bilingual service providers as defined within the cultural competence theory. Special attention should be paid to service provisions that take into account language, culture, accessibility to transport, and information provision of what support services are available to them. It is also possible to elaborate a more stringent and appropriate strategy that considers the cultural, linguistic, and other barriers so that the elderly migrants can receive appropriate support services that will enhance their integration into the new society. The findings will be of interest to practitioners working with this population to minimise the social fractures and significant for those health and human services that serve older Indian population

The Making Is the Story: Sovereignty, Sharing, and the Seven Sisters Cloak

In spring 2022, the authors co-led an experimental course and artists’ residency called “Decolonizing Museums.” The major outcomes were a possum-skin cloak (the first of its kind made in the United States) and a series of high-art photographs of project participants wearing the cloak. This project is part of an initiative to imagine and forge a Living Archive of Aboriginal Art, based in Australia. The objective: to radically reimagine what archives are and what they do, from Indigenous perspectives. The authors argue that photography-as-documentary practice (artists reflexively take photographs to document every aspect of their work) and photography-as-high-art-practice (a way of insisting on Indigenous forms of knowledge transmission and aesthetic expression) are inextricable from each other. These understandings of photography are also inextricable from cloak making: all of the making is all part of the story. The making is the story. In a collaborative visual essay, the authors mobilize photographs as an invitation to readers/viewers to be in relation with Indigenous knowledge holders and to join in the work of amplifying Indigenous sovereignty. The authors emphasize matriarchal knowledge transmission: women are leading efforts to reclaim autonomy over bodies and lands. The authors also call attention to intercultural collaboration as a source of innovation in both contemporary culture making and in pedagogy

Diet alters interspecific fecundity–size relationships in capital breeding insects

Species' life history traits, such as fecundity, and how they co-vary with other traits are central to models in population and community ecology. Within species, increasing fecundity with body size is often driven by nutritional quality of the diet. How and why fecundity varies among species is poorly understood but likely to be related, at least in part, to patterns of resource acquisition and allocation. This study tested for an interspecific, fecundity–size relationship among caddisfly species and tested whether fecundity covaried with larval diet. Data on fecundity and body size were collated for 102 species in 75 genera and 28 families from around the world. Species were assigned to one of four categories of larval diet (algivores, detritivores, filter-feeders, predators) and also two combined diet groups, differentiated by the prevalence of animal versus plant material. A limiting relationship best described the positive association between fecundity and body size of all caddisflies, where size set an upper limit to fecundity. Diet explained variation below the upper limit. Compared to species with plant-based diets, consumers of animal material had higher fecundity and diet-specific fecundity–size relationships with steeper slopes. All relationships were hypoallometric (slopes less than 1), indicating a disproportionate effect of size on fecundity: in each diet group, large-bodied species produced absolutely more, but proportionately fewer eggs than smaller-bodied species, suggesting size-related shifts in resource allocation. The largest species were detritivores, which is consistent with the Jarman–Bell principle that large animals are likely to have nutritionally poor diets. These diet-related patterns in fecundity may lead to diet-related patterns in population dynamics among species within freshwater communities that have not been considered previously

Cracked Metal–Phenolic Networks with Durable Confinement Capillarity for Enhanced Solar Desalination

Solar-driven interfacial desalination is a promising strategy to address freshwater shortages. Water evaporation can be enhanced through confinement capillarity by generating ultra-thin water layers on the internal surfaces of porous photothermal materials. However, realizing confinement capillarity relies on coatings composed of aggregated nanospheres, which likely detach under mechanical compression, limiting their practical application. Herein, nature-inspired crack patterns are introduced into adhesive photothermal supramolecular materials, metal–phenolic network coatings, forming C-MPNs to achieve durable confinement capillarity. The crack patterns can be controlled to optimize water transport through narrow channels, enhancing the evaporation rate from 1.6 to 3.3 kg m−2 h−1 while preventing salt accumulation during seawater desalination. Furthermore, the cracks serve as buffer zones, significantly improving the mechanical stability of C-MPN coatings under compression (exhibiting negligible change after 300 cycles)—overcoming a key challenge that has hindered the practical application of confinement capillarity. Furthermore, due to the enhanced confinement capillarity in C-MPNs, high evaporation performance is sustained even as the size of the photothermal material increases—a rare characteristic among 3D photothermal materials. This work provides fundamental insights into the design of photothermal coatings with confinement capillarity, paving the way for their application in solar desalination

The New Metrics International Schools Program

This session will explore next generation approaches to assessment recognition and credentialing, as explored through the New Metrics International Schools Progra

Outcomes of the Fontan Operation in Patients with Ebstein’s Anomaly: Findings from a Binational Fontan Registry

Objectives: We sought to review the outcomes of patients with Ebstein’s anomaly (EA) after the Fontan operation. Methods: Patients with EA were identified from a large binational registry about the Fontan operation. Data were collected from hospital records, registry data, and clinical correspondence. Results: Of the 1601 patients who underwent a contemporary Fontan operation from 1991 to 2023, 34 patients had EA. Seven patients (21%) had concomitant congenitally-corrected transposition of great arteries (ccTGA). Prior Starnes procedure was performed in 18 (53%) patients. Survival after Fontan operation in patients with EA was 92% (95%CI: 70%-98%) and freedom from Fontan failure was 80% (95%CI: 53%-92%) at 10 years. Patients with EA had worse long-term survival (p=0.01) after Fontan operation and lower freedom from Fontan failure (p=0.004) compared to other patients with left-ventricle dominance. Patients with EA, who underwent prior Starnes procedure, had 100% survival and freedom from Fontan failure, albeit at a shorter follow-up (median 4.2 years, range 13 days – 17.7 years), with no difference between patients with prior Starnes and patients with tricuspid atresia (p=0.76 and p=0.69, respectively), although comparison was hindered by low numbers. Of the 7 patients with ccTGA and Ebstein’s anomaly, there were no mortalities, however, 2 patients had Fontan failure at 7.0 and 9.8 years post-Fontan. Conclusion: Patients with EA have worse long-term outcomes after the Fontan operation, as compared to other patients with left ventricular dominance. Patients with a prior Starnes procedure appear to have good post-Fontan outcomes, although bias may occur due to small numbers

Amplifying the Immune Activity of Metal Ions through Metal-Phenolic Complexation

The immune-modulatory properties of metal ions have contributed to vaccination and immunotherapy (i.e., metalloimmunotherapy) for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Developing an enabling approach that can readily incorporate metal ions in vaccine formulations and deliver them with controllable pharmacokinetics and targeting ability is an ongoing endeavor. Herein, we report a simple and highly effective metal-phenolic assembly approach, whereby both ovalbumin (a model antigen) and immune-responsive metal ions (i.e., AlIII and MnII) are immobilized within a biocompatible coordination network to form metal-phenolic network vaccines (MPNVs) under mild conditions. The MPNVs demonstrated specific lymph node accumulation and elicited humoral and cellular immune responses following their subcutaneous and intramuscular administration in mice. Mice immunized with MPNVs maintained a robust antibody response for at least 10 weeks, comparable to a commercial aluminum adjuvant. The modularity of the assembly approach afforded dual-metal incorporation into MPNVs (MPNVMn+Al), which amplified immune responses up to 11-fold compared to the mixture of OVA, AlIII, and MnII (i.e., OVA + Al + Mn). Moreover, MPNVs showed effective anticancer properties in suppressing the development of B16F10 melanoma in mice. Specifically, treatment with MPNVMn+Al led to a 5-fold reduction in subcutaneous tumor volume and a 6.6-fold decrease in metastatic nodule number, compared to treatment with OVA + Al + Mn. This work provides insights into the immune activity of metal-organic materials, underpinning the rational design of vaccine and therapeutic platforms based on these materials

Experimental characterisation of Kelvin-Helmholtz rollers over riblet surfaces

The formation of Kelvin–Helmholtz-like rollers (referred to as K–H rollers) over riblet surfaces has been linked to the drag-increasing behaviour seen in certain riblet geometries, such as sawtooth and blade riblets, when the riblet size reaches sufficiently large viscous scales (Endrikat et al. (2021a), J. Fluid Mech. 913, A37). In this study, we focus on the sawtooth geometry of fixed physical size, and experimentally examine the response of these K–H rollers to further increases in viscous scaled riblet sizes, by adopting the conventional approach of increasing freestream speeds (and consequently, the friction Reynolds number). Rather than continual strengthening, the present study shows a gradual weakening of these K–H rollers with increasing sawtooth riblet size. This is achieved by an analysis of the roller geometric characteristics using both direct numerical simulations and hot-wire anemometry databases at matched viscous scaled riblet spacings, with the former used to develop a novel methodology for detecting these rollers via streamwise velocity signatures (e.g. as acquired by hot wires). Spectral analysis of the streamwise velocity time series, acquired within riblet grooves, reveals that the frequencies (and the streamwise wavelengths) of the K–H rollers increase with increasing riblet size. Cross-correlation spectra, estimated from unique two-point hot-wire measurements in the cross-plane, show a weakening of the K–H rollers and a reduction in their wall-normal coherence with increasing riblet size. Besides contributing to our understanding of the riblet drag-increasing mechanisms, the present findings also have implications for the heat transfer enhancing capabilities of sawtooth riblets, which have been associated previously with the formation of K–H rollers. The present study also suggests conducting future investigations by decoupling the effects of viscous scaled riblet spacing and friction Reynolds numbers, to characterise their influence on the K–H rollers independently

Profiling factors of occupant behaviour change towards indoor respiratory infection control in post-pandemic Australia

Purpose: Occupant behaviour (OB) significantly impacts building energy performance, occupant comfort and workplace health. This paper aims to explore occupant behaviour change (OBC) relating to respiratory disease transmissions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper collected 530 survey responses from occupants in 66 buildings with operable windows in Melbourne in 2023. OBCs were grouped, measured and analysed with univariate and multivariate regressions towards three indoor respiratory transmission routes: (1) fomite: hand hygiene behaviours; (2) airborne: individual interventions to indoor air quality including face masking and window openings; and (3) droplets: social distancing and reducing working hours in the workplace. Findings: Regressions show that OBC towards different transmission routes share the same primary determinants, including risk perception and co-worker behaviour change. Older age significantly influenced air-related OBC, while fomite-related OBC was more associated with the gender factor. By contrast, the personal factor was negligible for droplet-related OBCs, which were more influenced by perceived individual space in the workplace. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample used in this paper is skewed towards occupants in prime educational and office buildings in a developed country, limiting the findings’ generalisation. Second, readers should also be aware that the scales used for the OBC towards three transmission routes include a limited number of items that limit the scope of measurement. Third, the research depends on correlational rather than experimental data, demonstrating connections but not causation or directionality. Therefore, other studies, such as experiments, interviews and field observations, are required to validate the results of OBC in the workplace. Practical implications: This study informs practitioners and modellers on the significant change in OBs relating to respiratory disease transmissions to improve their building energy and respiratory infection risk assessment models. In addition, the findings inform building designers of occupant preference for touchless public interface and more individual space in the workplace. Social implications: This research helps in understanding building OB and behaviour change in respect of respiratory diseases which will, in turn, improve building occupant by reducing the risk of indoor transmission of respiratory diseases. Originality/value: This paper provides information about OBC concerning respiratory infection control and offers evidence-based insight into the determinants of those changes