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On Tuesday night, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sent shockwaves through the world by declaring martial law in the country.

Yoon’s opponents in the National Assembly immediately sought to mass at the legislature to block the decree. This led to a dramatic confrontation with soldiers over control of the building.

However, in the early hours of Wednesday, sufficient numbers of South Korean legislators gained entry to the chamber. Of the 300 members, 190 made it inside, which is far more than the 150 needed for the vote to take place. They unanimously voted down the president’s order at around 1am.

Meanwhile, around the legislature, Yoon’s opponents continued to gather in a tense standoff with military.

By around 4:30am, armed forces had withdrawn and Yoon had publicly conceded that his attempt had failed. The order would be rescinded. It ended a short-lived but nevertheless major constitutional crisis of authority between the president and the National Assembly.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol addressing the media at the presidential office in Seoul.
South Korea Presidential Office/AP

What is martial law?

Martial law suspends key democratic freedoms, giving the military authority to exercise more powers in times of war or major threats to public safety.

A decree by Yoon’s newly empowered martial law commander, Army Chief of Staff General Park An-su, proclaimed:

[…] all political activities, including those related to the National Assembly, regional assemblies, political parties, the forming of political organisations, rallies and protests are banned.

This martial law decree also declared heavy restrictions on press freedom and an end to an ongoing strike by junior South Korean doctors.

However, little immediate attempt was made to implement the decree. As a result, there was widespread reporting of opposition activities in real time.

Why was martial law declared?

Yoon justified the martial law by accusing his domestic political opponents of “anti-state activities plotting rebellion”.

He claims he was
protecting the constitution from “pro North Korean forces”. This is a rhetorical label frequently applied by some South Korean conservatives to their liberal opponents.

The broader context to this decision is months of domestic political battles between the South Korean leader and the opposition-dominated National Assembly.

Yoon cited his opponents’ repeated recent attempts to seek impeachment of key members of his administration, and their blocking of budget legislation, as further justification for martial law.

South Korean martial law soldiers try to enter the National Assembly compound in Seoul.
Cho Jung-woo/Newsis/AP

Who is South Korea’s president?

Yoon was elected with a very narrow majority in 2022. He’s subsequently seen a range of political corruption scandals, further depleting his support.

Recent polling indicates he only holds around 25% approval from the Korean public.

Tensions were particularly high around Yoon’s wife and South Korea’s first lady, Kim Keon-hee, whose behaviour Yoon publicly apologised for in early November after a series of embarrassing scandals involving alleged corruption.

Legacy of authoritarianism

Impeachment is definitely on the cards, particularly if South Koreans turn out in huge numbers over the coming weekend to demand an end to Yoon’s time in office.

Since transition to democratic rule in 1987, South Korea has made considerable progress in democratic consolidation, with a strong and engaged civil society.

At the same time, there is a long record of scandal, impeachment and even alleged criminality among Korea’s democratically elected presidents.

Most recently in 2017, former President Park Geun-hye’s term in office ended early after public protests and impeachment around an influence-peddling scandal.

Park was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for related crimes in 2018. She was pardoned by her successor in 2021.

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye sits for her trial in Seoul in 2017.
Ahn Young-joon/AP

On one hand, the successful opposition to Yoon’s martial law decree has demonstrated the democratic resilience of South Korea’s institutions and political culture.

Opponents of martial law included the head of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, who denounced the president’s decree as “wrong” and promised he would “stop it with the people”.

But for some of Yoon’s opponents, his power grab was an all too familiar reminder of the country’s mid-20th-century legacy of authoritarian, military-led rule.

Where do things go from here?

This is the first time martial law has been declared in South Korea in its modern democratic era.

Immediate economic damage to the country’s currency and markets may bounce back, but the country’s hard-won international reputation as a stable and mature democracy could take a sustained hit.

While the immediate constitutional crisis has now receded, the political crisis remains. Questions have already turned to Yoon’s future.

The main opposition Democratic Party has vowed to initiate a formal impeachment process against the much-weakened president unless he resigns immediately. Läs mer…

Behind the empty shelves in Woolworths supermarkets across Victoria and New South Wales is a fraught battle between workers and employers that could affect the future of workplaces everywhere.

The dispute has been triggered by stalled enterprise bargaining negotiations between Woolworths and the United Workers Union.

A major factor involves Woolworths introducing a “coaching and productivity framework” to speed up work at distribution centres. This involves surveillance technology and monitoring to direct each worker’s movement and output.

Under this framework, so-called engineered standards or “pick rates” are designed to speed up work on the warehouse floor. Warehouse workers typically wear headsets through which they are told what items to pick and from where, via AI-generated algorithms.

More than 1,500 workers, who are also seeking a large pay increase over three years, have been blockading distribution centres in the two states for just over a fortnight. This is causing stores to run out of toilet paper, meat, dairy and other staples.

Woolworths filed an urgent application with the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday. It wants the blockades lifted, claiming the interruption has cost the business at least A$50 million so far. Coles and independent grocers have reportedly seen an increase in business.

A test case for the changing workplace

Around the world, warehousing has become a test-case for conflict over the role of technology at work. Researchers are pointing to the dangers of an “Amazonian era”. This refers to the growth of the US-based multinational e-commerce company, which critics say is characterised by low-paying jobs with exhausting workloads and high turnover.

Given the high cost of living and falling real wages in Australia, much is at stake in this dispute locally.

Woolworths’ management say they have made their employees a fair offer on wages and conditions as part of enterprise bargaining negotiations.

An industrial dispute is leaving shelves in many Woolworths supermarkets depleted of stock.
Holly Hales/AAP

But the United Workers’ Union says they have tried to reach agreement with the company for more than seven months.

As well as concerns about the framework, they are asking to be paid $38 an hour and for pay equity across the distribution centres. Currently, workers can be paid different rates for similar work at different sites.

Cracking down on ‘non-productive’ practices

When the framework was first introduced in 2023, some workers were warned to “stop all time wasting and non-productive behaviors”. There were reports work intensification would lead to workplace injuries.

A union submission to the recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission supermarket inquiry argued the framework did not account for “gap times”, which were beyond workers’ control, such as congested aisles or missing items.

Growth of AI in the workplace

The use of AI and wearable technologies to speed up work and monitor employees is becoming more widespread in international logistics.

For critics, the deployment of such technologies represents a form of “Digital Taylorism” in which every aspect of workers’ movements are recorded and analysed.

If you think this is dystopian, consider the radical transformation of workplaces already underway.

The evolution of automation at Woolworths

I spent five years researching the impacts of the closure of Woolworths’ previous main Melbourne warehouse, the Hume distribution centre in the northern suburbs.

In 2015, the company announced Hume would close and about 700 jobs would be lost. As the centre wound down, Woolies opened its new semi-automated replacement warehouse in Dandenong, in Melbourne’s outer southeast. This is central to the current dispute.

The centre has become a model for closing and relocating to new semi-automated warehouses, including upcoming relocations in Sydney and elsewhere.

It is state-of-the-art in warehouse automation, with more than double the product capacity of the old site and a smaller workforce. It uses robot-based control, known as an automated storage and retrieval system in a warehouse with half the number of workers as the old Hume site.

Wages at the Dandenong site are lower than they were at Hume. When the new site opened in 2018, the basic hourly rate was $28, less than the $32 paid at Hume when it finally closed.

The currently depleted Woolworths shelves and the inconvenience this is causing encapsulates a range of issues about work, technology and living standards that will affect many workers for years to come. Läs mer…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) impacts the ability to maintain attention to tasks. Often, it also involves impulsive behaviour – saying or doing things without stopping to think first – as well as hyperactivity.

ADHD is the most common developmental disorder in childhood, affecting 5–8% of children worldwide.

Not all children and adolescents with ADHD need medication, particularly if they are functioning well at school and at home. Children with ADHD can also be supported with behavioural and educational strategies, as well as by working on the associated problems that commonly occur alongside ADHD, such as learning difficulties, emotional problems like anxiety, social challenges and autism spectrum disorder.

However, around four in five children with ADHD are prescribed medication.

One of the most common concerns parents have about ADHD medication is their child’s appetite and weight. So what can families expect? And how can parents optimise their child’s calories and nutrition?

Medication can reduce symptoms

Decades of research shows stimulant medication is the most effective way to reduce the main symptoms of ADHD. It can improve the ability to sustain attention and complete tasks, and reduce impulsive behaviours.

Two stimulants are approved to treat ADHD: methylphenidate (known by brand names such as Ritalin) and dexamphetamine (known by brand names such as Vyvanse). Both come in short- and long-acting forms.

These medicines work well in about 80% of patients and often improve the child’s school performance, relationships and self-image.

But they don’t suit all children. A minority become irritable, withdrawn or socially blunted. They may start finding it’s hard to have fun, for example.

If parents observe these or other negative effects, they can stop the medication. The child will return to their normal self by the next day, and their clinician and parents can consider alternatives.

The most common side effect of stimulant medication is reduced appetite. This happens in most children who take stimulants, for the hours the medication is active. This often means they are not hungry during the school day and have little or no lunch.

Reduced appetite is the most common side effect of stimulant medicines.
Russamee/Shutterstock

How can you boost your child’s food and nutrition intake?

When starting on stimulants, some children lose weight.

But they usually regain this over time as they get used to a different pattern of eating that includes a similar amount of daily calories. This might include:

eating a hearty breakfast before the medication kicks in. Stimulant medications typically take about 30 to 60 minutes to start working (long-acting medications have a slower onset than short acting)
eating enjoyable snacks throughout the day, such as muesli bars or chips
having a substantial after-school snack. Some kids have a mini meal when they get home from school, and then another main meal at around 7pm.

Nutrition and energy-dense breakfasts or after school snacks could include a full cream milk smoothie with banana, protein powder and peanut or almond butter.

High-calorie powdered food supplements – which are rich in protein and essential vitamins and minerals – in milk are another option. These are available from the chemist or supermarket.

If the child’s ADHD symptoms are only problematic at school, they will only need to take the medication on school days, and not on weekends or school holidays. They can catch up with eating on non-medication days.

Sometimes children can go medication-free on weekends and holidays.
tikcelo/Shutterstock

It’s also important to use the dose that achieves maximal benefit with tolerable side effects. The aim is often to reduce the child’s symptoms to close the levels of children without ADHD.

Using these strategies, most children can maintain a healthy weight while they take stimulant medication.

What if my child is still losing weight?

Occasionally, weight loss is more problematic, and alternate solutions need to be considered.

These might include:

using a short-acting medication (these usually last for 3–4 hours) to just cover the mornings. Or adding an afternoon dose, after the child’s appetite has returned and they have eaten lunch
trying one of the non-stimulant ADHD medications, such as atomoxetine (Strattera) or guanfacine (Intuniv). These are not usually as effective as the stimulants, but can be helpful to reduce ADHD symptoms. They have their own side effects, but do not suppress appetite
using a lower dose of the stimulant (aiming to provide some benefits with fewer side effects) in combination with a non-stimulant medication.

What about children’s height?

The other potential growth side effect of stimulant medication is on children’s height. There is some evidence that if a child takes stimulant medication consistently for many years, particularly in higher doses, they may lose 1–2 cm off their adult height.

However, it would be unusual for ADHD medication to stunt growth so much that a child has to stop taking it. Optimising nutrition is the best way to prevent this.

Children can lose 1–2 cm off their adult height.
interstid/Shutterstock

What else do doctors and parents look out for?

Children and adolescents with ADHD who are treated with medication need to be monitored regularly. They should have appointments with their prescribing doctor (usually a paediatrician) or GP at least every six months to monitor the treatment’s effectiveness and side effects.

Their medical review is likely to include a discussion of academic, social and emotional functioning – sometimes with the aid of questionnaires completed by teachers and parents – and a physical check-up including measurement of height, weight and blood pressure.

Whether or not a child with ADHD takes medication, it’s important in all cases to pay attention to lifestyle factors that can influence their health, including their sleep, nutrition, exercise and use of electronic devices. Läs mer…

Door handles, taps, playground slides, furry pets… Getting zapped by static electricity is a common experience. But the physics that causes the spark is surprisingly intricate.

If you’re getting zapped often, understanding the causes of static may help you avoid at least some of the shocks.

What is static electricity?

To understand static electricity, we have to peer inside the building blocks of matter: atoms.

Every atom has a heavy nucleus in the centre and several electrons that orbit this nucleus. The nucleus itself contains subatomic particles called protons and neutrons.

All subatomic particles have intrinsic physical properties, such as mass, spin and charge. Charge is what comes into play when we talk about static shocks. It is either positive or negative. Each electron has a negative charge (-1), while each proton has a positive charge (+1).

Opposite charges attract, while like charges repel each other.
Underducker/Shutterstock

In normal conditions, the number of electrons and protons in an atom is equal. This makes the total electric charge of the atom neutral.

But charged particles exert a force on each other, known as electrostatic force. Opposite charges (positive and negative) attract each other, while charges of the same kind repel each other.

Within an atom, electrostatic force is what keeps electrons orbiting the nucleus. The ones farthest away from the nucleus can sometimes escape, leaving the atom positively charged (more protons than electrons). By contrast, other atoms can attract an electron and become negatively charged (more electrons than protons).

This imbalance is what we know as static electricity.

Rubbing your hair with a balloon is a great way to demonstrate static electricity.
Yavdat/Shutterstock

From charge to discharge

Now, let’s take two surfaces with a difference in static charge. Say your hand has built up a negative charge by gathering additional electrons. As you reach for a metal object, the electrons hop across, forming a tiny, short-lived electric current.

That current is what’s known as an electrostatic discharge: electrons from a negatively charged object jump to a positively charged one if they’re close enough. The discharge is what you feel as the zap of a static shock.

So why do electrons build up on certain objects, like our own hands or the fur of a cat?

The answer lies with another physical force: friction.

At a microscopic level, even the smoothest surface isn’t perfectly smooth, but rather rough and irregular. When two surfaces slide across each other, all these irregularities cause friction as they “catch” on each other.

In certain materials (for example, copper), a small amount of energy is what makes those electrons jump ship from their atoms. This energy can be supplied by forces such as friction.

So why did the door handle zap me?

The last concept you need to keep in mind is to do with whether materials are good at letting electricity travel through them (conductors), or are good at blocking it (insulators).

The human body is a great conductor of electricity. All you need is some build-up of electrons on your skin from friction, and the next suitable thing you touch will cause a static discharge.

A typical example is if you wear rubber shoes and walk on carpet. The friction between the two materials will cause some of the electrons on the carpet’s surface to transfer to the rubber. Because rubber is an insulator, the additional static charge will be distributed over your body. The next time you touch another conductor – say, something metal – you get a static shock.

You can experience the same effect when taking off a jumper, or brushing your hair. Some dogs and cats may build up static in their fur, and you and your pet can both get a zap when you reach for a pat.

Static electricity also causes static cling – cat fur builds up an electrostatic charge, and light, positively charged objects like foam peanuts can easily stick to it.
Sean McGrath/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

What can I do to prevent static shocks?

Several factors contribute to the frequency and intensity of static shock, including sensitivity, body size, clothing material, temperature and air humidity.

Some people are more sensitive to static shock than others – they just feel it more. Also, a bigger body requires more charge, so smaller people may get zapped more often depending on their clothes, environment and what they touch or the surfaces they walk on.

Dry, cold air also increases the probability of static shock. This is because dry, cold air is a better conductor compared to humid, warm air.

While static shocks aren’t pleasant, they’re usually not harmful. However, they can create nuisance and even damage sensitive electronic devices. A static electricity spark can also ignite flammable gases, so it’s a risk factor for things such as oil and gas transportation.

People who need to avoid static electricity on the job – in computer repairs, for example – may even wear anti-static wrist or waist straps. This is a strip of conductive material connected to a wire on one end, while the other end of the wire is connected to a table leg or something else that transfers the extra electrons to the ground.

There are a few practical tips if you want to reduce static shocks:

use a humidifier to increase air humidity in your home
keep your skin moisturised to reduce friction between your body and clothes
be mindful of what type of sole your shoes have – these have a significant role in building up a static charge. Soles made out of insulating materials like rubber are worse for this than leather, for example.

You can also carry a small metal object in your pocket, like a coin or a key, and touch it to metal surfaces to discharge the electrons on purpose before the static has a chance to zap you. Läs mer…

Orange and tortoiseshell house cats (torties) have long been an enigma for hair coloration in mammals: now, the genetic basis of their distinctive coat colour has been unveiled.

Orange is an ancient colour variety. Ginger cats are evident in Egyptian tomb artworks and some mummified cats may have been gingers. From Garfield and Puss in Boots to Hermione Granger’s Crookshanks and Goose the Flerken in the Marvel universe, ginger (or orange) cats are everywhere in popular culture today.

Orange isn’t the most typical coat colour in cats. Most cats are non-orange, usually brown or grey tabbies with some pattern of black stripes, swirls or spots, or black or blue solid-coloured cats.

Tortoiseshell cats have a brindling pattern (mixture) of orange and non-orange hairs throughout the coat, with some areas mostly orange or non-orange. Calico cats have distinct patches of orange and non-orange, in addition to extensive regions of white. Gingers are mostly male, while tortoiseshells are typically female.

Now, after more than 110 years, two new studies finally reveal the gene and the variant for orange coat colour.

Tortoiseshell cats have a brindling pattern in their coats.
David Boutin/Shutterstock

A visionary theory

In 1912, before the XX/XY sex-determining system was discovered in cats, American geneticist Clarence Cook Little proposed a visionary theory to explain how cats inherit orange and non-orange coat colours.

He built on the idea of a “sex-producing factor”, symbolised as X, that was gaining acceptance at that time (mainly from work on sex-determination in insects). He proposed:

let’s suppose female cats have two copies (XX) of the sex-producing factor X, while male cats have just one copy (X—)
let’s also suppose there is something associated with the sex-producing factor X that affects coat colour and exists in two forms: normal (the non-orange form) and variant (the orange form).

This theory predicts that tortoiseshell cats have one of each form of the X factor, in which case they must be XX, and therefore must be female. Because males have only one X factor, they will be either orange or non-orange, but never tortoiseshell.

Little’s theory also explains the common observation that ginger cats are mostly male. If matings are not arranged on the basis of coat colour, and if we assume, for example, that 20% of male cats are ginger (having just one X factor of the orange form), the proportion of female ginger cats is expected to be much lower, as they need to receive two copies of the orange X factor.

Mathematically this can be calculated as 20% x 20% = 4%, meaning that we would expect only 4% of female cats to be orange.

Eventually, the X factor was revealed as the X chromosome, and the “—” as the Y chromosome.

Tortoiseshell and calico males do sometimes occur, but it’s usually due to an abnormality of the number of sex chromosomes, such as one too many X chromosomes (XXY), which also causes sterility.

Calico cats have white in their coats in addition to patches of orange and non-orange.
Oporty786/Shutterstock

Modern science confirms Little’s visionary theory

Little’s set of assumptions gave rise to predictions that have actually worked in practice for more than 110 years. This is a great example of the power and utility of what might have initially appeared to be an extraordinary theory.

The newly posted, not yet peer-reviewed reports of independent discoveries by a Japanese team and an American team have now found the something that Little proposed to be associated with the sex-producing factor X.

It’s a gene that’s part of the X chromosome. It produces a protein whose name is a bit of a mouthful: RHO GTPase-Activating Protein 36. The official gene symbol ARHGAP36 is not very descriptive, so we will simply call it the Orange gene.

The Orange gene has a known role in hair follicle development, but scientists didn’t previously know it is also involved in pigment production. This means that a new pathway for pigment production has been discovered, opening the way for exciting and important research into a basic biological process.

Ginger cats are mostly male.
Ivan Lopatin/Unsplash

A curious bit of deleted DNA

The other important discovery by these research teams is that the orange form proposed by Little is a large DNA deletion (loss of genetic material) of part of the Orange gene, and the non-orange form is the unchanged or “wild-type” version of that same gene.

While the deletion does not appear to change the protein that is produced by the gene, it does seem to impact when and where the protein is produced. Both discovery teams showed the Orange gene is persistently switched on in orange areas but is mostly switched off in non-orange areas of a cat’s coat.

Even though much remains to be discovered, ginger cats and their owners around the world can rejoice – the genetic basis of their distinctive coat colour has finally been worked out, more than 110 years after it was first proposed. Läs mer…

According to New Zealand’s Trademarks Register, the name Red Bull has been registered for everything from “varnishes” to “sausage machines”. And, of course, energy drinks.

All have been registered by the maker of the eponymous energy drink, but this doesn’t necessarily mean Red Bull will be branching out into new products.

One of the purposes of trademark law is to protect names, words and logos so that when consumers see a product they know where it has come from.

Yet in most trademark registration systems around the world – including in New Zealand and Australia – you can acquire property rights in relation to a trademark simply by filing an application for the nominated goods or services (known as the “specification”).

You don’t have to have actually used the trademark on your product or service to apply – you just have to be the first to register it. As a result, some businesses may register their trademarks for a wide range of products or services to claim broad property rights. This prevents other companies from taking advantage of their brand.

Such “registration-based” systems can be contrasted with “use-based” systems. The prime example of the latter is the United States, where a mark will only be registered once an applicant proves they have used it for the goods or services in the specification.

The main benefit of a “registration-based” system is you are provided with some assurance that your trademark will be protected before you go to the trouble and expense of marketing your product or service.

Once you have marketed it, the hope is consumers will indeed come to recognise your product or service because of its trademark.

The downside of such a system, though, is that brand owners can potentially register trademarks for goods or services they will never use their marks for, and in which they have no real commercial interest.

A recent court ruling in the United Kingdom puts the spotlight on such filing practices in registration-based trademark systems, and how a better understanding of “bad faith” might curb such practices.

Sky Ltd vs SkyKick

A prohibition on filing trademarks in bad faith is one mechanism used to prevent abuse of “registration-based” trademark systems – present both in New Zealand’s and Australia’s trademark legislation.

The UK Supreme Court recently considered how “bad faith” ought to be interpreted. As well as being a “wakeup call” for some UK trademark owners with wide and commercially unrealistic specifications (the description of what a company may trade in), this decision is likely to influence the shape of the law in New Zealand and Australia.

In 2016, UK-based media companies Sky Ltd and Sky International AG (Sky) began trademark infringement proceedings against IT company SkyKick for use of the mark “SkyKick” in relation to the provision of various cloud-based products.

SkyKick responded by claiming Sky had filed its trademarks in bad faith and they should be cancelled. SkyKick’s arguments centred on the breadth of Sky’s specifications, its use of overly broad categories such as “computer software”, and its enforcement strategy.

One of Sky’s marks, for example, had a specification that ran to more than 8,000 words, and covered goods such as “bleaching preparations” and “whips”.

The High Court concluded Sky’s intention was to acquire trademarks as a legal weapon to use against third parties. This meant the trademark applications had been partially filed in bad faith.

The High Court finding was eventually overturned by the UK’s Court of Appeal. But the Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision.

In November, the Supreme Court confirmed it can be an abuse of the trademark system – and therefore bad faith – to file an application to register a trademark for goods or services for a purpose other than that contemplated by trademark law, and where the person had no intention to use the trademark as a badge of origin.

In this case, Sky had obtained registrations for a very wide range of goods and services without providing a plausible commercial rationale, and was prepared to enforce these marks against other traders.

Protecting against bad faith

Admittedly, New Zealand’s Trade Marks Act 2002 has additional mechanisms to prevent abuse of the registration system compared with the law in the UK.

The act allows the intellectual property office to question the justification of a specification, and third parties to challenge whether an applicant has a genuine intention to use a trademark, for example.

That said, the SkyKick judgement has the potential to trigger more scrutiny of trademark filing practices in all registration-based systems. New Zealand courts already seem open to interpreting bad faith in line with the purposes of trademark law.

In a case in the New Zealand High Court, Planet Fitness Ltd v PFIP International, it was alleged a business had filed for the trademark “Planet Fitness” to prevent the expansion of a global gym chain into New Zealand, rather than to use the mark itself.

The High Court found the application was made in bad faith because the applicant was pursuing aims unrelated to protecting a mark intended to be used to communicate origin in the marketplace.

This approach to finding whether a registration was made in bad faith may mean the days of registering trademarks for every good or service under the sun, for purposes unrelated to use in the marketplace, are numbered. Läs mer…