Overweight and Obesity in Australia

For my census data, I have selected the topic of overweight/obese people in Australia over the age of 18. From 2007-2008, obesity in Australia reached 62.8% in males and 47.6% in females, based on people's self reported height and weight. This data for both male and female has increased by 5% in comparison to the 2001 results, which is believed to be caused by lack of exercise and diet. In 2020 it is predicted that 80% of Australian adults and over a third of children will be classified as overweight or obese.Although genetics are believed to play a role in a person's physical appearance, the fundamental cause is an imbalance between food consumption and exercise. Having an overweight population can have a significant impact on Australia's health, as well as negative social and economical factors. Regarding our health, an obese society increases the risk of major health conditions such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers which may lead to physical concerns and poor sleeping patterns. In 2008, the annual cost of obesity in Australia including health system costs and loss of productivity rose to approximately $58 billion.

Fifty eight billion!

Thats 58 billion dollars we could of put into our healthcare systems, improving the environment, economy and education. Fifty eight billion dollars gone to waste. 

One of the main causes of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended over time.  Physical activity such as exercise increases the body's normal energy expenditure, the total exhausted amount depending on the type of physical activity performed.  The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults need at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on a daily basis to maintain healthy status. 

I think its disgraceful that Australia is now currently labelled as the "fattest nation" in the world. Over half of our population is counteracted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as obese or overweight. Without drastic changes in our diets, our health will be at a bigger risk for our futures and have a bad influence on generations to come. Common Australia we are better then that! Lets be proactive and transform ourselves to be at our fill healthy and fit potentials. 

Australiana

Our topic for our last assessment is based on the Australiana Culture. Australiana can be defined as an item of historical or cultural interest of Australian origins. Often recognised Australiana objects include boomerangs and didgeridoos, as well as certain paintings and ceramics that depict Australian imagery. Some animals that depict this image are kangaroos, koalas and emus. The idea of Australiana represents Australia as a whole nation, with all the different cultures included. A day that represents Australia well is referred to as Australia Day, which generally involves cricket, a barbecue, thongs, and beer. This day was established to recognise the Europeans first landing in Australia, and since then has been nationally recognised as a day to be the stereotype Aussie. My group and i believe that this is an issue, as Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world, and Australia Day only depicts a certain race. What we question is, what do all the other cultures do, and do they feel as thought they can celebrate although they are depicted as "different" to us. Therefore, we thought, why not make an Australiana Day? This day would recognise Australia's multiculturalism and diverse nation, by celebrating all culturals. This day would be full of traditional food, music and dance, and aim to join our various cultures together to celebrate being Australian as one. I really liked this idea, as when thinking of Australia Day, it would be difficult for other races such as the Chinese or Indian to feel involved in the day, as they stereotypically don't fit in. However, Australiana Day, aimed to be celebrated on the first on Summer, December 1st, would involve all cultures, and bring them together to enjoy one anothers company. 

BALI!

At the end of this year, me, my dad, brother and sister are going to Bali together! Im so excited to feel a million dollars for a week and stay in a 5 star hotel! Everything is so cheap there is it great. We usually stay in Sanur because its less crowded and more family friendly. However, this time dad wants to change it up and we will be staying in Leggien, which is about 15 minutes or so from Kuta's main beach. We are planning on eating lots, getting pampered and buying lots of touristy things! The food there is amazing and I'm so excited to eat the delicious foods that are at ridiculously cheap prices. I have also saved up a lot of money to get massages everyday, as well as manicures and pedicures. We have discovered that it is better off paying an extra couple of dollars to go to a salon, rather then the massaging at the main beach. This is because it feels more hygienic and private. Its a tad uncomfortable when you're getting massaged half naked and people are casually walking past! I'm also keen to visit the two Poppy's Lanes that are jam packed with markets and cheap clothes. You generally have to sift through the clothing a bit to get something nice as well. But that doesn't bother me too much when everything is under $5! When you're arguing with the shop keeper about a few cents high or lower regarding pricing of clothes, i figure that money means a lot more to them then it does to us, so i give in! Some aren't as generous. But really, 30 cents is hardly generous. I'm looking forward to go riding along the main beach. It is about $5 to hire a bike for the day so we all go riding along the foreshore and stop for food and interesting markets we find along the way! I honestly cannot wait, and it is also a great opportunity to catchup with the Family as i live down in Brisbane now.

Media Conference #4

Todays guest speaker is Dr. Peter Milne, the COMU1999 Lecturer. He discussed the use of Visual Culture Jamming and using humour to bring the message across in visual language. Other visual tools he mentioned were religious icons, art such s mona lisa and the scream, and the American flag. He talks about how changes to these icons convey certain messages to the targeted audience. This sort of power can be a dangerous thing, as if not used well can be executed badly, and thus giving across the wrong message. As i study COMU1999 i recognised the lecture as one we were taught a few weeks ago. Therefore, i found the presentation boring and repetitive. In our COMU1999 classes we get taught the same thing over and over again, with different examples and situations. So, everything Dr. Milne was discussing i already had heard a million times. He talked about how ads and billboards have been changed to invert and subvert specific audiences. If not executed well, they can not give across the right impression or idea. At the end of the lecture, i felt as though i hadn't learnt a lot as i had heard it all many times before!

Holidays!

It’s the holidays! Such a relief to get a break off Uni however short it is. I unfortunately weren’t able to go home to Darwin these holidays (as I attend Cromwell College) but fortunately my mum lives in Brisbane so I was able to spend some time with her. My brother and sister also came down from Darwin for a few days, which was nice as well. We went night kayaking on the Brisbane River, and went under the story bridge that was both thrilling and daunting! College was very quiet; there were about 20-30 people there when there are usually at least 250! I had planned to get a lot of Uni work out of the way, but it never happened. One of my good friends from College, “Gump” (fresher name) lives in Mooloolaba and invited me to stay there for three nights. When I first arrived at her house I couldn’t believe it!! It was one of the most prestigious houses I’d ever seen in my life, right on the marina. Everything you can possibly imagine in a house she had it! But she is so unbelievably modest I had no idea her family was that wealthy. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t ideal beach weather while I was there, however we were lucky for about an hour on one of the days to head down to the beach! While I was there I discovered my love for second hand shopping, where I bought 8 items of clothing for about $30! We did too much shopping, but we had a lot of fun in the process. Gump and I also caught up with one our friends from College, Shrim (fresher name). We had breakfast right on the beach, which was nice. Overall, I had an amazing time and am so lucky to have made so many great friends at College! By the time Gump and I returned to college, the majority of people were back. It was good to catch up with everyone and hear what have had been up to over the holidays!

Cromwell Ball

Last week was our annual Cromwell Ball.  All the girls got their hair and make up done, and saved money by wearing their formal dresses from their year 12 formal. I, on the other hand had to pay for it all my self, so I decided on doing my own hair and makeup, which in the end, worked out well. The location of ball was a secret that the third year socials had organized. When we got off the bus we discovered the secret location was the Victoria Park Golf Complex. It was so nice, and we were welcomed with fancy beer and champagne. As the night progressed we had entrée, mains and dessert along with many photos taken and alcohol all night! The food was delicious, and a nice change to college food. Everyone looked amazing, and tore up the dance floor. All in all it was a great night! Following ball was ball recovery, which was held at the Paddo. The idea of recovery is to dress up as ridiculous as you can and get extremely intoxicated! It was a great day, cheap drinks and good company. A lovely way to end the Ball!

COMU1152 - Media Conference 3

In todays lecture, we had guest speaker Luke Royes, who is an ABC Online Journalist. He discussed the use of different social media's to keep up to date with what people are doing, and allowing people to know what he is doing. Firstly he discusses Twitter, which is his most used form of social media. He discusses how Facebook has some strengths Twitter doesn't have such as photo albums, videos and check in. 4square is another form of communication and is used to check in via mobile. Luke mentions that this media isn't as popular, as Facebook can check in as well as many other things 4square can't. Instragram is used to send out photos of what people are doing and is good for keeping brand recognition. Pintrist is another form of internet communication, and works in with Facebook and Twitter,  as an online pin board. Luke continues to discuss that ABC joined social media 5-7 yrs ago, and even since have used Twitter and Facebook to drive what theyre doing, and enables others to share and discuss their stories. Twitter is used to generate traffic to the site, and is good for getting in contact with people, and asking to send through photos. Personally, Luke first used Facebook 4-5 yrs ago, and was initially asked not to mention work related issues via social media. Now however, it is encouraged for employees to share what they are doing and where they are going. An interesting aspect of social media Luke discussed is how mistakes and negative opinions on social media can reflect upon you in a professional aspect, as well as your company. Therefore it is vital to be careful with what you say even if it isn’t work related, as well as the basics such as no typos with what you write. I found it interesting that businesses and companies can take advantage of what you post on Facebook and Twitter and use it against you personally and turn it around to look bad on your company also. Learning about how companies use social media gave an insight into the advancement of the technological world. It also made me weary that what you post doesn't only impact on you, but also the company you are working for.

COMU1152 - Media Conference 2

In this lecture, we had Guest Speaker Frances Whiting, who is an author, journalist and public speaker. Firstly, Frances gave us some background information of how she became a journalist. From being a primary school teacher, a 28 she studied a batchelor of business/journalism over a time of 6 years. Following her studies, she got a job on a small paper on the North Coast, where there was little pressure to perform well and a great way of learning. Starting off in a small regional newspaper was her advice to get an opening into the industry. Soon after, Frances was offered a job in the Brisbane Sunday Mail, doing a piece for the EKKA, and has since continued for 16 years. She now has her own column in the Sunday Mail. Frances finds this an intimate form of writing, where viewers enter your world and feel they know you personally. She also gets an insight into the readers, which improves her writing career, as you know whos reading it, and who is writing to her. As she is also a feature writer for the Q weekend magazine, Frances has had to learn a few different style of writing. Her advice was learning to be flexible and versatile to suite your audience. As such, the Sunday Mail readers want to smile and laugh, whilst Q weekend is advertised as a formal magazine, where readers want to learn something and be directed to do something to help somebody. When referring to PR, she comments that if you don’t get a job, you can create your own job. This is as the industry is changing, but with this comes opportunity and new ways to get your voice heard. She recommends to build up relationships with journalists and to continually follow up after each story. Frances discusses the importance to love what you do. As you go into the world of PR, don’t forget your basics, build up your contacts, and be professional in every form of communication you can. I found this speech very inspirational, as I am concerned about the limited amount of jobs for PR out there. But she believed there are always jobs, sometimes you need to make your own.

COMU1152 - Media Conference 1

In todays lecture, we had Guest Speaker Robert discuss his Journalism work in the Russian Foreign Affairs. Robert is an investigative journalist and war correspondent. He first studied Journalism and Communication, and after his studies began working for the Nation Media Group.  A highlight in his career is having been the first person to have interviewed Joseph Kony. During that time, he was captured and put into a detention centre, where a bag was kept over his head for four days. Following this, he was disposed of somewhere on the street. Whilst working in this particular industry, he found that due to arrests, stress became too much and there were signs of him becoming depressed, and psychologically challenged. After discussing a bit about his struggles, with having to see psychiatrists to keep him sane, he gave many tips and hints of the trade. Firstly, he mentioned that when you move up in the Public Relations world, you are going to confront Journalists who are very curious, and want to now more then what you show them. Content that you do provide to the print media should be planned differently to that of radio and television media as they only want a couple of paragraphs. By doing this, he recommended that you also take advantage of media as much as you can, with well researched information and lots of complex questions. In conference rooms theres no room for mistakes or carelessness as cameras and recorders are on at all times and can use this against you. Roberts final words were images of war scenes, where he said it was very traumatising and ultimately becomes a part of your life. He is still dealing with the impact it has had later on in his life, and 90% of his friends are on drugs to maintain the high of war scenes. The many counselling sessions is what has kept his sanity. I found Robert very inspirational, in practically giving up a lot of his life for his work. He has achieved a great deal post his time in the war scenes and that is also very impressive.

Lady Gaga!

Last night my mum, younger sister (Lucy) and I went to the Lady Gaga concert together! Lucy and I thought we had seating but when we got there mum said "surprise!" we're in the mosh pit. I couldn't believe it. My MUM and younger sister - together - in the mosh pit. I initially thought..well this isn't going to end well. But after the first couple of songs we all started to really enjoy ourselves and ended up having a ball! The stage opened with Lady Gaga coming out of the 'electric chapel' castle, which was incredible. I found that the concert was more of an entertaining show with songs in-between, rather then a music concert with a little bit of entertainment. After each song, Gaga would go around the back and quickly change for the next. Some of her outfits were amazing, whilst others, as you could expect, were rather questionable. The whole concert had a story-base, where she was planning to take our individuality and overtake the world. It was a rather strange concept, but what else can you expect from GAGA! I thoroughly enjoyed the change of mood throughout the concert, from party hard music, to more personal and in-depth acoustic music. Some of people's outfits were amazing! Some dressed like Gaga herself, whilst others, I don't even know what they were. From emo's to caution tape wrapped around themselves, there sure was a wide range of outfits! All in all, I had an incredible time and it was great girl bonding!

Lecture 12

Today, as our last lecture in JOUR1111, we had a guest speaker called Steve Molkington. Steve discussed his journey, from being an undergraduate in chemistry, to suddenly wanting to become a journalist. He is now renowned as one of the most entertaining bloggers in the country. He emphasised the importance of our "own brand", consisting of what we do, where, who with, and most importantly, how it is going to help us to get a job. Steve further discusses the great opportunities we have from the internet and social media, enabling us to control what we write and put out to the public. He discusses that by obtaining a journalism degree does not automatically make you legible to whatever job you please, but by the way you carry yourself, through blogging and social media, is what will make you into an employee machine. After this subject, I have come to the realisation that I don't think journalism is the thing for me. I again worry about the little job opportunity as well as poor salary in the industry, and am heading towards PR as a career. With Steve discussing blogging and having to constantly be on the ball and putting yourself out there, I now know for sure that this is not the thing for me.

Annotated Bibliography

Journalism is a form of professional communication used to investigate and report to a broad audience on events, issues and trends. The following annotated bibliographies will explore the present news stories surrounding the Inpex Project in Darwin, Australia. Various mediums such as television, online, magazine and academic articles are used to convey similar and contrasting opinions on the project in order to build credibility and critically engage to a wider audience.

Source 1:

Coggan, M., (2012). Inpex under fire over carbon offset scheme. ABC News Online. Retrieved on May 18 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/130112-inpex-announcement/3770578

The ABC Online news article was published by Michael Coggan, the lead anchor for the ABC News in the NT, and discusses a new gas scheme by Japanese company Inpex, to proceed with the planned $33 billion project in Darwin. It outlines growing concerns for increased emissions in the NT by 30 per cent, with the project expected to generate 280 million tonnes of emissions over 40 years. Stuart Blanch, from the Environment Centre Northern Territory, comments that “The Inpex project is Australia’s most polluting greenhouse gas project ever envisaged.” This claim made by Blanch contrasts greatly to the Australian Property Investors (API) Magazine, which comments the project will “contribute significantly to the growth of the Australian economy.” These controversial statements can be questioned, as being the most polluting project in Australia will provide great risk to the economy after increased emission payments, rather then stimulating it. ABC has over 2.26 million pages of online content and is credited by 85% of Australian’s stating that ABC content is not bias. API Magazine specialises in property investment and management, and is not a credible news site. Therefore, the public would be more likely to agree with ABC’s view on the project rather then API’s.

Source 2:

Inpex approval (2012). Australian Property Investors (API) Magazine. Retrieved on May 18 from http://www.apimagazine.com.au/api-online/news/2012/01/inpex-approval-puts-gas-back-into-darwins-property-market

The Australian Property Investors (API) Magazine article, discusses Inpex’s approved project to be undertaken in Darwin. The article outlines that the new project will be the turning point for Darwin’s struggling market, with an estimated 3,000 temporary jobs and 700 permanent jobs being secured for residents. This statement can be verified as it coincides with source four’s article, which discusses the same figures. Quentin Killian from the Real Estate Institute NT comments that “It’s not the fix all to economic problems having Inpex here, but it’s certainly a great start.” Mr Killian continues to discuss new job opportunities and increasing house prices that Inpex will provide. This statement concurs with SBS’s report, where Mr Henderson states that the project will provide 20% of the NT’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, these reports contrast greatly to Mr Blanch’s comments from ABC online, stating, “The Inpex project is Australia’s most polluting greenhouse gas project ever envisaged.” These statements are controversial, as being the most polluting project in Australia will provide great risk to the economy after increased emission payments, rather then stimulating it. Although API magazine, with no author stated in the article, can be defined as an unreliable source, its contents relate to SBS’s report. As SBS and ABC are both unbiased and reliable sources, it is questionable with angle of the story is most credible.

Source 3:

Inpex Project approval (2012). SBS Online Report. Retrieved on 18 May from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1651495/PM-talks-positive-amid-global-market-rout

The SBS Television Report discusses the expected change the Inpex project will have on the north forever. James Glinday reports that it is said to be the second biggest investment in a single project in the history of Australia. Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, comments, “We’ve made it. And what a long journey this has been.” As well as strengthening diplomatic ties, Mr Henderson believes that the project will provide 20% of the NT’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This statement coincides with API’s article, commenting, “It’s not the fix all to economic problems having Inpex here, but it’s certainly a great start.” However, Stuart Blanch from the Environment Centre of NT and ABC online, argues his concerns of environmental damage the project will have on Darwin, commenting, “I don’t think anyone wants to see dead dolphins floating in Darwin Harbour.” This claim made by Blanch contrasts greatly to the Australian Property Investors (API) Magazine, which comments that the project will “contribute significantly to the growth of the Australian economy.” These statements are controversial, as being the most polluting project in Australia will provide great risk to the economy after increased emission payments, instead of stimulating it. SBS code of practice involves accuracy, impartiality and balance of information, whereas API Magazine specializes in property investment and management, and is not a credible news site. Additionally, SBS information coincides with ABC, one of the most reliable news sources in Australia. Therefore, the public would be more likely to agree with SBS’s view on the project rather then API’s.

Source 4: (Academic)

StJohn, J. (2010) Inpex Gas Field Development Project. The Wilderness Society WA. Retrieved on May 18 from http://www.inpex.com.au/media/26172/c075-ipx-ipx-le-0001_106_100910_jill%20stjohn,%20wilderness%20soci.pdf

Source 4 discusses the background information of the Inpex project, as well as potential impacts the scheme will have on pipelines, threatened species; greenhouse gas emissions and the lack of oil spill contingency plans. These threats can disrupt and greatly affect Darwin and its surrounding environment and wellbeing. This article can be verified as Jill StJohn, Western Australia’s Marine Co-coordinator and member of the Wilderness Society WA, signed the formal academic article. Through her qualifications, it is clear that this source is reliable and has credibility, as Ms StJohn is a professional in the environmental and marine area. This article can also be compared to source one, which discusses concerns of environmental damage the project may have on Darwin. In particular, Stuart Blanch, from the Environment Centre Northern Territory and ABC online, comments, “The Inpex project is Australia’s most polluting greenhouse gas project ever envisaged.” However, Chief Minister Paul Henderson, from an SBS report, believes that the project will provide 20% of the NT’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This statement coincides with API’s article, commenting, “It’s not the fix all to economic problems having Inpex here, but it’s certainly a great start.” Although API is not a credited news site, SBS strives on accuracy, impartiality and balance of information. ABC is a very reliable source, as is this academic article, which leaves questions as to which news story is most reliable and unbiased.

Lecture 11

Bruce’s topic for today was ‘investigative journalism’. Firstly, to engage us in the topic, we learnt the ‘ins’, which included intelligence, informed, intuitive, inside and invest. All these words outline what investigative journalism is all about. We discussed the deeper definitions and purpose of investigative journalism which involved critical and thorough journalism, custodians of conscience, social justice and the fourth estate. In particular, there were four key ideas retrieved from these definitions, including active intervention, exposure, public interest and the role of the media. We also learnt that online news is a major threat to investigative journalism. This is as less money provides fewer journalists, which in turn provides less time. An interesting concept discussed was that as the growth in PR increases, journalism decreases. I found this very noteworthy as I am currently studying a bachelor of journalism and communication, majoring in PR and am still considering which career path I wish to take. After listening to this fact, it got me questioning whether journalism would be a successful path to take or would end in a downward spiral. Overall, I think the career path I’m going to take may end up being PR due to the job availabilities, however I think journalism is an essential skill to have when entering the PR industry.