Amid the coronavirus outbreak, we're all being told to avoid touching our face to stop the spread of the virus.

But it's much easier said than done. In California a health official was videoed licking her finger straight after emploring the public to not touch their face.

So why do we touch our faces and is it easy to break the habit? We put those questions to behavioural psychologist Dr Sarah Cowie from the University of Auckland.

Why do we touch our face?

There are lot of reasons why we do it. The most obvious one is that we have an itch we need to scratch. But also, we seem to touch our faces more when we feel anxious or when we are concentrating on something or trying to keep our attention on a task. There's a school of though that says this face touching might have a social function that might show that you are sort of self-aware. There's also a school of thought that says this could be some sort of leftover behaviour from primate grooming that's just kind of come through evolution. So nobody knows quite why we touch our face for these reasons, but there are definitely some environmental triggers that tend to occur before we are likely to touch our face.

What are those triggers?

There are three main triggers. One of those is that when people are concentrating on something, and particularly when you're trying to keep your attention focused on a task, often we find people touch their faces at that kind of point. When you're feeling a little bit anxious, that's also another situation where people tend to be touching their faces. And then for very practical reasons, if you're itching or need to adjust your lipstick or whatever. That one is probably a little bit more conscious but again, a lot of the time we'll just brush hair out of the way or itch your browwithoutas much as a thought.

How do we break the habit?

It's a little difficult, because the thing with habits is that very often we don't realise we're doing them, so they are actions that occur without aconsciousthought. And it turns out that we probably touch our face somewhere more than 23 times an hour. And if you think about all the time your remember touching your face, you might think that's not possible, I don't touch my face that much. But people touch their face a lot. Of course, it becomes worse when you are thinking about it and trying not to touch it. So habits are tricky things to break, particularly when you have a long history of engaging in those habits.

When I think about not touching my face, it's like it becomes more itchy? It's like it wants me to touch it, is that natural?

It certainly seems like it is. The thing is to try and shift the focus from not doing it to being more aware of those environmental triggers that are likely to make you want to touch your face. So rather than going through and saying 'okay, today I am not going to touch my face', shift focus and think, well can I be a little bit more aware of my surroundings and what I'm going through, and then I can recognise when I'm likely to be touching my face and hopefully redirect that behaviour. How can we encourage children to not touch their face?

So part of it is recognising some of those behaviours are not behaviours anybody is consciously aware of doing. Trying to make sure your environment isn't overly stressful, but also just using the normal kinds of techniques and approaches you would use for any sort of behaviour with your children or indeed anybody around you. For example, incompatible behaviours, so getting children to do something else with their hands so they can't touch be touching their face. Having things like stress balls, or even encouraging people to put their hands in their pockets or play a game with your hands. Obviously it's not possible in all sorts of situation, but it's a good starting point. So, if you're encouraging any sort of behaviour, rather than justsaying 'don't do that', or explaining not to do it, reward when it doesn't happen, reward when you're doing something else. So, just some of the strategies you'd use for beating other behaviour.

Should we all buy fidget spinners and stress balls?

There are whole bunch of really strange things coming out to help, like you can get a wristband that vibrates when it seems like you're moving your hands towards your face, or there is an app that tracks your movements and tells you off when it seems as if you are tracking towards your face. Some of those are towards making you aware of the situations where you're likely to be touching your face. but the other thing is stress balls and fidget and spinners and anything that you can do with your hands - take up knitting - but something that's incompatible with touching your face.

The rest is here:
Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop - RNZ

Rob Halford is ready to go when Hammer calls to ask him your questions. Ive been looking forward to this, says the Metal God, who released a Christmas album last winter and will be fronting Judas Priests 50th anniversary celebrations this year.

What follows is a conversation that produces tears, laughter and interesting revelations...

Why not? Those records, Jugulator [1997] and Demolition [2001] are both part of the great history of Judas Priest. And Tim is a good friend of mine. Ive never done any of the songs that he sang on but Id definitely have a crack at them. Im up for that.

"When? It could happen at any time, it wouldnt need to be an anniversary. Before we go onstage we have a jam, and thats time when ideas from leftfield are thrown around. Thats probably how well do it. Itll just happen and itll be brilliant.

Usually its the ballads. I can really let rip on the screaming metal ones; I feel loose, free and comfortable on those. Its a song like Beyond The Realms Of Death [from Stained Class, 1979], Angel [Angel Of Retribution, 2005] or the acoustic version of Diamonds And Rust [Sin After Sun, 1977] is the most difficult.

"Anything that demands an enormous amount of tension becomes harder as you get older. You really have to zone in and focus more.

There are so many of them, arent there? Theres one band I really like from Cannock and theyre called Wolfjaw a three-piece band thats not exclusively metal, theyre hard rock but they have great arrangements. Theyve been bashing away quietly and strongly on the underground but I think that their moment is coming soon. Give them a listen.

I dont like using the word best in that context. We had Iron Maiden open for us at the start of their career [in 1980] and they were brilliant. Saxon did the same and they were also brilliant. Oh god, there were so many.

"More recently we had Uriah Heep open up for us in America and they were brilliant. Theyve been around just as long as Priest and theyve got a catalogue of incredible songs. So theres another great example.

Absolutely they do and Ive been putting my two pennorth into Priests music for most of my life, but its concealed by smoke and mirrors. Take a song like Evil Never Dies [from 2018s Firepower]. I make some digs there and I know what I mean, but heres the thing, especially for a band like Priest: music is about escapism.

"If I hear one more thing about Brexit, I dont know what I will do. To me theres a place for politics and I applaud bands that make it important in what they do, but with me the clues are there if you want to look for them.

Thank you, I just put one up for Throwback Thursday! Its of me by the gate in the place in the Yew Tree Estate in Walsall where I used to live. Im holding a copy of the vinyl of the Killing Machine album.

"Its a double-throwback because it was 41 years ago when that album came out. I dont think I will be joining Twitter. Its a place for strong opinions; most discussions that I read seem to end with, Fuck off, you wanker. If I went on there Id probably be banned within an hour.

Its a pretty straightforward choice. One would be Ronnie James Dio; I listen to him nearly every day. Id have to pick my mate Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, who is phenomenal. And lets go with one from the very beginning of this form of music Robert Plant [of Led Zeppelin].

"Ive always enjoyed the bluesier elements of his vocals and the Ooohs and Aaahs that they threw in were important; they may not have been words but Planty taught me how to connect on an emotional basis with that type of phrasing.

It was a conscious decision. The band- members all spoke between us about the need to make a statement about the metal we were making. At that moment in our career we felt it was important to pull together and create something that was truly significant. Thats why we hid ourselves away at Miraval Studios in the south of France where nobody could find us. We worked hard every day to make that album.

"One of the great lessons of having had a long life with a band is that sometimes you must do these things sit back, take a minute and contemplate what you want to reinforce. With Painkiller we had to remind people that Judas Priest was a strong, British heavy metal band.

We played lots of and lots of shows with Motrhead and I always found it amusing that after theyd played Lemmy would put his hair in a turban. I made a point of going to see him after each show and Id always end up sitting on Lemmys lap. Imagine that! The Metal God sitting on Lemmys lap, with his hair in a turban.

"Theres also a bittersweet one regarding a photo on my Instagram. After a South American tour together we were heading back to Los Angeles. It had been a long, long flight. Lemmy had been sitting by himself and you generally didnt want to get too close to him if that was the case, but I went and said thanks for a great tour. We had a bit of a chat and internally I felt something was going to happen. [Rob falls silent, trying to compose himself].

"Sorry thats an upsetting memory. I asked him for a selfie and he said fuck off, but we took it anyway and its the last photograph of me and Lemmy together. I still miss Lem and everything he stands for in rocknroll. But the music will last forever. Thats what I tell myself whenever Im feeling down.

The main catalyst was the chance of working with my brother Michael [on drums] and my cousin Alex [Hill, the son of Priest bassist Ian Hill]. Id always wanted to do that. I love Christmas music and I can never get enough of it, so thats why we made Celestial.

With so many choose from thats very tough, but if you put a gun to my head Id go with Sad Wings Of Destiny and British Steel. Its incredible that we made British Steel, which had the iconic Living After Midnight and Breaking The Law, in just 30 days.

I really like the Necromancer outfit Im wearing on the current tour, with the purple top hat and the cane. Weve always had that element of heavy metal razzle dazzle. Ha, how the fuck did that come out of my head? But you know what I mean.

Weve got a massive warehouse full of props in Leicestershire; its like a heavy metal Aladdins Cave and this question reminds me that I must go there for a mooch around. Ive got a very treasured etching given to me by the late Maurice Jones, the promoter of the first Monsters Of Rock Festival, so Ill go with that.

After 58 metal years it becomes harder and harder. Rest is very, very important. Mine has become a bit like an old Morris Minor it takes three days to get it going but it works just fine once its warmed up.

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Rob Halford Q&A: His best Lemmy story and why he won't be joining Twitter - Louder

MARCH 16, 2020

I WAS FIRST INTRODUCED to Dao Stroms writing over 13 years ago when a mentoring professor gave me a copy of her collection of short stories, The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys. At the time, I was trying to write a book that didnt quite know what it wanted to be: a hybrid of anecdotal research, autobiography, failed memory, and fiction. I was frustrated by the absence of literary models in my life. Stroms book was unique though I read avidly, I had not yet encountered a book whose sentences conversed with me, rather than speaking above me. I admired the fact that these stories did not offer definitive, epiphanic resolutions, focusing on the interiority and intimate experiences of the characters as they process the world around them.

The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys is a collection of four linked stories about four different Vietnamese-American women living in the United States, inspired by Nina Simones song Four Women. It engages with issues of gender, inheritance, language, and the search for home. For me, it felt like the very beginning of a rich, ongoing dialogue which has evolved within and between Dao Stroms successive publications, the memoir We Were Meant To Be a Gentle People (accompanied by a song cycle, East/West) and the poetry collection You Will Always Be Someone From Somewhere Else.

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Dao Strom about The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys and the many beginnings it inspired.

MEGHAN LAMB: In your preface to The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys, you explain that the book almost wasnt published, in part because its original publisher a major house in New York didnt feel it was enough of a novel. Rather than change or adapt your books linked novella structure, you found a new home for it. What was that process like? Did this process lead you to formally reevaluate and redefine yourself as a writer?

DAO STROM: I think that I have always been a writer working in between genres and mediums, but I just didnt fully know it at first. My first novel, Grass Roof, Tin Roof, was actually a series of short stories linked together by short, lyrical fragments. So, the loosely linked four-novella structure of The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys was, really, a natural evolution from my first novels form. The plain fact to state here may be: I was not a novelist or meant to be one, at least not in the traditional sense of one continuous narrative that follows one protagonist all the way through.

Losing that first book contract was initially a shock, but it was also, in the end, liberating. It woke me up to the realities of publishing and it set me on a different course. I would have to stake my own claim to make my own forms.

As it went: I did one more round of edits and retitled the manuscript, and my agent was diligent and determined about finding the manuscript another home. But following The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys, my writing did indeed change taking a more hybrid tack: between prose and poetry, image and text, engaging the aural senses too. My failure to fit in resulted, ironically, in my going further afield. In looking back now, I see that it all evolved as it was meant to. I already had a visual background (having studied film) and a separate practice as a musician and songwriter. The hybrid-literary form allowed me to dissolve boundaries between my own different realms of voice.

The novella, too, is a form that inhabits a neither/nor realm, willing neither to compress nor elongate itself. Ive always liked structures that allow for deeper immersion, while at the same time employing techniques of tension and truncation. In looking back, I will own that I could not have written any differently than I did. The writing dictated its desired parameters; I still work this way now, as opposed to trying to impose structure onto the work.

Ive reread The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys numerous times over the past decade, and Ive been struck by the ways rereading feels like an archiving of the self: a cataloging of who I was at different points in my reading. Do you experience a similar kind of self-archiving, rereading your own work? Can you trace your evolution as a writer in these pages, or do they feel fully distinct from the work youre doing now?

There are emotional truths that I myself went through in each one of the stories in The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys. For instance, the first story is one of the most painful to reread now, because for me what it catalogs is a lot of internalized racism and intense self-scrutiny, even self-loathing, that was related, but in an unacknowledged way, to race, to becoming aware of what it means or what it may look like being Asian in America.

Mary, one of the protagonists in the book, is a lot like me during my early college years. She is trying to exempt herself from certain aspects of her racial experience, which is something a person of color who has grown up steeped in white culture might well do. She also projects a lot of that scrutiny onto her male friends, who are also Asian-American, and who are her most real relationships despite all her affectionate energies poured toward an absent (white boy) lover. But although I gave Mary a lot of my own traits and experiences from that age, in some ways I also put her at a greater disadvantage, making her even more alienated than I was at the time.

There is a truth about a father that arises in Marys story; in my own life, I also learned a truth about my father, though a little earlier, in my adolescence. Mary does not arrive at any emotional resolution about this or her other affections. For me, the story is a sort of time capsule of a period of disconnection and an emotional what-if as if someones emotional bearing continued along that path. In my real life, however, some of the events and relationships I drew from to write the story have continued, resurfaced, even evolved in wondrous ways.

Memory also constantly changes memories. I dont perceive things in the same way that I did when I was writing those stories. So, I might say Im also glad I captured what I did when I did, with the particular sensitivity I had in that period toward those insecurities, desires, melancholies, et cetera. Reading back, some of it is entertaining, even humorous, to reencounter. The second story, Walruses, for instance, has a lot of very real, sometimes quietly absurd, details that occurred during a time that felt to me psychically gray, slightly harrowing, and formative. The story captures all that for me while riding its own fictional currents.

On the subject of self-archiving: Did the autobiographical elements in The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys feel like a prelude to the personal explorations in your later work? Have your feelings toward these experiences changed in the process of recasting them as fiction, nonfiction, or poetry?

Pieces of me are laced throughout these stories, no doubt, and a sort of self-traveloging reverberates throughout my work. I am most certainly an interior-oriented writer who uses the self as an ongoing repository. But none of it is precisely or wholly me, and in my day-to-day life, Im actually a private person, not too prone to sharing. But I am interested in the mind and memory as material, and this is a tactic I employ even as a fiction writer. Perhaps my fundamental interest, really, is perceptions and how we string them into patterns by which we tell ourselves stories or try to make sense of living. I am always, always aware of every memory, every story, being a result of choices in perception and construction.

With We Were Meant To Be a Gentle People and my work since, Ive started dealing more directly with perception, constructing the self/identity, constructing meaning, and simultaneously, questioning it all. Ive started questioning the factors that feed into our perceptions and how they are retained as memory, as history, and so forth. In my writing life in my mid-30s and on, it may seem I dropped the artifice of fiction, to wrestle more directly with the material itself but this is not to say construction and artifice are not still a part of the process.

Another common element in these works is the word gentle (which appears in two titles) and the bent of the long titles themselves. None of this was conscious, but I do think something is hinted at in those titles. From the Gentle Order stories to the hybrid elements of We Were Meant To Be a Gentle People and the Somewhere book, a gentling an acuteness of perception definitely plays a part. In all the works, I see threads about looking closely, about heeding the small, about seeking an order to the pieces of ones life.

The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys features narratives from three very different Vietnamese-American mothers. Has your relationship with these fictional mothers changed over time, as youve raised your own son into a young adult? Do you find yourself identifying more or less with any of the mothers in this novel?

These mothers span different degrees of remove from their Vietnamese backgrounds, no doubt, and it is maybe only in the Interlude between the second and third stories that the specter of Vietnam looms visibly. I feel the most empathy for the mother in that piece and the ways in which she navigates her trauma distantly, through so many omissions and orders her present life to be as small and manageable as possible. Some of her tendencies I look at with affection the covering of everything in plastic, the appliances never used for their designated functions, details Ive observed in many refugee households while also aware of the role of disruptive trauma in ones past, that can underlie such habits, which Im aware exist in myself, too, truthfully.

I dont remember how it came to me anymore, but somehow the impulse arose to give that mother a child who would look at her only as a mother, his harbor and anchor, who in his child innocence would not know how to read her except through a lens of love. This seemed like a grace to offer that mother, and maybe to offer the book as a whole too. Its also apt that, in a book designated to consist of four stories narrated through womens voices, I would break my own rules and drop in a fifth story from a young males viewpoint I have a hard time staying inside the lines, once a frame is drawn. It also felt fitting to imagine this male figure who was connected and yet different from the mother and sisters, maybe a little more at ease in himself (he also is not a refugee, but second-generation born in the United States), and who would be nothing but good-natured toward them. The female protagonists in all the other stories are to some degree displaced from their birthland. Maybe I was forecasting a type of male emotional capacity I wanted these women characters to encounter.

The mother Im perhaps closer in experience to is Sage, in the last story, who is mixed-race and completely estranged from her cultural background. Though she has traits in common with me, I made her more rootless, more displaced from her Vietnamese-ness than I am. One of my favorite mothering scenes in the book comes when Sage arrives at a party (after she and her friends have marched in an antiwar rally) to find her son delighting in being wrapped up in a string of green Christmas lights. When I reread that moment, I am still transported, still pleasantly disarmed by how the children light up the page and imbue the story with a kind of gentle surreality. This sits in subtle counterpoint to the adult navets and interpersonal confusions also at play in the story.

Do you and your son talk about your own memories of Vietnam? As a third-generation Vietnamese American, how does he process your shared or un-shareable experiences?

My son over the years has spent a lot of time reading over my shoulder. Ive made it a point to let him know about our past, especially my parents. He knows that his grandparents were writers, that his grandfather spent a decade in the communist reeducation camps, that erasure and trauma have been a part of our history, and that Ive been trying, in my art, to reconnect and reconcile with that history, its estrangements and echoes.

Inherited trauma is very real, and I believe that part of learning to live with it is being able to recognize it. I grew up with parents who believed it necessary to sever from the past, which was not uncommon for the first generation. I wanted to give my son what I didnt have: a sense of access to the past and, hopefully, to a different kind of future as well. I took my son back to Vietnam when he was 15, and we are going again now, when he is 20. I am sharing my journeys with him, but Im also aware he has his own journey and will integrate the past however he needs and chooses to, if at all. My simplest hope is that he should know where and what he comes from, while on a personal level be able to see the grace and resilience that lie behind him he has grandparents, for instance, who have lived remarkable lives, who made difficult and selfless choices in the face of crises. I cant know, of course, what my son really feels or will do with this information, but I hope in the end that he will draw strength from it.

Meghan Lamb is the author of All of Your Most Private Places (Spork Press, 2020) andSilk Flowers(Birds of Lace, 2017).

Continued here:
Artifice Is Part of the Process: An Interview with Dao Strom - lareviewofbooks

Artist Jorge Larrea is known in Montclair to alumni of Northeast Elementary as their beloved former art teacher. Larrea has also had his work One featured at Montclair Public Library. Now Larrea will have his first solo exhibition, opening this Thursday when Clerestory Fine Art presents Awake in Dreams: The Visual Immersions of Jorge Larrea.

Awake in Dreams features large oil paintings meticulously rendered with geometric and organic shapes, creating dreamlike worlds where human figures intertwine with their surroundings. Larrea sat down with Baristanet to share more about his Ecuadorian background and the influences of Renaissance painting on his surreal compositions.

Where are you from? And what was your upbringing like?

I grew up in an upper middle class family in Quito, Ecuador. I went to eight different schools because I was expelled from so many of them. My grandmother called me rebel without a cause.

What was your first brush(!) with art making?

When I was in Pre- K, this kindergarten boy had his work chosen for a show in school. I remember it was a bull-fighter, done with all these amazing colors. I was so in awe of him, he became my herohe was probably five. Since then, I wanted to be able to create art. When I was 10, my mother signed me up for art classes downtown. I would take the bus from home, by myself, a couple times a week. I remember my first painting was a lake; I loved drawing the waves in the water.

Whose art has influenced or intrigued you?

Salvador Dali I love his work. I love his imagination, skill, the technique he used, the colors. When I came to the United States and enrolled in art classes, I loved the Renaissance masters. Eventually when I studied surrealism in college, I tried to apply that concept, painting without thinking. But then I remember buying my first canvases and I said, okay, Im going to try what the surrealists did and see what happens.

What is your experience with teaching? How has it impacted your work?

Teaching, especially elementary school students, made me more playful. Seeing in kids the joy of creating constantly reminded me to just do it without a lot of overthinking or planning ahead.

And if you ask the kids at Northeast, their favorite class was art. It was awesome to be able to teach their favorite subject.

How did you begin to synthesize philosophical language with your art? Was it a conscious choice, or did it just happen?

Everything in nature has evolution. What Im expressing as an artist has to do with what lifes all about. Feeling organisms, thinking organisms and spiritual organisms, and how we are connected with the whole. We are all one with the universe, Mother earth.

Some of your pieces are filled with extremely intricate line work; how do you create these structures?

When I was a kid, I remember my mom showing me the veins on leaves. Veins are everywhere, in tree trunks and fruits, in our skin, in the sky, water and sand. So thats when I began to feel like we are all interconnected. When I paint, I want to feel and show those connections. All of those lines show me the energy of life, and also how veins and roots and nerves and electrical charges, are all speaking to each other.

Can you talk about your symbolism and use of color?

When youre sitting in front of a dark painting and feel melancholic and sad or maybe introverted, and then you take 10 steps to the right and see a yellow and red painting and feel uplifted and happy thats when I understood how wonderful color was.

I learned from Dali how images can convey so much. How they can connect our minds to our subconscious, how you can be reminded of dreams or different states of mind.

When these symbols come onto the paper or the canvas, I want them to have the right colors. Its about the power of color as energy and the power of the symbols to say so much about our inner selves.

Is there a piece from the show you are most excited about or has an interesting backstory?

My largest painting Will is also the one that took me the longest. The reason why its probably my favorite is because it embodies my philosophy and also my influences. The colors are very much like Latin American colors, very strong, very powerful and all balanced, as rich as possible. The influence of the Renaissance, the linear perspective, the balance, and the human figures are very idealized.

I use the symbol of the sperm because it could be in the animal world, in nature, in human life. It represents the wheel of life, the ability to become something else, to create something new.

You always need to overcome things. You always need to overpower certain things. You always need to compete with others. And competition is necessary because without it, there is no evolution.

What advice do you have for young artists?

When I teach, I noticed how kindergarten kids make art without thinking, without ego, without looking at each other. They just do. Then, the older they get, the more self conscious, the more fearful they become. They are afraid to show weaknesses or to be bad. The advice I would have for all ages is like the Nike Ad, just do it. Dont think about it. Just see what happens without comparing yourself. Competition is great, as long as its healthy and natural. The competition comes after the fact of doing it. You dont want to do something to compete, you want to compete as you do.

Clerestory Fine Art presents Awake in Dreams: The Visual Immersions of Jorge Larrea, March 12April 24, 2020. Meet Larrea at an opening reception on Thursday, March 12 from 7-9 p.m. Additional public programming will accompany the exhibition, including an evening featuring both stand-up comedy and Clerestorys widely popular silent disco, kids tours, a special tour for high school students, artist talks in both Spanish and English, and an Art and Finance panel discussion geared towards budding collectors. For more information, visit the Clerestory Fine Art website and follow on Instagram.

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Conversation With Jorge Larrea: "Awake In Dreams" Solo Exhibition at Clerestory Fine Art - Baristanet

SBL continues to push the boundaries of the classic supply chain model and commits to minimizing the company's carbon footprint within five years.

CLIFTON, N.J. (PRWEB) March 16, 2020

On March 13, 2020, Glenn Langberg, CEO of Seaman's Beverage and Logistics (SBL), announced that the company would be carbon neutral by 2025. As a rapidly growing logistics and outsourcing provider, SBL has become increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of modern logistics operators.

Recently named to the NJBIZ Fast 50 for the third consecutive year, the Entrepreneur 360 list, and the Inc. 500 in 2019, SBL continues to challenge the classic supply chain model. Last year, Seaman's had a shipping accuracy rate of 99.9%. Adept at leveraging and broadening producer relationships, streamlining costs, and growing profitability for its clients throughout the United States, Seaman's is also a market leader in outsourcing services. The company's commitment to green logistics is a natural evolution for its premier logistics, warehousing, back-office, outsourcing, and last mile services in the New Jersey and New York regions.

The carbon-neutral initiative by Seaman's Beverage and Logistics will include the installation of photovoltaic solar panels, a transition to energy-efficient lighting, a complete migration to electric vehicles, and the transformation of the current warehouse to a Net Zero energy building able to supply and sustain its own power over the course of a year.

"We want Seaman's Beverage and Logistics to be a differentiator in its industry, distinguished by a first-class logistics strategy and active membership in the global business community," said Langberg. "SBL is fully committed to adopting environmentally responsible and sustainable practices that will complement its commitment to operational excellence."

For the original version on PRWeb visit: https://www.prweb.com/releases/seamans_beverage_and_logistics_sbl_announces_the_company_will_be_carbon_neutral_by_2025/prweb16982653.htm

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Seaman's Beverage and Logistics (SBL) Announces the Company Will be Carbon Neutral by 2025 - Benzinga

However, you only need to read a few trading reports coming out of multi-national organisations, observe the chaos in the travel industry, and see your own stocks and shares rapidly plummet in value to appreciate the level of turmoil that COVID-19 is having on the economy. I work with over a thousand challenger food brands where many of the founders are understandably concerned about the impact of the pandemic on their business and livelihoods.

As I type this, I receive an email from Propel info news with the subject line Coronavirus hits high-street football by 26% as if to prove the point.

At Young Foodies we are facing the challenge head on so we can help our brands through what may be a difficult few months ahead. We have already kicked off crisis planning with regular community calls and webinars, ensuring small businesses feel supported and are given up-to-the-minute expert guidance.

Things are volatile right now and the mood in the community is that of understandable concern, but the very entrepreneurial spirit that brought them into business in the first place, is what is truly shining through. And its wonderfully inspiring.

There is an unbelievable amount of noise in the market at present and so what we need now more than anything else is positivity and collaboration. As a community we share an upbeat, positive outlook. In fact I see a few positive longer term impacts:

Accelerating online growth We are already seeing online delivery and e-commerce demand go through the roof as more of the population works from home and stockpiling restrictions come into play. We are hearing through our network that online demand has increased by over 100% in one week in some cases.

This poses major operational challenges for many of the online grocers, marketplaces, and logistics providers supporting them. As an example, Ocado has had to take down its app and other online retailers are experiencing delivery delays. Observing this stress-test is painful right now but we will need to wait to see the longer-term uplift for these operators. The message here is that if you sell through online channels, or are considering creating a new online channel, now is the time to make the most of it but you will need to ensure you have the delivery capability to cope with the execution. In the longer term, if done well, e-commerce could become a highly successful DTC sales strategy.

The rise of the responsibly built business I feel like Ive been preaching for years about the need to build solid businesses, not just building them at speed. It is at times like these that those brands built on weaker foundations may struggle most. Use this unprecedented market challenge as the catalyst for more positive behaviours and procedures. The pursuit of revenue over profit and businesses that require excessive external financing to remain a going concern may be encouraged to critically assess their business operations to release margin points and reduce overheads. Although some of this may involve the difficult decision to make the business leaner by reducing head count where necessary, the long-term view is a more stable well-run business ready to capitalise on opportunities when the time comes.

Trust jumps into the driving seat Whilst traditional shopping habits have temporarily been abandoned for panic-driven stockpiling, trust that they will return to a more stable state. Trust plays an increasingly important role in buying decisions. The evolution of the conscious consumer has forced brands to demonstrate their business beliefs outwardly and demonstrate authenticity in their statements.

With the ubiquitous fear and anxiety now gripping global populations, trust and loyalty will be even more important for those looking to prosper when the dust settles.

Ultimately, the consumer is still there, they are just behaving differently for the time being, so its not time to be reactive and completely change strategy, but rather re-direct, re-purpose and be prepared for all eventualities. Fortunately for the community, Young Foodies Brexit preparations will prove useful as we have already conducted risk assessments based on uncertainty.

Originally posted here:
How small brands are rising to the Coronavirus challenge | News - Speciality Food

Kids dressing habits in India have witnessed a paradigm shift. What used to be regular, basic outfi ts a few years ago have now transformed into full fashion lines, often of premium luxury. IMAGES Business of Fashion takes a look at the market dynamics of one of the fastest growing sectors of fashion retail kidswear.

Growth Drivers

From a basic need-based industry dominated by unorganised retail, kidswear in India has traversed a long trajectory to become an evolving fashion and style category. This paradigm shift, in the recent past has been triggered chiefly by the increase in income and changing lifestyle of modern parents; the result being a perpetual desire to keep kids in sync with latest trends. When it comes to kidswear, India is bestowed with a long list of unique, innate advantages. Along with a promising economic outlook, the nation has the distinct advantage of a growing kids population which, coupled with an increasing discretionary spending on kids has been successful in making India the global hotspot for kidswear fashion. Today, the market for childrens fashion is fast becoming one of the most profitable segments in the entire fashion retail industry in India. The opportunities in the Indian kidswear industry has also attracted a long list of international retail bigwigs, all who have rushed in to grab their share of the market pie.

Changes in the composition and structure of Indian families have also been instrumental in boosting the growth of this industry. The rise of the nuclear family in urban India with a double income has resulted in increased disposable income and hence enhanced purchasing power, with parents willing to shell out money to buy clothes for their children. This has given immense opportunity to retailers at all levels and geographical regions to expand their market and what has largely been an unorganised retail sector is slowly organising and modernising itself at a rapid pace.

In India, about 78 percent of the kidswear market is still unorganised and this is where the scope lies for the segment in coming years. Kidswears share will grow rapidly as the segment increasingly gets organised. Innumerable factors like the average age of the India population, global exposure, spending power and increasing number of working women will influence the Indian kidswear market to a large extent in coming years, says Kavita Mallick, Head of Business, MiniKlub.

Modern parents and children are much more aware and conscious of what they are wearing and how they look when they step out of the house. Along with the growth in Indias purchasing power, there has been a steady rise in the number of image conscious parents who want to dress their children as per their definitions of fashion.

The kidswear market in India has witnessed seismic changes in the last few years both product and consumer wise. The growth of the kidswear category is primarily due to an increase in the income and changing lifestyle of modern parents parents want their kids to stay on trend. This has given retailers an opportunity to expand their market across various geographies and demographics. Changes in the composition and structure of Indian families have also been instrumental in boosting the growth of this industry. The rise of the nuclear family in urban India has resulted in increased purchasing power, with parents now willing to spend more, reveals Manish Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Pepe Jeans India.

Frequent socialising and the influence of Social Media facilitated by the penetration of the Internet in the country too has been instrumental in bolstering the aspirations of progressive parents, which in turn has helped the entire segment with impetus.

Additionally, with changing lifestyles, there is also a need-based demand stemming from more frequent socialising amongst new age parents. Movies/music and easy to access social media platform are also influencing their tastes. As families travel often and have increased fashion awareness, the tastes of parents and kids are evolving, adds Manish Kapoor.

Kids are Decision Makers

Parents brand awareness and inclination towards high quality apparel has even trickled down to the kids as well, who have now emerged as a new independent buyer group altogether. The modern generation of kids is no more like their erstwhile peers; they are righteously more demanding and exhibits an increasing say in purchase decisions.

Children today are increasingly becoming aware of their needs, prevailing trends and have their own say when it comes to buying decisions. They are perhaps more demanding and are not interested in merely functional outfits or hand me downs from older siblings. Kids as young as three years are not only curious about fashion choices but also like to have a say on what they would like to wear. This evolution of kids as consumers have changed the way brands perceived and operated in this space and has given way for newer trends the Mini Me trend and character-based apparel being the foremost, says Manish Kapoor.

Echoing similar sentiments Kavita Mallick states that kids cross the age group of 5-6 years are actively influencing the purchase decision all across the globe. Alok Dubey, CEO, Lifestyle Brands Division, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited the Indian partners of The Childrens Place, the largest pure-play childrens specialty apparel retailer in North America credits this awareness to the rampant penetration of mass media.

Todays kids are smart and are highly aware about the latest trends. They are outspoken in their wants and needs and fashion is no exception. The advent of TV and mobiles has exposed them to the latest styles and owing to greater purchasing power, parents have no qualms in complying with these needs, he explains.

This evolution of kids as consumers have changed the way brands perceived and operated in this space and has given way for newer trends.

A Pricing Sensitive Segment

India has always been a price sensitive market and this disposition has never been more apparent than when consuming kidswear. Kids outgrow their clothes considerably fast and hence, parents have always preferred to stick to the southern end of the price spectrum.

Indian market is a price sensitive one. Our pricing strategy definitely takes this into consideration. We consider The Childrens Place as a masstige brand and ensure that theres something available for everyone at our stores. The starting price of our products is Rs 399 and we intend to keep the pricing inclusive to all, confirm Alok Dubey.

Yes absolutely, India is a price sensitive market and especially in kidswear, we have noticed that price sensitivity among parents changes as per kids age. Nevertheless, we have to ensure affordable product pricing for our consumers. We off er multi-pack for infants to add value to purchase and off er sets and single to make it affordable for babies and kids range, says, Kavita Mallick.

Predatory pricing and deep discounting has, without a doubt, heralded a thorough transformation in Indias consumer landscape in the recent years. The feeding frenzy that deals, sales coupons, app discounts, et al., has become today stands as a testimony to the monumental influence of discounting as a strategy in India. And for new and emerging players in the game, the proverbial race to off er the lowest price possible has now become a tradition.

Parents are definitely discount conscious. The recent e-commercetrend of deep discounting has made the customer attuned to promotions and off ers. That being said, given the rise of image conscious middle-class parents, weve seen great response and increased sales during non-promotion period too, i.e., season launch or new collection launch as well, affirms Alok Dubey.

Entry of International Brands

This promising nature of the kidswear segment has attracted many international brands into India. And considering the fact that an inherent part of an Indians genetic makeup is his affinity towards anything foreign, we can only wonder what it is for domestic businesses at the butt end of this uncanny phenomenon.

International brands are able to off er better quality, globally trending styles and aspirational products to customers at great prices. These factors have contributed to greater affinity towards international brands. In order to grow, domestic brands will have to focus on quality, designs and pricing to compete against international players, states Alok Dubey.

On the other hand, most domestic brands have the advantage of understanding the countrys climatic conditions and an appreciation of regional choices. Home grown brands always leverage on the understanding that they have of the diverse taste of the Indian consumer. This is always is an advantage and can potentially be a big differentiator in winning the market, says Kavita Mallick.

A fair section of experts also believe that the entry of these brands has been instrumental in high expansion of the overall market and bolstering efficiencies of the domestic players. And, of course, the biggest beneficiary has been the Indian consumer, who, over the long term, will get better quality products at lower prices in a better shopping environment.

Absolutely! These international brands have pushed homegrown brands to up their game to compete with them thereby helping the market flourish as a whole, adds Kavita Mallick.

Conclusion

In this digital age, small clothes have proven to be big business. Owing to the growth potential of the kidswear segment, many international brands have entered India in last few years.With emergence of e-commerce, markets that were unknown or unreachable have opened up, thus boosting growth of kidswear in India. As kids are graduating into consumers earlier than before, brands now increasingly want to shimmy up to them, engendering hitherto unseen growth opportunities for all players across the sector right from brand owners, suppliers, to distributors and retailers. Brands that are steadfast on getting it right will have to do so with the right product assortment, distribution channels, better visual merchandising, and focused advertising and promotional strategies.

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The coming of age of kidswear retail in India - India Retailing

The prolific Lord Fellowes returns with this six-part adaptation of his own novel (for ITV), a niftily-wrought yarn (originally issued in online instalments) about the old aristocracy and the rise of new money in the early 19th Century. Some are inevitably calling it the new Downton, but it really isnt.

Fellowes, the assiduous social historian, has planted his story firmly in factual soil. It opens at a pivotal moment in the Napoleonic Wars, when the Duchess of Richmond held her celebrated ball at her temporary home in Brussels on 15 June, 1815. This was days before the battle of Waterloo, which finally kiboshed the great expectations of the Little Corporal and in due course ushered in a new age of peace and prosperity.

The seeds of the ensuing drama are sown in the feverish preparations for the climactic battle, as the Duke of Wellington (a convincingly imperious Nicholas Rowe) is forced to cut short his supper to meet the threat of Napoleons forces, advancing at unexpected speed towards Brussels. He briskly summons his officers, as well as James Trenchard (Philip Glenister), his esteemed victualler (or quartermaster), and sets off to prepare for battle. Wellington, much impressed with Trenchards skill in keeping his army fed and watered, refers to Trenchard as the magician, and predicts a bright future for him in the post-war world though he adds a warning that Trenchard should not let himself be distracted by the frivolous geegaws of society life (pictured below, Nicholas Rowe, Tamsin Greig and Philip Glenister).

Fellowes loves a bit of class friction, so much more nuanced than actual warfare, and the motor of his story here is the corrosive effect of social overreach. Trenchard and his wife Anne (Tamsin Greig, bang on the money) represent the rise of the middle classes (shes a schoolmasters daughter). While James has a thick skin and a robust, can-do attitude that enables him to barge through social barriers (Glenister describes his character as a cross between Donald Trump and Del Boy), Anne is acutely conscious of where the social tripwires lie. She is particularly concerned for the welfare of her daughter Sophia (Emily Reid), who has tumbled into an infatuation with handsome young cavalry officer, Lord Bellasis (Jeremy Neumark Jones). Sophia thinks its a mutual love-match. Anne thinks her daughter is being taken for a ride.

Fast-forward 26 years, and James has formed a spectacularly successful partnership with the master builder Thomas Cubitt, with whom he has helped to create such defining icons of Londons evolution as Gordon Square, Tavistock Square and the titular Belgrave Square (this spangled city for the rich, as Harriet Walters Lady Brockenhurst would have it). Its a new age of affluence and galloping social expansion, but our characters (for all their apparent success) are living in the shadow of misjudgements and a particularly cynical con-trick carried out all those years ago.

Fellowess sense of the way great sorrows follow us around like a suffocating shroud is keenly drawn, and the encounters between Anne Trenchard, Lady Brockenhurst and the elderly Duchess of Bedford (Naomi Frederick), looking back at a past in which their experiences overlapped far more than theyd realised, were powerfully affecting. And that was only episode one...

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Belgravia, ITV review - when the toffs and the nouveaux riches collided - The Arts Desk

Commenting on the latest CPI Basket of Goods and Services Annual Review from the ONS,Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer markets at KPMG, said: The changes in the ONS basket of goods and services offers up a fascinating look at how the consumer landscape is evolving. Whilst not explicitly reflective of increased spend in any particular product or service, the metric seeks to capture consumer price inflation more accurately.

The inclusion of gluten free cereal echoes the growing prominence of health conscious consumers, as well as efforts to increase product diversification. Im sure weve all walked around the supermarket to see that specialist healthier alternatives have been given a more prominent position in recent years. Testament to the growth potential being chased by many consumer businesses and the efforts to diversify product ranges, KPMGsown analysisrevealed that that the health and wellness segment continues to outperform the wider food and drink sector, in terms of both margin and corporate deals activity.

The balance between convenience and more eco-conscious consumption also get a look in this year. On one hand, we saw the addition of reusable bottles and mugs, reflective of consumers looking to cut down on single-use plastic. But stressing the fact that convenience is still highly prised in certain categories, we saw cocktails in a can make it to the checkout. The pressure on consumer-businesses to offer up convenience whilst doing so in an environmentally-friendly manner will be a key playing field in the coming years. Winning businesses will be those that can find a great solution, not an uncomfortable compromise.

In terms of technological changes, its unsurprising that items continue to shift quickly such is the lifespan of tech these days. More effort has been made to capture computer games more accurately, given how volatile their pricing is. Whats more, it varies considerably across gaming platforms too, so the ONS has now defined games by platform. Not only does this illustrate how pricing around tech can be hard to pin down over time, but its also reflective of a wider shift within consumer markets the move towards the platform or ecosystem mentality.

In terms of removals, it is unsurprising to see MP4 players replaced with a more widely-defined portable music player. Todays consumers hardly distinguish between their smart phone and a separate music player. Similarly, it was unsurprising to see shifts in what meat cuts made it into shopping baskets. Imported legs of lamb were removed to reflect low expenditure, whilst beef roasting joints were replaced with beef topside joints due to issues in distinguishing between meat cuts. This is also reflective of the fact that consumers are open to a wider variety of meat cuts, no doubt prompted by celebrity chefs. Meanwhile, the preference for locally sourced will undoubtedly have muted demand for imported items wherever possible.

The evolution of consumer shopping habits is critical for all consumer-focussed businesses. While these changes might be more reflective of the efforts to capture inflation more accurately, they send a clear message illustrating that consumer demand and taste are what ultimately determines growth.

Of course all of this pre-dates Covid-19, and the consumer desire to simply feed and look after the family in times of uncertainty is playing out strongly.No doubt, if the current buying trends continue, this will create a seismic shift in the next ONS Basket of Goods.

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Health, convenience and the environment shape the latest CPI basket of goods and services - Retail Times

By Robert Bernstein

SEC - A Viral Lecture: Understanding the World of Viruses and Outbreaks - Dr. Carolina Arias, Assistant Professor, UCSB Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology 3-11-20.

Dr Carolina Arias specializes in virus-host interactions in her UCSB research lab. We were fortunate that she was able to speak to us at the Science and Engineering Council about the current situation with the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Here are my photos from her talk.

Arias explained that we are exposed to viruses every day. They are constantly traveling the world. She expressed frustration that diseases like measles are on the rise due to misinformation by "anti-vaxxers".

She noted that Ebola is still happening. And she reminded us of the harm done by the Zika virus during its peak 2015-2017.

"Don't Panic!" That was her message that she took from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and wanted to convey to us.

Panic can be more damaging than the disease and it can make people do crazy things. We are seeing this now with the bizarre hoarding behavior in stores of items like toilet paper.

Arias offered this quote from two times Nobel Laureate Marie Curie: "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

Unfortunately, at this time we don't understand much. The situation is rapidly evolving. This virus was first discovered in December 2019.

So, what is a virus? Arias noted that she has two young children and they are constantly carrying them! A virus is a bit of genetic material encased by proteins.

She offered an image of an influenza virus.

Viruses are not living organisms. The Oxford English Dictionary says, "Life is the condition that distinguishes us from inorganic matter. The capacity for growth, reproduction and continual change preceding death."

Viruses need a host. Viruses are "obligate intracellular parasites". The virus hijacks the host cell to turn it into a virus factory. They are "pirates" of the cell and often kill the cell when they are done with it.

Viruses infect all kinds of organisms. Farm plants and animals, included. China last year had a pig virus that killed most of the pigs in China.

Have you ever seen a blue "roly poly" bug (or pillbug)? The blue is caused by an iridovirus that forms crystals on the surface.

Viruses can infect tobacco, yeasts, amoebas and bacteria. We are full of viruses that infect the bacteria in us. They outnumber the bacteria by ten to one.

Not all viruses cause disease.

Some viral diseases are common. For example, the common cold and herpes. Arias studies a specific herpes virus that infects the eye. The average adult gets 2-3 cases of the common cold each year. More for children.

We don't die of colds or herpes simplex.

Other viruses are rare. For example, rabies or West Nile Virus.

Sometimes, disease numbers rise in a certain area. This is called an "outbreak".

Last year there was a measles outbreak in Los Angeles County. One person exposed 500 people in a couple of classrooms. 100 of those could not show they had been vaccinated. It was controlled after it was identified.

Outbreaks can expand. An infected person may not be identified and may not seek medical attention.

An epidemic is defined as "an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time." A pandemic is an epidemic that has affected an entire country or the entire world.

As of March 11 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 is officially a pandemic. The day before it was officially calling it just an "outbreak"! Arias said that the delay in calling it a pandemic was more political than scientific.

What are coronaviruses? Coronaviruses are a large family that includes mild viruses like some common colds all the way to serious viruses like MERS.

20-30% of common colds are due to coronaviruses.

Despite some rumors, COVID-19 was not engineered in a lab! But some coronaviruses will mutate naturally.

The 2002 SARS outbreak was the first realization that coronaviruses could be serious. SARS had a 10% death rate. There were 8,000 cases of SARS. After containment there were no other cases except some sporadic ones.

The 2012-13 MERS outbreak was 30% fatal. There were 2,000 cases. Because it was so damaging to patients, most were in the hospital. They were able to infect some health care workers in the hospitals but they had little access to infecting others outside the hospitals.

COVID-19 is a bigger challenge because people can walk around infected for awhile without knowing they have it. Thereby infecting other members of the public.

This virus started out being called the "Wuhan Virus" because of where it was first observed. It was then called "Novel Coronavirus 2019". It is now called COVID-19, but the full official name is SARS-CoV-2. It is related to SARS. But it did not evolve naturally from SARS.

Coronaviruses can be spread by animals. COVID-19 started in an animal market in Wuhan, China. It began in bat populations. They don't die from it. They can in turn infect other animals that humans come in contact with more often.

In the case of SARS, the more common animal that was the intermediary was the civet cat in China. This animal was often eaten for food. The sale of civet cats was banned, but it continued in the black market.

MERS resides in dromedary camels. Human adult males are most likely to get MERS because of their interactions with these camels.

The current COVID-19 origin is still a mystery. We know it came specifically from the Wildlife Market in Wuhan. But the specific animal is not known. There was a rumor that pangolins were involved. That is now known to be incorrect.

COVID-19 is known to be carried by bats. That version is 96% similar to the human version. But the intermediary reservoir animal is not known.

The outbreak started close to New Year's Eve on December 31, 2019. It was observed to be a form of pneumonia with no known cause. The genome was sequenced and it was known in days to be a new coronavirus.

Looking back, we know that the first appearance of the first symptoms occurred in a patient in early December 2019.

Arias presented this timeline showing how fast this has happened: December 31 That mystery pneumonia January 7 Isolated with genome January 11 41 were known to be infected January 20 First US case January 30 WHO declared a Global Emergenc

Arias showed graphs of cases in China and outside China. Cases in China plateaued due to massive action there. But in the rest of the world it is still on the rise.

February 26 was the first US case of unknown origin, in California. This is worrisome because it means that people may carry it with little or no symptoms.

February 29 was the first US death.

March 6 Trump signed an $8 billion emergency spending bill. This should have happened earlier according to Arias.

The availability of tests affects reported cases. Testing will be based on symptoms, not on demand. Numbers are clearly not accurate now since so little testing has been done in the US.

COVID-19 is an RNA virus. This is error prone every time it replicates. Viruses don't care if lots of mistakes are made because so many are made. This makes it easy to trace by observing mutations. The rate of these mutations allows determination of how long it has been in a given population.

It is possible to look at the outer package of the COVID-19 virus to identify it.

California is one of the most affected states so far. Mostly in the north of the state so far. Washington State and New York State are also very much affected. It will keep spreading. As of the time of her talk, there were 1,000 US cases. 31 deaths. And 15 people who recovered.

The symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. That is not very descriptive. Common influenzas have the same symptoms.

2-14 days after being infected the symptoms appear.

It can be caught by being within 3-6 feet of someone with an active fever for more than two minutes. It is spread by droplets from coughing from deep in the lungs.

Just touching someone is not immediately a problem. It has to enter your body through eyes, nose or mouth. This is why it is important to wash hands frequently. Hand sanitizer is an alternative if hand washing is not possible. We unconsciously touch our faces and that is the problem. It helps to make a conscious effort not to touch our faces, but hand washing is more effective in practice.

Droplets will settle on surfaces and can spread from there. Think of it like a bad version of influenza. Surfaces can be sanitized with Clorox or Lysol.

The main complication of COVID-19 is pneumonia.

Why is it so severe? Most viruses thrive in the upper respiratory tract. This is true for the common cold and most versions of influenza.

But COVID-19 only thrives deep inside the lungs, in the alveoli. That is what it targets. This is by definition a form of viral pneumonia. Antibiotics do nothing to help.

So far COVID-19 seems to have a 2% mortality rate. In comparison SARS was 9.6% and MERS was 34%.

Pre-existing conditions make a big difference in the mortality rate for COVID-19. It is just 0.9% with none. Being old is itself a risk factor in addition to specific conditions.

There are no vaccines for this virus, nor for most viruses. Nor are there any antiviral agents for this one. In the case of influenza, it is possible to take the antiviral Tamiflu within 48 hours and it will shorten the case by about one day. There are also antiviral agents for HIV, herpes and hepatitis C.

There is an attempt now to repurpose antivirals for this disease. One that is being studied is Remdesivir. But it won't be soon enough to stop the spread for now. It has to be studied to determine if it works. If it does anything bad. And if it can be used prophylactically or if it can only be used as a treatment.

A vaccine will take a year or more to develop.

There are "super responder" patients who get the disease quickly but also clear it quickly from their bodies. It is good to study such people to get a clue about treatment. This helped with Ebola.

With regard to face masks, she advises against using them if you are healthy. You will end up putting your hands to your face more often if you are wearing a mask. That actually increases your risk of infection. Masks can be helpful if they are worn by those who are already infected to keep them from infecting others.

"Social Distancing" is effective. Avoid being close to other people. Avoid hand shaking and other unnecessary contact.

If you have a fever you should contact your health care provider. 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the threshold of concern. If you have a fever, please stay home.

She trusts what Anthony Fauci is saying at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The CDC also offers advice on how to survive while staying home during a quarantine.

Children will be OK if they get this disease. But it is important to make sure they don't pass it along to older people who are at risk. The Swiss government opted to keep schools open so the kids are not going to stay with their grandparents!

There are many unknowns right now. We don't know how long it can be transmitted after a person has had it. It takes days to get test results even if one can get tested. It is not even known if getting the disease gives permanent immunity. And we don't know what are the long term effects on the lungs or the rest of the body from getting this disease.

Someone asked Dr Arias if she had a favorite science fiction movie that was related to epidemics. She said that in fact the movie "Outbreak" got her into the field!

In summary, she said: Wash your hands Protect others by staying home if you are sick Wear a mask to protect others Avoid groups and unnecessary touching of others And Don't Panic!

I will add that this presentation was provided by the Science and Engineering Council of Santa Barbara. They host monthly talks on local technical innovation as well as providing scholarships and other services to encourage young people to go into science and engineering careers.

Here is more information about the Science and Engineering Council:https://www.scieng.org/

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Understanding the World of Viruses and Outbreaks - Santa Barbara Edhat