While we're rethinking everything, how would youbetter serveyouth in your community? SLJ is supporting a project to devise a new, crowdsourcedvision for libraries.

These timesIm sure plenty of us are rethinking a lot of things. The epidemic has turned life upside down and caused massive upheaval, culturally, politically, professionally, and personally, and that was before the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May sparked widespread protests and a national reckoning with systemic racism.

The opportunity to shake things up was not lost on Mega Subramaniam and Linda Braun. The two approached me early in May with a proposal. Their goal: To crowdsource a new vision for library services to youth and, with the help of volunteers, craft a practical plan for public libraries to put it into action. SLJ was all in to support it. (See COVID-19 Is an Opportunity To Rethink Youth Librarianship | Reimagining Libraries.

The way we did things before Subramaniam, an associate professor at the College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, mused, wasnt all that great. Indeed, a system, organizations, the way just about anything works can be improved. The pandemic provided time and space to reflect and devise a plan for a new, improved model of librarianship, which could then be applied as libraries reopened.

Has the project changed with the nations attention to racial oppression? The intended approach has always had an equity perspective, says Braun, a consultant with LEO (Librarians and Educators Online). Given the pandemic and injustice we are seeing in our country, we want to focus on nondominant youth, who could be kids of color, non-English speakers, LGBTQIA, and those lacking basic resources or technology access.

More than a hundred people signed up to join virtual gatherings, from which Subramaniam and Braun will synthesize the group work in succeeding posts on SLJ. The project will culminate in August with a phased plan for revamping youth librarianship.

The sessions, held via Zoom (two as of this writing), have been well attended, with librarians representing public, academic, and K12 institutions taking part. While Braun explicitly raised the crisis as a discussion point in one session, participants needed little prompting that way.

We are centering race in our decisions as we create virtual services and reopen for limited services, starting with programming aimed at families from underrepresented groups, offered Danielle Jones, a librarian at Multnomah County Library Hollywood branch in Portland, OR. This had been the librarys commitment, she told me. What has changed since the protests was that we let the community know what was guiding our decisions.

Multnomah has also adjusted its subscriptions, so that in-demand titles on racism, antiracism, and social justice would always be available to users. Jones adds, Kirby McCurtis [MCL regional manager and ALSC 2020-21 president-elect] and I are trying to turn a series we would teach about talking about racism with young children for primary caregivers into a self-guided online curriculum that we could do discussion groups around.

Tapping local partners can help libraries more effectively connect with their communities. Thats a challenge if library staff havent already established relationships with potential allies, says Braun. One PA library director she knows has used the pandemic as an opportunity to contact organizations that she had wanted to partner with but hadnt had the chance.

In practice, being the change you want to see in the world takes work. And it stands to reason that the more inclusive of ideas and varied perspectives you are throughout the journey, the better the outcome for your communities.

Its a good time to reach out.

Kathy Ishizuka Editor-In-Chief @kishizuka

Kathy Ishizukais editor in chief of School Library Journal.

Read more:
Reenvisioning Libraries. There's a Project for That. | From the Editor - School Library Journal

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., June 24, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) Great Speech, Inc., an online speech therapy company, saw a spike for service demand when the pandemic hit. Founder and Clinical Director, Avivit Ben-Aharon, MS Ed., MA CCC-SLP, also quickly realized that many consumers who desperately needed services, lacked the financial resources or insurance coverage to pay for online services.

With a strong desire to fill the void, Ben-Aharon along with her team of therapists, created a free resource library of how-to videos, eBooks and blogs with speech therapy exercises for children and adults.

The pandemic has highlighted the strong need for online speech therapy services, Ben-Aharon explained. Despite stay-at-home and stay-safe orders, we need to keep moving forward. Children who are out of school as well as seniors who are rehabbing from a health crisis such as a stroke, can quickly fall behind in their learning and/or recovery. These free learning and exercise resources empower people to continue to make communication improvements.

These free online speech therapy resources can help everyone from a child who stutters to an adult on the autism spectrum or a senior recovering from a traumatic brain injury. They are also ideal for the parent-turned-teacher for activities and exercises to practice at home. The technology really resonates with how more and more businesses are moving to remote and online operations.

The advantages of online speech therapy are endless. For example, a grandmother in Chicago who has suffered a stroke can connect online with a speech therapist from Houston, while her daughter in Cleveland monitors the session; or a therapist who moves out of town can still provide services to their clients and provide continuity of care.

Great Speechs highly-trained speech therapists provide effective techniques for everything from articulation and phonology to stuttering, voice therapy, aphasia and more. Each speech therapist holds a masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology; a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); and is licensed by various state licensing boards.

Since 2014, Great Speech, Inc. has been the pioneer in online speech therapy, delivering convenient and specialized services virtually. Its innovative approach leverages technology to match highly-qualified therapists with clients who are serious about their communication goals. Great Speech believes that everyone deserves the chance to communicate with ease and confidence. Great Speech is a proud recipient of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification.

For more information about one of the nations fastest growing online speech therapy practice and to access the free resource library, visit: https://greatspeech.com/

*LOGO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/20-0624s2p-greatspeech-logo-300dpi.jpg

MEDIA CONTACT: Karen S. Dennis for Great Speech, Inc. of KSD Public and Media Relations +1-305-527-8876 karensuedennis@gmail.com

News Source: Great Speech Inc.

Visit link:
National Online Speech Therapy Company Creates Free Resource Library in Response to Pandemic - Send2Press Newswire

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. /Florida Newswire/ Great Speech, Inc., an online speech therapy company, saw a spike for service demand when the pandemic hit. Founder and Clinical Director, Avivit Ben-Aharon, MS Ed., MA CCC-SLP, also quickly realized that many consumers who desperately needed services, lacked the financial resources or insurance coverage to pay for online services.

With a strong desire to fill the void, Ben-Aharon along with her team of therapists, created a free resource library of how-to videos, eBooks and blogs with speech therapy exercises for children and adults.

The pandemic has highlighted the strong need for online speech therapy services, Ben-Aharon explained. Despite stay-at-home and stay-safe orders, we need to keep moving forward. Children who are out of school as well as seniors who are rehabbing from a health crisis such as a stroke, can quickly fall behind in their learning and/or recovery. These free learning and exercise resources empower people to continue to make communication improvements.

These free online speech therapy resources can help everyone from a child who stutters to an adult on the autism spectrum or a senior recovering from a traumatic brain injury. They are also ideal for the parent-turned-teacher for activities and exercises to practice at home. The technology really resonates with how more and more businesses are moving to remote and online operations.

The advantages of online speech therapy are endless. For example, a grandmother in Chicago who has suffered a stroke can connect online with a speech therapist from Houston, while her daughter in Cleveland monitors the session; or a therapist who moves out of town can still provide services to their clients and provide continuity of care.

Great Speechs highly-trained speech therapists provide effective techniques for everything from articulation and phonology to stuttering, voice therapy, aphasia and more. Each speech therapist holds a masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology; a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); and is licensed by various state licensing boards.

About Great Speech, Inc.

Since 2014, Great Speech, Inc. has been the pioneer in online speech therapy, delivering convenient and specialized services virtually. Its innovative approach leverages technology to match highly-qualified therapists with clients who are serious about their communication goals. Great Speech believes that everyone deserves the chance to communicate with ease and confidence. Great Speech is a proud recipient of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification.

For more information about one of the nations fastest growing online speech therapy practice and to access the free resource library, visit: https://greatspeech.com/

News Source: Great Speech Inc.

More here:
National Online Speech Therapy Co, GreatSpeech, Creates Free Resource Library in Response to Pandemic - Florida Newswire

by Kate Bradshaw / Almanac

Uploaded: Wed, Jun 24, 2020, 11:41 am

With a planned surplus of only $1, the Menlo Park City Council voted Tuesday night, June 23, to finalize an unprecedentedly lean budget to start off the new fiscal year on July 1.

The budget, which the council deliberated over through the course of 10 meetings since April, will yet likely need more revisions in the months to come, said City Manager Starla Jerome Robinson.

With so much in the air about what revenues the city may be taking in in the coming year, as well as what services the city will be permitted to provide and under what circumstances, there are still a lot of unknowns, she acknowledged. She said she anticipated regular check-ins with the council to make modifications to the budget as the 2020-21 fiscal year progresses.

In the budget adopted June 23, the city dipped into its reserves by $390,000 and cut overall staffing by 15%, or the full-time equivalent of 43.5 workers. Overall, the budget cuts are resulting in a loss of 16 regular and more than 50 temporary staff members, according to Jerome Robinson.

Across all city funds, the city plans to bring in $137.92 million in revenue and spend $126.12 million. The $11.8 million surplus all resides in restricted funds that can't be spent for other purposes, explained Assistant Administrative Services Director Dan Jacobson in a staff report. In its operating budget, the city aims to bring in $56.43 million in general fund and other revenue and spend $56.43 million.

The new budget cuts merged the Community Services and Library departments, which are now led by Sean Reinhart, who was promoted to lead Community Services in addition to being Library Services Director. Derek Schweigart, who until recently was Community Services Director, was laid off immediately, according to city staff.

The new budget also cuts $2.46 million from the Police Department. These cuts resulted in the layoffs of six sworn police officers and the elimination of the city's traffic unit, proactive gang and narcotics investigations and daytime parking enforcement. The number of full-time staff members in the police department will fall from 76.5 to 61.5, according to the city's online budget.

In addition, the council voted to cancel an order for a mobile command center, set to cost about $450,000, that it had approved back in November. It was partially grant-funded, but the city is expected to get about $319,000 back for its general fund, according to Councilwoman Betsy Nash.

The council also opted to keep several programs that had been threatened in previous budget discussions. The city will treat the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center and Onetta Harris Community Center equally, with services being opened up on equal terms whenever the city can get the green light to do so safely. The city won't withdraw from the Peninsula Library System after all.

At a protest held in Belle Haven last week, however, it was clear that because of the overall staffing cuts, which hit temporary and part-time workers, the Menlo Park Senior Center and Onetta Harris facilities will be losing staff members. Both facilities remain closed for now for public health reasons. The new adopted budget cuts the city's library and community services department to 59 full-time employees, from 71.

The city will also keep and reopen its child care programs at the Menlo Children's Center at the Burgess Park campus and the Belle Haven Child Development Center as soon as possible, with a $500 per month tuition increase at the Menlo Children's Center. The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to also send a letter to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors asking for support and consideration of an idea to use the city's child care centers as teaching centers for early childhood educators in the county.

In negotiations leading up to finalizing the budget, two of the city's labor bargaining units, the AFSCME and SEIU units representing municipal employees and service workers, respectively agreed to defer their contractually promised cost of living adjustments and freeze the increase in the city's cost share rates for its pension contributions through the CalPERS system.

The city's police-related bargaining units, the Police Officers Association and the Police Sergeants Association, did not negotiate and kept their promised raises. Starting July 5, police recruits, officers and corporals will receive a raise of 3.5% and police sergeants a raise of 4.41%, according to a staff report.

One of the lengthy discussion points the council worked through Tuesday night was whether to set aside an additional $1 million in reserve funding to help smooth over some of the deep cuts and acknowledge future needs, as proposed by Councilman Ray Mueller. "We've really cut to the bone on this budget," he said.

He said he envisioned those funds going toward things the city will need to tackle in the coming year: exploring whatever policy ideas come from expected discussions about race and social equity in the coming months, adopting to-be-determined changes to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing the work of creating a new climate action plan and starting the work of updating the city's housing element, as it is required to do.

Councilwoman Catherine Carlton said she wanted to see that additional amount be smaller, because it felt "awkward" to set aside that amount now, after the council had been so unwilling to dip into its reserves throughout the budgeting process. A majority of council members voted the idea down, with Carlton, Nash and Mayor Cecilia Taylor opposed.

Access the budget online here.

Read more:
Menlo Park's adopted budget cuts 'to the bone' - The Almanac Online

Deb Cryderman, the Director at the Grande Prairie Public Library, says its nice to finally re-open.

Wembley Fire

Fire in shed at Wembley Arena deemed suspicious

Missing 26-year-old man

High Prairie RCMP seeking assistance in locating missing man

Hospital

AHS gets keys to Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Friday

We are extremely excited to have the public back in our space. Weve missed everyone so much, its been over 100 days since the publics been in the library. We worked really hard to make sure that when we did re-open, that we would do it in the safest way possible, both for our staff and the public. We are really looking forward to it.

While the library will be re-opened next Thursday, things will look different than normal.

The library is turning itself into what it calls the GPPL Express.

The GPPL Express will be housed in the Librarys Rotary Community Room and will provide a much smaller library experience.

We will have a curated collection of our materials in that room, explained Cryderman. It will have a small, browsing library that well just let a few people in at a time to visit and borrow from and well do it as safe as we can.

Cryderman says that if the book youre looking for isnt on the shelf, but is available online according to the librarys website, the staff could grab it for you.

Once reopened on July 2, no tables or computers will be available at the library for use and you are asked to grab your books and leave once you have rented them out. She adds that a maximum of seven people will be allowed inside the library at a time, this includes staff.

Books that are returned to the library will be placed under a three-day quarantine before being allowed back onto the shelves. Cryderman explained that based on research, this is the best method theyve come up with.

All of the studies that we have read have said that after three days theres no evidence of viruses on both paper and plastic covered books. We feel quite confident that after that time, people should be quite safe.

For those that are still hesitant going inside the library, the library says that it plans to keep programs like curbside pick up available for its members.

Cryderman tells EverythingGP that the library will gradually begin to expand and open its operations further.

As we determine how to do something safely, well open that up to the public. We are looking at access to computers and access to in-person reference services next, to allow people to have access to both of those and then well slowly re-open the main facility as well.

Cryderman says that no deadlines or timelines have been set for when the gradual reopening of the facility could continue.

The library will be open at reduced hours, Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

By

Wembley Fire

Fire in shed at Wembley Arena deemed suspicious

The Wembley Fire Department says it has evidence that a fire at the Source Energy Arena and Recreation Centre Wednesday afternoon is suspicious.The fire started in a shed on the south side of the arena around 3 p.m. Wednesday. According to Deputy Chief of Training and Logistics with the County of Grande Prairie Regiona...

By

city facilities

Eastlink, Coca Cola Centre and outdoor pool to begin phased reopening July 6

The City has announced changes to the Eastlink Centre, Coca Cola Centre, and outdoor pool as they begin a phased reopening on July 6.The Eastlink Centre's hours will change to being open Monday to Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and then open again in the evening from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will be open from 6:...

By

COVID-19 UPDATE

New COVID-19 case identified in Big Lakes County area

The Big Lakes County area added a new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as the province of Alberta added 44 new cases for June 24.The case in Big Lakes County is the lone active case reported in the area that includes the Town of High Prairie. The one other change among Peace Country municipalities in Wednesday's update f...

Originally posted here:
Grande Prairie Public Library set to re-open on July 2 with GPPL Express - EverythingGP

Yorks biggest libraries are set to reopen early next month and a new reading caf will open its doors for the first time too.

The libraries at York Central, Acomb, Clifton and Tang Hall will open from Tuesday, 7 July, but on a pre-booked basis only.

Explores brand new caf in Hungate will open for the first time on the same day.

The reading cafs at Rowntree Park and Homestead Park open on 6 July. All will be serving drinks and snacks to take away and enjoy outside.

The mobile library will be back too, but the rest of the smaller libraries will remain closed during this first stage.

Opening hours at the libraries will be from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For mobile stops and caf opening times see the Explore website for more information.

We cant wait to welcome people back to our physical buildings, said Gillian Holmes of Explore York Libraries and Archives.

We will be operating a little differently for a while though. Some libraries will be open, books will be available using a click and collect system, computer and printer use will be by appointment only, and opening hours will be shorter.

All venues will have safety measures in place to protect customers and staff.

Borrowing books using click and collect is simple. You can collect books from Acomb, Clifton, York, Tang Hall and the Mobile Library.

Books may also be returned by pre-booked appointment. Staff are happy to accept returns, and all loans have been renewed until 30 September.

Computers and printing will be available for pre-booked slots. You can book online or contact your nearest open library by phone or email after 7 July.

Gillian said: Explore customers now have even more choices than before because while we were closed we took the chance to enrich and expand what we offer online.

As lockdown is lifted we encourage everyone to carry on using these online services as well as coming into libraries.

The rest is here:
York's libraries will reopen soon and a brand new caf. Here's where and when - YorkMix

The most relaxing music I know my musical go-to place for when the world is too much with me is Music for 18 Musicians, the warhorse of Classical Minimalism composed by Steve Reich in 1976. Some of you may find this improbable. Those who think of Minimalism as a four-hour dial tone by Philip Glass, for example. Or my sister, for whom Reichs piece is the equivalent of two Styrofoam blocks rubbed together and who has to leave the room the house, the state whenever I put it on.

But heres the trick: If the first time you listen to this hourlong progression of pulsing musical cells, you actually listen to it, you may go around the bend like my sister. The piece is constantly changing, but slowly, like a gradually revolving sphere. (It may help to think of it as sonic sculpture rather than music, in fact.)

Instead, put Music for 18 Musicians on any recorded version, there are many and dont listen to it. Do something else. Light housework. Meal prep. Balance your checkbook. As background, this ensemble work for strings, reeds, pianos, mallet instruments, and the human voice is a shimmering latticework on which to hang your thoughts. Its left-brain music that frees up the right: Ive written articles and entire books to 18 Musicians, and I dont have to give it attention when its providing me focus. So by the time you do choose to actively listen, Reichs masterpiece may feel familiar and welcome a chiming refuge from the worlds relentless forward momentum.

Ty Burr can be reached at ty.burr@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @tyburr.

Go here to see the original:

This Minimalist composition is a shimmering latticework on which to hang your thoughts - The Boston Globe

At the opening keynote for WWDC2020, Apples virtual developer conference, the company announced a few additional health and fitness capabilities for the Apple Watch though the event was relatively light on health content, especially compared to previous years.

One such feature sleep tracking has been a notable omission for the wearable ever since it was first announced in 2014. The explanation has always been that the devices power requirements generally require the user to charge it during the night.

According to Vera Carr, a senior engineer for health at Apple who presented the sleep-tracking features, the company wanted to focus not just on tracking sleep but on helping users to improve their sleep habits with tracking forming only one aspect of that mandate.

HIMSS20 Digital

"n the evening ahead of your bedtime, your phone can display the Wind Down screen to help you transition mentally before you go to bed. It creates a calm lock screen experience and turns on Do Not Disturb for you,"Carr said. "You can also set up shortcuts for simple things you may like to do to help you prepare for bed each night, including using your favorite meditation app or playing relaxing music. Once it's time for bed, your screen will dim and your Watch will go into sleep mode. The screen will be off during your time in bed, so won't bother you."

A tap on the Watch displays a dimmed face showing only the time.

"When it's time to wake up, you'll have a selection of gentle and effective alarm sounds or a silent, haptic-only wake up alarm so you don't disturb your partner. Once you're up, you'll see a friendly greeting easing you into the day. It also shows your battery level so you can remember to charge in the morning."Carr continued. "Apple Watch tracks your sleep using a machine learning model that senses your motion and even interprets the micro movements caused by the rise and fall of your breath, providing signals for when you're awake and when you're asleep. There's an updated sleep section in the Health app, including a view of your trends over time."

Notably, no mention was made of Beddit, the sleep-tracking company Apple acquired a few years ago. Apple still offers the device, but the version 3.5 that was released early last year has been criticized for removing multiple useful features from the previous version.

Another feature thats particularly notable as the world continues to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic is handwashing detection and assistance.

Our approach here is using machine learning models to determine motion which appears to be hand washing and then to use audio to confirm the sound of running water or squishing soap on your hands, Kevin Lynch, Apples VP of technology said during the presentation. During this, you'll get a little coaching to do a good job. You'll see a countdown along with haptics and sounds to make sure you wash as long as you're supposed to. If you pause early, there's a polite note to keep washing, and when you're done you'll see, hear and feel it.

Lynch didnt expound on the context of this feature, but it could be especially useful in the healthcare field where handwashing is important and compliance is often worryingly low.

Notably, competitor Samsung launched a free handwashing app for its watches earlier this month, though it lacks the automatic detection feature.

As has become tradition at WWDC, the Apple Watch section of the presentation also featured new kinds of workout training. This year the focus was on a new feature that tracks fitness dancing, including hip-hop, Latinand Bollywood.

Getting the most accurate credit for dance presented a unique challenge, Jules Arney, Apples senior manager for fitness technologies, said. Arm movements aren't always repetitive or synchronized with leg movements like you're running orwalking. The solution was to use advanced sensor fusion. In dance, we combine data from the accelerometer and the gyroscope to detect the difference between dancing with just your arms, just your lower body, or when you put it all together and dance with your entire body. Then we added heart rate data for the most accurate calorie burn.

The new WatchOS also adds tracking for core training, functional strength training, and workout cool downs. The Activity app in iOS has been updated with a new design and renamed; its now the Fitness app.

Other than the handwashing feature, a brief mention of COVID-19 in the CEO Tim Cooks introductionand an option to add masks to Apples memojis, the current pandemic crisis wasnt discussed much at the event. Apple did not offer an update on its contact-tracing project with Google.

A few upgrades not directly related to health could have implications for the field.

Siri is moving the processing of its dictation to the device rather than the cloud, which could make it a more attractive tool for healthcare providers concerned about security. And speaking of security, Apple is moving to add simpler, more understandable privacy policies to its apps, forcing developers to be more transparent in how theyre using users data.

The Apple Watch is also broadening its available Watch faces and allowing users to do more with complications, which allows apps like Glow Baby and Nike Run Club to create customized Watch faces with tools specifically useful to their users.

Here is the original post:

WWDC2020: Sleep tracking comes to Apple Watch at last, amid otherwise minor fitness updates - MobiHealthNews

I am unapologetically indoorsy. Photo: FORTEPAN/LENCSE ZOLTN

What are the effects of spending an entire season indoors, as most of us have done this year? I dont mean the psychological effects but the material ones. I wonder about the carpets that have gotten worn down from pacing. The couches that sag from cradling our butts all day. The expanded inventories of elastic-waist pants, house slippers, sweatshirts. Among other lessons learned, weve had a chance to become intensely familiar with what we like and dislike about our living spaces. Weve experienced every day what studies have confirmed: Plants, space, and sunlight make people happy, while extreme temperatures, loud noise, cramped conditions, and dim light make people unhappy. The pandemic has forced us to confront exactly how little control we have over our homes.

Thats the subject of Emily Anthess The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness. Along with domestic spaces, Anthes explores a range of buildings fancy offices, operating rooms, a housing development designed for adults with autism, a solitary-confinement unit in hopes of dissecting the effects of architecture and design on human behavior. I read it, in a perverse spirit, entirely outside, on a sunny patch of grass, without a single person within seeing or hearing distance. I am unapologetically indoorsy, writes the author in her introduction. Its not that I dont like nature; I think nature is lovely. Ive been camping several times and enjoyed it! Ha. Me and Emily Anthes, we could not be less alike.

The formula for popular social-science books is: cold open on a catchy anecdote, proceed to divulge personal interest in topic, pivot to argument about why topic is universal and not remotely what the reader expected, and then spend 240 pages on scenes of varying persuasiveness. Im usually out by page 30. I dont know if this is a fault of my attention span, the formula, the kind of author who is drawn to the formula, or constraints pushed by publishers eager to get the book on a best-seller list. In any case, my alarm bells tend to go off early.

In order to enjoy one of these books, you need to trust the authors ability to responsibly synthesize specialized knowledge that lies outside of her, and your, expertise. You need to know in your soul that the author is not the type of person to cite Wikipedia as a source or become enveloped in a plagiarism scandal one instant after you finish reading her book. I am glad to report that Anthes passes the trustworthy test. Her sources are respectable and diligently noted. My margins were covered with scribbled WTFs not because she was drawing deranged conclusions from misinterpreted studies but because the book contains piles of cool facts that are actually, from what I can tell, facts.

Those cool facts come fast and furious. The New York City subway, for example, is smothered in microbes associated with bare feet. Why? Anthes quotes a microbiologist on the topic: Every time you take a step, your heel comes up and then presses down, creating a small bellows of bottom-of-your-foot air squirting out into the surroundings. The scientist continues: Imagine millions of people running around down there. Puff puff puff puff puff every time they take a step, they put out a little puff of foot microbiology. Another WTF moment: Pillowcases and toilet-seat surfaces are apparently strikingly similar from a microbiological perspective. These are from a chapter on the billions of invisible roommates we cohabit with, from bacteria to fungi to dust motes to a zoos worth of wee invertebrates. In one scene, Anthes unscrews her showerhead and swabs the interior, then mails it off to a lab. The results come back a year later. Among other things, her showerhead contains an organism called RB41, which has been found in dog noses and paleolithic cave paintings, and a class of mycobacteria that can cause tuberculosis and leprosy when inhaled. Nothing to freak out about, the scientist who processed the swabs assures Anthes. Many of those could be totally nonpathogenic. Could be!Even the least germophobic reader will squirm at the descriptions of carpeting (disgusting a scientists term, not mine!) and basements (hotbeds of arthropod diversity). However, its less boring to stay home all day when you know that your house is a teeming jungle.

Hospitals are scarier. Design can alter patient outcomes in unnerving ways, suggesting that our fragile bodies are susceptible to environmental factors not just psychologically but on some mysterious mechanical level. Surgical patients with plants in their rooms have lower blood pressure and use less pain medication than patients in plant-free rooms. Patients in sunny rooms fare better than patients in shady rooms. In one study, patients treated in rooms with sound-absorbing tiles were significantly less likely to be readmitted within three months. When Florence Nightingale recommended sunlight and flowers for the infirm in 1859, she anticipated what would later become known as evidence-based design.

The books best chapter explores how neuroatypical people interact with their surroundings. Gallaudet University is a private college in Washington, D.C., that largely serves students who are deaf or hard of hearing. A group of academics and architects at the school outlined design features tuned to the needs of the students, including translucent and partial walls and rooms painted in soft blues and greens, which contrast with human-skin tones and make it easier to perceive gestures. Designers who worked on a housing development created for adults with autism made a slew of decisions that would probably appeal to people without autism too, pouring a layer of gypsum concrete between each floor to dampen the sound of footfall and cleverly installing shower temperature knobs opposite the showerhead, so residents didnt have to dart through a stream of frigid or boiling water in order to adjust it. (Can we standardize that?) In a 2015 study, researchers created a dental office designed to soothe children with autism, featuring dimmer lights, relaxing music, and calming images projected onto the ceiling. What happened next will not shock you: The changes were received warmly by neurotypical people, too.

A good chunk of the books material fits into the obvious category, but its always nice to see ones personal preferences ratified by data. A study of IT employees confirmed that face-to-face communication as opposed to, say, Slack was correlated with higher productivity and performance. (I believe workers required to use Slack should be paid extra for the sheer attentional burden of it.) Students who attend class in well-ventilated and well-maintained buildings perform better academically. A detention facility remodeled to include athletic facilities, a library, and classrooms saw the number of assaults drop by 50 percent.

But for every unsurprising conclusion, theres a curveball. Anthes visits a Louisiana professor who has developed a buoyant foundation that allows houses to float on top of floodwaters. The system requires no heavy equipment and can be installed inexpensively on an existing house by just two people. Rather than pour catastrophically into a home, the floodwater itself lifts residents to safety. But what would seem like a brilliant answer to Hurricane Katrina (and a future of similar disasters, worsened by climate change) is stymied by the federal government. Homeowners in high-risk areas are required to buy flood insurance, but amphibious structures like the floating foundations are not eligible for subsidized policies. When Anthes reaches out to FEMA, shes told that the technology is not as safe as simply moving to a higher elevation. Well, sure.

The Great Indoors isnt a self-help book, but our present context has layered it with some self-helpy applications. You cant necessarily drill a window into your wall or blast a skylight into your ceiling, but you can push your favorite chair closer to the window and find out whether being depressed in a pool of sunlight is better than being depressed in a veil of shadows. If you cant turn your bedroom into an anti-sensory cocoon, do it to your own body with a pair of earplugs and an eye mask. Pick a clump of roadside greenery next time you go outside (in your mask) and put it in a rinsed-out jar on the kitchen table. All those studies proving that plants cause joy? They dont specify that the plants should be exquisite. Gather ye weeds while ye may.

*A version of this article appears in the June 22, 2020, issue ofNew York Magazine. Subscribe Now!

very short recaps 3:10 p.m.

good one podcast 11:46 a.m.

By Jesse David Fox

last night on late night 11:32 a.m.

last night on late night 10:38 a.m.

vulture sports 10:07 a.m.

Visit link:

After Months Spent Inside, The Great Indoors Is Uncannily Relevant - Vulture

Sarah Tew/CNET

At Apple'sannualWorldwide Developers ConferenceMonday, the company showed off a new Wind Down mode. When enabled, you can set a desired bedtime and a wake-up time and your iPhone and Apple Watch will help you stick to your schedule. Your phone screen will go into Do Not Disturb mode automatically in advance of your set bedtime, and you can also customize a few shortcuts to pop up on the screen if you like to meditate or listen to relaxing music while you get ready for bed.

All of the other info normally on your home screen will be removed to make it less busy and distracting. When the set time arrives, your Apple Watch will go in to sleep mode and your phone screen will dim. When it's time to wake up, you can choose from different alarm sounds or just have your Watch give you a haptic buzz so you don't wake up your partner.

Subscribe to the Apple newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET.

Apple is aiming the Wind Down mode at those who have trouble sticking to a schedule, and rolled out a more robust set of sleep-tracking features along with the mode so you can see how your new routine is working. You can see sleep trends mapped over time on both your iPhone and your Apple Watch.

While not as active as Wind Down mode, the tracker helps you learn your patterns, which may help you improve them. The new Wind Down feature and improved tracker will be part of Apple's iOS 14.

Here is the original post:

Apple Wind Down mode wants you to get to bed on time - CNET