better – Page 3

Wearing Masks Saves Lives, The Earlier You Start The Better, A New Data-Driven Model Shows

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, VIDEO REELS

Wearing Masks Saves Lives, The Earlier You Start The Better, A New Data-Driven Model Shows

Dr. Biplav Srivastava, professor of computer science at the University of South Carolina, and his team have developed a data-driven tool that helps demonstrate the effect of wearing masks on COVID-19 cases and deaths. His model utilizes a variety of data sources to create alternate scenarios that can tell us “What could have happened?” if a county in the U.S. had a higher or lower rate of mask adherence. In this interview, he explains how the model works, its limitations and what conclusions we can draw from it. Computer scientist Biplav Srivastava provides a demo of the simulation to show that earlier policies to recommend mask-wearing make a bigger difference on the spread of the coronavirus. What does this computer model do? This is a nationwide tool which can show the effect that weari...

Skipping standardized tests in 2020 may offer a chance to find better alternatives

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Skipping standardized tests in 2020 may offer a chance to find better alternatives

The Education Department is letting states cancel standardized tests. The move is a practical one: School buildings across the nation are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though distance learning efforts are widespread. As a result, 2020 is the first year without federally mandated standardized testing in nearly two decades. Washington has required all states to use these tests to evaluate students, teachers, principals, schools and entire school systems, first in accordance with accountability measures shaped by the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act and later under the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act. Until now, students in third through eighth grade were taking standardized tests annually for language arts and math, and then at least once again in high school. In addition, they...

What we can learn from MLK for a Better Post-Coronavirus Economy

13Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

What we can learn from MLK for a Better Post-Coronavirus Economy

The civil rights icon fiercely advocated for redistributive wealth and social democracy. Fifty-two years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down in Memphis, April 4, 1968, his radical economic agenda reverberates through a pandemic-ridden nation at a prophetic tilt. “If the society changes its concepts by placing the responsibility on its system, not on the individual, and guarantees secure employment or a minimum income, dignity will come within reach of all,” King wrote in his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community. As the economy grinds to a halt to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the triage of policies designed to fill the yawning holes in the nation’s social safety net looks a lot like what Dr. King ordered. The $2 trillion congressional emergency relief bill, CARE...

12 productive things you can do to feel better about being stuck at home

27Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE

12 productive things you can do to feel better about being stuck at home

Now that the coronavirus has sent workers and students home, closed businesses and canceled events, it’s going to be important to create new routines and find meaningful ways to spend our long days at home. The following organizing tasks are simple and will help you structure your day and create a small sense of control. Order picture frames and albums: Do you have a stack of photos you have been meaning to put in frames or photo albums? If so, take a few minutes online to find options that will work for you, and place the order. Depending on how long social distancing lasts, you may even have time to put those photos into the frames and albums. Send notes: Write those thank-you cards that you have had on your to-do list for the past few months. If you don’t have any thank-you notes to...

5 ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving time

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE, VIDEO REELS

5 ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving time

In my research on daylight saving time, I have found that Americans don’t like it when Congress messes with their clocks. In an effort to avoid the biannual clock switch in spring and fall, some well-intended critics of DST have made the mistake of suggesting that the abolition of DST – and a return to permanent standard time – would benefit society. In other words, the U.S. would never “spring forward” or “fall back.” They are wrong. DST saves lives and energy and prevents crime. Not surprisingly, then, politicians in Washington and Florida have now passed laws aimed at moving their states to DST year-round. Congress should seize on this momentum to move the entire country to year-round DST. In other words, turn all clocks forward permanently. If it did so, I see five ways that America...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

This Is Better Than an Apology

Why repair attempts are even more powerful than saying sorry. Everyone messes up. Any relationship involves two imperfect communicators capable of hurt feelings, frustration, or loneliness. Given this, expecting communication and harmony to be “par for the course” is unreasonable. In his book, The Science of Trust, Dr. John Gottman explains that both partners in a relationship are emotionally available only 9% of the time. This leaves 91% of our relationship ripe for miscommunication. What matters most is how couples repair when they mess up—rebuilding the bridge of connection before it becomes consumed by negativity. A repair can be so much more than an apology (although apologies work, too)—a silly smile, an “I feel” statement, a pause in the action, even partial agreement. A repair att...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Tony Porter Answers: Can We Build a Better Man?

What is men’s role in the #MeToo movement, and what does a new or nontoxic masculinity look like? Millions of pages have been devoted to demystifying the relationship between men and women, unpacking gendered power dynamics, and more recently, to interrogating toxic masculinity and finding ways to hold some men accountable for their bad behavior. What is now known as the #MeToo movement began more than a decade ago, when activist Tarana Burke launched a conversation around sexual harassment and assault often experienced by women and femmes with the powerful phrase “me too.” But what role do men have to play in ending this epidemic, and divorcing themselves from the toxic masculinity that underlies this behavior? We asked authors, organizers, journalists, and leaders to...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Tarana Burke Answers: Can We Build a Better Man?

What is men’s role in the #MeToo movement, and what does a new or nontoxic masculinity look like? Millions of pages have been devoted to demystifying the relationship between men and women, unpacking gendered power dynamics, and more recently, to interrogating toxic masculinity and finding ways to hold some men accountable for their bad behavior. What is now known as the #MeToo movement began more than a decade ago, when activist Tarana Burke launched a conversation around sexual harassment and assault often experienced by women and femmes with the powerful phrase “me too.” But what role do men have to play in ending this epidemic, and divorcing themselves from the toxic masculinity that underlies this behavior? We asked authors, organizers, journalists, and leaders to...

9 Twitter Tips From The Donald For Better Responses And Visibility

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

9 Twitter Tips From The Donald For Better Responses And Visibility

Whether you love him or hate him, you follow him. The Donald has figured out how to market himself, his calling, and his message on Twitter. Every mogul, guru, and marketing rep on the internet has succumbed to "The Donald Twit Fever" and those who haven't are burning with desire. A few weeks back I met a good friend at Glen Eyrie Castle for Tea, and we discussed her high-powered attempt to take down The Donald. She remained anti-Trump to the end, and it really got her no-where. Her infamous position may be envied by the few, and her name may be recognized as the one at the head of the Take-Down. But she failed. Totally and completely failed. Sure, she still has her high and mighty moral standing, but from the looks of the events surrounding the intake, cabinet appointments,...