during

24Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

During Heat Waves Conditions In Prisons Pose Deadly Threats To Incarcerated People And Prison Staff

Extreme heat is taking an increasing toll across the U.S. in summertime. People who are incarcerated are among society’s most vulnerable groups and have been especially affected. More than a dozen states do not have air conditioning in all of their prison units, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. In Texas, where I work, only about 30% of prisons are fully air-conditioned. Many of these states also face some of the highest heat risks in the U.S., according to recent studies. Prisons concentrate hundreds or thousands of people in buildings that were designed without planning for extreme heat and heat waves. Prison building materials and designs can increase exposure to heat...

This Fall, Those Free School Lunches That Helped Families During The Pandemic Won’t Return

5Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIETY

This Fall, Those Free School Lunches That Helped Families During The Pandemic Won’t Return

The healthiest meal students typically receive during the day isn’t at their dining room table — it’s in their school cafeteria. That finding from Tufts University researchers is just one reason child nutrition experts have urged Congress to pass legislation that would enable schools nationwide to provide free meals for all students. Pandemic-era waivers that made universal free school lunch a reality the past two years have expired, and this fall, students will once again have to qualify for free, reduced or full-priced meals based on need. That prospect is raising concerns among child nutrition experts who predict that once the school year begins more kids will go hungry amid an uptick in food insecurity in households with children. “There are going to be many struggling families next...

4Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

What To Consider While Exercising During Pregnancy

While exercise is often said to be safe to do while pregnant, with so much information out there, it can be hard to figure out just how much exercise you should do – and if there are certain exercises to avoid. Exercise is good for the mother and her baby, but given all the changes that happen to the body during pregnancy, it is advisable to take it a bit easier when exercising. One of these changes is how our cardiovascular system functions. Because the baby needs a constant supply of oxygen to develop – and because of how quickly it grows – the mother will experience a 45-50% increase in blood volume to carry this much-needed oxygen to the baby. The mother’s heart rate also increases to ensure the baby gets enough oxygen. This could put an extra strain on the woman’s heart and lungs w...

During The Civil Rights Era Black College Presidents Had A Tough Balancing Act

30Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

During The Civil Rights Era Black College Presidents Had A Tough Balancing Act

Historians have documented again and again how college students contributed to the civil rights movement. Less attention has been paid to the role college presidents played in the fight for equality. Here, Eddie R. Cole, author of the book “The Campus Color Line,” discusses various ways these leaders contributed. 1. What pressures did college leaders face in the civil rights era? College presidents between 1948 to 1968 had to deal with different segments of society that were at complete odds with one another. On the one hand, they oversaw schools where students were increasingly protesting segregation. But they also had to deal with segregationist politicians who controlled state funding for their institutions. Some of those politicians were not shy about their opposition to the civil rig...

During The Pandemic, The Number Of Firearms In Households With Teenagers Went Up – Most School Shooters Get Their Guns From Home

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IMPACT

During The Pandemic, The Number Of Firearms In Households With Teenagers Went Up – Most School Shooters Get Their Guns From Home

Patrick Carter, University of Michigan; Marc A Zimmerman, University of Michigan, and Rebeccah Sokol, Wayne State University Four days before a 15-year-old sophomore killed four students and wounded others at a high school shooting in Michigan, his father purchased the firearm used in the attack. That the teenager used a weapon from home during the Nov. 30 attack is not unusual. Most school shooters obtain the firearm from home. And the number of guns within reach of high school-age teenagers has increased during the pandemic – highlighting the importance of locking firearms and keeping them unloaded in the home. Since the onset of the public health crisis, firearm sales have spiked. Many of these firearms have ended up in households with teenage children, increasing the risk of acciden...

A New Study Finds Gun Violence Soared During The COVID-19 Pandemic – But The Reasons Why Are Complex

17Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

A New Study Finds Gun Violence Soared During The COVID-19 Pandemic – But The Reasons Why Are Complex

Paddy Ssentongo, Penn State and Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld, Penn State In a new study, we found that the overall U.S. gun violence rate rose by 30% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the year before. In 28 states, the rates were substantially higher between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, compared to the pre-pandemic period from Feb. 1, 2019, through Feb. 29, 2020. There were 51,063 incidents of gun violence events resulting in injury or death in the United States in the first 13 months of the pandemic compared to 38,919 incidents in the same time span pre-pandemic. CC BY-ND Early in the pandemic, gun sales in the United States surged, with more than 20% of these purchases by first-time buyers. And access to firearms is a well-established risk factor for gun-rel...

Here Are 10 Tips For Staying Safe And Avoiding Scams While Shopping Online During The Pandemic

7Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Here Are 10 Tips For Staying Safe And Avoiding Scams While Shopping Online During The Pandemic

The holiday season is already a booming time for online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic only increases the likelihood that when people shop this holiday season, they will choose online shopping over brick-and-mortar stores. However, this also means there is likely to be a boom in online scams. Already, multiple companies from outside the U.S. are advertising relatively unchecked on the internet, selling – or even just pretending to sell – all manner of products. The items are typically advertised using designs stolen from legitimate businesses and artists, often ripped off from Etsy, especially if those designs have been featured on popular sites like Bored Panda. When people buy these scam products, what arrives is typically of low quality. That’s if anything ever arrives. Often the com...

4 Essential Reads – What Happened During The Last Government Shutdown?

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

4 Essential Reads – What Happened During The Last Government Shutdown?

Matt Williams, The Conversation The U.S. is (once again) staring down the barrel of a government shutdown. Barring progress on a spending bill to fund government agencies past Sept. 30, 2021 – and Democrats are busying themselves trying to get such a measure through Congress – federal workers could find themselves being sent home, or asked not to come in. For how long is uncertain. Over the last few decades, the length of government shutdowns has crept up. The most recent one, which started on Dec. 22, 2018, lasted 35 days, marking the longest shutdown to date. During that period, The Conversation ran a series of articles that helped explain what was at stake, who suffers and why. Below are some insights gleaned by experts from previous government shutdowns that may give a clue as to w...

For Investing More In Health Care During The Pandemic – Credit Ratings Are Punishing Poorer Countries

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, HEALTH & WELLNESS

For Investing More In Health Care During The Pandemic – Credit Ratings Are Punishing Poorer Countries

Ramya Vijaya, Stockton University Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic depends on sustained investment in health care and social services. But while rich countries like the U.S. can borrow and spend relatively easily, low-income nations face a major obstacle: their credit ratings. A credit rating, like a credit score, is an assessment of the ability of a borrower – whether it’s a company or a government – to repay its debts. Lower credit ratings drive up the cost of borrowing. This threat prompted some poorer countries to avoid tapping investors for vital financing during the pandemic, while other governments that made plans to spend more on public services were hit with credit ratings downgrades from private companies. My forthcoming research shows that when credit ratings fal...

During A Pandemic People With Disabilities Are At Greater Risk Of Going Hungry

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

During A Pandemic People With Disabilities Are At Greater Risk Of Going Hungry

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed uncomfortable and distressing truths about American society: namely, the struggle many Americans face just getting by. Yet, while the pervasive food insecurity that has always existed in the U.S. became more visible, how the problem disproportionately affects people with disabilities has received less attention. As an ethnographer of food, poverty and welfare, I study how people respond to economic scarcity through caregiving networks. Although caregiving networks like neighborhood mutual aid groups and pop-up food banks quickly emerged to support vulnerable groups during the pandemic, people with disabilities have continued to face additional challenges. High risk of food insecurity An estimated 25% of U.S. adults have some form of physical or intell...