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Human Behavior

Responsible human behaviour led to an increase in animal sightings: WWF – Morung Express

BY SIDDHI JAIN

New Delhi, May 19 (IANSlife) Venice, the beautiful Italian city where nature meets culture, was recently in news, when calm returned to its overtourism-affected waters with aquatic life shining through clear canals.

Closer home, monkeys, buffalos, cows and dogs have all come to be increasingly sighted on Indian streets, as human life remained under a tight lockdown from March-end. In Udaipur, one could spot fish swimming in the lake after decades.

Images from across the world has presented a very interesting picture - with people indoors, wild animals can be seen roaming the streets, birds sing on balconies, the dolphins have made a comeback in the rivers and the skies are blue and the air is clean, says WWF India on a campaign film 'Our Planet, Our Home', that visually illustrates this human-animal contrast.

The short film, that puts together visuals from across the world, is a clever satire on the idea of freedom, and how reduced human activity has led to the animal kingdom spreading its wings to territory it is kept out of.

"Any kind of development and industrial activity will have some impact on nature. What we have seen in the last few weeks, is that when human activity is decreased, and when we start behaving responsibly, we see the difference. Most of us are locked in our homes, not just because someone advised, but because we are also afraid of an infection. If this responsible behavior was demonstrated against climate change, against use of plastics, today we'd live in a different space," Dipankar Ghose, Director of the Wildlife and Habitats, WWF India told IANSlife.

Adding, Himanshu Pandey, Marketing Communication Director at WWF India says that he cannot imagine life, without wildlife. "When we talk about wildlife, it's about their habitats, their ecosystem. Without nature, no human activity - whether economic or otherwise - is possible. This contrast of us being locked up in our houses and wildlife moving about freely in urban spaces, this is a reminder of the cruciality of conservation," he said over phone.

According to WWF's Living Planet Report, we have lost 60 percent of wildlife populations in the last 44 years, globally. So when we step out of our houses after the lockdown, let's ensure we protect this biodiversity and build a sustainable world where nature and people coexist. This is a film that aims to inspire individuals, businesses and governments to strengthen positive action to help build a better world for our future generations, he added.

The campaign film, which puts forth a question of coexistence as compared to human-animal competition - "what remains to be seen is whether this will continue once life returns to normal" - has been developed by McCann Bangalore and Native Films.

"In advertising, we believe that all good ideas come from simple observations or insights. This insight came from the site of animals, who were on the streets while humans were caged inside their houses. This was like a role reversal of sorts. This irony was unmistakable in a sense. It was a big lesson for humanity because we truly understood the value of freedom, and not just ours, but that of other species too. It was a timely reminder that this place we call home, is theirs too. This is the film's message: Coexistence is the key to our survival," Sambit Mohanty, Creative Head (South), McCann told IANSlife.

Coexistence, as per Ghose, is more of a perception that something which is a practically happening. "Animals are reclaiming, I would say, urban biodiversity has always been there, we started observing them, hearing different sounds and appreciating them. If want to hear these koyel sounds, we have to change certain things in our behavior," he concludes.

(Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in)

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Responsible human behaviour led to an increase in animal sightings: WWF - Morung Express

Human Behavior

Dolphins bring gifts from sea in apparent response to lack of human interaction during pandemic isolation: Vi – PennLive

Its been weeks since visitors at Barnacles Cafe and Dolphin Feeding lined up to feed the animals, due to coronavirus restrictions. Now it seems the dolphins are trying to communicate something.

According to a report by 7NEWS.com.au, a pod of humpback dolphins at Tin Can Bay in Queensland, Australia has been bringing ashore gifts from the sea - "apparently because theyre missing interaction with humans.

Gifts presented by the dolphins have been sea sponges, barnacle-encrusted bottles and pieces of coral, the report said.

The humpback dolphins usually mingle with visitors at Barnacles Cafe & Dolphin Feeding at Tin Can Bay, located north of the Sunshine Coast.

A post on the cafes Facebook page said, The pod has been bringing us regular gifts, showing us how much theyre missing the public interaction and attention. They are definitely missing you all.

The 7NEWS report said a Barnacles volunteer told the ABC that although the pod has displayed the behavior in the past, it had increased since the venue has been closed.

What explanation can be given for the dolphins actions?

Barry McGovern, a UQ PhD student, and an expert in dolphin behavior, told 7NEWS it was possible, but unlikely the dolphins were giving gifts because they missed humans.

Nothing surprises me with dolphins and their behavior anymore, McGovern said. They do everything - they use tools, they have culture, they have something similar to names in signature whistles."

In all likelihood, they probably dont miss humans per se. They probably miss a free meal and the routine, McGovern told 7NEWS.

The report said McGovern also speculated it may be a play-like behavior.

They often play with bits of weed and coral and all sorts of things and just leave it on their rostrum (nose), he said.

Theyre used to getting fed now, so theyre used to humans coming in. When its not happening, maybe its just out of boredom, McGovern told 7NEWS.

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Dolphins bring gifts from sea in apparent response to lack of human interaction during pandemic isolation: Vi - PennLive

Human Behavior

Enabling highways and bridges to prevent their own damage – ScienceBlog.com

Roads always seem to need repairs. Luna Lu is giving concrete the ability to talk and even heal itself.

Herlab at Purdue Universityis developing technology that would allow concrete-paved bridges and highways to reveal more accurately when they need repairs and to come equipped with materials that respond to potential damage.

We look at how we can address problems in infrastructure using materials and sensors that harness artificial intelligence and big data, said Lu, an associate professor in PurduesLyles School of Civil Engineering. The idea is to make infrastructure adaptive, sustainable and resilient.

More than one-third of U.S. bridges need repair work, according to a2020 reportby the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

Getting a better idea of when new concrete is ready to take on heavy traffic, for example, could prevent cracks caused by reopening roads too soon. Preventing cracks means fewer repair projects to replace the concrete, which would cut down on traffic typically held up by those projects.

In 2019, Lu collaborated with the Indiana Department of Transportation to embed into three Indiana highwayssensorsthat her lab developed. The highways include Interstate 465 near Indianapolis, I-70 near Plainfield and I-74 near Batesville.

Data from the sensors are helping to recommend the best time to open up traffic after a patching or new pavement project and continuously track concrete development. Lus team is working with the Federal Highway Administration to implement these concrete sensors in other states.

At the same time as making concrete talk, Lu and her lab are developing a way that concrete could repair itself.

Self-healing concretewould be particularly useful during harsh winters. For roads in the U.S. Midwest, winter makes concrete freeze and thaw in cycles. When temperatures drop below 32 degrees F, water molecules on a roads surface freeze and expand, cracking the concrete. These cracks lead to fissures over the course of several winters.

Lus lab is investigating different types of highly porous, sandlike materials called internal curing agents to mix into concrete. When concrete cracks, the curing agents absorb water and feed it into chemical reactions. These reactions produce solid substances that seal off the crack, healing the concrete. The healing process also prevents water from seeping into the concrete and corroding steel or rebar reinforcement.

By using these self-healing materials, we can make infrastructure adaptive to temperature change, said Lu, who is anAmerican Concrete Pavement AssociationScholar in Concrete Pavement and Materials Science.

Lu and other researchers also are thinking ahead on how intelligent infrastructure could both influence and adapt to human behavior.

Traffic is always directional. Conventional thinking is to add extra lanes, but artificial intelligence and big data could identify an underused lane and shift traffic into that direction. Were developing technology that would allow for better control of traffic without adding extra lanes, Lu said.

Intelligent infrastructure is a young field. Through partnerships with other universities, Lu is working to bring together the researchers and resources needed to enable this type of infrastructure on a large scale.

Lu directs theCenter for Intelligent Infrastructure, which unites the expertise of Purdue researchers in several different disciplines including materials, sensing and artificial intelligence. She also is helping establish the first Midwest intelligent infrastructure consortium by partnering with several state transportation departments.

Together, we can pull even more data to identify the best ways to make infrastructure more safe and resilient. We can develop algorithms that map out vulnerabilities in infrastructure going forward, Lu said.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap atpurdue.edu.

Writer:Kayla Wiles,wiles5@purdue.edu. Working remotely, but will provide immediate response.

Source:Luna Lu,luna@purdue.edu

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Enabling highways and bridges to prevent their own damage - ScienceBlog.com

Human Behavior

Op-Ed: Time, Space, and Adaptive Reuse in the Age of Social Distancing – Archinect

In the current pandemic era, social distancing has become synonymous to maintaining six foot distance to contain the community spread of COVID-19. This essentially puts architectural space at a premium for both designers and the public. To mitigate these effects, could thinking of time as an essential design strategy benefit architecture in the era of social distancing?

Consider this restaurant case study documented by researchers at Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China, illustrating the community spread of COVID-19. On Jan 24, the index case-patient (patient A1) had lunch with 3 other family members (A2A4) at the restaurant. Two other families, B and C, were seated at adjacent tables. Later that day, patient A1 experienced onset of fever and cough and visited the hospital. By February 5, a total of 9 customers (4 members of family A, 3 members of family B, and 2 members of family C) had become ill with COVID-19. The study concludes that the proximity of seating and the direction of AC airflow was critical in the virus spread. The distance between each table was measured to about 1 meter (much lesser than the prescribed six foot social distance).

While the community spread effectively occurred because of a lack of spatial distance, one could also argue that the time was a critical factor. For instance, the study documents that families A and B were each seated for an overlapping period of 53 minutes, while families A and C for an overlapping period of 73 minutes. If the overlapping time was reduced, could the community spread have been mitigated? In other words, what implications does time-sharing of spaces have on architectural strategies of the future? Several large universities in the United States are already thinking of time-sharing classrooms as the lockdown eases in the Fall. Schools are also considering playgrounds as spaces for time sharing. Time-sharing not only allows social distancing, but also to rethink traditionally underutilized or unused spaces in a meaningful way.

The question arises as how does one go about time-sharing of spaces in a more holistic way. This is when it is useful to invoke a mid-century concept prevalent in social science called behavior settings. First proposed by Roger Barker, a social scientist, it was later embraced in the disciplines of ecological and environmental psychology as an effective unit of analysis to study highly regulated human behaviors. Buildings such as schools, offices, churches and law courts exhibit such highly regulated behaviors. Behavior settings typically consist of a space-time locus (for example, in a typical school, learning behavior occurs in classrooms between 9AM and 5PM). In an ideal behavior setting good fit can be observed between the behavior and space termed by Barker as a synomorph. For example, in a school, the specific shape of the classrooms are synomorphic to the nature of class instruction and class size (blackboard orientation in relation to student and teachers). In other words there is an interdependency between shape, behavior, and time. This ecological unity is critical to the understanding of any behavior setting and perhaps developing strategies of time-sharing.

What is further interesting in the concept of behavior settings is that numerous sets of behaviors can occur with the same users, or numerous users can occupy the same space. For example, in a school the same children could exhibit different behaviors based on whether they are engaged in focused study or play. Similarly, the same school could accommodate different levels and development levels without much change in its layout. The idea of behavior settings provides designers a vehicle to understand space, time and behavior, in a methodical and meaningful way so they could advocate for flexibility in function and activities.

The next question is how we go about designing and investigating potential of synomorphic typologies. A couple of years ago, a striking image went viral on the internet that showed a church building accommodating homeless population asleep on the pews, and finding sanctuary in the nave. This program at St. Boniface church in San Francisco was part of the Gubbio Project, which provides blankets, hygiene kits, and socks to around 150 people who rest in the church each weekday. It made sense to utilize a faith based worship space, whose mission is to care for the marginalized, to make such an accommodation to an unexpected user. While this rare case of synomorphy was identified by church leaders, often the social taboo, hygiene and safety concerns makes it difficult for such conversions and accommodations to materialize. One could imagine the further challenges of hygiene that arises in the COVID-19 era.

The COVID-19 era, has however, expedited the need for adaptive reuse, and flung the design community to think of spaces in creative ways. Adaptive reuse, the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for, is becoming ever so critical.

In this era, one interesting example of synomorphy could be recognizable in the Hotel to Healthcare Concept, proposed by theUS Army Corps of Engineers. According to this proposal, hotel rooms and dorms with their own air conditioning units can be converted into negative pressure rooms. As shown in the image special medical equipment could be retrofitted to hotel rooms with adequate electrical and mechanical systems to convert them into hospital rooms.

In the same direction, Dallas-based architecture firm HKS has embarked on an ambitious project to convert hotels into hospitals in a duration of 10 days. HKS observes that full-service hotels work well for conversions to hospitals because they already have infrastructure such as laundry and food-service in place. Under the HKS plan, ballrooms become patient wards for those with worsening conditions needing more real-time specialized care. Guest rooms become patient rooms, nursing stations, storage and staff sleeping areas. Hotel lobbies and check-in areas turn into triage, assessment, intake and registration areas. Conference rooms and large meeting areas are used for central medication supply, central point-of-care testing, central materials supply, administrative support and nursing support for huddles and shift changes. However, HKS architects understand the limitations and challenges that come with such conversion. First, the need for sanitation and disinfection of space and second, overcoming stigma and the compensation that needs to occur after such conversion is made.

Much like the hotel and healthcare synomorphy, other typologies could be good candidates for adaptive reuse. We have already witnessed the conversion of large sports complexes into hospitals in and potential surge sites for COVID-19 patients. Sports stadiums have also been considered as rapidly deployable testing sites in Florida and elsewhere. The demand for adaptive reuse provides us an opportunity to rethink how we have traditionally used and designed public spaces. For example, some years ago, I noticed older adults in a New Jersey mall using hallways at early morning hours to conduct walking exercises and keep active. While malls can be considered dead spaces while not in use, such creative use of space for active living renders it more inclusive and efficient. It also allows private owners to do their bit for the community. We could think of other examples of adaptive reuse such as public libraries transforming into vocational training centers, or court houses becoming community centers during weekends.

Stewart Brand, in his book, How Buildings Learn discusses the need for loose fit in designing buildings, so that unexpected uses of the building could be accommodated. In other words, designers need to err in over size rather than under size. Indeed, there are challenges in open-ended and multifunctional spaces that could also lead to ambiguity and confusion among users and patrons on how the space should be utilized. However, the COVID-19 era will force designers to create such spaces to be used in case of emergency relief.

The demand for flexibility of programs in our architectural projects is not new and has been discussed throughout architectural history, and perhaps need to be revisited. A good example is the Dutch structuralist movement of the 1960s, where architecture was considered not having any predetermined programs, but left room for users to interact in their own way. One of the figureheads of the movement, Aldo Van Eyck, rejected rigid functionalism. His empirical research of indigenous Dogon settlements of Africa, made him realize the value for flexible and interchangeable spatial units rather than the prevailing modernist language of composition and monumentality. The so-called mat-buildings found in the settlements could be characterized by the use of modules as components in a larger coherent whole, capable of accommodating changing functions, with special attention given to transitions between outside and inside, encounters, identity, livability, flexibility, and extensibility. This afforded the architect a controlled framework in which others retained a freedom to develop user-friendly forms.

Recently, the celebrated architect Patrik Schumacher has embarked on reinventing parametric architecture to accommodate multiple functions using agent based modelling. Schumacher advocates designers to speculate about the social meaning of forms that could accommodate multiple functions over time such as a lecture theater morphing gradually into a lounging area. Using crowd simulation techniques to predict emergent behavior, Schumacher maps the patterns of movement, occupation and interaction that could be programmed in real buildings when each scenarios is desired using artificial intelligence.

Ultimately, any building that needs to accommodate multiple functions has to be intelligible and done with relatively little effort. There is a saying in architectural circles that buildings are the only large machines that come without an instruction manual. As designers we not only need to make spaces multifunctional and flexible but also make it intuitive for users to understand that these functions are possible. American psychologist JJ Gibsons use of environmental affordances is important to note here. Gibsons affordance theory, suggests that affordances are not just functional in nature but also psychological as the clues in the environment indicate possibilities for action. For example, objects consist of innate affordances that are intuitively absorbed by the function they promise such as handles for pulling, levers for sliding, etc. In other words, perception drives action. In the pandemic era, society demands of designers to think of future buildings in terms of environmental affordances that are functionally possible, psychologically perceptible, and make inclusive use of underutilized spaces through creative time-sharing.

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Op-Ed: Time, Space, and Adaptive Reuse in the Age of Social Distancing - Archinect

Human Behavior

How The U.S. Can Responsibly Reopen The Economy Without Causing A Second Coronavirus Wave – Forbes

Public health policy expert Dr. Anand Parekh warns that the new normal will likely include a recurring pattern of implementing and lifting social distancing interventions.

Protesters gathered in Torrance, California to protest the state's Stay-At-Home orders and to call ... [+] for the reopening of the California economy. (Photo by Stanton Sharpe/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Although the United States is still battling the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, every state has announced or taken steps to reduce social distancing interventions.However, our elected officials wont be able to markedly reduce the anxiety many Americans have of Covid-19 simply through proclamations (a recent poll found that two-thirds of Americans felt nervous, depressed, lonely or hopeless for at least one day in the last week).Only policies that actually suppress the virus will enhance the safety of Americans so that we can confidently proceed to a new normal in this country.

Over the month of April, the U.S. was able to flatten the curve thanks to the American public adhering to social distancing interventions (e.g., cancellations of large gatherings, school closures, telework).Mobility data confirm that physical distancing led to reductions in contact rates anywhere from 40% to 70% across all fifty states.However, mobility rates have increased over the last several weeks due to the stated intentions and actions of our nations leaders to reopen the economy.

The desire to reopen is not unreasonable.Over 36 million Americans have filed unemployment claims while many others are struggling to afford food and housing, and calls to suicide hotlines have risen astronomically.However, at least one influential model from the University of Washington nearly doubled its nationwide projection for Covid-19 deaths over the next several months largely because of state reopening plans. Previously, the model had assumed that states would continue enforcing comprehensive social distancing interventions through May, thus putting the country in a more favorable position for the summer.

By trading the month of June for May, particularly given that U.S. Covid-19 testing and contact tracing infrastructure is still insufficient, the country is at risk of an increase in transmission of the virus that could lead to an uptick of cases and hospitalizations in June. This could start another wave of the pandemic and potentially lead to reinstituting social distancing interventions.

A recent Pew Research Center poll indicates that 68% of Americans (most Democrats and nearly half of Republicans) are concerned that restrictions on public activity imposed by state governments in response to Covid-19 will be lifted too quickly. This is likely because few states have met the White Houses gating criteria, or other more specific, evidence-based quantitative metrics necessary for reopening safely.

Ideally, each state would first demonstrate sufficient testing capacity to identify and isolate cases.While testing has expanded across the U.S, several states still have too high a percent of positive tests, one metric of adequate testing capacity. Sufficient testing is critical in our ability to gauge the second criteria for opening, which is a decreased trend in confirmed cases for two to three weeks.

Third, the healthcare system should be under capacity with sufficient personal protective equipment and critical medical material. Fourth, there should be ample contact tracing capacity (30 contact tracers per 100,000 people) to stop chains of transmission.

Once states start to open up, they should begin with sectors that have a low risk of transmission and space out openings by two weeks.This would start with outdoor employers and construction, followed by manufacturing and retail at low capacities.Starting with businesses that have high contact intensity such as restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, salons, and barbershops are not entities that should be opening first.

Its important to remember that a public health crisis led to the economic downturn. If we bring the pandemic under control, the economy will start to come back.In the meantime, we need to continue supporting effective policies that mitigate the economic consequences of social distancing interventions. This includes unemployment benefits, small business loans, food and housing assistance, paid leave and childcare assistance, and increased access to behavioral health services.

Responding to and recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic will be a marathon, not a sprint.Its likely that over the next year or two, the nation will face additional waves due to changes in human behavior, seasonality and other factors.Implementing and lifting social distancing interventions will become a recurring pattern. Its quite likely that everything about the new normal will look different - work, school, travel, family vacations. With time and perseverance, we will adjust.

But the first order of business for the nation is ending this first wave of the pandemic.Continuing to follow public health and science is how we suppress the virus, inspire confidence, reduce fear, and reach a new normal when we can start to resume at least some aspects of our lives.

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

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How The U.S. Can Responsibly Reopen The Economy Without Causing A Second Coronavirus Wave - Forbes

Human Behavior

18 Fashion People Recommend Their Sustainability Must-Reads – Fashionista

Photo: Courtesy of Kim Cam Jones

As much as I appreciate films, podcasts, articles and social media feeds, none of them have changed my life as consistently or dramatically as books have.

There is a depth of research and singularity of focus possible between the covers of a book that is hard to attain in a Twitter thread. So perhaps it's no surprise thatI can still point to the novels that shaped my imaginative landscape, the poetry that sustained me through low points and the nonfiction that forever shifted my worldview, even if I forget about half the tabs I save in my web browser.

Interestingly, some of the books that have most directly impacted how I report here at Fashionista aren't actually about fashion at all. Last year, for example, Anand Giridharadas's book "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World" challenged my vision of how social good is accomplished, and shifted how I write about the role brands can and can't play in advancing sustainability. And "The Uninhabitable Earth" by David Wallace Wells, which was my pre-show reading during NYFW a couple seasons ago, changed the urgency of language I used when writing about climate breakdown.

I had a hunch that a lot of other sustainability-minded fashion folks might have had similar experiences, so I decided to ask a range of industry professionals stylists, models, designers, PR people, influencers, activists and more what books have been game-changing for them. Their answers were widely varied (although "Braiding Sweetgrass" emerged as a clear favorite for many) and got me excited all over again about the prospect of learning to better live in harmony with our planet.

Whether you're looking for educational reporting, encouraging poetry, spiritual guidance or a way to introduce a kid in your life to the concept of ethical fashion, there's something ahead for you. (As for me, I'll be over here working my way through Wendell Berry's "The World-Ending Fire" and hoping to find people to discuss "The Overstory" with.) Here's hoping this list helps you find your next sustainability deep dive happy reading!

"My rec is 'Earth Democracy' by Vandana Shiva. Shiva is an activist and environmentalist, known as one of the leading critics of conventional agriculture and biotechnology, particularly the impact of GMOs on India's farmers. 'Earth Democracy'interrogates the governing values in our democracy. Shiva explores four types of insecurities ecological, economic, cultural and political and how each results in violence."

"To me, it's important to really look at the 'why' behind our shopping habits, not just the 'how' the psychological impulses and urges are too often left out of the conversation. 'The Dharma of Fashion: A Buddhist Approach to Our Life and Clothes' is a series of conversations betweenParsons professor Otto Von Buschand Josh Korda, a Buddhist teacher. Together they examine consumerism through the lens of Buddhism. Why do we love clothes? The Buddha would say we're just distracting ourselves from the impermanence, suffering and loss that are an unavoidable part of life."

"I would recommend 'A Harvest of Thorns' by Corban Addison. Addison is a lawyer-turned-fiction writer who writes about the most pressing human rights abuses of our time. This book is a fictional reimagining of the tragic Tazreen factory fire and what would have happened if workers had their day in court. The novel's dedication chokes me up every time: 'For the woman of Tazreen, whose stories will never leave me. On behalf of a forgetful world, let me say I am sorry.' I love this book because I've personally worked against many of the abuses he covers from Bangladesh to Jordan to Malaysia, but as a work of fiction these complex human rights issues feel really approachable."

"My pick is 'The One Straw Revolution' by Masanoubu Fukuoka. It was written as an introduction to natural farming, but it really proposes a whole new philosophy of life. It challenges the model of constant growth (both in farm production yields and in our own lives), and instead asks us to stop and consider why we're trying to have constant growth in the first place and at what cost. Fukuoka challenges the notion that technology will save us, asks us to learn to do less and in doing so create better crops and more fulfilling lives. This book gave me the confidence to step away from a work schedule that was burning me out and find a way to move through the world with greater ease and purpose."

"I'd recommend reading Audre Lorde's 'The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power' because it's one of the best critiques of capitalism I've ever read, and I think [it] is a good guide for where we can go, and how we get there."

"What Naomi Klein exposes in her book 'No Logo'is the very systems that perpetuate oppression and exploitation justified by marketing or branding values. It's the concept of a 'hollow company' one that isn't vertically integrated, but functions as a distributed system where accountability isn't easily traceable in a complex web of middlemen. Where branding and the message is king, the logo becomes the ultimate symbol of connection between the public and the company."

"I really love 'Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors' by Carolyn Finney. It's one of the most important educational pieces that challenges mainstream environmentalism and is a foundational blueprint for dismantling the whitewashing of sustainability. She does a stellar job of showing how Black people historically have been stewards of the land but also the complexities of that relationship due to an American collective identity of racism and manipulated power relations."

"David Wallace-Wells's book 'The Uninhabitable Earth' isfuriously articulate, data-driven and yet poetic at the same time when talking about climate science. I read this book in early 2019, just when it was clear to me that I had an obligation to know more than I did, and perhaps know more than I wanted to. DWW's writing has a sense of measured drama in cooly laying out facts with a building urgency that is meant to provoke action in the reader."

"'Where Did My Clothes Come From'by Christine Butterworth. What's not to love about this book, from the darling illustrations to the surprisingly comprehensive description of garment manufacturing? It's never too early to learn that clothes don't just emerge from a machine whole cloth, and about the complex social, agricultural and environmental systems that power our closets. I probably enjoyed this more than my child, who cannily (and accurately) suspected that I was trying to impart a capital-l Lesson."

"I couldn't imagine a more poignant book to be reading right now than 'Braiding Sweetgrass' by Robin Wall Kimmerer. There's a quote I've been coming back to throughout these intense times 'we make a grave error if we try to separate individual well-being from the health of the whole.' 'Braiding Sweetgrass'is a powerful ode to indigenous wisdom, reminding us how important it is to be connected to plants, and to be open to listening and learning from them. I love how the author fuses oral histories with scientific information, demonstrates how the dominant food system is inherently colonial and urges us to rebuild reciprocal relationships with nature."

"In 'Silent Spring,' Rachel Carson took on the chemical industry and tells of the destruction of the delicate balance of nature caused by the use of DDT (since banned in the USA). She details the effect of a single application and the ripple effect that has on animals, human beings and our natural world. 'The Sixth Extinction' by Elizabeth Kolbertconcludes that human behavior is on the verge of causing the sixthmass cataclysmic extinction. It is a study on the relationship between human and environment and how the history of life is punctuated by periods of catastrophic transformation. More importantly, Elizabeth Kolbert details what we can do to fix it."

"One of the books that largely shaped my views on our current sociopolitical situation is 'World War Z.' The book explores this sham hierarchy we've created within society from a capitalist lens...We're propping up the 'living dead' like oil companies who now can't even earn enough to stay in business.What does this have to do with fashion and sustainability? We are facing a worldwide slowdown. The consumer ideal that items must arrive with near immediacy is changing. We need to rebuild our systems and recognize that we are not the supreme being of this land.It resonates with me, recognizing that my own traditional skills as an Indigenous woman from Coast Salish Territory should never be forgotten or erased...my survival skillswill never be deemed frivolous [in a crisis], whether it'sa zombie apocalypse or total capitalistic or economic collapse."

"In 'We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness,' Alice Walkerreminds us that creating change requires patience, compassion and hope. She reiterates to us that we are of the natural world, not above or beyond it. I refer back to the poems in this book when I feel overwhelmed by despair or like change will never come. And 'Hope in the Dark' by Rebecca Solnit covers topics like war, politics and environmental destruction, weaving together a picture of how the injustices in our world are interconnected and systemic. Her writing is graceful, filled with hope and a pleasure to read. I read this book in one sitting and revisit it often."

"My recommendations are less educational, and more about personal experiences with nature and how it shapes us: One, 'Paddling My Own Canoe by Audrey Sutherland, who writes "Go simple, go solo, go now." We are at our best when we have a good relationship with nature. This is a book that encourages you to get out into the wilderness and explore your curiosities. And two, 'Upstream: Selected Essays' by Mary Oliver. We can learn a lot from the rhythms of nature. This book will help you get acquainted with those rhythms."

"'Grist for the Mill' by Ram Dass isn't specifically about climate change or fashion but it covers EVERYTHING and the oneness of this experience. I think it's important to approach these subjects from the spiritual mindset in order to connect the dots. Grief and discomfort are catalysts for great change and Ram Dass is one of the masterful and very 'human' teachers of our time who lays out the practice of BEING in order to heal from the inside out."

"Barbara Ehrenreich, author of 'Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America' is the OG on a lot of labor issues that are now coming to the surface. 'Empire of Cotton: A Global History' by Sven Beckertpowerfully unpacks how clothing drove the global slave trade and our modern economic system.Adam Minter's new book 'Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale'is a fun read following where things go when we no longer want them. And we need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the sustainability labels that we attach so much importance to, which 'Organic, Inc: Natural Foods and How They Grew' by Samuel Fromartz digs into."

"'Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver.' Some days I feel overwhelmed and anxious and poetry is the only kind of reading I can metabolize. Mary Oliver devoted her life to worshipping the natural world and her work reveals the elusive yet penetrating impact nature has on our individual well-being. Oliver's poems fill me with reverence for what precious natural resources we have left and the inevitability of our demise, both emotional and physical, should we fail to preserve its balanced abundance."

"I'm currently reading 'Sister Outsider' by Audre Lorde. I think it's vital to read the political commentary and narratives of the descendants of enslaved Africans, especially women-identifying Black people. Because these perspectives not only articulate and analyze, with great depth, the absurdity of white supremacist capitalism and its effects, but embedded in these perspectives are frameworks for sustainable (read: regenerative and equitable) progress. Embedded in the essays I've read so far is this theme of care as the antidote to violence... Sustainability requires the utmost care, and the expansion of our capacity to extend care. 'Sister Outsider' is a great foundational text for any philosophy based on sustainability."

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18 Fashion People Recommend Their Sustainability Must-Reads - Fashionista

Human Behavior

Joe Rogan Calls 6ix9ine the ‘Rosetta Stone of the Culture War’ – Complex

During Joe Rogan'smost recent podcast, in which he spoke to writer Bridget Phetasy, he opined about 6ix9ine's current place in the culture.

"You know what's the Rosetta Stone of the culture war? Tekashi 6ix9ine," Rogan said around the 2:37 mark."Because the rap culture has always been 'no rats'; 'snitches get stitches.' That's always been the culture. He is now the most popular rapper on earth, he has a video that he just released a few days ago, that, what is it now?"

Rogan's suggestion came during a discussion onhow pivotal YouTube is in filtering the type of content peopleconsume. "159 million views. And it's terrible," Rogan said of the "Gooba" video.

"There's no logic," he said of 6ix9ine's popularity. "There's no logic to anything people are doing. If you try to look for logic in what's popular, in human behavior...This is the key to translating it - it's all nonsense - he's nonsense.The world is paying attention to this nonsense."

Since being released from prison, 6ix9ine hasexploded back onto the scene. Despite breaking records on YouTube upon its release, his latest single failed to land the top spot onBillboard'sHot 100. According to 6ix9ine, the numbers were juiced by the teams of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, whose song "Stuck With U" landed the top spot.Billboardhas since refuted those claims.

As for Rogan, it was recently announced that his ultra-popular podcast is becoming a Spotify exclusive. According toThe Wrap, it will beavailable on the platformglobally as ofSeptember 1st.

You can watch the full episode of the Joe Rogan Experienceabove.

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Joe Rogan Calls 6ix9ine the 'Rosetta Stone of the Culture War' - Complex

Human Behavior

Why we get enraged by rule breakersand how to deal with it compassionately – Well+Good

In what has been a relentlessly disturbing year, few things have been so irksometo those of us adhering to measures implemented to slow the pandemic at leastas viewing pictures of people crowding beaches and parks without face masks or social distancing. Its maddening, even enraging.

To understand why these rebellious individuals make our blood boil, Joel Kouame, LCSW, a psychotherapist with NYC-based practice Alma, says we need to first unpack the role of anger in our lives. Anger is our guardianits role is to protect us from anything that we perceive as a threat to our safety and the safety of what we deem is of value, he says. We know this because biologically speaking, things that make us angry are stimuli that arouse the sympathetic nervous system, triggering our fight or flight response. This response in turn improves bodily functions such as speed and strength, attributes that give us better odds of surviving the threat.

Whats perceived as dangerous to you, however, might not be perceived as dangerous to someone else. In this pandemic, the threat to most peoples safety is clearthe virus, says Kouame. And the threat is not just to ones own safety, but to the safety of those around them to whom they are attached. Following the rules, then, is comforting to these people, because the rules were created to maintain safety. As long as the [rules are] followed, they dont need their anger to protect them.

When the rules are not followed, however, this protective instinctrage!kicks in. The more egregious the defiance of the rules are, the more the anger inside of the adherent is built because they need that protection, say Kouame. (This explains screaming into the void at the sight of photos featuring people luxuriating in a New York City park while the virus ravages that city more violently than anywhere else on Earth.)

Rule breakers, on the other hand, might behave the way they do because they perceive the loss of autonomy, income, or human interaction the rules might impose on them to be more of a threat than the virus. It goes against human behavior to be comfortable while there is a perceived danger, and if that danger is following rules, it would be almost instinctive for that person to defy those rules and maintain their safety, says Kouame.

Understanding this is key to accessing compassion. I may not comprehend how being told to stay inside with Netflix feels more threatening than a virus thats killed 90,000 people in the United States alone, but I can allow that this must feel true for the people breaking the rules. Doing so may then enable me to better and more calmly communicate my perspective to them. There has to be an extension of understanding and compassion to that fear that resides in rule breakers, says Kouame. By showing another party that even while disagreeing their concerns are not being overlook, and are still being honored, then that party has less need to have to defend them with anger.

In other words, instead of posting angry rants on social media about how reckless and idiotic these COVID-19 rule breakers are (it me!), you would have a better chance at swaying them by acknowledging their fears and then trying to provide them with evidence of how deadly and contagious the virus is. (Is that day at the beach worth your life?)

While you might have more success with this approach than with a strategy involving an angry rant, its not foolproof. Some people may cling to their beliefs that the virus is not much of a threat while others, according to clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD, may not be receptive to reason because they reject rules as a defining characteristic of their personality. The rebel is an iconic image, so some people havent been able to let go of the idea that theyre smarter and sexier for breaking rules, she says. Dont reject them on a personal leveljust let them know you wont be taking chances with your safety by being around them and that they can be a bigger part of your life when theyre respecting your safety.

This will do little to quell your anger with them, but you can and should work on mediating it regardless. To do so, Kouame recommends a variety of techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation, engaging in activities that active a parasympathetic (calming) response like knitting, drawing, or writing and, importantly, challenging the perception that youre in immediate danger. And while telling yourself to calm down amid a pandemic may feel wrong, cortisol spikes that accompany rage are not healthyand theres no sense in letting COVID-19 rule breakers threaten your health twice.

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Why we get enraged by rule breakersand how to deal with it compassionately - Well+Good

Biochemistry

Cal Poly Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty, Staff and Students Produce Hand Sanitizer for Campus Use – Cal Poly State University

SAN LUIS OBISPO When hand sanitizer started flying off local shelves about two months ago, Cal Poly chemistry assistant professor Scott Eagon decided to turn a difficult situation into a hands-on learning opportunity for several students, and help the community in the process.

There have been times recently when its been difficult to obtain sanitizer, and we wanted to help the local community as much as possible, said Eagon, who led a group of students and staff in producing two kinds of hand sanitizer for Cal Polys campus community.

Eagon, who runs a medical chemistry lab, emailed his research students to see if anyone was still in San Luis Obispo and wanted to help. A lot of them want to help in any way to fight the pandemic, he said.

Six volunteered: biochemistry majors Spenser Platt, Eric Schwegman and Julia Gibbs; biomedical engineering major Maetja (Metty) Verbarendse; biological sciences major Jessica Travis; and biological sciences and psychology major Trevan Klug.

I was really excited, because it meant I could do something to help against the coronavirus and I could get back in the lab, Schwegman said.

Biochemistry instructional support technician Andrea Labschuer prepared the sanitized water, and chemistry instructional support technician Shelley Zoff helped procure critical supplies, including alcohol, glycerol and peroxide.

On May 15, the students gathered in the general chemistry laboratories in the Baker Center for Science and Mathematics. Wearing protective equipment, they split into two groups and mixed two different types of sanitizer: ethyl-alcohol based and isopropyl-alcohol based, in proper ratios designated by the World Health Organization.

Both are simple mixtures of alcohol, sterilized water and glycerol. A smallamount of peroxide was added to destroy any microbes that may have gotten in the batch. Then, the mixtures were allowed to cure, Eagon said, during which time the remaining peroxide breaks down into water.

The glycerol acts like a moisturizer and keeps your hands from drying out too much, he said. We avoid adding any fragrances, dyes, foaming agents, etc.,to minimize the chance of any allergic reaction.

They produced six 16-liter batches of sanitizer, or around 25 gallons.

A lot of our projects take months if not years to come to fruition, but making hand sanitizer was a way to immediately able to help our community and make a difference, especially with the uncertainty of this pandemic, said Verbarendse, a third-year biomedical engineering student.

It was great to be back on campus, see my research team and help the community, she added. Being able to come onto campus even for a short time made me excited to return to campus and work in lab when this is all over.

Cal Polys Facilities Services office will store the finished product in its warehouse and use it to supplement current campus supplies by transferring the product to smaller, user-friendly spray bottles. These supplies are being used by current on-campus essential personnel, including University Housing, Cal Poly police, and Facilities Management and Development.

There is a very good chance we will need this supply before we are able to replenish stock via normal supply chain methods, said Jude Fledderman, executive director of Facilities Operations.

Biological sciences and psychology majorTrevanKlug, left,biological sciences majorJessica Travis,andbiomedical engineering major Maetja (Metty) Verbarendse help produce hand sanitizer for Cal Poly campus use on May 15, 2020.

Cal Poly chemistry assistant professor Scott Eagon and several students in his medical research lab produced six 16-liter batches of hand sanitizer for campus use on May 15, 2020.

In photo at the top,Biochemistry major Julia Gibbs, left, with chemistry assistant professor Scott Eagon, prepare to produce hand sanitizer in Cal Polys Baker Center for Science and Mathematics on May 15, 2020.

Photos by University Photographer Joe Johnston. Higher-resolution images available upon request.

Contact: Cynthia Lambertcmlamber@calpoly.edu

May 20, 2020

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Cal Poly Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty, Staff and Students Produce Hand Sanitizer for Campus Use - Cal Poly State University

Biochemistry

Assessing the Fallout From the Coronavirus Pandemic Biochemistry Analyzers Market : Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Threats (2019-2025) -…

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Assessing the Fallout From the Coronavirus Pandemic Biochemistry Analyzers Market : Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Threats (2019-2025) -...