Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

How a Warming Climate Could Affect the Spread of Diseases Similar to COVID-19 – Scientific American

Scientists have long known that the rise in average global temperatures is expanding the geographical presence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, because the animals that transmit them are adapting to more widespread areas. The link between respiratory illnesses, including influenza and COVID-19, and a warming planet is less clear. But some scientists are concerned that climate change could alter the relationship between our bodys defenses and such pathogens. These modifications could include the adaptation of microbes to a warming world, changes in how viruses and bacteria interact with their animal hosts, and a weakened human immune response.

The immune system is our natural defense against harmful substances. When a respiratory pathogensuch as the new SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19enters the body through the airways, it damages cells by taking over their machinery and making more copies of itself. The injured cells release signaling proteins called cytokines that communicate with other parts of the body to activate an immune response against the foreign invaders.

Mammals have evolved another, more basic defense against pathogens: an elevated body temperature relative to that of their environment. As a result of this change, many microbes that are adapted to cooler temperatures are unable to endure a warm mammalian body.

A lot of organisms in the environment cannot survive [at] 37 degrees Celsius, the standard for normal human body temperature, says Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. So our temperature is almost like a thermal barrier that protects us against many organisms.

The higher ambient temperatures expected with a changing climate could, however, favor pathogens that will be more difficult for peoples body to fight. In a paper published in mBIO in 2019, Casadevall and his colleagues described a drug-resistant fungusCandida auristhat was first isolated from a person in 2009 and emerged on three different continents in the past decade. The common denominator for these emergence events was temperature, the researchers say. The finding, they note, may be the first example of a fungus adapting to a higher temperature and breaching humans thermal barrier.

But a funguswhich does not require a host to replicateis very different than a virus, such as SARS-CoV-2. That virus is thought to have jumped from bats to humansboth warm-blooded hostspotentially via an intermediate animal. If cold-blooded creatures start to adapt to warmer conditions, they could unleash a slew of new pathogens to which humans may not have immunity.

Imagine that the world is hotter and that lizards adapt to live in temperatures very close to yours. Then their viruses adapt to higher temperatures, Casadevall says. We have two pillars of defense: temperature and advanced immunity. In a warming world, we may lose the pillar of temperature if the [pathogens] adapt to be close to our temperature.

This issue could be exacerbated as species move to historically cooler climates and higher elevations while the world warms. In a 2017 study published in Science, researchers estimated that, on average, land species are shifting toward the poles at a rate of 17 kilometers per decade, while marine species are doing so at 72 kilometers per decade. Such a reshuffling of species around the planet could mean that animals that host unique disease-causing microorganisms will live side by side with those that would not normally host them, creating new transmission pathways.

A warming world could also have an effect on humans other defense mechanism: the immune system. Researchers have been aware for years that factors such as a lack of sleep and stress could weaken it. Last year, in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, scientists in Tokyo also discovered that heat reduced mices immune response to a flu virus. The researchers infected otherwise healthy, young adult female mice with the influenza A virus, one of two types that cause seasonal flu epidemics in humans. The mice were housed for seven days in one of three temperature-controlled spaces: at four, 22 and 36 degrees C, respectively. The study authors found the immune systems of the mice exposed to the highest ambient temperature did not fight the virus as effectively as the other two groups.

Specifically, the researchers noted that the mice in the hottest room ate less than those in the cooler rooms and lost 10 percent of their body weight in the first 24 hours of being exposed to higher temperatures. People often lose their appetite when they feel sick, said study author Takeshi Ichinohe, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo, in a press release. If someone stops eating long enough to develop a nutritional deficit, that may weaken the immune system and increase the likelihood of getting sick again. When Ichinohe and his colleague Miyu Moriyama, then at the University of Tokyo, supplemented the mices diet with sugar or short-chain fatty acids (which are commonly produced by intestinal bacteria), those animals were able to mount a normal immune response.

EllenF. Foxman,an assistant professor of laboratory medicine and immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, expresses caution about making a direct link between heat and the mices immune response. The temperature had an effect on the animals behavior, which had an effect on immunity, and the mice didn't form as good of an antiviral immune response in this particular type of flu infection, she says. In contrast, Foxmans own 2015 PNAS study showed that the very first steps of the immune response to fight a cold virus were, in fact, boosted by higher temperatures and depressed by lower ones.

The University of Tokyo researchers question if the weakened immune response seen in their study is the result of a nutritional deficit or the fact that the immune system is hampered by heat altering the activity of certain genes. And they say further experiments are needed. Nevertheless, climate change could potentially disrupt the human immune responseeither directly via higher temperature or indirectly via its effects on global food securitya scenario suggested by a 2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

Foxman, who acknowledges the validity of the Tokyo mouse study, believes it is a leap to conclude from its results that warming makes humans more directly susceptible to viral infections. But she acknowledges that changes in climate could alter the number of host animals, their activity and human exposure to them.

I think that climate change disrupts a lot of patternsof human behavior, of insect vectors and even [of] batsfrom which the COVID-19 virus and other deadly coronaviruses likely originated, Foxman says. The disruptions could indirectly alter the interactions between diseases and human defenses in ways scientists have yet to fully understand.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreakhere.

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How a Warming Climate Could Affect the Spread of Diseases Similar to COVID-19 - Scientific American

Human Behavior

Leaders reacted to COVID with the same tools and without regard to actual dynamics | TheHill – The Hill

Politicians are not scientists, yet they have promised that their decisions to contain COVID-19 will be based onscience, not politics. Is that even possible?

The science of COVID-19 still has more questions than facts. The first models forecasting calamity alarmed us, but their predictions have been way off. Each week brings a new revelation. The first cases arrived earlier than the ones we caught. The number of us infected are orders of magnitude higher than we can count. Ventilators, we are learning, may be harmful. And, though tragically fatal for some, COVID-19 appears to kill less often than we first feared. Scientists are working at break-neck speed, but they are learning as they go along.

Reacting to the specter of overwhelmed hospitals and ventilator rationing, leaders across the country reacted, mostly preemptively, with the same blunt tools and without regard to the actual dynamics of the epidemic on their ground. This was precautionary but not scientific. Every epidemic is local.

How it spreads and who is affected depends on factors very specific to a population. What happens in Wuhan, Milan, and New York doesnt necessarily happen in San Diego, Houston, and Oklahoma City. As it turned out, in some places the responses have been insufficient and come too late, in other places overbroad and unnecessarily costly.

The decisions affecting our lives involve more than science; they are explicit judgments about human behavior. Are we best served by restrictive mandates or can we trust in the common sense of most people? Even before officials closed schools and ordered people into their homes,most peoplehad started avoiding gatherings and unnecessary travel.

They had started applying disinfectants and stopped shaking hands. They had begun telecommuting and staying home when they were sick. For many, self-protective behaviors will now becemented into their lives. Our need for ongoing government mandates depends heavily on whether we believe these new social norms to be durable.

The stay-at-home orders applied in many places throughout the country were decisive actions to protect us from a scary pathogen in the face of uncertainty about our medical response. Many have rallied around flattening the curve, yet even after the curve is flatsome leadersargue that we all should remain sheltered. Others prefer a stepwise return to normality, tolerating some risk, as long as hospitals can cope. Where we strike the balance between pacing the COVID-19 epidemic and preserving constitutional freedoms and economic health is a question of scienceandpolitics.

All of us, not only government leaders and scientists, have weighty decisions in front of us: Where and when do we relax the restrictions? Who should go back to work? When will it be safe to open the schools? Should the elderly and the ill remain sheltered?

These decisions are human judgments, based on incomplete data, and value-laden. Decision-makers are reacting to uncertainty and fear and their decisions reflect, more or less, the tolerance they have for risk (and blame). With so little science to go on, decision-makers are influenced by their own priorities, hopes and biases. And, given our polarized political environment, also, their politics.

We all may not have the experience to digest and evaluate the science, but we all have a stake in the outcome. Unfortunately, we remain in a crisis mode with decisions being made behind closed doors and issued to us with prepared briefings. The media is full of information, yet the opportunities for critical engagement either by scientists or the public in decisions do not exist.

Perhaps, to start, our state and local representatives should hold televised hearings and town halls discussions to have the experts explain the facts and reasoning behind their analysis and response. Even the best science deserves careful scrutiny that is what makes science what it is. Whatever the forum, decision-makers need to be hearing from more of us.

Making decisions to respond to COVID-19more openly and with more deliberation will not only make them less vulnerable to error but also will better ensure their acceptance and success. Without this, we risk misinformation, distrust, and, as we are unfortunately seeing, civil disobedience. The policies we implement must be optimized for local contexts and diverse populations, be mindful of obstacles to implementation and avoid unintended and inequitable consequences.

In times of crisis, we tend to put ourdemocratic principleson pause. No one should be under the illusion that the decisions being made today are objective. Let the scientists continue to inform the people. But let everyday people also help get the science and the politics of COVID-19 right.

Rajiv Bhatia, M.D., MPH, is a practicing physician in Northern California and an affiliated assistant clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University. He is a former deputy health officer for San Francisco and the co-founder of Human Impact Partners, a non-profit that brings health data and science to complex social decisions.

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Leaders reacted to COVID with the same tools and without regard to actual dynamics | TheHill - The Hill

Human Behavior

New Website Promotes Biosecurity on Farms | Northern Region – Lancaster Farming

BURLINGTON, Vt. There has never been a time more critical to farm biosecurity than the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to cripple operations by impacting large numbers of workers.

A new Healthy Farms, Healthy Agriculture website was intended to help farmers and ranchers learn about problems that affect animals such as African swine flu. But its launch, in early January, almost eerily coincided with the global spread of coronavirus, which has infected more than 1 million people in the U.S. alone.

In user-friendly detail, the website is a one-stop shop and hub for biosecurity resources that tells farms how to prepare, detect and respond to disease, and how to implement a plan for dealing with such crises.

Drawing on numerous sources, the sites content was developed by research associate professor Julie M. Smith, DVM, of the University of Vermonts Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences; and designed by Joanna Cummings, of UVM Extension.

The biggest challenge is developing the recognition that biosecurity matters, Smith said. Its very hard for farmers to see themselves as needing to convey to people coming on the farm that they could be a risk.

For example, a farmer might be reluctant to remind a visiting veterinarian to wear clean booties, or deal with healthy animals first before helping sick ones, instead of vice versa. Likewise, workers with a variety of tasks should tackle those in clean areas before going to the cow barn to move manure.

Some of these steps are easy and dont cost much, but it takes mindfulness, Smith said. Unfortunately, its not until youve experienced the disaster that you want somebody to tell you what to do. Then it can be too late.

Getting people to close the proverbial barn door before the horse leaves is another big challenge, because its extremely difficult for overworked farm owners and managers to take time out of busy work schedules to develop effective biosecurity plans.

But the website, under the Create a Plan heading, tells how to build, save and continually improve upon a plan by doing it in steps, which eliminates the daunting task of a long, drawn-out project.

Looking beyond COVID-19, Smith believes the crisis might have a couple of silver linings for agriculture. First, the pandemic clearly shows the damage a new disease can cause and the need to be proactive. So when coronavirus subsides, farms without good biosecurity plans will hopefully adopt one.

Equally, if not more important, the population at large will have a better understanding of the hardships agriculture goes through when an animal-related disease such as African swine flu or Avian influenza strikes a farm. Having been forced to stay at home, practice social distancing and intensify personal hygiene, people might empathize with farmers instead of complaining about the increased cost of pork or eggs, Smith said.

The Healthy Farms, Healthy Agriculture website is one part of a much larger, five-year biosecurity research project funded by a $7.4 million USDA grant, involving a half-dozen universities across the country. The projects main focus is gaining a better understanding of human behavior and biosecurity, to see what influences, from economic impact to improved communications, would make farmers take the issue more seriously and adopt plans of their own.

When were talking about biosecurity I like to think about layers of an onion because theres a lot of different practices that need to be part of this constellation of biosecurity, Smith said. Its having all those layers together that actually protect the health of the farm system.

Its really important to think about what are the things that are happening every day that could pose a risk to the farm, she said. You need to take steps to prevent the introduction of disease.

The website identifies potential disease sources such as other livestock, visitors and wildlife; vulnerable farm areas such as maternity pens, facilities for newborns and feed storage sites; and animals that are most susceptible such as baby calves, young stock and animals that have just given birth.

One of the sites most important messages is that biosecurity is a team effort involving anyone connected to the farm including owners, employees, veterinarians, Extension agents, milk and feed haulers, service providers and other visitors.

They all have the potential to either bring or take away infectious agents or pests that could harm your animals, or animals on other farms, the website says. Think of them as members of a biosecurity community with their own responsibilities to ensure that farm animals are protected.

And now more than ever, farm workers, too.

To view the website, visit healthyagriculture.org

For additional information, visit agbiosecurityproject.org

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New Website Promotes Biosecurity on Farms | Northern Region - Lancaster Farming

Human Behavior

Deadly Pathogen Alters Honey Bee Behavior to Gain Access to Foreign Hives, Researchers Find – EcoWatch

"Planet of the Humans" by the end of April had more than 4.7 million views and fairly high scores at the movie critic review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The documentary has received glowing reviews from numerous climate "deniers" whose names are familiar to those in the climate community, including Steve Milloy, Marc Morano, and James Delingpole. Some environmentalists who have seen the movie are beginning to oppose wind and solar projects that are absolutely necessary to slow climate change.

The film by these two "progressive" filmmakers may succeed where Fox News and right-wing talk radio have failed: to undermine humanity's last best hope for positive change. As energy journalist Ketan Joshi wrote, the film is "selling far-right, climate-denier myths from nearly a decade ago to left-wing environmentalists in the 2020s."

The film follows Gibbs as he visits various green technology sites in the United States and ostensibly learns that each one is just as bad as the fossil fuel infrastructure that it would replace. Unfortunately, the movie is littered with misleading, skewed, and outdated scenes.

"Planet of the Humans"' approach is fundamentally flawed Gibbs focuses almost exclusively on the imperfections of technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, biomass, and electric cars without considering their ability to reduce carbon and other pollutants. The film suggests that because no source of energy is perfect, all are bad, thus implying that the very existence of human civilization is the problem while offering little in the way of alternative solutions.

A Badly Outdated Portrait of Solar and Wind

In an interview with Reuters, Michael Moore summarized the premise of the film: "I assumed solar panels would last forever. I didn't know what went into the making of them."

It's true. Solar panels and wind turbines don't last forever (though they do last several decades), and like every other industrial product, they require mining and manufacturing of raw materials. Sadly, that's about as deep as the film delves into quantifying the environmental impacts of renewable energy versus fossil fuels. In fact, the misinformation in the film is at times much worse than ignorance.

In one scene, author and film co-producer Ozzie Zehner falsely asserts, "You use more fossil fuels [manufacturing renewables infrastructure] than you're getting benefit from. You would have been better off burning the fossil fuels in the first place instead of playing pretend."

That's monumentally wrong. A 2017 study in Nature Energy found that when accounting for manufacturing and construction, the lifetime carbon footprints of solar, wind, and nuclear power are about 20 times smaller than those of coal and natural gas, even when the latter include expensive carbon capture and storage technology. The energy produced during the operation of a solar panel and wind turbine is 26 and 44 times greater than the energy needed to build and install them, respectively. There are many life-cycle assessment studies arriving at similar conclusions.

The film's case is akin to arguing that because fruit contains sugar, eating strawberries is no healthier than eating a cheesecake.

It's true that the carbon footprint of renewable energy is not zero. But the film somehow fails to mention that it's far lower than the fossil fuel alternatives, instead falsely suggesting (with zero supporting evidence) that renewables are just as bad. The closest defense of that argument comes when Zehner claims that wind and solar energy cannot displace coal, and instead retired coal power plants are being replaced by even larger natural gas plants.

In reality, coal power generation in the U.S. has declined by about half (over 1 trillion kilowatt-hours) over the past decade, and it's true that natural gas has picked up about two-thirds of that slack (670 kWh). But growth in renewables has accounted for the other one-third (370 kWh). As a result, power sector carbon emissions in the U.S. have fallen by one-third since 2008 and continue to decline steadily. In fact, electricity is the only major sector in the U.S. that's achieving significant emissions reductions.

It's true that natural gas is a fossil fuel. To reach zero emissions, it must be replaced by renewables with storage and smart grids. But thus far the path to grid decarbonization in the U.S. has been a success story that the film somehow portrays as a failure. Moreover, that decarbonization could be accelerated through policies like pricing carbon pollution, but the film does not once put a single second of thought into policy solutions.

In perhaps its most absurd scene, Gibbs and Zehner visit a former solar facility in Daggett, California, built in the mid-1980s and replaced 30 years later. Gazing upon the sand-covered landscape of the former facility, Gibbs declares in an ominous tone, "It suddenly dawned on me what we were looking at: a solar dead zone."

Daggett is located in the Mojave Desert. Sand is the natural landscape. Solar farms don't create dead zones; in fact, some plants thrive under the shade provided by solar panels.

It suddenly dawned on me how hard the film was trying to portray clean energy in a negative light.

A Shallow Dismissal of Electric Vehicles

In another science, Gibbs travels to a General Motors facility in Lansing, Michigan, circa 2010, as GM showcased its then-new Chevy Volt plug-in electric hybrid vehicle. Gibbs interviews a representative from the local municipal electric utility provider, who notes that they generate 95% of their supply by burning coal, and that the power to charge the GM facility's EVs will not come from renewables in the near future.

That is the full extent of the discussion of EVs in the film. Viewers are left to assume that because these cars are charged by burning coal, they're just greenwashing. In reality, because of the high efficiency of electric motors, an electric car charged entirely by burning coal still produces less carbon pollution than an internal combustion engine car (though more than a hybrid). The U.S. Department of Energy has a useful tool for comparing carbon emissions between EVs, plug-in hybrids, conventional hybrids, and gasoline-powered cars for each state. In Michigan, on average, EVs are the cleanest option of all, as is the case for the national average power grid. In West Virginia, with over 90% electricity generated from coal, hybrids are the cleanest option, but EVs are still cleaner than gasoline cars.

In short, EVs are an improvement over gasoline-powered cars everywhere, and their carbon footprints will continue to shrink as renewables expand to supply more of the power grid.

A Valid Critique of Wood Biomass

The film devotes a half hour to the practice of burning trees for energy. That's one form of biomass, which also includes burning wood waste, garbage, and biofuels. Last year, 1% of U.S. electricity was generated by burning wood, but it accounted for 30% of the film run time.

In fairness, Europe is a different story, where wood biomass accounts for around 5% of electricity generation, and which imports a lot of wood chips from America. It's incentivized because the European Union considers burning wood to be carbon neutral, and it can thus be used to meet climate targets. That's because new trees can be planted to replace those removed, and the EU assumes the wood being burned would have decayed and released its stored carbon anyway.

There are numerous problems with those assumptions, one of which is unavoidable: time. Burning trees is close to carbon neutral once a replacement tree grows to sufficient maturity to recapture the lost carbon, but that takes many decades. In the meantime, the carbon released into the atmosphere accelerates the climate crisis at a time when slashing emissions is increasingly urgent. That's why climate scientists are increasingly calling on policymakers to stop expanding this practice. So has 350.org founder Bill McKibben since 2016, despite his depiction in the film as a villainous proponent of clearcutting forests to burn for energy.

It's complicated, but the carbon footprint of biomass depends on where the wood comes from. Burning waste (including waste wood) as biomass that would decay anyway is justifiable, but also generally only practical at a relatively small scale. A more detailed investigation of the wood biomass industry could make for a worthwhile documentary. It's still a small-time player, but it does need to stay that way.

The Bottom Line

Gibbs asks, "Is it possible for machines made by industrial civilization to save us from industrial civilization?"

Why not? Industrial civilization has a non-zero climate and environmental footprint, but the impact of green technologies like EVs, wind turbines, and solar panels is much smaller than the alternatives. They represent humanity's best chance to avoid a climate catastrophe.

The filmmakers call for an end to limitless economic growth and consumption. It's difficult to envision that goal being achieved anytime soon, but even if it is, human civilization will continue to exist and require energy. To avert a climate crisis, that energy must be supplied by the clean renewable technologies pilloried in the film. To expand on the earlier analogy, the filmmakers seem to believe we should improve nutrition not by eating healthier foods like strawberries, but rather by eating a bit less cheesecake.

Like Fox News and other propaganda vehicles, the film presents one biased perspective via carefully chosen voices, virtually all of whom are comfortable white men. It applies an environmental purity test that can seem convincing for viewers lacking expertise in the topic. Any imperfect technology which is every technology is deemed bad. It's a clear example of the perfect being the enemy of the good. In reality, this movie is the enemy of humanity's last best chance to save itself and countless other species from unchecked climate change through a transition to cleaner technologies.

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Deadly Pathogen Alters Honey Bee Behavior to Gain Access to Foreign Hives, Researchers Find - EcoWatch

Human Behavior

Unemployment claims slow in Ohio, but still exceed 1 million: Overnight News Links – cleveland.com

Ohios coronavirus unemployment claims now exceed 1 million, though the number of new claims continues to fall (cleveland.com)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to extend stay-at-home order expiring May 1 (cleveland.com)

Gov. Mike DeWines coronavirus response tops all other governors in approval rating, national poll says (cleveland.com)

Coronavirus deaths eclipse 11-year Vietnam War casualties in 9 weeks; pandemic among deadliest U.S. events (cleveland.com)

Human behavior, anxiety and privilege underlie the dystopian feeling of our new coronavirus norms (cleveland.com)

The Ohio Department of Health reported the first three cases of coronavirus on March 9. On Wednesday, April 30, it reported 18,027.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

975 Ohioans dead from coronavirus: Gov. Mike DeWines Thursday update (cleveland.com)

Mapping Ohios 18,027 coronavirus cases, updates and trends (cleveland.com)

Sen. Rob Portman asks Treasury Department to make coronvirus loans available to small-business owners with criminal records (cleveland.com)

Ford Motor Company will require that workers wear face masks and have their temperatures taken when it reopens U.S. plants (cleveland.com)

What Put-in-Bay wants you to know about summer vacations amid coronavirus (cleveland.com)

See which grocery stores, big box retailers are requiring customers to wear face coverings (cleveland.com)

Lake Erie charter fishing to resume in Ohio on Friday with restrictions (cleveland.com)

Man found dead in grocery store air ducts was missing for eight days, family says (cleveland.com)

Suspect in fatal shooting of man at East Cleveland convenience store arrested in Tennessee (cleveland.com)

Off-duty Mogadore officer struck on motorcycle, assaulted, police say (cleveland.com)

Man charged in accidental shooting that killed uncle during 25th birthday party in Cleveland (cleveland.com)

Woman was getaway driver in deadly shooting of 15-year-old boy in Cleveland, police say (cleveland.com)

Two brothers -- one naked -- attack older brother outside Berea home (cleveland.com)

Geauga County drug bust includes suspect in fatal overdose (WOIO Channel 19)

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Unemployment claims slow in Ohio, but still exceed 1 million: Overnight News Links - cleveland.com

Human Behavior

VALDEZ: Clear, rational thinking key to voting decisions – RU Daily Targum

On the Front Lines

Joshua Valdez is the Sports editor for The Daily Targum.

I find that the saying art imitates life becomes truer as I get older.

One of my new quarantine traditions is watching movies several nights a week with my parents. I find it to be a therapeutic and a welcome distraction to the madness going on around the world at the moment.

One of the films we watched was the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men. I found that it is not only a well made film, but also a timeless commentary on human behavior.

The premise is that a jury of 12 men have to come to a unanimous verdict on a murder trial. If they declare the defendant guilty, he will get the death penalty. At first, 11 of them voted guilty. In a surprising twist, though, the one juror that voted innocent was able to eventually change all of their minds, resulting in a unanimous vote to let the defendant walk.

The way the man was able to do this was with calm, rational thinking. His reasoning was that they could not definitively prove that the defendant was guilty without reasonable doubt. He did not necessarily think the guy was innocent, but he did not have enough concrete information to send him to the electric chair.

When he grilled other jurors for their reasoning, he ended up exposing them for simply agreeing with each other to have a mob mentality and not basing their decision off of the facts at hand. One juror in particular admitted at the end that his own emotional issues were the reason behind his irrational thinking.

What I took from this was that clear-headed and rational thinking will always be superior to knee-jerk, impulsive reactions. For example, many people nowadays will hop on social media and get temporarily outraged over just about anything, only to forget about it the next day and move on with their lives.

Cancel culture might be my least favorite trend of the past few years. I feel that people will follow a trend of cancelling someone on Twitter just to fit in and get their own clout online. It is a mixture of being impulsive, irrational and disingenuous.

Do not get me wrong some people deserve to be excommunicated from society. Public figures such as Bill Cosby, R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein all are disgusting abusers and they deserve to be the recipient of online rage.

With that being said, another public figure has been put in the crosshairs recently for a sexual misconduct allegation. You know him, I know him: Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

I am the first one to say that Biden has made some tone-deaf and off-putting remarks. His poor kids are just as smart as white kids line comes to mind. I am not a passionate supporter of the man at all. At the same time, I am not jumping to call him a rapist.

Could he be guilty of raping or sexually abusing Tara Reade? Absolutely. Do I know for sure what happened? Absolutely not. I am not qualified to say whether he did or did not do it. Since I do not know, I would rather wait until more information gets revealed before I jump to a conclusion.

It sucks that we are in a time where both candidates in the upcoming election have these allegations. I will admit that I am biased as a Democrat, but I tend to think that people who are caught on tape saying grab them by the p*ssy are pretty likely to commit misconduct. I am not telling you who to vote for, but you should take another look at that infamous video clip if you are debating it.

Personally, I despise politics and do not care for the majority of politicians, but I suck it up and vote anyway. I was not a fan of Hillary Clinton, but I voted for her in 2016 because I saw her as the lesser of two evils. I feel the same about Biden.

I have seen a lot of Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) supporters online declaring their refusal to vote in light of him dropping out of the race. To this group of people, I would like to ask: Why? An unfortunate part of life is the necessity to move on when you do not get what you want. It can be emotionally traumatizing, but there is no benefit of being sour about the past.

I am not an expert, but I am pretty sure Bidens ideals and policy proposals are much closer to Sanders's than he who shall not be named. Say what you want about Sleepy Joe, but he never suggested anyone inject themselves with Lysol, or a Muslim ban or a border wall. But that is neither here nor there.

If you take time, breathe, think everything over and still do not change your mind, that is cool with me. All I suggest is that you reconsider.

Joshua Valdez is the Sports editor for The Daily Targum.

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VALDEZ: Clear, rational thinking key to voting decisions - RU Daily Targum

Human Behavior

What COVID-19 reveals about racism in America – The Times Weekly

Unhooded and Exposed: Its shameful that the novel coronavirus 2019 pandemic should be a model for human behavior. That is, COVID-19 does not discriminate. But among death, severe disease, and toilet paper depletion, xenophobia and racism to have found their way into how the disease will be remembered.

It would seem that such a formidable opponent would provide an opportunity for unity, trust, and ultimately love between people. And though it has, the disease has also shone a harsh light on systemic injustices across communities locally and globally. The virus has been referred to as the Chinese virus or as the Wuhan Flu forcing Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants to defend their cultures and nationalities. Gun purchasing rates from these communities increased. Op-eds were written. Not for the first time in this countrys history, anti-Asian rhetoric went mainstream again.

Soon, COVID-19 will have a rampant spread to the African continent. In some countries, its already arrived. In a twist, African immigrants in China now face their own fears as people turn the subvert the narrative. That this deadly disease is brought by outsiders. That its foreign. That its of another color. Shifting the blame is easy. Its also deadly.

So, we looked to the experts. The scientists, doctors, and elected officials. What do we do to protect ourselves? Surely stockpiled frozen food will not save me or those that I love. The advice that followed was mixed. Wear a mask. No, dont. Get an N-95. Just kidding, these must be saved for healthcare workers. And finally wear any sort of face covering. Act as if you have the virus. This is the current advice from the Centers for Disease Control. But wearing a mask is a privilege. Wearing a bandana is a greater one.

Face coverings inside usually conjure the image of a bank-robber, a thug, a gangster, a criminal. Public images that people of color have run the longest-running PR campaign against. And yet, in communities of color, where COVID-19 is hitting the hardest due to higher rates of pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, people are afraid to wear masks. Why? Because of the United States history of playing with the lives of people of color. Of hands-up dont shoot. Of Trayvon Martin going to 7/11 to buy some snacks. Of Eric Garners I cant breathe. Sandra Bland was just trying to drive a car. Because even when innocent, unarmed, and unmasked, there is a potential threat. Imagine what its like when masked?

Its all systemic. Its historical. And its always been life or death. Its known thatCOVID-19 will impact communities of color economically at much higher rates. Populations that have had to work harder for longer to see even the horizon of the American dream are seeing it riding off into the sunset atop a stallion trained for racing. Like Sisyphus, the boulder is back at the bottom of the mountain. Now, more than ever, it is essential to support and uplift communities of color.

Every year, YWCAs across the country unite for our annual Stand Against Racism campaign. Typically, we host events in communities big and small, condemning racism, hatred, and bigotry. We do so to raise awareness, to support marginalized people, and because we know it is the right thing do to. Standing against racism is the work of justice. We mustnt let the boulder fall.

YWCA USAs hosted their first-ever Tele-Town Hall on Thursday, April 23rd. There were national leaders, and special guests included Janelle Mone, on how theyre working to stand up to injustice. Sign our pledge to Stand Against Racism and write to your representatives. Listen to our Stand Against Racism episodes of Organize Your Butterflies and share them with your friends and family while socially distancing at home.

Finally, engage with us on social media by sharing our graphics and using the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. As always, we are #StrongerTogether. By Sophia Clarke, Communications Associate, YWCA USA

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What COVID-19 reveals about racism in America - The Times Weekly

Human Behavior

National Parks Are Empty During the Pandemic and Wildlife Are Loving It – Discover Magazine

Humans might be stuck at home, but at least the year-round residents of national parks are free to roam more than usual.

From bears in Yosemite to lions in Kruger National Park in South Africa, wildlife living in these protected ecosystems are moseying into places normally filled with humans and cars.

As strange as it might be to see bears lumbering down roads they normally avoid, its not too surprising theyre taking advantage of the empty spaces, says Tony Clevenger, a wildlife crossing researcher at Montana State University. As you get people off trails and reduce the amount of human activity and movement in some of these rural-urban areas, wildlife really seem to key into that, he says. And depending on how much these animals habits change and how much they seem to benefit from having more space to themselves park management might look different once humans are allowed back in.

A coyote lounging in a parking lot at Yosemite National Park on April 20, 2020. (Credit: National Park Service)

The past few years have seen a record-setting number of National Park visitors. In 2016 alone, nearly 331 million people entered these vast tracts of land that we tend to think of as wilderness. This matters, as the animals in these parks might be changing how they behave when were around, says Kaitlyn Gaynor, who studies human-wildlife interactions at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

For one thing, the 5,000-plus miles of road running through all U.S. National Parks can break up habitats and make it harder for animals to reach new mates, food sources or shelter. The noise we make can disrupt breeding and feeding. Gaynors own research has found that some mammals may even be pushing more of their activity into the nighttime because of human behaviors including those as seemingly benign as hiking. Gaynor says she wouldnt be surprised if some animals start to adjust their schedules now that people, and the stressors they come with, arent in their habitat anymore.

Some species could have a harder time making these adjustments than others, though. Small prey might avoid roadways no matter how many people are around, since any unforested, open area puts smaller species at risk of being spotted by predatory birds, Clevenger says. But bears or other large animals might take advantage of an empty thoroughfare, since carnivores already take advantage of human-made hiking trails to get around, says Gaynor.

This is a particularly good time of year for bears to feel free, which the conditions inside Banff National Park in Canada illustrate well. After emerging from their dens, bears look to bulk up on springtime foods. In Banff, that means the species heads for the sunny, south-facing slopes in their territory but May and June would typically bring tourists wanting to enjoy the same hillsides. That can lead to conflict and, inevitably, the removal of bears from the population, Clevenger says. Banff bears often have to cross a two-lane highway cutting through the park to reach these beloved fields. With the park closed for the time being, the bears have fewer humans and cars in their way of a quality meal. Its truly a good thing certainly for bears and, I would think, for other species as well, Clevenger says.

Once people come back, there could be a steep learning curve for wildlife. After all, once shelter-in-place orders get lifted, the animals are not going to be notified right away, Gaynor says. There might be an uptick in the amount of human-wildlife conflict until animals relearn to stay away from the same places they used to avoid, she thinks.

Most wildlife biologists didnt have time to set up experiments to specifically track wildlife behavior during the pandemic. But previously set motion-activated cameras and GPS tracking collars are still collecting data, Gaynor says, and she knows biologists already thinking of how they might analyze the information coming in during these strange new circumstances.

If wildlife in places like national parks really thrive during this period, then parks might consider permanently reducing how much of the ecosystems humans have access to. The booming number of park visitors in the past several years has become what Clevenger considers the primary conservation concern for these habitats. It seems inevitable that growing crowds of visitors will push parks to close off regions most important to certain species survival, he says. Otherwise, we have disturbance all over the landscape and no areas of recovery.

As tragic as the situation is, months of human-free activity in these wilderness areas might reveal strategies to improve conditions for animals dependent on our national parks to survive. At the very least, pictures and headlines of animals getting comfortable is a reality check for us humans, Gaynor says. It is always a good reminder that we share the planet with other species.

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National Parks Are Empty During the Pandemic and Wildlife Are Loving It - Discover Magazine

Human Behavior

COVID-19 Pandemic: Scientists Report 8 Behavioral Pitfalls In Adherence To Preventive Strategies – International Business Times

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging human biology, the capacity of hospitals with acute care, and several other aspects such as communication network and financial resilience of economies. Although preventive strategies to reduce disease transmission have been followed, a recent study has pointed out 8 pitfalls of judgment. Being aware of these can help make behavioral modifications to fight the deadly novel coronavirus.

Strategies for reducing transmission have included repeated hand washing, physical distancing, and self-isolation. These preventive strategies are immediately available, highly affordable, and distinctly effective; however, a major challenge is the need to maintain adherence, said the researchers in their paper published in The Lancet Public Health.

Here are the pitfalls of judgment listed in the study:

1. Fear of the unknown

People might be paying more attention to unknown risks compared to regular events. It is the psychological response to threats like COVID-19 that is mysterious. Intense sensitivity to such unknown threats is very common and they arise at the root of fear-based psychopathologies. COVID-19 was first denoted as coronavirus of unknown origin and this has raised an ominous specter of unseen troubles. But with time, the mystery and newness of the disease will fade and reduce all the attention. It is important to make creative reminders after the initial shock fades and be as vigilant as to when it was all new.

2. Personal embarrassment

People have endless reflexive habitual actions that they cannot easily suppress. A lapse in following preventative strategies,such as avoiding self-touching behaviors, can be interpreted as a personal failure and people start feeling ashamed. The authors' advice isto acknowledge that this is normal behavior and to use celebrity patients to lessen stigma.

3. Neglect of competingrisk

People tend to focus completely on COVID-19 and end up neglecting less important considerations. In the process of over-focusing on a potential hazard could make people neglect everyday practices that can affect their health. They urge the public to practice good sleeping habits, eat healthily, exercise regularly, and take care of mental health.

4. Invisible diseases

COVID-19 receives attention because it has an objective test to establish the diagnosis. Whereas, there arent any such tests for mental health disorders. Physical distancing carries a downside of potentially increasing domestic frictions and psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, depression, and substance abuse.

5. No Clear feedback

The long incubation period includes a protracted wait time between implementing intervention and finding out the results. Time delays can lead to psychosomatic symptoms and a sense of impending doom in the early stages of the crisis.

6. Status quo bias

Human behavior is driven by a strong aversion to losses, it kindles a desire to maintain the status quo. Such a desire for the status quo can drive the public to do dangerous things like giving up social distancing measures. The authors urge public health experts to emphasize future gains in order to help people understand the benefits of social distancing.

7. Ingrained societal norms

People might be tempted to greet their loved ones or friends they run into with a hug or a peck on the cheeks. It is very important that the public remember the dangers before doing it. Habits can be difficult to change, but people should keep reminding and highlighting the importance of social distancing to others who have changed behaviors.

8. Hindsight bias

The pandemic will eventually subside but the hindsight bias could lead to castigating healthcare authorities who might have over-reacted to under-reacted. The collective mentality that we are all in this together was challenging when the COVID-19 pandemic began and might prove as equally difficult to sustain after it is over. Awareness of judgmental pitfalls might help to make things a little easier, said the authors.

The government has been under pressure to relax social distancing rules Photo: AFP / Paul ELLIS

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COVID-19 Pandemic: Scientists Report 8 Behavioral Pitfalls In Adherence To Preventive Strategies - International Business Times

Human Behavior

Friday Five with Katie Lim of BARK – Design Milk

Katie Lim is Director of Industrial Design at BARK, the worlds most dog-obsessed company best known for BarkBox. There she helps push innovation, aesthetic, and play by leading the design team for Super Chewer, a line of toys for dogs who love to play rough and need a challenge. As part of BARKs in-house design team, Katie also oversees product branding, product development, and prototyping of the design process for over 430 new and original toys each year. She thrives when seeking out new opportunities and strategies, coming up with never before seen products, and innovative uses for new materials. Katie also manages the @Bark_Creative Instagram account where she gives followers an inside look at the brands behind the scenes design process. Katie earned her degree in Industrial Design from Savannah College of Art and Design, and began her career in toy design working on brands such as Bright Starts, Oball, and Taggies. Just prior to joining BARK in 2017, she was lead designer for Baby Einsteins infant toy products and oversaw all of their play gym innovation and development. Today Katie is joining us for Friday Five and sharing five things important in her life.

1. Young SpiritsDoesnt matter what age (or species!), I love anyone/anything with refreshing perspectives and extreme curiosities. Theres a certain energy and genuine emotion in those young at heart that I find very inspiring. As far as literal young spirits, I love seeing kids use their imagination in play or even when just trying to make sense of the world around them. Children think and express feelings without boundaries, and they carry a joy thats hard to bottle, but its an important lens for me as a designer to continually look through. They remind us to be expressive, be weird, be curious, and keep learning. I try to bring that feeling into every product I design.

2. Dieter Rams 10 Principles for Good DesignGood design is innovative, makes a product useful, aesthetic, makes a product understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long lasting, thorough down to the last detail, environmentally friendly. Good design is as little design as possible. The Vitsoe print extolling these principles shown above hangs to the left of my studio desk. When I start to get lost or indecisive with my work, these help guide me forward. I try to stay grounded in these throughout my entire process for design, and check off as many as possible before any item is produced. Its easy to cram so much into every aspect of a design, but you need to let it breathe and contain only what is necessary for both aesthetic and material use. Theres a bigger conversation around each of these, but we can leave it at this for now.

3. The CommuteMy daily commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan averages around 40 minutes, involving a bus transfer to a train that crosses over the Manhattan Bridge. The gentle rocking motion of the train juxtaposed by the frenzy of transferring from the bus to the labyrinthine subway below somehow makes it easy for me to get lost in a thought or follow an idea. Its also a time when I feel most connected to the city and the people in it. You catch small details in human behavior that gives insights for designing solutions for as many different users as possible. It also gets me out of the bubble of my own life and perspective. Ill catch someone using an object in a way Id never think to do, or see a need that I never encountered myself. I love that New York is always moving and taking risks. Being in that energy motivates me to do the same in my own work and gives me confidence to share my own voice.

Photo by Daniel Koehler

4. Community and MentorshipSocial media, podcasts, and the blogosphere have been instrumental in the growing sense of community in the design field, especially at an international level. @weeklydesignchallenge, @renderweekly, @minordetailspod, and @adv_des are just a few accounts created by passionate professors and designers that help foster this through Instagram, and who I turn to regularly to learn about new approaches and programs. This has become a great platform for designers at all levels to show work and be connected, and I love how open everyone is with sharing their process and techniques in a field thats so competitive. The photo above was taken during my first time leading a sketch workshop that was organized by a nonprofit organization, Advanced Design (@adv_des). Not only was this an opportunity for others to learn from my experiences, but I also learned so much seeing how they applied their skills to what I taught. I also appreciate James Connors and Nick Baker opening up conversations in their podcast, Minor Details (@minordetailspod), around struggles we go through but dont usually talk about. They bring on a wide range of guests and set a tone for open and honest discussions in the industry.

5. Sculpture and InteriorsBefore I knew about Industrial Design, I grew up torn between wanting to be an Interior Designer or a Sculptor. Lucky for me, Industrial Design combines both of these passions. Even luckier, I can still be inspired by incredible forms and thoughtful spaces for the work I do now. Theres a fun exercise I like to do I check out blogs like Dezeen or Architectural Digest, find a space that stands out to me, and then design objects that could fit in that same space. It can be anything! Furniture, appliances, toys, accessories it helps challenge the personal aesthetic I gravitate towards automatically and expands my visual library. This is something I especially love bringing to the pet industry, dog toys dont have to be objects that you want to kick under the couch as soon as company arrives. You can take advantage of form, color, and texture to create something that is very functional for play, but also beautiful.

Originally posted here:
Friday Five with Katie Lim of BARK - Design Milk