Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

Data: All his best ever ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ moments – Film Daily

Never, in the history of pop culture, has a robot acted less like a robot than Data (Brent Spiner) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. We are including the entirety of all robots from television and film on this list, including R2-D2 from Star Wars, Number Six (Tricia Helfer) from SyFys Battlestar Galactica, and even the brave little toaster, from The Brave Little Toaster.

While Data opened every episode stressing his commitment to logic and reason, we have never seen a character embrace such a YOLO philosophy, outside of drunk frat boys in Southern Florida about to jump into a pool that has been drained for the season.

He lived like he died, like a trusty appliance that lasted way past its original warranty. In honor of this legend amongst men, here are all of his best moments from the best Star Trek show to ever air.

Measure of a Man is the episode you show to your friends to convince them that Star Trek is a great show. Like all great television, it takes place in a courtroom. It addresses themes of consent, slavery, artificial intelligence, and autonomy on a level that is rarely seen onscreen.

It all starts when cyberneticist Commander Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) comes snooping around the Enterprise. Maddox is after Datas positronic brain like the Wicked Witch of the West was after Dorothys ruby slippers, but Data rebuffs his request to study him out of concern it could be more dangerous than Maddox lets on.

This causes Maddox to turn to Starfleet to force him to comply with his request, out of the belief that Data has no autonomy as he is Starfleet property.

Obviously, Data was never going to lose this fight with his No. 1 boy Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on his side, but it is a gripping hour of television that forces the viewer to consider at what point a machine with above-human intelligence could be considered human.

The greatest part of the episode comes from Maddox, rather than Data, when he refers to him as he rather than it. It establishes Data not just as a character, but as a man.

Star Trek: Generations is not a good movie. It has our favorite Star Trek characters from multiple franchises, but it would not even rank in the top 10 of our favorite franchise films (which is pretty bad when there are only 12 in total).

However.

Star Trek: Generations gets major points for a 22-second scene of Data in Ten Forward consuming alcohol. The robot truly speaks to the human condition in this one brief scene, as he tries alcohol for the first time.

Data: I hate this! It is revolting!Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg): More?Data: Please.

What we love about Data is his embrace of all of the human characteristics anyone else would feel nervous or embarrassed or ashamed about. He tries so hard to adopt human behaviors, without any of the emotions that go with them, and the end result is both hilarious and heartwarming.

In Season 6, Episode 5 Schisms, Data embraces the inner Literature and Classics major that resides within all of us to compose a poem to his cat Spot. Suffice to say, the rhyme and meter are technically perfect, but it bores most of the audience in Ten Forward to sleep. However, that is not an indictment of Datas poetry. That was the main macguffin of the episode.

We all know Noonian Soong (Brent Spiner) was a pervert.

It is a given. We knew Soong was a pervert even before we met him, even before we knew his name, even before we had a concept that Data was created by an outside source.

There was no need for Data to be fully functional, unless it was for pervert activities.

Which is exactly what Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) used him for in Season 1, Episode 3 The Naked Now.

During the episode, the Enterprise was attempting to investigate the loss of the SS Tsiolkovsky. The ship had been observing the final days of a dying red supergiant and the entire crew was frozen in place in what looked like the last days of an orgy. They were drunk, they were horny, they were frozen in time as giant people popsicles and that same style of behavior soon infected the Enterprise crew.

Luckily, it turned out to just be complex water molecules accumulating carbon from the body in an imitation of drunkenness, and the A-plot was speedily resolved, but we are still haunted by Data being used as a mandroid version of Austin Powerss fembots.

In Season 2, Episode 6 The Schizoid Man, Data grows a beard. It really adds nothing to the plot or character or even the legacy of Star Trek, but we just love it and felt like adding it to the list.

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Data: All his best ever 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' moments - Film Daily

Human Behavior

Mood Food: 9 Foods That Can Really Boost Your Spirits – Healthline

When youre feeling down, it can be tempting to turn to food to lift your spirits. However, the sugary, high calorie treats that many people resort to have negative consequences of their own.

Thus, you may wonder whether any healthy foods can improve your mood.

Recently, research on the relationship between nutrition and mental health has been emerging. Yet, its important to note that mood can be influenced by many factors, such as stress, environment, poor sleep, genetics, mood disorders, and nutritional deficiencies (1, 2, 3).

Therefore, its difficult to accurately determine whether food can raise your spirits (4).

Nonetheless, certain foods have been shown to improve overall brain health and certain types of mood disorders.

Here are 9 healthy foods that may boost your mood.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a group of essential fats that you must obtain through your diet because your body cant produce them on its own.

Fatty fish like salmon and albacore tuna are rich in two types of omega-3s docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) that are linked to lower levels of depression (5, 6, 7).

Omega-3s contribute to the fluidity of your brains cell membrane and appear to play key roles in brain development and cell signaling (5, 6, 7).

While research is mixed, one review of clinical trials showed that in some studies, consuming omega-3s in the form of fish oil lower depression scores (8).

Although theres no standard dose, most experts agree that most adults should get at least 250500 mg of combined EPA and DHA per day (9).

Given that a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of salmon provides 2,260 mg of EPA and DHA, eating this fish a few times per week is a great way to get these fats into your diet (10).

Fatty fish like salmon are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may lower your risk of depression.

Chocolate is rich in many mood-boosting compounds.

Its sugar may improve mood since its a quick source of fuel for your brain (11, 12).

Furthermore, it may release a cascade of feel-good compounds, such as caffeine, theobromine, and N-acylethanolamine a substance chemically similar to cannabinoids that has been linked to improved mood (11, 12).

However, some experts debate whether chocolate contains enough of these compounds to trigger a psychological response (11, 12).

Regardless, its high in health-promoting flavonoids, which have been shown to increase blood flow to your brain, reduce inflammation, and boost brain health, all of which may support mood regulation (11, 13).

Finally, chocolate has a high hedonic rating, meaning that its pleasurable taste, texture, and smell may also promote good mood (7, 8).

Because milk chocolate contains added ingredients like sugar and fat, its best to opt for dark chocolate which is higher in flavonoids and lower in added sugar. You should still stick to 12 small squares (of 70% or more cocoa solids) at a time since its a high calorie food.

Dark chocolate is rich in compounds that may increase feel-good chemicals in your brain.

Fermented foods, which include kimchi, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut, may improve gut health and mood.

The fermentation process allows live bacteria to thrive in foods that are then able to convert sugars into alcohol and acids (14).

During this process, probiotics are created. These live microorganisms support the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut and may increase serotonin levels (15, 16).

Its important to note that not all fermented foods are significant sources of probiotics, such as in the case of beer, some breads, and wine, due to cooking and filtering.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects many facets of human behavior, such as mood, stress response, appetite, and sexual drive. Up to 90% of your bodys serotonin is produced by your gut microbiome, or the collection of healthy bacteria in your gut (15, 16, 17, 18).

In addition, the gut microbiome plays a role in brain health. Research is beginning to show a connection between healthy gut bacteria and lower rates of depression (16, 18, 19).

Still, more research is needed to understand how probiotics may regulate mood (18).

Since up to 90% of your bodys serotonin is produced in your gut, a healthy gut may correspond to a good mood. Fermented foods like kimchi, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut are rich in probiotics that support gut health.

Bananas may help turn a frown upside down.

Theyre high in vitamin B6, which helps synthesize feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin (20).

Furthermore, one large banana (136 grams) provides 16 grams of sugar and 3.5 grams of fiber (21).

When paired with fiber, sugar is released slowly into your bloodstream, allowing for stable blood sugar levels and better mood control. Blood sugar levels that are too low may lead to irritability and mood swings (22).

Finally, this ubiquitous tropical fruit, especially when still showing green on the peel, is an excellent source of prebiotics, a type of fiber that helps feed healthy bacteria in your gut. A robust gut microbiome is associated with lower rates of mood disorders (23).

Bananas are a great source of natural sugar, vitamin B6, and prebiotic fiber, which work together to keep your blood sugar levels and mood stable.

Oats are a whole grain that can keep you in good spirits all morning. You can enjoy them in many forms, such as overnight oats, oatmeal, muesli, and granola.

Theyre an excellent source of fiber, providing 8 grams in a single raw cup (81 grams) (24).

Fiber helps slow your digestion of carbs, allowing for a gradual release of sugar into the bloodstream to keep your energy levels stable.

In one study, those who ate 1.56 grams of fiber at breakfast reported better mood and energy levels. This was attributed to more stable blood sugar levels, which is important for controlling mood swings and irritability (22, 25).

Although other sources of whole grains can have this effect, oats may be especially advantageous, as theyre also a great source of iron, with 1 raw cup (81 grams) boasting 19% of your daily needs (24).

Iron deficiency anemia, one of the most common nutrient deficiencies, is associated with low iron intake. Its symptoms include fatigue, sluggishness, and mood disorders (26, 27).

Some research suggests that people experience improvements in these symptoms after eating iron-rich foods or supplementing with iron, but more research is needed (28).

Oats provide fiber that can stabilize your blood sugar levels and boost your mood. Theyre also high in iron, which may improve mood symptoms in those with iron deficiency anemia.

Curiously, eating more fruits and vegetables is linked to lower rates of depression (29, 30).

Although the mechanism isnt clear, a diet rich in antioxidants may help manage inflammation associated with depression and other mood disorders (31).

Berries pack a wide range of antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which play a key role in combatting oxidative stress an imbalance of harmful compounds in your body (31).

Theyre particularly high in anthocyanins, a pigment that gives certain berries their purple-blue color. One study associated a diet rich in anthocyanins with a 39% lower risk of depression symptoms (32).

If you cant find them fresh, try buying frozen berries which are frozen at their peak ripeness to retain the maximum amount of antioxidants (33).

Berries are rich in disease-fighting anthocyanins, which may lower your risk of depression.

Nuts and seeds are high in plant-based proteins, healthy fats, and fiber.

Additionally, they provide tryptophan, an amino acid responsible for producing mood-boosting serotonin. Almonds, cashews, peanuts, and walnuts, as well as pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds, are excellent sources (34).

Moreover, nuts and seeds are a large component of both the MIND and Mediterranean diets, which may support a healthy brain. Each of these diets promotes fresh, whole foods and limits your intake of processed items (35, 36, 37, 38).

Whats more, a 10-year study in 15,980 people linked moderate nut intake to a 23% lower risk of depression (39).

Finally, certain nuts and seeds, such as Brazil nuts, almonds, and pine nuts, are good sources of zinc and selenium. Deficiency in these minerals, which are important for brain function, is associated with higher rates of depression although more research is needed (40).

Certain nuts and seeds are high in tryptophan, zinc, and selenium, which may support brain function and lower your risk of depression.

Coffee is the worlds most popular drink, and it may make the world a bit happier, too.

The caffeine in coffee prevents a naturally occurring compound called adenosine from attaching to brain receptors that promote tiredness, therefore increasing alertness and attention (41).

Moreover, it increases the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine (42).

A study in 72 people found that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee significantly improved mood compared with a placebo beverage, suggesting that coffee contains other compounds that influence mood (42).

Researchers attributed this boost in attitude to various phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic acid. Still, more research is needed (42).

Coffee provides numerous compounds, including caffeine and chlorogenic acid, that may boost your mood. Research suggests that decaf coffee may even have an effect.

In addition to being high in fiber and plant-based protein, beans and lentils are full of feel-good nutrients.

Theyre an excellent source of B vitamins, which help improve mood by increasing levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), all of which are important for regulating mood (43, 44, 45).

Furthermore, B vitamins play a key role in nerve signaling, which allows proper communication between nerve cells. Low levels of these vitamins, especially B12 and folate, have been linked to mood disorders, such as depression (45).

Finally, theyre a good source of zinc, magnesium, selenium, and non-heme iron, which may likewise elevate your spirits (43, 44, 45).

Beans and lentils are rich sources of mood-boosting nutrients, particularly B vitamins.

When feeling blue, you may crave calorie-rich, high sugar foods like ice cream or cookies to try to lift your spirits.

While this might give you a sugar rush, its unlikely to help you in the long term and may have negative consequences as well.

Instead, you should aim for wholesome foods that have been shown to not only boost your mood but also your overall health. Try out some of the foods above to kick-start your positivity routine.

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Mood Food: 9 Foods That Can Really Boost Your Spirits - Healthline

Human Behavior

‘Gank Your Heart’: All the reasons we love Ji Xiang Kong – Film Daily

If youve started watching The Untamed, a Chinese BL drama available to stream on Netflix, its likely that youve contracted Wang Yibo Fever. The good news is, prior to filming The Untamed, the young actor had already completed several other acting projects. Fortunately for us, theyre available to watch through a variety of platforms in Western countries!

Naturally, we dived right in. Among our favorite Wang Yibo shows outside of The Untamed, is Gank Your Heart. A romantic comedy that leans on the side of drama, Gank Your Heart is the story of Ji Xiang Kong (Wang Yibo) & Qui Ying (Wang Zi Xuan). Hes a professional esports gamer & and shes an aspiring esports commentator. What could go wrong?

Plenty! The pair get off to a very rocky start, and its safe to say that this is definitely not one of these love at first sight kinds of stories, at least not for Ji Xiang Kong. Ji Xiang Kong is convinced that Qui Ying is trying to use her association with him for her own personal gain. Hes actually quite mean to her at the beginning of the series.

Initially, Ji Xiang Kong seems conceited & even a little vindictive, but his character development is impressive. Where his cockiness positions him as a bit of a jerk in the beginning, its really not long at all before Ji Xiang Kong will be metaphorically grabbing you by the neck as you ignite full-blown bingewatch mode.

So what is it about Ji Xiang Kong that will make you want to watch all 35 episodes of Gank Your Heart in one sitting? Come with us and fall in love with Ji Xiang Kong as we outline all the reasons why we stan!

Considering the hostile & aggressive nature in which his character starts out, its surprising to learn that Ji Xiang Kong is actually a hopeless romantic. There are many moments throughout the 35 episodes where Ji Xiang Kong made us go aww but our favorite moment happens towards the very end of their series and results in a very public declaration of his love for Qui Ying.

After all the drama that Qui Ying suffers at the hands of Ji Xiang Kongs ex-girlfriend, Mi Ya (Lu Yangyang), Ji Xiang Kong finally grows a pair and shows the entire world that he loves Qui Ying, not Mi Ya. Hes standing on the stage after a victorious win at the iConquer Championships & insists that Qui Ying come to the stage and share in his victory.

After everything he puts her through with Mi Ya, publicly acknowledging their relationship on stage in front of Mi Ya and everyone else who seems determined to bring them down is the least he can do. While he doesnt actually say that he loves her during this moment, his actions and his body language make that pretty clear.

This is just one moment on a long list of things Ji Xiang Kong does throughout the course of the series to woo Qui Ying. Lets not forget about the princess balloons he buys for her at Disneyland, or the fact that he zeros out the settlement amount between the two of them. Then there is the cake he organizes for her at the restaurant & the fireworks he took her to see because he knows she is dazzled by them.

Then finally, how he looks after her while shes drunk and completely out of control. He puts her in his bed in the privacy of his room, and he takes the couch in the communal room. This moment is particularly sweet as it is clear that he has feelings for her, even if he isnt able to articulate their depth and complexity just yet.

In episode 1, the Legends are in Vancouver competing in an international iConquer competition. The pressure is on the boys to bring the championship title back home to China with them. On the day of competition though, the teams captain Gu Fangs (Goa Tai Yu) hand is acting up. If he cant get it together, theyll most certainly lose. Ji Xiang Kong does everything he can to protect his captain.

Ji Xiang Kong suggests to their coach a change of tactic. While this might displease fans and be bad for their image, its definitely good for Gu Fung. He put his friends wellbeing, and whats best for the team before his own reputation. When Gu Fang finally leaves the team, Ji Xiang Kong pledges to bring home the Championship title for China if its the last thing he does.

The rest of the series is dedicated to watching Ji Xiang Jong go up against adversary after adversary as he attempts to uphold this promise. Hes shuffled between teams & his relationships are tested often before he forms his own team to finally carry out the task. However, he goes through a lot in the process.

Ji Xiang Kong was afforded many opportunities to put himself first, but he never does. Remember when Ji Xiang Kong sells his motorcycle to buy out Lin Yi Xuans (Ging Guan Sen) contract? What about when, while working with the second team he joins, Ji Xiang Kong has the opportunity to go back to his former team, but chooses to honor his current contract instead?

Then he is offered a role on the third most successful team in the world and he turns it down. He says, during this moment, that he wants to win the Championship for China. While he doesnt reiterate the exact words in this particular scene, its made clear throughout other episodes: he made a promise and he wont quit until he fulfills it.

Ji Xiang Kong is self-sacrificing in both the very best & worst ways. Just as things with Ji Xiang Kong & Qui Ying are getting off the ground, Ji Xiang Kongs ex-girlfriend rolls back into town after being gone for five years. Its clear from Mi Yas dramatic entrance that she was someone very important to him, that he never quite got over.

Mi Ya wants back into Ji Xiang Kongs life. She does a stand-up job of making sure that he, and everyone else around them, know it. Its clear hes impacted by her return, and although he stalls for a moment too long, he continues to pursue Qui Ying. It looks like Qui Ying is about to win the battle for Ji Xiang Kongs heart, too, when Mi Ya gets badly injured and Ji Xiang Kong rushes to her side.

Ji Xiang Kong makes Mi Ya his priority, because he feels like its the decent thing to do. He pays a price, though, and Qui Ying walks away from him and their relationship. Its clear Ji Xiang Kong is completely torn. Not a single part of him wants to lose Qui Ying, but he doesnt want to abandon a sick and injured person either. Especially when that person is someone he cared deeply about for a long time.

Lets get real: no one is #TeamMiYa in this situation. Ji Xiang Kongs acceptance of the terrible situation he finds himself in is both endearing and infuriating. When everyone around him seems to be engaging in bad human behavior just to get themselves ahead, Ji Xiang Kong lets the girl he loves go to serve another.

Its his downfall, because he ends up crushing Qui Ying in the process, but his intention is pure. Yet the strength of such an action takes is admirable and rare. This particular storyline of Gank Your Heart will incite quite a lot of emotion. We recommend stress balls, ice-cream, and chocolate to help you through this stressful part of the show!

One of the coolest things about Ji Xiang Kongs character is his innate ability to lead. His leadership skills are put on full display when he leaves legends and joins the rival team, VNG. His new teammates treat him badly but he works hard to build alliances where he can.

While he isnt able to win over absolutely everyone, he is able to put his own feelings about individuals aside and recognize the strengths they bring to the table. Although he meets many barriers to his success while he captains VNG, he is able to read his teammates and capitalize on their strengths. Something their former captain wasnt able to do.

After he is released from VNG, he goes on to form his own team, where his leadership skills clearly take the team to victory. He patiently waits to recruit just the right players. He makes sure that his recruits compliment each others skillsets, and he works hard to build a family his teammates want to buy into. He believes in them even when they dont believe in themselves.

He does all this with humble graciousness. It would be so easy for someone of Ji Xiang Kongs status & reputation to develop an arrogance about his abilities. He doesnt, though, and grows throughout the series with humility. As the final episode comes to a close, youll find yourself looking around for your very own version of Ji Xiang Kong.

The reality of the situation is, we came for Wang Yibo but we stayed for Ji Xiang Kong. He is so inspiring that hell even make you want to contemplate taking up gaming, if you dont already play! We dare you to watch this show and not fall stupidly in love with this character!

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'Gank Your Heart': All the reasons we love Ji Xiang Kong - Film Daily

Human Behavior

Scientists document collapse of the white-lipped peccary – WSU News

PULLMAN, Wash. White-lipped peccaries have declined by as much as 87% to 90% from their historical range in Central America, signaling a population collapse of a key species in the region, according to a study published recently in the journal Biological Conservation. The research was conducted by a team of 50 scientists from 30 organizations including Washington State University, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and El Colegio de Frontera Sur.

A pig-like animal that is an important food source for large animal predators and humans alike, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)also plays a critical ecological role by dispersing seeds and creating water holes that benefit other animals. The study found that current IUCN estimates underestimated the population decline. The study results are a 63% drop from the current IUCN range estimates for the region.

White-lipped peccary populations are in more of a critical condition than previously thought, said lead author Dan Thornton of Washington State University. While these results are sobering, they also offer a roadmap on how to conserve this iconic, ecologically important species.

The researchers say that human influence and loss of forest cover are the primary causes of the decline, and that peccaries now remain in increasingly threatened pockets of forest mostly found along transboundary areas. Outside of transboundary landscapes, remaining populations were generally scattered and isolated.

Due to their social behavior and anti-predatory defense of grouping together when threatened, white-lipped peccaries are highly sensitive to hunting. Their large area needs and reliance on widely dispersed fruit and water sources also makes this species highly vulnerable to forest loss and fragmentation.

The study found that the largest contiguous blocks of habitat for white-lipped peccaries occur in several major transboundary reserves. This includes the Maya Forest of Guatemala, Mexico and Belize, the Moskitia Forest complex of Honduras and Nicaragua, the Indio Maiz and Tortuguero National Park complex of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and the Darien/Los Katios National Park complex between Panama and Colombia.

Although population estimates for white-lipped peccaries are difficult to calculate precisely, experts estimated that these same transboundary areas likely harbor the highest populations of remaining peccaries. For example, the entire Maya Forest, in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, hosts the largest white-lipped peccary population stronghold in Mesoamerica, with an estimated population of around 5000 individuals. The remote forests in the bi-national Moskitia, spanning Nicaragua and Honduras, may harbor around 3000 white-lipped peccaries.

Of particular concern to the plight of white-lipped peccaries in Mesoamerica is the status of the Maya Forest of Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize, the Moskitia Forest of Honduras and Nicaragua, and the Darien Forest in Panama and Colombia, all of which are under particularly grave threat from human activities. For example, in the past 15years, wildlands (those areas with limited human influence) have been reduced by 30 percent in the Rio Platano/Bosawas complex and by 25 percent in the Maya Forest. Ninety percent of recent deforestation is due to cattle ranching, and these two forests are at imminent risk of losing their contiguity due to expansion of both sugar cane and cattle ranching.

Based on this study, we believe that the white-lipped peccary should be uplisted to a higher category of threat in Mesoamerica from Vulnerable to Endangered in the IUCN Red List. We cannot afford to lose such an interesting species that has a unique social behavior of moving in large cohesive groups in a way that we still do not totally understand said co-author Dr. Rafael Reyna of ECOSUR in Mexico and WCS Associate Researcher.

Mesoamericas 5 Great Forests, spanning from Mexico to Colombia, and covering an area three times the size of Switzerland, are the most critical bastions for peccaries and other wildlife, and also provide services such as carbon sequestration, clean water, and food security to five million people. WCS is part of an alliance of countries, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities committed to protect these remaining areas.

Without Mesoamericas five great forests, the white-lipped peccary will almost certainly go extinct in the region, with cascading impacts on forests, other wildlife, and people said study co-author Jeremy Radachowsky, Director of WCSs Mesoamerica and Caribbean Program. We must all work together to protect these incredibly important forests.

CONTACT: Sara Zaske, WSU News and Media Relations, 509-335-4846, sara.zaske@wsu.edu

Top right photo by Apolinar Basora

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Scientists document collapse of the white-lipped peccary - WSU News

Human Behavior

The Motels’ Martha Davis on surviving the ’80s, the subconscious art of songwriting, and the tragic side of motherhood – Detroit Metro Times

Farm animals have a friend in Martha Davis. The 69-year-old Motels frontwoman lives on a 72-acre farm outside Portland, Oregon, where she cares for alpacas, a squad of dogs, and chickens, one of which, named Ruthie, has found refuge indoors to escape her natural sexual predators.

"Roosters are very rapey," Davis says. "So I brought her inside the house to give her a little hospice from being raped all the time."

Davis describes her home as a sanctuary and admits she's never actually seen all of her sprawling property, but envisions taking a machete this spring to clear out some of the overgrown brush and create a walking path. Despite having been raised in Berkeley, California, and, later, in Los Angeles, Davis says she's always been a bit of a "dirt" girl and says she spent a lot of time in her yard as a child exploring.

"I'm much more at home here than I ever was."

Home for Davis is also in the studio, something she says she would be dead without. Belonging has long since been a theme in the Motels' songwriting, as evidenced by the band's two most successful hits, 1982's "Only the Lonely" and 1983's "Suddenly Last Summer." The latter finds Davis living through the memory of a never-ending summer cut short. "It happened forever, for a short time/A place for a moment, an end to dream/Forever I loved you, forever it seemed," Davis sings in her bright tonality that's somewhere between a command and a whisper, surrounded by melancholic synths, and a dreamy bassline.

"They're old friends," she says of the hits. "They're wonderful. It was my birthday when we played Boston, and the crowd couldn't have been sweeter, and I swear to god they applauded for like five minutes. I was just standing there almost embarrassed. When a song gets to a point where it represents that much to people, it's breathtaking," she says. "However that song happens, [it evolves] and art keeps going even after it's made it turns into something else."

It's been 41 years since the Motels released their self-titled debut, which came as a result of years of missed opportunities, lineup changes, and lack of label interest as the band's previous incarnations, the Warfield Foxes and, later, as Angels of Mercy. The debut, or as Davis says, "the one without the hits," is her personal favorite, rivaling 2018's The Last Few Beautiful Days, Davis' vibrant and deeply personal return to the Motels and the first record since the death of her eldest daughter, Maria.

"The record became a story, and all the songs fit together in a way where it basically kind of mapped out what I saw as my life, you know, with my kids and trying to become this rock star and then trying to make it. It just, all of a sudden, became very, very, very personal. And and that's the beauty of art. It will take you on the journeys. I never tried to touch the steering wheel. I literally sit in the backseat [and] go, 'OK, where are we going?'" she says. "I don't know where it comes from. Like I picked up my guitar and I'm just sitting there and literally just started playing "Only the Lonely" like it had already been written. You have to get the fuck out of your own way."

The Last Few Beautiful Days, arguably the most cohesive and focused record in Davis' discography, confronts a number of hot topics, though through the lens of ambiguity and written as stories rather than protest songs. Inspired by human behavior and the turbulent world in which we live, the record is true to the Motels, particularly on "Lucky Stars," which could easily fit on the tracklisting for Careful, the Motels' sophomore release, which turns 40 this year. Though the record pans out to paint a sweeping portrait of a world in crisis, The Last Few Beautiful Days is also an examination of a mother, her daughters, and the cost of fame. The song "Criminal," Davis says, could be about a number of men, but is targeted at the suits of big pharma.

"My oldest daughter died of fentanyl overdose, and that was because she became addicted to oxy like everyone else," Davis says. "And so as far as I'm concerned, the medical industry or the pharmaceutical industry, they murdered my daughter, and I figure if you can draw one or two dots together they killed her. And there's absolutely no consequences. They don't even get a slap on the wrist."

The record's opener, "Punchline," addresses Davis' relationship with her youngest daughter, Patricia, with whom she is no longer in contact with. "I've basically lost both of my daughters," she says. "It breaks me."

When Davis was 15, she gave birth to Maria, and moved to Tampa, Florida, with her Air Force husband, a man Davis describes as being a stranger and the same man rumored to be the subject of the Motels' "Celia" ("He wasn't gonna kill you/He was just gonna fuck up your pretty face"). Soon after, she gave birth to her second child. And when Davis was about 20, her mother killed herself.

"Well, I was a mess. I was a mess at that time and there were a lot of reasons for that. I hadn't processed the death of my parents when that happened, I was trying to be a mom and I was a bad mom," Davis confesses. "And there was a lot that was going wrong. And it was going wrong because I was taken up in the whirlwind of wanting to be loved,"she says. "I mean, basically any artist most of us are insecure, most of us were very shy and awkward youngsters. That's why we scampered off to our rooms and grabbed our instruments and made our own world. That becomes easy picking for the dark side."

Davis reflects on her mother's influence, recalling the times her mother read from Henry Miller books and the revelations Davis had after finding her mother's diary following her death. While her dad urged Davis to go back to school or pursue secretary training, she found inspiration in her late mother's unfulfilled dreams of being an author, an artist.

"I could feel that she just wanted to be an artist, but she'd write, Oh I have to go to the PTA and this, that, and the other, and I saw her frustration, which possibly killed her, that she didn't do what her heart wanted her to do," Davis recalls. "So I sat my kids down when they were very tiny and I said, 'I don't know how this is going to work, but I'm going to try to be a musician, this is going to be hard.' And I tried, and it worked sort of. I mean, my oldest daughter, I was very much in tune with her for the last five years of her life. She'd go, 'Mom we're making our own Grey Gardens here.' She was hilarious and she was beautiful and I miss her so much. I miss them both so much."

The Last Few Beautiful Days marked a turning point for the Motels. It was the first record released on Davis' label, Remarkable Records, a decision that has allotted the singer the freedom she requires to create without some of the luxuries of label support, like paid studio time and tour stipends. She admits to couch surfing to save money when she travels and refers to her farm as a "money grabber," but with the financial struggle comes yet another record, titled Escape From Planet Earth, a double album composed of new and old material that is already written and mostly recorded. Davis credits her career's sustainability to one thing: peaking and not maintaining that level of fame.

"I'm really glad that my career didn't stay on that trajectory," she says, "because I don't think there is anything more detrimental to humans than fame I really don't. I mean, it's beautiful, it's glorious, all my bills are taken care of. But at the height of it, I mean, I got so removed from reality, you know, in terms of, like, day to day ... how regular people live, and that's a bad bubble to be in. Your feet are definitely not on the ground, and your sense of empathy gets screwed with. It's a very happening place to be there's limo rides and there's champagne and drugs and all that stuff that's really crazy. There's so many pitfalls."

Davis admits to not really paying any attention to pop radio, name-dropping Taylor Swift like a curse word. She much prefers NPR and classical music, yet she can't help but catch the undeniable influence of the Motels and other artists of the era/genre in passing. She finds it flattering, but thinks derivative contemporary artists may have missed the point.

"The one thing that we wanted more than anything else in the world was not to sound like anyone else. No two bands sounded the same. Everybody wanted to look different. It was all about individuality," she says of the '80s.

"And so when I hear bands copying these things, I'm like, that wasn't the point. The point was to be as different as you can from anything," she says. "Blondie didn't sound like Chrissie [Hynde], you know? I call it the '80s wont-go-awaytees. And they won't they don't seem to."

The Motels will perform wsg Bow Wow Wow at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Machine Shop; 3539 S. Dort Hwy., Flint; 810-715-2650; themachineshop.info. Tickets are $29+.

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The Motels' Martha Davis on surviving the '80s, the subconscious art of songwriting, and the tragic side of motherhood - Detroit Metro Times

Human Behavior

What science teaches us about free will – Science 101

In ancient times, debates around free will centered on the concept of destiny. Stories like Oedipus Rex asked whether humans could escape the fate the gods had bestowed upon them. But as science has taught us more about our brains, bodies, and environment, thinkers have shifted from theological questions to scientific ones like: If our actions are determined by a combination of genes and upbringing, does that leave any room for free will? Does someone have free will if their brain functioning is compromised? And does quantum physics, with its nondeterministic forms of causation, provide an explanation for how conscious choice could occur? Neuroscientists, physicists, and even legal experts are now in on the debate, inspiring the rest of us to question and refine our own definitions of free will.

A conversation about free will broke out within the field of neuroscience after neurologist Benjamin Libet conducted a famous experiment addressing the issue in the 1980s. The studys participants were instructed to press a button with their fingers whenever they wanted and to note exactly what time they saw on a stopwatch in front of them when they made the decision to press it. Libet found that the neural activity initiating this action, as indicated by brain scanners, started about half a second before people consciously made the choice.

This finding brought up the question of whether conscious thought plays a role in our behavior, or whether were essentially biological automatons acting according to predetermined patterns of neural firing. Perhaps we think were choosing an action before we perform it, but that choice is simply an illusion that emerges once that actions already being performed.

The idea that peoples behavior is determined by their brain activity, which is in turn determined by other physical processes outside our control, is known as determinism. Determinists argue that if you could go all the way back to the Big Bang with an extremely advanced computer that could track the states of every particle and follow the effects of all these states, you could predict everything thats happening today, including everything that happens in our minds.

One counterargument to this theory is that, if something could actually determine every position of every particle at the time of the Big Bang, whatever is capable of doing that would be so powerful, it may be able to interfere with that system, says mathematician Jonathan Farley. And if that powerful entity were human consciousness, that might mean we do have free will.

The merits of determinism have also been called into question by some interpretations of quantum physics, which has shown that, down at the level of subatomic particles, things look more like waves of possibilities than definite events. For example, the famous double-slit experiment showed that electrons can exist in multiple places at once. Its results suggested that human observation is what collapses quantum particles into one state: The interference pattern of electrons on a wall after they were fired through a slit changed based on whether they were measured. This seems to suggest that there may be something special about the human brain that allows it to exert control over the physical universe, says Farley.

But because its unclear whether the outcomes of quantum events are the products of conscious choice or simply random, quantum physics doesnt necessarily prove that free will exists. In fact, many scientists concerned with free will actually consider questions about determinism to be irrelevant.

Those who believe free will and determinism can coexist are known as compatibilists, and studies show that most people actually have a compatibilist view of free will. That is, people appear to be less concerned with the behavior of small particles and more concerned with the constraints placed on people as a whole, such as whether someone else has forced them to do anything or whether some physical or psychological limitation is affecting their behavior.

This is reflected in the legal system, which tends to consider someones free will constrained only if they have a relevant brain injury, disease, or disability, says James Giordano, professor of neurology and biochemistry and chief of neuroethics studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Legal debates tend not to touch on physics because that would be a moot point: Everyones actions stem from an amalgamation of physical particles, so if physical causation precluded moral responsibility, it would for everyone.

The way Giordano puts it is that free will is less important than free wont. It matters less, for example, whether the brain activity leading someone to push a button starts before they make the decision, and more whether they can decide against pushing that button if there is a disadvantage to doing so. In a legal context, this would involve someones ability to resist the temptation of committing a crime. This is likely related to the connectivity between brain areas involved in things like memory, emotion, and rational thought, says Giordano.

Many physical traits have actually been shown to correlate with someones likelihood of committing a crime, such as their genes, deficits in brain areas that inhibit impulsive behavior, IQ, health conditions, and even heart rate (the theory being that people with low resting heart rates are more prone to risk-taking because its harder for them to feel stimulated), says criminologist Margit Averdijk.

Some of these factors actually are taken into consideration in court. Typically, evidence that someones capacity to make ethical decisions is compromised wont absolve them of guilt, but it may make them more likely to be put in a psychiatric institution rather than prison, says Giordano. A 2016 analysis found that brain scans had been used as mitigating evidence in 5% of appellate murder cases and 25% of death penalty trials.

Social scientists have also posed questions about free will, often in the broader context of asking how much society is influencing human behavior. For example, some argue that someones culture and even the physical environment they grow up in will have a major effect on their lives.

A slightly different way to approach the question of how much free will society affords people is to ask how much external factors constrain our decisions. In that vein, its actually rather difficult to sway peoples choices, says MD-technologist and behavioral economics consultant Drea Burbank. Changes to things like prices and stores that attempt to get people to buy fewer cigarettes, for example, only account for around 10%-20% of variance in human behavior.

So, in short, theres no proven answer to the question of whether free will in any metaphysical sense exists. Clearer working definitions of free will have been developed for more pragmatic purposes like determining legal sentences and getting people to make healthier decisions. Under these definitions, people do appear to have free will, but the extent of the freedom varies from person to person.

While more abstract definitions of free will are interesting to ponder, its difficult to make them the lens through which we make moral judgments or attempt to understand human behavior. Still, questions about quantum states and physical determinism, like those about ethereal souls and deities, are fascinating enough that scientists, philosophers, and artists alike will unlikely stop thinking about them any time soon.

What about the physical components of human consciousness?

It might sound mystical, but it may actually assist scientists in helping those with PTSD.

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What science teaches us about free will - Science 101

Human Behavior

New EMA Research Examines the Detection and Prevention of Automated Bot Attacks – Yahoo Finance

EMA surveyed 209 respondents to learn how defenders are responding to this increasingly virulent attack vector

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), a leading IT and data management research and consulting firm, released a new research report titled "The Imitation Game: Detecting and Thwarting Automated Bot Attacks" based on criteria defined by Paula Musich, research director of security and risk management at EMA.

Over 20% of all website requests are made by bad bots conducting a range of nefarious activities, including the more ubiquitous application distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, as well as price scraping, web fraud, account hijacking, and more. In late 2019, EMA surveyed 209 respondents representing organizations primarily serving North America to learn how defenders are responding to this increasingly virulent attack vector. The research sought respondents primarily in IT and IT security roles representing organizations with at least 500 employees.

52% of respondents indicated that their organization's public-facing applications had experienced DDoS attacks in the last year, followed by 38% of respondents reporting fake account creation and vulnerability scanning/reconnaissance attacks over that same time period. Depending on the type and size of the organization, the frequency of these attacks ranged anywhere from less than one per day to over 500 times per day.

Attackers continue to up their game by increasing the level of sophistication in their campaigns. The use of simple Python or Perl scripts to mimic the behavior of valid website visitors has given way to the use of Javascript and cookies to appear legitimate. More sophisticated bots even have their own moniker: advanced persistent bots (APBs). These APBs, which make up the lion's share of all bad bots, can mimic human behavior, seek to bypass CAPTCHAs, hide behind anonymous peer-to-peer proxies, and dynamically rotate IP addresses. Increasingly, attackers try to determine how their bots are initially detected and then reconfigure and relaunch the attack in an effort to evade those detections.

Defenders are responding by turning to a range of different bot detection and mitigation providers, including dedicated bot mitigation vendors, web application firewall providers, content delivery networking services, and others. Such providers are raising the stakes by adding a wider range of telemetry to their solutions and adding new detections that employ machine learning techniques, behavioral analysis, and more on top of existing signatures, challenges, and IP reputation detections.

"Automated bot attacks can cost victim organizations from thousands to millions of dollars annually in lost business, product theft, increased infrastructure costs, and more," says Musich. In the cat and mouse game between attackers and defenders, though, defenders appear to be gaining the upper hand through the use of more sophisticated detection and prevention tools."

As organizations build out and manage their defenses against automated bot attacks, they are seeing success in detecting and mitigating the most frequently used attack techniques. This is especially true for application-level DDoS attacks, which the largest percentage of respondents indicated were detected and mitigated in less than one day.

Ultimately, bot defense solutions are enabling users of the technology to limit the amount of damage automated bot attack campaigns are exacting. Respondents in the survey indicated that their use of bot defense technology enabled savings in both fraud resolution and web infrastructure costs.

A detailed analysis of the research findings is available in the report, "The Imitation Game: Detecting and Thwarting Automated Bot Attacks."

Highlights from the report will be revealed during the free February 11 webinar, "The Imitation Game: Detecting and Thwarting Automated Bot Attacks."

About EMA Founded in 1996, EMA is a leading industry analyst firm that provides deep insight across the full spectrum of IT and data management technologies. EMA analysts leverage a unique combination of practical experience, insight into industry best practices, and in-depth knowledge of current and planned vendor solutions to help their clients achieve their goals. Learn more about EMA research, analysis, and consulting services for enterprise line of business users, IT professionals, and IT vendors at http://www.enterprisemanagement.com.

SOURCE EMA

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New EMA Research Examines the Detection and Prevention of Automated Bot Attacks - Yahoo Finance

Human Behavior

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Make revival and reform happen today – Muskogee Daily Phoenix

Catherine White

Muskogee

Recently a letter to the editor was written by a citizen who is also a clergyman. It appeared in the local newspaper expressing his appreciation for the man who is presently our President. The letter was gracious and bold in stating such appreciation for Mr. Trump and his leadership. There are those who would vehemently disagree with the letter since over the past 3 years Mr. Trump has been vilified, ridiculed and now members of the left and Democrats' leadership have voted to impeach him. Even so, his private faith acts courageously in the face of death threats and incredible opposition.

Mr. Trump however imperfect as a human and leader is still being used by God to do some remarkable actions consistent with the founding purposes of this nation. He is pro-life, pro-Israel, patriotic and unapologetically brings his faith into the public square.

America is in a freefall today with the church (Christian) exhibiting apostacy, diluted and deceptive preaching that congregants blindly follow and the whole nation wallows in self-indulgent decadence. Abolitionist activist William Wilberforce in England determined (1780-1801) to change the heart of his nation to end slavery. Slavery exists today in a different form: abortion, transgenderism, same-sex marriages," exterminating babies who survived abortion procedures, corruption in the halls of government at all levels local, state, nationally. There is public scorn for believers who stand up in the public square and are rewarded with the label of hate-mongers for seeking to restore biblical standards for human life.

Without a God-initiated revival followed by reform of human behavior, our children and grandchildren will never know the freedom and inalienable rights afforded those who reverence God Almighty. Let us pray for God to raise up evangelists and culture-changing men and women who dedicate their lives at whatever cost to Christ and to the kind of sacrificial faith, endurance and boldness needed to repent and turn our hearts back to the Lord. "If MY People who are called by My name...." That is the audience that needs to take the first step to make revival and reform happen today.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Make revival and reform happen today - Muskogee Daily Phoenix

Human Behavior

Researchers receive NSF Career Awards – WSU News

Three Washington State University researchers have received faculty Early Career awards from the National Science Foundation.

Venera Arnaoudova, Anamika Dubey, and Subhanshu Gupta, faculty members in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), each received the five-year awards. The grants, which are about $500,000 each, are intended to provide significant research support to young faculty beginning their careers who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education.

These awards are a testament to WSUs growing research enterprise in computer science, computer engineering and power engineering and to the high quality of research from our rising faculty members in these fields, said Mary Rezac, dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. They address societal challenges and promise to have significant impact, especially in the state of Washington, which leads the country in high-technology growth.

Demand for graduates in computer science and engineering has skyrocketed in the past decade. Arnaoudova, Dubey, and Gupta were all hired as part of a state-funded faculty expansion to help meet that growing need. Since 2015, research expenditures in WSUs School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science have nearly doubled, as have the number of graduates from its program.

The CAREER awardees include:

Power system outages due to natural disasters cost a staggering $18-33 billion per year and cause significant safety and security concerns, especially during extended outages and extreme weather events. The need for resilience is particularly critical for the aging mid- and low-voltage power distribution systems, responsible for approximately 90 percent of outages.

Leveraging recent smart grid advances, Dubeys project will develop a plan to manage disruptions and improve the resilience of power distribution systems. The proposed innovations add flexibility for bottom-up restoration using distributed energy resources (DERs) and enhanced distribution automation capabilities, allowing for faster recovery of critical services during natural disasters. The project aims to improve public safety and reduce the cost of natural disasters to the economy, encourage DER integration, and help reduce the US carbon footprint. The project will also include a well-integrated education plan to address the critical need for a skilled, interdisciplinary, and inclusive workforce for a future power distribution grid.

Dubey has been with WSU since 2016. She holds a Ph.D. and MSE from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

Extremely large antenna arrays made of hundreds of antenna elements promise to provide unprecedented spatial resolutions for critical infrastructure technology as well as for exciting futuristic ideas like holographic surfaces for multi-user wireless communications, six-dimensional positioning for autonomous vehicles, high-speed communication for deep-space exploration, and automobile radars for detecting multiple objects. However, the signal processing for these large-scale arrays require large amounts of energy and can be inaccurate, and because of the highly complex signal processing required, conventional transceivers dont work well. Guptas project will be working to enable the next generation of multi-antenna array systems that will be more precise, energy efficient and faster, using novel integrated circuits and systems design techniques to develop a delay-compensating spatial signal processor to handle very large bandwidth for large antenna arrays.

The research could have broad impacts on wireless communications, space communications, and radar for autonomous vehicles.

With WSU since 2015, Gupta holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Washington, and a B.E, National Institute of Technology, Trichy, India.

Software developers spend most of their time reading and understanding software. While academic and industry experts have published information on best practices in the field, the information is largely based on the experts own opinion and experience rather than scientific evidence.

Arnaoudovas research will study how human behavior impacts the cost and quality of software development. This project specifically targets practices related to software design, code, and review. The researchers will evaluate the impact of existing practices on developers, use objective measures to identify new software development practices, and develop better guidelines for software development and maintenance.

At the same time, they will be working to incorporate the findings of this project into the curriculum to create a better trained workforce in software development.

With WSU since 2015, Arnaoudova holds a Ph.D. from Canadas Ecole Polytechnique, a masters degree from Concordia University, and a bachelors degree from Frances PolytechLille.

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Researchers receive NSF Career Awards - WSU News

Human Behavior

Traffic, okada and economics – BusinessAMLive

Coming to work in Ikeja today, the first day of work following the ban on okada, came in bold relief the full picture of the impact of the okada ban. People were seen trekking in large numbers from Agegge towards Ikeja, the Lagos State capital. Over the weekend, yours truly had read that bus drivers had cashed in on the absence of okada to inflate transport fares. This will require more investigation.

But the question that comes to mind is: can we legislate and regulate economic behavior? Would it not look like trying to make hot air go down when the behavior of hot air is to rise up? Economics, we are told, is a social science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. So Economics studies, it does not Impose or force human behavior.

In the Economic Environment of Business class, my teacher once asked us if a monopolist could charge whatever price he / she wanted. That was food for thought. First the mass trekking points to the inadequacy of buses for mass transit. So there is a market that okada riders have seen. Nature abhors a vacuum and in a free market economy, this is an opportunity for business. So the challenge will be to meet up with the current demand for an affordable means ofmass transit. Perhaps a culture of ride sharing may evolve. This could reduce traffic congestion also if keeping okada out of that market will be sustained.

The basic economic forces are those of demand and supply. In a market where the demand exceeds supply, price goes up. This is an expected human behavior in a free market economy. It remains to be seen whether a price control or a legislation on price will cause the interaction between demand and supply to change. It might be like forcing hot air to go down with a funnel.

Of course unless you condense the gas into some liquid , it will at the end of the funnel rise up again. So unless there is some statistics taken during this period and an estimate made across routes to enable planned intervention, prices are likely to go up in the face of surging demand. May be the trains will help change the equation. But the routes served by trains are limited and may not have the cooling effect needed to keep transport fares down.

Now back to my teachers question: can a monopolist ( now in this case a bus driver who has no competition from Okada riders) charge whatever he/ she feels like? This situation may attract some opportunistictouch- and go business men who will come and contest the market with the monopolist. The problem with touch- and go business men is that they are not registered businesses, incur little or no costs to enter the market, but will come contest the super normal profit of the monopolist. These types of businesses create safety and security risks. And where choices are limited and prices are high, this new breed of touch- and go businesses will, like in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart, behave like the bird that says it has learnt to fly without perching since men have learnt to shoot without missing.

If the people perceive the new regulation as punitive and unfair, then it will be Us versus them the people and the new reincarnated business model versus the law enforcement agents. This early stage of okada ban provides the opportuinity to resolve transportation challenges before other market players fill the vacuum and meet the need that is showing very plainly.

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Traffic, okada and economics - BusinessAMLive