Color | Jotup

How building more backyard homes, granny flats and in-law suites can help alleviate the housing crisis

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 5, 2023

However, this ideal is relatively new within a broader history of housing and development in the U.S. It’s also a goal that has become increasingly unattainable.

Key Points:

However, this ideal is relatively new within a broader history of housing and development in the U.S. It’s also a goal that has become increasingly unattainable.
As professors of architecture, we explore how cities change over time, and how certain building trends become commonplace through cultural, political, technological and economic shifts.
Single-family zoning restricts the supply of affordable housing, leading to higher costs, displacement and segregation.

Enter the ADU

To accommodate these living situations, a range of housing types emerged: multifamily apartment complexes, housing cooperatives, and duplexes and triplexes.
They include full amenities – a kitchen and a bathroom, along with a separate entry from the primary dwelling.
You may have heard of minimalist living trends such as van life and tiny homes, but the ADU was the original compact housing.

Addressing the ‘missing middle’

We believe ADUs – with their social, economic and environmental benefits – should become a more common housing option.
Many new neighborhood developments are marketed as “luxury” and try to take advantage of hot markets by maximizing price points.
But they also provide space and privacy for younger people who may not be able to afford a larger single-family home.
By adding units to the existing rental market, they can stanch soaring rental costs.
They can also provide passive income for homeowners who need help paying off their mortgage.

California leads the way

Similarly, bureaucratic hurdles can sometimes discourage homeowners who might otherwise be interested in having their own ADU.
Sometimes six or seven separate permits are required, significantly delaying construction.
Plans range from a studio structure of less than 400 square feet to a 1,200-square-foot house with three bedrooms.
ADU permits increased from 9,000 in 2018 to 12,392 in 2020, according to the UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation.

'Across the Spider-Verse' and the Latino legacy of Spider-Man

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 2, 2023

Now, its sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” features two Latino Spider-Men in starring roles.

Key Points:

Now, its sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” features two Latino Spider-Men in starring roles.
Irish-Latino Spider-Man Miguel O’Hara of “Spider-Man 2099,” voiced by Oscar Isaac, is jumping into the fray.

Breaking the mold

His powers came from a magical amulet that bestowed him with speed and martial arts expertise.
Later iterations of White Tiger included his niece Angela del Toro and his sister, Ava Ayala.
The first Marvel Latina superhero, also co-created by Mantlo, was Firebird – real name, Bonita Juárez – who first appeared in 1981.

Spider-Man’s web extends into Latin America

In Latin America, Spider-Man has been a popular character since the hero first appeared in his own series, “Amazing Spider-Man,” in 1963.
In Mexico, Spider-Man quickly became more popular than any other Marvel character, save for his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.
Or maybe Latin Americans love his luchador-esque costume – Peter Parker did, after all, debut his Spider-Man title and threads as a professional wrestler.

An Irish-Latino swings into the Spider-Verse

So it was a big deal when Miguel O'Hara took on the mantle of Spider-Man in his own series, which ran for four years.
Miguel O'Hara is the future Spider-Man of Earth-616 in the year 2099, a post-apocalyptic future run by greedy corporations.
When O’Hara first appeared in 1992 as the main star of the “2099” series, fans embraced him, with little controversy.
And perhaps O'Hara’s light skin made it easy for readers to forget that he was Latino in the first place.

Recasting Spider-Man as an Afro-Latino

When Morales came on the scene, he wasn’t merely a carbon copy of Peter Parker, though.
He was raised by his African American father – an ex-con who had turned his life around – and Puerto Rican mother in Brooklyn.
How Morales’ race and ethnicity would play into the stories has been a point of contention.
In December 2022, Cody Ziglar, a Black comic writer, took over as the head writer of Morales’ story.
As Frank, the comics scholar, notes, these differences can lead to feelings of alienation.

Israeli protesters fear for the future of their country's precarious LGBTQ rights revolution

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 2, 2023

But among other concerns, many Israelis fear that hard-line conservative ministers will roll back LGBTQ rights.

Key Points:

But among other concerns, many Israelis fear that hard-line conservative ministers will roll back LGBTQ rights.
Opponents, however, fear that Israel’s balance of being a democratic state and a Jewish one is tipping away from democracy.
I believe the lack of separation between law and religion has at times actually helped advance LGBTQ Jews’ rights.

The ‘gay decade’

Israel’s first LGBTQ organization, The Aguda, was founded in 1975 as a grassroots, volunteer-based human rights nonprofit.
A groundbreaking 1983 Aguda pamphlet appealed to scientific evidence and international legal precedents to make the case for ending prejudice and discrimination.
Same-sex partners were recognized for welfare in 1994, national insurance benefits in 1999 and pension benefits in 2000.

Uneven gains

Municipal and state investments have made the Tel Aviv Pride Parade a top destination for Pride month travelers around the world.
The late 1990s and the aughts also saw a significant expansion of organizations to support LGBTQ people and their families.
Still, access to protections has always been uneven.

Path to acceptance

Although a minority, religious conservatives have been power brokers and members of government coalitions for most of the state of Israel’s history.
Yet certain aspects of the country’s political landscape help explain the LGBTQ movement’s successes – as do activists’ strategic choices.
First, the lack of separation of state and religion means that Israel does not offer a civil marriage option, even for opposite-sex couples.

Pivotal moment?

Jewish religious conservatives have long viewed acceptance of LGBTQ people’s rights as an affront to the state’s Jewish character.
In the past, ruling coalitions with both political moderates and Orthodox parties guaranteed some modicum of compromise, including on LGBTQ rights.
But the current ruling coalition rests on the support of religious ultranationalists, including ministers who have openly opposed LGBTQ rights.

A little-understood sleep disorder affects millions and has clear links to dementia – 4 questions answered

Retrieved on:

Saturday, May 27, 2023

The disorder, known as REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD in the medical field, affects around 1% of the general population worldwide and about 2% of adults over 65.

Key Points:

The disorder, known as REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD in the medical field, affects around 1% of the general population worldwide and about 2% of adults over 65.
The Conversation talked with Anelyssa D'Abreu, a neurologist who specializes in geriatric neurology, to explain what researchers know about the condition’s links to dementia.

1. What is REM sleep behavior disorder?

REM sleep only comprises 20% to 25% of total sleep, but its proportion increases throughout the night.
But someone with REM sleep behavior disorder will act out their dreams.
Appropriate testing, including a sleep study, are needed to determine if a patient has REM sleep behavior disorder, as opposed to another disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea.
REM sleep behavior disorder can occur at any age, but symptoms usually start with people in their 40s and 50s.

2. What causes REM sleep behavior disorder?

In some cases of REM sleep behavior disorder, a clear cause cannot be identified.
In both situations, REM sleep behavior disorder may be associated with synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders in which aggregates of the protein α-synuclein accumulate in brain cells.
REM sleep behavior disorder may precede these diseases or occur at any time during the disease process.

3. What are the links between the sleep disorder and dementia?

REM sleep behavior disorder may be the first symptom of Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.
After 12 years, 73.5% of those with REM sleep behavior disorder had developed a related neurodegenerative disorder.
REM sleep behavior disorder may also be observed in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease, but at much lower rates.

4. Does an early diagnosis help?

RBD, in that scenario, is an early sign of those disorders.
At this time, there are no approved therapies to prevent the onset of these neurodegenerative diseases in those with REM sleep behavior disorder.
We also recommend measures to avoid injury, such as removing breakable objects from the room, protecting windows and padding floors.

Superintendent turnover is increasing and gender gaps are barely budging, but accurately assessing the consequences remains a challenge

Retrieved on:

Monday, May 15, 2023

During the last several years, tense school board meetings where superintendents were fired erupted in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, South Carolina and Virginia.

Key Points:

During the last several years, tense school board meetings where superintendents were fired erupted in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, South Carolina and Virginia.
Within this tense environment, a recent study found that nearly 40% of superintendents reported being threatened or feeling threatened on the job.
And, 63% of superintendents reported feeling worried about their mental health and well-being over the past two years.

New insights into superintendent turnover

And for a newly published research study in the academic journal Educational Researcher, I conducted a comprehensive, national analysis of superintendent turnover in over 12,500 public school districts since 2019.
A superintendent change occurred at least one time in 35% of districts nationwide, and 6% of districts experienced two or more turnover events.
Though we are unable to determine the exact cause, my research also shows that districts serving larger proportions of students of color were significantly more likely to experience superintendent turnover.

The role of gender

Town and suburban districts were significantly more likely to experience superintendent turnover than urban and rural districts.
My research also revealed that superintendent turnover rates for men increased at nearly twice the rate of that for women.
Though the jump in turnover rate for men could have narrowed the superintendent gender gap, the gap barely budged.
Among districts that experienced turnover, very few hired a new superintendent who was a different gender than their prior superintendent.

Why superintendent data matters

For example, ILO Group’s analyses show that half of the nation’s largest 500 districts have experienced superintendent turnover since March 2020.
Moreover, national, longitudinal superintendent data would allow for deeper examination of the contributors to and consequences of superintendent turnover.
If ensuring some teachers and students are not disproportionately at risk of undesirable superintendent churn, sustained support for and efforts to collect and analyze national longitudinal superintendent data must be prioritized.

Biden's strategy for cutting carbon emissions from electricity generation could extend the lives of fossil fuel power plants

Retrieved on:

Friday, May 12, 2023

On May 11, 2023, the Biden administration proposed new regulations to curb carbon pollution from existing power plants.

Key Points:

On May 11, 2023, the Biden administration proposed new regulations to curb carbon pollution from existing power plants.
The new rules replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was proposed in 2015 but ran into multiple legal challenges and never took effect.
Nonetheless, in a high-profile 2022 ruling, West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Obama administration’s approach exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate power plant carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act.

1. How has the Biden administration tailored these regulations in response to the West Virginia v. EPA ruling?

The scent of West Virginia v. EPA is all over the new proposed rules.
The new proposed regulations attempt to thread the needle between meeting the Biden administration’s climate commitments and avoiding another gutting in court.
The EPA proposes to use CCS to reduce emissions from large coal plants with long life expectancies.

2. Do the draft rules indicate that EPA is responding to energy industry critiques of the Clean Power Plan?

The proposal takes a tiered and staggered approach to which power plants will be regulated, how stringently, and by when.
First, the EPA goes out of its way to accommodate coal plants that are already scheduled to close or anticipate shutting down in the next couple of decades.
Second, the rule’s reliance on carbon capture and storage, in my view, ought to be music to fossil fuel companies’ ears.

3. Do you see legal vulnerabilities in the proposed new rules?

CCS is an emerging technology that’s not yet widely used, in part because it is so expensive.
Rather, they will be required to reduce their emissions to a level that could be achieved using CCS.
This is not a topic that the EPA wants to revisit with the Supreme Court.

4. How do these regulations conform with Biden’s focus on environmental justice?

And they disproportionately harm the health of nearby low-income communities and communities of color.
Carbon capture and storage doesn’t reduce these pollutants at any significant scale, nor does it prevent public health, environmental and cultural damage caused by fossil fuel extraction projects.

Astronomers just saw a star eat a planet – an astrophysicist on the team explains the first-of-its-kind discovery

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Learning, Solar System, Hydrogen, Zwicky, Light, Research, Chemistry, Aquila, Planet, Time, Astronomy, Dust, Palomar, Crash, Telescope, Color, Zwicky Transient Facility, Phosphorus, Fireworks, ZTF

The star, named ZTF SLRN-2020, is located in the Milky Way galaxy, in the constellation Aquila.

Key Points:

The star, named ZTF SLRN-2020, is located in the Milky Way galaxy, in the constellation Aquila.
Although we only see the effects on the star, not the planet directly, our team is confident that the event we witnessed was a star swallowing its planet.

Finding a flash in the dynamic night sky

To do this, we have been using data from the Zwicky Transient Facility, a telescope located on Palomar Mountain in Southern California.
It takes nightly images of broad swaths of the sky, and astronomers can then compare these images to find stars that change in brightness over time, or what are called astronomical transients.
Finding stars that change in brightness isn’t the challenge – it’s sorting out the cause behind any specific change to a star.

When a star swallows its planets

Interpreting a stellar flash

This is where combining theoretical models with the observational data allowed us to understand what the telescopes captured.
The merging of two stars into a single, bigger star is a dramatic event that throws matter out into the stars’ surroundings.
A large part of my career has focused on modeling the way stellar gas moves and crashes into itself and is expelled in these moments of intense interaction.
My past research suggests that smaller planets – or ones in more-distant orbits that only get consumed once a star has grown massively in size – might be swallowed without a detectable flash.

Learning from the real thing

First, the planet skims across the surface of the star for many years, slowly heating up and expelling material from the star’s atmosphere.
This cloud of dust gives the star a progressively redder color and emits increasing amounts of infrared radiation.
Next week our team will start analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope in the hopes of learning about the chemistry of the gas that now surrounds ZTF SLRN-2020.

I unintentionally created a biased AI algorithm 25 years ago – tech companies are still making the same mistake

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

In 1998, I unintentionally created a racially biased artificial intelligence algorithm.

Key Points:

In 1998, I unintentionally created a racially biased artificial intelligence algorithm.
The dangers of bias and errors in AI algorithms are now well known.
Why, then, has there been a flurry of blunders by tech companies in recent months, especially in the world of AI chatbots and image generators?
The class had just viewed a video poem by Joy Buolamwini, AI researcher and artist and the self-described poet of code.

Echoing through the years

My project involved tracking the movements of a person’s head based on input from a video camera.
My doctoral adviser had already developed mathematical techniques for accurately following the head in certain situations, but the system needed to be much faster and more robust.
Earlier in the 1990s, researchers in other labs had shown that skin-colored areas of an image could be extracted in real time.
But I was shocked by the realization that I had created a racially biased system that could have easily failed for other nonwhite people.

Privilege and priorities

Sociological theories of privilege provide one useful lens.
Ten years before I created the head-tracking system, the scholar Peggy McIntosh proposed the idea of an “invisible knapsack” carried around by white people.
For the 1998 head-tracking system, it might seem obvious that the anti-racist remedy is to treat all skin colors equally.
Certainly, we can and should ensure that the system’s training data represents the range of all skin colors as equally as possible.

Hidden in the numbers

To see why, consider a particular set of 12 numbers in a matrix of three rows and four columns.
But it’s impossible to tell from these numbers alone that this is in fact a racist matrix.
They are just numbers, determined automatically by a computer program.
Deep neural networks – currently the most popular and powerful type of AI model – often have millions of numbers in which bias could be encoded.

Who’s in the room is who’s at the table

The flawed Bard and Bing chatbots from Google and Microsoft are recent evidence of this grim reality.
The commercial necessity of building market share led to the premature release of these systems.
The systems suffer from exactly the same problems as my 1998 head tracker.
It’s also clear that the bias in these systems can be harmful, hard to detect and even harder to eliminate.

Heading to a beach this summer? Here's how to keep harmful algae blooms from spoiling your trip

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

But arriving at the beach to find water that’s green, red or brown, and possibly foul-smelling, can instantly spoil the party.

Key Points:

But arriving at the beach to find water that’s green, red or brown, and possibly foul-smelling, can instantly spoil the party.
I’ve conducted research into early detection of harmful algal blooms, or HABs, which are an increasing threat to humans, animals and the environment.
Toxins produced during these blooms have been implicated in human and animal illnesses in at least 43 states.

Tiny organisms, big impacts

Algae and cyanobacteria – often called blue-green algae – are simple, plantlike organisms that live in water.
They can grow out of control, or “bloom,” especially when the water is warm and slow moving.
Climate change is making water bodies warmer, increasing the risk of HABs.
The other major factor that drives blooms is high levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which fertilize algae.

An array of toxins

As with many environmental exposures, children and older people may be especially sensitive to HAB toxins.
People who regularly consume seafood caught in HAB-prone areas are also at risk of long-term health effects from potentially frequent, low-level exposures to HAB toxins.

Recognizing and responding to HABs

If you are unsure whether a bloom is harmful or not, contact your local health department or environmental agency for guidance.
If you see signs of a bloom, stay out of the water and keep your pets out of the water.
It’s important to be aware that cooking contaminated seafood or boiling contaminated water does not destroy the toxins.

Be informed

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides resources and recommendations related to HABs and ways to stay safe.
Pet owners should also learn how to protect their dogs from HABs.
Many states conduct HAB monitoring programs, especially in areas that are known to be vulnerable to blooms, such as western Lake Erie.

What’s being done about HABs?

Many efforts are underway to prevent, control and mitigate HABs and provide early warnings to water system managers and health officials.
One example in the U.S. is the
Cyanobacteria Assessment Network, or CyAN, a collaborative effort across several government agencies to develop an early warning indicator system to detect algal blooms in freshwater systems.
At the global scale, the Harmful Algal Information System will eventually include harmful algal events and information from harmful algae monitoring and management systems worldwide.

Black mothers trapped in unsafe neighborhoods signal the stressful health toll of gun violence in the U.S.

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

In the U.S., Black people are likelier than white people to reside in impoverished, racially segregated communities with high levels of gun violence.

Key Points:

In the U.S., Black people are likelier than white people to reside in impoverished, racially segregated communities with high levels of gun violence.
Research has suggested that living in violent and unsafe environments can result in continuous traumatic stress, a constant form of PTSD.
The trauma of gun violence and systemic racism isn’t simply a Black mother’s story – it’s an American story.

Health effects of feeling trapped

These mothers felt trapped in areas with high levels of gun violence that fostered a sense of not feeling safe for adults and children.
But it’s real violent.” Mothers who felt trapped reported more symptoms of PTSD, like disturbing memories and dreams and reliving stressful experiences, than mothers who did not feel trapped.
They also reported more depressive symptoms, such as feeling down and hopeless, taking little pleasure in doing things and having trouble sleeping.
Nevertheless, high cortisol levels from chronic stress are linked to a number of negative mental and physical health outcomes.

Environment determines health

Where someone lives, learns, works, plays and worships can determine their health and has the power to make them sick and cause premature death.
Researchers have estimated that around 83,570 Black people die prematurely each year in the U.S. because of health disparities, using 2002 data.
Redlining, environmental contamination, food deserts and gun violence are a part of the racial capitalism, or exploitation of marginalized communities, that affect the health of Black women.

Increasing access to wellness

Building this knowledge requires input from people of color and others who have traditionally been pushed to the margins of society.
We are currently creating a “wellness store” that places wellness tools and health knowledge at the fingertips of individuals, especially for those experiencing interlocking traumas such as racism, sexism, classism, incarceration, racial segregation and rural geographic isolation.
We believe that more investment in disease prevention and health equity can help the U.S. use the knowledge, technology and finances that it already has to help people access its most precious resource: a healthy life and the ability to pursue wellness.