“Can anyone make a difference at a school that’s tiny and shrinking, in a sleepy town north of nowhere? One man in Michigan can, and can, and can, and can.” More here.
Doin’ (Full) Time: Businesses Give Former Convicts a Second Chance
"Shegerian’s Electronic Recyclers is among several Fresno employers willing to risk hiring people with prison records. ‘Don’t be scared. The people who are truly interested in turning their lives around will become some of your best employees.’" (Fresno Bee)
‘100 Dollar Laptops’ for Poor Students to Go On Sale
Inexpensive laptop computers designed for students in poor countries will be sold to US and Canadian customers in a buy-one-GIVE-one scheme: Between November 12-26 they can pay $399 — one laptop goes to the buyer, the other to a needy student.
Nonviolent Protest Gains in West Bank
"While violent Palestinian militants dominate international headlines, residents of tiny farming villages have eschewed the armed struggle. Instead, they have linked arms with Israeli peace activists using civil disobedience, non-violence and legal action to fight some harmful Israeli policies." (CS Monitor)
Virtual Reality Technology Helps Stroke Victims
"New virtual reality rehabilitation therapies, currently undergoing trials, are helping stroke sufferers to regain movement and gradually rediscover their independence." (CNN) Thanks to Shelley for the link!
‘Return To Sender’ Recycling
As part of the "Clean and Green" series, Danny Lipford visits Doris Renfro, of Columbiana, Ohio, to talk about her simple and effective way of dealing with junk mail. (Video)
Cyclists Enjoy Car Ban in London
"Traffic was banned from several roads in London for the day (along iconic landmarks like Westminster) to make way for thousands of cyclists." (BBC) Thanks to Andrew for link.
Snazzy Wordsmiths Wanted: Need Help With My Book Title
EDITOR’S BLOG- Help me come up with a catchy title for my upcoming book. The book is compilation of my favorite good news stories of the past 10 years. I’ve chosen about 111 stories published by Good News Network over a decade… So far, I have, "BEST GOOD NEWS of the Past 10 YEARS! Any other ideas? Post them here or email me…
Multi-Faith Prayers Thrive in US Politics (LINKED)
For 45 Muslims, Friday worship takes place not in a mosque, but a meeting room in the Capitol — at the heart of US democracy. Ever since the making of the US Constitution in 1787 when Benjamin Franklin asked that each day’s business start with a prayer, religion has been part of political life — and today it is bi-partisan and varied.
190 Countries Reach Historic Deal to Save Ozone
Nearly 200 countries have agreed to accelerate the elimination of chemicals that threaten the ozone and exacerbate global warming, the United Nations Environmental Program announced.
UNEP chief Achim Steiner hailed the agreement by governments to move forward bans on dangerous hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as a “vital signal” in efforts to slow climate change and welcomed China’s willingness to back the deal.
“It is perhaps the most important breakthrough in an international environment negotiation process for at least five or six years,” Steiner said.
“Historic is an often over-used word but not in the case of this agreement made in Montreal. Governments had a golden opportunity to deal with the twin challenges of climate change and protecting the ozone layer and governments took it,” Steiner said.
(Read full AFP report via Google News)
Cells From Cancer-Resistant People Could Fight Disease in Others
Cells from cancer-resistant people could soon be used to help cancer patients fight their disease, says a U.S. researcher.
Thanks to M. M. for the submission
Lawmakers Push U.S. to Adopt More Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
It’s a bright idea: Get one of the Senate’s biggest skeptics of the causes of global warming to co-sponsor legislation that encourages conservation. The US Senate may pass a bill to phase out old-style light bulbs and require their replacement with more energy-efficient ones (like this dimmable CF Warm Glow light bulb), as bi-partisan support builds…
City Parking Spaces Transformed into Mini-Parks
One day last year some folks in San Francisco decided there was not enough green space downtown so they “leased” the area provided by a parking meter, usually reserved for cars, to created a mini-park for a day. A Park(ing) Space! Pedestrians lounged on the park bench under a temporary tree. The grass invited shoes to come off. No authority interfered at all. Today they launched their first official citywide PARK(ing) Day. Artists, activists, and citizens will transform metered parking spaces into parks, playgrounds, and social spaces. Dozens of sites are mapped on the PARK(ing) Day website.
PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and emphasizes the need for urban open space. PARK(ing) Day was pioneered in 2005 by the San Francisco arts collective Rebar. This year they’ve joined with San Francisco nonprofit Public Architecture in association with Trust for Public Land, which is coordinating a parallel national effort.
Temporary “PARKs” will be constructed by individuals and groups, such as the San Francisco Department of Environment and the SF Bike Coalition. Several design firms will also participate.
Public Architecture, which advocates for the implementation of “Sidewalk Plazas”– permanent sidewalk bumpouts, similar to PARKs — and will construct a full-scale mockup of its open space vision for Folsom Street.
Look for its design to be unveiled in front of Brainwash Café on Folsom Street. This transformation of the street right-of-way into a place for public amenities represents a new form of urban open space–the first of its kind in San Francisco’s South of Market area.
PARK(ing) Day and the Sidewalk Plazas have garnered support from several important entities including the City of San Francisco Mayor’s Office and Department of Planning as well as the University of California Transportation Center.
Following the event, Rebar and Public Architecture plan to produce a short film and publication to document the day’s events and broader message. Check out the map of locations where Park(ing) Day will be feeding the meters in order to provide some green space.
Chiropractor Helps Relieve Pain in Injured and Ailing Animals
"A chiropractor for 16 years, Dina LiVolsi gives adjustments to humans near Pittsburgh, but also has been treating four-legged patients, mostly dogs and horses, for sore backs for the past eight years." (Post-Gazette)
Two N.J. Golfers Get Back-to-Back Aces
A foursome witnessed the Law of Attraction in action on a golf course this week when one of the members shot a hole-in-one, and the celebration had barely subsided when a second man scored another. "I’ve never heard of that happening anywhere in the world," said the Newark, New Jersey area country club’s director. (AP)
Mandela and The Elders Head to Darfur
South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu will lead a group of elder statesmen later this month to visit Darfur. This is to be the first mission of the group known as The Elders, launched earlier this year.
Another Billionaire Donates: $80M to Australian Kids
Inspired by the hefty charitable donations of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and in an effort to encourage other Australians to be more philanthropic, billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has donated shares and options worth $80 million to The Australian Children’s Trust. (The Australian) Thanks to Andrew for the link!
MP3 Players as Stethoscopes?
Next time you visit your doctor you may want to bring along your MP3 player as that stethoscope around your doctor’s neck is, well, out of date. Invented in 1816 from a paper tube, the stethoscope might be headed for museum collections, replaced now by off-the-shelf MP3 players.
A study by Neil Skjodt from the University of Alberta, Canada, has found the digital recorders provide better sound quality than even the most advanced stethoscope on the market.
It seems that the plastic shell surrounding the microphone is perfect for capturing the low resonance sounds from the body.
The primary advantage may be digital rather than medical. The recorded sounds could be replayed, stored as part of a patients record and be further analyzed by computer or another doctor via the internet to obtain a second opinion.
Other compelling advantages of having such information stored digitally include the ease of following progress in a case of respiratory illness with access to the patient’s earlier chest sounds. Also, the players could contain archive samples of respiratory deviations to aid a doctor’s diagnosis on the fly. This point may be especially valid since recent studies have found that medical students need to listen to certain clinical sounds hundreds of times before being able to recognize them accurately.
Additionally, the players could also be used to record patient descriptions of their symptoms or memos from the doctors themselves.
Might our respiratory resonances even be purchased via online subscription services such as iTunes — Jim Carrey’s heart rate, anyone?
Maybe not, but MP3 players are now ubiquitous on the market and therefore relatively inexpensive and with further studies ongoing to assess their full merit for recording respiratory, heart and bowel sounds, it may not be long before these cost effective.
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.
(Image by MIT Labs; and imelenchon, CC)
Study: Early-Childhood Program Pays for Itself
Educational attainment is higher and felony arrests are lower for the alumni of an early-intervention program for low-income children in Chicago. Twenty years afterward, these children were also less likely to describe themselves as depressed and more likely to have health insurance.
Six Steps to a Happier Workday
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There are many facets of work and life in general that we do not control. But we can increase our control over our own responses to them. Positive psychology researchers* have shown that one’s happiness level is determined partly by a genetic baseline or set point (50%), partly by circumstances (10%), and partly by intentional activity (40%). It is that opportunity we have to be intentional where we can make a real and ongoing difference in our chronic happiness levels. One way to raise our overall level of well-being even in the face of trouble and stress at work is to practice and grow stronger at being grateful.