Category: behavior

anthropology · behavior · community · culture · environment · health · mental health · Social

Elderly community centers at risk

Beth Kelley

 

elderly communities
From NYT: Ms. Bosco, 95, spends much of her time at Seaside with Delores Brown, 73.

This New York Times article about budget cuts in New York State affecting senior community centers struck a nerve with me. In a good way. I am a strong advocate for promoting quality of life even into old age, especially into old age, and I think we youngsters forget just how important these community spaces can be for old folks.

 

In these places seniors can get a cheap meal, planned activities like games or fitness classes (we’re talking more Tai Chi than Tai Bo) but also companionship, and opportunities to do new things and learn. They also get experiences they never would have gotten to do otherwise; they realize they love to dance, or simply fall in love again.

However, with states and cities as cash strapped as they are, these places are in jeopardy of closing.

Last year, [New York] state and city budget cuts threatened 75 of the centers… and 29 were ultimately closed. The centers are intended to serve New Yorkers over age 60. This January, the dance began again: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed redirecting $25 million from the centers to child welfare; that, said the city’s Department for the Aging, would mean closing about a third of its centers; on March 15, the centers got a reprieve, with the Assembly and the State Senate voting to restore the money.

In a country where we are already isolating generations away from each other, it seems all the more important to at least offer a place for this demographic of people to meet and have some kind of community.

My grandparents belonged to a retirement home that practically forced them to go out and socialize with each other, be involved in community efforts, and participate in outreach to youth. I was thrilled to see new activities and challenges thrust upon my grandparents; learning new skills and taking on new responsibilities at 80 plus was revitalizing for them. However, that retirement home also ate up a lot of money, money that most folks don’t have, and soon-to-be-old folks are in worse shape as far as savings go due to the economy.

Some people may argue that it’s not worth investing in a demographic that isn’t giving back to our society. Besides the argument that they already GAVE to our society for 50 or more years, I’d argue that many of them could give back if we gave them the opportunity. There are lots of volunteer and time-bank programs where retired folks can donate their skills, from fixing leaky faucets to knitting to mentoring.

One of the programs my grandfather was in was a mentor for “troubled kids” as he’d call them who were bussed into the retirement home every other week or so to sit for an hour to talk to an old person. It was community service that a lot of them probably didn’t like the idea of at first, and to their friends they probably didn’t get all that excited about it. But when you actually saw the kids interact with the older folks, these kids opened up and really enjoyed their time with him. This was the first time in a long time that a lot of these kids got to say what was on their minds, and were really listened to. My grandfather also just happened to be a guidance counselor for many, many years, so for him this was also a treat to brush up on his old guidance counseling skills and feel like he was helping kids along the path “to the straight and narrow.” But even without that training, the older mentors felt like they were contributing to society, and so did the kids, as well as both getting something in return.

So before we look to cutting budgets on senior community centers, I argue we should look at these as possible hubs for other community activities, or community focal points. Just like lots of groups rent out the church basement for meetings or choir rehearsals, city planners should be looking at these spaces as community centers, not just senior centers. These centers offer a chance for a human being, of any age, to feel like a party of a community again, to feel human.

 

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autism · behavior · brain · children · emotion · learning · Mental · psychology · robotics · Social

AP News: Kaspar the friendly robot helps autistic kids

Beth Kelley

I have heard of this kind of therapy before, how autistic kids tend to respond better to robots teaching them emotions and proper social responses; the robot acts as a sort of bridge, or neutral third party for the kid:

STEVENAGE, England (AP) – Eden Sawczenko used to recoil when other little girls held her hand and turned stiff when they hugged her. This year, the 4-year-old autistic girl began playing with a robot that teaches about emotions and physical contact – and now she hugs everyone.

“She’s a lot more affectionate with her friends now and will even initiate the embrace,” said Claire Sawczenko, Eden’s mother.

The girl attends a pre-school for autistic children in Stevenage, north of London, where researchers bring in a human-looking, child-sized robot once a week for a supervised session. The children, whose autism ranges from mild to severe, play with the robot for up to 10 minutes alongside a scientist who controls the robot with a remote control.

The robot, named Kaspar, is programmed to do things like smile, frown, laugh, blink and wave his arms. He has shaggy black hair, a baseball cap, a few wires protruding from his neck, and striped red socks. He was built by scientists at the University of Hertfordshire at a cost of about 1,300 pounds (US$2,118).

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_6418/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=X0CCVnY5

It’s also nice to hear a story about robots helping people, rather than the usual scenarios we hear and see like from Matrix and Terminator.

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behavior · environment · happiness · health · Me · mental health

Special Project: Me

Beth Kelley
"Running with the seagulls", Galvest...
This is an example of a personally enriching environment. The question is how do I get there (figuratively), without running away and becoming beach bum (literally)?

This blog explores the integration of environment and wellness, both emotional and physical. So far I’ve looked at positive psychology, museums, education, urban farming, neurology, environmental sciences, architecture, play, exercise, and almost everything in between. The whole point of starting this blog was to explore the science behind what it takes to make us happy, healthy, wholly-functioning humans. What does it take to be happy? How does one’s home, job, family, dog, car, bicycle, clothing, toys, i.e. their environment, their world, fit into that? I was, and AM, curious about what it takes to be holistically happy?

But with all the quick posts, longer posts, and cool news snippets, one subject on this blog that has only hinted at: me. What does it take in my environment to make me happy?  What do I need surrounding for mental wellness?

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t been doing a good job of exploring that. In the past nine months I’ve changed residences twice, changed jobs numerous times, lost sleep, gained an injury, lost mobility, changed exercise plans so many times I’ve lost count, gained weight, lost friends, gained a gray hair or two (I’m 28!),  lost family, gained furniture, lost some dreams, had my dreams change, lost hope, changed my commute mode, and gained even more patience. But I haven’t really looked at what it would take to make me happy. What I need to do to put myself in a healthy, fulfilling, sustainable environment.

At first I thought discussing myself and my quest for happiness, wellness, and all around goodness would take away from this blog, and my focus on research, ideas, and theoretical rather than the actual doing. But the truth is I am in this blog already, whether actively or not. So why not be in all the way? It’s supposed to make you happier if you can fully commit to something, anyway.

So, just as a heads up to my few readers; you will be seeing a bit more of me, the actual me, around this place. As of today, March 3rd, 2011, I am making it my overarching goal to become happier, healthier, and a better version of me. I am going to make my environment an enriching place; that includes what I put in, on, and around my body, and what I use to feed my mind. And I plan to hold myself accountable by writing about it here. My accomplishments, slip-ups, and epiphanies.

All the studies and research and cool enriching stuff I find will not go away, not by any stretch. It’s just that now you get ME as an added bonus. Lucky y’all!

This is a very dangerous place for me, BTW, out in the open (The irony is I was called M.E. as a child (those are my initials), but I chose another name when I was six because I didn’t like being called “me.” Maybe I should have stuck with it). I’m definitely not in my most comfortable surroundings exposing myself in this way to the entire blogosphere. But it’s a much-needed shake out of my comfort zone in order to be ready to take on new challenges.

Are you also exploring your wellness, what you find enriching? I’d be interested in hearing your story or you sharing your blog with me; strength in numbers and all that.

Signed,

M.E.

Other Interesting Ideas:
behavior · brain · happiness · health · Uncategorized

Note to self: the universe says go easier on yourself

Beth Kelley

After going, going, going, I need a break, and research agrees; from the New York Times’ Well Blog:

Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your friends and family?

That simple question is the basis for a burgeoning new area of psychological research called self-compassion — how kindly people view themselves. People who find it easy to be supportive and understanding to others, it turns out, often score surprisingly low on self-compassion tests, berating themselves for perceived failures like being overweight or not exercising.

The research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health. People who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight.

This idea does seem at odds with the advice dispensed by many doctors and self-help books, which suggest that willpower and self-discipline are the keys to better health…

More at NYT’s Well Blog.

Now I’m off to go breath, eat a banana, and get a good night’s sleep.

architecture · behavior · children · community · creativity · design · education · environment

Green learning and sustainable knowledge

Beth Kelley

Kids learn the best by what they see and experience, not just what they are told. What better way to teach about environmental and sustainable practices then by demonstrating that at school?! Two projects in the Pacific Northwest are combining creative alternative designs and technologies to create an ideal environment for learning and minimizing impact on the environment.

I always wanted to live in a tree house or a hobbit hole. But going to school in a “living building” would be a pretty close second. From KUOW:

LEED–certified buildings are meant to be environmentally friendly and highly energy efficient. But now, there is a new standard that goes well beyond that. It’s called the “living building” and there are only three of them in the world. In Seattle, one elementary school is building what could be the first living building in the state.

The kids got to offer ideas for the school, and with its grand opening last friday, will hopefully make a splash (it does have it’s own little stream, after all).

In a related project, a school in Poulsbo is putting in Washington State’s fifth largest solar array:

“Next month, Lander, 56, will flip the switch on his first full-size community solar project atop Poulsbo Middle School, the largest of its kind in Washington and the fifth-largest solar system in the state.”

I also love the fact that both of these projects are community-based, in that the kids got to provide input on the school, and the solar panels are also community-driven.

behavior · community · education · environment · school

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com

Beth Kelley

Where I live is incredibly fertile farmland, with lots of kids having to get up to milk cows, feed chickens, and so on before they catch the bus to school. It’s nice to see that connection to the land follow them into the classroom, and teach their classmates where their food comes from:

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com.

Students at Ferndale’s Mountain View Elementary School will soon be treated to freshly baked potatoes from northwest Washington as part of their school lunch.

On Jan. 27, the french fries and tater tots at the school are being exchanged for locally grown potato wedges, as part of a pilot farm-to-school project.

“This is something that’s good for the students and it’s good for the local farmers,” said Alex Singer, Ferndale School District’s Food Program director. “We have students who may not have ever had french fries that weren’t frozen before.”

behavior · mental health · psychology

The New Science of Happiness — PsyBlog

Beth Kelley
Many 18th c. treatments for psychological dist...
Image via Wikipedia

This is a field I’ve skirted around in my blog, but now I’m interested in diving in and taking a deeper look at: Positive Psychology.

A new and blossoming field of psychology – positive psychology – has begun to uncover fascinating, evidence-based answers to many questions about happiness. I’ve been sizing up the most recent findings to reveal the emerging science of happiness.

What are the everyday sources of happiness?

Because happiness is something most of us aim for, how we define it has important implications for how we conduct our lives. To see why, compare these two competing definitions of happiness.

Excerpt from the article The New Science of Happiness — PsyBlog.

Many have argued that traditional psychology only explores what makes people sad, but Positive Psychology specifically focuses on what makes us happy. Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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anthropology · behavior · culture · health

Americans Falsely Believe Their Diet Is Healthy : Discovery News

Beth Kelley
Macro photograph of a pile of sugar (saccharose)
Magnified sugar crystals. Image via Wikipedia

So much for my New Year’s Resolution “Eat Healthier,”  and good reminder that it’s all relative; although, in my defense, my definition of healthy may be a little more stringent than the average American:

Nine in 10 Americans say their diet is healthy but only a quarter limit the amount of fat or sugar they eat, and two-thirds don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables, a poll published Tuesday found.

“Americans tend to give themselves high marks for healthy eating, but when we asked how many sugary drinks, fatty foods, and fruits and veggies they consumed, we found that their definition of healthy eating was questionable,” said Nancy Metcalf of Consumer Reports Health, which conducted the poll.

Of the 1,234 American adults polled, 89.7 percent said their diet was “somewhat” (52.6 percent), “very” (31.5 percent), or “extremely” healthy (5.6 percent).

more at Americans Falsely Believe Their Diet Is Healthy : Discovery News.

It’s really disturbing just how much credit we give ourselves… we also all tend to consider ourselves “above average” in many categories.

behavior · environment

BBC News – Italy to begin ban on plastic bags in shops

Beth Kelley
Plastic food bags and pouches.
Image via Wikipedia

It’s official: Italians are more eco-friendly than Seattle-ites, at least when it comes to petroleum:

A ban on plastic bags is coming into effect in Italy, which has one of the highest rates of consumption of the bags in Europe.

The ban begins in shops across Italy on 1 January, with only biodegradable, cloth or paper bags to be offered.

Italians use 20 billion plastic bags a year – more than 300 per person.

Supporters of the ban say plastic bags are an environmental hazard which use too much oil to produce and can take decades to break down.

The law for a gradual ban on plastic bags was introduced in 2006.

more via BBC News – Italy to begin ban on plastic bags in shops.

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behavior · community · environment · health

Sustainable Food – James Gorman on Eating Invasive Species – NYTimes.com

Beth Kelley
Trashwiki.org logo.
A happy Freegan; Image via Wikipedia

Happy New Year! Time for New Year’s resolutions. Mine? To eat more healthy. And apparently so it is for these guys, as well as help the environment. Not to sound like my dad here, but I was doing this before it was cool!:

There’s a new shift in the politics of food, not quite a movement yet, more of an eco-culinary frisson. But it may have staying power; the signs and portents are there. Vegans, freegans, locavores — meet the invasivores.

more via Sustainable Food – James Gorman on Eating Invasive Species – NYTimes.com.

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