Features

A Palace in the Old Village

Tahar Ben Jelloun

Translated from French by Linda Coverdale

New York: Penguin, 2011

Pp. 183

Renowned Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun’s novel, “A Palace in the Old Village”, is the story of Mohammed, a Moroccan who worked on the assembly line of a car factory in France for virtually all of his adult life. 

Since he is a rather average character, this might seem to be a rather simple story, but it is not, for it deals with existential questions and can be read on several levels. 

In one sense, it is a parable of what has become an archetypal experience in the modern world, that of the immigrant who spends most of his life working in a foreign country to give his children a better life, but in the process loses them to assimilation in said country. 

On another level, it is a very personal, stream-of-consciousness narrative of a man facing retirement, who revisits his whole life wondering what went wrong, thus diverging from parable which is usually quite abstract. 

Mohammed’s premonition that retirement leads to or is equivalent to death may be extreme in his case, since he did little in life to develop friendships or interests outside of work that could have filled his time in retirement. Still, his feelings mirror a human dilemma that exists not only for Moroccan immigrant workers: fear of death or of being useless.

The generation gap which he bemoans, separating him and his children, is also a near-universal phenomenon, though accentuated in his case by the importance Arabs attach to family. 

Another layer is added to the story by Ben Jelloun’s imaginative capacity for writing about dreams and surreal, mental images, which occur more and more often in Mohammed’s mind as the story progresses.

Two things are important to Mohammed: his Muslim faith and his family. He is a firm believer in mainstream, moderate Islam. The Koran “was everything to Mohammed: his culture, his identity, his passport, his pride, his secret”. (p. 9)

He abhors violence and racism, whether French against Arabs or Arabs against black Africans. He is always gentle, if slightly detached, from his wife and children. Some of the more entertaining passages of his narrative are his ridiculing of hypocrites and charlatans who spread superstition in the name of religion.

The passages about his relations with his children are less funny: “not that they’ve noticed that I’ve fallen into ‘tirement. They ask me no questions, drop by briefly and head out again without paying any attention to how I feel … Everything changes. It’s hard to accept that we can find ourselves so quickly in a different world. Our forefathers didn’t prepare us, told us nothing. They’d never have imagined that men would leave their land to go abroad”. (p. 65) 

For his part, “Mohammed couldn’t imagine, much less accept, that his children’s lives could slip through his fingers.” (p. 116)

For this reason, one feels apprehensive when he announces his plan to build a big, new house in his village in Morocco, where he anticipates that his whole family, including all his children, will assemble for the Eid al Kabir. It was a “stubborn dream, but he knew that one day he would make it come true”. (p. 8)

Ben Jelloun is not making fun of Mohammed for his dreams, but rather forewarning of the pending tragedy. The only one who joins him at the house, aside from his wife, is Nabile, his loveable nephew with Down’s Syndrome, whom Mohammed’s sister entrusted to his care, thinking the boy would have more opportunities in France. 

Ben Jelloun portrays Mohammed as both wise and naïve. He never got in trouble because he followed all the rules, went to work even if sick, did not drink or indulge in women, and stayed clear of politics in France and Morocco. 

On the other hand, he missed out on many of the joys of life, not just because he was working so hard, but because it was not in his mind set. For example, he realises that he never really laughed with his wife, much less told her he loved her. Though he was kind, marriage mainly meant that his wife agreed with him on everything.

Through Mohammed’s stubborn, yet gentle, and sometimes bewildered spirit, Ben Jelloun critiques the harshness of modern society: workers whose life is little more than their work, and rulers and bureaucrats who are indifferent to the needs of poor, rural Moroccans, whether they stay in their village or are returning from working abroad. 

But most of all, he pays tribute to this generation of workers who literally gave their lives for the next generation, often getting little in return.

This month, I do not want us to think of ourselves as Desperate Dieters but to embrace the fact that we are visionaries capable of planning. Life is complicated enough without us adding more rules that raise our stress levels, causing us to eat more and sleep less. Instead, we are going to focus this month on the word STOP.

There are a lot of strategies we can use to help us make better choices, but to implement them properly, we first must stop what we are currently doing before we can actually start. To keep yourself motivated, think of the letters in the word STOP: 

Schedule your meals to fit your lifestyle. Make sure you are flexible enough so when your lifestyle gets busier, you do not give up on your good eating habits by grabbing fast food. Simply pack healthy snacks and drink plenty of water to help you stay full. Saying “no” to the empty calories will get easier if you are not on an empty stomach. This also keeps your metabolism burning. Likewise, when your lifestyle slows down, you’re going to have to move more. Walking is not only good for burning calories but for your overall mental, emotional and physical health as well. Even if your size does not change, I guarantee you that your mood will. This in turn will reduce your stress hormones and improve your health by leaps and bounds. You will sleep better, breathe better and heal better.

Think before you act. Before you make a food purchase at the grocery store, stop and think how that selection is going to affect your goals. Before you decide what to cook for your family, think if that decision will affect how well you’ll be able to control your own portions. Before you decide to triple the recipe, think if you will really freeze those leftovers or be tempted to put seconds on your plate! Before licking that spoon to taste that cake batter for the third time, think about the hundreds of calories you just ingested standing up in your kitchen without giving it a thought! 

Omit all distractions that keep you off track. This includes limiting television time if that causes you to snack mindlessly and omitting empty calories from your kitchen pantry (processed foods that offer no nutritious value to your health). Do not even try to convince yourself that ice cream is made of milk and a necessary part of your diet! It is loaded with sugar, which means you can enjoy it in moderation as a treat when you go out once in a blue moon to your favourite creamery! 

Plan to succeed and success will follow. Carve out a sacred space to tend to your physical, emotional and relational needs. Ask yourself where you are deficient in these areas and make sure to address them by processing them properly instead of stuffing your emotions. Think of these areas as buckets that need to be checked daily to make sure they are filled. Give yourself permission to feel your feelings and let them pass but not without learning from them. Ask God for help and learn to forgive yourself when you mess up and get back on target without delay. 

After you STOP you’re able to START! Start living the life you were meant to live. A life free from obsessing about food, calories and scales. Take a deep breath every morning and start inhaling the life you were meant to live because you are stronger than you will ever know. Freedom tastes way better than any chocolate cake, so dig in and help yourself! 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Older adults who have exercised regularly for at least a year may be less likely to experience falls or related injuries than their less active peers, a research review suggests. 

Researchers analysed data from 40 clinical trials with a total of 21,868 adults who were 73 years old on average. All of the smaller trials randomly assigned some participants to do a variety of exercise programmes for at least 48 weeks while others joined a comparison group that did not exercise or, more often, an “active control” group that might exercise outside the context of the workouts being tested. 

Participants assigned to the tested exercise programs for at least one year were 12 per cent less likely to fall and 26 per cent less likely to sustain injuries if they did fall than people who were not part of exercise interventions, the analysis found. 

Exercise programs were also associated with a 16 per cent lower risk of fractures. 

“Exercising continuously in time brings health benefits even in late life, including for people with chronic conditions,” said lead researcher Philipe de Souto Barreto of Toulouse University Hospital in France. 

A variety of factors can make falls more likely, and exercise may help address many of these issues at once, Barreto said by e-mail. Workouts may strengthen leg muscles, improve balance and coordination while walking, and help reduce the risk and severity of osteoporosis, or diminished bone density that can make fractures more likely when people do fall. 

The analysis did not find a connection between exercise and a lower risk of multiple falls, hospitalisations or premature death, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine. 

Most of the studies in the analysis were done in Europe or the United States, and several of the trials examined the effects of exercise in people with chronic health problems like dementia or heart disease. 

In most of the trials, researchers tested a combination of aerobic exercise and strength training and provided participants with at least some supervised workouts. 

One limitation of the analysis is that several of the small trials included in the study did not clearly report what proportion of participants completed exercise programs as directed, the study authors note. It is also possible that longer trials would be needed to understand the connection between routine workouts and the risk of fractures, researchers also point out. 

Even so, a wide range of exercise programmes from strength training to tai chi have long been linked to a lower risk of falls in older adults, said coauthor of an accompanying editorial Dr Seth Landefeld of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

“What is new is that this study focused on studies of exercise interventions for more than one year,” Landefeld said by e-mail. 

“Exercise about two to three times weekly for a total of about three hours weekly reduces the risk for falls and the risk of injury from a fall,” Landefeld added. 

NEW YORK — Conventional wisdom in the Amazon era holds that the lowest price wins the battle of the retailers, leading many to just about give away items to make a sale.

Yet, some data suggest a more nuanced reality: while 76 per cent of retailers aim to sell goods at the lowest price, only 17 per cent of shoppers say price is a dealbreaker, according to Forrester Research.

That discrepancy creates an opening for retailers to recover some of their long-lost profit margins, with new software to track prices and preferences to make sure the customer gets what they want hassle-free.

Consumers “want a fair price and it’s not the lowest price”, said Cheryl Sullivan, chief marketing officer for software company Revionics.

Revionics offers programs using artificial intelligence and data analysis to help retailers identify the best price to avoid money-losing promotions.

These new tools are among the wares on display at the National Retail Federation’s “Big Show” that has packed in some 37,000 visitors this week at the Jacob Javits Centre in midtown Manhattan.

The annual event comes on the heels of a strong holiday shopping season that saw solid sales, but profits suffered because of the reliance on heavy promotions and free shipping.

Retail share prices were pummelled last week after holiday sales reports by Macy’s, Target and Victoria’s Secret’s parent and others that have shifted from traditional brick-and-mortar to so-called “omni-channel” formats.

This year’s trade show again features the latest and greatest in robots, virtual reality and other gee-wiz gadgetry, but also plenty of tools to try to boost profitability in e-commerce, where margins are leaner than in the glory days when shopping malls ruled.

But digital commerce is no longer novel and customers have become less forgiving of delivery snafus, or promotional misfires, such as sending coupons for rock concerts to classical music fans.

It means shifting the spotlight away from the product — the traditional focus of the retailer — to customer experience.

“It’s no longer about killer apps,” said Timothy Bridges, an executive vice president at Capgemini, a consultancy. “It’s about a digitally-enabled customer experience.”

Strategic discounting

Revionics’s software takes readings in real-time of other e-commerce vendors, analyses price and customer data, and changes prices for individual products up to a couple of times a day if needed, a technique commonly known as “dynamic pricing”.

“The key is to understand which competitor on which items makes a difference,” Sullivan said.

She said many promotions fail because they are on goods that are not truly price sensitive, or because they do not lead to sales on related items that make up for the discount.

For example, a promotion on a low-margin item like dog food may be wise if it boosts sales of nearby items that are more profitable, such as pet toys, Sullivan said.

Software by Canadian company Acceo allows stores to keep track of customers at each stage of the sales process, from communicating with a website to ordering and picking up a product. 

The program can be personalised to shoppers — a rising trend — and it tracks inventory so that customers are not told a product is in stock when it isn’t.

The programme’s job is to “look at all the touch points”, said Ian Holland, said Acceo vice president for retail solutions. “If at any of these points it fails, then you’re having a crummy experience.”

One especially crucial area is free shipping, an increasing must-have to many shoppers. A survey presented by NRF found that 75 per cent of consumers expect delivery to be free even on orders under $50, up from 68 per cent last year.

Surveys also show customers increasingly eager to receive goods faster — within two days, not four, or within hours in some cases.

Amazon has adapted another strategy, offering incentives — like credits that can be redeemed at Whole Foods — to customers willing to wait longer for delivery.

Other retailers are exploring strategies for meeting this free shipping demand, while addressing runaway costs that have weighed on profitability.

These measures outsourcing delivery to other companies; using robotics at the back of stores to distribute; or opening “dark stores”, a warehouse-type space in a place near other shops where consumers can pick up goods, said Capgemini’s Lindsey Mazza.

You can think of it as a sub-computer, or a computer within a computer. Whereas the main machine’s brain is referred to as CPU (Central Processing Unit), that of the sub-computer is known as GPU (Graphic Processing Unit).

The importance of the GPU inside your laptop or desktop computer cannot be overestimated; it is the one that generates the image you see on your screen. Visuals have always been important in computers, but they are now becoming more and more important, with the intensive focus on audiovisuals in most everything we do with the machines. Hence the paramount importance of the GPU, or simply put the graphic card, in layman’s terms, the “board” on which the GPU is installed.

A comprehensive story about GPU would largely exceed the scope of this column. Besides, there is no need to study every single aspect of graphics cards to choose the one that is right one for you, the one that is most adapted to your needs and to your budget.

The GPU inside any computer made after 2015, however inexpensive or simple it may be, will easily satisfy the graphic needs of the typical user, and even a bit more. Indeed, writing, browsing the web, e-mailing, listening to MP3-encoded music or watching video clips on YouTube, all these activities do not require particularly powerful GPUs. In normal cases you even don’t have to think about it. Even using Photoshop in a semi-professional manner is possible.

However, if you do intensive video editing, if the screen of your computer is a fancy 4K, if you use Photoshop or Illustrator as a professional and before anything else if you are a hard-core gamer, then you need a powerful, advanced graphic card. A standard one just won’t do. 

There are essentially three manufacturers of GPUs in the IT world: Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Other hardware designers buy the GPU from these three and integrate them in their graphic cards, giving them their names. These are MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA or Palit, to name a few. Again, this goes inside your computer, be it a laptop or a desktop model. Understandably there are models specifically designed for laptops and others for desktops, given the difference in physical size and electrical requirements.

Graphic cards present two main characteristics: Their power or speed, and the amount, the size of memory they are fitted with. Obviously the more of each, the better. Or is it so?

It is a typical case where “more” is not necessarily better. To start with there is cost. High-end, very powerful graphic cards are expensive, very expensive. Up to $3,000 in the case of the Nvidia’s GTX Titan Z. You can buy three or four good entry-level laptops for that kind of money. Naturally this card is for desktop computers, not laptops.

The second issue with very powerful graphic cards is the amount of heat they dissipate and the noise they generate when the cooling of the device is done through moving fans. This is not a minor consideration if you intend to use the computer in a quiet environment. For all graphic-intensive applications except for gaming this is usually not a problem. Gamers, indeed, can easily cope with the extra noise!

To overcome the overheating and fan noise issue manufacturers often — but no always — propose the same model but with a passive heatsink instead of fans, to ensure proper cooling, Again this comes at an extra price and sometime even at an extra weight. The noise-free, fan-free solution is usually adopted by graphics designers who need the most powerful graphics but cannot stand the noise.

Usually computer makers indicate precisely which graphic card is included in the machine they are selling you, which should help you make the right decision. Otherwise talk about it with the salespeople, explaining your exact needs and what usage you make with your computer. They should be able to advise you. 

By Emma Thomasson

BERLIN — Work four days a week, but get paid for five? 

It sounds too good to be true, but companies around the world that have cut their work week have found that it leads to higher productivity, more motivated staff and less burnout.

“It is much healthier and we do a better job if we’re not working crazy hours,” said Jan Schulz-Hofen, founder of Berlin-based project management software company Planio, who introduced a four-day week to the company’s 10-member staff earlier this year.

In New Zealand, insurance company Perpetual Guardian reported a fall in stress and a jump in staff engagement after it tested a 32-hour week earlier this year.

Even in Japan, the government is encouraging companies to allow Monday mornings off, although other schemes in the workaholic country to persuade employees to take it easy have had little effect.

Britain’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) is pushing for the whole country to move to a four-day week by the end of the century, a drive supported by the opposition Labour party.

The TUC argues that a shorter week is a way for workers to share in the wealth generated by new technologies like machine learning and robotics, just as they won the right to the weekend off during the industrial revolution.

“It would reduce the stress of juggling working and family life and could improve gender equality. Companies that have already tried it say it’s better for productivity and staff wellbeing,” said TUC economic head Kate Bell. 

Overworked

Lucie Greene, trends expert at consultancy J. Walter Thompson, said there was a growing backlash against overwork, underlined by a wave of criticism after Tesla boss Elon Musk Tweeted that “nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week”.

“People are starting to take a step back from the 24-hour digital life we have now and realise the mental health issues from being constantly connected to work,” Greene said.

A recent survey of 3,000 employees in eight countries including the United States, Britain and Germany found that nearly half thought they could easily finish their tasks in five hours a day if they did not have interruptions, but many are exceeding 40 hours a week anyway — with the United States leading the way, where 49 per cent said they worked overtime. 

“There has been work creep. Because you always have the technology, you are always working, so people are getting burned out,” said Dan Schawbel, director of executive development firm Future Workplace, which conducted the survey.

Schulz-Hofen, a 36-year-old software engineer, tested the four-day week on himself after realising he needed to slow down following a decade of intense work launching Planio, whose tools allowed him to track his time in detail.

“I didn’t get less work done in four days than in five because in five days, you think you have more time, you take longer, you allow yourself to have more interruptions, you have your coffee a bit longer or chat with colleagues,” Schulz-Hofen said.

“I realised with four days, I have to be quick, I have to be focused if I want to have my free Friday.”

Schulz-Hofen and his team discussed various options before settling on everybody working Monday to Thursday. They rejected the idea of flexible hours because it adds administrative complexity, and were against a five-day week with shorter hours as it is too easy for overwork to creep back in.

Clients who call on a Friday hear a recorded message explaining why nobody is at the office.

“We got an unexpected reaction from customers. Most of our clients did not complain. They were just jealous,” Schulz-Hofen said.

Grey New York, an ad agency owned by WPP, launched a programme in April to allow staff to work a four-day week for 85 per cent of their full-time salary.

Schawbel expects the idea to catch on in more companies and countries, but probably not his own: “I think America will be the last country to give us Monday mornings off because we’re so used to this way of working.”

Over the past one year I realised that it is not easy to make friends in Mauritius. Moreover, if you don’t speak Creole or French, you can pretty much say goodbye to any kind of interaction with your neighbours too because not a single hand of friendship is extended nor any assistance offered to the newcomers, and one is pretty much left to fend for oneself and find one’s own way around. 

Majority of the island’s inhabitants can trace their ancestry to India, but despite that, almost all of them end up observing the European rules of conduct. Which means that, among other things, meal times are sacrosanct here (especially the lunch hour that begins exactly at noon and can extend for as long as you choose), the shops shut at six in the evening on a weekday, at two on Saturday and stay closed for the whole of Sunday. Also, if you live in a gated community, the service entrance follows the same timing restrictions as well — with the security guards staring at you helplessly through the locked barrier, in case you enthusiastically take a short cut, and try to come in from the side lane.

In my compound at least, there are more pets than children and every house reverberates with the sound of barking dogs, from dawn to dusk. The bungalows are built in such a way that each next-door backyard is easily visible from the first floor balcony. Our neighbours can look into our garden and we can view theirs, especially when they organise barbeque parties by inviting a large group of people who eat and drink a lot and speak loudly in an alien tongue. 

The middle-aged couple, whose boundary wall is adjoining ours, has a beautiful lawn, and I have noticed both of them toiling there at different times. The husband does the bulk of the work, like mowing the grass, clipping the shrubs and pulling out the weeds. The wife clears the dead leaves and waters the plants. 

While I am busy watching them, quite discretely they scrutinise me too and in fact, from their vantage position the grass seems to be greener on my side of the fence, so to speak. It appears to be such since my gardener has chopped all the dried up branches that are high up on trees shielding the sunlight, with his innovative branch-chopping device that is entirely his own creation. My only contribution towards this “sickle-stuck-onto-long-rod” invention is settling the bill for the amount that is presented to me. 

However, our neighbours don’t know that of course. They think that whichever foreign country I arrived from, I must have got this gardening tool with me, and quite unexpectedly, they reach out to me, for assistance. They ring my doorbell and quite tentatively begin explaining but because of the language barrier I have no clue of what they are talking about. 

The man points to a tree, the woman makes hacking actions while their dog barks excitedly and dances in circles around me. 

“You want me to give you wood for a bonfire?” I guess aloud. 

They repeat the same gestures. 

“Sorry! Pardon!” I back off, shutting the front door. 

“I think they want to borrow your sickle-on-stick gadget,” my husband deciphers.

“Remember that Indian brand Onida television’s iconic tagline?” he asks. 

“Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride,” I say automatically

“My garden is my joy,” I agree. 

“And your neighbours’ ennui,” my spouse laughs. 

Three in four parents are unaware when their teens have recurrent thoughts about suicide, and a big part of the problem may be that adolescents often deny feeling this way, a US study suggests. 

Researchers interviewed 5,137 adolescents, ages 11 to 17, along with one parent or stepparent. Most teens in the study did not report suicidal thoughts. 

But when they did, half of their parents were unaware these teens had thoughts of killing themselves and 76 per cent of parents did not know when teens regularly thought about death, researchers report in Paediatrics. 

“These findings highlight the importance of open communication between parents and adolescents and creating a safe and supportive family environment where adolescents feel comfortable disclosing their problems and concerns to parents and parents feel comfortable soliciting information from their teens having difficult conversations,” said lead study author Jason Jones of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. 

“Teens need to know they can depend on their parents in times of need,” Jones said by e-mail. “Parents should also not hesitate to seek help if they have concerns.” 

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among US youth ages 10 to 24, and suicide deaths rates among young people have been rising, researchers note in Paediatrics. 

More than two-thirds of teens experiencing suicidal thoughts do not receive mental health services. 

The current study recruited families from a large paediatric health care network, not from mental health clinics. The adolescents were 15 years old on average, and most of the adults who participated were their mothers. 

Among other things, interviewers asked the youngsters and parents if the children had ever thought of killing themselves or if they thought a lot about death. 

Overall, children and parents were more likely to share a common awareness of adolescents’ suicidal thoughts when children were older than when they were preteens. 

For girls, however, parents were more likely to recognise thoughts of death at younger ages and less likely to be aware of suicidal thoughts at younger ages. 

With boys, the opposite was true, and parents were less aware of suicidal thoughts for older teens. 

White parents were more likely to detect suicidal thoughts in their teens than non-white parents in the study. 

About one in ten parents in the study were fathers, and dads were more likely to miss teens’ suicidal thoughts than mothers. 

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how parents’ recognition of teens’ suicidal thoughts, or teens’ awareness of their own feelings, might directly impact the chance of self-harm or death by suicide. It is also not clear if results from pediatrics health clinics in Philadelphia would be similar elsewhere in the country. 

Even so, the results highlight the potential for adolescents’ mental health problems and suicidal thoughts to go undetected, said Dr Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan of the University of California, San Francisco, Benioff Children’s Hospital 

“This is due to many reasons including the internal nature of suicidal thoughts, lack of systemic screening and the denying by teens that they are having these thoughts,” Grupp-Phelan, the author of an accompanying editorial, said by e-mail. 

“The most important take-home message for parents is ask your teen how they are doing, and if you notice a change in behavior or energy level, get help from their primary care provider or mental health professional,” Grupp-Phelan advised. 

Warning signs include sadness, loss of interest and withdrawal from activities, and social isolation, among others, Jones said. Parents can get more information on risk factors and warning signs for suicide from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 

Touted as a giant leap forward for the iconic American manufacturer’s behemoth full-size family SUV offering the new Ford Expedition is the most luxurious and advanced generation yet. 

Featuring a more contemporary aesthetic treatment, the hugely spacious eight-seat third generation Expedition also adopts lighter aluminium-intensive body construction and a 10-speed automatic gearbox for improved performance, flexibility and efficiency, much like its F150 truck relation. 

It also gains improved interior design and refinement, and driver assistance, safety, infotainment and convenience features.

Modern makeover

Undoubtedly a considerably improved vehicle all-round, it is worth remembering that the new Expedition’s decidedly modern and downsized 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine and smooth, refined and space-efficient independent rear suspension had already been used in its long-serving predecessor, which in that way was more sophisticated than General Motors rivals. Distinctly old-school in design with a brutally blocky shape and vast glasshouse and tall roofline for space and visibility, the outgoing Expedition’s design would on first impression have seemed to have been simple.

Effectively creating the impression of mass towards the rear and minimising it above the front wheelarches to create a sense of urgency and tension, the old Expedition’s design has, however, been superseded with a more modern and hunkered down aesthetic with a lower descending roofline and higher waistline, but with a larger footprint and good packaging, the new Expedition is in fact more spacious inside in every which way but for third row headroom. Meanwhile in front, the new Expedition is more overtly assertive with a high-rise fascia and bonnet.

Confidently versatile

Behind its broad and dominant chrome mesh grille and under its dual ridged bonnet, it is powered by a high output version of Ford’s now familiar twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 Ecoboost engine producing an additional 25BHP and 9lb/ft torque for service in the range-topping Platinum edition tested. A worthy alternative to traditional naturally-aspirated big displacement American V8 engines, the Expedition Platinum’s Ecoboost develops a full 400BHP at just 5,000rpm and 479lb/ft at 3,500rpm, of which a generous helping is available across the rev range. 

Quick spooling and responsive from low-end and with scant turbo lag, the Ecoboost is well up to the job of briskly hustling along 2,550kg of Expedition Platinum. Eager off the line and estimated to cover 0-100km/h in 6-seconds or less, the Expedition platinum feels effortlessly muscular and confident on the move. Meanwhile, its 0-speed automatic gearbox’s closely spaced ratios allow for quick acceleration that flows like a torrent, and a generous spread of ratios allows for efficiency, low-end response, mid-range versatility and refined low-rev cruising.

Comfort and capability

Driving all four wheels, the Expedition provides reassuring traction and road-holding, and while not designed as a hardcore off-roader, it does have improved off-road abilities over its predecessor. In addition to generous 249mm ground clearance and better off-road angles, the new expedition also receives an optional electronic limited-slip rear differential useful for low traction surfaces, towing and on-road handling. Capable of towing 4,218kg when fitted with a Heavy Duty Trailer Towing Package, the Expedition meanwhile generously accommodates between 591- to 2,961-litre of cargo, depending on seat configuration. 

Riding on double wishbone front suspension and a more sophisticated multilink rear compared to some competitors live-axle set-up. Available with optional adaptive dampers for improved ride quality, the Expedition proved smooth and comfortable on Dubai roads, even as fitted with the Platinum edition’s huge alloys and low profile 285/45R22 tyres. Well absorbing bumps and imperfections during a short test drive, the Expedition felt stable, settled and refined at speed, but without being particularly disconnected. Meanwhile, steering was well-weighted and braking reassuringly confident.

User-friendly and spacious

By no means a sporty SUV, but rather a large, comfortable and extensively well-equipped family one, the Expedition nevertheless proved a better handling machine than its live-axle rivals. Turning in with good grip and accuracy, the Expedition is balanced and body roll well contained through corners. Able to manoeuvre with more confidence and control than expected, the Expedition is comparatively easy to drive, and comes with a host of driver assistance systems to help helm such a big beast, including blind spot monitoring, lane keeping and parking assists, and adaptive stop and go cruise control.

Considerably better appointed inside than its predecessor, the new Expedition Platinum is kitted with more convenience and infotainment systems, and mostly uses better quality cabin materials. Ergonomics and layouts are similarly good and include a rotary gear selector and clear instrumentation. Largely spacious, it is more generously spaced in every direction bar third row headroom, which was better before. That said, the Expedition’s lower floor, compact rear suspension and tip and slide middle seats, provide noticeably considerably better third row seating even for tall adults compared to live-axle competitors.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3.5-litre, all-aluminium, twin-turbocharged, in-line V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 92.5 x 86.7mm

Compression ratio: 10:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 4.696; 2nd 2.985; 3rd 2.146; 4th 1.769; 5th 1.52; 6th 1.275; 7th 1.0; 8th 0.854; 9th 0.689; 10th 0.636

Reverse/final drive: 4.866/3.31

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 400 (405) [298] @5,000rpm

Specific power: 114.4BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 156.8BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 479 (650) @3,500rpm

Specific torque: 185.9Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 254.9Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: under 6-seconds (estimate)

Minimum fuel requirement: 91RON

Length: 5,334mm

Width: 2,029mm

Height: 1,940mm

Wheelbase: 3,111.5mm

Track, F/R: 1,717/1,706mm 

Overhang, F/R; 970/1,252mm

Ground clearance: 249mm

Approach/break-over/departure angles: 23.3°/21.4°/21.9°

Seating: 8

Headroom, F/M/R: 1,066/1,016/947mm

Legroom, F/M/R: 1,115/1,082/1,038mm

Shoulder room, F/M/R: 1,648/1,646/1,630mm

Hip room, F/M/R: 1,579/1,590/1,305mm

Luggage volume, behind 1st/2nd/3rd row: 2961-/1800-/
591-litres

Fuel capacity: 89-litres

Kerb weight: 2,550kg

Towing maximum, standard/optional: 2,993kg/4,218kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/multi-link, anti-roll bars, optional adaptive dampers

Brakes: Discs, ABS, EBD

Tyres: 285/45R22

Older people with type 2 diabetes may struggle more with verbal memory than their peers without the disease, a recent study suggests. 

Researchers followed 705 older adults without dementia for an average of 4.6 years. At the start, participants were between 55 and 90 years old, with an average age around 70, and 348 of them had diabetes. 

In people with diabetes, verbal fluency declined slightly over the course of the study, while it improved slightly in participants without diabetes, researchers report in Diabetologia. 

Diabetes develops when the body cannot properly use insulin to convert blood sugar into energy and the condition is associated with obesity and ageing. While diabetes has long been linked to cognitive decline and dementia, research to date has not offered a clear reason for this connection. 

Three times during the study, participants had brain scans to look for any signs of atrophy — tissue shrinkage — and they took cognitive tests involving verbal skills. 

Although people with diabetes already had more brain atrophy at the start, there was no difference between those with and without diabetes in the rate of brain shrinkage during the study. Atrophy also did not appear to explain the link between diabetes and cognitive decline. 

Still, the results suggest that brain changes associated with diabetes may begin earlier than previously thought, perhaps in middle age, said lead author Michele Callisaya of the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. 

For patients, this means it would be a mistake to put off thinking about brain health until they are older or experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline, Callisaya said by e-mail. 

“Recommendations for good brain health include physical activity, following a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, checking blood pressure and cholesterol, mentally challenging the brain and enjoying social activities,” Callisaya said. 

The diabetics in the study were a bit younger, 68 years old on average, compared with an average of 72 for the participants without diabetes. 

Researchers accounted for age, sex, education and risk factors like current or former smoking, obesity and elevated blood pressure or cholesterol. 

One limitation of the study is that the diabetics had relatively well-controlled blood sugar, and it is possible that the connection between diabetes and changes in the brain might be more apparent in patients with higher blood sugar, the study authors note. 

“There isn’t evidence that keeping blood [sugar] under control directly improves cognition or lessens cognitive decline,” said Dr Rebecca Gottesman of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “But it is likely that long-term control of blood sugar has benefits for the brain,” Gottesman, who was not involved in the study, said by e-mail. 

Another limitation is that the study may have been too brief to detect meaningful differences in cognition and brain volume between people with and without diabetes because these changes can happen slowly. 

The diabetics might have had reduced brain reserve, or the ability to withstand damage, when they joined the study, said Jill Morris a researcher at the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Centre in Fairway. 

The good news is there is plenty that people can do to help keep their mind sharp, Morris said in an e-mail. 

“Keep your body and mind active,” she advised. 

“Diet and exercise are key components of brain health and can simultaneously impact blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and cerebrovascular disease,” Morris added. “These factors are linked to important cognitive and brain-related outcomes in a variety of populations, and are especially important in individuals with type 2 diabetes.”