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When grown-ups are reading to toddlers, they have more meaningful conversations when the stories are in traditional printed books than when stories are in e-books, researchers found. 

Results of the small experiment suggest story time with tablets may not be as good for kids’ development. 

Paediatricians recommend against any screen time at all for children under age two. They warn that tablets, smartphones and digitally enhanced toys and games can get in the way of creative play and interactions with caregivers that are essential for social, emotional and cognitive growth. 

But many parents who do not sit kids down to watch cartoons or play video games may still use tablets to read e-books to young kids. Among other things, e-books can be more convenient than cramming lots of board books in a diaper bag. Many parents also believe reading apps and interactive e-books can make it easier for kids to learn their ABCs. 

“We know shared book reading is such an amazing developmental activity to engage in with children — not only by exposing children to rich language and vocabulary, but also by providing opportunities for physical closeness and creating moments to bond,” said lead study author Dr Tiffany Munzer of the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. 

“Parents and toddlers know how to engage over a book, but when adding a tablet into the mix, it deflects from some of the positive benefits of that shared reading experience,” Munzer said by e-mail. “That isn’t to say there is no benefit to electronic book, just less than when you compare it with a print book.” 

For the study, Munzer’s team videotaped 37 parent-child pairs during reading sessions done in a lab. Parents read similar stories in three different formats: traditional printed books, e-books without any bells and whistles, and “enhanced” e-books with extra features like sound effects or animation. 

During each reading session, researchers observed how much interaction, conversation and collaboration happened between parents and kids. 

With printed books, parents talked to kids much more about the stories. The grown-ups paused to do things like ask kids if they remembered something they did that is similar to what is happening in the story, or asking kids what they think will happen next, the researchers report in Paediatrics. 

Enhanced e-books sparked more interactions than e-books without any bells and whistles, however. 

Toddlers also spoke up more to ask questions and share their own opinions and ideas about the stories when parents were reading from printed books. 

The enhanced e-books sparked more interaction initiated by kids than basic e-books, however. 

The study cannot say whether or how specific book formats might directly impact kids’ social, emotional or cognitive development. It also was not designed to determine whether different formats influence how easily or quickly children later learn to read. 

One benefit of reading to kids is the “back and forth” dialog that can happen while parents are sharing a story with young children and help put the story in the context of the child’s life experiences, said Dr Suzy Tomopoulos of the department of paediatrics at New York University School of Medicine, in an e-mail. 

“For example, if the book is about a trip to the zoo, the parent can talk about their last trip to the zoo and the animals they saw,” said Tomopoulos, who co-authored an editorial published with the study. 

 “Shared book reading with print books has been well studied and has been found to help child development, language, and social skills,” Tomopoulos added. “One of the main problems with screens is that they interfere with these high quality parent-child interactions that would otherwise take place.” 

It is rare that I get excited to see a horror movie these days. When it comes to the horror genre most movies are repetitive, mimicking in both style and story to the few great ones that set the trends. These few great ones make history as classic horror movies that people remember, in certain cases for decades, and are repeatedly watched when an occasion presents itself.

Last week I had the great pleasure to see a film that is without a doubt one of the best I have seen yet. “Us” is the latest theatrical gem released over the weekend that is turning into the talk of the week. It is written and directed by Jordan Peele who started his directorial debut with another great horror thriller “Get Out” released in 2017. 

Although new to the director’s chair, Peele has already proven himself more than able to take the helm. I think the movie clearly shows his talent for storytelling and solidifies proof of his love for horror. With a magnificent cast at his side, it is easy to notice the hard work put into the movie that only adds to the films excellence.

“Us” tells the story of a family on vacation who return to their beach home for the summer only to find themselves getting terrorised by mysterious doppelgangers. They are forced to fight to survive and try to escape or face the deadly consequences. Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther”) plays the lead, as Adelaide Wilson, beautifully. She is supported by her “Black Panther” co-star Winston Duke who plays Adelaide’s good-natured average-Joe husband Gabe Wilson.

It is not enough that the amazing actors bring one set of characters to life, but each also play their evil double in the film that only manages to show the audience how good they really are. The story was well written and even better told visually on the silver screen and it will surely keep the audience fully immersed in the journey of the characters.

There is some symbolism in the movie that adds depth and allows the audience to ponder the accurate meanings behind them. Symbolism such as the characters and their doppelgangers representing the dual nature of humanity, the good and the evil, the light and the dark. Throughout the film we see these two natures in conflict for supremacy and at the end making the audience question their perception of it.

Another example of symbolism is the idea of a divided class system that separates the elite upper class and the lower class often forgotten, ignored and mistreated as emphasised by the doppelgangers. Their red costumes are also reminiscent of the colour of the Bolshevik uprising in the early part of the 20th century that was equally as violent as the events in the film.

The underlying message in the story is that all actions have consequences and the absence of responsibility for those actions will only make the consequences worse. This message becomes clearer as the film progresses and serves as a good moral lesson especially for a horror movie. Peele has created something that is not seen that often in this particular genre and his genius is the ability to blend the right ingredients to make a horror film that can only be called a work of art.

This film will most assuredly soon become a classic and the beginning of a long line of films that will make Peele one the masters of horror. It is a great cinematic treat that will keep you on edge just like a great horror movie should and I am certain that you will enjoy it. 

“Us” has for sure taken the spotlight during the past weekend. So if you have not seen it yet, if you have some free time, I suggest you watch it and have yourself a good fright night.

People who are terrified of heights may be able to conquer their phobia using a virtual reality app and an inexpensive set of cardboard VR googles, a Dutch study suggests. 

Study volunteers using the self-guided cognitive behavioural therapy app had improvements comparable to what patients typically achieve with an actual therapist, researchers report in JAMA Psychiatry. 

The study shows “that fear of heights, or acrophobia, can be effectively treated without a therapist through our treatment delivered via smartphone application, called ZeroPhobia, in combination with basic $10 VR goggles”, said Tara Donker, an assistant professor and licensed cognitive behavioural therapist. “This means that effective treatment for specific phobias is possible at a fraction of the cost of existing face-to-face treatment or high-end VR exposure therapy.” 

In traditional cognitive behavioural therapy, patients with a phobia are gradually exposed to what they fear, and a therapist helps the patient reinterpret their responses and anxieties. 

But not all people with phobias have access to or can afford sessions with a therapist. Donker, who is affiliated with Vrije University Amsterdam, and senior study author Jean-Louis van Gelder of the University of Twente developed the app to offer an affordable alternative. They plan to release it commercially. 

The game-like app takes users through a series of challenges that would be terrifying for someone with acrophobia, such as replacing a lightbulb on a kitchen ladder, fixing a lamp while standing on the edge of a high balcony, or saving escaped kittens on a high footbridge above a stage. “The VR scenarios were developed [to cover] a broad spectrum of acrophobia situations,” Donker said in an email. 

To test the app, the researchers recruited 193 adult volunteers with acrophobia and randomly assigned them to use the VR treatment or to be on a waiting list. At the beginning, and three months later, volunteers filled out a questionnaire that assessed acrophobia symptoms. 

The six animated modules of VR cognitive behavioural therapy were delivered to the treatment group over a three-week period. Participants were able to run the scenarios on their phones, at their leisure. 

Based on questionnaire responses, Donker and colleagues concluded that volunteers who used the app had a significant improvement. 

“Our effects in terms of symptom reduction are comparable in size to effects found in previous research in which traditional CBT with a therapist was examined,” Donker said. “Furthermore, our results are comparable to previous therapist-guided studies using high-end VR equipment for acrophobia.” 

Experts welcomed the latest virtual reality therapy. 

“The bottom line is this is fantastic,” said Dr O. Joseph Bienvenu, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “It’s great news that a simple smartphone-based app is available as an efficient exposure therapy.” 

Bienvenu, who wasn’t involved in the study, believes this type of therapy could be the wave of the future. 

“It’s not hard to imagine that programmes like this will blossom for treating other specific phobias, besides heights, and posttraumatic stress disorder,” Bienvenu said in an e-mail. “This is very exciting!” 

VR therapies may fill the void caused by the shortage of therapists, said Dr Robert Hudak, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Finding good cognitive behavioral therapy can be tough in a lot of places and something like this may be the only choice,” he added. 

Still, Hudak thinks, it’s better if a therapist can be involved when people use VR to help overcome their phobias. “My preference would be that they use it at home under the direction of a trained mental health professional.” 

If the VR doesn’t work, people should not assume there is no help for them, Hudak said. At that point, “I would suggest they see someone about their phobia.” 

Kids with school attendance or truancy problems might be suffering from anxiety, a research review suggests. 

Chronic physical problems like asthma and diabetes have long been linked to an increased risk of school absences, poor grades and test scores, and lower odds of obtaining a college degree or a high-paying job. The current study offers fresh evidence that mental illness can also limit school performance and success in life, said lead study author Katie Finning of the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK. 

“We were surprised to find evidence that anxiety is associated with unexcused absences, or truancy, which is often assumed to be related to behavioural difficulties rather than emotional difficulties like anxiety or depression, as well as authorized absences,” Finning said by e-mail. 

“Poor attendance could be a sign of anxiety, no matter what type of absence,” Finning added. 

Finning’s team reviewed eight previously published studies with a total of almost 26,000 young students from Europe, North America and Asia. The youth were 15 years old on average, with ages ranging from five to 21. 

The analysis focused on four categories of absences: truancy and unexcused absences; medical and excused absences; school refusal tied to emotional distress about attendance; and absenteeism for any reason. 

Anxiety was strongly linked to school refusal, as expected. It was also associated with truancy, which was a surprise. 

Parents and teachers may mistakenly assume some children are missing school due to disobedience or behaviour problems when they are actually suffering from anxiety, Finning said. And some of kids considered truant might have undiagnosed anxiety, depression or other mental health problems. 

“There are lots of things about the school environment that might be challenging for young people with anxiety, including social interaction with peers and/or school staff, academic challenges, or separation from caregivers at home,” Finning said. 

“Anxiety can also cause physical symptoms like headaches or tummy aches, which might also impact on children’s school attendance,” Finning added. 

Most of the studies in the analysis were small, and none were designed to prove whether or how anxiety might directly cause school absences. 

The studies also measured anxiety and school attendance in a variety of ways, so the researchers could not pool data across all the studies. 

Even so, the results suggest that at least some absences attributed to misbehaviour might be due to anxiety, said Bonnie Leadbeater, a psychology researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada who was not involved in the study. 

 “Parents should consider the possibility that anxiety is behind school refusal and seek treatment once physical causes are ruled out,” Leadbeater said by e-mail. “Punishing children for school refusal due to anxiety will likely be unsuccessful,” she added. 

“Children experiencing excessive anxiety need help,” Leadbeater said. “While identifying this may be difficult, sometimes even asking your child, ‘what is it about going to school you find so difficult,’ and trying empathically to understand their point of view may get you started in helping them, and getting help for them to build the confidence to manage anxiety is important.” 

The electric powered incarnation of Volkswagen’s defining modern model, the e-Golf is a familiarly discrete, handsome, classy and practical family hatchback that has proved recently popular in the somewhat hatchback-averse Jordanian market.

Benefitting from import levies favouring Electric Vehicles over traditional combustion engine cars, the e-Golf’s popularity comes despite it is not being officially offered for sale in Jordan and the Middle East. Its substantial sales have instead been as an independent used or new import or through unofficial car traders.

Though not allocated officially for the Jordanian market, the local Volkswagen dealership nonetheless recently started importing used approved examples, such as the 2016 model driven here. 

Unable to sell new e-Golfs yet — like some other official dealerships aren’t able to sell similar new electric cars due brands’ unified regional plans — Volkswagen Jordan, however, also recently gained certification to service e-Golf models to both benefit from and support the model’s popular, if unofficial, market presence.

Similar sensibility

Virtually identical to the regular combustion engine Golf, the e-Golf shares the same clean lines, big glasshouse, sense of momentum and restrained yet sharp styling cues. 

Where it differs beside the obvious lack of exhaust pipe and discreet badges, is its C-shaped LED lighting running along its bumper and framing its fascia. 

The e-golf has also been aerodynamically tweaked with flush alloy wheels, low rolling resistance tyres, different radiator shutter and grille, and underbody panels to achieve low 0.27 drag co-efficiency.

Built on the seventh generation Golf platform with more aluminium content, the e-Golf retains a similar front motor and front-drive layout, while batteries are located at the rear, rather than underneath the floor like some purpose built electric cars. 

Developing 115BHP maximum power and weighed down by its 318kg battery, the e-Golf is far from the quickest Golf. 

However, its 10.4-second 0-100km/h time is perfectly quick enough for an eco-minded family EV, and its electronically-limited 140km/h top speed still exceeds national speed limits.

Responsive and refined

Heavier than even the most powerful range-topping four-wheel-drive turbocharged petrol-powered Golf R, the e-Golf’s generous 199lb/ft torque is more pertinent than power. 

Near-instantly available from start up to its 12,000rpm limit, the e-Golf’s electric powered torrent of torque makes it responsive and confidently versatile at lower speeds, despite its 1,533kg mass. Almost silently smooth, the e-Golf is happy to chirp its driven front wheels, while delivery is uninterrupted through the use of a single-speed automatic gearbox.

At its most efficient and with the best driving range in town driving, in contrast to combustion engine vehicles that are most efficient on motorways, the e-Golf is capable of a 133km combined cycle on a single charge. 

With no compatible fast high capacity charging points available locally, the e-Golf can be charged through either a home charging point system in 4-hours or through the mains socket, which takes up to 20-hours at 110/120V, but presumably less on Jordan’s 230V current. 

Confident commuter

Maneuverable and compact yet refined, reassuring practically sized, the e-Golf is particularly well suited as a commuter car, rather than for long distance driving, where it is limited by range and charging times. 

Easy to drive and park with, terrific driving visibility and comfortable, supportive driving position, the e-Golf’s cabin space is among the best in its class. 

With its batteries located at the rear and a higher boot floor, the e-Golf’s cargo volume is reduced by nearly 40-litres.  

Well-insulated, well-built, quiet and refined inside, the e-Golf felt confident, smooth, reassuringly, stable and comfortable during brief test drive, riding on 205/55R16 tyres with taller, more forgiving sidewalls than more performance-oriented GTI and R models previously driven. 

Similar in character and driving dynamic as petrol-powered sister models, the e-Golf shares a similarly light, quick and direct steering feel, with energy regenerative braking upon lift-off being among the chief differences at lower speeds and in terms of driving style.

Quiet comfort

Familiar yet slightly different, the e-Golf turned in with a similarly agile and alert manner. However when pushed slightly harder into and through corners, the heavier, softer e-Golf, with its instant torque and slimmer tyres leaned a bit more and seemed to have more of an inclination towards torque steer. 

Tidy and composed, the e-Golf seemed to be more willing to understeer than a regular Golf when entering a corner more aggressively or come back on power too early. 

With a seemingly good balance between ride comfort and body control, and a classy, user-friendly cabin layout, clear instrumentation and decent cargo volume of 341-litres that expands to 1,231-litre with the seats down, the e-Golf is also well-equipped with rear view camera, part electric heated seats, and Bluetooth/USB enabled infotainment touchscreen system. 

Good value at starting from JD15,900 for 2019 models, the 28,000km example driven felt taut, well-built and with no rattles, shakes or any sign of adverse wear.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: Synchronous AC permanent battery, front-mounted electric motor
• Battery, voltage/capacity: Lithium-ion, 323V/24.2kWh
• Gearbox: 1-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive
• Ratios, drive/reverse/final drive: 2.7/2.7/3.61
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 115 (116) [85]
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 199 (270)
• Maximum revs: 12,000rpm
• 0-100km/h: 10.4-seconds
• Top speed: 140km/h
• Range, combined: 133km*
• Fuel consumption equivalency, combined: 2-litres/100km*
• Charging time, 240V at 7.2kW wall charger/at 110/120V: 4-/20-hours
• Length: 54,270mm
• Width: 1,799mm
• Height: 1,450mm
• Wheelbase: 2,631mm
• Track, F/R: 1,543/1512mm
• Ground clearance: 126mm
• Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.27
• Headroom, F/R: 975/967mm
• Legroom, F/R: 1,046/903mm
• Shoulder room, F/R: 1,420/1,370mm
• Luggage volume, min/max: 341-/1,231-litres
• Kerb weight: 1,533kg 
• Payload: 426kg
• Battery weight: 318kg
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Lock-to-lock: 2.76-turns
• Steering ratio: 13.6:1
• Turning Circle: 10.9-metres
• Suspension: MacPherson struts,/multi-link, anti-roll bars
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 287 x 25mm/271 x 10mm
• Tyres: 205/55R16
• Price: from JD15,900, on-the-road without insurance (2016, pre-owned approved)
• *US Environmental Protection Agency figures

By Ghadeer Habash

Internationally Certified Career Trainer

Previously, not a lot was expected of grandparents beyond the occasional babysitting, spoiling with treats and passing on wisdom. But now, as more women join the workforce and pursue hobbies and interests outside of strictly parenting, teta and jiddo have never been more visible and indispensable to parents in Jordan.

How do parents (both mothers and fathers) succeed at working their jobs, practicing their hobbies, doing sports and staying healthy and fit while taking good care of their children?

They do so all thanks to a support system

As grandparents are living longer, healthier and more active lives, they are becoming a bigger part of the family support system. Many are part of the practical, emotional and financial support system that provides a safety net for the whole family. With more free time at their age, they are usually happy to spend it with their grandchildren so it’s a win-win situation.

Our parents (as grandparents) are our greatest blessings. We guarantee a safe and happy environment for our children when they are cared for by their grandparents. They also pass on their life experiences to their grandchildren, so kids learn a lot about history, culture, family values, food (we know teta’s food is the best!) and grandparents are delighted to share their stories with an eager audience so they, in turn, feel respected.

Thus, grandparents not only solve a major problem for their adult children or daughters and sons in-law, they can be an important part in raising well-rounded kids. Children usually enjoy everything at their grandparents’ home — they won’t want to go home easily and you can even see a bigger smile if sleeping over is an option!

When it’s not all 

smooth sailing

When you’re working hard to plan balanced meals, limit sweets and stay away from sugary drinks and then it all goes right out the window at jiddo’s house, it can be very frustrating. You know grandparents mean well so what do you do when your parenting styles don’t align?

There’s no reason to make your parents or in-laws feel like bad people who don’t care about your child’s health. Be sure they know how much you appreciate them spending time with your child and leave emotions out of it when you’re being direct with them like, “Majid had a cavity at his last dentist visit, so we’re trying to limit sweets.” But also be flexible and open to compromise. Think of going to teta and jiddo’s house as a chance to try different things that your children normally would not experience at home. Let them associate special things (heaps of attention, gifts, special foods) with their grandparents. These “extras” allowed at their grandparents’ house is the spice of life! There is no harm in breaking some rules sometimes!

Get involved

Although grandparents can be a wonderful support system, we should be mindful that they already raised kids of their own — they shouldn’t be burdened 24/7 with raising another generation. In other words, remember that you are still the parents, not them.

More should be done to support labour laws and employment options that allow for more on-site day care and flexible hours. Jordan’s Ministry of Labour announced recently measures to establish nurseries in private and public sectors.

I also advocate examining successful work models of other countries and assess whether they can be replicated in Jordan. In some countries, the start and end time of work at public and private companies and organisations are the same, including pre-schools, schools and universities, so everyone leaves and returns home at the same time! I love this idea because it helps working parents and reduces the pressure on grandparents.

Find out what more can be done and how you can help by contacting the Jordanian National Commission for Women and SADAQA (towards a friendlier work environment for women).

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Lake Success

Gary Shteyngart 

New York: Random House, 2018

Pp. 338

With fast-paced, multilayered prose, author Gary Shteyngart takes the reader on a road trip from New York to California, from the ultra-luxury, crass materialism and white male privilege of the 1 per cent in Manhattan’s finance-capital circles, to more ethnically and class-diverse milieu in the south and southwest.

Though there are intriguing, colourful descriptions of many people and places, the real focus is on the respective self-concepts of the anti-hero, Barry, and his wife, Seema, and on the contradictory ‘post-modern’ reality of the United States today. This novel could not be timelier, as the plot stretches from the summer of 2016 into the fall, parallel to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and election victory. 

One may wonder why the book is titled “Lake Success”, for most of the story reveals the two main characters’ lives in free-fall, spiralling downward (notably parallel to Trump’s upward spiral).

When multimillionaire Barry steps on a Greyhound bus in New York, minus cellphone and credit cards, he is escaping a domestic scene he can’t handle — Seema’s scorn and his son’s severe autism. This is a man trying desperately to return to his hopeful youth by reconnecting with his college girlfriend. There are also mounting clues that he is running from the law, for his hedge fund has engaged in morally and legally reprehensible practices to stay afloat. 

Observing his behaviour with the people he meets on his trip, and the memories he recalls, one sees that Barry is obsessed with success and self-delusional enough to believe that he has been successful in his life. The bigger question of what constitutes success is an implicit theme throughout the novel. 

Barry is also obsessed with making friends and imagines chance encounters and casual conversations to be the beginnings of meaningful relationships. On the Greyhound bus, almost everyone he meets is African- or Mexican-American, and he imagines that he can mentor or “help” them, when what he really wants is a boost to his ego or, in some cases, sex. Even his sincerest efforts, such as trying to relate to his son or to resurrect his relationship with his college lover, are stymied by his failure to see that the other person perceives things differently. 

Many of his experiences should teach him that money can’t buy love or happiness, but he doesn’t seem to get it. The plot, however, shows that Barry’s delusions have a base in reality: most often, wealth does indeed protect the ultra-rich from being held accountable for their transgressions. 

Barry’s cross-county adventures give the author a chance to survey modern-day America, and it is found to be a study in contrasts. While the crassness, excessive spending and financial manipulations of the ultra-rich can only disgust, there are many examples of positive action and social solidarity among the middle- and lower classes, especially among those who identify as progressives. On the one hand, racism and sexism are the rise, let out of the closet by Trump’s campaign, but on the other hand, many communities have become more ethnically diverse and harmonious. 

Left behind in New York, Seema is hardly less dependent on wealth; she too wants a new life, yet she is more flexible than her husband and works hard to understand what it means to be a good mother to an autistic child, making her all the more unforgiving of Barry’s faults: “if only he could love his son as much as he wanted to control his own pain”, she opines. (p. 162)

For all the serious topics involved, Shteyngart tells his story with sly wit, making “Lake Success” at times hilarious. A few facts about the author’s background make the book all the more amazing. Shteyngart was born in Leningrad when there was still the Soviet Union. His family migrated to the New York when he was seven, but English was not the language of their home, making his impeccable, evocative, sometimes rollicking, prose all the more remarkable. 

Perhaps this background gives Shteyngart a special lens for observing US society and for describing it in a unique way. His descriptive powers are immense; he is able to pin down a character’s class status with a brand name, and to create nuanced characters, such as Barry, whom one alternately loves, hates and pities. The author is known for satirical writing, but this novel only partly relies on that device. While the super-rich and racists are subjected to his satirical pen, others are presented with empathy. Basic human issues, like love, loyalty, family and the challenges of having an autistic child, are addressed with great seriousness. “Lake Success” is a defining novel about the America of today, both fun and sobering to read.

Fish in the Northeast Atlantic — including cod, the prime ingredient in fish-and-chips — saw a dramatic drop of 34 per cent in the past several decades as the Earth warmed.

And it’s not only cod: many other species of fish are in hot water — literally.

Warming oceans from human-caused climate change has shrunk the populations of many fish species around the world, according to the recently released study.

Overfishing and poor fisheries management have only intensified the problem.

Some of the biggest drops were In the seas near China and Japan, where fish populations dropped by as much as 35 per cent from 1930 to 2010, the decades analysed in the study.

“We were stunned to find that fisheries around the world have already responded to ocean warming,” said study co-author Malin Pinsky, a Rutgers University ecologist. “These aren’t hypothetical changes sometime in the future.”

Globally, the drop is 4.1 per cent for many species of fish and shellfish, according to the study, which was led by Chris Free, formerly of Rutgers and now a post-doc at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Keeping fish stocks plentiful is vital, the study says, since Earth’s oceans have become a crucial source of food for the planet’s rapidly growing population. In fact, more than 50 million people around the world earn a living by fishing, and seafood provides about half of the protein eaten by people in developing nations, according to the study.

“We recommend that fisheries managers eliminate overfishing, rebuild fisheries and account for climate change in fisheries management decisions,” Free said.

In the study, Free and his team studied the impact of ocean warming on 124 species in 38 ecological regions around the world.

It’s not necessarily all bad news, however: while most fish populations will see a downturn as the seas warm, some, like black sea bass along the Mid-Atlantic coast, saw an increase.

However, “fish populations can only tolerate so much warming,” said study co-author Olaf Jensen, also a Rutgers scientist.

And worldwide, more fish populations dropped than rose during the period studied.

Looking ahead, “future fisheries production may be at even greater risk considering that, owing to [human-caused] climate change, the oceans are continuing to warm even faster than originally predicted,” said Australian scientist Éva Plagányi in a commentary that accompanied the study.

The humble cassette — that tiny little plastic rectangle containing the homemade mixtapes of yesteryear — is back, joining vinyl as a darling of audiophiles who miss side A and side B.

But as top musicians including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber release their music on tape and demand continues to climb, the niche revival has faced a global shortage of music-quality magnetic tape needed for production.

Now, two facilities — one in the American Midwest and the other in western France — have stepped in to meet the need.

“It’s a good place to be — there’s plenty of business for both of us,” said Steve Stepp, who founded the National Audio Company in Springfield, Missouri with his father 50 years ago.

He said that around 2000 the “imperial hegemony of the CD” cut his business, which stayed alive as a major manufacturer of books on tape that remained popular.

But despite the astronomical rise of streaming, Stepp said rock bands like Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins began seeking to manufacture anniversary tapes in the mid-2000s, launching a cassette comeback tour.

“That convinced major record labels that there was still life in the cassette as a music form,” he said. 

Several years ago National Audio bought 300,000 reels of tape from a South Korean company that gave up music-grade tape production.

As that stockpile began to shrink, his facility in November 2016 was faced with a choice: either make reels, or fold.

His business invested several million dollars buying up old equipment from defunct production facilities, and last year National Audio manufactured 18 million audio cassettes, Stepp said, selling to 3,500 record labels globally.

“I think it’s got a bright future,” Stepp told AFP of the cassette market. “It died in 2000, as far as conventional wisdom was concerned, and it has made a strong comeback since.”

“Reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.”

‘90s vibes’

Since November, Mulann — a small French company near Mont Saint Michel — has also rebooted production, the country’s first manufacturing of music-grade tape in two decades.

Already selling magnetic tape for metro tickets or military recording studios, the Mulann group acquired a plant to produce analog audio tapes under the trademark Recording The Masters.

For Jean-Luc Renou, Mulann’s CEO, there is still a place for analog sound in today’s ephemeral music world.

“Take the example of heating: you have radiators at home. It’s comfortable, it’s digital — but next to you, you can make a good fire.”

“Pleasure” is the goal, he said: “That’s the cassette or vinyl.”

The company sells tapes for 3.49 euros each, producing them by the thousands each month and exporting 95 per cent worldwide, according to commercial director Theo Gardin.

The 27-year-old admits he did not know in his youth the joys — and pains — of the Walkman personal tape player, or the delicate strip of tape that tangles up and must be rewound with, say, a pen. Or a finger.

According to Stepp, it’s precisely 20-somethings like Gardin fast-forwarding demand, as young people seek something tangible in the Internet age.

Urban Outfitters — an American clothing brand catering to hipster types that also sells electronics — on its site spells out the mixtape process.

“If you’ve never spent three to five hours sitting by the radio, waiting for that one Hanson song to come on so you could add it to your mixtape, get pumped: you can now relive that experience,” it says.

“Let those ‘90s vibes wash over you, man.”

‘A uniqueness’

Cassette tape album sales in the US grew by 23 per cent in 2018, according to tracker Nielsen Music, jumping from 178,000 copies the year prior to 219,000.

It’s nothing compared to 1994 sales of 246 million cassette albums, but significant considering the format was all but dead by the mid 2000s.

“As an old fogey I don’t want to imagine a world with no analogue,” Stepp said. “The world around is analogue; our ears are analog.”

“Digital recordings are very clean and sharp but there are no harmonics. These are digital pictures of audio recordings, if you will.”

Bobby May, a 29-year-old buyer at Burger Records in southern California, said that while “physical media in itself is a totally antiquated idea”, cassette sound has what he called a uniqueness.

“The consumer public is fickle and trends always change, but for the foreseeable future, I know tonnes of people will stay pretty crazy for records and vinyl.”

Last year vinyl saw revenues hit their highest level since 1988, totalling $419 million — an eight per cent jump from the previous year.

Though vinyl’s sound quality is unquestionably superior to cassettes, May said tapes’ low cost makes them ideal for collectors.

“I still like stuff pilin’ up around me,” May laughed, adding that he probably has 500 tapes from Burger.

In addition to the homemade and indie cassettes, he cherishes several mainstream albums as well.

“I have a prized ‘Baby One More Time’ cassette,” he said, referring to pop princess Britney Spears’ debut album. “It looks great on my shelf.”

Workouts that mix up a variety of intense exercises with brief recovery periods in between may help people lose more weight than chugging along at a steady pace on a treadmill or exercise bike, a research review suggests. 

Doctors often advise people trying to lose weight to focus on cutting calories and getting more active. But the ideal type and amount of exercise for optimal weight loss is not clear, researchers note in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. 

For the current analysis, researchers examined data from 41 smaller studies that compared weight loss results after at least four weeks of either interval training or moderate intensity continuous training programs, such as jogging, cycling or walking at a steady pace. 

Both men and women lost weight and body fat with both types of workouts, regardless of starting weight. 

However, interval training provided greater total weight loss: an average of 1.58 kilogrammes compared with 1.13 kilogrammes with continuous moderate intensity activity. 

“Losing weight is not only about how many calories you burn during exercise, but also how your body reacts during the hours and days after exercise,” said senior study author Paulo Gentil of the Federal University of Goias in Brazil. 

“We found that interval training promotes higher fat loss and sprints interval training might be particularly efficient at this,” Gentil said by e-mail. 

Interval training sessions in lasted an average of 28 minutes, compared with just 18 minutes for sprint interval sessions and 38 minutes for continuous moderate intensity workouts. 

While the exercise protocols varied, the most common high intensity interval workout alternated four minutes of all-out exercise with three minutes of recovery. 

The exercise experiments in the study included a total of 1,115 participants and lasted from four to 16 weeks. 

One limitation of the study is that the wide variety of interval training programmes tested made it hard to determine whether one particular approach might be ideal for reducing body fat or losing weight, the study authors note. 

Most exercise guidelines recommend 150 to 250 minutes a week — and up to an hour a day — of moderate intensity aerobic exercise to prevent weight gain or to achieve modest weight loss. Obese people with many more pounds to shed are advised to exercise more than an hour a day, a target few people achieve, researchers note in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. 

Exercise has many health benefits, but is not necessarily risk free, particularly for people who are older or have chronic health problems said Dr Peter Kokkinos of Georgetown University School and the Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Washington, DC.

“Too much exercise can result in serious musculoskeletal injuries, cardiac events, including heart attacks and even death,” Kokkinos, who was not involved in the study, said by e-mail. “The risk of such injuries is extremely low with low-to moderate intensity exercises, but may increase slightly with increased exercise intensities and duration.” 

Even the higher risk of interval training can still deliver a bigger payoff, said Keith Diaz, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York City who was not involved in the study. People who cannot manage interval training all the time may still get some benefit from doing this once a week. 

“It is suspected that interval training may lead to more weight loss because it triggers your body to burn more fat in the 24 hours after you exercise,” Diaz said by e-mail. “This is because when you exercise really intensely, your muscles use all its energy stores that come from carbohydrates.” 

But because interval training does not burn much fat during the brief bursts of exercise, other, longer workouts may achieve similar results for fat loss, Diaz added.

“Both interval training and continuous exercise generally showed similar benefits for weight loss, so whether you prefer the all-out nature of interval training or the slow and steady continuous exercise, do what you like,” Diaz advised. “Odds are you’ll keep up that habit longer if you do.”