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AMMAN — Simply called “The Amman Period”, Venezuelan artist Fausto Borge’s exhibition at Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is the result of his artistic creation while here and, one assumes, a tribute of sorts to the capital city where he has been serving as his country’s ambassador for the past eight years.

The awe-inspiring outcome of his solemn labour of love is abstract imagery of distinguished beauty and subdued, elegant, colour, the result of his long experience as an artist and of his aesthetic credo. 

Like some prehistoric megaliths, his carved aluminium columns may evoke vestiges of ancient civilisations, but they could also be abstract hugging figures, dripping molten metal that suggests the passage and ravages of time, faces trying to break free of the embracing metal, or just towers, as the artist prefers to call them.

The amorphous aluminium bars, drilled, torched and polished to a warm gleam, become tortuous creatures, eerie life that one almost feels pulsating and trying to break free of the imprisoning metal.

Polished to a satiny finish, the columns, like the brown wooden “Woman” reigning solitarily in the exhibition hall, make it difficult to resist the temptation to touch, caress, trace their contorted contours in an attempt to understand and communicate with the hinted life within.

Borge’s sculptures, and many of his paintings, have a primeval, yet, majestic quality. They draw the eye, keep it prisoner for a long time, dare it to decipher the meaning behind the obvious, are tantalising, mysterious, detached yet warmly embracing.

In the paintings, both monumental and of smaller size, the artist makes use of different media — wood, canvas, melted aluminium and resin — to render encrypt messages in arcane script that asks to be deciphered.

Whether abstract silver aluminium “Upside down tears” that seem to defy gravity, a lapis lazuli rendition of the vast “Cosmos” where slivers of shiny metal beckon like far-away stars, or earthen-colour images that remind of prehistoric caves or pottery from the dawn of civilisation, whether on canvas, wood or metal sheets, Borge’s paintings are poignant and touch an inner cord that ties us to our primordial ancestors.

Some themes are a repetition of works presented in a previous exhibition. 

Like then, the metal seems to have docilely submitted to the artist’s whim, but that is clearly not the case. Drill and torch and long hours of polishing imply hard work during which the artist, rather, is forced to yield to the caprices of the metal, a happy relation with intriguing results.

Like then, Borge skilfully plays with texture to create depth and movement, and like then, his works in soothing, almost monochromatic colours, are rich and fascinating.

One cannot but be grateful to the artist’s professor at a New York university where he was studying art administration who suggested that he start painting rather than engrave. In some sort of contrasting activity, he thus started building on the medium rather than taking away from it, and the result is outstanding.

Borge studied engraving at New York University and painting at The Arts Students League of New York; he holds a master of arts degree from New York University, and a diploma in advanced studies in sociology and a certificate in aesthetics from the University of Bordeaux.

This exhibition, “dedicated to my daughter”, Zoe, is then the second this artist is having in Jordan.

And even though he held several solo exhibitions in France and Venezuela, and several group exhibitions in the US, France and his country, this “is the most important exhibition I ever had because it is held in a museum”.

It is indeed a prestigious institution where Borge is “proud” to have had the “honour” to exhibit, but choosing him for the task could not have been difficult. He is an artist of the highest calibre, so the “honour” goes both ways.

His works will be on display until May 14.

The world and the specialised media keep trying to impress us with hot but somewhat mysterious IT topics such as bitcoin, blockchain, driverless cars, unmanned taxi drones and the fancy biometrics used in personal identification. At the same time, and in a more pragmatic, down-to-earth manner, there are quiet, on-going improvements that are being introduced in the hardware we use to be on the network and do all our computing.

These apparently simple but important new features contribute to make life with computers more efficient and more pleasant. Especially when these features combine. This is mainly the case with the new laptop machines. 

The good side of it is significantly better computing for us all. The bad side is that it comes to make laptops you bought just a couple of years ago look old.

Perhaps the most important element introduced in laptops is the SSD disk technology. SSD stands for Solid State Disk. The new disks replace traditional HDDs, Hard Disk Drives. SSD technology is based on a structure that has no moving parts and that works more like the memory of your computer, except that it retains data after you switch off the machine, something that the main memory does not do.

The main advantage of SSD is speed. You start your laptop in ten seconds instead of 40, on average. Files also are saved and opened much faster. Because it has no moving parts an SSD is silent, more shock-tolerant and consumes less power. As for error rates, the two technologies are more or less on the same level. The only aspect that hurt a little is price. Typically, and for the same storage capacity, SSD is about five times more expensive than HDD. Still, SSDs are slowly but surely replacing HDDs in most new laptop models, in all brands.

Another significant addition is the USB-C port. The new standard already is available on Samsung’s high-end smartphones like the Galaxy S8 and S9. Now it is being fitted as a standard in the most recent laptop computers. Again, it is essentially a matter of speed. However, and in addition to pure speed, USB-C also brings with it a nice little improvement that adds convenience of use.

Unlike its predecessors, USB2.0 and USB3.0 that had an “up” and a “down” side of the connector, forcing you to look carefully before plugging it in the computer, USB-C connectors can be plugged either way — no need to look anymore, and no risk of breaking the connector by inserting it the wrong way.

Inexpensive memory chips have made it easy and affordable to buy laptops with 8GB and even 16GB. Whereas 2G and 4G were the norm, because of price, this size was just not enough to power modern laptops, and to run with satisfactory speed Windows 10, Photoshop CC, and the like, or to process heavy graphics. Now several models by Dell and Lenovo, mainly, come with 8GB as standard and 16GB as an option, for just a little more money: about JD50. Definitely worth the expenditure.

Last but not least is the touch screen. It is not anymore the exclusive privilege of tablets and smartphones, the place where it started. Many laptops are now made with a touch screen. Even if computers already do have a physical keyboard, having a touch screen brings added comfort of use whenever a quick touch action, a click or drawing are necessary.  

The combination of SSD disks, USB-C ports, large memory size and touch screen, drastically changes the performance of a laptop and the pleasure of using it. But again, it makes models not fitted with these features obsolete.

By now, Facebook users seem to finally get that they may not get charged anything for using the social networking service, but it sure is not free, not after being subjected to ad after spookily-tailoured ad.

Yet, users still seem to have a long way to go to fully understand what Facebook and the other big tech companies are really doing. And, of course, Facebook seems just as far away from delivering what consumers clearly seem to want.

That is my pessimistic conclusion from a new research note by the venture capital firm Loup Ventures of Minneapolis, in which managing partner Doug Clinton answered the question of what the online data of a single US user are really worth.

Clinton and his Loup partners are technology optimists, with Clinton saying this week that people should expect at least a few problems with pretty much all innovations that make their lives better.

He started looking into the topic of what he called social data, not because of Facebook’s still-unfolding privacy scandal, but by puzzling over technical solutions for locking up and then selling one’s own personal data. One problem Loup found here — which is that a user is not worth nearly as much to Facebook as consumers seem to think — seems to also suggest that Facebook has a lot of work ahead to regain consumer trust.

As almost everyone must know by now, Google does not charge for using Google Maps, and Facebook does not charge for its popular Facebook and Instagram applications. These applications are almost too easy to use, as even novices can get online and be liking and friending like mad within minutes.

Facebook’s business model of “free” is shared by other big technology firms, a peculiar outcome of popular Silicon Valley ideas that seem to be impossible to hold in your head at the same time.

One was how the technology community had to celebrate the entrepreneurs of this age, builders of thriving businesses such as Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google or Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. The other is that the internet must remain a free and wide-open place, without government interference and available at no cost to anybody with the interest and means to get online.

The problem with free, of course, is that the entrepreneurs had to get their money from someone in order to have a business. That meant selling advertising.

The Silicon Valley firms offered advertisers a different deal, though, not the mass-market approach of 30-¬second radio spots or a quarter of a newspaper page. Facebook promised ads in front of the eyeballs of just the right person, having learned who that was by closely paying attention to what its users did online.

Meanwhile, Clinton and his colleagues at Loup Ventures had recently been noodling a potential business opportunity for the emerging blockchain technology, best known now for being the foundation of virtual currencies. Maybe consumers could use something like that to lock up their personal-use histories on technologies like Facebook’s and Google’s. Instead of giving their data away to these companies, they could sell it.

So what is that worth?

Last year, Facebook generated about $19.5 billion in US and Canada ad revenue from its average monthly active users of more than 235 million, working out to about $82 each. Pare that amount back, applying things like expenses and taxes, and the value of their data per user is about $20.72.

A $20 bill likely will not be enough to get anyone excited about the prospect of trading away personal data to a company like Facebook.

Facebook users, though, seem to have no idea they are worth so little. When about 500 users were asked by Loup about that, about a quarter responded with less than $25. The most popular response, more than four in 10, was $500 or more.

Even armed with annual filings from Facebook and a calculator, it is not exactly easy for people to figure out what their data might be worth. But that is not really Clinton’s point.

He thinks that by putting a big number on the value of their own data, Facebook’s users are once again saying how angry they were at having found out their personal profile had been used in a way they would never want. So what is their privacy worth? It is priceless.

What to do about their data privacy is not obvious, either. Facebook rolled out changes to its privacy settings after the scandal erupted over user data being mined by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm. But Clinton found out what a hassle managing settings can be.

“I was 10 minutes in, and I was probably 10 per cent of the way through the process of figuring out how to manage my data,” Clinton said. “To do it well, and this is just on Facebook, it’s probably an hourlong-plus project.”

Just one in 10 respondents to Loup’s survey said they had spend more than 20 minutes tweaking the privacy settings. By far, the most popular answer was zero minutes.

If people don’t even want to think about their privacy settings, one thing for Facebook to do, Clinton suggested in our conversation, is to make more of the default privacy choices “closed” rather than open. Let consumers choose if they want to share more about themselves to help Facebook provide better ads, videos and other material.

Of course, he also noted that what people really want is not fully rational. They insist their privacy be completely protected even as they use Facebook and Instagram to blast out photos of their kids along with lots and lots of very personal details all over the world.

If anybody understands the curious ways of Facebook users right now, you would assume it has to be Facebook’s executives. It remains to be seen what they may do next with those insights.

When my generation was growing up, our parents took great efforts in imparting good manners to the children, and immense time was spent on instilling the traditional Indian greeting ritual into each of us. This involved folding the hands together with the palms touching, lowering the head a bit, and with a smile saying  “Namaste”  to the person who was being greeted.

There was never a chance of avoiding it because our elders always prompted with a “do Namaste” the minute we spotted any relatives, friends or acquaintances. I am told that I mastered the smiling and joining hands bit quite easily but used to lisp out “Manaste”, instead. In my enthusiasm I would mix up the consonants, which lead to a lot of laughter at my expense. I had no idea of the comic slipup and thought that all the people who laughed were just happy to see me. 

I don’t remember exactly when I switched to the correct form of the salutation but I can recall our grandmother describing the significance of the term, in patient detail. It was derived from the Sanskrit word “Namaskar” that meant “I bow to you”, she explained. There was a spiritual divinity within each of us, our grandma would clarify, and by doing this prayer-like gesture towards another person, you are acknowledging the divinity in them, she used to say.

By using “Namaste” as a way to say hello or goodbye, one makes an effort to actively connect to others. It does not have any spiritual connotation though interestingly, a related word, namazlik, meaning “prayer rug”, was entered in Merriam-Webster’s 1934 Unabridged edition, Webster’s Second. It comes from the Turkish word namaz meaning “worship ritual or prayer” and goes back to Middle Persian and Avestan (the oldest Iranian language) to nemahya- (“honour, pay homage to”), a derivative of nem- (“bend”), which is exactly cognate with Sanskrit namati, thereby connecting the ancient gesture and the ancient tradition of prayer rugs through the earliest roots of distantly related languages, according to merriam-webster.com

So, once I understood that there was so much of culture and conventional wisdom associated with this simple gesture, I taught it to our daughter too. She grasped it almost immediately and did not need too much prompting in public, as reinforcement. The minute she met any friend or relative of mine, she was ready with a “Namaste Uncle” or “Namaste Aunty”, as the case may be. But once she went off to college, she switched to greeting everyone with a short and truncated “hello”. When I protested, she smilingly opted for the “how do you do” followed by a handshake.

Nobody could find fault with that and her doting father insisted that it was a very well mannered thing to do. As a last resort I told her that the reason she fell sick so often was because each time she shook hands with a person suffering from influenza, the germs got transferred to her. Like most mothers, after putting this idea in her head I promptly forgot about it. 

“Mom, I met your friend in London recently,” our daughter said on the phone. 

“Yes, she wrote to me,” I said. 

“You greeted her with a Namaste?” I asked. 

“I am so proud of you,” I exclaimed. 

“She was very impressed,” I gushed. 

“Oh! That was because Aunty had a cold,” our daughter justified. 

There was a moment’s pause. 

“Mum?” our daughter prompted. 

“I’m still proud of you,” I answered.

Middle-aged men who are sedentary much of the day and don’t get a lot of exercise are more likely to develop bladder and urinary tract symptoms than their peers who sit less, a Korean study suggests. 

Researchers examined data on 69,795 men who were 40 years old on average and didn’t have a history of bladder disease. All of the men completed questionnaires about their activity levels, sedentary time and the frequency and severity of symptoms such as leakage, difficulties voiding, a constant need to urinate or sleep disruptions related to urination. 

After an average follow-up of 2.6 years, 9,217 men developed significant lower urinary tract symptoms, researchers report in BJU International. 

Compared to inactive men, participants who got even a little exercise were 6 per cent less likely to develop urinary problems during the study, and men who got lots of physical activity had 7 per cent lower odds. 

In addition, compared to men who spent less than five hours a day sitting, men who spent at least 10 hours sedentary were 15 per cent more likely to develop bladder issues. For men who were sedentary from five to nine hours a day, the risk was increased by 8 per cent. 

“This suggests that both reducing time spent sitting and promoting physical activity are important for preventing lower urinary tract symptoms,” said senior study author Dr Seungho Ryu of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul. 

“Too much sitting is considered an emerging health risk factor for the development of chronic diseases,” Ryu said by e-mail. 

The connection between inactivity and bladder problems persisted even after researchers accounted for several other risk factors that can independently contribute to urinary issues such as obesity and diabetes. 

One limitation of the study is that the questionnaire about sedentary time didn’t distinguish between different types of inactivity such as watching television, working or commuting, the authors note. 

Another drawback is that few participants were over 65 years old, and the risk of bladder problems increases dramatically with age. 

Still, the results add to evidence linking less exercise to more urinary symptoms, said Dr J. Kellogg Parsons, of the Moores Comprehensive Cancer Centre and University of California, San Diego Health. 

“Scientists are uncertain as to why there is a link,” Parsons, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by e-mail. “The take home message is that bladder symptoms are yet another health problem that can occur when adults do not exercise often enough.” 

It’s also possible that the ability to exercise might be a proxy for something else, like other medical conditions or general fitness that might also contribute to urinary tract health, said Dr David Penson, director of the Centre for Surgical Quality and Outcomes Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee. 

“What this tells me is that, in patients who can exercise and be physically active, they may garner some additional benefit from this,” Penson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Basically, exercise isn’t just good for your heart — it might be good for your bladder.” 

Yoga, exercise, education and personal skills training are among the many types of interventions that may help kids improve what is known as self-regulation, or their ability to manage their behaviour and emotions, a study suggests. 

Self-regulation covers a lot of things that kids need to succeed inside and outside the classroom, ranging from the ability to have positive interactions with others, the capacity to avoid inappropriate or aggressive actions, and the ability to carry out self-directed learning. Cognitive processes contributing to self-regulation are often referred to as “executive function” and can include impulse control as well as the ability to direct or focus attention, adapt flexibly to changes and retain information. 

For the current study, researchers examined data from 49 previously published studies with a total of more than 23,000 children and teens who were randomly selected to receive an intervention to improve self-regulation or join a control group that did not get this help. 

Most of the interventions were associated with improvements in kids’ ability to appropriately adjust their behaviour and emotional responses to fit different situations, researchers report in JAMA Paediatrics. While many things appeared helpful, the most effective approach involved training teachers to incorporate self-regulation education into their routine classroom activities. 

“Self-regulation skills can be a powerful predictor of positive health, educational, financial and social outcomes,” said lead study author Dr Anuja Pandey of the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health at the University College of London in the UK. 

“While interventions to improve self-regulation mostly target pre-school and primary school age, our study findings show that such interventions can be effective even during adolescence, thus providing an extended window of opportunity to improve self-regulation,” Pandey said by e-mail. 

Children and teens who struggle with self-regulation may be prone to behavioural problems and emotional outbursts that make it hard for them to maintain friendships, enjoy sports and other group activities, and meet academic expectations in school. These kids can also have difficulties concentrating on tasks and lose interest in daily activities. 

Researchers found consistent improvements in self-regulation in 16 of 21 interventions that were incorporated into school curriculums, making this the most successful approach. 

However, many other options worked at least some of the time, including four of six exercise-based interventions, four of eight yoga and mindfulness interventions, and four of six interventions targeting social and personal skills. 

In some instances, these interventions were also associated with improved academic achievement and reductions in substance abuse, school suspensions, depression, conduct disorders and behavioural problems. 

One limitation of the study is that the many smaller experiments included in the analysis tested a wide variety of approaches and had different ways of measuring any improvements in self-regulation, the authors note. 

Another drawback is that even though study participants ranged in age from two to 17 years old, the average age was six, and few of the studies focused on older children and teens. 

Still, parents should be encouraged by the results, which suggest that self-regulation is a teachable skill and that many approaches to these lessons may work, said Laurence Steinberg, author of an accompanying editorial and a researcher at Temple University in Philadelphia. 

“What’s surprising is that so many different types of activity — meditation, physical exercise, yoga, executive function training programs — are reasonably effective,” Steinberg said by e-mail. 

“This matters for parents because it indicates that there may be different routes to the same goal, and that parents ought to be able to find some approach that suits their child,” Steinberg added. 

By virtue of occupying the same position in Audi’s range as a high performance coupe variant based on the same basic platform as the brand’s junior executive saloon, the new Audi RS5 Coupe is for all intents and purposes, the latest and most potent successor to Ingolstadt’s most defining and iconic 1980-91 Quattro. Though not being actively promoted as such, and without its predecessor’s rallying links, the RS5 may be thoroughly more modern and sophisticated, but retains its famous predecessor’s basic formula and shares a similar rivalry with the BMW M3.

Knowing nod

The most nimble of the traditional longitudinal front engine current Audis, the RS5 still does things a little different to its premium coupe M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe rivals, with more emphasis on dogmatic road-holding and tenacious traction, courtesy of its Quattro four-wheel-drive. And like its German rivals, the RS5 has downsized its engine capacity — to an all-new 2.9-litre V6 — and adopted twin-turbochargers without forsaking power or performance. With its smaller and lighter engine partly accounting for its enhanced agility, the new RS5’s performance improves on its immediate naturally-aspirated 4.2-litre V8 RS5 predecessor’s. 

Sharing the garden-variety A5 base model line’s sleek and sophisticated design, the RS5 features similarly swept back and moodily browed headlights, snouty and vast grille and elegantly long, flowing lines. With an almost fastback look roofline and rear quarters and thick C-pillars, it harks back to the Quattro, but it is the beefier RS5-specific bulging and blistered wheel-arches, which most pointedly reference the iconic Quattro. Additional RS5-specific design elements include honey-comb grille design, bigger intakes, sharper and lower front lip, more defined side skirts and more pronounced rear air diffuser and huge dual oval exhaust tips.

Responsive and rapid

Under a long ridged bonnet, the RS5’s potent twin-turbo direct injection V6 engine is mounted low and in-line, just ahead of the front axle. Driving all wheels through a smooth and slick 8-speed gearbox with escalatingly aggressive auto and paddle-shift manual modes, the RS5’s engine develops 444BHP at 5,700-6,700rpm and a thick forceful wave of 4,42lb/ft torque throughout a broad, accessible and versatile 1,900-5,000rpm mid-range. Quick-spooling and virtually-lag free, the RS5’s engine is responsive from idling, while its Quattro system ensures vice-like traction at launch, which help return a supercar-like 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.9-seconds.

As powerful as its predecessor, but with significantly quicker and with more torque, the new RS5 may not reach the same lofty rev limit in excess of 8,250rpm, but is eager, crisp and high revving for a turbocharged engine. Capably of 280km/h with optional speed derestriction, the RS5 is, however, also more fuel efficient than its predecessor, and with stop/start system, can return 8.7l/100km combined cycle consumption. Different in character than the outgoing RS5, the new model also takes on a dual personality in its own right, depending on how one configures its various adjustable driving modes.

From smooth to snarling

Smooth, refined and quiet to the point of seeming docility in terms of acoustics when in Comfort mode, the RS5, however, adopts a sharper throttle profile and a more muscular, viciously vocal, snarling and wailing engine and exhaust tone when Dynamic mode engine and exhaust modes are activated. A hugely capable high performance sports coupe with seamlessly swift gearbox, the RS5’s progress is effortlessly rapid, with blistering acceleration from standstill and a deep mid-range providing immediate mid-range response. Meanwhile, the RS5’s high strung torque plateau arrives with and explosively urgent progression. 

Accessible, effortless and reassuring for daily driving, the RS5 is manoeuvrable in town with light Comfort mode steering, refined inside, settled and stable at speed and committed through corners and in low traction conditions. A more user-friendly, comfortable and luxurious car than its Quattro predecessor, and not unlike its S5 junior performance coupe sister model, the RS5’s character and controls, however, sharpen up and become more responsive and focused in Dynamic mode. To better experience its sporting potential, one does need to push closer to the edges of huge dynamic and performance envelope.

Agile ability

The smallest, lightest and most nimble of Audi’s traditional front inline engine models, the new RS5’s lighter engine and more sophisticate five-link all-round suspension help make it unexpectedly eager, crisp, tidy and agile on turn-in for its front-biased weighting. Riding on fixed rate sports suspension, the RS5 is smooth and firm without being uncomfortable over imperfections, yet is flat and well-controlled through corners. Meanwhile, its rear-biased four-wheel-drive — and optional rear sports differential — are able re-apportion power front and rear and along the rear axle to the wheel that can best put it down to tarmac.

With comfortable, supportive quilted leather seats, well-adjustable driving position, good visibility and chunky sports steering wheel, one feels involved and alert when driving the RS5 through corners and switchbacks. Able to carry high speed through tight corners with ease, the RS5 is more than a one trick pony, and with a dab of mid-corner braking or throttle lift-off, is eager to pivot and tighten a cornering line before blasting out of a corner as throttle is reapplied. Steering is meanwhile accurate, brakes reassuringly capable, while interior design, quality and ergonomics of a high level and infotainment, convenience and driver assistance systems extensive.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged, in-line V6-cylinders
• Bore x stroke: 84.5 x 86mm
• Compression ratio: 10:1
• Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, direct injection
• Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Ratios: 1st 5.0; 2nd 3.2; 3rd 2.143; 4th 1.72; 5th 1.313; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.823; 8th 0.64
• Reverse/final drive: 3.478/3.204
• Drive-line: Self-locking centre differential, optional rear sport differential
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 444 (450) [331] @5700-6700rpm
• Specific power: 153.3BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 268.1BHP/tonne
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 442.5 (600) @1900-5000rpm
• Specific torque: 207.3Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 262.5Nm/tonne
• 0-100km/h: 3.9-seconds
• Top speed (optional de-restriction): 250km/h (280km/h)
• Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined: 11.5-/7.1-/8.7-litres/100km 
• CO2 emissions, combined: 197g/km
• Fuel capacity: 58-litres
• Length: 4,723mm
• Width: 1,861mm
• Height: 1,360mm
• Wheelbase: 2,766mm
• Track, F/R: 1598/1,588mm
• Overhangs, F/R: 918/1,039mm
• Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.316
• Headroom, F/R: 1,005/920mm
• Shoulder width, F/R: 1,404/1,287mm
• Luggage volume: 465-litres
• Unladen/kerb weight: 1,655/1,730kg
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Turning Circle: 11.7-metres
• Suspension: Five-link, anti-roll bars
• Brakes: Ventilated, perforated discs
• Tyres: 275/30ZR20

Older adults who lose a spouse may be more vulnerable to cognitive decline in subsequent years and require extra support and monitoring, researchers say.

In the study of nearly 7,000 middle-aged and older men and women, cognitive functioning declined over time for everyone, but it degraded slightly more and slightly faster for those who had been widowed, regardless of whether they remarried. 

At the same time, having a high level of education or at least one living sibling appeared to protect against the decline associated with widowhood, the study team reports in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 

“We’ve all come to know the importance of cognitive functioning among older adults,” said study co-author Giyeon Kim, a psychology researcher at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. 

“While we expected to find the effect of widowhood status on cognitive decline, we were fascinated by our findings on the protective effects of having at least one living sibling and higher education,” Kim told Reuters Health by e-mail. 

On the theory that stress contributes over time to cognitive decline and widowhood would bring added stress, the researchers analysed data on 6,766 US adults over age 50 who took part in the 1996-2012 Health and Retirement Study. 

The analysis found that 2,742 adults overall experienced widowhood, and in the oldest age group — over age 70 — the majority of individuals were widowed by the end of the study period. 

Cognitive scores for widows/widowers were consistently more than half a point lower than for peers who were not widowed. Further more, every additional year of widowhood decreased individuals’ cognition score by a quarter of a point. 

The loneliness associated with widowhood may be a major part of the cognitive decline, and having living siblings, adult children and friends can provide that social interaction to prevent some decline, said Anna Sundstrom of Umea University in Sweden, who was not involved in the study. 

Inkshedding Gender Politics: Academic Activism in Feminist Theory
Rula Quawas, editor
Amman: Azminah, 2017
Pp. 216

This groundbreaking book grew out of Rula Quawas’s conviction that storytelling and feminism are interconnected: “Writing is a source of power in itself. It is, in essence, an act of being, creating, and existence, and writing truths through fiction is particularly powerful.” (p. 26)

Accordingly, she asked her students in the literature and feminist theory course she taught at Jordan University, to write short stories about how gender norms affect the lives of women (and men) in Jordan, believing that this would help them find their own voices as a step towards making change. Indeed, as she anticipated, in the stories included in this book, the “student-authors attempt to make gender politics… more visible, and to explore possibilities for transforming them”. (p. 15) 

“Inkshedding Gender Politics” shows the degree to which students have been inspired by Quawas in her capacity as professor of English and feminist theory, founding director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at Jordan University, friend and mentor. In her inclusive perspective, feminism and literature are not isolated from society. Rather, “the feminist classroom in Jordan creates a culture of polyvalent voices, a culture of democracy and a culture of speech… [drawing] attention to the emergent role of women bargaining over and negotiating their subversion and resistance, as well as their more intangible, cognitive processes of reflection and analysis, pointing to a new consciousness from which deeper political and cultural transformations follow”. (pp. 27-28)

The book also shows how much talent and insight her students possessed, just waiting to be unleashed. However, it almost did not see the light of day due to Rula’s tragic, untimely death. Luckily, Leen Quawas and Hani Barghouti were able to reconstruct the text from Rula’s laptop.

Of the twenty-six stories included in the book, most are in English, the language of the class, and a few are in Arabic. Most are written by local women, but several are written by study-abroad students from the United States. One of the more complex stories is written by a man, showing that feminism is a humanist issue, not confined to women alone. Some are “bruised narratives” in Quawas’s words (p. 33), while others hold out hope that women can gain control of their lives and follow their dreams. 

The pitfalls of marriage enter into almost every story — women pressured into marriage too young or because they are presumably getting too old, women married to much older men, to psychologically or physically abusive men, to a cousin rather than someone they love. In some stories, the woman’s parents are indifferent to her suffering; in very few, they support her.

The other prevalent theme is the importance of women getting higher education and dealing with the obstacles erected in their way. Many stories evidence how women face the false dichotomy of getting an education or getting married; some give up and marry, while others insist on their right to an education. Then there is the next obstacle — it is okay to be educated but not to work.

A very touching story is about a young woman who is continuing her education and working in order to support her mother after her father’s death and her brother’s desertion. On top of her overburdened schedule, she must bear the criticism of neighbours who see her coming home late at night after work, but she does not give up, considering education her greatest weapon.

Several stories show the difference in how boys and girls are raised, and the difference in expectations of each. A particularly poignant story about a young woman, who tries to rescue her high school friend from parental abuse, is also an indictment of social institutions’ failure to help victims of domestic violence. 

One young woman steels herself to resist the pressure to marry before she is ready by writing about her feelings, and thus confirms the overall theme of the book: “The words hearten her soul, for she is no longer trapped in silence.” (p. 66)

Another young woman finally tells her mother that getting married is not her main goal because she wants to continue her graduate studies. “From that day on, one of the masks Sara wears cracks a little revealing an inch or two of her real skin.” (p. 76)

Two stories feature the negative reactions of a husband or family to the birth of a girl instead of a boy. In one, the woman reacts by naming her daughter Amal (Hope); in the other, the woman persists over the years until her husband finally recognises the value of their daughter. 

As they argue against stereotypes of women, the stories do not romanticise women or stereotype all men. In fact, many stories reveal the role of other women in enforcing patriarchal norms. 

An interesting story rotates back and forth between the lives of a Jordanian girl and an American one, showing that elements of patriarchy are still entrenched in the US.

All in all, the stories live up to the dedication of the book: “For all young women who dare to step out of the history that is holding them back and into the new story that they are willing to create.” (p. 5)

Sally Bland

By Dana Judeh

Life Coach

Having people who encourage and motivate us in various stages of our life is very important and crucial. But your ability to motivate yourself and keep your flame going is much more important.

Everything changes eventually, including peoples’ roles in your life and the extent of their devotion. You are the only constant factor who will stand for you. 

This is why self-motivation is so important. It is the ability to do what needs to be done without influence from others or the situation. Self-motivated people can find the strength to complete tasks, even when they are challenging, without giving up, blaming others or depending on others to encourage them. 

We always need a reason to push us to achieve our goals, feel more fulfilled and improve overall quality of life. This sense of purpose is the force that motivates us to stay in touch with our goals. 

That is why being aware of your purpose will keep you consistent. As the saying goes: “Getting motivated is easy; anyone can do that. The secret to long-term success is staying motivated.” 

Many of us initiate a task full of hope, energy, motivation and enthusiasm. But, unfortunately, later on in our journey, we start losing interest or face challenges that make us lose focus and enthusiasm. To get back on track and recharge our energy, we need to reflect on our source of self-motivation. 

Knowing about self-motivated people helps us understand the source of their motivation and how to create a different mind-set. If you are self-motivated, you: 

• Understand and believe that you are in control of your fate. The moment you want change, you have the power to create it. People who believe someone else is in control of their fate lack self-motivation and enthusiasm to push them through their weak periods; they are usually passive, blame everyone and definitely struggle with sustaining motivation 

•  Are able to see the bigger picture easily 

• Are committed to life-long learning; there is always more to know and understand 

• Possess good self-esteem with an attitude of success. You expect to win but can cope with failure because you see it as a learning curve

• Engage in self-reflection and possess self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses

• Strive for balance in work and play, health, emotions and spirituality

• Are persistent and determined. You don’t give up at the first sign of trouble. You know that the journey from good to great is made up of small changes, made consistently. For motivation to last, it needs to become a habit

Activating self-motivation requires taking responsibility for your own actions. This is exactly what successful people do, and it certainly serves them well. When you act like you are the only one who is responsible for your faults, you will act like the only one who can correct them — this gives you power and control. With self-empowerment, you can recharge yourself from within because you know well what it means to take your life seriously. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine