Features

On a flight from Amman to Athens, Greece, two weeks ago, I could not but notice the number of passengers holding a Kindle in their hands and reading a book in digital format. The now famous e-reader device was introduced by Amazon back in November 2007.

Although surrounded by digital high-tech myself, if only because this is what I do for a living, I do not own a Kindle. Until now I have stuck to good old printed books, for a number of reasons, good or bad. Yet, seeing several passengers reading on Kindle on a rather short flight made me wonder whether I too should get myself one.

My personal analytical approach to acquiring an e-reader entails two main points to ponder. The first is the obvious, old debate about hard copy printed books versus digital contents you read on a screen. The second is whether it makes any difference reading digital contents on any kind of screen such as a laptop computer, a tablet or a large smartphone on one hand, and on a Kindle on the other.

Over the last 15 years or so the trend to avoid printing has gained significant momentum. Despite complex argumentation that computers, online applications, networks and digital devices do affect the environment in the end, given that they have to be powered, it definitely helps our planet to keep text in digital format and not to consume paper and ink by sending it out to a printer.

According to Canadian website ledevoir.com, the printed book market has been sustaining losses of five to ten per cent a year over the past few years. It quotes one of its readers who said that having a nice set of books displayed on his bookshelves “… makes me look smart when my friends are here and they see them!”

The fact is that reading a book is not the same as reading the news, short articles or enjoying social media on the web. A book, a long story, puts you in a special state of mind. A website with countless distractions such as photos, videos and ads, is not necessary the best place for the mind to focus on a book and to enjoy it fully.

An e-reader like the Kindle, in addition to being a digital device, presents several advantages that make it closer to a printed book, while not using paper at all. The e-reader is designed with a screen that makes reading the text very easy on the eyes in terms of sharpness, light and contrast, a non-negligible advantage that tablets and smartphones do not necessarily bring, for they want to let you play games and videos too. Amazon describes the screen of its new Kindle as being “Paperwhite”. Interestingly there is the word “paper” in it.

The new e-readers models are also waterproof so they can be used practically anywhere, anytime. Moreover, and precisely because of their display characteristics, their battery lasts a full day without recharge.

The handling experience is as close as possible to a printed book, plus the digital advantage. A device, especially if fitted with 32GB of memory, can store tens of books at one time. The 6-inch diagonal format is set in portrait mode, making it light and very comfortable to hold and to read. Some models are designed in 8-inch size but they seem to be less popular. The e-reader design is custom-made for the most pleasant book reading experience. Tablets and smartphones just cannot compete.

Another aspect that is rarely mentioned when people compare printed books and e-readers is the timing. We know and we realise that we live in a fast moving world. We want everything instantly. Printed books do not only deplete forests, they take time to print and to be physically distributed and available in bookshops. E-books on the other hand are immediately available, just after being written and edited. Only electronic text and network distribution are fast enough.

According to Rachel Nuwer on bbc.com: “… half of American adults now own a tablet or e-reader”. At the same time, she also wonders: “If the printed word becomes a thing of the past, it may affect how we think.”

Another and perhaps a critical point to ponder: won’t e-readers, precisely because they are particularly attractive, make the younger generation read more books? That would be a huge plus.

How long before no one prints books at all?

By Erin Jensen

From Merry Christmas to married no more?

January has earned the nickname “Divorce Month” in legal circles because many couples wait until just after the holiday season to divorce.

Attorney Laura Wasser, who has represented celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp and Ashton Kutcher in their divorces, says January has rightfully earned its reputation.

“It is absolutely true that the first month of the year, and in particular the first half of it, is the highest for either new clients or divorce filings,” she says. “Definitely that first week back [after the holidays] is always very busy.” In 2018, when Wasser launched her website It’s Over Easy, which provides online divorces and serves as a resource for those seeking divorce, she strategically chose the month of January.

According to Google Trends, the topic of “divorce” peaked the week of January 6-12. On Pinterest, queries for “divorce party” rose an average of 21 per cent from December to January in 2019 and the two years prior, according to Swasti Sarna, Pinterest insights manager.

A 2016 study from the University of Washington, which looked at divorce filings from 2001-15 in the state of Washington, concluded that the number of filings increased in January, compared to December. In looking at Ohio, Minnesota, Florida and Arizona additionally, associate professor for the school, Julie Brines, said, “the seasonal pattern of divorce filings is more or less the same”.

It’s worth noting that divorces (and marriages) are on the decline. There were approximately 8 per cent fewer divorces and annulments in 2017 compared to 2007, according to the CDC.

Wasser says stressors of the holiday season — travel and spending lots of time with family — can ultimately fracture the marriage.

“By the end of it, many people feel like, ‘I do not want to ever go through this holiday period again with this person,’” she says.

Wasser also believes the desire to make improvements in the coming year drives people to make changes. “I think it’s starting a new year and knowing that in a lot of states, like in California for example, there’s a six-month waiting period,” she says. “So, they want to really make sure that they’re done with their divorce by summer, by half the year, really getting a head start.”

Clients of Wasser’s long to preserve one last family holiday.

“Nobody wants to sit down with their kids on December 21 and go, ‘Listen, Mom and I are getting a divorce,’” she says.

Rosemary Lombardy, a financial adviser who penned “Breaking Bonds: How to Divorce an Abuser and Heal — A Survival Guide” after ending her own abusive marriage, said giving her children a joyous holiday motivated her, in part, to stay in her marriage.

“I thought about it for years, and I tried my best to make sure, like most mothers do, that my children had happy holidays,” she recalls. “I think that’s one of the reasons why women — even if they decided that they’re gonna divorce — don’t file during the holidays. They want that one last Thanksgiving or Christmas together, or spring break together as a family.”

What’s attractive about that final festivity?

“I think [the] idea of protection, being able to protect and shelter your children — you want them to enjoy the holidays and to have happy memories,” Lombardy explains.

For those contemplating divorce, Wasser underlines the importance of two things: kindness and knowledge.

Divorce isn’t going to be easy, but it doesn’t have to be contentious, she says.

“Creating more dissonance in your relationship — particularly if you have children with somebody that you’re gonna still know for the rest of your life, whether or not you’re married to him or her — doesn’t make sense,” she says. “You want to make sure that you get through it in a way that keeps as much of your money and your psychological well-being intact.”

Doing research before filing for a divorce can make the process less intimidating, she said.

“It’s a scary process, and the more you know, and the more of a community to which you belong, the easier it will be for you to get through it,” she said.

By Eliza Fawcett

HARTFORD, Connecticut — Forty mice were sent to the International Space Station on Thursday as part of a joint effort between the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, UConn Health and Connecticut Children’s to better understand muscle atrophy and bone degeneration.

The mice were successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket at 12:29pm local time.

The so-called mighty mice were genetically engineered by the Jackson Laboratory’s custom breeding team in Bar Harbour, Maine, to lack myostatin and have about twice the average muscle mass. They will spend about four weeks in outer space, and the resulting data will help researchers explore how myostatin inhibitors could be used to treat muscle and bone loss.

The project is a collaboration between Dr Se-Jin Lee, a professor at the Jackson Laboratory and distinguished professor of genetics and genome sciences at UConn School of Medicine, and his spouse Dr Emily Germain-Lee, professor of paediatrics at the UConn School of Medicine and Division Head of Paediatric Endocrinology at Connecticut Children’s.

“This is a project that I’ve been trying to get off the ground, so to speak, for many, many years,” Lee said. “To see it all come together now is nothing short of amazing.”

Lee, who discovered the myostatin gene in 1997, was the first to show its role in regulating muscle growth.

“We are so excited to help advance our research findings both to help protect our astronauts travelling to space and to aid people here on Earth with serious health conditions that impact their muscle and bone strength and use, and most importantly their daily quality of life,” said Germain-Lee, who also heads Connecticut Children’s Centre for Rare Bone Disorders.

Lee and Germain-Lee are also working with the Jackson Laboratory to develop a curriculum around the project for Weaver High School and Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts in Hartford. Students will analyse data collected from space and conduct their own projects on muscular and bone degeneration, culminating in a presentation to scientists at the Jackson Laboratory in Farmington.

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals raised concerns on Thursday about how the mice were bred and their use in the project.

“It would seem to us that from their beginning of their lives, these mice have known nothing but cruelty,” said PETA’s Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Dr Alka Chandna, adding that mice are mammals and can feel pain.

“The casual use of animals to modify the genetic integrity of their being and send them to space to do some vanity-driven project smacks to us of poor science and lack of consideration,” she said.

If ever there was an automotive segment well-suited to Jordanian roads, it is the diesel-powered compact dual car 4x4 pickup truck. Efficient and comparatively easy on the wallet in purchase, maintenance and fuel, despite being heavier and larger than most cars, such vehicles also boast reasonable comfort, spacious cabins with a good level of mod cons, and genuine and extensive off-road ability.

However, where they excel is in their rugged build quality and how they can shrug off the worst road conditions in their stride.

A relatively new addition to the Jordanian compact pickup segment, the Chinese-built Foton Tunland was first launched in 2011 and is well-placed a competitive player in a segment traditionally dominated by Japanese brand Thai-built vehicles. 

A convincing alternative to saloons and crossover SUVs for many work and private use drivers, the compact pickup is not without some daily drive drawbacks primarily at the rear, but as with any vehicle, there always compromises. But that said, the Tunland nevertheless proved to be a practical and charismatic daily drive and weekend warrior.

Visibility and versatility

A well-proportioned truck that avoids the unnecessarily high, blunt and obstructive front designs of many recent versions of other similar vehicles, the Tunland’s sloped bonnet angle and restrained A-pillar width allows for excellent front visibility to place it accurate on and off road. It lower bonnet also reduces the uncomfortable space between wheel-arch apex and bonnet top. Understated yet assertive, the Tunland features bulging wheel-arches, chunky tyres and concave surfacing at the rear quarters. Its diamond like headlights and triangular rear lights meanwhile lend it a grounded stance.

Powered by turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines including entry-level 2.5-lire Isuzu-sourced and range-topping 2.8-litre Cummins-built units, the featured 2.8-litre Isuzu engine Tunland S variant is the mid-range version. Mated to a Getrag 5-speed manual gearbox, it develops 114BHP at 3,600rpm and 206lb/ft at 2,300rpm, and is capable of carrying its 1,930kg mass though 0-100km/h in an estimated 12-seconds, and onto 150km/h. A low-revving turbo-diesel, the Tunland’s best efforts are available between peak torque and power points, and while its rev limit extends to 4,000rpm, it is more effective to upshift just after 3,600rpm.

Rewarding and refined

Quicker spooling from low-end, the Isuzu-powered Tunland 2.8 may not be the most powerful pickup there is, but with its small turbo, is responsive at low speed, and is relaxed and flexible driving in mid-range at legal speeds. Confident, stable and comfortable on long motorway jaunts, the Tunland’s ride quality smoothes out at speed. Meanwhile, it can climb 30 per cent slopes, but can feel slightly stressed at high elevation and in hot weather. Nonetheless, its slick, mechanical gear lever and intuitive clutch pedal are rewardingly user-friendly through inclines, winding routes and congestion.

Over nearly 1,500km on Jordanian roads and trails in various conditions including gruelling surfaces, elevation and weather the Tunland proved a capable competitor to Japanese rivals. With rugged body-on-chassis construction and leaf spring, live axle rear suspension the Tunland boasts a 2,730kg gross weigh capacity and effortlessly dispatches the lumps, bumps and demanding conditions of Jordan’s urban and rural roads and routes, with little apprehension of damage, while ride quality features good vibration absorption. Its tyres, meanwhile, find a happy compromise for off- and on-road driving, and grip, impact absorption and steering feel.

Tough terrain

Driven through torrential rain from Jerash to Amman, the Tunland’s 245/70R16 tyres, 200mm ground clearance, commanding driving position and good visibility, gutsy torque and manoeuvrability all helped negotiate the inclines, traffic, darkness, inconsistent surfacing and flooding with reassuring ease. Driven normally in rear-drive mode, the Tunland easily dispatches most trails and moderate off-road situations thus, but its four-wheel-drive quickly and smoothly engages for more difficult conditions and loose surfaces. For extreme conditions, surfaces, inclines and towing, where sustained low speed at high power is necessary, the Tunland features low ratio four-wheel-drive.

A thoroughly capable off-road vehicle the Tunland 4x4 features generous 26 degree approach and 20 degree departure angle to traverse deep ruts and crests. Good front visibility, big side mirrors and precise rack and pinion steering let one accurately and instinctively place it on narrow off-road trails, roads and parking garages. Meanwhile, independent double wishbone coil spring front suspension allows for long wheel travel and off-road angles for off-road ability and smooth, reassuring driving on paved roads. Balanced throughout corners, the Tunland also well-controls body lean for a pickup.

Tight turning

Turning into corners with reassuring grip, stability and unexpected agility whether on- or off-road, the Tunland’s steering has an intuitive feel, but needs more turns than cars with a quicker ratio set-up. Happy to be hustled through snaking lanes and tight corners, the Tunland’s well-weighted and nuanced steering also provides a tight turning circle for good manoeuvrability off-road and in crowded parking garages. Inside, the Tunland’s driving position may lack steering reach and lumbar adjustability, but is alert, spacious, ergonomic, comfortable and accommodating, while buttons and controls are logically presented within easy reach 

Refined for a pickup truck, the Tunland’s diesel clatter is evident but not particularly intrusive. Spacious and well laid out inside, it features honest but nicely finished hard surfaces. Cabin accessibility is great by car standards, but the door swing angles could be improved further. Equipment includes dual rear headrests, dual airbags, air conditioning, electric windows, remote central locking, USB/CD player and rear parking sensors to better judge distances where trickiest in a pickup. Returning 8l/100km combined fuel efficiency; the Tunland is capable of a long driving range, estimated at 800km or more in normal conditions.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2.8-litre turbo-diesel, in-line 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 93 x 102mm

Compression ratio: 17.4:1

Gearbox: 5-speed manual, four-wheel-drive, low gear transfer

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 114 (115.5) [85] @3,600rpm

Specific power: 41BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 59BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 206.5 (280) @2,300rpm

Specific torque: 101Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 145Nm/tonne

Top speed: 150km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 8-litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 76-litres

Length: 5,310mm

Width: 1,860mm

Height: 1,860mm

Wheelbase: 3,150mm

Tread, F/R: 1,600/1,580mm

Overhang, F/R: 925/1,280mm

Minimum ground clearance: 200mm

Kerb weight: 1,930kg

Gross weight: 2,730kg

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones, coilovers/leaf springs, live axle

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/drums

Tyres: 245/70R16

By Ghadeer Habash

Internationally Certified Career Trainer

As we approach the end of the year, let’s get ready for 2020! If you are part of a team, it’s about time to start the annual evaluation to check what you achieved so far.

Before official management appraisals take place, it can be useful for every team to assess their team performance, including how many goals have been fulfilled. You still have the rest of November and December to meet unfinished objectives. 

Once you’re done with your assessment, you can start writing down your vision for 2020. How can things be better? On the work level and the personal level, what are the things that you want to achieve next year? 

Gather your team and start putting the road map for next year. Training is one of the most important factors that impact personal development as well as the outcome of any business process. Well-trained employees can improve the process and results. It’s good to start with some Training Needs Analysis (TNA), getting to know what every team member needs to do a better job. TNA helps in designing the training plan and identifies who is going to attend which training courses.

Evaluating the skill-set of everyone on the team is essential as it gives you direction-a clear training mission that can be properly planned and scheduled on the 2020 calendar.

Personal development

The same applies to personal goals. Evaluation of your annual performance is quite helpful, and you have until December to catch up and complete unaccomplished tasks. 

If you are not part of a team, you can think on the personal level what skills you need to acquire to do a better job. Design a training plan for yourself! This includes the areas you would like to develop your skills in and where you can find them — this requires some research on the best places that offer this kind of training and at what cost.

What if I don’t know what my training needs are?

Here are some tips to identify your training needs: 

• Using a good skillset assessment test; many are available online

• Talking to your supervisor or direct manager 

• Talking to a close friend who is familiar with your work and your capabilities

• Never approaching those who would react with “What?! You don’t need any training; you know it all!” Everyone needs personal and professional development

Keep in mind that if you keep doing what you’re doing in the same way you’re doing it, you will always get what you’ve always received: no better outcome. Better outcome requires some effort.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

The Literary Influence of the Mediaeval Arabian Nights on Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Novelists of the Arab World

Aida O. Azouqa

US-UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2019

Pp. 210

It is truly a delight to have some of one’s favourite authors brought together in the perceptive analysis of Aida Azouqa, the late professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Jordan. As Muhsin Jasim Al Musawi of Columbia University writes in the Foreword, “Not much has been written on magical realism in Arabic narrative… Azouqa’s is an important exploration into the modern Arabic novel, its marvellous realistic turn, that received only a little and passing attention before.” (pp. iii, v)

While much has been written about “The Thousand and One Nights” (hereafter “Arabian Nights”), this is the first book to comprehensively examine its influence on these particular authors. The book is an important contribution to comparative literature and makes a surprising connection between the “Arabian Nights” and modern science fiction. Azouqa writes that it “was inspired by the impact of the Arabian Nights on world literature. It investigates the adaptations of the Arabian Nights’ tales, its formal, thematic, and magical features” on select examples of modern literature”. (p. i)

In successive chapters, Azouqa documents the influence of the “Arabian Nights” on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, Gamal Al Ghitani’s “The Zafarani Files”, Tahar Ben Jelloun’s “The Sand Child”, Fadhil Al Azzawi’s “The Last of the Angels”, Ibrahim Al Koni’s “The Bleeding of the Stone”, and Mahmod Al Wardani’s “Heads Ripe for Plucking”. In addition, short but informative appendixes trace a similar influence on Naguib Mahfouz’s “Arabian Nights and Days” and Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight Children”.

Whereas magical realism originated as an art movement expressing the sense of instability in post-World War I Germany, Azouqa links its spread as a literary movement in the post-colonial world, first of all Latin America, to rejection of “the colonisers’ paradigms of otherness and dominance”, instead seeking to rediscover an authentic identity, unclouded by racist presuppositions. “Magical realism’s appeal to post-colonial societies was also the outcome of its penchant for re-establishing contact with oral traditions… the collective memories that allowed indigenous populations to re-assert their identity.” (p. 4-5)

In the case of the Arab novels which Azouqa analyses, the use of myth, legend and other “unreal” elements provided a vehicle for overturning colonial narrative as well as expressing opposition to dictatorial regimes and reinterpreting history, meanwhile allowing the authors to avoid censorship and persecution. 

Most of the writers in question have acknowledged their debt to the “Arabian Nights”, and Azouqa points out the specific features which their novels share with the mediaeval text. Among these is incorporating instances of the marvellous, i.e., events which can only be explained by magic. Drawing on the work of literary theorist Tsvetan Todourov, Azouqa divides the marvellous as found in the “Arabian Nights” into three categories: hyperbolic marvellous in which the text exaggerates the details, the exotic marvellous which records larger supernatural events, and the instrumental marvellous, where “one finds gadgets, technological developments unrealised in the period described but, after all, quite possible” — the forerunner of science fiction. (p. xx)

In all these texts, the fantastic, the marvellous, the supernatural is narrated as if it is perfectly natural, thus juggling the readers’ sense of time and place, and opening up for reinterpretation of conventional history. Another major device that reconfigures the presentation of reality is the use of fragmentary oral storytelling techniques. Azouqa finds that all these novels emulate the formal attributes of the “Arabian Nights” by having frame narratives, paralleling Scheherazade’s storytelling aimed at saving her life from the tyrannical Shahrayar, “which lead to embedded stories through multiple narrators, and the use of repetitions”. (p. 157)

Azouqa cites innumerable examples of how these devices are used in the selected novels and shows their analogy to specific stories in the “Arabian Nights”. Garcia Marquez depicts a plague of insomnia that causes a whole tribe to lose their memory as a metaphor for Spanish colonialism’s destruction of Native American culture. Using the phenomenon of metamorphosis found in the “Arabian Nights”, Al Koni has his protagonist metamorphise into a waddan (a desert ram revered by his people, the Tuareq) to escape conscription into the Italian army, symbolising a return to nature and the authentic “primitive” to confront the oppressor. “Ben Jelloun uses human freaks to illustrate hybridity and Otherness in the colonial context. He based the novel’s human freaks on correspondences in the ‘Arabian Nights’.” (p. 94)

Al Wardani’s novel is narrated by three decapitated heads signifying the cruel methods employed to stamp out political opposition. Azouqa names these speaking heads as the most significant resemblance to the tales of the “Arabian Nights” which “have numerous instances of robot-like beings that scholars refer to as automatons [creatures neither living nor dead]”. (p. 145)

These are only a few of the multiple examples mustered by Azouqa to prove her thesis about the major impact of the “Arabian Nights”. In an obviously well-researched book, she moreover gives the reader an idea of the plots, themes and motivations of the selected writers. Besides having great literary value, this book shows the vast potential of literature to speak out against injustice in all its forms and to give voice to people who have been silenced by colonialism and/or modern tyranny.

BERLIN — A few notes scribbled in his notebook are all that German composer Ludwig van Beethoven left of his Tenth Symphony before his death in 1827.

Now, a team of musicologists and programmers is racing to complete a version of the piece using artificial intelligence (AI), ahead of the 250th anniversary of his birth next year.

“The progress has been impressive, even if the computer still has a lot to learn,” said Christine Siegert, head of archives at Beethoven House in the composer’s hometown of Bonn.

Siegert said she was “convinced” that Beethoven would have approved since he too was an innovator at the time, citing his compositions for the panharmonicon — a type of organ that reproduces the sounds of wind and percussion instruments.

And she insisted the work would not affect his legacy because it would never be regarded as part of his oeuvre.

The final result of the project will be performed by a full orchestra on April 28 next year in Bonn, a centrepiece of celebrations for a composer who defined the romantic era of classical music.

“It’s completely new territory,” said Dirk Kaftan, conductor of the Beethoven Orchestra, which will perform the piece.

“We musicians are in two minds about it.”

Beethoven, Germany’s most famous musical figure, is loved in his homeland and critics of the project are concerned about protecting Beethoven’s legacy.

The “national duty” to prepare for the anniversary was even written into a right-left coalition agreement to form a govenment six years ago.

The year of celebrations officially begins on December 16 — believed to be his 249th birthday.

But a press preview on Friday at the Beethoven House Museum in his native Bonn following a renovation offered insights into his genius, including the notebooks he used to communicate after going deaf in 1801 — 26 years before his death.

‘Scope for improvement’

Beethoven began working on the Tenth Symphony alongside his Ninth, which includes the world-famous “Ode To Joy”.

But he quickly gave up on the Tenth, leaving only a few notes and drafts by the time he died aged 57.

In the project, machine-learning software has been fed all of Beethoven’s work and is now composing possible continuations of the symphony in the composer’s style.

Deutsche Telekom, which is sponsoring the project, hopes to use the findings to develop technology such as voice recognition.

The team said the first results a few months ago were seen as too mechanical and repetitive but the latest AI compositions have been more promising.

Barry Cooper, a British composer and musicologist who himself wrote a hypothetical first movement for the Tenth Symphony in 1988, was more doubtful.

“I listened to a short excerpt that has been created. It did not sound remotely like a convincing reconstruction of what Beethoven intended,” said Cooper, a professor at the University of Manchester and the author of several works on Beethoven.

“There is, however, scope for improvement with further work.” 

Cooper warned that “in any performance of Beethoven’s music, there is a risk of distorting his intentions”, but this was particularly the case for the Tenth Symphony as the German composer had left only fragmentary material.

Similar AI experiments based on works by Bach, Mahler and Schubert have been less than impressive.

A project earlier this year to complete Schubert’s Eighth Symphony was seen by some reviewers as being closer to an American film soundtrack than the Austrian composer’s work.

By Joel Shannon

The upcoming New Year has been widely heralded as the start of a new decade — the 2020s. But an old timekeeping dilemma has led some to contend we’re celebrating too early and should actually wait until January 1, 2021.

A decade is a period of 10 years — that isn’t disputed. But a glitch in our calendar system creates a problem if you think decades should begin in years ending with a zero. If you continue the pattern back about 2020 years, you run into a major issue.

That’s because there is no “year zero” in our calendar system, explained Craig Callender, a professor of philosophy at UC San Diego who has studied the physics and experience of time.

The lack of a year zero means the only consistent way to measure decades — or centuries or millennia — is to start them in years ending in one: That’s the theory presented in explanations of the debate published by the Farmer’s Almanac, timeanddate.com, the New York Times and others.

But because a decade is simply a unit of 10 years, there is no right answer, Callender told USA Today.

Here’s the argument explained:

The case for beginning the decade in 2021

The basis of this argument is a single calendar year that happened more than two millennia ago.

At that point in time, our current calendar system pivots from years labelled BC — “Before Christ” — to years labelled AD — “anno Domini” or “in the year of the Lord”. It’s an attempt to centre the calendar around the birth of Jesus, although the historical accuracy of that date has been called into question.

There is no year zero in the switch, Callender said. The BC years count down to 1 BC, which is immediately followed by AD 1.

The lack of a year zero means the first AD decade started at year 1 and ran until the end of year 10; the second decade started on year 11.

Follow the pattern for 200 more decades, and here we are — still one year away from the start of the next decade, which will begin on January 1, 2021.

The case for beginning the decade in 2020

People who say we should wait a year to celebrate the new decade have a point, but it’s not a very good one, according to Callender.

Marking the beginning of a decade in a year ending in one is out of step with how we think and talk about time, he said.

When we count our children’s ages, we start at zero — not one. When we talk about decades such as the 1960s, we start at years ending with zero — not ending in one.

Celebrating the beginning the decade on Jan. 1, 2020, simply makes things easier in the present day, Callender said. It’s a convention that is “pretty good for everything really, unless you run it all the way back”.

The widely-documented argument between timekeeping purists and the average person is “pretty silly”, he commented. The reality: There’s no perfect solution that will please everyone.

Whereas smartphones makers seem to listen to what users really want and bring significant innovation to the devices at least one a year and sometimes even more frequently, it seems like laptop computers manufacturers are not paying enough attention to the market expectations. If sheer processing speed is still a critical point, with time other specifications have become even as important if not more.

Battery life is one of the aspects of the technology that is a priority for everyone. True, some progress has been achieved and laptops made after 2017 feature batteries that last five to seven hours, much longer than the older models. Still, this is not enough compared to smartphones that can work a full 24-hour cycle without the need to recharge.

Shorter start-ups and restarts, the time it takes from turning on the computer to the moment it is ready and fully operational, is another such demand. SSDs (Solid State Drives) have given laptops a serious boost in that sense, but mobile phones are still significantly faster.

Intel, the world leader when it comes to making processors, has been announcing its Project Athena (code name) for a few months now. It precisely aims to respond to all the above criteria and to a few others as well, like better network connectivity in terms of not only bandwidth but also stability, and — as the ultimate feature — to start integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the machines.

Indeed, if AI was more or less fiction and was mainly seen in movies or big research centres dedicated to professionals and academics, it is now a daily reality and is going to impact most applications and tasks, including for example online banking and airline booking.

Intel likes to call its Project Athena “Laptop Innovation Rooted in Human Understanding” and says it is a People-Led design, or People-Centred innovation. It was expected that we would see the new machines by the end of this year! At this point in time however, 2020 will be more like it!

Interestingly Intel will not brand the new laptops with its name but is working closely with the major laptop makers on the project: Asus, HP, Dell, Samsung, Acer and Lenovo, to name only a few — the laptops to come will bear their names.

The knowledgeable techradar.com says that “Considering the target spec and features of Project Athena laptops, … it is possible that these are going to be high-priced laptops”. The same source indicates that “These devices offer always-on connections and remarkably long battery life, but don’t use Intel hardware.”

Another interesting point is that the new laptops with be able to run the standard Windows 10 operating system, as well as Google’s Chrome OS. Although it does not have the wide acceptance that Windows enjoys, the latter is known for its impressive speed and simplicity of use. It is not to confuse with the company’s Chrome browser, “Chrome OS is built around that web browser” (quora.com).

Apparently the next laptops conceived under the Project Athena constraints will not only answer the above essential needs, but will also have brighter and sharper screens, will be lighter, slimmer, will all have touch screens and backlit keyboards and several ultra-fast USB ports as standard technical characteristics.

It remains to be seen when exactly consumers will be able to actually buy them, and what will they be called, given that Project Athena is but a temporary code name.

NEW YORK — A new study has found that women who smoke while pregnant, even if they have cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke each day, could be increasing their risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus.

Carried out by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Israel, in collaboration with Ohio University, USA, the new study analysed data collected by the United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 222,408 women, of which 12,897 (5.3 per cent) were diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

The women had been asked to report any changes in smoking status during pregnancy, including whether they were a non-smoker, had quit smoking, had reduced the amount smoked, or if they smoked the same or more, and self-report on whether they had gestational diabetes — a condition that can lead to higher risks for pregnancy and birth complications such as macrosomia (larger than average babies) and caesarean deliveries. 

The findings, published this week in Obstetrics & Gynecology, showed that after taking into account well-known risk factors for gestational diabetes, such as maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index and pregnancy weight gain, the pregnant women who smoked the same or more cigarettes per day as they did before becoming pregnant were nearly 50 per cent more likely to develop gestational diabetes. 

Reducing the amount of cigarettes smoked each day did reduce the risk, but even women who cut down still had a 22 per cent higher risk of gestational diabetes than women who never smoked or who quit smoking two years before they became pregnant.

“Ideally, women should quit smoking before they try to become pregnant,” said Dr Yael Bar-Zeev. “Further, due to the high risks involved, it’s imperative that pregnant smokers have access to pregnancy-specific smoking cessation programs. Currently, in the United States and Israel, these services are not accessible enough or not tailored for pregnant women and that needs to change.”

The researchers also pointed out that smoking during pregnancy is one of the most significant risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes, putting babies at a higher risk for premature birth, low birth weight and developmental delays than babies born to non-smoking mothers.