Features

BEIJING — The Chinese kindergarten children giggled as they worked to solve puzzles assigned by their new teaching assistant: a roundish, short educator with a screen for a face.

Just under 60 centimetres high, the autonomous robot named Keeko has been a hit in several kindergartens, telling stories and challenging children with logic problems.

Round and white with a tubby body, the armless robot zips around on tiny wheels, its inbuilt cameras doubling up both as navigational sensors and a front-facing camera allowing users to record video journals.

In China, robots are being developed to deliver groceries, provide companionship to the elderly, dispense legal advice and now, as Keeko’s creators hope, join the ranks of educators.

At the Yiswind Institute of Multicultural Education on the outskirts of Beijing, the children have been tasked to help a prince find his way through a desert — by putting together square mats that represent a path taken by the robot — part storytelling and part problem-solving.

Each time they get an answer right, the device reacts with delight, its face flashing heart-shaped eyes.

“Education today is no longer a one-way street, where the teacher teaches and students just learn,” said Candy Xiong, a teacher trained in early childhood education who now works with Keeko Robot Xiamen Technology as a trainer. 

“When children see Keeko with its round head and body, it looks adorable and children love it. So when they see Keeko, they almost instantly take to it,” she added.

Keeko robots have entered more than 600 kindergartens across the country with its makers hoping to expand into Greater China and Southeast Asia.

Beijing has invested money and manpower in developing artificial intelligence as part of its “Made in China 2025” plan, with a Chinese firm last year unveiling the country’s first human-like robot that can hold simple conversations and make facial expressions.

According to the International Federation of Robots, China has the world’s top industrial robot stock, with some 340,000 units in factories across the country engaged in manufacturing and the automotive industry.

The service robot market — which includes devices ranging from specialised medical equipment to automated vacuum cleaners — is estimated to be worth $1.32 billion last year. 

It is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2022, said market research firm Research In China.

Last week, Beijing hosted the World Robot Conference, featuring machines that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences with their musical skills.

Robocompanion

Last year, a group of monks in Beijing created a two-foot-high robot monk dispensing mantras and advice to attaining nirvana. 

The iPal — a companion of sorts for children — is the latest humanoid robot to be marketed for family use, following in the footsteps of the diminutive, wisecracking “Pepper” companion released by Japan’s SoftBank in 2015.

But Xie Yi, principal of the kindergarten where Keeko has been put on trial, believes that it will be a long while before robots can completely replace humans in the classroom. 

“To teach you must be able to interact, have a human touch, eye contact and facial expressions. These are the things that make an education,” Xie said.

“It’s not just the language or the content, it’s everything.”

She said the Keeko robots, which cost about 10,000 yuan ($1,500), or about the monthly salary of a kindergarten teacher, may have some advantages over a flesh-and-blood educator. 

“The best thing about robots? They’re more stable [than humans],” she said with a laugh.

Sometimes, even the most inspirational among us share some disheartening traits with other animals.

Humans have a remarkable capacity for empathy and compassion. We help strangers a continent away, donate anonymously, bequeath money to help people who will be born after our deaths. We can even choose to make the ultimate sacrifice in helping others — just think of the West African nurses who died fighting Ebola. These admirable traits owe little to Sunday morning sermons, the rule of law or pillows embroidered with the Golden Rule. Instead, they are how we are wired; we see the rudiments in other species. Such behaviours are rooted in our common ancestry.

Among chimps, for example, suppose some low-ranking member of a troop is mauled by an alpha-male. Afterward, the innocent bystander is more likely than usual to be groomed by other group members. But such “consolation” behaviour is not generic — if the pummelled loser was not a hapless victim, and instead was the fool who started the fight, no extra grooming for him.

Even rodents exhibit the building blocks of empathy. If a mouse observes another mouse in pain, its own pain threshold lowers. If a prairie vole has been stressed, it is more likely to be groomed. Rats will “work” (that is, repeatedly press a lever) to release another rat from a tightly enclosed space, and will even forgo a reward (chocolate!) in the process.

Wow, a lot like humans. And just as in humans, empathy tends to come with a catch.

Chimps console innocent victims only in their own group. A vole grooms a distressed individual only if it is his or her mate; a stressed stranger is out of luck. Pain thresholds lower in mice only if the mouse in pain is a mouse they know. Rats work to free another rat only if the latter is a cage mate or a rat of their genetic strain (roughly equivalent to breed in dogs). In other words, these species divide the world into us and them, and care much more about the former than the latter.

So do we. When people watch a video of a hand being poked with a sharp needle, they have an “isomorphic sensorimotor” response, unconsciously clenching their own hands, with sensory neurons activating as if they were experiencing the poke. But this does not happen as much if the hand being poked is of another skin colour.

In another study, researchers feigned an injury at a football stadium during a game — they were more likely to be helped if wearing home team regalia. Subjects considering the plight of an AIDS patient activate the anterior cingulate, a brain region implicated in feeling empathy — but only if the patient was infected with HIV from a blood transfusion, rather than from drug use. We come with implicit categories influencing whose plight moves us.

What is demoralising is when we see this play out in the behaviour of moral giants.

Consider John Newton, a theologian who late in life became central to the banning of slavery in the British Empire. Remarkably, as a young man, Newton was the captain of a slave ship. When he had a religious epiphany (something he celebrated in the hymn he penned, “Amazing Grace”), he traded his captain’s role for the ministry. But there is an inconvenient pause in Newton’s journey from slaver to abolitionist. As a newly minted preacher caring for the poor of London, he invested in and profited from the slave trade. Apparently, it wasn’t immediately obvious that everyone deserved God’s grace equally.

Then there is Zenji Abe, who lead a squadron of Japanese planes that attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Years later, as an old man, Abe came to a memorial service in Hawaii, to apologise to elderly American survivors. Yet, Abe had also participated in the Japanese invasion of China and the Rape of Nanking; there is no evidence that he ever apologised for that. Apparently, some types of ex-enemies count more than others.

And there’s Woodrow Wilson who, after the end of World War I, championed self-determination and human rights for subjugated European minorities. Yet, Wilson’s legacy is tainted with racism. As president of Princeton University, he laboured to reduce the number of African Americans admitted; as president of the United States, he instituted or reinforced segregationist laws. Moreover, he repeatedly invaded Latin American countries, overthrowing popularly supported governments to install puppets. Apparently, self-determination and civil rights applied only to people of some skin colours.

Which brings us to a current example. Consider Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent 15 years under house arrest in Myanmar for no-nviolently opposing its military dictatorship. Now, “Mother Suu” is the de facto leader of Myanmar. The news has been filled with reports of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, the Muslim minority in Myanmar, following attacks by Rohingyan insurgents on government border posts. There has been a bloodbath of killings and rapes; Rohingya villages have been burned to the ground by the military and Buddhist mobs. Four hundred thousand Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh under the direst of circumstances.

And the response of Suu Kyi, who is a member of the country’s Buddhist aristocracy? At first, a yawning silence. Finally, earlier this month, she addressed the crisis publicly. She praised her marauding military for its supposed restraint in pursing “terrorists”, aligning herself with some of the same generals who imprisoned her. She denied the long-standing persecution of the Rohingya and the scorched-earth campaign against them. She called for investigations into “what the real problems are” behind the exodus of the 400,000.

And thus Suu Kyi, a prisoner of conscience who suffered deeply to help free her people, shows that only some citizens of Myanmar count as “her people”. Or even as people.

Of course, humans and other animals are not identical in how they extend empathy to only the right kinds of sufferers. When a rat fails to aid an unfamiliar rat in need, it could offer an easy explanation — “that rat smells weird”. But when humans do it, we gussy up savage indifference with rationalisation, denial, distortion and lies.

Ah, the progress we have made.

Launched last year as a 2018 model, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio may be a somewhat latecomer to the SUV and crossover segment, but has, however, proved well worth the wait, and especially so in top dog Quadrifoglio guise. Alfa Romeo’s gambit into the high performance or “super” end of the SUV segment, the Quadrifoglio is an object in how a high riding four-wheel-drive vehicle can be made a “sports” vehicle. Not just a devastatingly swift straight line performer, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s agile and committed handling allows it to more effectively deploy its power on track and through winding roads.

Elegant and eager

Reinterpreting the iconic 108-year old Italian auto maker’s motorsport heritage for a modern super SUV, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio bears both the name of the swerving Stelvio Pass mountain stage of the historic Mille Miglia race, and the brand’s traditional four leaf clover racing good luck charm as an emblem. Lighter and with better specific power and power-to-weight than chief competitors like the Mercedes-AMG GLC63 and Porsche Macan Turbo, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio also posted the world’s fastest 7-minute, 51.7-second SUV lap time at the benchmark Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, last September, and one year after its Giulia Quadrifoglio super saloon sister.

A stylish, practical and fast super SUV combining sheer power and handling ability to devastating effect, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s design is meanwhile elegantly curvy and urgently sporty without being overtly brutal or aggressive. Taut, jutting and eager with fine curvatures, sharp lines, sporty details and a flowing roofline, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio sits with an athletic momentum and features rearwards cabin and rakish tailgate with prominent rear spoiler. Front views are dominated by its shield-like honeycomb grille, slim LED-browed headlights and hungry main and gill-like side intakes. Other details hinting at its staggering performance include big bore quad tailpipes and large staggered alloys.

Responsive and urgent

Under its long bonnet and extraction vents, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is powered by Alfa Romeo’s Ferrari-developed twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine. Producing 503BHP at 6500rpm and 443lb/ft torque throughout a broad and accessible 2500-5000rpm band, the Stelvio Qudrifoglio is willing from low-end, versatile in mid-range, and viciously eager towards its 7400rpm limit. Broad, versatile and charismatic the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is, unlike many turbo engines, both urgently high-revving yet responsively quick spooling from idling engine speed. With twin IHI single-scroll turbos positioned between cylinder banks for short gasflow paths and eager response from standstill, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s mid-range is meanwhile unrelentingly abundant.

With four-wheel-drive traction, wide 255/45R20 front and rear 285/40R20 tyres, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio pounces, supercar-like, from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.8-seconds, and is capable of a 283km/h maximum. Growling and snarling, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is viscerally quick on-the-move, with a broad and muscular mid-range torque band underwriting an urgently progressive power build up. Driving through a slick, swift and smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox, the Quadrifoglio’s cog changes, however, become snappier, quicker and more succinct when in Dynamic or Race driving mode, during which throttle response, damper firmness, and exhaust note also adopt a sportier and more focused profile.

Agility and ability

Driving rear wheels by default for efficiency, balanced handling and agility, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s Q4 four-wheel-drive system, however, variably reapportions up to 50 per cent power to the front wheels when addition traction and grip are needed. Meanwhile, an electronic limited-slip differential distributes power side-to-side along the rear axle for agility and yet more traction. The result is a car that tucks crisply into corners, is balanced and committed throughout and exits with claw-like road-holding as it puts power down to tarmac with maximum effect. Meanwhile, large 350mm disc 6-piston calliper front and 350mm, 4-piston rear brakes proved tirelessly and effectively capable.

Driven at Alfa Romeo’s sprawling historic Balocco Proving Grounds, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio was particularly adept on the demandingly narrow, winding and fast Langhe circuit. Precise and eager turning into corners, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s agility is aided by selective brake-based torque vectoring.

Steering is meanwhile precise, quick, well-weighted and communicative for an SUV, if not as nuanced feeling as the lighter, rear-driven Giulia Qudrifoglio saloon. Agile, tidy and buttoned down through Langhe, the Quadrifoglio could be induced to kick its tail wide in Race mode. But to avoid understeer, tighter, flatter corners are best taken by pivoting weight to the rear and outside.

Settled, sporty and spacious

Settled and confident through Langhe’s demanding elevations, fast straights and switchbacks including steeply dipping corners immediately followed by sharp inclines, the Quadrifoglio’s masterful suspension set-up and adaptive dampers makes it feel like a smaller, lower and leaner car. Superbly flat through corners despite its ride height and 1830kg weight the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s lateral control is taut, while vertical control remained settled and buttoned down on sharp dips, crests and on rebound. Stable and refined at speed both through winding routes and on high speed straights, the Stelvio’s sporting abilities simply belie its SUV designation and defy expectation.

Luxuriously sporty inside, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s leather and carbon-fibre swathed cabin features an alert, involving and versatile driving position with driver-focused instrumentation, logical layouts and well-adjustable steering wheel with column-mounted singe-piece aluminium gearbox paddle shifters. Seats are comfortable and supportive, while optional carbon-fibre spine sports seats are lighter and more provide more side support.

A practical SUV in terms of manoeuvrability, boot space and convenience and safety systems, the Stelvio’s cabin proved well-packaged. Well-accommodating in general, the Stelvio’s front and rear headroom was unexpectedly good for taller drivers, given its rakish roofline. This was particularly so in non-sunroof specification.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged, in-line V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 86.5 x 82mm

Compression ratio: 9.31:1

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

Rev limit: 7400rpm

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive, electronic limited-slip rear differential

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: 3.456/3.7

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 503 (510) [375] @6500rpm

Specific power: 174BHP/litre

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 443 (600) @2500-5000rpm

Specific torque: 207.5Nm/litre

0-100km/h: 3.8-seconds

Top speed: 283km/h

Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined: 11.7-/7.5-/9-litres/100km 

CO2 emissions, combined: 210g/km

Fuel capacity: 64-litres

Wheelbase: 2818mm

Track, F/R: 1622/1675mm

Overhangs, F/R: 866/1018mm

Ground clearance: 200mm (approximately)

Wading depth: 480mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.34

Cargo volume, min/max: 499-/1600-litres

Weight: 1830kg

Weight distribution, F/R: 53.8/46.2 per cent

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 12.1-metres

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbone/multi-link, active dampers

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 360 x 32mm/350 x 28mm

Brake callipers, F/R: 6-/4-piston

Tyres, F/R: 255/45R20/285/40R20

Losing weight is, for most people, the easy part. The bigger challenge is trying to keep it off for more than a year.

New research helps explain why people in this second stage are so much more prone to failure.

In a nutshell, people who have shed a significant chunk of their weight are hungrier and have a stronger desire to eat for at least a year after transitioning from weight loss to weight-loss maintenance. And even when their hormones send loud satiety signals to the brain after a meal, they still do not feel full.

The new study, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, falls in line with a growing field of research that explores the body’s tenacious and multi-pronged response to weight loss.

In a bid to ensure that lost weight is regained, the human body has been found to reset its thermostat to burn fuel more efficiently, to economise in calorie-burning movements and to rev up the impulse to find and eat food.

Researchers believe these responses evolved to protect humans against wasting away during times of famine. But in societies where calorific foods are never in short supply, these adaptations have worked to the detriment of dieters.

Moreover, in people who have become obese, there is growing suspicion that these responses become harder to override. In recent years, researchers have found evidence that obesity makes the brain more “deaf” to some of the gut’s satiety signals, and more keenly attuned to signals of hunger.

The new research offers some validation for that surmise.

To study the effects of weight loss in 35 severely obese subjects, Norwegian researchers helped them lose close to a tenth of their weight. They provided dietary advice, exercise coaching and psychotherapy during several three-week stays at a wooded retreat in eastern Norway. All the subjects had a body-mass index greater than 42 (a BMI over 30 is considered obese) at the outset of the study.

At one year, when subjects had lost an average of close to 11 kilogrammes, they returned to the retreat to map out maintenance plans.

Every six months from enrolment to two years out, researchers checked in to conduct a series of tests. Before and for three hours after meals, they gauged subjects’ subjective feelings of hunger, fullness and desire to eat, and asked how much food they planned to consume. And they measured circulating levels of five separate hormones that regulate appetite to see how they responded to the prospect of a meal or a meal just eaten.

What they found was the body’s reaction to weight loss shifted over time.

In the short run — four weeks after their exercise-and-weight-loss regimens got underway — the subjects had lost an average of 3.5 per cent of their body weight. Their levels of appetite-boosting hormones had risen rapidly — probably a response to their getting roughly three-hour-and-a-half hours of exercise per day while at the retreat.

But they did not report increased hunger or desire to eat. And with rising levels of satiety hormones, they were feeling more full in the wake of eating a meal.

As they met their weight-loss goals, however, things changed.

At the end of a year of dieting and exercise, the study’s participants had lost about 7.4 per cent of their weight and had improved their fitness considerably. But they reported to researchers a significant increase in their hunger and desire to eat. And the sensations of fullness they reported after meals had plummeted.

Two years after enrolling in the study — and a year into their weight-maintenance programmes — the subjects had, on average, kept the weight from coming back. But they continued to report levels of hunger and desire to eat that were just as high or higher than at the end of Year One. And they reported feeling no more full after a meal.

At both time points, their hormone levels continued to show increases in appetite-stimulating compounds, as well as those that would signal fullness. Though they lost the weight and — with the study’s unusual level of support — managed to keep it off, they were hearing the loud cries of their hunger-boosting hormones. The fullness ones, not so much.

The good news, according the researchers: A sustained and supportive programme of dietary restriction and physical activity does induce weight loss and can help very obese patients keep the weight off.

The bad news: “Patients with severe obesity who have lost significant amounts of weight… will have to deal with increased hunger in the long-term.”

If these patients are to beat the odds and sustain their weight loss, professionals working with them will have to find ways to help them cope with that, they added.

Frankenstein in Baghdad

Ahmed Saadawi

Translated by Jonathan Wright

New York: Penguin Books, 2018

Pp. 281

From Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic novel, “Frankenstein”, Iraqi writer Ahmed Saadawi plucks a metaphor for the situation of his war-torn country. The Frankenstein in Saadawi’s novel is not a scientist but a junk dealer, and the metaphor describes the physical, political and social fragmentation of Iraq, engineered by the 2003 invasion and post-war US policy, as well as the ensuing sectarian violence.

The story opens two years after the invasion, in Baghdad, “a troubled city where the demons had broken out of their dungeons and come to the surface all at once”. (p. 64)

The truly unsettling thing is that no one knows exactly who these demons are, or who is behind the daily car bombs and other forms of explosions and violence — some targeted and some seemingly random. Saadawi does a masterful job of creating the atmosphere of fear and terror that prevails and showing how it impacts on the human psyche: What does it mean for human behaviour if one does not know whom to trust or what will happen next? 

The heart of the story unfolds in a neighbourhood which may once have been respectable, but is now crumbling from old age and war, peopled by some unscrupulous characters who take advantage of the chaos to enrich themselves, while most are just trying to survive. One of the latter is Hadi, the junk dealer, who loves to tell stories whenever he can get an audience. He seems like a rather ordinary guy until, after a particularly destructive car bomb, he begins to assemble a corpse. He is initially motivated by outrage: “I wanted to hand him over to the forensics department because it was a complete corpse that had been left in the streets like trash. It’s a human being… I made it complete so it wouldn’t be treated like trash, so it would be respected like other dead people and given a proper burial.” (p. 27)

But what begins as an attempt to redress the devaluation of human life induced by so much violence, soon becomes more complicated as the reconstructed corpse takes on a life of its own, something like Dr Frankenstein’s monster in Shelley’s book. Consisting of dead body parts, it must be constantly replenished as some parts decompose totally and fall off. Soon, terrible new crimes are being committed. What is their motive? Who is responsible? Is it Hadi’s creation, or criminals or terrorists? And who can tell the difference? 

The creature sees his mission as avenging the death of the victims of whose body parts he is composed, so that they may rest in peace. Here one sees how the Frankenstein metaphor aptly expresses the self-perpetuating cycle of killing and raises existential questions about the violence that is tearing society apart: The creature “knew his mission was essentially to kill, to kill new people every day, but he no longer had a clear idea who should be killed or why. The flesh of the innocents of which he was initially composed, had been replaced by new flesh, that of his own victims and criminals”. (p. 200)

Eventually, he begins taking revenge on those who insult him, widening the circle of violence. He attracts a following which resembles a cult or gang or militia that perpetuates and glorifies violence. Different followers have different perceptions of the creature. One thinks he is a saviour; another, the Angel of Death; yet another, the model citizen the Iraqi state has so far failed to produce — “made up of body parts of people from diverse backgrounds —ethnicities, tribes, races, and social classes”. (pp. 146-7)

But in the end, he admits he kills simply to keep going. Killing has become a way of life just as in many protracted conflicts where few other jobs are available to the poor.

Steeped in irony, black humour and surreal interludes, Saadawi has created a powerful anti-war novel showing the cruelty, tragedy, destructiveness and ultimate absurdity of war. There are many other characters, themes and subplots; the Frankenstein metaphor is only the most shocking and pervasive. The other most prominent theme is exposing the dangerous consequences of sectarianism. All the elements of literature are carefully crafted into a chilling whole; the very structure of the novel is disorienting, reflecting the security situation. 

Saadawi was born in Baghdad and still lives there. Besides his obvious writing skills, this may explain why his story rings so true, even when it tips over into the surreal and fantastic. In 2014, he was awarded the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for this book, which paved the way for its translation into English. A novel about the Iraq war from an Iraqi perspective is a much-needed antidote to all the lies that have accompanied this war. While the creature may be an urban legend, Saadawi’s story is in essence all too real.

Relationships and Couples Therapist

If you feel apprehensive about couples therapy, rest assured you are not alone. Many couples reserve going to therapy as a last resort. Even when they finally reach out to a therapist to save their marriage, they are often looking for quick fixes with the least effort and time involvement.

Repairing a troubled relationship needs a lot of effort and commitment from both of you. I always compare it to going to the gym: your personal trainer can only guide and help you reach your goals through her knowledge and expertise. But to get that healthy toned body, your full commitment, effort and dedication are of absolute necessity. Likewise, couples therapy, if approached correctly, has not only the potential to strengthen your bond and your relationship, but can also lead to each partner’s individual growth and personal development as well.

False expectations that can block success 

‘The therapist will decide which of us is right and which of us is wrong’

A therapist is not a judge to tell you who is right and who is wrong. The therapist is a “process consultant” who will help you both identify the habits and patterns that keep each of you stuck and lonely in the relationship and will help you eliminate them.

‘The therapist will 

fix my partner’

It is no secret that most couples come into therapy secretly hoping that the therapist will fix their partner and this will solve their problems in the relationship. The truth is that both of you co-created the problems together and both of you will need to change to improve your relationship. So, instead of merely focusing on the changes your partner needs to make, you need to focus on yourself and the changes you need to make to improve your relationship.

Obstacles to therapy

Waiting too long before starting therapy

The average couple waits seven years before reaching out for help. Some even 15 years and that is really a long time living together in distress. Addressing issues earlier will prevent them from becoming deeper and more stubborn to treat. Do not expect your therapist to be able to quickly and swiftly undo what took years to create; work with the therapist and accept that it will take a while to get back on track. 

Keeping secrets

Often couples enter therapy where one or both partners are keeping secrets, such as having an ongoing affair, or dealing with an addiction. This will sabotage therapy and prevent real change. You can start by telling your therapist about those secrets and she or he can help you decide how to proceed, but definitely do not keep secrets from your therapist.

Not following through

Some couples are very enthusiastic about beginning therapy. They work hard with their therapist to identify areas they get stuck in and agree with the therapist on what needs to be done to get unstuck. But then they fall short on following through and applying those newly learned insights and techniques in their day-to-day interactions. Truth is, spending 90 minutes weekly with your therapist is not enough to bring about real change. You need to apply what you learned in the therapy session to your daily interactions with your partner to see sustainable improvement. 

‘Ghosting’ therapist

Often people start therapy with the best of intentions but discover that they are not ready or able to continue. No matter what your reasons, it is better to share them with your therapist instead of abruptly ending therapy, withdrawing from all communication. For one, the therapist might be able to help you by referring you to a different therapist if you feel there is a personality clash. This conveys respect and keeps the door open for you to easily resume therapy with your therapist in the future. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

LONDON — Set in a dystopian post-Brexit Britain, a new video game follows the struggles of a bouncer of foreign ancestry in a world of xenophobia and immigrant camps, but gamers are divided over its message.

The grim vision of the future played out in “Not Tonight”, which has a funereal version of “God Save the Queen” as its theme tune, reflects the fears of its creator, Tim Constant, who developed the game over 18 months as part of a three-man team.

Gamers play the role of a nightclub doorman who has recently lost his British nationality and is forced to do odd jobs to meet the demands of an authoritarian government, whose motto is “work hard, stay out of trouble, and we might let you stay in the UK”.

The bouncer, now working in the gig economy, checks the identity of characters via a few mouse clicks and decides whether to allow them into the bar, and later on in the game, whether to let them into the country. 

The minimalist and colourful graphics recall the adventure games of the 1990s, while the story-theme evokes “Papers, Please”, the surprise 2013 independent success.

“If you look at politics and video games as a whole, they’re generally not approached because it can put people off,” explained Constant.

But for Olivier Mauco, founder of gaming website Game in Society and professor at Science Po university in Paris, bringing politics into the gaming world can be useful.

“It’s a chance for you to live in a dystopian Britain, which is very different, so it has an effect because you will understand the consequences and the impacts — you will make choices, and you will try to reason with them.” 

‘Overtly political’

The game was among the top 10 bestsellers on the Steam download platform when it was released last weekend, and received mostly good reviews, scoring a “very positive” average from users of the site.

But some users criticised the political message.

“Terrible. Propaganda. Refunded,” wrote user iPlay_Zombies.

“It’s all rather distracting with how in your face it all is while at the same time not really saying anything other than.....what? British people are evil and xenophobic?” added gamer Dr Marker.

“Being so overtly political means it may not be as hard-hitting as it could be, it’s not going to be as punchy,” said Mauco.

“It’s going to strengthen the pro and anti-Brexit positions, and risks dividing the audience”.

It’s a risk that Constant was prepared to take.

“I probably knew that there was going to be push back because of the Brexit argument,” he told AFP.

“The Brexit vote has happened, so I don’t think, even if I do change people’s mind, it’s gonna change anything. But it might make them think a little bit more about the situation, which is great.”

For the small team behind the game, Brexit has already had real consequences.

“The [graphics] artist on “Not Tonight” is Polish, he’s just moved back to Poland because he wasn’t sure what is going to happen.”

The game is currently available in English on PC via download platforms and will be released on consoles in early 2019.

Older adults who take care of their heart may be less likely to develop dementia than people who do not focus on heart health, a French study suggests. 

Researchers focused on seven recommendations from the American Heart Association for optimal cardiovascular health: not smoking; regularly exercising; routinely eating fish, fruits and vegetables; avoiding excess weight; and keeping blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels within a healthy range. 

For an average of 8.5 years, they followed 6,626 people age 65 or older who did not have dementia at the start. During the study, 745 people, or about 11 per cent, developed dementia. 

With each additional heart-healthy recommendation they met, people were 10 per cent less likely to develop dementia, researchers found. 

“Importantly, while achieving the seven cardiovascular health factors at optimal levels is certainly the ideal target, this study shows that any additional factor at optimal level decreases the risk of dementia,” said study leader Cecilia Samieri of the University of Bordeaux and the INSERM population health research centre in Bordeaux. 

Following more recommendations was also associated with higher scores on cognitive tests, indicating a healthier brain, researchers report in JAMA. 

Both the heart and brain need adequate blood flow. But blood vessels can narrow and harden over time, increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cognitive decline. 

This type of blood vessel damage, known as atherosclerosis, can be minimised by a healthy lifestyle and by keeping blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels in safe ranges. 

High blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar can damage blood vessels, triggering complications that reduce blood flow to the brain. 

Even when people did not hit optimal targets for cardiovascular health, they could still benefit from the attempt, Samieri said by e-mail. 

“From a pragmatic and public health perspective, promoting change in cardiovascular health from poor to intermediate levels may be more achievable and have a greater population-level effect than the more challenging change from poor to optimal levels,” Samieri said. 

The study cannot prove that lifestyle changes directly impact cardiovascular health or the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Another limitation is that researchers only measured cardiovascular health at the start of the study. It is possible this changed over time in ways that influenced participants’ brain health. 

Still, a separate study in JAMA looking at the effect of the same seven factors on cardiovascular health found that younger adults who achieved optimal heart health had fewer changes in their brains with the potential to lead to cognitive problems down the line.

The study focused on young people “because we thought that these changes in the blood vessels may occur... before significant damage had occurred to the brain”, said senior author Paul Leeson of the University of Oxford in the UK.

“We were able to show that there are differences in the blood vessels related to levels of different risk factors and that these differences are evident in young adulthood.”

This study included 125 participants, age 25 on average. For each additional recommendation for optimal heart health they followed, subjects had a greater density of blood vessels in the brain and healthier blood vessels.

Among 52 participants who had blood flow in the brain measured, the volume of blood pumping through the brain increased with each additional optimal heart health recommendation they achieved.

The most powerful of super SUVs, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk creation was as inevitable as that Dodge’s legendary modern muscle car “Hellcat” engine would find its way into another Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA) product. A popular, versatile and capable model best placed to harness such power in a different segment, the Grand Cherokee was the most likely candidate. 

The resulting 707BHP Trackhawk is the Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcat models de facto SUV sister and FCA’s sledgehammer riposte to established Range Rover, Porsche and Mercedes-AMG super SUVs and Bentley and Lamborghini newcomers.

Imposing and urgent

Introduced for 2018 along with minor model-wide revisions that includes improved technology and trim, the Trackhawk arrives a year after the more off-road biased Trailhawk version. Sitting at the top of the Grand Cherokee hierarchy, the Trackhawk is an even more on-road focused and high performance model than the existing 475BHP SRT version. Subtly but effectively more muscular and assertive in aesthetics, the mighty Trackhawk sits with a seemingly lower, broad and more road-hugging posture that emits a more dramatic and urgent sense of purpose than garden-variety Grand Cherokees.

Imposingly high, and with aggressively squinting and heavily browed headlights, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk features a bigger and lower bumper section with sharp lower lips, and vast gaping mesh covered centre and side intakes. Its Jeep trademark seven port grille meanwhile sits above three slim horizontal intake vents and its bonnet features large dual extraction vents. Gone is the lower black cladding of more off-road oriented Grand Cherokees, the Trackhawk instead gets wider, more muscular body colour wheel-arches and lower more pronounced sills. Riding on vast 295/45ZR20 tyres, the Trackhawk’s rear meanwhile features quad big bore exhaust tips.

Immediate and intense

Developed during late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne’s tenure, the “Hellcat” engine — and yet more powerful iterations of — not to mention the Trackhawk itself, are testament to the Italian-American auto group’s dedication to cater to motoring enthusiasts. A relatively compact and old school 16-valve OHV design, the Trackhawk’s supercharged big displacement 6.2-litre V8 developing a colossal 707BHP at 6,000rpm and a gut-wrenching 645lb/ft torque at 4,800rpm. The most powerful production SUV in the world, the Trackhawk’s headline figures are sensational, with the 0-97km/h benchmark dispatched in a supercar-like 3.5-seconds and a 320km/h top speed.

Among the greatest current production engines, headline figures, however, don’t articulate just how immediate, intense and violent the Trackhawk’s supercharged V8 is when prodded with intent. Bounding off the line with a chirp of the tyres and vicious immediacy, its given its mechanically-driven forced induction means there is no lag when launching from idling, as with an exhaust gas-driven turbocharger. Meanwhile, its tenaciously sticky four-wheel-drive ensures vice-like traction so that its full power can be fully and effectively deployed as forward motion and with no wheel spin or over-active traction control interventions.

Controlled and capable

Viciously swift through revs, the Trackhawk’s delivery is a continuous volcanic torrent of escalating fury set to a deep bass burbling, growling, howling and bellowing acoustic medley underlayed by a distinctly urgent yet distant wailing supercharger whine. Disdainfully effortless achieving high speeds and increasing velocity when on the move, the Trackhawk channels its vast reserves through an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Refined, smooth and succinctly crisp shifting, its gearbox features manual mode sequential shifting, but with its redline arriving so quickly and with so much torque on tap at any time, it is just best left in auto mode.

Driving with a distinctly tauter, more focused and settled manner than regular Grand Cherokees, the Trackhawks’ suspension and adaptive dampers feel tighter and firmer. With considerably more body control to contain its 2433kg weight through fast and tight corners, the Trackhawk similarly feels buttoned down and measured in vertical movement and on rebound, yet nonetheless remains smooth and comfortable riding during test drive on Austrian roads. Similarly, steering feels quicker, tighter, heavier and more direct, while immense 400mm disc six-piston calliper front and 350mm four-piston rear brakes prove effective dealing with the demands of such power and weight.

Adjustability and ability

Through more winding roads, it belies its size and weight in terms of control and precision, and pertinent for so powerful a vehicle, it effectively put power down to tarmac, with variable front-to-rear torque distribution and an electronic limited slip rear differential ensuring enhanced agility and that power is harnessed to go where it is supposed to for best handling, stability, performance, road-holding and safety. Equipped with five driving mode settings the, the Trackhawk’s Sport and Track modes re-distribute more power rearwards, stiffen dampers and make gear shift times quicker, while Snow and Tow modes alternatively adjust such parameters for more utilitarian usage.

Reassuringly planted and stable at speed, the Trackhawk comfortably devours long distances with a refined ride and cabin ambiance. Spacious inside for passengers and cargo as all grand Cherokees, the Trackhawk is extensively well equipped with convenience, safety, driver assistance and safety systems equipment, including an improved and larger Uconnect infotainment screen. User-friendly and with highly adjustable driving position, the Trackhawk’s cabin is distinctly sportier and features carbon-fibre and metallic trim, rich leather upholstery, Alcantary rooflining, chunky sports steering wheel with paddle shifters and heavily bolstered sports seats that are supportive and comfortable.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 6.2-litre, supercharged in-line V8-cylinders

Bore x Stroke: 103.9 x 90.9mm

Compression ratio: 9.5:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, OHV, variable valve timing

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive, limited-slip rear differential

Gear ratios: 1st 4.71 2nd 3.14 3rd 2.11 4th 1.67 5th 1.29 6th 1.0 7th 0.84 8th 0.67

Reverse/final drive ratios: 3.3/3.7

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 707 (717) [527] @6,000rpm

Specific power: 114.7BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 290.5BHP/tonne

Torque lb/ft (Nm): 645 (875) @4800rpm

Specific torque: 141.9Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 359.6Nm/tonne

Rev limit: 6,200rpm

0-97km/h: 3.5-seconds

0-100km/h: 3.7-seconds

0-400-metres: 11.6-seconds

Top speed: 320km/h

Fuel capacity: 93.1-litres

Wheelbase: 2,913mm

Track, F/R: 1,636/1,645mm

Kerb weight: 2,433kg

Weight distribution, F/R: 55/45 per cent

Payload: 612kg

Trailer towing: 3,266kg

Approach/break-over/departure angles: 18°/18.4°/23.1°

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.37

Cargo volume, min/max: 1,027-/1,934-litres

Steering: Electric rack & pinion

Turning circle: 11.6-metres

Lock-to-lock: 3.2-turns

Suspension F/R: Unequal double wishbones/multi-link, adaptive dampers

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated perforated discs 400x36mm/350x28mm

Brake callipers, F/R: 6-/4-pistons

Tyres: 295/45ZR20

SAN DIEGO — Women whose mothers lived to 90 years have a 25 per cent greater chance to also live that long, compared with those whose mothers didn’t, according to a new study led by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) researchers.

Moreover, the women achieved this extreme longevity while staying healthy. They had no major chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hip fracture or physical limitations.

When both parents survived to 90 years, the advantage jumped to 38 per cent, said the study, published in the journal Age and Ageing.

If only the father lived to be 90, there was no increase in healthy longevity for the daughter.

These results are probably a combination of genetics, environment and behaviour, said UCSD’s Aladdin Shadyab, who led the study. It examined the health records of a racially and ethnically diverse population of more than 20,000 women.

The study used information from the Women’s Health Initiative, a large, long-term study on major risk factors for chronic diseases. It enrolled more than 160,000 post-menopausal American women when it was launched in 1993.

Since only women are tracked in the initiative, the study did not examine men or parental life span effects on sons.

The initiative has yielded a wealth of information about women’s health, including the effects of hormone therapy, diet and supplementation with calcium and vitamin D.

Previous research jibes with the study’s findings, including health in the greatly long-lived, the study said.

“In the New England Centenarian Study, offspring of centenarians had 78 per cent, 83 per cent and 86 per cent lower risk of developing myocardial infarction, stroke and diabetes, respectively, than a similarly aged referent cohort,” the study said.

A lot of factors go into total life expectancy. This effect of long-lived parents adds an additional calculation.

For a baseline comparison, 34 per cent of all American women 65 years old will live to 90, according to the Social Security Administration. The increase in life expectancy is calculated compared to this base. (Just 22 per cent of men of that age will reach 90).

In addition, total life expectancy has grown over the decades. In 1965, just 25 per cent of 65-year-old American women lived to 90, and only 10 per cent of the men.

In addition to outside factors such as exercise and diet, researchers in recent years have found some genetic traits that appear more commonly in those who achieve very long lifespans.

“There are specific genes that predict your ability to live longer, which these women likely inherited from their parents,” Shadyab said. Researchers don’t know, however, why the mother’s longevity seems to play a more important role in a daughter’s lifespan than the father’s.

“Further, the women whose parents lived longer had higher socieconomic status, meaning that they were more educated with higher income,” he said. “And growing up in a high socioeconomic environment predicts your chances of living longer and aging well.”

Those in high-income households tend to have access to better health care and education on healthy habits, and presumably those influences play a role.

It’s possible that the parents who lived to 90 also practiced good health habits that they passed along to their daughters.

“More studies are needed to determine how genetic factors interact with behavioural factors like physical activity and socioeconomic status to influence our future aging outcomes,” Shadyab said.

Other studies have looked at health in aging. In San Diego, the ongoing “Wellderly” study tracks men and women who have reached their 80s and beyond, to look for genetic and lifestyle factors that may influence their longevity.

If women want to know how the results apply to them, their present age makes a difference.

Older people have a better chance of great longevity than younger people. That’s because some younger people will die prematurely, whether by illness or injury, and never reach old age. By definition, the elderly have already survived these dangers.

For young women, this means that environmental and behavioural patterns are much more important to attaining extreme longevity than for those who are already older.