Prescribing art in medicine
The group of students and doctors hovered around “Pieta,” the sculpture of Mary cradling a dying Jesus, as if they had a real patient. With eyes to the injuries and to the comforting arms, they debated whether the cloth in Mary’s hands was for wiping her own tears or cleaning his bloodied body.“I initially didn’t even want to look at this sculpture because it was so jarring,” said Lisa Wong from the back of the crowd gathered on the fourth floor of the Harvard Art Museums to look at the Austrian sculpture. “(But) our initial human instinct of revulsion has to be overcome before we are able to truly see, then care for the patient.”Such was the powerful beginning to the Wintersession course “Creativity, Medicine and the Arts,” an afternoon of workshops led by Wong, a pediatrician and co-director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Attended by a cross-section of undergraduates as well as students from HMS, the Graduate School of Education, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School, participants were invited to rethink the idea that studying of the sciences requires giving up the arts.David Odo (left), Harvard Art Museums’ director of student programs, and Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor Elizabeth Rider discuss the sculpture “Pieta.” Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer“You’d think arts and humanities are very far from medicine and science, but actually it’s all part of one continuum. As doctors, we’re looking for beauty and helping patients find their beauty. At the same time, artists are looking for ways to express suffering and other emotions,” said Wong, a violinist who performs with the Longwood Symphony. “Many students are intense premeds, and their concept of getting to medical school is they have to embrace the sciences and leave their art behind. This is a chance to reassure them they can embrace both.”Dogus Mordeniz ’20, from Turkey, can relate. A prospective engineering concentrator who lives in Stoughton Hall, Mordeniz spent an hour of the Wintersession course in a workshop called “Healing Narrative Through Movement,” with Madhvi Venkatesh, a curriculum fellow in the department of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at HMS and a classical Indian dancer. Venkatesh led the students through different interactive activities. In one, they matched their words to physical movements; in another, they found 15 movements for a single verb, then paired off to perform with a partner.“It had always been instilled that an interest in arts cannot be pursued while majoring in a STEM field. This workshop proved that any form of art is complementary to medicine — or any other scientific field for that matter,” he said after the class. “The movement workshop showed me that every feeling can be expressed by our moves.”Cecile Deng, J.D. ’18 (left), Avanti Nagral ’20, and Dogus Mordenic ’20 participate in a movement study. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff PhotographerBack in the galleries, Elizabeth Rider, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics, and David Odo, the museums’ director of student programs and research curator of University collections initiatives, introduced students to Picasso’s painting “Mother and Child” and Doris Salcedo’s “A Flor de Piel,” a giant tapestry made of hand-stitched rose petals.When Odo told the students that Salcedo created the work in memory of a nurse tortured during the civil war in her native Colombia, Avanti Nagral found the background information critical in shaping her response to the piece.“It’s hard without the clue to have compassion for something that doesn’t look human,” said the 19-year-old, who lives in Hurlbut Hall.Odo agreed, noting that studying art isn’t unlike a taking a patient history. “It helps us look as things differently,” he said.After the class, Nagral said hearing varied interpretations from classmates with different backgrounds and perspectives “was wonderful.”“There really is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer in the arts, just as there shouldn’t be in the human side of the sciences,” she said.Wong, who is was in her fourth year of teaching in this Wintersession, ended the day with a musical performance of Bach performed with HMS students Justin Lo and Michael Wu.“This has such broad appeal,” she said, “because young people are all trying to find meaning in the work they are doing, and it helps to be able to relate it back to art that they love.”
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BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows that German business confidence declined more than expected in January as businesses grappled with coronavirus restrictions and an uncertain outlook. The Ifo institute’s monthly confidence index fell to 90.1 points from 92.2 in December. Managers’ assessment of both the current situation and the outlook for the next sixth months worsened. Economists had expected a decline to 91.4. Ifo said that “the second wave of coronavirus has brought the recovery of the German economy to a halt for now.” Ifo’s survey is based on monthly responses from about 9,000 companies.
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment of a five-day series discussing mental health at Notre Dame in recognition of Mental Illness Awareness Week.“The reason I was going home, was so that I could come back.”For students like senior Maggie Skoch, the University’s voluntary withdrawal process can allow them the opportunity to put school temporarily on hold while they work to become healthy enough to return to campus.While students may withdraw for a number of reasons — including financial and academic — Dr. Erica Kelsey, a care consultant in the Division of Student Affairs, said mental health is the “most common reason” a student chooses to take a voluntary withdrawal.“In high school I was diagnosed with [obsessive compulsive disorder] and [generalized anxiety disorder], and I managed those well until my second year of college when I started having anxiety attacks, which were something that I hadn’t experienced before,” Skoch said. “Those were very debilitating, and within a couple weeks I had missed a ton of class, I wasn’t making up class.” … I was kind of a mess. I elected to take a withdrawal maybe two weeks into the semester.”Janice Chung | The Observer Kelsey said students who have elected to withdraw are assigned one of the Division of Student Affairs’s care consultants, who remain their point of contact throughout the withdrawal period and again during the readmission process.“The care consultant works with the student from the time they decide to take a withdrawal,” Kelsey said in an email. “We are able to connect with the student while they are away from the University, answer questions they have about the readmission process, remind them of application due dates and provide general support.“Over the past few years, the care consultants have taken a more active role in supporting the withdrawn and readmitted students by providing the communication mentioned previously and by meeting with the student upon their return and helping them with the transition back to campus life.”Skoch, who withdrew from the University in Sept. 2012, said improvements made to the care consultants program in the last two years have contributed positively to the process since she went through it.“A huge thing that was improved is the care consultants,” Skoch said. “… They walk the journey with [the student], which I think is very crucial and a really excellent part of what Notre Dame has to offer, that a lot of other schools actually don’t offer. We’re one of the only schools to my knowledge that has a CARE program in this capacity. “Once students and their care providers feel that they are ready to return to campus, they can begin the readmission process.Kelsey said the process involves a number of different departments on campus, including admissions and counseling.“All students complete an electronic application submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions,” she said. “… If a student leaves the university for mental health reasons, they are asked to work with University Counseling Center (UCC) as part of the readmission process. A counselor at the UCC will speak with the student’s treatment provider to determine their readiness to return to the University and to determine what continuation of care is needed upon their return.“The goal of the readmission process is to ensure that the student will be successful academically and in a good place in terms of their overall well-being and happiness at the University,” she said.An Aug. 31 memo states the deadlines for readmission applications are Apr. 15 for the fall semester, and Oct. 1 for the spring semester.Junior Mary Mecca, who withdrew in December 2014, returned to campus this semester. She said completing her application four months before she would return to campus was a “daunting” task.“That was the most daunting part when I was in therapy, discussing [applying for readmission],” she said. “What’s the progress that we have made to this point, and would they take me back at this point? I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m going to get better, I don’t know if between Apr. 15 and Aug. 24 when we come back if I’m going to take another dive.”Mecca said, however, she saw both positives and negatives to an April deadline for fall semester readmission.“What was nice about the early deadline was that it forced me to take action as soon as I got home,” she said. “I couldn’t sit around and it forced me to get very serious about my health very quickly.“… However, the system would most certainly benefit from a longitudinal approach to readmission. I made quite a bit of progress between Apr. 15 and June 15 [when she was notified of her readmission], and I cannot imagine that others who may not have been denied did not also make progress worthy of readmission.”Skoch said she thinks withdrawal is often a good decision for students who need it, but encouraged anyone considering it to work with others to make their decision.“If you’re someone who’s considering taking a withdrawal, my first piece of advice is talk to everyone who cares about you,” she said. “Talk to your family, talk to your friends, talk to the resources on campus, talk to a care consultant. Just because you’re seeing a care consultant doesn’t mean you’re withdrawing. If you’re seeing a counselor or a medical professional, talk to them.“Don’t rely solely on your own decision-making, because it’s a very emotionally charged decision. I would never have wanted to make it alone.“If the only thing holding you back is fear of the unknown, fear of what life will look like when you come back, fear of what life will look like when you leave … in most situations I’d say do it,” she said.Mecca said withdrawal does not mean a permanent removal from the University. On the contrary, she said, it allowed her to come back and more fully experience her time in college.“I know I would have benefited from hearing that withdrawal from Notre Dame isn’t the end of the world by any means, but rather, a chance to breathe and find a new and healthier perspective on one’s future,” she said.“I also know that if I hadn’t withdrawn and gone through the process of readmission, I would not be the person I am today. It allowed me to reflect, and ultimately realize that I should be able to enjoy life and strive to do something meaningful with my life.”Tags: Irish State of Mind, Mental Illness Awareness Week, withdrawal
Drip irrigation.Xeriscaping. Compost for organic matter.Manure for fertility and tilth.Raised beds with customized soil for problem areas or special plants. Water, PestsWater is the No. 1 limiting factor in growth. Without it, nothing happens in the plant. Nutrients aren’t taken up or moved within the plant. For better water use, think: A garden should be where the best is yet to come.In the fall, many gardeners are enthusiastic about their success over the past growing season. Others aren’t so successful but are just as enthusiastic about next year.As every true gardener knows, next year is always going to be the year. New plants will be available. Soil fertility will be much better. Water will be plentiful. The weather will cooperate with a long, cool spring and a mild, Georgia summer. And insects, weeds and diseases will be nonexistent.In gardeners’ minds this is all true. I think all of us are eternal optimists.How to Achieve ItHow do you actually achieve that? Look at what you did this year in the garden. It makes no difference whether you grow perennials, vegetables, bulbs or whatever.Soil is the key ingredient. Was the soil growing condition a problem? You have from now to next season to work on digging, amending and generally improving it for next year. For soil improvement, think: Plant selection for pest resistance.Frequent checking and early control.Weed control to reduce pest hiding places. Another important area to assess is the pest management strategy you used this past season. I hope you identified the problems and managed them in a most efficient way. For better pest management, think: Thinking CapAs Miss Thompson, my third-grade teacher, often said, “Put on your thinking cap, and it will come to you.” How right she was.Get a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea and sit down, put on that thinking cap and analyze the situation. Then take the action needed to be the best gardener possible.
Less than an hour’s drive from my home is the community of Hyltons, Virginia. Nestled in the rolling hills of Scott County, Hyltons is most famous for being home to The Carter Family, perhaps the most iconic family in the history of old time and country music. At the heart of The Carter Family sound were the vocal harmonies shared by Maybelle Carter and her sister-in-law, Sara Carter.I once read an article that mentioned there were no better harmonies than those created by family bands. I had a hard time disagreeing with the author. Appalachian music is brimming with family acts whose harmony work was beyond compare, and Maybelle and Sara set the gold standard for female vocal harmony. It’s a standard most difficult to attain.While not a family band, Locust Honey String Band does a mighty fine job with female harmonies on their latest record, Never Let Me Cross Your Mind. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Locust Honey String Band consists of Chloe Edmonstone, Meredith Watson, and Hilary Hawke. Drawing from the old time customs of bands like The Carter Family, along with blues and old country, Locust Honey String Band continues the grand tradition of Appalachian string band music.Trail Mix recently caught up with the band during their trip out west to chat about the traditions of old time music, the importance of passing along the folk traditions to younger generations, and mountain dancing. BRO – Do you support spontaneous outbursts of clogging or flatfooting at your shows?LH – Do we ever! Typically, we support all kinds of spontaneous outbursts, but especially clogging and flatfooting. Chloe’s mom was a Greengrass Clogger in the seventies, so, in a way, Chloe’s love of old time wouldn’t exist without percussive dance, and neither would Locust Honey.BRO – Favorite artist out there touring right now that is really nailing that old time sound?LH – To be honest, there isn’t a lot of “touring” in the old time world. While we’re definitely rooted in old time, our typical set consists of a lot of original songs, old country, even blues. We scatter old time tunes in there, definitely, but we would never play an entire night just those tunes unless we were playing for a dance. One of the great things about old time, actually, is that it is so much more about getting together and playing for enjoyment than it is about performing. There have always been fiddle competitions and dances, of course, but, if you were to gather every note of this music that had ever been played, I’d bet about 99% of them would have come from a bunch of people circled up knee to knee.BRO – Each member of the band, in some form or fashion, is involved in teaching. Why is it important to you three to pass along your respective knowledge in dance, music, and theater?LH – First off, we all teach because we love teaching. It balances out a life of performing really nicely to get to spend regular time with some fresh faced, eager kids who are totally open. It also keeps the music in perspective. This is traditional music. It’s based on tradition. And tradition can’t exist without being passed through generations.BRO – We are featuring “When The Whiskey’s Gone” in this month’s Trail Mix. What’s the story behind the song?LH – Well, a lot of Chloe’s songs have complicated chord structures and crooked arrangements, so when she sat down to write this one, she deliberately went for a classic country composition. With that came the ongoing theme of musicians drinking too much, or putting drink before love, responsibility, and family. Unfortunately, that’s a constant theme because it’s true. She drew from some past experiences of having close friends and loved ones that struggled with that problem.BRO – If you were to pull just one tune from the old time canon that epitomizes the sound and spirit of the music, what would it be?LH – That’s honestly impossible. When these tunes were developing, people couldn’t move around and mingle the way we can now. Regions were geographically isolated from one another, so each region developed a different kind of musical dialect. We happen to be drawn to a lot of Georgia, West Virginia, and Round Peak tunes, but that’s not because they’re any better than, say, Midwestern tunes. Every style is worth delving into and studying. If there was one tune or song in this world that truly said everything there was to be said, then we all may as well throw our hands up and walk away. So thank goodness there isn’t!Locust Honey String Band just wrapped up a run of dates in Colorado and are now heading for California, where they play San Francisco, San Rafael, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura over the next week. After that, the band is off to Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico before they had back east.For more information on Locust Honey String Band, how to get your hands on the new record, or when the band might be hitting your town, surf over to www.locusthoney.com.
A group of financial trade organizations, including the Credit Union National Association, has written to Congress with a set of principles to serve as a guide for potential data security legislation.President Barack Obama has spoken of the need for such legislation, and the House subcommittee on commerce, manufacturing and trade will host a hearing this week examining what sound data breach legislation should look like.CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said the joint letter–with credit unions and banks uniting in a single message–serves to underscore the importance that legislative action be taken to plug the gaps in data security rules that apply to merchants.The letter reads, “Some industries–including the financial industry–are required by law to develop and maintain robust internal protections to combat and address criminal attacks, and are required to protect consumer financial information and notify consumers when a breach occurs within their systems that will put their customers at risk. continue reading » 2SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
At yesterday’s ceremony at the Lone Hotel, the prestigious awards of the Tourist Board of the Istrian County Zlatna koza – Capra d’oro were presented.The Tourist Board of the Istrian County awards one Golden Goat – Capra d’oro award for outstanding contribution in the field of marketing activities in Istrian tourism in the categories Events, Innovative products, Tourist products, Visual communications and awards to deserving individuals. Awards are given to an individual or group for outstanding contribution in the field of marketing activities in the tourism of Istria, especially in the field of product improvement and tourism promotion for activities, products and projects in the Istrian County.For the best tourist product this year, it went to a Pula company Idea Istria for a thematic museum, House of Istrian olive oil which presents olive growers and their top oils, and through the thematic museum talks about the history and tradition of olive growing in Istria. In guided tastings, he teaches visitors how to recognize top-quality extra virgin olive oils and how to taste them properly, and through summer events, olive growers are introduced directly to visitors.Their philosophy is to connect tourists and local producers, combining Istrian tradition and modern knowledge about the processing and use of extra virgin olive oil. Already in the first year, the project showed the possibility of self-sustainability, and the attractiveness is confirmed by excellent ratings in more than 50 comments published on the world portal Trip Advisor.Winners of the Golden Goat – Capra d’oro award for 2017 Category: Innovative productMaistra dd Rovinjfor an innovative tourism productFamily Hotel Amarin, Rovinj Category: Innovative productArena Hospitality Group dd Pulafor innovative technologyAHG Handy digital serviceCategory: Tourist productIstra život doo Barbanfor an adrenaline parkHead ParkCategory: Tourist productIdea Istra doo Pulafor a thematic museumHouse of Istrian olive oilCategory: Visual communicationsSD Trickeri, PazinLevel52, Rabacfor the promotional film of the adventure raceLim Bay ChallengeCategory: Events Umag Tourist Boardto co-organize eventsSea Star FestivalUmag, May 25 – 28.05.2017, XNUMXWinners of the annual award of the Tourist Board of the Istrian CountyGolden Goat – Capra d’oro for 2017Winner of the Golden Goat – Capra d’oro award for 2017 for outstanding contribution to the development and promotion of Istrian tourism:Željko Kukurin Special recognition to a foreign partner for exceptional contribution to the promotion of Istrian tourism:Robert Clarke (Oz Clarke)Special thanks for a lifetime achievement for many years of creativity and exceptional creative contributionpromotion of Istrian tourism:Predrag SpasojevicRenco KosinožićSpecial thanks for the active contribution and achievements that have undoubtedly contributed to the development of tourist Istria:mr. Jerko Sladoljev, Mr. Edi Černjul and Mr. Davorin Fleg
“The actions that take place appear in a space that is interesting to us in the tourism sector because it is free for us. In addition to the multiple benefits, the tourism workers themselves can expect space for earnings in it ”, believes Palma. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Croatian National Tourist Board will carry out the action for the first time A week of vacation worth it from April 10 to 19 this year. It is a project that also encourages domestic guests to travel, and the offer of tourist services of the partners involved will be half cheaper. Through this action, all citizens of Croatia will have the opportunity to get to know and visit different parts of our country with better prices for many tourist products, from accommodation, transport, sights to catering services and various experiences. “For this reason, we will organize a debate before the second reading of this law in Parliament in order to clarify our views and turn them into amendments that we would send to Parliament.”, pointed out Kovačević, adding that they continue with the practice of holding thematic sessions so that businessmen from the real sector can ask questions directly to ministries and institutions before adopting new legislative solutions. Croatian tourist card is a new measure to encourage consumption in the hospitality and tourism industry in Croatia. It enables employees to have a more affordable holiday by increasing their work-based benefits, which is already prescribed by the Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on Income Tax of 1 September 2019. This regulation introduced a novelty that income tax is not paid on fees for covering the costs of catering, tourism and other services intended for employees’ vacations up to the amount of HRK 2.500,00 per year. “The goal is to encourage domestic catering tourism consumption, increase the share of domestic tourists, increase the occupancy of accommodation and other facilities, reduce the expressed seasonality and increase the income of workers on the basis of employment”, pointed out Assistant Tourism Minister Robert Pende. Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Agriculture and Tourism Dragan Kovačević pointed out that the Croatian Chamber of Commerce has already received a number of inquiries for new projects, especially from continental tourism workers. The President of the Tourist Business Council at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Franco Palma, also believes that there is good potential for achieving good results of these two tourism projects. Kovacevic also commented on the importance Law on Tourist Land as one of the strategic tourism laws that is especially related to investments. “In 2020, the goal is to maintain the achieved market position in the emitting markets, and it is expected that the tourist result from the previous year will be repeated, ie a slight increase in tourist traffic of up to 3%”, said the director of the main office of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, and he especially pointed out that he believes that Croatia, out of almost 21 million tourists, is capable of earning more than before.
“The Italians are also recording a decrease in guests from China, especially because they have direct connections with flights to, for example, Milan and Rome. But the market is therefore turning to other parts of Europe. We will monitor the situation on the Chinese market and react as needed. “, said Staničić. As for the tourist results, it was said at the session that last year it recorded growth in all categories. Compared to 2018, the growth of tourist traffic is counted in 20,7 million arrivals (+ 4,9%) and 108,6 million overnight stays (+ 2,4%). “In Germany, we expect market growth in the range of up to 3%, while at this time, unlike the same period last year, booking has not slowed down.”, explained Staničić. The period of early booking is coming to an end and the first information about the sale speaks of a good position of Croatia on the tourist market. Interest in Croatia is at a high level. Positive trends are also expected in the Austrian market, and a positive impact on traffic growth is expected from the introduction of new airlines (Ryanair / Laudamotion and Austrian Airlines). Namely, according to the announcements in the summer flight schedule, Croatia will be connected to emitting markets with more than 50 new routes. He also referred to the current situation with the corona virus and said that a drop in guests from China was recorded as a result of the spread of the virus. In an extended session Tourist Business Council held at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the projects Croatian Tourist Card and Vacation Week worthwhile and expectations for the tourist year 2020 were presented. The situation in the sector, challenges and opportunities were discussed, and the common message of the members of the Tourist Business Council after the session was that guests should get value for money, ie that the key to Croatian tourism success is to maintain quality, but with adequate and acceptable prices.
Priced to compete with full-fare airline business class, Premium First was launched on London – Paris Eurostar services on April 28. With Premium First and Standard Plus, four distinct levels of service are being introduced to replace the two classes dating from Eurostar’s inception. For £370 return, fully interchangeable with British Midland Diamond EuroClass, passengers enjoy a dedicated check-in lane at Waterloo International, in addition to 10 min check-in times and executive lounges at Waterloo, Ashford and Paris. In their reserved coach, Premium First passengers are served with complimentary newspapers and drinks by a dedicated crew of two. Menus for the inclusive meal are changed every week, with the four-course lunch and dinner offering a choice of three main courses and a selection of wines. The ticket price also includes complimentary chauffeur-driven motorcycle service in central London, and free taxi transfers to city centre addresses upon arrival in Paris and London. For a small premium on more restrictive standard class fares, the fully-flexible Standard Plus ticket offers dedicated coaches, complimentary newspapers and ’priority’ trolley service. Premium First is to be introduced to the London – Brussels route in December, when Eurostar journey times will be cut to 2h 45min with the completion of high-speed infrastructure to the Belgian capital. Castle Service has been introduced in first class on Eurostar trains to Disneyland Paris, with complimentary light meals included in the ticket price. Unrestricted first class child return fares have been reduced from £107·50 to £80. o