Deadly crossings
Pedestrian deaths are on the rise with more than 42 people killed by vehicles in 2019 in Toronto alone. Vans, sport utilities and pick-ups were involved in almost 40% of cases. Toronto Police suggest that 80% of victims were older adults, a 15% year over year increase. And, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) there is only a 50% survival rate when the vehicle is going 45km or more. Distracted driving, jay walking to save “walking” to designated crossing areas and lack of law enforcement are cited as causes. Experts are calling for stricter police presence to combat distracted driving and slow drivers down, along with education around personal safety plans for vulnerable adults.
7 harsh truths that will improve your leadership skills overnight
Should you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of wondering about your leadership skills, Marcel Schwantes suggests that there are some brutal truths that you may need to face when it comes to motivating and inspiring on all levels. Talking about the leader’s role in pumping the fear out of the room, establishing trust, and listening to feedback, Schwantes tells readers that good leaders practice positive thinking which takes emotional intelligence. Good leaders also rarely procrastinate, are strict on themselves and love empowering others to succeed.
Continuous partial attention
While present in their children’s lives physically, mums, dads and caregivers are often less emotionally attuned, resulting in something called “continuous partial attention”. Researchers in Boston surreptitiously observed 55 adults eating with one or more children in fast-food restaurants. Forty of them were on their phones to varying degrees, some almost entirely ignoring the children. Typing and swiping were bigger culprits in this regard than taking a call.
Source: theatlantic.com
In Canada 800,000+ people are blind or partially sighted
Vision 2020
Best hospital cities
The top-rated hospital city in the world? Tokyo, Japan. Toronto came in at 15th place in the 2019 ranking with a total score of 94.74/100 points. Three categories were used: Infrastructure, Quality of Care, and Access. Within these categories, quality of medical education, number of hospital beds, cancer survival rate and the number of nurses, cost of medicine and prevalence of mental health specialists were considered.
Toronto scored well for accessibility to hospital facilities and low cost of medicines. Quality of care was graded at an overall 85.39 points, meaning most citizens are happy with the care they receive. Needing improvement—number of hospital beds, nurses, and surgeons per capita. But, as researchers point out, these aren’t problems exclusive to Toronto, or even Canada.
medbelle.com
Pain sensitive organ in skin
Swedish researchers have discovered a new sensory receptor organ able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts. It is comprised of glia cells with multiple long protrusions and which collectively make up a mesh-like organ within the skin. “Our study shows that sensitivity to pain does not occur only in the skin’s nerve fibers, but also in this recently-discovered pain-sensitive organ. The discovery changes our understanding of the cellular mechanisms of physical sensation and it may be of significance in the understanding of chronic pain,” says Patrik Ernfors, chief investigator for the study.
Source: Karolinska Institutet
Spotlight on…
Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is a free app for iOS and Android devices that currently connects 160,000 blind and low-vision individuals to a network of almost 3 million sighted volunteers and representatives from participating companies. Using a smart phone, users can initiate a live video chat with a specialized help feature to request assistance with just about any task or activity—from reading labels to describing a painting in an art gallery. The app harnesses the power of generosity, technology and human connection to help blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives. Be My Eyes is accessible in more than 150 countries worldwide and in over 180 languages. There are currently 5,000 Canadians using the app which is now linked to our Canada Cares suite of accessible products and services.
abilities.ca
